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Trump Proposes Values Test for Would-Be Immigrants in Fiery ISIS Speech

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Donald Trump on Monday upped his call for action against radical Islam in an effort to reclaim the offensive on national security, proposing an ideological test to keep would-be immigrants with radical views out of the US.

The proposal was one of several Trump outlined in an Ohio speech laying out his vision for fighting Islamic extremism. In doing so, he sought to turn the tables on critics who are depicting him as unfit to serve as commander in chief and accused Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton of lacking the “mental and physical stamina” to fight ISIS.

Trump’s speech coincided with sagging poll numbers in key swing states, as the Republican nominee has lurched from one controversy to the next. Top Republicans have called on Trump to straighten out his flailing campaign.

Painting a grim picture of a world under attack and a homeland threatened by terrorism, Trump argued only he could be trusted to confront the present dangers. He characterized the fight as an ideological struggle on par with that of the Cold War that demands a sweeping rethink of US policies at home and abroad. (Read more from “Trump Proposes Values Test for Would-Be Immigrants in Fiery ISIS Speech” HERE)

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A NEW ILLUSTRATED STORY: What It Means to Be #NeverTrump…

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By @BiffSpackle

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(For more from the author of “A NEW ILLUSTRATED STORY: What It Means to Be #NeverTrump…” please click HERE)

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14 Winning Issues Trump Could Use Against Hillary

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When a football team is down and headed into the second half of the game, the coach does himself no favors by denying reality and avoiding a course change.

With every single national and state poll showing Trump losing demographics Republicans haven’t lost in over 60 years and making states like Arizona, Georgia, and Missouri competitive, anyone who truly wants to beat Hillary Clinton does themselves no favors by spending the next few months simply declaring the polls skewed. The people must demand a course change and ask of their nominee to finally get back on message, go relentlessly on offense on the critical issues people care about, and begin spending money in the important states needed to win this election in November. Anything short of taking this approach is ensuring that Hillary Clinton indeed is on her way to the White House – the very outcome the most ardent Trump fans claim they wish to avoid.

Trump’s reliance on media coverage and name recognition may have gotten him through the primary but, as we’re witnessing, this won’t get him through the general. This is why it’s so important for Trump to get back on message, place Hillary on defense on critical issues, and run ads relentlessly holding her accountable for the security, societal, and economic woes that the entire country feels… so long as they are not distracted by the excitement of reality TV. When elections are about personalities, Democrats win, but when they are about issues Republicans win. And fortunately for Trump, his opponent’s past and present record provides ample opportunity for any challenger to expose her weaknesses and to run an honest campaign against a corrupt candidate.

Here is just a sample of the many issues that can easily be used to place Hillary on defense for the rest of the election.

1. Hang Obamacare on Hillary’s neck: Hillary bragged about being the pioneer for socialized medicine at the Democratic National Convention. Well, while private insurance costs are skyrocketing and doctors are leaving the health care profession in record numbers, now is the time to put Obamacare back into the center of this election. Republicans won two mid-term landslides on this issue, but lost in 2012 because they nominated someone who couldn’t effectively make health care an issue. That Obamacare has barely been mentioned in this election is criminal negligence. Trump must make it clear that if Hillary is allowed to expand Obamacare instead of repealing it, no middle class family will be able to live in dignity without government dependency and the largest sector of our economy will be permanently damaged, which will, in turn, continue to drag down the economy. There is something fundamentally wrong when Hillary is up double digits on the issue of health care, and the refusal to seriously campaign against Obamacare would be a great place to look for the culprit.

2. Hillary’s Regulations Will Crush the Poor: Democrats thrive on playing class warfare and claiming to only tax the rich while giving handouts to “the little guy.” The dirty little secret that needs to be publicized is that the hidden tax of regulations is shouldered by everyone and is most regressive against the poor. A new report shows how Obama’s regulations have cost the economy $734 billion. The total cost of all federal regulations in 2014 reached $1.88 trillion, which amounts to a $14,976 hidden tax per family every year. According to the Competitive Enterprise Institute, this amounts to 23 percent of the average family budget of $51,000. The $1.88 trillion number is also more than receipts from corporate and personal income taxes combined. Trump needs to shout at every event and run ads in every state warning that a third term of Obama will crush families with a higher cost of living for the most essential goods and services.

