Democrats Put Politics Before Safety

/0 Comments/in , /by

As the partial government shutdown continues into 2019, too much of the media is focused on the political winners and losers of the budget funding stalemate and not enough on the reason for the shutdown.

Democrat opposition to border wall funding is rooted in politics and not in reason. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., want to deny President Trump a significant campaign promise in hopes of demoralizing the president’s base as the 2020 presidential race approaches.

In the end, the Democrats’ strategy will backfire because they are putting politics before the safety and security of Americans.

President Trump’s motivation for border security, including a wall, is not that he’s bored and misses his old job of construction projects. The president wants a wall to help secure the southern border to protect citizens from criminal illegal aliens and to impede the flow of drugs that are killing too many Americans.

The Christmastime shooting death of police officer Ronil Singh in Newman, California, exposes the risk to Americans from Democrats who oppose funding of a wall and support sanctuary cities.

An illegal alien, Gustavo Perez Arriaga, was arrested and charged with homicide as the primary suspect in Singh’s death. In addition to Arriaga, seven others were arrested for hiding him and aiding his attempted escape to Mexico.

Arriaga was identified as a member of the Surenos street gang, and some of those arrested were also illegal aliens and may also have connections to the gang.

Democrats’ support for sanctuary polices makes our problem of criminal illegal aliens worse. Sheriff Adam Christianson said Singh’s death was “preventable” but, “Under SB54 in California, based on two arrests for DUI and some other active warrants that this criminal has out there, law enforcement would’ve been prevented — prohibited — from sharing any information with ICE about this criminal gang member.”

Sanctuary policies coupled with a porous border are a lethal combination for innocent law-abiding Americans. In addition to illegal alien crime, dangerous drugs are flowing over the Mexican border.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 70,237 people died of drug overdoses in 2017. Most alarming is the dramatic increase in overdoses from fentanyl-type drugs.

Fentanyl, a synthetic form of heroin, and related drugs were responsible for 28,466 overdose deaths in 2017, a stunning rise from about 3,000 deaths in 2013 based on CDC data. The National Institute on Drug Abuse attributes 29,406 deaths to fentanyl in 2017, up from 19,413 deaths in 2016, more than a 50 percent increase in overdose deaths.

Fentanyl, originally designed as an anesthetic, is scarily potent. Fentanyl can be up to 100 times more potent than morphine and is so dangerous that it’s a potential weapon for terrorists and was called “a significant threat to national security” by a former intelligence government official.

Mexico is the biggest supplier of heroin to the U.S., and, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune, a major source of fentanyl is drug cartels in Mexico. China is also a major supplier of the drug.

A Drug Enforcement Administration official noted a rise in the amount of the potent drugs seized in Arizona coming from Mexico, saying, “We have seen a 2,000 percent increase in the amount of fentanyl powder we seize and a 3,000 percent increase in the amount of fentanyl pills.” Clearly, construction of a border wall will not totally halt drug trafficking, but it will make one route more difficult and allow resources to focus on other modes of illicit transport.

Democrats are politically very vulnerable for a partial government shutdown for resisting $5.7 billion for border wall funding, especially since in 2006, many Democrats, including Schumer, voted for a bill to fund construction of a border fence.

Pelosi is opposed to a border wall because she feels it’s “immoral, ineffective, expensive,” but her arguments are false and misleading. In fact, she’s wrong on all accounts.

Walls do work. A border fencing project in Yuma County, Arizona, combined with border security personnel resulted in a 96 percent drop in illegal alien apprehensions.

As for the cost, the Defense Department has $674 billion to spend to protect the U.S. in fiscal year 2019, so the $5.7 billion for a wall is a reasonable amount to protect Americans from illegal aliens and drugs.

Pelosi’s “immoral” claim is by far the worst, and the likely incoming speaker of the House of Representatives has it backwards: It’s immoral to block efforts to protect Americans. Democrats were for a border barrier before they were against it, proving they are putting politics before the safety and security of Americans. (For more from the author of “Democrats Put Politics Before Safety” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

The National Debt Is the Punch Line

/0 Comments/in , /by

An elderly gentleman walked into the bar last week and proceeded to tell me jokes.

