Here’s Why Abolishing ICE Is a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Idea

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The Left has a new crusade: pushing to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It’s not because all federal bureaucracies are wasteful, incompetent, and inefficient, a claim that besides surely being true is appealing across the political spectrum. They claim the agency is a “deportation force” ripping families apart.

Erasing the country’s ability to vet who comes into our country is not just being embraced by the radicals of the so-called “resistance,” but increasingly by Democratic Party politicians. The stance was largely confined to the op-ed pages of left-wing and libertarian publications until U.S. senator and likely 2020 presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) supported it. . .

But the demands for abolishing ICE are not about limiting government corruption through reducing its size. Merely eliminating the agency would make America less safe and put the American people at risk. If if another organization merely replaces it instead, that would ultimately accomplish nothing. It would be an expensive symbolic gesture.Either one would also create an incentive to increase illegal immigration. . .

ICE was created in 2003 in the wake of the 9/11 attacks as a part of the Department of Homeland Security, taking over from the Immigration and Naturalization Service. INS failed to catch five of the nine 9/11 hijackers who overstayed their visas. ICE was created because the INS had proved ineffective at enforcing immigration laws.

ICE incorporated the internal enforcement powers of INS and the investigative and intelligence services of the U.S. Customs Service. It has two departments, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). HSI focuses on things such as arms smuggling, drug trafficking, and other crimes. Here’s an example of some of their work:

(Read more from “Here’s Why Abolishing ICE Is a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Idea” HERE)

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Court Request From Special Counsel Mueller Hints at Future of Russian Investigation

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A request made from special counsel Robert Mueller in court Wednesday provided a hint of the future of his investigations into Russian election interference and alleged collusion.

While many Republican allies of the president are demanding that Mueller wrap up his investigation, the special counsel requested a hundred more “blank subpoenas” from a federal court in Virginia Wednesday. . .

Recipients of the subpoenas would be expected to appear in a U.S. District Court in Alexandria on July 25 – the date of the beginning of the trial for former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort.

Manafort has been charged with numerous criminal counts including tax evasion and bank fraud, but those that have been made public appear to have been committed before his time as then-candidate Donald Trump’s campaign manager.

Mueller’s investigation has come under attack by those who claim that recent revelations about the bias of certain FBI officials prove that the probe into collusion and interference was politically motivated to damage Trump. (Read more from “Court Request From Special Counsel Mueller Hints at Future of Russian Investigation” HERE)

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Shocking: 22 Sixth-Grade Girls Strip-Searched in U.S. Middle School

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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has reversed an earlier dismissal of a case involving 22 sixth-grade girls who were allegedly strip-searched down to their bras and underwear after $50 went missing on a school field trip.

According to the suit, the assistant principal at the Lanier Middle School in Houston, Texas, forced a group of 22 girls in a sixth-grade choir class to be strip-searched when $50 went missing . . .

When an initial search did not uncover the missing money, a school police officer suggested “that girls like to hide things in their bras and panties.” The assistant principal then directed the school nurse to “check around the waistband of [their] panties,” and “loosen their bras.” . . .

During a sixth-grade choir class, an assistant principal allegedly ordered a mass, suspicionless strip search of the underwear of twenty-two preteen girls. All agree the search violated the girls’ constitutional rights under Texas and federal law. Even so, the district court dismissed the girls’ lawsuit against the school district for failure to state a claim. We reverse.

For purposes of this appeal, we take as true the amended complaint’s factual allegations. Those allegations describe how $50 went missing during a sixth-grade choir class at Houston’s public Lanier Middle School. Assistant Principal Verlinda Higgins was brought in to investigate. When no money turned up, the school police officer “suggested that girls like to hide things in their bras and panties.” Higgins took all twenty-two girls in the choir class to the female school nurse, who strip searched them, taking them one at a time into a bathroom, where she “check[ed] around the waistband of [their] panties,” loosened their bras, and checked “under their shirts.” The girls “were made to lift their shirts so they were exposed from the shoulder to the waist.” No parents were notified, despite the girls’ requests. No money was found.