3. Highlight Hillary’s Radicalism on Immigration: Instead of holding a press conference about his wife’s immigration history, thereby making this, once again, about personality, Trump could capitalize on the spotlight by detailing all of the illegal executive actions Obama has taken in recent weeks to endanger this nation’s security and violate its sovereignty. He could then run endless ads in critical states warning about Hillary’s plan to walk in the footsteps of Europe and bring in hundreds of thousands of additional refugees from the Middle East. Continuing with some of the messaging from the Republican convention, he can note how it is Hillary who doesn’t care about American security and the economy by sacrificing our sovereignty on the altar of billionaire special interests in support of open borders.

4. Hit Hillary on Her War on the Suburbs: Elections are won or lost in the suburbs and Trump is getting crushed in suburban counties at this point. He needs to hammer home Obama’s fundamental transformation of America via HUD’s “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Rule.” This program mandates suburban jurisdictions construct a certain number of “low income” housing. At the same time, HUD channels federal funds to crony left-wing organizations to move people out of the city into the suburbs, overwriting the zoning codes of the local governments. This unconstitutional executive action, cheered on by the lawless courts, violates property rights, federalism, and the true ideals of equal opportunity. It also represents a backdoor federal gerrymander and de facto eminent domain for ACORN-style organizations. Fight political correctness and win suburban votes at the same time.

5. Make Hillary Own Iran: Obama has allowed Iran to humiliate us and it is now clear he paid them a ransom to get back American hostages. Coupled with seizing our naval ship without retaliation, nothing embodies American weakness more than the Iran alliance. This all started under Hillary’s tenure as Secretary of State. The ad ideas to run against her on this issue are endless.

6. Attack Hillary’s Support for Jail Break Legislation: Make it clear that Hillary is the candidate of anarchy in an increasingly dangerous world. Rebuke Obama’s pardon of 214 criminals this week – 52 of which have serious gun violations – and demonstrate the irrevocable damage of four more years of this.

7. Attack Hillary’s Foreign Policy Record. This is perhaps the easiest, and most obvious, layup. WikiLeaks revealed Clinton had a hand in arming terrorists in Syria. That, coupled with her comments at the Democratic convention confirming that her approach to stopping ISIS will not be fast-acting, is enough to turn the millions of voters concerned about the barbaric attacks we’re witnessing throughout the world by the hand of radical Islamic terrorists. Hillary’s role in involving the U.S. in Libya should be another easy target. As Secretary of State, Hillary’s Libya “intervention” has in turn led to the rise of Boko Haram and the loss of almost the entire continent of Africa. Now, Obama is quietly sending more troops to Libya with no definite mission.

8. Run Against Hillary’s Judicial Oligarchy Philosophy: Don’t just run on appointing better judges but on reforming the judiciary altogether. Show how the courts are crushing the states on their most essential functions and promise to work with Congress to return power to the states. Talk about the recent rulings banning voter ID laws, a most basic element of protecting the franchise. Again, this would cut through the perception that Trump is a top-down power hungry leader. By being a voice for judicial integrity, Trump would connect with the large swath of Middle America that supports voter ID and strike a populist tone that is actually rooted in the Constitution.

9. Hillary Won’t Stand for Religious Liberty, bring out the Megaphone on Religious Freedom: Note that Hillary Clinton tolerates the Muslim Brotherhood but has no place for religious Jews and Christians in this country. Be the candidate of civil and religious liberty and stand for conscience and property rights. Promise legislation defending the people and the states from the agenda of coercion pushed by the sexual identity movement.

