RUTHFULLY YOURS

Lately, we have been seeing lots of stories about how voters who supported President Trump are moving away from supporting Republicans because of Trump’s policies and that they are going to vote for Democrats in the midterm elections. Isn’t it amazing that as Trump’s approval ratings gradually go up, we get these stories of Republicans running away?

A huge majority of the journalists writing these stories don’t like Republicans or Republican policies, and the purpose of the stories is to push Republicans to change their votes instead of inform.

The latest theme is that Republicans are going to lose big, and one of the major storylines being repeated over and over again is that Midwestern farmers will vote against Republicans because of Trump’s trade policies.

Are farmers going to go back to Democrats and have their top income tax rate on their farm income raised to 39.6% from 29.6%? Are they going to embrace the party of endless regulations? Would they really give up the tax cuts and the reduced regulations because of temporary tariffs meant to finally pressure China? My guess is most farmers recognize the long-term benefit of Trump’s policies and will vote accordingly.

I believe that worldwide demand for soybeans and corn will be the same, and somehow the product will be shipped to other countries and then shipped to China without the tariffs. Have Democrats traditionally been free traders? Here is what the press is reporting:

From his dairy farm in southeastern Nebraska, lifelong Republican Ben Steffen believed Donald Trump meant what he said on the campaign trail about ripping up U.S. trade agreements.

So Steffen, who produces milk, beef, soybeans, corn and wheat, wasn’t shocked when Trump pulled America out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership pact, began renegotiating NAFTA or announced his intent to impose aluminum and steel tariffs on China that have drawn the threat of retaliatory sanctions on American products.

In Washington a picture is emerging of an eerie and lack-of-candor railroading of Donald Trump conducted by the likes of James Comey and Andrew McCabe. The abuse of power by government officials who refuse to acknowledge the authority of the duly-elected chief executive is not limited to the FBI. And such abuse has inspired one of the President’s harshest critics to raise an alarm.

Warnings about an out-of-control “deep state” of bureaucrats who resist constitutional political authority have become standard fare in conservative media; this week brings a compelling new addition to the genre from a media outlet on the other end of the ideological spectrum.

Writing in the left-leaning British publication The Guardian, Harvard law professor Jack Goldsmith affirms that the improper exercise of executive authority by government officials pursuing their own agendas is not merely a figment of red-state imagination. According to Mr. Goldsmith:

America doesn’t have coups or tanks in the street. But a deep state of sorts exists here and it includes national security bureaucrats who use secretly collected information to shape or curb the actions of elected officials…

Since Trump was elected, unusually sensitive leaks of intelligence information designed to discredit him and his senior leadership have poured forth from current and former intelligence officials in the deep state.

It’s worth pausing here to note that while Mr. Goldsmith is not nearly as far to the left as most Guardian editors, he has been among the establishment Republicans most hostile to the President. CONTINUE AT SITE

The facts about America’s prison system are startling. The U.S. has 4% of the world’s population, but roughly 25% of the world’s prisoners. Federal and state prisons hold some 1.5 million inmates, and 6.2 million people are in local jails, on parole or on probation. Of the 650,000 people who leave prison every year, two-thirds will commit a new crime within three years.

By reforming federal prisons, Congress has the opportunity to help give former inmates a second chance to become successful, contributing members of society. This is an issue that could unite Americans across the ideological spectrum. Sensible and just prison-reform legislation would direct government resources toward reducing crime, enhancing public safety and increasing opportunity.

Prisoners face significant barriers to re-entering society in a meaningful way, and they have too few tools to help them succeed upon release. After years or even decades in prison, inmates often are disconnected from their families, have no place to live, lack relevant job skills, and need counseling for addiction or mental-health problems. Many don’t have even a photo identification, much less the skills necessary to succeed in a job interview. To help solve this problem, lawmakers can promote comprehensive and proven rehabilitation strategies. They include expanding access to prison work programs so that inmates can develop job skills. CONTINUE AT SITE

Operations when death is all but assured are called suicide missions, and it’s beginning to look as if Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson was sent on a political version. The nominee to run Veterans Affairs has been under siege from the agency’s bureaucracy, anonymous press leaks, and on Tuesday even friendly fire from the President who nominated him.

The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on Tuesday postponed Dr. Jackson’s Wednesday confirmation hearing amid allegations of misconduct during his nearly five-year tenure as physician to the President. The charges have been mostly vague and anonymous, such as running a hostile work environment, which could mean anything or nothing.

Late Tuesday afternoon news leaked about a 2012 Inspector General report that found “unprofessional behaviors” from Dr. Jackson and another physician in a power struggle. But if this is accurate, why did President Obama promote him? Senator Jon Tester (D., Mont.) in a press interview said some of Dr. Jackson’s colleagues alleged he had been “repeatedly drunk” while on duty, among other claims.

The public has little way to evaluate the merits, and Dr. Jackson deserves at minimum to know who is shooting at him. Committee Chairman Johnny Isakson and Ranking Member Mr. Tester wrote to the White House requesting more information, including communications with Defense Department IGs. There may be more to learn from the documents the White House produces.

The reality is that Dr. Jackson wasn’t vetted or adequately prepared for the VA post, and by all accounts wasn’t seeking it when President Trump chose him. Dr. Jackson also doesn’t appear to have a background in Washington’s treacherous politics of veterans.