(Read more from “Shocking: 22 Sixth-Grade Girls Strip-Searched in U.S. Middle School” HERE)

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Judge Denies Transgender Teen’s Name Change Request – Parents Appealing

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The parents of an Ohio teenager are appealing a court’s decision to deny their transgender “son” a legal name change. . .

Kylen and Leigh Whitaker requested last month that their 15-year-old’s name be officially changed from Heidi to Elliott. Warren County Probate Judge Joseph Kirby declined the request, saying, “Whether [the teen] is experiencing Gender Dysphoria or is just not comfortable with her body is something that only time will reveal. . .

“Age. Develop. Mature,” Kirby further wrote in his decision, reasoning that, “Adolescence is a time of fevered exploration. The Court is sympathetic to the parents of the child and their desire to assuage their child. In essence, the Court isn’t saying ‘no’ to the name change. The Court is simply saying ‘not yet.’” . . .

The Whitakers insist that both they and Elliott are comfortable with formally changing the teen’s name to the preferred moniker. Elliott has been in therapy at Children’s Hospital Medical Center’s transgender clinic since announcing the transition to his parents a year ago.

Leigh said, “We did a lot of therapy to make sure that this was something that was real.” Kylen added, “The judge met with us for 15 to 20 minutes and then decided that he knew better than the parents and the doctors and our child. We just don’t feel that’s right.” (Read more from “Judge Denies Transgender Teen’s Name Change Request – Parents Appealing” HERE)

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Mueller Reveals Tenuous Link Between Manafort Charges and Trump

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It’s often been observed that special counsel Robert Mueller, assigned to investigate alleged Trump-Russia collusion in the 2016 presidential campaign, has yet to charge anyone with a crime involving Trump-Russia collusion in the 2016 presidential campaign.

The biggest of Mueller’s indictments, that of one-time Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, has no connection at all to collusion. And until a few days ago, it appeared to have no connection to Donald Trump, either.

Now, though, Mueller has revealed why he believes the Manafort prosecution is related to the 2016 Trump campaign. It’s a small part, a very small part, of the overall charges against Manafort. And it has nothing to do with any actions by the candidate — now the president — himself.

Mueller’s revelation came in an argument he is having with the Manafort defense over what subjects can and cannot be discussed in front of jurors in Manafort’s upcoming trial. (Manafort is charged in both Virginia and the District of Columbia with various counts of bank fraud, tax evasion and failure to register as a representative of foreign interests; the Virginia trial is scheduled to begin later this month.)

Manafort doesn’t want the jurors to hear about any theories of collusion between Trump and Russia. Beyond that, Manafort doesn’t even want the jurors to hear about his connection with Donald Trump. Given the degree of anti-Trump feeling in the heavily Democratic District of Columbia and in northern Virginia — the Manafort filing dryly notes that jurors are “likely to have strong views about President Trump” — that’s an understandable feeling. (Read more from “Mueller Reveals Tenuous Link Between Manafort Charges and Trump” HERE)

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Shameless: Schumer’s Hilarious, Desperate Flip Flop on SCOTUS Nominees and the ‘Ginsburg Standard’

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When you’re going to be a hack, you might as well be a shameless hack. Liberals are humiliating themselves over President Trump’s latest Supreme Court nomination, trafficking in insane conspiracy theories, and launching bogus, half-cocked (“extreme distortion”) attacks, as part of a frenzied “kitchen sink” approach. They’ll grasp at any straw to oppose Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation, even as some key red state Senate Democrats are taking pains to avoid talking about the issue. The Associated Press describes the cacophony of resistance and discord:

Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, says it’s all about health care. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., worries about the impact on the special counsel investigation. And Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., sees an assault that could set women’s rights back decades. There’s so much for Democrats to dislike about Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick. And that may be the problem. In the hours after the Republican president tapped the conservative jurist, Democrats struggled to unify behind a clear and coherent message to combat the nomination, which could shift the court to the right for decades. They’re energized, outraged and ready to fight. But what, exactly, is their argument to voters?…It’s an all-too-familiar political challenge for Democrats, who’ve left voters confused in the Trump era about what the party stands for beyond simply opposing the president. And in this case, the muddled messaging threatens to dampen a new surge of voter enthusiasm just a few months before [the] midterm elections.

