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Thomas Gallatin Jul. 3, 2017

What is a liberal? Or maybe a better question is, what does the term liberal refer to today? Well, according to Jacques Berlinerblau, a professor from Georgetown University who recently wrote an article for the Washington Post, there are liberals and then there are radical leftists. Berlinerblau admits that American academia is mostly comprised of liberal professors and that those professors who identify as politically conservative are utterly under-represented in Americas halls of higher learning, with humanities departments in particular being the least politically diverse. In other words, it is not wrong to suggest that leftist ideology is controlling most of the nations colleges and universities.

But while Berlinerblau rightly concludes that conservatives are not to blame for the recent havoc wreaked in places like Middlebury, UC Berkeley and Evergreen College, he also attempts to shift the blame away from liberals. According to Berlinerblau, three groups exist in academia: a small conservative minority, a sizable liberal contingent and the dominate radical left who he blames for the current campus intolerance. The question remains, what is the difference between a liberal and a leftist?

Berlinerblaus answer to that question ends up sounding more like a difference in the manner of application of ideology rather than an actual distinction in form. He cites as examples liberals reactions to certain events, such as liberals didnt exult over Irans 1979 Islamic revolution, or that liberals didnt refer to the victims of 9/11 as little Eichmanns. He also notes that liberals are generally made highly uncomfortable by censorship, speaker boycotts, trigger warnings, safe spaces and the like. Berlinerblaus argument sounds eerily similar to the one made by Muslims who may reject the methods of Islamic terrorists, yet refuse to disavow Islamists.

The truth is that modern liberalism stands in stark contrast to those classical liberal values expressed by our nations Founding Fathers. It is todays conservatives who hold most closely to those classical liberal principles. Todays radical leftist social justice warrior is merely the logical manifestation of modern liberal ideology a distinction without a difference. It is modern liberalism that can be credited with teaching the ideology of socialism that glories in the utopian ideals of Karl Marx. It is modern liberalism that sees little value in Christianity and has a long mocked Christians as backward fools. It is modern liberalism that has questioned the very nature of truth itself, opening a Pandoras box of relativism. No, Professor Berlinerblau, liberals may not like it, but the radical left is their creation; they are to be blamed.

Original post:
Liberal vs Left - Patriot Post

Updated July 03, 2017 18:47:03

South Australia's Liberal Opposition has decided to block a proposed state budget measure imposing a levy on five major banks.

Some Liberals expressed concern the banks might try to pass on the cost to SA households and borrowers, despite the Labor Government vowing to legislate so that cannot happen.

Opposition Leader Steven Marshall said the public would welcome the bank levy being voted down by the Liberals.

"I am 100 per cent convinced that nobody in South Australia wants more tax," he said.

"We believe unequivocally that SA is at a tipping point, the SA economy is teetering.

"We have the highest unemployment rate, we have a government that's got all of the wrong economic settings, our economy has ground to a halt with the highest energy costs in the nation.

"The last thing that any South Australian needs is another tax."

The budget measure now seems unlikely to get through the Upper House, where several crossbenchers have already indicated their opposition to a state tax on the biggest of the banks.

Premier Jay Weatherill said Australia's five biggest banks could afford to pay the levy and Parliament should let it through.

Mr Weatherill said the Opposition Liberals could not be trusted to fill the budgetary gap if the $370-million levy was blocked.

"It means that they will have to cut something else and what the Liberal Party does when they're faced with choices about budget holes [is] they cut jobs, they cut deeply into public services," he said.

SA Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis said Mr Marshall was being a weak leader.

"The big banks come knocking on his door one day and he changes his mind the next," he said.

"The Liberal Party has put protecting the big banks' super profits ahead of tax cuts for small business and investing in jobs.

"The Government will continue to promote its budget through the Parliament in its current form."

But Australian Bankers Association chief economist Tony Pearson believed blocking the tax would help promote job growth in the state.

"The tax raised the prospect of business investment not coming to this state," he said.

"It was sending a signal to the business community that the risk of being targeted for a tax just because you're successful is high in South Australia and it would have led to jobs not being created in South Australia, but outside South Australia in every other state and territory.