10. Attack Hillary’s Nanny State Agenda and Stand for Civil Liberty: One glaring hole in Trump’s entire agenda – from the primary through the general election – is no mention of liberty. This is something Democrats have insidiously but cleverly exploited to outflank him on constitutional freedoms. He must point out Hillary’s nanny state agenda, support for endless violations of the Fourth Amendment, and become the candidate of the Bill of Rights. “While Hillary wants to grant citizen rights to illegal aliens and coddle the Muslim Brotherhood, she doesn’t believe in the Bill of Rights for Americans,” would be a great line of attack.

11. Will Hillary Denounce Planned Butcherhood? It’s truly amazing that Planned Parenthood has been caught on video trafficking baby parts, a seminal moment in the 40-year battle over abortion, and yet Republicans have walked away from the issue. Trump is currently losing Catholics by 17 points. This is political malpractice. He needs to remind voters that Hillary has never disavowed Planned Parenthood’s butchery and that she wants to continue taxpayer funding for a private entity under criminal investigation for barbaric practices.

12. Double Down on Hillary’s Farcical War on Women Rhetoric: Instead of playing defense every time Hillary attacks him for his off-handed comments about women, Trump should double down on Hillary’s fake and hypocritical ‘war on women’ agenda. Throughout her career, Hillary has made championing women’s rights a central part of her platform despite having sent billions to Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East that degrade, rape, and even occasionally mutilate and murder women who do not adhere to Sharia law. Not to mention Hillary’s support for bringing into the U.S. even more migrants who have the potential to mistreat women like we’re seeing take place in countries like Germany and Sweden. How is exposing women to rape, threats and potential abuse good for women?

13. Keep the Internet out of Hillary and K Street’s Hands: There is no greater issue that fits more into Trump’s branding and simultaneously seizes upon the liberty mantle while attracting younger voters (who are already sour on Hillary) than to oppose Obama’s giveaway of internet domains to an international tribunal that includes China, Russia, and Iran. The internet is the beacon of freedom that also exemplifies American exceptionalism (Making America First Again!). If Republicans don’t cave on this issue before the end of the year, this election will determine whether America will continue to control internet domains and ensure its freedom from the globalists and elitists, as well as despotic countries. Just imagine the ads that could be run on this issue and marketed to younger voters? Opposition to Hillary Clinton’s support for K Street’s internet sales tax would also be a great messaging tool.

14. Double Down on Hillary’s One-Size-Fits-All Education Policy: Common Core is just like Obamacare. It’s beyond an abstract policy issue. Every parent understands what it is and what it represents. This is an issue that Democrats have admitted, time and again, could destroy them on the campaign trail. There are so many clever commercials Trump could run demonstrating what children will be forced to do under Hillary’s Department of Education.

Obviously, this is just a cursory list. Once Hillary’s dangerous associations with Islamists are factored in, there are endless security issues that can be hung around her neck. The point is that it’s time to go on offense and make Hillary the relentless focus of this campaign.

For better or worse, Donald Trump has the biggest megaphone of any single human being in this country. He has the ability to attract media attention instantaneously. While the media will always be biased and exhibit a glaring double standard to any GOP nominee, Trump can take his destiny in his own hand. Elections are all about the ability to focus the public attention. Trump can do his part using this significant megaphone to focus voters on these and many other issues where Hillary stands in opposition to the majority of Americans. Or he can continue making his personality the focus of this campaign, something the Hillary campaign and the media are all too eager to capitalize on. (For more from the author of “14 Winning Issues Trump Could Use Against Hillary” please click HERE)

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Trump Doubles Down on His Claim That Obama Created Islamic State

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By Christine Rushton. Donald Trump doubled down Thursday on his accusation that President Obama created Islamic State, insisting that he didn’t simply mean that Obama’s troop draw-down in Iraq left behind chaos in which the terrorist group thrived.

The Republican nominee first called Obama the “founder of ISIS,” another term for Islamic State, during a rally Wednesday in Florida. He was asked Thursday in an interview on CNBC whether that was appropriate.

Trump responded: “He was the founder of ISIS, absolutely.”