The greatest joke-tellers can be reasonably assured that their jokes will wither and die with me, because I’m the world’s worst rememberer and re-teller of great jokes. I destroy good jokes, and it’s a shame, but I remember the punch lines.

So after the gentleman told me the one about the Murphy twins getting drunk and the one where the old man needs help to recall his wife’s name (Rose), he asked me if I’ve ever been to Europe.

I have been, but to keep him talking, I said I hadn’t, and he told me that the best place to live is France. “The government builds nice roads there, and you can go to college for free, and public transportation, why, they’ve got it down to a science over there,” he said.

I thought, “This is a joke, right?” I mean, come on.

“Everything you could ask for is taken care of; health care is terrific; in fact, it costs you nothing to stay at a hospital, unlike here where you’ll go to the poorhouse,” he continued. “Sure, they tax you at 50 percent, but your life is pretty much worry-free.”

I chuckled, thinking that was the punch line. Apparently this old socialist Democrat was not a consumer of the news of the recent riots in Paris due to high taxes. But I offered the fact that as someone about 40 years his junior, I am most worried about our debt.

“The debt has always been high; people have been complaining about the debt since I was 15,” he said.

“OK,” I thought, “this isn’t funny any more.” When he was 15, two parents didn’t have to work to support the family. When he was young, the nation was fighting and winning a world war and government debt was due to that. He was apparently unaware that our debt is due to accumulative massive spending on social programs and foolish intervention in the private sector.

So I countered that a trillion dollars is an unimaginable sum. He said, “So was a billion 30 years ago.” I said yes, but we owe upwards of $200 trillion in unfunded liabilities, to which he responded, “You should blame the president for giving those tax cuts to the rich.”

Are you kidding me? I’m not rude, so I just acted like I didn’t understand his point, rather than give him simple truths like, “We had those liabilities before Trump” and “You are benefiting from them” and “Congress has no plan to fix the shortfalls” and “They have extended us too far” and so on. He truly believes we should be taxed at 50 percent, and then everything will be hunky-dory.

As he got up to leave, I searched for a kind thing to say. “Well, you have a Merry Christmas, sir,” I said, and he laughed and said, “You too, thank you.” I thanked him for the great jokes, and he left.

I have thought a great deal about that meeting. I recalled that the answer to the debt that this socialist Democrat shared was exactly the same answer that was given to me by the first local Republican I met when I jumped into politics for the first time, ten years ago. “The debt has always been high.”

It’s like a punch line to a joke. Almost.

Then, cynically, I thought the old man could afford to think the way he did. His working years are over; he has Social Security and Medicare; and he chooses to live in America despite that it does not give him enough free stuff for his liking. I’m one of two and a half workers paying for his benefits. My back will still carry the increased consequences of high debt, and so will my children’s and their future children’s.

The debt-to-GDP ratio is near 100 percent and quickly reaching WWII levels, yet the Republicans are salivating over new infrastructure spending and the Democrats have their hearts set on Medicare for all and a global warming tax.

The government is closed because of a disagreement between two fiscally irresponsible parties about how to spend more money.

And the punch line is, “Don’t worry; the debt has always been high.” (For more from the author of “The National Debt Is the Punch Line” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

ANOTHER: New Orleans Women’s March CANCELED – Here’s Why

/0 Comments/in , /by

Organizers of the New Orleans Women’s March say their January event is now off after a “drastic” drop-off in support, The Washington Times reports. . .

Though they did not initially specify the “issues” that led to NOW canceling the New Orleans Women’s March — one of the largest in the country — a further statement indicated a severe drop-off in both participation and fundraising after two major exposes in Tablet and in The New York Times revealed that the national Women’s March’s hierarchy was a hotbed of anti-Semitic thought.

“Many of the sister marches have asked the leaders of Women’s March, Inc. to resign but as of today, they have yet to do so,” NOW Baton Rouge’s statement read. “The controversy is dampening efforts of sister marches to fundraise, enlist involvement, find sponsors and attendee numbers have drastically declined this year. New Orleans is no exception.”