As for Schumer’s new talking point that the Supreme Court fight is all about…healthcare, or something, it’s a line so unserious that even the Senate’s most moderate Republican couldn’t help but dismiss it with a rhetorical eyeroll:

Someone should inform Schumer that the Supreme Court doesn’t craft healthcare policy. While they’re at it, they should tell Schumer that one of the few Kavanaugh rulings that some conservatives are upset over involved, um, Obamacare. So it’s a stupid point on two levels. Sen. Collins also went on to say that Kavanaugh is obviously qualified for the job and reinforced the so-called ‘Ginsburg standard’ — pioneered by leftist icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg — under which Supreme Court nominees decline to discuss specific issues or cases that could come before them on the bench (though, as a former top ACLU attorney, she was willing to talk about abortion):

(Read more from “Shameless: Schumer’s Hilarious, Desperate Flip Flop on SCOTUS Nominees and the ‘Ginsburg Standard'” HERE)

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Witness Claims Federal Agents Bragged About Murdering Seth Rich; Family Condemns ‘Conspiracy Theories’

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By Big League Politics. A witness claimed Tuesday that he heard a Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) witness and an Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) agent discussing how they killed Seth Rich, the leaker of internal DNC emails to WikiLeaks, in the summer of 2016 right before the Democratic National Convention.

Lobbyist Jack Burkman, who said that he was recently shot while investigating the case, presented the witness at the Holiday Inn in Rosslyn. The witness is masked and had his voice disguised when audio of his statement played at the press conference set up by Burkman.

Similar theories have pointed to two MS-13 members who were allegedly hired by the federal government to kill Rich in the wee morning hours near his D.C. apartment. But this witness makes it clear that DEA and ATF boasted about their role in the assassination.

(The investigator begins talking a little after the 19 minute mark; the alleged witness begins speaking at 33:50)

(Read more from “Witness Claims Federal Agents Bragged About Murdering Seth Rich; Family Condemns ‘Conspiracy Theories'” HERE)

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Seth Rich’s Parents Condemn Conspiracy Theorists on Anniversary of Murder

By Washington Examiner. The parents of slain Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich on Tuesday condemned conspiracy theorists who are pushing false information two years after the death of their son.

“We would like to remind those who are not law enforcement officials who claim to be helping by conducting ‘investigations’ are not helping at all,” Joel and Mary Rich wrote.

Rich’s parents said the people spreading conspiracy theories are interfering with the official police investigation into their son’s murder.

(Read more from “Seth Rich’s Parents Condemn Conspiracy Theorists on Anniversary of Murder” HERE)

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China ‘Shocked’ by U.S. Actions in Trade Dispute

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By BBC. China said it is “shocked” after the US announced plans for fresh tariffs, escalating a trade war between the two countries.

The US listed $200bn (£150bn) worth of additional products it intends to place tariffs on as soon as September.

The move comes just days after the two countries imposed tit-for-tat tariffs of $34bn on each other’s goods.

Beijing described Washington’s latest threat as “totally unacceptable,” saying it would harm the world.

“The behaviour of the US is hurting China, hurting the world and hurting itself,” a spokesperson for China’s commerce ministry said in a statement. (Read more from “China ‘Shocked’ by U.S. Actions in Trade Dispute” HERE)

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Markets Rattled as Trump Escalates China Trade War With Tariffs on $200bn of Imports

By The Guardian. . .Overnight, Donald Trump began the process of slapping 10% tariffs on a further $200bn of imports from China, on top of the $34bn (soon to be $50bn) imposed last week.

The move is a significant escalation of the trade war between Washington and Beijing, further raising the dangers of a major economic shock.

US trade representative Robert Lighthizer announced that the US was acting because China had not heeded previous warnings.