Islamic State grew out of Iraq’s Al Qaeda affiliate founded around 2004, a half-decade before Obama took office. Its capabilities ebbed and flowed over the next decade as the group merged and split with other extremists. Around 2013, it increasingly began carrying out attacks in Iraq, and the group began overtaking large swaths of territory in both Iraq and neighboring Syria a year later. Islamic State has also claimed responsibility for attacks elsewhere, branching out as coalition-led forces roll back its territorial gains in the Middle East. (Read more from “Trump Doubles Down on His Claim That Obama Created Islamic State” HERE)

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GOP Rep: Obama Responsible for Manipulated Intel About ISIS

By Julian Hattem. President Obama and other senior administration officials created a political climate that led intelligence officials to create warped reports about the United States’s fight against Islamic extremists, a leader of a Republican task force studying the matter said on Thursday.

“They wanted a good news story,” Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), one of three GOP lawmakers leading a House task force into alleged intelligence manipulation at the Pentagon’s Central Command, told The Hill.

“Is there a memo from Barack Obama saying, ‘Don’t send me bad news’? We haven’t yet found that,” he added.

“But in every organization I’ve ever been a part of … leaders set a culture and the team that works around that leader understands the expectations of that leader,” Pompeo said. “Here that led to manipulation of an intelligence product that was extremely important to keeping our kids safe.”

The comments magnify the criticism in an initial report published by the task force on Thursday that concluded that Centcom reports about the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria were “consistently more optimistic” than analysts on the ground. (Read more from “GOP Rep: Obama Responsible for Manipulated Intel About ISIS” HERE)

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Trump Refuses to Back Down From Clinton Second Amendment Comments

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GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump says the media is creating a controversy after Hillary Clinton’s campaign and pundits accused him of calling for the Democratic presidential nominee’s assassination.

In a speech yesterday, Trump said that Clinton “wants to abolish — essentially abolish the Second Amendment. By the way, and if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is. I don’t know. But — but I’ll tell you what. That will be a horrible day. If — if Hillary gets to put her judges — right now, we’re tied. You see what’s going on.”

Pundits across the political spectrum immediately accused Trump of calling for Clinton’s assassination, including former George Bush staffer Dana Perino and others at Fox News. The Clinton campaign issued a statement through spokesman Robby Mook, who said, “what Trump is saying is dangerous. A person seeking to be the president of the United States should not suggest violence in any way.”

Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia said, “I think it was just revealing … and I don’t find the attempt to roll it back persuasive at all.”

Priorities USA, a liberal Super PAC, declared that Trump “suggested that someone shoot Hillary Clinton,” and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) Tweeted, “@realDonaldTrump makes death threats because he’s a pathetic coward who can’t handle the fact that he’s losing to a girl.”

But Trump didn’t back down. Instead, his campaign said Trump was calling for “the power of unification,” according to spokesperson Jason Miller. “2nd Amendment people have amazing spirit and are tremendously unified, which gives them great political power. And this year, they will be voting in record numbers, and it won’t be for Hillary Clinton, it will be for Donald Trump.”

The statement was entitled, “Trump Campaign Statement on Dishonest Media,” foreshadowing what became a talking point for Trump and his running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence.

In an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Trump said, “Nobody in that room thought anything other than what you just said … There can be no other interpretation!” He called the media “dishonest” for reporting his comments as a call for assassination of Clinton.

Hannity had said Trump was “obviously” talking about voter mobilization.

Pence told a Pennsylvania program on Tuesday that “Hillary Clinton’s made it very clear that she wants to see changes in the right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms.” He said that “[What] Donald Trump is clearly saying is that people who cherish that right, people who believe that firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens make our communities more safe not less safe, should be involved in the political process and let their voice be heard.”

Later in the day, Pence accused the media of focusing on Trump and taking attention away from Clinton. “The media stays focused on our side of the aisle,” he said. “It’s almost as though the Steelers had to play an entire season at away games, in front of hostile crowds, with hometown refs. But they’d still win, wouldn’t they?”

“It’s 2-on-1 with the media doing most of Hillary’s work for her and Donald Trump is still winning for the American people,” he said. “The man just doesn’t quit.”

