President Trump delivered a rousing speech today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, declaring that America is once again “open for business” and that “America First does not mean America alone.” 

You can read the full text here. For the first question in our new Weekly Poll, I’ve highlighted what I think are some of the most powerful quotes from the President’s speech – which one is your favorite? I hope you’ll vote today.

I’m sure Trump campaign guru Corey Lewandowski will have plenty to say about this at our 51st Annual CPPAC, which gets underway on Sunday. 

Meanwhile, an estimated 3 million Americans are receiving bonuses thanks to the Trump tax cuts, and it’s no wonder that tax relief is gaining in popularity. But Nancy Pelosi, who of course cherishes her own vast fortune, continues to dismiss an extra $1,000 for hardworking Americans as mere “crumbs.” Liberals like Chuck Schumer are joining in on this spin, even though the Democrats once heralded an Obama-Era tax cut that gave workers… an extra $40 in their paychecks. 

Hopefully some of our Wrap-Up readers are the recipients of these bonuses, but I think we all know the value of a dollar. My second Weekly Poll question for you is this: What would you do with an extra $1,000? I look forward to seeing the answers. 

Speaking of Obama double standards… this week we saw another example of the media’s protection racket surrounding our 44th president, as a 2005 photo of a smiling Barack Obama with the loathsome Louis Farrakhan was released by a journalist who says he kept the image hidden until now because it might have hurt Obama’s political rise.  

Something else that was kept secret – the admitted bribing of Mayor Bill de Blasio. The briber is busted, but will the “bribee” ever face justice?

Time and again, the elites all look out for each other, as we saw in Obama’s protection of Hillary Clinton and in the simmering FBI scandal. There’s no accountability and increasingly, no trust. “What a mess,” as the New York Post succinctly puts it.

Bad news this week for New York Democrats seeking to restore Nancy Pelosi as House Speaker – one of their top recruits has bowed out of a closely-watched House race, and may undermine the party even more by taking on Andrew Cuomo. 

Despite the media’s gloom-and-doom narrative for conservatives in the 2018 elections, the midterm outlook might be better than you think for the GOP – and it might even be a good year for the Republican Senate Majority. 

What’s your early take on the 2018 midterm elections – do you foresee a Pelosi victory, conservative gains or the status quo? Tell me what you’re thinking right now – that’s the third and final question in our new Weekly Poll. 

And have a great weekend!

DOJ office says it has found missing text messages of FBI officials. 

Ben Shapiro’s take on the ongoing saga is:  Mueller’s Investigation Targets Trump Over Supposed ‘Obstruction.’ This Could Be A Massive Constitutional Crisis In The Making.

Byron York has this to say in his opinion column in the Washington Examiner. 

This is how the NY Post editorial board assess the continuing saga: Bob Mueller’s elephant and the media blind men. 

Why we need to count citizens in the 2020 census…this explains why the democrats are being obstinate regarding illegal immigration and why they want to make it an issue in November.  New York has lost 1 million people since 2010…no wonder Governor Cuomo wants to give dreamers  free college…anything to lure people to New York instead of making New York business friendly.  A dysfunctional subway system does not help either.  

This Supreme Court Case Could Safeguard the Integrity of Our Elections. 

Immigration watchdog: We support compromise bill.

This is very disturbing.   Senate investigators’ have pinpointed the mail system as the weak leak in efforts to stem the opioids crisis and are looking for legislation to stem the tide. This is NOT how to stem the opioid crisis.  

Hypocrisy from none other than Nancy Pelosi, again.

Will Senator DeFranciso have something special to say when he addresses the 51st CPPAC?  Will you be there to hear what he says?  RSVP here.

File this under “ridiculous.”

Mayor de Blasio is back in the land of OZ.  How can he believe that NYCHA chair Shola Olatoye is a superb administrator?  The NY Post has it right in asking why she is still at the helm. 

George J. Marlin opines on Governor Cuomo’s delusional 2018 vision.

Corruption isn’t the only problem with Cuomo’s economy schemes. 

Really Governor?  Do you not have any compassion for the people who have to pay the bills you keep increasing?  Why is it that you believe that it is okay to just take our hard-earned money so you can feel good?   I have empathy for people who truly need help; but you should remember that if you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day—if you teach a man to fish you feed him for a lifetime. 

The Daily Signal has this advice for high tax states. 

