Activists Go After Human Smuggling Law

IRLI shows court Florida law not "preempted"

WASHINGTON—The Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) has filed a brief in a Florida federal district court supporting a new Florida law aimed at curbing human smuggling. The brief is in opposition to a lawsuit by anti-borders activists trying to strike the law down.   The activists claim the law, which makes it a crime to transport a person in Florida if that person has entered the United States without inspection by border officials, is "field preempted" by federal immigration laws about the admission of aliens. IRLI shows in its brief, however, that the Florida law is not an immigration law, but a law about human smuggling in general, because even U.S. citizens returning from abroad are supposed to be inspected by customs officials.   IRLI also shows that this law advances Congress's purposes in federal immigration law, and so is the reverse of an obstacle to those purposes, as would be necessary for another kind of preemption called "obstacle preemption."   "That someone would be against laws against human smuggling, given the prevalence of that horrific practice in today's world, boggles the mind," said Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI. "But that is what we are up against. We hope our brief makes clear to the court that the valid principles of federal supremacy and preemption cannot be used to throttle this state measure aimed at making Florida and our country—and the people in them—more secure, and upholds the law."   The case is The Farmworker Association of Florida Inc. v. DeSantis, No. 1:23-cv-22655 (S.D. Fla.).

Gary Bauer: Ready For Deprogramming?

Hillary Clinton just made a jaw-dropping statement that should set off alarm bells everywhere. We should know by now that when Hillary puts something on the table, no matter how insane it sounds (like the Russia collusion hoax), it is often a signal of where the left is going.

In an interview with CNN, Hillary declared the MAGA movement to be "a cult," adding, "Maybe there needs to be a formal deprogramming of the cult members." She wasn't joking.

This goes well beyond her rhetorical use of the word "deplorable." This was Hillary's latest effort to dehumanize half the country, which is exactly what Marxists do all the time. She just said the quiet part out loud. 

The Soviets were notorious for their use of "reeducation camps." There are "reeducation camps" in communist China and North Korea today. 

I'm sure some people reading this are thinking to themselves, "That could never happen here." Think again! It already is. Some of the January 6th defendants, in order to get more reasonable sentences, have had to undergo a form of deprogramming.

Given Hillary's outrageous comment, conservatives should insist on follow-up questions. What exactly does she have in mind?

How many people are we talking about? In the latest Washington Post poll, Donald Trump is up 10 points over Joe Biden, so that's more than 80 million people who need "deprogramming."

It sounds like she's given this idea some thought. So, who is going to do it? Will it be FEMA? Will it be the Department of Education, which has already mastered the art of indoctrination in our schools? 

Has Hillary talked to her friends at the FBI, who we know are already tracking MAGA supporters? Has she been to any White House meetings to discuss this? 

Maybe this will fall under the Department of Homeland Security. That would be perfectly Orwellian, since so many laws meant to protect us are now being deployed against us.

By the way, if we are actually members of a cult who need deprogramming, I suspect they really don't want to allow us to vote. Do we normally try to get cult members to show up on Election Day? 

Maybe they'll deport us. They could use the same buses and planes they're using to transport illegal aliens all over the country. When a Biden border bus shows up in Indiana to release a bunch of illegal aliens, it could load up with MAGA supporters on its way back to the border! 

Leftist Cults

Here's the irony in all this: There are large, dangerous cults in America today, and virtually every one of them makes its home on the left. 

The climate change movement is a cult. It wants you to believe unbelievable things, like your car has more to do with global warming than the sun. If you try to debate the climate cultists, they denounce you and act like you just engaged in heresy. 

There are altars that politicians must bow before in order to get their votes. And the danger they present is that their beliefs and policies are the vehicle for imposing neo-Marxism on the country in the name of saving the planet. 

The transgender movement is another cult. Its mind-numbing effects are so powerful that it causes even a Harvard educated Supreme Court nominee to say she can't define what a woman is. 

It tries to convince us there are dozens of genders. It wants us to disbelieve the evidence before our own eyes about who is a man and who is a woman. It claims gender is "assigned" by someone at birth. It wants to force you to lie by calling a man a woman. 

