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They should add a sign that says “Gun Free Zone”
SAMUEL SISKIND:
“…Of course no one should be surprised at these developments. The American sanctions that kicked back in last November were designed well. They’ve hit Iran’s biggest industries, especially the oil sector, and have been slowly producing devastating effects. In January, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Iran is facing its toughest economic situation in 40 years, and that the United States was squarely to blame.
And Rouhani is exactly right. Much of the world today is now being given a choice between engaging with the market of the U.S. or that of Iran. Regardless of a country’s political proclivities and whether or not it supports America’s policy on the Islamic Republic (much of the West does not), it is nearly impossible for any nation to forgo the $20 trillion American economy in favor of accommodating Iran.
In addition to Iran cutting funds to Syria, the latest consequence of U.S. sanctions have been another massive hit to Iran’s oil industry…”
“…While speaking to students at the University of New Hampshire in 2011, then-Vice President Joe Biden told men in the audience that “no matter what a girl does, no matter how she’s dressed, no matter how much she’s had to drink—it’s never, never, never, never, never OK to touch her without her consent.”
One of Mr. Biden’s signature issues during the Obama administration was fighting an alleged epidemic of sexual assault on college campuses. He promoted the debunked claim that 1 in 5 women will be sexually assaulted as undergraduates—the result of surveys using an impossibly broad definition of sexual assault that encompassed any conduct that, knowingly or not, made someone uncomfortable.
The Obama administration issued guidelines to campuses in 2011 to combat the alleged crisis. Mr. Biden headlined the announcement. The guidance traduced due-process rights for students accused of sexual assault and threatened colleges and universities with federal investigations and potential funding reductions if they did not find more accused students and professors guilty.
Now those impossible standards are being applied to their proponents. Since last Friday, several women have accused Mr. Biden of making them uncomfortable during his interactions with them. One accuser, Caitlyn Caruso, told the New York Times that during an event about sexual assault at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Mr. Biden put his hand on her thigh and didn’t remove it even when she showed discomfort by shifting in her seat. She also said he hugged her “just a little bit too long.” . . .
When accused himself, Mr. Biden naturally fell back on all the arguments that are often dismissed when made by college men. He said it was never his “intention” to make women uncomfortable. He also acknowledged that “social norms have begun to change” without acknowledging that he helped lead the change—and hasn’t lived up to the standards he sought to impose on others…”
“…Hiring rebounded in March as U.S. employers added a solid 196,000 jobs, up sharply from February’s scant gain and evidence that many businesses still want to hire despite signs the economy is slowing.
The Labor Department says the unemployment rate stayed at 3.8%, near the lowest level in almost 50 years. Wage growth slowed a bit, as average hourly pay increased 3.2% from a year earlier. That is down from February’s gain of 3.4%, which was the best in a decade.
The figures suggest that February’s meager job growth, which was revised to 33,000 from an initial 20,000, was a temporary blip and that businesses are confident the economy remains on a firm footing. Still, the U.S. faces several challenges, including cautious consumers, slower growth in business investment, and a U.S.-China trade war that is contributing to slower growth overseas…”
JON GABRIEL:
“…The world’s first democracy was ancient Athens, which allowed around 30,000 free adult male citizens to choose their leaders. They made up less than 15 percent of the population, but it was the most egalitarian political innovation to date.
It didn’t take long for the system to implode amid rampant corruption, an economic downturn, immigration headaches and unpopular foreign wars. (Sound familiar?) The plan of “one man, one vote” devolved into a kind of mob rule, the populace veering with wild swings of opinion. Voters overthrew leaders, exiled the unpopular, and executed generals and politicians – even Socrates himself.
As the saying goes, democracy is four wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. The Founders looked to Athens less as a political model than an object lesson in what not to do.
James Madison said that democracies are “incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.”
Therefore, America was set up as a republic, filled with countless checks and balances to avoid one group gaining power and using it to punish or exclude everyone they didn’t like…”
“…The U.S. Navy’s first-in-class amphibious assault ship USS Wasp recently arrived in the Philippines for a major annual exercise carrying a U.S. Marine Corps contingent that includes at least 10 F-35B Joint Strike Fighters. This is a larger than average number of the combat jets than Wasp-class shipsnormally embark, but is a force structure that the Navy and Marines are looking to standardize. It’s also one that could help lay the groundwork for a future operating concept that could turn amphibious assault ships into light carriers, as necessary…”