For more than a year, the Trump administration has patiently urged China to stop its unfair practices, open its market, and engage in true market competition.

We have been very clear and detailed regarding the specific changes China should undertake. Unfortunately, China has not changed its behaviour — behaviour that puts the future of the US economy at risk.”

(Read more from “Markets Rattled as Trump Escalates China Trade War With Tariffs on $200bn of Imports” HERE)

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Somebody at DOJ Isn’t Telling the Truth About Rosenstein’s Subpoena Threats Against Congressional Staff

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Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein denied under oath he had threatened to subpoena congressional aides’ communications, but a DOJ spokesman had already admitted that was true in statements to multiple news outlets, claiming it was justified.

“Rosenstein threatened to ‘subpoena’ GOP-led committee in ‘chilling’ clash over records, emails show,” reported Catherine Herridge at Fox News. She quoted from multiple e-mails congressional staff sent to the House of Representatives’ Office of General Counsel after a January 2018 meeting with Rosenstein:

‘The DAG [Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein] criticized the Committee for sending our requests in writing and was further critical of the Committee’s request to have DOJ/FBI do the same when responding,’ the committee’s then-senior counsel for counterterrorism Kash Patel wrote to the House Office of General Counsel. ‘Going so far as to say that if the Committee likes being litigators, then ‘we [DOJ] too [are] litigators, and we will subpoena your records and your emails,’ referring to HPSCI [House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence] and Congress overall.’

A second House committee staffer at the meeting backed up Patel’s account, writing: ‘Let me just add that watching the Deputy Attorney General launch a sustained personal attack against a congressional staffer in retaliation for vigorous oversight was astonishing and disheartening. … Also, having the nation’s #1 (for these matters) law enforcement officer threaten to ‘subpoena your calls and emails’ was downright chilling.’

The Department of Justice confirmed that Rosenstein “put them on notice to retain relevant emails and text messages, and he hopes they did so.” The Justice spokesperson said Rosenstein “never threatened anyone in the room with a criminal investigation,” which hadn’t been claimed, but that the “Deputy Attorney General was making the point—after being threatened with contempt—that as an American citizen charged with the offense of contempt of Congress, he would have the right to defend himself, including requesting production of relevant emails and text messages and calling them as witnesses to demonstrate that their allegations are false.” (Read more from “Somebody at DOJ Isn’t Telling the Truth About Rosenstein’s Subpoena Threats Against Congressional Staff” HERE)

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Gasp! Is Science Leaning Toward Creation of Man?

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Say what? Human beings didn’t develop randomly out of primordial ooze? Rising spectacularly against the odds to create order from chaos like nothing else? Well, no. Much like science has blown the myth that a developing child is merely a blob of cells – something our troglodytic ancestors shockingly accepted – a current study published in the journal Human Evolution is shaking the foundations of evolutionist presumptions.

PhysOrg reports results indicate that “… nine out of 10 species on Earth today, including humans, came into being 100,000 to 200,000 years ago.” . . .

“In the past,” according to PJMedia, “researchers studied DNA in the nucleus of cells, which differs markedly from one species to another. But the new study analyzed a gene sequence found in mitochondrial DNA. (Mitochondria, the powerhouses of cells, produce about 90 percent of a cell’s chemical energy.) Although mitochondrial DNA is similar across all humans and animals, it also contains tiny bits that are different enough to distinguish between species. This difference allows researchers to estimate the approximate age of a species.”

And it’s the age that’s telling. So either the majority of life began nearly 200,000 years ago, or it re-emerged after a population bust. Cataclysmic event? Creation? Whatever the explanation, 200,000 years is not a long enough period of time to account for the random mutation evolutionists have speculated upon to gird their attempt to play God, substituting science for scripture.

Lead scientist David Thaler admits, “This conclusion is very surprising, and I fought against it as hard as I could.” Why? Well, because the findings clearly indicate evolutionist theory is just that: a best guess, perhaps a biased one put forth by those who do not want to admit the logic behind the theory of intelligent design. (Read more from “Gasp! Is Science Leaning Toward Creation of Man?” HERE)

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