Pence noted that the assassination accusations came at the same time as another burgeoning Clinton controversy: the father of Orlando Pulse shooter Omar Mateen was seen at a Clinton rally. The admitted Taliban supporter who believes homosexuality is sinful told media afterwards that he is supporting Clinton as President.

The Clinton campaign said it was unaware of Seddique Mateen’s presence at the 30,000-person public event, and a spokesperson later said in a statement that Clinton “disagrees with his views and disavows his support.”

Hannity, Pence and Trump were not entirely alone in defending the GOP nominee. The National Rifle Association launched a three million dollar ad buy in favor of Trump yesterday, and a Republican House Congressional candidate said CNN’s Don Lemon was taking Trump’s words out of context. Even conservative columnist Katie Pavlich, a fierce Trump critic, defended his remarks.

Ironically, it was Clinton who eight years ago was accused of inciting an assassination against then-Senator Barack Obama. Asked why she was still in the race in late May, despite losing to Obama in their head-to-head primary, she cited two historical examples of candidates whose fortunes changed during the summer – including one who was assassinated.

“My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right?” Clinton said. “We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California.”

Clinton quickly apologized for the Kennedy remark, blaming it on a cancer diagnosis of Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) that took place several days earlier. (For more from the author of “Trump Refuses to Back Down From Clinton Second Amendment Comments” please click HERE)

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Muslim Olympian Has Strong Words About Donald Trump

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U.S. fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad [was] recognized not only as the first athlete to compete in the Olympics while wearing a hijab, but also for her remarks about Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Muhammad was interviewed by CNN and was asked if she felt Trump was dangerous. “I think that his words are very dangerous,” she responded.

“When these types of comments are made, no one thinks about how they really affect people,” she said.

In December, Trump called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.” He has since dropped the religious reference, saying now that the United States should “suspend temporarily immigration from regions that have been a major source for terrorists and their supporters coming to the U.S.”

Muhammad, who was born and raised in New Jersey, said the United States is her home and she has no other home to go to.

Continuing, Muhammad said, “I’m hopeful, that in my efforts, you know, to represent our country well as an athlete, that they change the rhetoric around, you know, how people think and perceive the Muslim community.”

After the interview was posted on Facebook, a lot of people criticized CNN, saying it was just more biased reporting against Trump.

One Facebook user wrote: “I liked this story until it became an attack against Trump. Now I can care less if she wins a medal or not and CNN is getting worse for news by the hour.”

Another posted: “CNN – you are the most biased station in the world. You cause trouble where there is none.”

Muhammad has taken the opportunity prior to the CNN interview to express her thoughts on Trump.

In December, she issued the following tweet:

When, in February, Muhammad was asked to comment on Trump’s policies on Muslims, she said, “I think that unfortunately we have people who are in the presidential race who are providing a platform for hate speech and fearmongering and they’re creating a space where it’s acceptable to speak out against immigrants, to speak out against Muslims …”

She added that she felt the atmosphere was scary and she was concerned about the safety of minorities.

Muhammad revealed that while growing up, she and her siblings were involved in sports; however they were required to wear long pants and long sleeves while participating.

She said she was drawn to fencing because it allowed her to wear the same uniform that her friends wore.

On Monday, Muhammad was eliminated in her second bout in the women’s sabre tournament, falling to Cecilia Berder of France. (For more from the author of “Muslim Olympian Has Strong Words About Donald Trump” please click HERE)

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Trump in Trouble Over ‘Second Amendment’ Remark

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Donald Trump on Tuesday said “the Second Amendment people” may be the only way to stop Hillary Clinton from getting to appoint federal judges if she wins the presidential election in November.

“Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish, the Second Amendment,” he said as an aside while smiling. “By the way, and if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don’t know. But I’ll tell you what, that will be a horrible day.”

The reference to the Second Amendment, the right to keep and bear arms, could be interpreted as a joke about using violence to stop Clinton or her judicial picks.

