Government & Politics

DEMOCRAT DEBATE: Fox News contributor Douglas E. Schoen says, “Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts emerged as the clear winner in the Democratic presidential primary debate Tuesday night.” But while Schoen observes that “a clear divide emerged between Warren and [Bernie] Sanders on the far left and the more moderate candidates,” there exists a rock-solid bond regarding taxpayer spending. In fact, the collective 2020 field’s fantasies amount to a tantalizing $210 trillion in federal spending. It was also evident from last night’s debate that Robert Mueller’s testimony in Congress disappointed, as Mueller wasn’t even mentioned.

BEGINNINGS OF A DANGEROUS PRECEDENT? “California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom approved a bill on Tuesday to force President Donald Trump to release his tax returns in order to get on the state’s 2020 primary ballot,” The Sacramento Bee reports. “While other states have pursued Trump’s taxes, California is the first one in the country to make the disclosure of tax returns a requirement for a ballot spot.” Not that it matters in California, but this is a dangerous model. And the sooner it’s torpedoed in court, the better.

SUIT DISMISSED: “A U.S. judge on Tuesday dismissed a Democratic Party lawsuit arguing that the Russian government, President Donald Trump’s campaign and WikiLeaks carried out a conspiracy to influence the 2016 U.S. election. U.S. District Judge John Koeltl in Manhattan said he could not hear the claims against Russia, which were the focus of the case, because of a legal doctrine called sovereign immunity that shields foreign governments from litigation in the United States.” (Reuters)

Business, Economy, & Technology

PRESCRIPTION REFORM “The Trump administration said Wednesday it will set up a system to allow Americans to legally import lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada, weakening a longstanding ban that had stood as a top priority for the politically powerful pharmaceutical industry.” (NBC News)

NONSTARTER: “Implementing the ‘Green New Deal’ (GND) would cost just shy of $75,000 per household in year one of the program and would never drop below $37,000 per household in any of the following years, according to a [Competitive Enterprise Institute] study released Tuesday.” (The Washington Free Beacon)

TRANSHUMANISM: “Human-animal hybrids are to be developed in embryo form in Japan after the government approved controversial stem-cell research. Human cells will be grown in rat and mouse embryos, then brought to term in a surrogate animal, as part of experiments set to be carried out at the University of Tokyo. Supporters say the work … could be a vital first step towards eventually growing organs that can then be transplanted into people in need. But opponents have raised concerns that scientists are playing God.” (Independent)

Around the Nation

NANNY STATE: “A woman in Ohio has been sentenced to 10 days in jail for violating ordinances about feeding stray animals. Seventy-nine-year-old Nancy Segula began visiting stray cats on her back porch a few years ago after a neighbor abandoned their pets.” (Washington Examiner)

VILLAGE ACADEMIC CURRICULUM: “The Chicago Teachers union has a delegation in Venezuela to show their solidarity with Nicolás Maduro’s socialist regime. … Delegation members are personally sharing their wonderment at Venezuelan socialism on a blog called ‘Radical Educator Collective.’ … They quoted a Venezuelan official saying communes make society less individualistic since groups of people are working together to decide their needs and how to work collectively towards solutions.” (Wirepoints)

National Security

RECORD APPREHENSIONS: “With two months still left in this fiscal year, the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) border sector has already set an all-time annual record for apprehensions at the border. According to a source in Border Patrol, this week, the total apprehensions in the RGV passed 301,000. That is an all-time record for this sector since Border Patrol began collecting records.” (Conservative Review)

MISSILE LAUNCH: “North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast, according to South Korea’s military, the second such launch in a week. … Last week’s launch was the first such action since US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met in June. The North called that launch a "solemn warning” to Seoul over its planned military exercises with Washington.“ (BBC)

Closing Arguments

POLICY: It’s time to pressure corrupt Central American elites to end the border crisis (The Federalist)

POLICY: The myth of American middle-class stagnation (American Institute for Economic Research)

HUMOR: All 20 candidates arrive at Democrat debate in one stylish car (Genesius Times)

For more of today’s editors’ choice headlines, visit In Our Sights.

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