NOW Baton Rouge added that while they will be moving away from the annual marches, they will continue to work on behalf of the “resistance” in Louisiana.

“However, this does not mean the end of our momentum in Louisiana. It’s time to look past the marching and look towards a new stage of the movement,” they added. “Going forward, we will re-organize and re-evaluate the momentum that the Women’s March gave all of us the first two years.” (Read more from “ANOTHER: New Orleans Women’s March CANCELED – Here’s Why” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

World’s Oldest Living Person May Have Been a Fraud

/0 Comments/in , /by

France’s Jeanne Calment, widely recognized as history’s oldest woman upon her death at age 122, may have actually been a 99-year-old imposter, according to an explosive new theory being pushed by Russian researchers.

According to a paper written by mathematician Nikolay Zak and supported by gerontologist Valery Novoselov, the real Jeanne Calment died in 1934 at the age of 59. The woman who achieved fame as history’s oldest person was actually her daughter Yvonne, who assumed her dead mother’s identity in order to dodge steep French inheritance taxes. . .

The paper is not peer reviewed and relies exclusively on circumstantial evidence. One of the paper’s key evidentiary points, for instance, is a Facebook poll of 224 people reporting that Calment did not “look” like a supercentenarian. At another point, the paper tries to justify Calment’s alleged tax fraud by writing that she “hated socialists.”

Nevertheless, Zak provides evidence to show that Calment seemed to bear a closer resemblance to Yvonne than purported photos of herself as a young woman. It cites reports from witnesses, including a former mayor of Arles, saying that she looked and acted younger than her supposed age.

Zak also shows that Calment’s interviews with age verificators were replete with tiny inconsistencies, such as confusing her husband and father or saying that she was accompanied to school by a family maid who would actually have been 10 years her junior. (Read more from “World’s Oldest Living Person May Have Been a Fraud” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Marine Killed by Gunshot on Capitol Hill

/0 Comments/in , /by

The gunshot wound that led to the death of a U.S. Marine at a barracks in Southeast D.C. was not self inflicted, according to an official.

The shooting was reported around 5 a.m. Officials say the Marine was shot and hospitalized but later died from a gunshot wound. . .

A D.C. police source told FOX 5’s Evan Lambert that the incident was an accident, and that it happened during a shift change when weapons are supposed to be unloaded before being passed to the next shift.

“The command’s priorities are to take care of the Marine’s family and friends,” said Col. Don Tomichm commanding officer of Marine Barracks, in a statement. “We want to ensure these personnel are being provided for during this challenging time.”

(Read more from “Marine Killed by Gunshot on Capitol Hill” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Dems Aim to Bring Big-Government Programs to Floor Vote With 2019 House Takeover

/0 Comments/in , /by

Expect to hear the words “free,” “guaranteed” and “for all” a whole lot more in the new year as Democrats prepare an arsenal of big-government bills that could actually see a floor vote once they take control of the House.

Come January, proposals like “Medicare for all” and a host of other generous-but-costly welfare programs that were little more than talking points in recent years could have a shot at passing a chamber of Congress.

“There are dozens of measures like this that have been languishing with Republicans at the helm for years, and I expect to see many of them finally come to the floor under Democratic leadership,” Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., told Fox News.

With the GOP’s expanded majority in the Senate, it’s unlikely these measures would make it to President Trump’s desk. But their consideration on the House side would mark a first step in formally considering major government expansions – concerning everything from education to health care – that Democrats increasingly favor. And with “Medicare for all” and similar proposals amounting to litmus tests for modern progressives, roll-call votes on any of these issues would reveal just how broad their support is. . .

Some of the Democratic Party’s agenda, likely to be spearheaded by Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi, was spelled out in their “A Better Deal” campaign platform. The set of proposals claims nearly every item could be paid for by rolling back the Trump tax cuts. The most liberal bills have emerged from the Congressional Progressive Caucus. (Read more from “Dems Aim to Bring Big-Government Programs to Floor Vote With 2019 House Takeover” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Mitt Romney Writes Op-Ed to Attack Trump

/0 Comments/in , /by

. . .The article, titled “The president shapes the public character of the nation. Trump’s character falls short,” was published on Tuesday, just two days before Romney assumes office as Utah’s junior Senator. In the piece, Romney argues that while he doesn’t take issue with “all of the president’s policies,” his conduct “has not risen to the mantle of the office.”

