Month: July 2018

Starnes: Teen Bullied by Anti-Trump Goons Honored by Gold Company

Ashton Hess, the 17-year-old who was attacked by a pair of anti-Trump goons in Seattle, was a guest on my nationally-syndicated radio show the other day. Ashton and his family were on vacation when one of the thugs smacked him in the head and another grabbed his “Make America Great Again” ball cap. Ashton told me that teenage Trump supporters routinely find themselves targeted by the Left. “Every time I wear a Trump shirt at school, I am always prepared to be abused and hated by the leftists at my school. Knowing that teachers may go out of their way and grade you with bias because of your views is also a factor,” he said. “I do not wear the shirt for extra attention, or confrontation, but I wear it because I support our president, and why the hell shouldn’t I be able to wear my Trump shirt?” Charles Thorngren, the chief executive officer of Noble Gold Investments, was listening to my radio program and was so impressed by Ashton’s comments that he wanted to honor the young man. “Noble Gold Investments wants Ashton to know that it is still acceptable to be a proud American,” Thorngren told me. “As a veteran, I solemnly swore that i would support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I would bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I would obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me. So help me God.” So he decided to send Ashton a collection of the official President Trump 2020 Freedom Coins – a beautiful silver coin that depicts the president’s image along with a list of his accomplishments. “Ashton was demonstrating the rights I served to protect for all Americans,” Thorngren said. “I have never seen a conservative snatch the clothing off anyone wearing a Hillary Clinton hat or shirt. So in a time where liberals believe they are the only ones that are afforded freedom of speech, we at Noble Gold will do all we can to support and reaffirm those like Ashton who have been exposed to the ugliness of the liberals.” Thorngren said it’s important for conservatives to support young men and women who choose to stand up against the bombardment of the liberal agenda. “This was just a small way that we could help do that,” he told me. I salute Charles Thorngren and Noble Gold Investments for standing resolute in the face of a hostile culture!

We agree!  Thanks to radio talk show personality, and veteran culture warrior, Todd Starnes for bringing us that story.  Kudoes to both Ashton and Charles.  Excellent!  🙂

Consumer Confidence Rises Toward 18 Year High Again

The confidence of American consumers is riding higher. Consumer confidence rose by more than expected in July, according the Conference Board. The consumer confidence index rose to 127.4 in July, four-tenths of a percentage point above expectations. June’s reading was revised up from 126.4 to 127.1, indicating confidence was even stronger in June than previously thought. While the July reading was below the recent high of 130 it is very high by historical standards. “Consumers’ assessment of present-day conditions improved, suggesting that economic growth is still strong,” said Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board.“However, while expectations continue to reflect optimism in the short-term economic outlook, back-to-back declines suggest consumers do not foresee growth accelerating.” That’s likely an accurate assessment. The economy grew at a 4.1 percent pace in the second quarter, the highest level since 2014. It’s unlikely to accelerate to an even higher growth rate in the remainder of the year. Consumers views of current conditions improved further in July. Just 10.1 percent say business conditions are “bad, down from 11.5 percent a month earlier. Those business conditions are “good” rose to 38.0 percent from 37.2 percent. The view of the labor market was also improved. Those claiming jobs are “plentiful” increased to 43.1 percent from 40.4 percent. Only 15 percent describe jobs as “hard to get”—unchanged from June.

