Episode 4931: Is The President Of Mexico Owned By The Cartels; Islam On The Rise In US
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
166.31985
Summary
Learn English with Maria Cardone. President Trump ramps up military presence in Venezuela, the Democratic response to the government shutdown, and the impact of the shutdown on the economy. Plus, a look at how the shutdown is hurting the middle class.
Transcript
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He said he had sort of made up his mind after being presented with military options by the Pentagon.
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Now he says he's open to negotiations with that country's leader, Nicolas Maduro,
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We may be having some discussions with Maduro, and we'll see how that turns out.
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As the president says that, America's biggest, most lethal aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford,
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This brings the number of U.S. troops in the region to around 12,000.
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President Trump is making no secret that he's ramping up military presence there,
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even with joint military drills with Trinidad and Tobago.
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But what remains quite unclear is exactly what the president's goals are for and with this buildup of force.
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Yesterday, the State Department announced that it's designating the Venezuelan gang,
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cartel de los Soles, as a foreign terrorist organization.
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The Trump administration also claims that organization is actually run by President Maduro himself.
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It's hard to see how the government shutdown and reopening is anything other than a defeat for the Democrats.
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A high-stakes confrontation that ended with their own goals unmet and their message muddled.
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If they didn't have the leverage or were not willing to use it to prolong the shutdown,
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The shutdown reinforced the image of the Democrats as feckless.
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They promised wonderful-sounding new programs, free child care,
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but in fact preside over bloated bureaucracies and inept execution.
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If America has an affordability crisis, it tends to be in places Democrats govern,
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which all feature high taxes, soaring housing costs,
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and stagnant outcomes in basic areas like education and infrastructure.
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Consider New York City, the country's largest and most important metropolis.
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The mayor-elect wants to spend more money on shiny new programs,
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In 2012, toward the end of Michael Bloomberg's mayoralty,
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an increase of more than 75% in just over a decade.
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Spending has soared while the subway deteriorates,
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housing costs rise, and public schools remain mediocre.
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Despite spending more than $36,000 per pupil last year,
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the highest in the nation among major school districts.
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The result is a paradox that defines much of blue state America,
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government that promises more, costs more, but delivers less.
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Its spending has risen from roughly $70 billion in 2000
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even though Florida has several million more residents.
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Yet Democrats' instinctive response to every problem remains the same.
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that is going to give Americans real purchasing power increases,
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Working Americans will change their withholdings,
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and they will get a bump up in their real incomes.
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we are going to see the inflation curve bend down
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and the real income curve substantially accelerate.
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But, Maria, I will tell you what we're not going to do.
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What we're not going to do is tell the American people
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And we are working every day to get these prices down.
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American liberalism once stood for a confident creed
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and ask like Casey Stengel more than 60 years ago
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I think we are going to see a substantial acceleration
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and now you've got the Catholic bishops saying,