People with such insane views would normally be considered cultists. But virtually every powerful force in the country -- from academia to entertainment to government -- is embracing this cult which sterilizes and mutilates children.  

And if you don't embrace it -- if you refuse to lie or resist allowing a boy into your daughter's locker room -- they accuse you of causing suicides. And that's what cults do -- when things start unraveling, as they always do, the unstable cult members threaten to kill themselves.

A final thought: One of the problems we have is a total lack of perspective. Even in conservative media people act like Kevin McCarthy losing his job is a huge crisis that shows just how off the rails we are. 

Well, one of the most influential progressives just suggested that millions of Americans who dare to disagree with the left must be "formally deprogrammed."  

It's obvious to me which of those things is the greater threat to our country.

 

Support Rep. Jim Jordan for Speaker

I am sure you have heard the good news that Rep. Kevin McCarthy has been officially ousted as Speaker of the House. This is our opportunity to have a conservative for Speaker. I am supporting Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.

Rep. Jordan and Rep. Steve Scalise are running in the Republican Conference for Speaker. They are both good men. I believe Rep. Jordan will do a better job. He is a Freedom Caucus member who is serving our country well as Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Before that, Rep. Jordan proved his toughness by standing up to Democrats as the Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee. Rep. Jordan has proved to be a true conservative and a careful manager of important congressional committees. I believe he is the best candidate for Speaker.

I am currently contacting Virginia's Republican Congressional Delegation to whip the vote for Rep. Jordan for Speaker, and I ask you to join me.

Please call their D.C. Office and press them to vote for Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio for Speaker of the House.

Rep. Rob Wittman, VA-1

D.C. Office: 202-225-4261

Email through Website

Rep. Jen Kiggans, VA-2

D.C. Office: 202-225-4215

Email through Website

Rep. Bob Good, VA-5

D.C. Office: 202-225-4711

Email through Website

Rep. Ben Cline, VA-6

D.C. Office: 202-225-5431

Email through Website

Rep. Morgan Griffith, VA-9

D.C. Office: 202-225-3861

Email through Website

For God & Country,

Amanda Chase

Activist Anti-Borders Attorneys Demand More Accommodation

IRLI shows court detention is not for convenience of aliens or their lawyers

WASHINGTON—Across the country, aliens subject to removal proceedings have chosen not to return to their home countries, but remain in the United States—in detention—while they contest their deportation. The Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) has filed a brief in DC federal district court opposing a suit by some of these aliens and their attorneys to make detention centers create more convenient means for them to communicate.   In its brief, IRLI shows that the purpose of alien detention is not punishment, and thus the conditions in the centers cannot be harsh or punitive. That does not mean, however, that all possible steps must be taken to facilitate communication between detainees and the attorneys they hire. Provided they have reasonable means to communicate—as they do—their detention conditions are not punitive and thus are acceptable under the law.   "Humane detention is already an accommodation to illegal aliens and criminal aliens, so they can contest their deportation here, rather than back in the home countries," said Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI. "They have a right to pay for their own attorneys, and a right to consult with them, but, under the law, our detention centers need not expend additional scarce resources merely for the convenience of these aliens, let alone their lawyers. Lawsuits such as this are part of a wider effort to strain and break the system, and we hope the court simply applies the law as written."   The case is Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project v. DHS, 1:22-cv-03118 (D.D.C.).

RINOs and Swamp Monsters Beware

Rep. Kevin McCarthy has been officially ousted as Speaker of the House, and deservingly so. We need a shakeup in DC., and now we are getting one.

Lead by Rep. Matt Gaetz, seven Republican members, including Virginia's Rep. Bob Good, voted to oust McCarthy. The others were Reps. Andy Biggs, Ken Buck, Tim Burchett, Eli Crane, Nancy Mace and Matt Rosendale.

Republican leadership needs to be held accountable. It is so refreshing to see the status quo up on Capitol Hill get rattled like this.

The people are sick and tired of sending their hard-earned money to support boondoggles in Ukraine. Europe can pay their fair share for their war. We have been more than generous with aid to Ukraine.