Michael Goodwin isn’t the only one reaching this conclusion:  Evidence suggests a massive scandal is brewing at the FBI.  A former fed prosecutor is suspicious also.   Then there are these Congressmen.   PJ Media is covering this century’s Watergate  — actually it is much baser than Watergate  — also. Townhall.com has been at the forefront of coverage, but we see very little in the main stream media.   

Wednesday’s with Walter E. Williams.

David Keene’s latest column in the Washington Times reminds other journalists, rather strongly, that it’s wasn’t the Trump shutdown.   Good for Mr. Keene, but we all know, it will take a lot more than the improving economy to convince the main stream media. .

Rich Lowry opines in the NY Post on how Sen. Schumer listened to the resistance – and lost badly.  

 Guy Benson writes that left-wing activists are raging of Schumer’s negotiations. 

Sen. Schumer is taking his offer off the table; just like when a child looses and takes his things home. 

Is it possible that sly Sen. Schumer is still playing the chess game and is trying to feign his loss in order to have the bigger prize – the issue itself – for the November elections?   

Everyone involved in the immigration discussion should listen to the American people…or they may all be out of a job soon.  “A Harvard-Harris poll taken in the run-up to the shutdown found Americans strongly support granting citizenship rights to illegal immigrant Dreamers. But they also back Mr. Trump’s three demands for a border wall, limits to the chain of family migration and an end to the Diversity Visa Lottery.”  What progressives do not understand, is that immigrants who came to America in the past, did so, because they wanted to be Americans.  They learned in our language and embraced our customs.  Today, illegal immigrants, are not as willing to adopt American customs and want to change America.  Even naturalized citizens are beginning to resent that movement, so those who are destined to resolve the immigration issue should be familiar with how everyday citizens want it resolved.

In the last 9 years, taxpayers paid out $10 million for 88 abuse cases in state government.  Just think of the places that $10 million could have been put to use; subway system, education, law enforcement.

Is it possible that Obamacare is fueling the opioid epidemic?  

Robert Knight opines on the way back to religious liberty. 

The latest on the FBI and “The Memo” from Matt Vespa. 

Senator Schumer’s shutdown surrenders.  Here is Guy Benson’s analysis of the last 60 hours that led Sen. Schumer to surrender to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.  The fact that the Associated Press and the New York Times rightly put the onus on Sen. Schumer may have helped him cave, that,  plus the numerous videos of Sen. Schumer singing a different tune in 2013 when the government shut down for 16 days. Or is it simply that he can read poll numbers.   Senator Schumer lost his first real chess game the to the chess master, hopefully the experience will force him to negotiate honestly with the master of negotiations.   

On another hopeful note, the “memo” is closer to being released.  This, however, is another indication that politics had a promenade role in the FBI investigation.  Fox News has more on this here.   With all of this being revealed, how can the College of William and Mary justify James Comey, who graduated from the public Virginia university in 1982 as a double major in chemistry and religion, as a professor of “ethical leadership’?   Should we worry about what kind of ethics, if any,  the students will learn?

Attorney General Jeff Sessions opines in the Washington Times on President Trump’s merit-based immigration system. 

Governor Cuomo:  Beware.  Aide’s corruption trial could sink Cuomo’s hopes for a 2020 White House run. 

The MTA needs an overhaul before the city funds subway fixes.

Nicole Gelinas is quite knowledgeable on transportation, and her latest column is 66% right.  The Good, the bad and the ugly is 2/3 correct, we do not see any good in congestion pricing.  Yes, NYC is almost impossible to drive in, but the $1.5 billion will never be raised (estimates to raise money are always inflated) and the cost to truckers alone will increase the costs of the goods being delivered.  Congestion pricing is not the answer to congestion in NYC, but it certainly is a way to drive businesses out of the city.  Does NYC really want to be the only city in America with congestion pricing? 

The Climate-Change Doomsday Just Got Canceled. 

Why Pro-Lifers Have Cause for Hope. 

One year into his administration, President Trump is the “Nobama,” methodically undoing the 44th president’s left-wing legacy. Elections do have consequences!

What word do you think best describes President Trump’s leadership in his first year in office? That’s the first question in our new Weekly Poll. 

One of the masterminds behind President Trump’s 2016 victory, Corey Lewandowski, will be joining us for our 51st Annual Conservative Party Political Action Conference (CPPAC), which starts January 28. I hope you’ll sign up and join us! 

President Trump is busy establishing a legacy of his own, especially in the realm of economic growth. Apple, hardly a conservative-aligned corporation, is the latest company to expand thanks to the Trump-GOP tax cuts. 

