ProfNet Experts Available on First Amendment, ISIS, Tax Reform, More

NEW YORK, May 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network who are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area.

You can also submit a query to the hundreds of thousands of experts in our network – it's easy and free! Just fill out the query form to get started: http://prn.to/queryform

EXPERT ALERTS

• The First Amendment Is the Bedrock of American Democracy -- Or Is It?
• NAFTA and Trump's Calls for Renegotiations
• President Trump's Tax Reform Proposal
• United States' Premature Departure From Iraq Created Vacuum Filled by ISIS
• Are Ivanka and Jared Trapped in the Trump Family Business?
• Ethical and Legal Implications of Artificial Wombs

MEDIA JOBS

• Capital Markets Reporter – Debtwire
• Reporter, Washington Newsletter – The Wall Street Journal
• Reporter – The Bond Buyer

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES

• How to Get Policy News on PR Newswire for Journalists
• How the AP Fights Fake News
• Behind the Headlines, With Tim Race

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EXPERT ALERTS:
The First Amendment Is the Bedrock of American Democracy -- Or Is It?
James Goodnow
Legal & Political Commentator
Fennemore Craig, Phoenix
Over the weekend, Reince Priebus made headlines by saying on ABC's "This Week" that the White House has "looked at" a Constitutional amendment for the purpose of opening up libel laws. According to Goodnow, Trump's continued flirtation with "relaxing" the First Amendment is the single greatest threat facing our constitutional democracy: "When the leader of the free world continues to try and silence or question the legitimacy of any views that are contrary to his, that's a recipe for chilling free speech or confusing the citizens. And, in the end, we all are hurt because of this."
ProfNet Profile: http://www.profnetconnect.com/james.goodnow
Bio: https://lambergoodnow.com/legalcommentator/
Contact: Terence J. Murnin, [email protected]

NAFTA and Trump's Calls for Renegotiations
Raj Bhala
Associate Dean for International and Comparative Law, Rice Distinguished Professor
University of Kansas School of Law
Bhala is available to discuss President Trump's calls to renegotiate NAFTA, threats to terminate the agreement and related trade issues: "NAFTA has become a pillar of the American economy and stands as one of the broadest, deepest free-trade agreements in human history. One way to appreciate its significance is to see it in the light of the long, uneasy history of U.S.-Mexican relations and swings in Mexican economy policy through much of the 20th century. Another, 21st century, way to think about NAFTA is to realize that America, Canada and Mexico already spent eight years rewriting and modernizing it – it's called TPP. Unilateral threats of withdrawal or demands for renegotiations risk triggering yet more protectionist moves across the globe."
Bhala is author of dozens of journal articles and books, including "TPP Objectively: Law, Economics, and National Security of History's Largest, Longest Free Trade Agreement," "Modern GATT Law" and "Understanding Islamic Law (Shari'a)."
Contact: Mike Krings, [email protected]

President Trump's Tax Reform Proposal
Robert Duquette
Professor of Practice in Accounting
Lehigh University
Duquette is available to discuss President Trump's tax reform proposal, as well as the House proposal and the need for tax reform: "President Trump's plan consists of three individual tax brackets: 10 percent, 25 percent and 35 percent; and a doubling of the standard deduction. That would mean, for example, the first $24,000 of a couple's taxable income would be exempt from taxes. The House's version also provides for new, higher combined exemption deductions of $12,000 for singles ($18,000 with children), and $24,000 for couples filing jointly, and consists of three tax rates: 12 percent, 25 percent and 33 percent. Who benefits the most from these plans? The Tax Foundation projects that taxpayers would see an average increase in their after-tax income of between 1 percent and 10 percent in total over 10 years. However, the top 1 percent would benefit the most, with the wealthiest taxpayers seeing an increase in their after-tax income of 5 percent to 20 percent. What is the impact on economic growth and the national debt? A significant part of the cost would be offset by broadening the tax base through elimination of many deductions and credit, loss of business interest deductibility, loss of the domestic manufacturing deduction, and possibly a tax on some type of imports. All independent analyses of the proposals indicate there would probably be trillions of dollars added to the federal debt over the next 10 years. I'm not optimistic of passage of this tax reform in Congress. Even if it does pass, no reputable study has yet suggested it can help mitigate the growth in the national debt from the present $20 million to $30 trillion over the next 10 years."
In addition to teaching taxation and accounting, Duquette is a CPA and has worked in tax and audit advising for three decades.
Blog: http://cbe.lehigh.edu/blog
Bio: http://cbe.lehigh.edu/faculty/accounting/robert-duquette
Contact: Amy White, [email protected]