One of Mr. Gaetz's principal complaints against Speaker McCarthy was that leadership had passed legislation with Democratic votes that a majority of Republicans opposed. We need a Speaker who will stand up for our conservative principles and McCarthy was never the right person for that. Removing McCarthy is the right move.

Special thanks to my friend Virginia Congressman Bob Good for standing with the people.

For God & Country,

Amanda Chase

Should Biden Give Aliens Welfare?

IRLI shows court that Biden's public charge rule exceeds the administration's authority

WASHINGTON—The Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) filed a brief in a Texas federal district court showing that the Biden Administration's 2022 public charge rule should be struck down because it fails to implement a statute excluding aliens who are likely to be dependent on welfare.   Since before this nation's founding, Americans have excluded aliens likely to be "public charges"—that is, dependent on the government for support. In the 1990s, Congress passed statutes directing that those likely to be public charges should not be accepted as immigrants.   In "interpreting" the phrase "public charge" in these statutes, the Clinton Administration drastically narrowed it, excluding not all public charges, but only those who depended on cash benefits, as opposed to non-cash benefits such as food stamps. This agency interpretation remained in place for twenty years, under presidents of both parties, until, in 2019, the Trump Administration issued a public charge rule aligned with the full meaning of "public charge" intended by Congress.   In 2022, following lawsuits by activists demanding welfare for aliens, the Biden Administration issued a new public charge rule that echoed the earlier Clinton interpretation.   In its brief against the 2022 rule, IRLI shows that, though Congress clearly excludes almost all welfare-dependent aliens in the public charge statute, the Biden rule, in reviving the flawed Clinton interpretation, only excludes a fraction of them. By disregarding so much of the statute's sweep, the administration fails to implement the statute, and thus exceeds its authority.   "From colonial times onwards, America has insisted that settlers and immigrants be self-sufficient, not taxpayer-dependent," said Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI. "This rule has served our nation well, but in recent decades it hasn't been enforced—except under President Trump—to the point where immigrant households are now more dependent on public assistance than native households. We hope the court sees how much this administration and most earlier ones have disregarded the law, and strikes down Biden's reversion to prior bad practice."   The case is Texas v. Mayorkas, No. 6:23-cv-00001 (S.D. Tex.).

Biden Administration Finally Acknowledges a Wall is Necessary

9 Million Illegal Border Crossings Later, the Biden Administration Finally Acknowledges a Wall is Necessary, Says FAIR

More than two and half years and some 9 million illegal entries later, the Biden administration is now acknowledging that we have a very serious problem along our southern border and that physical barriers are needed to stem the flow of illegal immigration into the United States. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced today that it will "take such actions as may be necessary to install additional physical barriers and roads (including the removal of obstacles to detection of illegal entrants) in the vicinity of the United States border to deter illegal crossings in areas of 'high illegal entry' into the United States" [emphasis added]. 

"This is the first acknowledgement on the part of the Biden administration that our borders are not secure and that the president's cancellation of border wall construction on his first day in office was a mistake. Better late than never, but a lot of damage has been inflicted on the nation by the Biden administration's refusal to erect border barriers that American taxpayers had already paid for, and that damage is being added to every single day," said Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). 

"After years of denying that a border wall and other physical barriers are effective, the DHS announcement represents a sea change in the administration's thinking: A secure wall is an effective tool for maintaining control of our borders. Having made that concession, the administration needs to immediately begin construction of wall across the border to prevent the illegal traffic from simply moving to other areas of the border," Stein continued. 

"In the interim, it is also critical that the administration rethink its catch-and-release policies that are driving mass illegal immigration. The 'additional physical barriers' DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is calling for will take time to build. As each month sets a new record for illegal entries, measures must be put in place immediately to ensure that illegal aliens are turned back at the border, rather than released into the country, and that all of our immigration laws are vigorously enforced. 

"It is tragic that the crisis at the border and its effect on communities all across the country had to reach this point before the administration decided it is time to act. Having made that call, they need to go all-in by completing the border wall and reversing all of the failed policies that got us to this point," concluded Stein. 

Gary Bauer: Cultural Chaos

The chaos in Congress is dominating the headlines today, and I'll address that issue in a moment. But there are far more damaging things happening in America that we should be focused on. 