Compare that to the Cuomo legacy here in New York – punishing tax hikes, uncontrolled spending and economic suffering being felt across the state.

And while Andrew Cuomo champions the left’s radical abortion agenda, another Trump legacy already in the making is the advancement of the pro-life cause. His administration is moving to protect the pro-life consciences of health care workers, and he will be the first sitting President to address the annual March for Life (the real “march for women”) via live video feed. Now if our culture would just catch up and accept the science of when life begins. 

Here’s a simple yet important question: Why are you pro-life? That’s the second item in our new Weekly Poll. 

Now for a bombshell of a story that could break wide open any minute now: Will Congress #releasethememo? A new surveillance report is being described as “worse than Watergate” and could send people to jail – and all of this is on top of the Democrats’ Russian dossier scandal that just gets more and more outrageous. 

Republicans believe the American people should know what really happened, and I agree. If the memo is released, whose behavior do you think will be revealed as the MOST shameful? That’s the third and final question in our new Weekly Poll.

Have a great weekend! 

E. J. McMahon, always a favorite speaker at our annual convention, has an excellent column about Governor Cuomo’s big stealth tax hike on his NY Torch blog.  You can read it here. 

Bill Hammond, explains in his column in the NY Torch blog, how Governor Cuomo’s budget is going to increase the cost of your private health insurance to pay for government’s health insurance increased costs (partially due to the increased minimum wage).

There is good news in a new Marist Poll.  While 51% of the respondents called themselves pro-choice, 60 percent of them said they support limitations on abortions, such as backing a ban on the procedures after 20 weeks of pregnancy and opposing the use of tax dollars to pay for them.  Read more about the poll in the Daily Signal. 

More good news, this from Secretary Betsy DeVos, on the federal level, Common Core is dead.  However, unfortunately, here in New York City, the city Department of Education is a cesspool of cronyism.

Congress is completely wrong on this.

Thank you Apple, and to all the other companies that are investing in America and Americans again.

File this under “Know what your children/grandchildren are reading.”

And file this under “A straight-talking assessment of what President Trump said about those other countries.”

European leaders, facing growing public unease, toughen up on immigration.

And then there is this, The Democrats’ Dilemma: Immigration and the Welfare State. 

The Dangerous Supreme Court Case Nobody Is Talking About. 

The NY Post editorial opines on Cory Booker’s latest sad stunt. 

Flashback:  Rev. Jesse Jackson thanks Donald J. Trump for a lifetime of service to African Americans.

The NY Post editorial board assesses the Governor’s proposed budget simply:  Cuomo’s $168B budget is pure fantasy.    Tom Precious, writes in the Buffalo News  that Cuomo’s budget raises $1 billion in new taxes to pay for spending plans..  Politico New York, isn’t quite as realistic, but does point out the non-budget items in the Governor’s proposal, including, but not limited to: “the extension of tuition assistance programs to undocumented immigrants, extending the statute of limitations for victims of child sex abuse, reduce the state’s use of cash bail and reduce the giving power of limited liability corporations.” 

The Conservative Party is calling for a constitutional amendment in its 2018 Legislative Program that would prohibit non-fiscal items/issues to be included in the budget.  Government is divided into three parts for a reason; to prevent any one part to become too powerful.  By allowing the NYS Budget to have non-fiscal items/issues continue to be embedded in the budget, the Legislature is diminishing its own importance and undermines the very reason for its existence. 

E. J. McMahon outlines the loose ends in the Governor’s budget proposal 

The Daily Signal has a short synopsis on Right-to-Work, rather timely considering today’s press release.

There is a snowflake in the US Senate and he wants to be the president.  Where is his outrage on this? 

Joseph Curl reminds us that we had to explain much worse to our children when Bill Clinton was president.  Here are Larry Horist’s thoughts on the President Trump’s “salty” language.   

City Journal explains how the times have changed since Lady Liberty welcomed immigrants to Ellis Island. 

You think Democrats want to fix immigration? Dream on!

Government out of control:  This Man Gave Free Haircuts to Veterans and Got Clobbered by Regulators. 

BREAKING: President Trump to Address March for Life. 

Wednesday’s with Walter E. Williams. 

Who knew when EZ Pass debuted in 1987 that by 2017 EZ Pass would be the only method of toll collection in New York City, and that it would be used to charge you for driving in certain parts of Manhattan?  Big Brother is alive and well, isn’t he, Governor Cuomo.