More great economic news in this Trump economy!!    🙂

Apple’s Revenue, Earnings Top Estimates

Apple Incc. delivered its best-ever revenue for the June quarter, typically its weakest period, as demand for high-price iPhones remained resilient and services like app-store sales swelled to all-time highs. The results for Apple’s fiscal third quarter show how the world’s most valuable company is finding ways to grow amid a contracting global smartphone market that is roiling its rivals. “Growth was strong all around the world,” Apple finance chief Luca Maestri said during an interview. Though iPhone sales usually weaken in the spring and summer as anticipation builds for new devices expected in September, Mr. Maestri said demand has remained consistent, particularly for the iPhone X, 8 and 8 Plus. “Customers are really valuing the features in the products,” he said. Shares of Apple, up 28% over the past year, rose 3.6% to $197.01 in after-hours trading. Apple’s move to raise iPhone prices continued to pay off in the period with sales of its flagship product rising 20% to $29.91 billion even as shipments rose less than 1% to 41.3 million. Meanwhile, the company’s services business reported record revenue of $9.55 billion, a 31% increase from a year ago, strengthening the case that Apple is in the midst of a transformation from a device-driven business into one increasingly reliant on sales of subscriptions and software. The combination drove total revenue up 17% to $53.26 billion in the latest period, above Wall Street expectations and near the high end of its own guidance. Profit rose 32% to $11.52 billion, or $2.34 a share, also above analysts’ consensus estimates. Apple signaled it expects to sustain strong iPhone sales in the current quarter with a forecast for total revenue of between $60 billion and $62 billion, which would represent a healthy 14% to 18% increase from a year ago. The expected jump reflects a small boost from a trio of new devices the company is expected to release in September, analysts say, including an update to the $999 iPhone X, its first oversize phone with an organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, display and a 6.1-inch LCD phone with facial recognition technology. The new phones are projected to be priced between $699 for the LCD device and $1,099 for the plus-size handset, according to UBS, potentially ensuring another year of higher average iPhone prices to lift Apple’s total revenue. Analysts had estimated the $999 iPhone X made up one-quarter of total iPhones sold, which helped lift average selling prices per iPhone by nearly 20% to about $724. While sales of the company’s handsets have been more pedestrian so far this fiscal year than the more than 7% increase in annual iPhone shipments many analysts forecast a year ago, features like the iPhone X’s facial recognition and edge-to-edge display have been enough to help Apple deliver modest growth and revive a China business mired in a multiyear slump. The company said revenue in Greater China, where sales tanked in 2016, rose 19% to $9.55 billion. Apple’s chief rival, Samsung Electronics Co. , hasn’t fared as well. The South Korean company, which also has raised smartphone prices to nearly $1,000, reported a big decline in mobile phone profits on Tuesday as consumers hold on to devices longer and balk at higher prices. Samsung has seen its market share in China fall as homegrown rivals like Huawei Technologies Co. increase sales.

Bernie Sanders’ ‘Medicare for all’ bill estimated to cost $32.6T, new study says

The “Medicare for All” plan pushed by Sen. Bernie Sanders and endorsed by a host of Democratic congressional and presidential hopefuls would increase government health care spending by $32.6 trillion over 10 years, according to a new study. The Vermont senator has avoided conducting his own cost analysis, and those supporting the plan have at times struggled to explain how they could pay for it. The study, released Monday by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, showed the plan would require historic tax increases. The hikes would allow the government to replace what employers and consumers currently pay for health care — delivering significant savings on administration and drug costs, but increased demand for care that would drive up spending, according to the report. According to the report, the legislation’s federal health care commitments would reach approximately 10.7 of GDP by 2022, and rise to nearly 12.7 percent of GDP by 2031. But the study, conducted by senior research strategist Charles Blahous, said that those estimates were on the “conservative” side. Sanders’ plan builds on Medicare, the insurance program for seniors. The proposal would require all U.S. residents be covered with no copays and deductibles for medical services. The insurance industry would be regulated to play a minor role in the system. Sanders is far from the only liberal lawmaker pushing the program. 2020 hopefuls like Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., endorsed a “Medicare for all” program last year. Political newcomer Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who beat House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., in a recent upset primary and instantly became a prominent face of the democratic socialist movement, also is promoting a “Medicare for all” platform. “Enacting something like ‘Medicare for all’ would be a transformative change in the size of the federal government,” Blahous, who was a senior economic adviser to former President George W. Bush and a public trustee of Social Security and Medicare during the Obama administration, said. Blahous’ study also found that “a doubling of all currently projected federal individual and corporate income tax collections would be insufficient to finance the added federal costs of the plan.”