The Republic will survive the temporary chaos caused by a sudden change of leadership in the House of Representatives. We won't survive the collapse of norms and values that have defined this country and Western Civilization for centuries.

For example, the entire month of June apparently isn't enough for the LGBTQ crowd. Now, they're claiming October as LGBTQ History Month. Why a history month, too? It's just another excuse to push this radical agenda in the government-run schools to indoctrinate our children.

The Los Angeles Unified School District is planning an entire week of activities for "National Coming Out Day" later this month. There are lesson plans circulating all the way down to the elementary schools. 

Ponder that. Teachers are going to explain homosexuality and who knows what else to little kids and encourage them to "come out" as gay, lesbian or transgender. 

One of the items on the agenda is to ensure that a prominent transgender individual speaks to children in their class, further exposing little children to this gender insanity.

That's what education officials think is really important to expose our children to. I wonder how often the Los Angeles school system brings police officers or veterans into the classroom.

There is also an "identity map" for children that connects characteristics like "race," "gender identity" and "sexuality." How are these things connected? Well, that's called "intersectionality," and it's how the neo-Marxist left enforces ideological groupthink.

This is what's happening in Los Angeles, the City of Angels, which may have the most ironic name of any city in America. Not long ago, the city's baseball team thought it was a really good idea to honor the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group of drag queens mockingly dressed as nuns, at the team's gay Pride Month celebration.

The level of indoctrination in virtually every school district in America, should make us angry. But it should also scare us to death. This is the stuff of societal collapse!

Only 54% of students in Los Angeles are proficient in English. Even fewer, just 29%, are proficient in math. Yet the educational and political establishment of Los Angeles is dedicated to an attack on normalcy and the Natural Law. 

I can hear some people saying, "Gary, it's just one school district in California. Big deal." That's a mistake. 

This is one of the largest school districts in America. These students will graduate and move to communities all over the country. They will soon be voters deciding future policies for the country your children and grandchildren are growing up in. 

If we're going to save America, we must stop this insanity. We must fight and win the culture war!

America’s Mayor Celebrates Communism — Paul Jacob on the sad, sad spectacle of a major American leader cozying up to the CCP

The American political tradition is not communist. It is anti-totalitarian. So we don't expect our political leaders to cozy up to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

One would never want the mayor of Podunk, let alone New York City, to attend a flag-raising ceremony to celebrate the 74th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, a brutal totalitarian dictatorship.

But that's just what New York City Mayor Eric Adams did on October 1.

Now, Adams didn't tell the Chinese Communist Party officials and others attending what a fan he is of the Chinese government's wide-scale and unrelenting repression and murder, but his very presence implied acceptance of the Chinazi regime: Hey, you made it. Seventy-four years! Good for you guys.

A CCP-PRC ceremony conducted to commemorate the CCP founding of the PRC is not about being nice to Chinese people or celebrating a vague diversity. If you go there in an official capacity to glad hand Chinazi officials and wave the U.S. flag along with the Chinese flag, you are sanctioning the Chinazi regime. You're telling everybody — everybody too busy to read news or history or investigative reports — that these rulers aren't so bad.

"That flag is a flag of repression," says Chinese dissident Zhou Fengsuo. "It's the CCP flag of China. The day when they killed many of my compatriots on Tiananmen Square . . . that's the flag they raised there to show their victory over peaceful people."

Adams has provided another propaganda coup for the CCP, which enjoys racking them up.

This is Common Sense. I'm Paul Jacob.

Gary Bauer: Targeting Trump

The left's campaign to persecute Donald Trump relentlessly marches on. Right now, New York progressives are attempting to destroy the Trump Organization, potentially bankrupting the former president and his family. 

In doing so, they are taking America down the dark and dangerous path of Soviet-era Stalinism, where the state prosecutes its political opponents.

In her opening monologue last night, Laura Ingraham addressed this sham of a trial, what it says about America today and why it should concern us all. Ingraham noted that New York Attorney Letitia James based her 2018 campaign on prosecuting Donald Trump "every day." 

