Nov. 12, 2019
Permission to republish original opeds and cartoons granted.
Illegal immigration down 63.5 percent from peak in May after U.S.-Mexico deal, proof that Trump’s tariff threat worked
Apprehensions
on the southern border fell for the fourth consecutive month to 52,546 in
September from a peak of 144,116 in May, a 63.5 percent drop, reflecting a
major slowdown in migration according to the latest data from Customs and
Border Patrol — and prove that sometimes tariffs do work. The progress comes
after the June 7 deal between President Donald Trump and Mexican President
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador that avoided Trump’s threatened tariffs on May 30
that would have been 5 percent starting on June 10, 10 percent on July 1 and
then up to 25 percent by October. Critics at the time said it couldn’t be done.
But that was wrong. Without the tariffs, nobody would have been talking. And
without President Trump, nobody would have even tried.
Cartoon: Schiff Justice
Adam
Schiff delivers swift justice.
New Book by Star Parker with Rick Manning: Necessary Noise
How
Donald Trump Inflames the Culture War and Why This Is Good News for America
More than 8,000 bad VA employees fired, suspended or demoted, so why not apply same law to the rest of the federal bureaucracy?
Americans
for Limited Government President Rick Manning: “The Veteran’s Administration
can fire incompetent, lazy or recalcitrant employees due to 2017 reforms passed
by Congress and signed by President Trump in the aftermath of a scandal where
the VA health care system was letting veterans die on the streets rather than
provide care. The result of changes in the laws governing VA personnel are
clear as more than 8,000 VA employees have been fired, demoted or suspended
since President Trump took office. The only question is why shouldn’t this same
type of reform be enacted throughout the federal government?”
Kevin McCullough: Why Republicans must subpoena Eric Ciaramella
“Adam
Schiff acted as everyone with a pulse believed he would. Late on Saturday he
deep-sixed the rights of the accused. He trampled on the right of one to face
their accuser. He hacksawed the fundamental rights of fairness, and again
portrayed himself as some sort of omniscient being with final say. So it was
just Adam Schiff being himself. The embarrassingly laughable ego-maniac that
started this #fauxpeachment farce to begin with. In releasing the letter to the
ranking member of the House intel Committee he alerted the world that he would ‘disallow’
witnesses such as Hunter Biden (you know, the guy named in the phone call at
the center of this proceeding) and the ‘anonymous whistleblower’ (the guy
Schiff coordinated with to launch this circus).”
Illegal immigration down 63.5 percent from peak in May after U.S.-Mexico deal, proof that Trump’s tariff threat worked
By Robert Romano
Apprehensions on the southern border fell for the fourth consecutive month to 52,546 in September from a peak of 144,116 in May, a 63.5 percent drop, reflecting a major slowdown in migration according to the latest data from Customs and Border Patrol — and it all proves that President Donald’s tariffs are working.
The progress comes after the June 7 deal between President Donald Trump and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador that avoided Trump’s threatened tariffs on May 30 that would have been 5 percent starting on June 10, 10 percent on July 1 and then up to 25 percent by October.
At the time, Trump wrote on Twitter, “On June 10th, the United States will impose a 5% Tariff on all goods coming into our Country from Mexico, until such time as illegal migrants coming through Mexico, and into our Country, STOP. The Tariff will gradually increase until the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied… at which time the Tariffs will be removed. Details from the White House to follow.”
Then the deal was cut days later, which included a Mexican military deployment to interdict the oncoming migrant caravan from Central America, as well as provision for asylum seekers to wait out pending hearings in Mexico without being allowed to cross into the U.S.
According to the text of the joint agreement, “Mexico will take unprecedented steps to increase enforcement to curb irregular migration, to include the deployment of its National Guard throughout Mexico, giving priority to its southern border. Mexico is also taking decisive action to dismantle human smuggling and trafficking organizations as well as their illicit financial and transportation networks.”
In addition, the U.S. has expanded the Migrant Protection Protocols, per the agreement, “those crossing the U.S. Southern Border to seek asylum will be rapidly returned to Mexico where they may await the adjudication of their asylum claims… [And,] Mexico will authorize the entrance of all of those individuals for humanitarian reasons, in compliance with its international obligations, while they await the adjudication of their asylum claims.”
If the agreement in itself immediately proved that Trump could negotiate such an agreement, and that Mexico was willing to participate given the proper inducements, it is the substantial downturn in migration now that shows that it might be sticking.
Critics at the time said it couldn’t be done.