Romney made his initial diagnosis after citing several early appointments that gave him hope — such as that of Rex Tillerson, Nikki Haley, and John Kelly — followed by recent key resignations and Trump’s proposed Syria withdrawal. . .

The Senator-elect listed several things the president has gotten “right,” but then argued that those things are only a part of the picture.

It is not that all of the president’s policies have been misguided. He was right to align U.S. corporate taxes with those of global competitors, to strip out excessive regulations, to crack down on China’s unfair trade practices, to reform criminal justice and to appoint conservative judges. These are policies mainstream Republicans have promoted for years. But policies and appointments are only a part of a presidency.

To a great degree, a presidency shapes the public character of the nation. A president should unite us and inspire us to follow “our better angels.” A president should demonstrate the essential qualities of honesty and integrity, and elevate the national discourse with comity and mutual respect. As a nation, we have been blessed with presidents who have called on the greatness of the American spirit. With the nation so divided, resentful and angry, presidential leadership in qualities of character is indispensable. And it is in this province where the incumbent’s shortfall has been most glaring.

(Read more from “Mitt Romney Writes Op-Ed to Attack Trump” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Kanye West Ignites Social Media With Just 3 Words

/0 Comments/in , /by

Rapper Kanye West rang in 2019 on Monday by writing pro-Trump sentiments on Twitter which resulted in him being on the receiving end of vicious attacks, many of which used racial slurs. . .

Last time West publicly came out in support of the president he was viciously attacked by CNN. The far-left network suggested that he was mentally ill, used racial slurs to attack him, used his wife’s former lovers to attack him and used his deceased mother to attack him. . .

Lemon went even lower the next day, calling West’s White House appearance a “Minstrel show,” and then used West’s deceased mother to attack him, saying he was an embarrassment to the black community and that his “mother is rolling over in her grave.”

(Read more from “Kanye West Ignites Social Media With Just 3 Words” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

WATCH: Warren Dodges ‘Native American’ Question at Press Conference, Gets Mocked Over Announcement

/0 Comments/in , /by

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) dodged a question about her disastrous DNA test stunt at her press conference on Monday where she announced that she launched an exploratory committee for president.

“I never thought I would run for anything, ever, in my life, but America’s middle class is getting hollowed out, and opportunity for too many of our young people is shrinking,” Warren said. “So, I’m in this fight all the way. … I’m going to build a grassroots campaign. … Because this is how we’re going to build the movement that will change America.”

“What’s your message to the Democratic primary voter who says ‘I love where Senator Warren stands on the issues, but I worry about electability, I worry her campaign will be more about her Native American ancestry than the middle class?'” a reporter asked Warren.

“You know, look, I am in this fight because I understand what’s happening to working families,” Warren said, failing to address her DNA test debacle. “I grew up in a paycheck-to-paycheck family, and my big chance was a commuter college that cost $50 a semester.”

(Read more from “WATCH: Warren Dodges ‘Native American’ Question at Press Conference, Gets Mocked Over Announcement” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

U.S. Strategic Command Tweets Then Deletes Joke About Dropping Bombs to Ring in 2019

/0 Comments/in , /by

The U.S. Strategic Command — one of 10 unified commands in the U.S. Department of Defense, which focuses on strategic deterrence and nuclear operations — tweeted and then deleted a joke about dropping bombs to ring in the New Year on Monday night.

The tweet read, “#TimesSquare tradition rings in the #NewYear by dropping the big ball … if ever needed, we are #ready to drop something much, much bigger.” . . .

In addition, a strategic command spokesman told The Washington Post that the now-deleted tweet “was part of our Year in Review series meant to feature our command priorities: strategic deterrence, decisive response and combat-ready force. It was a repost from earlier in the year, dropping a pair of conventional Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOP) at a test range in the United States.” (Read more from “U.S. Strategic Command Tweets Then Deletes Joke About Dropping Bombs to Ring in 2019” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE