Saturday, October 5, 2019

In the news, Tuesday, September 24, 2019


________

SEP 23      INDEX      SEP 25
________


________

from The Guardian (UK)

Botched restorations put England's church wall paintings at risk
Damp weather and well-intentioned attempts at restoration are combining to put at risk important wall paintings in castles, abbeys and churches across England. English Heritage on Tuesday sounded an alarm call for the 77 wall paintings it cares for, from 12th-century visions of eternal damnation at St Mary’s church in the Forest of Dean to the adoration of the magi at Berry Pomeroy Castle in Devon.

________

from The Heritage Foundation
RIGHT BIAS,  MIXED  American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C.

Overview of the Supreme Court’s 2019–2020 Term
This is shaping up to be a term of sequels, with Obamacare and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy returning to the Court. The Court will also decide whether the federal ban on employment discrimination extends to sexual orientation– and gender identity–based discrimination. The Court may also rule on whether the government can withhold federal funds from sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with immigration enforcement.

Here Are Key Differences House and Senate Need to Resolve in National Defense Authorization Act
It’s important for the conference to build bipartisan consensus and to focus the legislation on setting the military for success in great-power competition. Among the many issues that the conferees need to agree on is the creation of a Space Force.  The clock is ticking fast on a National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2020 to become law before the start of the fiscal year.

U.S. Should Abandon “Asylum Cooperation Agreement” with Guatemala
On July 26, 2019, the United States and Guatemala signed the Asylum Cooperation Agreement to reduce the number of Central American asylum cases in the U.S. According to the publicly available text, once the agreement is enforced, the U.S. will begin relocating asylum seekers who transited through Guatemala back to Guatemala, where they can apply for asylum or chose to return home. They will be unable to apply for asylum in the U.S. In exchange, the U.S. will provide Guatemalans with an undetermined number of temporary visas for agricultural and construction workers. U.S. policymakers should be concerned about the feasibility of this agreement and must pursue better options to address the ongoing Central American migration crisis.
The Trump Administration should scrap the asylum agreement with Guatemala and pursue better options to address the ongoing Central American migration crisis. Investing in Guatemala’s institutions and combating corruption will help to quell the destabilizing factors that drive migration and further regional instability. The U.S. must enact policies, such as releasing frozen aid funds and working with Guatemala to combat corruption, to set the region up for long-term improvements.

The Supreme Court Goes to War
By inserting itself into matters where it traditionally has exercised judicial restraint and by deviating from its historical practice, the Supreme Court of the United States has drifted away from its proper role in national security cases. Ignoring historical facts and original public meaning, the Court instead has substituted its preferred policy outcomes as guides for decision, often with little or no regard for the practical implications for our warfighters. In doing so, it has trampled on the plain meaning of statutes and the Constitution, assuming powers that are properly placed within either the executive branch or the legislative branch. This is fundamentally inconsistent with the original design of the Founders.

The U.S. Should Oppose the EU’s Turn Toward Industrial Policy
The EU is moving towards the adoption of an industrial policy that, while aimed primarily at the People’s Republic of China, is also motivated by resentment of the United States. Industrial policy is the wrong tool for addressing the problems posed by China’s rise, and the European support for the creation of so-called “European champions” in industry is deeply hypocritical. The U.S. must vigorously oppose the EU’s turn toward industrial policy and must emphasize that what the U.S. and the EU need are higher levels of economic growth, the prospects for which will only be damaged if the EU pursues industrial policies that damage its economy and further alienate the United States.

At UN, Trump Focuses on 5 Top Foreign Policy Priorities
Trump’s third address to the United Nations was shockingly traditional in tone and presentation. In each of these five areas, Trump expressed clearly the objectives of the U.S. and his steadfast commitment to achieving them. Trump’s speech effectively propounded the foreign policies of his administration. Although the speech, as is the president’s tendency, touted the administration’s economic accomplishments up front, it quickly shifted focus to the major foreign policy priorities of his administration: China, Iran, Venezuela, immigration, and trade.

Why Pelosi’s Drug Price Control Scheme Would Be a Poison Pill to Innovation and Access
H.R. 3 would establish a system in which the U.S. government bases prices for cutting-edge drug treatments on those set by foreign governments. The bill represents an unprecedented exercise of raw government power. H.R. 3 would discard market-based reforms in favor of government price controls.

How Trump Won Round 1 in the Long Fight for Border Security
In Congress, traditional bipartisan support for funding border security and carrying out the laws on the books have broken down. The wall is going to happen, whether the president’s opponents like it or not. Americans will have to decide if they want the next round to go to Trump and a new Congress—or if they want to go the other way and embrace open borders.

________

from HumanProgress.org  Education Website

Why Some Environmentalists Don't Appreciate Prosperity
People enjoying the best environmental quality and the highest standards of living are also disproportionately more likely to be pessimistic. Scan the newspapers or watch the evening news, and you’ll quickly realize that environmental concerns are most keenly felt in rich countries, the citizens of which typically enjoy the best quality of the environment. The epicenter of apocalyptic sentiments about the state of the planet is Western Europe, with North America coming in a close second. This “eco-anxiety,” some scholars contend, is tied to a crisis of meaning in rich countries. A comparatively comfortable life and a decline of traditional religion has created a void that’s increasingly filled by environmentalism.

________

from The Spokesman-Review
Newspaper in Spokane, Washington

________


No comments:

Post a Comment