At the time, the Wall Street Journal editorial board on May 31 had predicted, “The first problem here is that Mr. Trump is blaming Mexico for a mess it can’t solve… Perhaps it could better control its border with Guatemala, but the caravans north are often led by gangs that know how to bribe or avoid police.”
The Council on Foreign Relations on June 5 stated, “President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico can’t staunch the flow of people from his neighbors to the south.”
But that was wrong. Way, way wrong. Apparently Mexico could do a lot more than it was letting on, including by deploying its military and enforcing agreements to protect asylum seekers.
And all it took was a little pressure from Trump, who had already shown that he was willing to wield tariffs against the much larger Chinese economy. They took him to heart, and now the number of migrants is plummeting.
Without the tariffs, nobody would have been talking. And without President Trump, nobody would have even tried.
Robert Romano is the Vice President of Public Policy at Americans for Limited Government.
Cartoon: Schiff Justice
By A.F. Branco
Click here for a higher level resolution version.
New Book by Star Parker: Necessary Noise
How Donald Trump Inflames the Culture War and Why This Is Good News for America
By Star Parker
With Richard Manning
Click here to get a copy of Necessary Noise!
“Anyone surprised by impeachment hearings has not been paying attention. We are in a culture war for the heart and soul of America and have been for the last fifty years. The election of Donald Trump just brought the details of this war to the headlines to force everyone to chose a side" - Star Parker.
Popular political commentator and nationally syndicated columnist Star Parker reveals the truths driving the great divide behind the unexpected presidency of Donald Trump, writing that the intensity of the noise it has caused will help America confront and cure her problems.
In her new book Necessary Noise, author Star Parker and contributor Richard Manning explore some of the most polarizing topics of this war so all voters will know what is at stake in the 2020 presidential election.
“I think all of the political noise we are hearing today is very necessary to make America wholesome and whole; and frankly I believe that the louder the noise gets the better off we will be as American people. Because as then, when President Lincoln pointed out in his famous House Divided speech in 1858 that our nation could no longer be half free and half slave, we are now at similar point, that our nation must become “all one thing or all the other” but no longer could we be both” says Parker.
Necessary Noise examines the heated crossroads in which we find ourselves, tackling a wide range of topics — from immigration, to education, to race relations and sexual matters — and provides the framework for participation during this important time in history, to use our voices instead of violence—and the voting booth instead of a second Civil War.
Contributor Richard Manning agrees saying "President Trump is making Necessary Noise in order to drain the swamp. In this book the reader will see how we got where we are today in America, and how President Trump is going to pull us out of it."
For a Sneak Peak of the first pages click here.
Available for TV & Radio Nationwide
Conservative thought leader Star Parker is the Founder and President of CURE ( The Center for Urban Renewal and Education ), a non-profit policy institute based in Washington DC whose mission is to fight poverty and restore dignity through messages of faith, freedom, and personal responsibility.
In her most recent book Necessary Noise, Star Parker explains why the noisy political rhetoric in the news today is good for voters as it provides specifics on why the Trump presidency is vital for America's future.
Parker believes the noise of political debate - from Impeachment to Kavanaugh to the Border Wall - may seem overwhelming, but that our country has needed authentic and candid discussions for a very long time. And she believes that no one could have pulled back the mask like President Donald J. Trump.
Click here to learn more about Star Parker.
More than 8,000 bad VA employees fired, suspended or demoted, so why not apply same law to the rest of the federal bureaucracy?
Nov. 11, 2019, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in support of the MERIT Act by U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) and Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.):
“The Veteran’s Administration can fire incompetent, lazy or recalcitrant employees due to 2017 reforms passed by Congress and signed by President Trump in the aftermath of a scandal where the VA health care system was letting veterans die on the streets rather than provide care.
“The result of changes in the laws governing VA personnel are clear as more than 8,000 VA employees have been fired, demoted or suspended since President Trump took office. The only question is why shouldn’t this same type of reform be enacted throughout the federal government?
“Congress is in the midst of passing another massive funding bill, and the language which has allowed for bad federal employees to be fired from the Veteran’s Administration should be included for all federal employees. Known as the MERIT Act, legislation sponsored by Senator David Perdue and Representative Barry Loudermilk both of Georgia, would take the VA language and apply it to every federal agency.
“One of the dirty little secrets which give the administrative state so much power in Washington, D.C. is that it is virtually impossible to fire lazy, incompetent and recalcitrant employees, so taxpayers keep getting fleeced because of the civil service laws.
“Congress needs to fix this broken system and a simple, easy first step is to include the MERIT Act language into the Omnibus spending bill.”