Did any conservative attorney general make a similar vow – to prosecute Joe Biden "every day" after they took office? As Ingraham noted, James should have been sanctioned by the New York Bar for such outrageous comments. 

That is so antithetical to our history and traditions. We do not use our judicial system to criminalize political disagreements and punish political opponents. That's what totalitarian societies do.

There's no wronged party in this case. James is alleging that the Trump Organization committed fraud by overvaluing certain properties to get more favorable loans. But no bank objected to the loans. No lender is alleging fraud, and all loans were paid.

Moreover, banks are supposed to do their own due diligence before issuing loans. If any bank objected to the valuations, it didn't have to make the loans.

This is a dispute about property valuations, and neither the judge or Attorney General James are real estate experts. But none of that matters. Their goal is to bankrupt Trump and put him in jail. 

Like a communist regime, they want to remove any evidence that he ever existed. They don't want a single building in New York to bear the Trump name. They want Donald Trump dead or sleeping on a sidewalk grate with all the other homeless they created. 

Gary Bauer: Shutdown Averted

Well, we narrowly averted a government shutdown this weekend. After days of contentious wrangling, Congress finally approved a short-term continuing resolution to fund the government for 45 days – no thanks to Rep. Jamaal Bowman, who did his best to derail the whole process by pulling a fire alarm. 

What a mess! 

I think everyone who receives this daily report broadly agrees that America is on the edge of a cliff on multiple fronts. Overwhelming majorities believe our country is headed in the wrong direction. Many fear we're losing America, that our country is turning into a "police state." 

There is an ethical and moral meltdown in the country – from the rampant crime in our city streets to corruption in public office. 

Our borders are wide-open to our enemies. 

We're facing the possibility of tripping into a nuclear war over Ukraine. 

Our current fiscal policy is totally unsustainable. We're spending $2 trillion more than we take in every year. 

We know the political left has no answers. In fact, their neo-Marxist policies are responsible for most of our problems. 

That's why it is so disheartening to see the muddled situation among conservative ranks on Capitol Hill. It looks like another famous GOP circular firing squad is taking shape. Matt Gaetz will not be elected Speaker of the House. It's also hard to see how anyone better than Kevin McCarthy can be elected. 

For his part, McCarthy has repeatedly promised to restore normal order and move 12 appropriations bills through the House. His inability to do that contributed to last week's rebellion among some House conservatives.

The Senate GOP caucus is worse. There are 49 Republican senators. On a good day, 20 of them are worthy of the battle – people like Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Mike Lee (R-UT), Rand Paul (R-KY), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), J.D. Vance (R-OH), and Marco Rubio (R-FL), who understands populist conservatism better than most. 

On the political scene, Donald Trump continues to be the example of how to fight the left. But there are reasons to remain hopeful outside of traditional party politics. 

One big reason (thanks to Donald Trump) is the Supreme Court. For the first time in 30 years, we have a conservative majority that is solidly in our corner on most issues.

Another example is Elon Musk. While he is certainly not with us on everything, his willingness to defend free speech and use his platform to outflank the leftist media is an incredible asset we did not have two years ago. His video at the southern border has been viewed more than 100 million times. 

There are rising young grassroots leaders like Charlie Kirk, Riley Gaines and Matt Walsh. Influencers like Joe Rogan and academics like Jordan Peterson are powerful voices against the left's neo-Marxism.

There are spontaneous grassroots movements, like Moms for Liberty, rising up to defend our history and reclaim our schools. 

There is a spate of movies with conservative themes that are vastly exceeding expectations. 

There are new voices in the music industry writing songs that rally Middle America.

And normal American kids are rebelling against the LGBTQ mafia and trans insanity, showing a toughness that is still all too rare from America's pulpits.

There will be bumps in the road along the way, but we must persevere. We cannot give up on America!