Report: Marines lead all services in binge drinking, sex partners

A new report from the RAND Corporation analyzed survey data from thousands of active-duty military members and found Marines are more likely to be heavy drinkers, use tobacco and engage in riskier sexual behavior than the sailors, soldiers and airmen of the other branches. RAND found that incidents of binge drinking and hazardous drinking among Marines was almost double what it was in the Air Force. The report defines binge drinking as having at least four or five drinks on one occasion. Hazardous drinking is defined as usage that suggests alcohol use disorder, commonly known as alcoholism. Nearly half of the Marines surveyed reported drinking habits that met the criteria for hazardous. The survey also revealed Marines were more likely to have had more than one sex partner over the course of one year and were less likely to use condoms with new partners. The data were gathered as part of the 2015 Health Related Behaviors Survey conducted across all branches of the military and the Coast Guard. Researchers spent two years combing through and making sense of the data, which included responses to numerous aspects of physical and mental health. In addition to questions about drug and alcohol use, respondents provided researchers with information on their eating and sleeping habits, sexual behavior as well as their diets and exercise. Almost 17,000 usable surveys were involved in the study.

Interesting..  For more, click on the text above.

Border Patrol Agent: Trump’s wall is the best way to end to the humanitarian crisis on our southern border

If Democrats and the media elite truly cared about the safety of illegal immigrants, they’d be down on the border right now working to build the wall President Trump wants America to have. As a veteran Border Patrol agent, I know firsthand that a secure border with the big beautiful wall the president is building is the only humane and permanent solution to the crisis at the border. Despite Democratic obstruction, President Trump is building the wall now, and he will play hardball with Congress to ensure that the necessary funding to complete the wall is secured. Without a completed wall, thousands of illegal immigrants will continue to put their lives at risk. As long as people think they can cross the border illegally, they will continue to try. The journey is dangerous enough due to the natural conditions alone. Traveling hundreds or even thousands of miles on foot, often in extreme heat and without adequate water, is no easy trip for an adult – let alone for a child. But those who try to cross our southern border illegally are subject to much worse than just the elements – they are at the mercy of brutal criminal gangs. The illegal immigrant smuggling trade is dominated by predatory “coyotes” connected to Mexico’s worst drug cartels. They care little for the lives of their human cargo. These are the sorts of people who don’t think twice before leaving illegal immigrants to die in locked trailers under the desert sun. The coyotes’ control of human smuggling across the border results in routine violence, theft, and death, as well as the widespread rape of Central and South American women and girls. A 2014 Huffington Post report stated that 80 percent of illegal immigrant women and girls are raped during their travel. In addition to discouraging illegal border crossings and protecting desperate migrants from violence, rape and death, securing the border will save American taxpayers vast amounts of money. It will also free up the resources necessary to expedite legal immigration and review the ever-growing backlog of asylum claims. According to a 2017 study, the presence of illegal immigrants and their 4.2 million kids costs Americans roughly $135 billion in taxes at the federal, state, and local levels. That’s a tax burden of roughly $8,075 per illegal alien family member. Another recent report revealed that the federal government spent $1.4 billion just housing illegal immigrant unaccompanied minors, which works out to $670 per unaccompanied minor per day. President Trump is only requesting an additional $25 billion to complete his border wall – a one-time cost that is minor compared to the cost of illegal immigration. Building the wall will also solve the family separation issue. If families can’t enter illegally, then they won’t be separated while the adults await trial and sentencing. A wall would also funnel legitimate asylum seekers to proper ports of entry. True asylum seekers have no need to cross the border illegally. Securing the border once and for all won’t just protect desperate migrants from harm and save Americans money – it will also protect Americans from harm. The massive influx of unaccompanied minors across the border during the Obama administration brought with it a massive increase in MS-13 gang violence. Mexico’s cartels are also taking advantage of our porous border and flooding our communities with deadly drugs. Finally, there is also the terror threat. Border Patrol agents routinely apprehend Middle Eastern suspects trying to enter America illegally. The closer President Trump’s wall comes to completion, the closer we get to end the humanitarian crisis caused by our porous southern border. The Democrats’ dream of open borders and their unrelenting opposition to securing our border hurts the people they claim to care about the most.