ALG Editor’s Note: In the following featured column from Townhall.com’s Kevin McCullough, House Democrats are denying House Republicans’ calls for any witnesses that might prove President Donald Trump innocent of any wrongdoing in the impeachment proceedings:
Why Republicans must subpoena Eric Ciaramella
By Kevin McCullough
Adam Schiff acted as everyone with a pulse believed he would. Late on Saturday he deep-sixed the rights of the accused. He trampled on the right of one to face their accuser. He hacksawed the fundamental rights of fairness, and again portrayed himself as some sort of omniscient being with final say.
So it was just Adam Schiff being himself.
The embarrassingly laughable ego-maniac that started this #fauxpeachment farce to begin with.
In releasing the letter to the ranking member of the House intel Committee he alerted the world that he would “disallow” witnesses such as Hunter Biden (you know, the guy named in the phone call at the center of this proceeding) and the “anonymous whistleblower” (the guy Schiff coordinated with to launch this circus).
There is zero reason to deny the minority party access to either witness. For if everything that Schiff is doing is on the up and up such testimony would add to the “transparent case," The case being that the president committed such heinously criminal acts that violate the conscience of the people who elected him that the only remedy remaining is to regretfully remove him from office.
Hearing from the witnesses—if the case was legitimate—would bolster majority party claims and truly set in play a test in the Senate for a Constitutional crisis of duty.
Of course the monkey-grinder dance routine from Schiff is perhaps the least legitimate undertaking in the people’s House in perhaps the history of the nation.
No one believes it’s serious.
Even most people who hate the president know it’s a farce. They’re okay with it, of course, because they hate Trump and would use this or any means at their disposal to send him on his way. But get them talking and you’ll soon see them admit that it’s not fair—they just don’t care.
Which is why, when this idiocy fails, it will be time to return the House to common sense, and a legitimate investigation into the coordination, strategy, and origin of the #fauxpeachment must be commenced.
Key to that investigation would be an honest conversation with a man named Eric Ciaramella.
Ciaramella is an expert on Ukraine. As a CIA analyst he has a thorough working knowledge of the intricacies of the region and the outgoing administration there.
Ciaramella worked for the Obama administration and figured out a way to place himself as a holdover into the Trump administration—specifically at the White House. It would seem such a working knowledge of how events unfolded in our change of administrations would yield insights as well.
Ciaramella worked with Dr. Susan Rice. There has never existed a more truth-challenged individual as Dr. Susan Rice. We all remember how she marched on to the set of every Sunday talk show and told the nation an abject lie about how the September 11, 2012 attack on our people in Benghazi occurred. Certainly working for a person that untruthful and unstable might reveal some of what the National Security Council methods and policies were toward Ukraine from 2015 forward.
Ciaramella also worked with then-Vice President Biden, a name never mentioned in President Trump’s phone call, but somehow the person believed to be the object of the president’s attempt to “dig up dirt.” With the intersection of Biden’s responsibility in Ukraine, Ciaramella’s expertise in the region, his knowledge of events seems reasonable for honest citizens to know more about.
Ciaramella sent an email during his time in the Trump White House that was cited in the Mueller report on Russia. He has close ties to Brennan, Clapper and former President Obama. He has had in depth internal knowledge of the workings of national security policy across the spectrum of time involving the 2016 election corruption that is currently under investigation.
Ciaramella, since leaving the White House, was also highly unlikely to be on the July 25th phone call, so we needn’t worry about his outing any firsthand information.
Ciaramella should also be considered for testimony expressly because we know who he is, and because Mr. Schiff is only “disallowing” the “anonymous ‘whistleblower.’”
A “whistleblower” that coordinated with Schiff’s staff to help paper-up a complaint that had no knowledge of the events, but relying on third and fourth hand sourcing.
A “whistleblower” that somehow confused a “favor” to look into 2016 election corruption (which is in the transcript) with a mention of someone named Hunter some 500 words after the “favor.”
Adam Schiff literally had to buy votes to even get #fauxpeachment passed. Congressional reps in Trump-won districts have seen thousands of dollars pour into the campaign coffers—directly from Schiff’s campaign account—ironically just before changing their “no” votes to “yes.”
Max Rose in New York CD-11 and Josh Gottheimer in New Jersey CD-5 being just two examples.
Fortunately every poll shows a decreased interest in any actual impeachment of the President. And as hundreds of thousands of everyday Americans at campaign rallies, African American gatherings in Atlanta, and the nation’s number one college football matchup this weekend demonstrate they love the policies and advances they’ve all experienced these past three years.
It is that advancement that this election will be based on.
Now about that chat with Eric Ciaramella.