"We think this is a great decision, it'll reconfirm that South Australia is open for business, it'll help to rebuild business confidence in South Australia and we believe it'll help to promote inflows of investment, promote economic growth and create much-needed jobs."

Topics: state-parliament, budget, government-and-politics, states-and-territories, tax, federal---state-issues, sa, adelaide-5000

First posted July 03, 2017 16:51:33

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SA budget: Bank levy to be opposed by Liberals in SA Parliament - ABC Online

Gov. Chris Christie lands, via New Jersey State Police helicopter, in Trenton on day three of the government shutdown. Kevin R. Wexler/NorthJersey.com

Senate President Stephen Sweeney said even if an agreement on Horizon was reached Monday, the shutdown would continue into Tuesday and possibly later. Monday July 3, 2017.(Photo: Kevin R. Wexler/NorthJersey.com)

As Gov. Chris Christie facednational derisionMonday forlounging on a state beach closed to the public amid agovernment shutdownhe ordered, the Democratic lawmakerat the center of a standoff over the state budget hinted that a compromise may be in the works.

Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, D-Secaucus, emerged from a meeting withSenate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, andthe chief executive of the state's largest health insureron Monday afternoon to tell reporters that"we're making progress" on rewriting a bill that is a root cause of the budget impasse.

Lawmakers from both houses of the Legislature said they were put on notice that they might be askedto travel to Trenton late Monday night for a vote on the budget and possibly on legislation to overhaul how the state regulates Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield. If enough lawmakers can be corralled to holda vote and the vote is successful, that would end the shutdown and re-open state beaches and parksin time for the Fourth of July.

"I'm hoping that there's an agreement that everyone will sign off on so we can start the process of getting it all done tonight," Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck, said.

Blasted on beach: Christie says taxpayers can't join him on beach because 'they're not the governor'

Anger mounts: Closed MVCs frustrate North Jersey residents

Scuttled plans: Budget impasse ruins holiday weekend for families

An agreement could offera dose of positive news for the governor to counter the widespread negativity against him aftera photographer for the Star-Ledger captured Christie and his family on Sunday relaxing on Island Beach State Park, which is closed to the public because of the shutdown ordered by Christie.

Although Christie made it clear to reporters that he was staying at the beach and rubbed it in by saying critics should run for governor to get access to the state-owned residence the image spread across the country and beyond.

When Christie closed government he also sought to pin the blame on Prieto, the Assembly speaker, by plastering his face on Island Beach and other shuttered state facilities. But once the photo of Christie was published it was the governor, not Prieto, who became the face of the state's shutdown.

Christie, who polls say is historically unpopular and who had met with reporters the previous four days, did not make a public appearance on Monday after once again traveling to Trenton in a taxpayer-funded state police helicopter. In a rare move, aspokesman for Christie instead went on national television to defend the governor.

It didn't appear to calm the outrage from the public or tamp down the mockery of the governor on social media. Even his lieutenant governor, Kim Guadagno, who is running to succeed him, condemned his use of the governor's beachside residence as "beyond words" and added a campaign stop near Island Beach State Park to "discuss the negative impact the state government shutdown is having on the economy."

The meeting between Prieto, Sweeney and theCEO of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, Bob Marino, was meant to explore whether accord is possible on a bill that would restructure Horizon, the states largest insurer, and require the company to dedicate excess surplus to policyholders and public health programs.

Assembly President, Vincent Prieto and Horizon CEO Robert Marino (background) are shown in the New Jersey State House, just before joining Senate President, Stephen Sweeney (not shown) and others in a meeting about the budget, Monday July 3, 2017.(Photo: Kevin R. Wexler/NorthJersey.com)

Christie has conditioned his support for Democrats spending priorities in their $34.7 billion budget proposal on the Legislatures passage of a bill to change how the state regulates Horizon.

Prieto has dug in against any such bill, prompting other Democrats to hold off on voting for a fiscal year 2018 budget for fear that Christie would slash funding for the programs they requested. Without a budget authorizing state spending, non-essential state government services and functions shut down at midnight on Saturday.

Prieto said Monday afternoon that he had instructed his staff to start drafting new legislation related to Horizon. But significantly,he declined to answer whether he would post a Horizon bill for a vote before a budget was passed something he has said for days he would not do but which could break the deadlock.

