New Bill Would Strengthen Penalties On Lawmakers Who Shelter Illegal Aliens

By William Teach December 4, 2017 – 8:03 am

This should make for a fun debate in Congress, and should be fast-tracked to the floor so we can have that debate, which would make Democrats, and a few squishy Republicans, look really, really bad

(Fox News) A Republican congressman plans to introduce a bill Monday that would threaten huge fines and prison time for elected officials accused of sheltering illegal immigrant criminals from deportation, in the wake of the not-guilty verdict in the Kate Steinle murder trial.

Indiana Rep. Todd Rokita’s bill is one of the most aggressive pieces of legislation to date aimed at sanctuary city policies, going beyond the Justice Department’s threat to cut off grants to those jurisdictions.

“Politicians don’t get to pick and choose what laws to comply with,” Rokita told Fox News. “Americans are dying because politicians sworn to uphold the law refuse to do so.”

His “Stopping Lawless Actions of Politicians (SLAP) Act” would hold state and local lawmakers criminally responsible for refusing to comply with federal immigration enforcement efforts. The Republican’s bill would subject violators to a $1 million fine and up to five years in prison if they are convicted.

It’s a very interesting proposition, holding politicians liable. However, here’s the thing: first, we would need to see the actual language of the bill to see exactly who is held liable. Because it would need to include all elected officials, including mayors, governors, and sheriff’s, as well as police department leaders, who are typically not elected, but appointed, and appointed officials. Second, it needs to apply to federal government employees, not just state and local.

Third, it may not be Constitutional to apply this law and have harsher penalties for certain people than is already on the books. You may hold elected officials to higher standards (sure doesn’t seem like that happens anymore, eh?), but, we still have Equal Justice embedded into our Constitution. Finally, we do no apply said existing law in the first place: when was the last time anyone was charged, much less prosecuted using that law? Depending on the situation, anyone convicted of harboring/sheltering an illegal alien could receive a jail term starting at up to 5 years. As for fines, the law refers you to Title 18, which, under Chapter 227, Subchapter C- Fines, if the offense is considered a felony, a fine not more than $250,000 for individuals, $500,000 for organizations. There can also be fines linked to financial gain (say, would fundraising off of supporting illegal immigration be considered financial gain?)

While the law is well intentioned, it’s best applied to create one of those National Conversations Democrats love. Let’s simply apply the existing law.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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“The Last Great Exploration On Earth Is To Survive On Earth” Or Something

By William Teach December 3, 2017 – 6:36 pm

Mankind has survived numerous warm and cool periods throughout our tenure. Even survived a full on ice age. But, a tiny increase in global temperatures will doom us all or something

(HuffPost) Evoking images of calving icebergs, and endless white icescapes, Antarctica has been described as a “silence deep with a breath like sleep”. Some say that its profound beauty haunts you for the rest of your days. And, one man who understands this better than most is Robert Swan OBE.

In 1986, he made the longest unassisted walk ever to the South Pole. Three years later he went onto the North Pole and by the age of 33, he became first person in history to walk to both the top and bottom of the world. And, after nearly losing his life on those treks, Swan vowed to never go back.

But, some three decades later, for the sake of our deteriorating climate, he is retracing his footsteps back to the South Pole together with his 23 year old son Barney. Passing on the baton of polar exploration from one generation to the next, the duo are the first father and son team to make the 600 mile trek, and the only people to do so using nothing but renewable energy.

Interestingly, I can’t find any articles on how they got to Antarctica, only ones about how they are not going to use fossil fuels while making the trek on Antarctica. It’s a long way from California (where he now lives) to Antarctica: did they take a sailing ship? I’ve gone through over 20 articles. None say how they’re traveled.

Anyhow

Let’s hope that the Swans inspire with their South Pole energy challenge, for in Robert’s own words: “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.” After all, with a steep temperature rise sitting on our collective horizon: “The last great exploration on Earth is to survive on Earth.”