Victory! Court Rules in Favor of Environmental Challenge to Biden’s Border Stand-Down

Court orders trial on whether border ranchers have standing

WASHINGTON—On Saturday, the District of Columbia federal district court ruled that a key portion of environmental claims by border ranchers against Biden border policies were meritorious, and so denied the Biden Administration's motion for summary judgment on those claims. The Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) had filed a brief in the court supporting plaintiffs.   Specifically, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden ruled that, in terminating the Remain in Mexico policy—in which asylum seekers were required to wait in Mexico, not the United States, for their asylum hearings—and halting border wall construction, the Biden Administration violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) because it failed to make any assessment of these actions' impact on the environment.   The judge, however, found that there was an issue of fact on whether these Biden policies caused the increased flood of illegal aliens over the rancher plaintiffs' land, and thus whether the trash, violence, and chaos the border-crossers generated on it, which sharply decreased the ranchers' enjoyment of their environment, gave the ranchers standing to sue. So Judge McFadden ordered a trial so he could evaluate testimony on this issue of causation.   If Judge McFadden finds that these Biden policies contributed to the surge in illegal crossings over the ranchers' land that happened following these policies, his ruling on the merits will kick in, and the court will strike down these policies and order the administration to assess their environmental impact. IRLI developed the immigration-related NEPA cause of action and filed the first immigration-related NEPA case in 2016, representing the largest assortment of plaintiffs ever assembled for a NEPA action, that is, ranchers, conservation groups, professional associations, and public interest groups from multiple states.   "We are pleased that the court found that these claims under NEPA have merit," said Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI. "And we hope that, at trial, the court will conclude what is obvious: that Biden's border stand-down has caused the explosion in illegal crossings that followed it, and thus vacate and remand these actions for environmental assessment, however awkward it may be for the administration to have to perform it."   The case is Massachusetts Coalition for Immigration Reform v. DHS, No. 1:20-cv-3438 (D.D.C.).

Fifth Circuit to Rule on Texas Self-Defense Case

IRLI shows Texas's war on the cartels should be free from judicial meddling

WASHINGTON—The Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) recently filed a brief in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in a case that, for the first time in history, puts at issue a constitutional provision that allows states to go to war if they have been invaded.   A state of war exists in Texas. The enemy are Mexican cartels that control the Mexican side of the border and run massive numbers of foreign nationals, and massive quantities of drugs and other contraband, into Texas and other states. Governor Greg Abbott declared the war under Section 10 of Article I of the Constitution, which states that, "without the Consent of Congress," states may not "engage in War" unless they have been "actually invaded." Steps Abbott has taken to wage this war to date include placing floating barriers in the Rio Grande to block invaders, and people who fund the cartels, from entering the state.   The Biden Administration responded by suing to stop Abbott. It sought and got a preliminary injunction from a district court ordering Abbott to remove the barriers, on the basis that he has put them there in violation of a federal law, the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899. IRLI had filed a brief in the case defending Texas's right to self-defense, but the district court, while discussing IRLI's brief at length, woefully mischaracterized both it and Section 10.   Texas appealed the district court's interference with its war effort to the Fifth Circuit, and that court granted a stay, or suspension, of the injunction pending appeal. The court then fast-tracked the appeal, ordering an extraordinarily compressed briefing schedule on its merits.   IRLI's brief on those merits has two parts. First, we show that whether Texas has validly declared war, and whether its chosen means of waging war are appropriate, are both non-justiciable political questions, meaning they should not be decided by courts, but by the political branches of government—here, Governor Abbott. Then IRLI shows that Texas's valid exercise of its power of self-defense, which flows directly from the Constitution, overrides any conflicting federal laws for the duration of the conflict.   "War should not be decided in courtrooms, and the Constitution gives states direct power to declare and make war if invaded," said Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI. "We assume Texas is just getting started—and the judiciary is not the appropriate branch to second-guess how it defends itself. We hope the court rules this Biden lawsuit non-justiciable and orders it dismissed on that basis, leaving Texas free to turn back an invasion the federal government has invited and scarcely opposed."   The case is United States v. Abbott, No. 23-50632 (Fifth Circuit).

Traditional Terrorism — Paul Jacob on the hallowed habits of leftist saboteurs

Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) pulled a fire alarm in the Capitol, apparently to postpone a vote on a measure that would have kept the federal government operational, as it lurches into another of its periodic debt ceiling crises.