Another lawmaker in Monday's meeting, Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, gave an equivocal review of the conference.

"I wouldn't say we're any closer, he said. We're not farther apart.

Senator Joseph Vitale speaks to the press after meeting with Senate President Sweeney, Assembly President Prieto and Horizon CEO Marino. Vitale said some progress had been made Monday afternoon, July 3, 2017.(Photo: Kevin R. Wexler/NorthJersey.com)

Marino also briefly addressed reporters after what he called a very productive meeting with lawmakers. He, too,offered few specifics about what was discussed or whether a compromise was in the works.

I think you all realize that Horizon didnt ask to be in the middle of this situation but I do appreciate the opportunity to have met with them and expressed my concerns with the bill, he said. I think there were a lot of open minds in that room and well see where we go from here.

Email: pugliese@northjersey.com and racioppi@northjersey.com

Read or Share this story: https://njersy.co/2uih2Oo

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As Christie is mocked for beach photos, Democrats move toward shutdown deal - NorthJersey.com

Democrats say the political pain from Republicans troubled Obamacare repeal effort could be felt years into the future, and are already gearing up to attack GOP senators up for re-election in 2020.

Save My Care, a coalition working to preserve the Affordable Care Act, on Monday targeted freshmen Senate Republicans in Colorado, North Carolina and Iowa, demanding they come out in opposition to Senate leaders current repeal-and-replace effort.

They cited numbers from Public Policy Polling, a left-leaning firm, that found voters in each of those states disapprove of the Republican health care plan by double-digit margins and would be less likely to support a senator who votes for it.

There is clear evidence that supporting this health care repeal will do lasting damage to a senators standing with the voters in their state, Save My Care said in a memo ahead of the July 4th holiday.

Only one Senate Republican Nevadas Dean Heller is up for re-election in 2018, which President Trump lost, so Democrats have begun looking beyond next year in their search for political leverage in the health care debate.

The three current targets are Sen. Cory Gardner in Colorado, where Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton bested President Trump by 3 percentage points in November and only 26 percent of voters approve of the SenateGOP repeal bill; and Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Joni Ernst of Iowa states where Mr. Trump won but voters tell pollsters they want senators to fix Obamacare instead of dismantling it, according to PPP.

Those senators havent staked out definitive positions for or against the draft Senate plan.

Changes are currently being made to the Senate health care reform legislation, and Sen. Tillis looks forward to reviewing the improvements to the bill. As he has said repeatedly, any replacement plan must be a net improvement over Obamacare, said Mr. Tillis spokesman, Daniel Keylin.

Ms. Ernst has said the status quo simply isnt an option in Iowa, where much of the state will have just one insurer to choose from on its individual insurance market, though shes seeking more input from folks back home.

Your feedback is critical. I will be closely examining the bill to see how it will affect insurance availability and affordability in 2018 and beyond, she wrote in a June 25 email to her constituents.

Mr. Gardner was on a 13-member working group charged with crafting the bill, though the final text was written by leadership staff, and the senator has said there should have been hearings on the bill. Though he has not said how hed vote on the bill, he did tell the Denver Post that insurance CEOs think it would help to stabilize the market.

Meanwhile, poll after poll suggests voters would now rather salvage the 2010 health law than embrace the GOPs alternative, leaving space for red-state Democrats to call for a bipartisan fix.

Work with us Democrats who are willing to meet you in the middle, who have always been willing to meet you in the middle, Sen. Joe Manchin III, West Virginia Democrat, said on Fox News Sunday.

Meanwhile, Mr. Heller, considered the most vulnerable GOP senator on the ballot in 2018, has been critical of the GOP plan, citing its sweeping cuts to Medicaid insurance for the poor.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said it will keep the pressure on Mr. Heller anyway, with targeted ads over the weeklong Independence Day recess. While Mr. Heller participates in the July 4 parade in Ely, Nevada, web users near the route will be directed to 30-second YouTube ad that asks, What will Sen. Hellers vote on health care cost you?

The AARP is also running ads in Nevada and Arizona, where first-term GOP Sen. Jeff Flake is running for re-election next year, and in Colorado and Alaska, where Sen. Dan Sullivan must defend his seat in 2020.