Exactly!!  And well said, Brandon!  Brandon Judd is the president of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC), the exclusive labor representative of approximately 16,000 Border Patrol agents.  As we’ve been saying here at The Daily Buzz for years (LONG before Trump even ran for President), it is way past time that we BUILD THE WALL NOW!!!!…and put U.S. Army National Guard troops physically ON the border with Mexico.  And, they should remain on the border until that wall/fence is finally built above, and below ground (to prevent tunneling)…however long it takes.  We’ve been hammering away on that issue for years for national security and economic reasons primarily.  Branon now makes the case from a humanitarian perspective.  Just another reason to make it happen NOW.

Remains of American troops returned by North Korea; Trump thanks Kim for keeping promise

President Trump thanked North Korea’s Kim Jong Un for returning the bodies of fallen American soldiers at a press conference on Friday. “At this moment a plane is carrying the remains of some great fallen heroes from America back from the Korean War,” the president said. The White House confirmed on Thursday that a plane left for North Korea to retrieve the remains of U.S. troops killed during the Korean War. Mr. Trump said that Vice President Mike Pence will greet the families when the remains return to the U.S. The remains will first arrive in South Korea, where a formal repatriation ceremony will be held on August 1. They will then be taken to Hawaii for identification. “I want to thank Chairman Kim in front of the media for fulfilling a promise that he made to me,” Mr. Trump said, “And I’m sure he will continue to fulfill that promise as they continue to search and search and search.” The commitment to return troops was first announced at Mr. Trump’s and Mr. Kim’s Singapore summit on June 12.

Opinion/Analysis: Mr. Trump, the GDP number looks great! Now, let’s do this for Trumponomics’ next act

This week’s Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found 50 percent of those surveyed back President Trump’s handling of the economy. That number may rise with Friday’s news that U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) soared in the second quarter of this year by 4.1 percent. That kind of growth makes it almost certain the country will see more than a 3 percent rate economic growth this year – the first time that’s happened since before the financial crisis of 2008. That will prompt President Trump and other supporters of the 2017 tax cut bill to claim that the tax cut the president signed into law ushered in a new era of prosperity. The growth being produced by the tax cut is bringing in more revenues. Dan Clifton of Strategas Research Partners calculates using estimates by the Congressional Budget Office that the tax cut has already paid for about 30 percent of its static revenue losses. Sen. David Perdue, a Georgia Republican, told reporters Thursday that “the “pullback of regulations – the energy work that we did, the tax work and the Dodd-Frank” reforms of financial regulations have all helped propel economic growth. Kevin Hassett, the chair of the president’s Council of Economic Advisers, says the contrast with pre-Trump economic results is clear. The country is in the midst of a building boom, with investment in structures up 16 percent from 2017. Total business fixed investment has increased 10 percent, up from 6 percent last year. Most importantly, real disposable income has increased by 3 percent this year following last year’s gain of 2.3 percent. Many American families are seeing the first real increases in take-home pay in over a decade. Democrats are likely to gather around tubs of sour grapes with the release of the good economic good news. After all, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., stood on the Senate floor last January before President Trump’s State of the Union message to declare: “Here are two words we will not hear President Trump say tonight about the economy – ‘Thanks, Obama!’ – because much of the growth in 2017 was created by President Obama’s policies and, by many measures, the growth under President Obama was better than under President Trump.” Expect Schumer and his allies to point to rising gasoline and health-care costs to put a damper on the economic growth numbers. Supporters of Trump economic policies acknowledge the economy faces challenges, including higher interest rates that will boost federal debt payments and runaway entitlement programs. But they say the way to address those is to push for more tax and regulatory reform to further boost growth. “After the JFK tax cuts we routinely saw 6 percent growth in the 1960s, with a stable dollar and low inflation. In the 1980s, Reagan delivered quarters with 8 percent growth, even as inflation fell,” says Stephen Moore of the Heritage Foundation. “Trump’s policies have produced the best of all economic worlds – surging growth and employment, with little inflation and a rising dollar.” Moore added. “The sports truism applies here: Never, ever change a winning strategy.” So what should be the Second Act of Trumponomics to keep the economic expansion going? First, Congress should make the 2017 tax cuts permanent, giving even more assurance to businesses that economic policy will be stable. Congress should also revisit efforts to reshape ObamaCare to help rein in rising health care costs. But an even bolder approach would be for the White House to initiate a capital gains tax cut that wouldn’t require endless wrangling with a polarized Congress. Using an executive order to eliminate the tax on inflationary capital gains makes sense on the grounds of both growth and fairness.

