Category: links

Oh, what will we do? The socialists in the United Nations do not approve of an American policy proposal… Click on over to Townhall. Then come back here for more info:

• YouTube: EF Hutton Commercial
• Washington Post: “Apparently repealing Obamacare could violate international law” by Dana Milbank
• Washington Post: Letter to U.S. Secretary of State concerning the repeal of Obamacare from the United Nations’ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights “Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health (Feb. 2, 2017)
• United Nations: Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Daily Caller: The UN Peacekeeping Forces’ Rampant Child Rape Problem Continues
• United Nations: Current Membership of the Human Rights Council
• AP: UN child sex ring left victims but no arrests
• Daily Mail: Daniel Hannan – “Corrupt and incompetent, the UN has no right to lecture us”
• United Nations: “International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights”
• PJ Media: “For Next UN Secretary-General, A Managerially Incompetent Socialist”
• Washington Examiner: Chelsea Clinton — “UN personnel ‘incompetent,’ ‘out of touch’”

Republicans control both houses of Congress and the White House, with a majority of Supreme Court justices having been appointed by GOP presidents.

Why so little progress?

Well, during six of the eight years of George W. Bush’s presidency, Republicans controlled both the White House and Congress. And what did they do? Added a new entitlement, Medicare Part D, and kept the federal money-go-round swirling at breakneck speed. Additionally, the Roberts Court, a majority appointed by Republican presidents, managed to contort its way to upholding Obamacare.

And at the state level? The politics, more solidly Republican; the results, more decidedly ambiguous. Click on over to Townhall. Then come back here. For more perspective.

• New York Times: In a Further Blow to Democrats, Republicans Increase Their Hold on State Governments
• CNSnews.com: Republicans Now Control Record Number of State Legislative Chambers
• Investor’s Business Daily: Why Wait For Congress? Republicans Control Majority Of State Legislatures
• KTVB.com (NBC-Boise): Idaho lawmakers challenge validity of governor’s veto
• Idaho Politics Weekly: Legislature needs process for veto override
• Inlander: Idaho libertarian conservatives furious about Otter’s vetoes of licensing, civil forfeiture
• IdahoFreedom.org: Beautiful bill puts Idahoans back to work, loosens regulations
• Reason: Idaho Governor Flips Off Libertarians With Both Hands, Vetoes Asset Forfeiture AND Licensing Reforms
• Idaho Politics Weekly: Idahoans Overwhelmingly Favor Term Limits for Legislators

Politicians! A few years in office are enough. Arrogance needs nipping in the bud. Click on over to Townhall. Come back for the complete context.

• YouTube: “Okie from Muskogee” by Merle Haggard
• Deseret News: “Sen. Hatch’s re-election bid proves the need for term limits”
• TPM: Hatch: “Sorry, Romney, Trump Is ‘All Over Me’ To Run For Reelection In 2018”
• Salt Lake City Tribune: “Huntsman would beat Hatch in a Senate showdown, new poll finds”
• Tulsa World: “Rep. Markwayne Mullin calls ‘bullcrap’ at town hall in Jay”
• YouTube: “Rep. Markwayne Mullin town hall in Jay, OK”
• YouTube: “Rep. Markwayne Mullin town hall in Okemah, OK”
• Forbes: “Congress Is Getting A Special Exemption From ObamaCare–And No, It’s Not Legal”
• KJRH-TV Channel 2 (Tulsa): “Congressman Markwayne Mullin talks about security threat that forced him to cancel town hall”

The IRS doesn’t just seize money for reasons of taxation. The folks in that agency have another racket in their job description.

Click on over to Townhall for the story, then come back here for background.

• Treasury.gov: “Criminal Investigation Enforced Structuring Laws Primarily Against Legal Source Funds and Compromised the Rights of Some Individuals and Businesses” (press release and link to report)
• Washington Post: “The IRS took millions from innocent people because of how they managed their bank accounts, inspector general finds”
• Institute for Justice: “Seize First, Question Later”
• Thomson Reuters Tax & Accounting News: “IRS clarifies its position on civil forfeitures in uncharged structuring cases”
• Armstrong Economics: “Police Civil Asset Forfeitures Exceed All Burglaries in 2014”
• IG-DOJ: “Review of the Department’s Oversight of Cash Seizure and Forfeiture Activities”
• Washington Post: “Since 2007, the DEA has taken $3.2 billion in cash from people not charged with a crime”
• Washington Post: “In tough times, police start seizing a lot more stuff from people”
• Institute for Justice: “Policing for Profit”

At Townhall, Paul discusses the latest wonder of regulation in our imperial city. Click on over. Then come back here for more detail. Details such as….

The District has decreed that the directors of any licensed “Child Development Centers” or day care, in non-bureaucratic nomenclature, must have a “Bachelor of Arts (BA) in early childhood education or a BA with at least 15 semester credit hours in early childhood by Dec. 2022.”

The regs also mandate that “teachers” have at least an “Associate of Arts (AA) in early childhood education or an AA with at least 24 semester credit hours in early childhood by Dec. 2020.” What the non-state’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education calls “assistant teachers” must have a “Child Development Associate (CDA) by Dec. 2018.”

Of course, not all day care is performed in perfect, state-of-the-art child development centers. Some folks throw caution to the wind and simply keep other folks’ kids in their home.

They’re quite sensibly known as “Home Caregivers.” They still need a license, however, and the helpful D.C. regulations order them to garner that piece of paper known as a “Child Development Associate (CDA) by Dec. 2018.” Indeed, so must the people dubbed “Associate Home Caregivers.”

Additionally, an “Expanded Home Caregiver” is ordered to obtain an “Associate of Arts (AA) in early childhood education or an AA with at least 24 semester credit hours in early childhood by Dec. 2019.”

• Washington Post: D.C. among first in nation to require child-care workers to get college degrees
• National Academies Report: Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8, A Unifying Foundation
• OSSE: Final Rulemaking for the Licensing of Child Development Facilities
• Economic Policy Institute: The cost of child care in Washington, DC
• Washington Examiner: Washington, DC, now requires child-care workers to get college degrees, hurting families and workers
• Forbes: D.C.’s College Mandate For Child Care Workers Is Something To Cry About
• Psychology Today: Should Homeschooling Parents Have College Degrees?
• Institute for Justice: Occupational Licensing
• Fortune: You’d Be Surprised How Many Billionaires Don’t Have a College Degree
• Forbes: Multimillionaires Without High School Diplomas

Expanding the case made on Friday, Paul provides for Townhall readers a timely take on term limits.

Click on over. Then click back here. And consider — or reconsider, as the case may be.

• Washington Post: Democrats continue to press Gorsuch for answers, but Republicans’ confidence of confirmation grows
• Wikipedia: List of United States Supreme Court Justices by time in office
• Wikipedia: List of members of the United States Congress by longevity of service
• Congressional Research Service: Congressional Careers: Service Tenure and Patterns of Member Service, 1789-2017
• FairVote: Evaluating the Incumbency Advantage in U.S. House Races, 1996-2016
• Gallup: US Congressional Approval Averages Weak 17% for 2016
• Common Sense: Trump’s Trump
• Zero Hedge: 79 Members Of Congress Have Been In Office For At Least 20 Years
• U.S. Term Limits: Sign the National Term Limits Petition
• U.S. Term Limits