Trump was speaking at a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, where he repeated his regular claim that Clinton intends to “abolish” the Second Amendment, presumably by appointing liberal justices to the Supreme Court. But Trump punctuated that line with an aside, suggesting that Second Amendment supporters might be in a position to stop her even if she’s elected.

The Trump campaign rejected the notion that Trump was inciting violence against Clinton or anyone else with his aside at the Wilmington rally. Instead, the campaign said the Manhattan billionaire was simply appealing to the collective political muscle Second Amendment supporters possess. (Read more from “Trump in Trouble Over ‘Second Amendment’ Remark” HERE)

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How Evan McMullin Could Cost Trump the Presidency

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It’s unlikely that Evan McMullin, the former CIA staffer who just announced his bid for the presidency, can swipe votes from Republican nominee Donald Trump in any state — except one.

Utah is a state that has voted Republican in every presidential election since 1964, and yet it has taken on a distinct dislike for the GOP nominee: June polls showed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump tied with 35 percent each, with Libertarian Gary Johnson drawing in 13 percent. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, this unique aversion to Trump is due to his “brash swagger” and “outlandish behavior” in a state full of Mormons.

“It’s interesting that Libertarian Gary Johnson is polling in double digits,” Jason Perry, director of the Hinckley Institute, told the Tribune. “Clearly, there is a segment of the Utah population that is still willing to consider a third-party candidate.”

That third-party candidate may very well be Evan McMullin come November.

A Mormon himself, McMullin was born in Provo, Utah and studied at Brigham Young University, a private university owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It would not be so surprising if McMullin gained the support of fellow Mormons Mitt Romney and Mike Lee, two of the most outspoken anti-Trump politicians in the GOP. (Read more from “How Evan McMullin Could Cost Trump the Presidency” HERE)

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Veteran Assaulted in Sam’s Club for Wearing Trump Hat

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A 67-year-old Hispanic Army veteran was assaulted as a result of his choice of apparel: a “Make America Great Again” hat in support of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

The incident took place July 30 at a Sam’s Club in Brandon, Fla.

Ricardo Garcia told WTVT in Tampa that he was in the meat department of the store when he had to sneeze.

A gentleman standing to his side said, “Bless you.” Another man near him said, “I can not give you a blessing, because you’re wearing that stupid hat.”

Confused, Garcia asked, “What’s wrong with the hat?”

When the man remarked it was a Trump hat, Garcia said he jokingly told him the hat was his, not Trump’s.

WTSP reported the man said, “Ah, you go for Trump, I don’t like it.” To which Garcia responded, “Well, you can go for Hillary and I don’t like that, but that’s the way it is.”

Garcia then turned away from the man to avoid a confrontation, when he suddenly felt an impact to his head. The impact knocked the hat from his head and turned his glasses sideways.

Garcia said the man stood, staring at him, as if to say, “What do you want?”

The store manager was alerted to the incident and 911 was called.

Officers from the Hillsborough County Police Department arrived on the scene, where they located 36-year-old Patrick Marcus Mickens hiding in another aisle of the store.

After interviewing Garcia and Mickens, officers arrested Mickens and charged him with battery on an elderly person.

Mickens was later released on bond.

Garcia, who is originally from Puerto Rico, said he was privileged and honored to live in the U.S. “We should not be afraid to be in our country,” he said. (For more from the author of “Veteran Assaulted in Sam’s Club for Wearing Trump Hat” please click HERE)

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Trump Delivers Some Good Ideas, Backed by One Huge Misconception

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In his speech on Monday to the Detroit Economic Club, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump outlined a number of proposals to restore and revitalize the American economy. He touched on tax reform, regulatory reform, energy, trade, and more, and through it all delivered some pretty good ideas. However, there’s still a concerning lack of basic economic understanding behind many of his remarks.