He denies the accusation . . . even as Breitbart News reports that he "ripped down two signs warning a second floor door in the Cannon House Office Building was for emergency use only before pulling the fire alarm and running out through a different door on a different floor." It's all "on tape," requiring no advanced dialectic to determine the truth. 

I hazard that no one believes Bowman's denial, not even his many defenders — for no one is really that stupid, not even in the Imperial City.

The go-to interpretive of the non-left commentariat is to compare it to the January 6 protests and riots. 

When those 2020 entrants into the Capitol disrupted the Senate's ratification of the Electoral College results, they were accused of affronts to democracy, the peaceful handoff of power, and of obstructing the normal operations of government. Rep. Bowman, by misusing a fire alarm, was doing pretty much the same thing. But he is on the side of Big Government and the Democratic insider elite, so he's probably not in as much jeopardy as those "losers" who found themselves stuck in prison.

But I notice another parallel: the juvenile stunt of pulling the fire alarm is a classic tactic of leftist protesters. Leftwing saboteurs of free speech have pulled many a similar alarm, if usually only to scuttle campus speaking events by the likes of Ben Shapiro, Cathy Young, et al. The saboteurs almost always get away with it. 

Bowman probably thought he would, too.

It's tradition!

This is Common Sense. I'm Paul Jacob.

Save the Date: October 17th

Dr. Robert Malone

 will be the Guest Speaker at Madison County Republican Women's monthly meeting

 

Tuesday, October 17th, 6:00 PM -8:00 PM

at the Fellowship Baptist Church Annex, 725 Gate Road, Madison

Robert W. Malone, MD, MS is an internationally recognized virologist and immunologist, clinical research and regulatory affairs expert, US federal contract proposal and project manager, and the original inventor of mRNA delivery and vaccination as a technology, DNA vaccination, and multiple non-viral DNA and RNA/mRNA platform delivery technologies. Scientifically trained at UC Davis, UC San Diego, and at the Salk Institute Molecular Biology and Virology laboratories, Dr. Malone received his medical training at Northwestern University (MD) and Harvard University Medical School (clinical research postgraduate fellowship), and in Pathology at UC Davis. He has almost one hundred academic peer-reviewed publications and has been an invited speaker at about fifty conferences.

 

The meeting dinner will feature savory Meatloaf plus great side dishes and desserts by MCRW Members. Dinner donation $10. Everyone is invited to attend this interesting meeting.

Congress Squanders Opportunity to End the Disaster at the Border

The following statement was issued by Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), regarding the failure of the House of Representatives to include meaningful border enforcement language in the Continuing Resolution: 

(Washington, D.C., September 30, 2023) "During this spending battle, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives squandered a chance to address one of the nation's most pressing crises—our dangerously out-of-control borders. The Continuing Resolution (CR), which was offered on the floor Friday, included many of the spending cuts conservative Republicans were demanding and it included strong policy changes that would have reversed the Biden administration's open-borders policies.  Yet, nearly two dozen House Republicans voted against it.   

"After that failure, Speaker McCarthy today put a clean CR on the floor that offers no spending cuts and no immigration enforcement provisions, but succeeded in passing it with the support of Democrats. In doing so, the Republicans who blocked Friday's CR proposal allowed the perfect to become the enemy of the good. The good, in this case, would have been passage of meaningful border enforcement measures and a step toward the overall budget cuts they championed.  

"The Senate, eager to capitalize on this failure, quickly moved to pass the clean CR offered by the House. The result is that, even in the face of new record numbers of encounters at the border, for the next 45 days nothing will change and the crisis at the border will rage on. 

"The CR passed today allows President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas to continue their open-borders agenda, and actually provides them the opportunity to abuse our immigration laws to help facilitate the entry of illegal aliens.  The status quo is not acceptable, and only policy changes will avert the crisis that the American people and communities across the country see today. 

"Congress' failure to act in the face of this raging border crisis and humanitarian disaster is unconscionable. Between now and November 17, when the CR runs out, House leaders must make it clear that any spending agreements for FY 2024 must include H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act. 

"What took place over the last few days was a missed opportunity to address a full-fledged crisis. The nation cannot afford to wait.  Congress has failed us once.  It must use the next 45 days to act."