The seniors advocacy group wants the Senate to reject provisions that would allow insurers to charge older Americans up to five times what they charge younger ones, instead of the 3-to-1 ratio under Obamacare. The AARP calls the higher ratio an age tax.

Democrats are hoping to avert electoral disaster next year, when they must defend 25 Senate compared to just nine for the GOP. Incumbent Democrats face particularly tough reelection bids in states like Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota and West Virginia, each of which Mr. Trump seized by double digits in November.

The National Republican Senatorial Campaign is pointing to the steady exodus of insurers from Obamacare, particularly in the Midwest, to hammer Democrats in those seats.

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Senate Democrats target freshmen Republicans - Washington Times

A House bill that could force President Donald Trump from office if he were found mentally or physically unfit has gained steam in recent days amid aseries of tweets against a cable news host and CNN.

Related: Trump impeachment process backed by a second Democrat

Freshman Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) introduced the bill to the House in April. But more of his peers have signed on to thelegislation in the past week, after a series of Trumps tweets that gained widespread attention and criticism.

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President Donald Trump congratulates Prime Minister Leo Varadkar of Ireland during a phone call from inside the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on June 27. More Democrats have signed on to a bill that ultimately seeks to remove Trump from office. Carlos Barria/Reuters

The bill, now backed by at least 21 Democrats, seeks to establish a commission to determine whether a president is unfit for office by creating the Oversight Commission on Presidential Capacity. That body could then declare the president incapacitated and lead to his removal from office under the 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The bill has been referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

The Hill reported Raskin saying that Trumps tweets show a pattern of instability that means he is unfit for office. Two of Trumps tweets last week about the hosts of MSNBCs Morning Joe drew widespread criticism, even from some Republicans. The president on Thursdaywrote that host Mika Brzezinskiwas bleeding badly from a face-lift, and stated that he stopped watching Morning Joe, a showhe was friendly with during his election campaign.

Then, over the weekend, one of his tweets included a video of himself wrestling a man with the CNN logo over his face. Trump has appeared to be at war with the mainstream media since the campaign trail, using terms like dishonest people and very fake news to describe reporters and the outlets that published their work. During the election season, heoften targeted CNN as the Clinton News Network, alleging it covered only stories that favored his Democratic presidential opponent, Hillary Clinton. And at a closed-door fundraiser last week, Trump reportedly ripped into CNN, reacting to the news this week that three journalists are leaving the cable network after an article was retracted, according to Politico.

Trump has defended his use of Twitter as president.

There are other ways some Democratsare trying to fire Trump. U.S. Representatives, Al Green (D-Texas) and Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), say they are separately drafting articles of impeachment against the president. Green first called for impeachment during a fiery speech on the House floor in May. Both lawmakers have expressed their beliefs that Trump should be removed from office for allegedly engaging in obstruction of justice by firing FBI Director James Comey in May during the agencys investigation into Russias interference in the 2016 general election.

Sherman, a 20-year veteran of the House, sent a letter to his colleagues in June, saying he might attempt to force a floor vote for his article if the House Judiciary Committee refuses to take it up. Such a vote likely would fail, considering that the Republicans control the House.

Meanwhile,nearly 200 congressional Democrats have sued the president for allegedly violating the U.S. Constitution.

The most recent Gallup poll has Trumps job approval rating at just 37 percent. Over the weekend, thousands of protesters peacefully marchedthrough downtown Los Angeles, calling for theimpeachment of Trump, ahead of the Fourth of July holiday this week.At a rally before the march, dozens of Trump supporters had gathered on the sidewalk outside of the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters.

Democratic leaders thus far have preferred that any of their members refrain from calling for Trumps impeachment until they see if ongoing investigations uncover more details about the actions of the presidents team, specifically related to Russia and the 2016 general election.

For Congress to remove a sitting president from office, a majority of members of the Housewhich is now controlled by Republicansmust vote for charges of misconduct. Then, the Senate, which the GOP also controls, has the power to try impeachment cases like a court. Two-thirds of senators must vote for conviction.

Excerpt from:
Removing Trump From Office: Democrats Back Bill to Impeach President After Series of Tweets - Newsweek