Taxes

Let’s start with taxes: Mr. Trump wants them to be lower, and simpler, and who can argue with that? He calls for cutting the corporate tax rate to 15 percent, reducing the number of individual tax brackets from seven to three, and eliminating some of the loopholes and deductions that make filing taxes such a time-consuming and complicated mess. So far so good, although this last point about simplicity is somewhat undermined by his calls for new deductions to cover the cost of child care. I like the idea in spirit, but how do you prove to the IRS what is and isn’t a child care cost? It seems like monitoring those deductions could end up being both extremely expensive and a huge invasion of privacy.

Trump received some energetic booing when he announced that “for many Americans, their tax rate would be zero.” This is a divisive point even among conservatives, who generally want lower taxes for everybody. There is a perception that paying no taxes leaves a person without a stake in the system, and leads to irresponsible behavior as a citizen. Personally, I’m happy whenever the government steals less money from the taxpayers, and if that means not stealing at all from some people, so much the better. Trump would also work to repeal the estate tax, an insidious form of double taxation that absolutely has to go.

Regulations

On regulations, Trump says he would issue a temporary moratorium on all new agency rules. That’s a great idea, but I’d like to know how temporary is temporary, as would all the businesses trying to plan for the future. Trump talks about the importance of certainty, and a certain knowledge about when regulations will kick back in is certainly a crucial part of that. Tell you what, let’s just make the moratorium permanent and call it a day. Then everybody’s happy, right?

Trump also intends to request lists of unnecessary regulations from each agency so that they may be repealed. The only problem with this idea is that it’s hard to imagine the agencies that passed the rules being impartial arbiters of what is or is not necessary. I expect these lists will end up being very short indeed.

In a similar vein, Trump announced that he would immediately cancel all illegal and overreaching executive orders. Again, this is extremely impressive if true, but one cannot help but wonder who is going to make the call of what “illegal and overreaching” means. Given Trump’s rhetoric on security and law and order, it’s hard to imagine him rolling back some of the worst executive orders, such as order 12333, for example, which allows for mass spying on American citizens.

Still, despite these few stumbling blocks, so far this has come across as a rather good Republican policy speech, ticking all the boxes that conservatives usually care about. But it’s when he comes to trade that Trump reveals the underlying misunderstanding of how economies work that casts doubt on whether we can rely on him to be a true champion of economic growth.

Trade

Trump’s major mistake in talking about economic policy, both foreign and domestic, is that he holds a stubborn “us vs. them” mentality regarding the rest of the world. “We are in competition with the world!” he bellows. Unless he’s thinking of the Olympics, no, we’re not. Contrary to what Michael Douglas said in a movie from the 1980s, wealth is not a zero sum game. When one country becomes richer, it doesn’t mean another must become poorer. In fact, when some of us benefit, we all benefit. A rising tide lifts all boats.

Trump doesn’t see it this way. He repeatedly claims “I want wealth to stay in America” as if there is a finite, unchanging amount of wealth. The reality is that wealth is created by specialization, trade, innovation, education, and increases in human capital. When more wealth is created, it doesn’t mean America gets a bigger piece of the pie, it means the pie itself is bigger, and everyone can have a bigger piece.

Early in his speech, Trump attacked the policies of his Democratic opponent, saying that other countries would love to see us elect Hillary Clinton, because of the economic disaster she would create. While it’s undeniably true that Clinton’s policies would be ruinous, why on Earth would other countries delight in that? The U.S. is the largest economy in the world. We trade with everybody. We buy their exports. We send them tourists. We invest in their businesses. The idea that China, Russia, or the European Union would somehow benefit if the U.S. when down in flames is not only ridiculous, it’s insane.

It’s this mindset that leads Trump to reject international trade deals out of hand and to criticize NAFTA (which on balance has been pretty good for America, not to mention for Canada and Mexico), and which has led him to threaten companies who plan to move their operations overseas. This glaring blind spot has left him unable to see that there can be mutual benefit in international cooperation.

So while Trump’s speech contains plenty of good ideas to get the economy going again, his inability to understand something as basic as the gains from trade leaves me skeptical that he will usher in the economic renaissance he promises. (For more from the author of “Trump Delivers Some Good Ideas, Backed by One Huge Misconception” please click HERE)

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