Here is CBS-TV report on the Governor’s “Congestion Pricing” his budget calls for with more details to follow later this week. The CBS-TV report leaves out how the Governor plans to raise $1 billion in fees and taxes.  Fortunately, the Buffalo News gives us some information on that. 

Governor Cuomo:  please explain this debacle in DeWitt.   And while you are at it, will your budget protect the public or your own ambitions? 

In the past, Governor Cuomo called marijuana a gateway drug; now it appears he is considering legalization.  Governor, your craving to be president clouds your ability to protect the public, rather than protecting the public, you enable their poor choices so you can achieve your aspirations.  A strong leader would not sell out for a few more votes or a few more budget dollars.  A true leader would not hide behind a panel assembled to give him cover to do what he plans on doing; a supercilious leader would.

The Buffalo News ran this Bob McCarthy column on Sunday:  Giambra’s road to GOP nod for governor runs through Conservative leader.

Jay Cost opines in National Review that the return of earmarks won’t solve congressional  irresponsibility. 

Robert Knight writes about the deceitful road to abortion. 

Who ‘Dreamers’ Really Are and Why They Cost $26B Over 10 Years.

Myron Magnet, City Journal’s editor-at-large, writes an excellent column:  Trump to PC: “No More”.

The Daily Signal advises how Congress can rein in out-of-control spending. 

Another week, another liberal double-standard. Does the left have any standing to lecture anyone on vulgarity?

What’s really obscene is how the Democrats and their media friends assume every awful thing they hear about President Trump is true – even when it’s a poorly-sourced story that the President denies.

Lost in all this uproar is the fact that President Trump is actually trying to reduce health care costs, and he’s making sense about work requirements for Medicaid recipients.

In more silliness, this week we saw “Oprah 2020” ridiculousness come out of nowhere – her Golden Globes “me too” speech wasn’t even that great. Where does she stand? Does it matter? To me all the hoopla suggests that Democrats know they don’t have any compelling national leaders to guide the party into 2020 and that they lack any substantive ideas. 

For the first question in our new Weekly Poll, I’d like to know what you think is the biggest takeaway from the recent “Oprah for President” hysteria.

While everybody’s talking about Oprah and other such matters, let’s not allow Hillary to escape the limelight. There are Clinton scandals nobody is talking about, and ones that are getting more and more scrutiny. Here’s something for you to think about: How likely is it to you that Hillary Clinton will eventually serve jail time? That’s the second question in our new Weekly Poll. 

Finally, I was asked this week about marijuana legalization, and here is what I had to say. The Conservative Party opposes efforts to normalize pot, and I would like to know what you think –
what is the BEST reason to oppose marijuana legalization? That’s the third and final question in our new Weekly Poll.

Have a great weekend!
 

The NY Daily News article –  Fast food employers must let workers give portion of pay to nonprofit under City Council bill – explains how fast food workers are joining an advocacy group to get more benefits.  While is may only cost them an hour’s wages per month, was the fight about more money for the workers…and not an advocacy group.  Hold on tight, fast food is about to get a lot more expensive.

So disappointing:  Assembly speaker, lawmaker helped fund accused Sandy scammer’s defense.  The outrageous number of elected officials breaking laws is a very shameful statement on society.  But shame –  the painful feeling arising from the consciousness of something dishonorable, improper, ridiculous, etc., done by oneself or another – for the most part is non-existent today.  Except when the progressives want to excoriate those who dare to disagree with them.  Any doubt?  Read this. 

Mayor de Blasio likes to try and shame those who fail to see things his way. 

So does Governor Cuomo.  Both would rather belittle opposition, rather than do what would be best for everyone.  Instead of cutting spending across the board, Gov. Cuomo – and other democrats in blue states – look to gimmicks and loopholes to continue the wasteful spending of our money.

Governor Coumo, while you are whining and looking for gimmicks, take note of this:  The Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Of 2017 Is Already Delivering. 

Mayor de Blasio, don’t you think you should have checked on the serious problems – boilers in NYCHA – before increasing spending 200% on advertisements in the city?

Trickle-down economics…it is still working.

President Donald J Trump has more good news: The Trump dossier’s credibility is collapsing, ‘Arm-chair’ diagnosis of Trump unethical and irresponsible,  and some that won’t please him:  The GOP Must Win a Better Deal on DACA.

The Swiss are getting realistic.