United States' Premature Departure From Iraq Created Vacuum Filled by ISIS
US Army (Ret.) Col. David Dodd
Founder/Director
Point 27 Strength for the Fight, Atlanta
"I believe we are reaping the fruits of a premature withdrawal from Iraq. We departed the Iraqi government before it was capable of self-government and security for the country. The premature departure created a vacuum which was filled by ISIS."
Dodd is available to discuss U.S. Military service, terrorism following 9/11 compared to terrorism today and how the enemy has changed, military veterans' concerns, and faith and fear in the military. His service included as a platoon leader and company executive officer in US Army Battalion assigned to NATO, located in Germany; the 82nd Airborne Division, and the United States Special Operations Command in Fort Bragg, N.C.; Army staff in Washington, D.C.; chief operating officer for Defense Information Systems Agency, Pacific; Battalion commands in Afghanistan and Iraq; and served within the Chief of Staff-Army's staff group. After his retirement, Dodd founded Point 27 to share the same scriptures on dog tags and other jewelry that encouraged him during his military service. Last year, Dodd, through Point 27, distributed more than 98,000 Shields of Strength, including Thin Blue Line Shields of Strength, directly to police departments who lost officers in police shootings; Folded Flag Necklaces engraved with scripture for surviving family members of fallen officers; Shields of Strength dog-tag necklaces with Joshua 1:9 to military members, military chaplains and veterans; and Folded Flag Necklaces for Gold Star Families.
Website: https://point27.org
Contact: Marcia Davis, [email protected]

Are Ivanka and Jared Trapped in the Trump Family Business?
Dr. Michael A. Klein
Psychologist, Consultant
MK Insights LLC, Massachusetts
"As in any family business, being a family member can be extremely complicated emotionally. Even thinking of a possible exit or significant role change can be overwhelming because of guilt, obligation, fear, and myriad other underlying reasons."
Dr. Klein is available to speak to how and why children get trapped in their family businesses and some of the potential emotional issues facing the Trump children. He is author of "Trapped in the Family Business: A practical guide to understanding and managing this hidden dilemma," and is approaching 20 years of experience as a human resources professional and organizational consultant. 
Website: http://www.trappedinfambiz.com
Expert Contact: [email protected]

Ethical and Legal Implications of Artificial Wombs
Dena S. Davis
Presidential Endowed Chair in Health - Humanities/Social Sciences; Professor of Religion Studies; Associate Director of Personnel for Health, Medicine and Society
Lehigh University
Four scientists have just announced, in Nature Communications, that they have successfully created an artificial womb in which "extremely premature" lambs were nurtured for four weeks, enough to make them ready to meet the world. The goal is to advance this technology until it is available for very premature (23-26 week) human infants. At present, very premature infants have extremely poor prognoses: likely death, or severe disabilities. Four to five weeks would be enough to allow a "very premature infant" to become merely a "premature infant," with a good prognosis.
Says Davis: "If successful, this could be a terrific technology. At present, we put preemies into Neonatal Intensive Care Units, which are super stressful for the babies and their families, and the things we do to try to support them very often cause serious damage if the baby does survive. Fetuses, for example, are meant to breathe liquid while in the womb, but if they are born prematurely, all we can do is to force air into their little lungs, often causing permanent lung damage. A calm, soothing environment that mimicked the human uterus would be a wonderful thing. But it does make me wonder: Would this make humans somewhat like marsupials? At present, one is either born or not. A fetus just a day away from delivery is still just a very late-term fetus. And a very premature infant, once it is born and draws breath, is now an infant, legally and ethically a human person. Would this technology create a new, intermediate stage? What are the ethical and legal implications?"
Website: http://www.lehigh.edu
Contact: Lauren Stralo, [email protected]

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MEDIA JOBS:

Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers, editors and producers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/community/jobs/

• Capital Markets Reporter – Debtwire
• Reporter, Washington Newsletter – The Wall Street Journal
• Reporter – The Bond Buyer

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OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:

Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line.

• HOW TO GET POLICY NEWS ON PR NEWSWIRE FOR JOURNALISTS. While President Donald Trump continues to spar with news agencies about White House coverage, PR Newswire has a massive collection of releases to help fill out stories. Hundreds of news releases cross the newswire each day, discussing everything from the president's agenda to folks who support his work – and others who don't. Read more: http://bit.ly/2oY3eV3
• HOW THE AP FIGHTS FAKE NEWS. Information is everywhere. How is the average news consumer supposed to separate fact from fiction? That's where the Associated Press steps in. The AP has been a paragon of neutrality and fact-based content for 171 years, but only recently has it gotten attention specifically for the work it is doing to rid the world of misinformation, one piece of news at a time. What started as a fact-checking mission to validate information presented by newsmakers has migrated into an organization-wide effort to verify reported or shared news stories that appear to have bad information: http://prn.to/2pldN8B
• BEHIND THE HEADLINES, WITH TIM RACE. Over the past 27 years, Tim Race became a veteran at the New York Times, serving in a variety of roles, including energy, autos and transportation editor. A few months ago, Race made the jump from journalism to a career in PR. We sat down with Rice to discuss his transition to PR, using the full array of purchased, earned, sponsored and owned media platforms to help clients tell stories, and building your personal brand to work your way up: http://cisn.co/2pl6dee

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