Agreed!!  To read more of this outstanding op/ed by John Fund over at the Wall Street Journal, click on the text above.  Excellent!!    🙂

Analysis: Al-Qaeda Group Funded by Obama Admin Supported Bin Laden, Hamas, Afghan Terrorists

The bombshell revelation on Wednesday that the Obama administration funded an al-Qaeda group in Sudan ten years after it was designated a foreign terrorist organization merely scratched the surface of what the Islamic Relief Agency (ISRA) stands accused of. For a full account of the group that received $325,000 in U.S. taxpayer money in 2014 and 2015, we must turn to the U.S. Treasury Department documents Team Obama apparently did not bother to read. The ISRA was designated a financial supporter of terrorism by the Treasury Department in October 2004, under the authority of an executive order issued by President George W. Bush shortly after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. President Bush declared a national emergency to deal with the “unusual and extraordinary threat” of terrorism, with special attention paid to the networks that funneled money to operations such as Osama bin Laden’s murderous al-Qaeda crew. Attacking terrorist financial networks was a key element of U.S. strategy after the atrocity of September 11. The ISRA was part of bin Laden’s financial network, as the Treasury Department made clear ten years before the Obama administration decided to provide the group with U.S. taxpayer money: Information available to the U.S. indicates that international offices of IARA provided direct financial support for UBL. IARA, MK and UBL commingled funds and cooperated closely in the raising and expenditure of funds. IARA engaged in a joint program with an institute controlled by UBL that was involved in providing assistance to Taliban fighters. In 2000, one of IARA’s Afghanistan leaders accompanied the Afghanistan MK leader on a fundraising trip to Sudan and other locations in the Middle East during which $5 million was raised for MK activities.

Holy crap!!  For more on this shocking story, click on the text above.  Unreal…

U.S. troop remains from North Korea headed home, White House confirms

U.S. aircraft on Thursday night flew to North Korea to begin retrieving the remains of American troops killed during the Korean war, the White House announced. American planes retrieved the remains from Wonsan, North Korea, and will return them to Osan Air Base in South Korea. A formal repatriation ceremony will be held on August 1, the Trump administration said. The White House cast the move as a significant step forward in U.S.-North Korean relations following last month’s historic summit between President Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. “At their historic meeting in Singapore, President Donald J. Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un took a bold first step to achieve the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, transform relations between the United States and North Korea, and establish enduring peace,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. “Today, the Chairman is fulfilling part of the commitment he made to the President to return our fallen American service members. We are encouraged by North Korea’s actions and the momentum for positive change.” The move was first reported by South Korea-based Yonhap news agency. It’s unclear how many remains are being transported out of North Korea; the White House said an estimated 5,300 Americans have not yet been brought home. “The United States owes a profound debt of gratitude to those American service members who gave their lives in service to their country and we are working diligently to bring them home,” Ms. Sanders said. “It is a solemn obligation of the United States government to ensure that the remains are handled with dignity and properly accounted for so their families receive them in an honorable manner.” Earlier this week, Mr. Trump said the process of returning the remains was under way. “As you may know, we’re also working to bring back the remains of your brothers-in-arms who gave their lives in Korea. And I hope that, very soon, these fallen warriors will begin coming home to lay at rest in American soil. That’s starting the process,” the president said during a speech to a VFW convention in Kansas City. Following the repatriation ceremony in South Korea, the remains are expected to transported to Hawaii for forensic identification, the Yonhap News Agency reported.