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Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach December 3, 2017 – 1:00 pm

…is a nation that will soon no longer know what snow is, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Chicks On The Right, with a post on Joy Reid’s homophobic blog posts.

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Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

By William Teach December 3, 2017 – 9:25 am

Patriotic Pinup Bill Garland

Happy Sunday! Another gorgeous day in America. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and we’re less than a month away from a new year. This pinup is by Bill Garland, with a wee bit of help.

What is happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15

  1. Powerline discusses the FBI stonewalling on a Congressional investigation
  2. Climate Skepticism covers climate scientists harassing women
  3. Wizbang notes the vicious peril of mob justice
  4. The People’s Cube features the SJW anthem
  5. The Other McCain covers social justice and stupidity on Tumbler
  6. The Lid covers the latest insanity by Jew hater/liberal hero Linda Sarsour
  7. The First Street Journal has proof of the success of socialism
  8. White House Dossier wants you to remember that it was Obama who started the fake news thing
  9. Pacific Pundit notes who one San Francisco paper blames for Kate Steinle’s murder
  10. Moonbattery covers chocolate milk being back on the menu at schools
  11. Raised On Hoecakes discusses massive lies from a school
  12. Legal Insurrection features a Blue vs Blue environmental lawsuit
  13. Jihad Watch has the latest stupidity from Justin Trudeau on “Islamophobia”
  14. Gay Patriot covers it being the season for leftist virtue signaling
  15. And last, but not least, Chicks On The Right notes Belk department stores banning the Salvation Army

As always, the full set of pinups can be seen in the Patriotic Pinup category, or over at my Gallery page. While we are on pinups, since it is that time of year, have you gotten your “Pinups for Vets” calendar yet? And don’t forget to check out what I declare to be our War on Women Rule 5 and linky luv posts and things that interest me

Don’t forget to check out all the other great material all the linked blogs have!

Anyone else have a link or hotty-fest going on? Let me know so I can add you to the list.

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U.S. Ditches U.N. Migrant And Refugee Pact

By William Teach December 3, 2017 – 8:17 am

Apparently, Team Trump has had enough of the U.N.’s silly policies. It hasn’t actually cut down on bringing in refugees from 3rd world hell holes who do not speak the language, hold vastly different values, often have few modern work skills, and don’t seem to want to integrate, but, the Trump admin plans on doing it their way

(Telegraph) The administration of President Donald Trump has withdrawn the United States from a United Nations pact to improve the handling of migrant and refugee situations, deeming it “inconsistent” with its policies, the US mission to the global body announced Saturday.

“Today, the US Mission to the United Nations informed the UN Secretary-General that the United States is ending its participation in the Global Compact on Migration,” the Americans said in a statement.

In September 2016, the 193 members of the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted a non-binding political declaration, the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, pledging to uphold the rights of refugees, help them resettle and ensure they have access to education and jobs.

“The New York Declaration contains numerous provisions that are inconsistent with US immigration and refugee policies and the Trump Administration’s immigration principles.”

As a result, President Trump determined that the United States would end its participation in the Compact process that aims to reach international consensus at the UN in 2018,” the US statement said.

Ambassador Nikki Haley went on to say that “our decisions on immigration policies must always be made by Americans and Americans alone.” Furthermore, she noted that the U.S., not the U.N., will best decide how we control our borders and who we will let in. And we will control our own sovereignty, not the U.N.

Meanwhile, here’s another example of why people do not trust the news media, as the NY Daily News, one of the biggest news sources in NYC, intentionally forgets some important information

Immigrant deported several times gets 35 years for attacks on women

An undocumented immigrant with a long history of deportation was sentenced to 35 years in prison Friday after pleading guilty to sodomy, kidnapping, sex abuse and other charges related to separate attacks on two women.

Sergio Jose Martinez, who smiled throughout his sentencing hearing, told his victims’ families that he’d see them in hell as he exited the courtroom Friday.

Hey, just deported a few times, eh? How about 20? That’s noted nowhere in the article. Nor does it mention that he was convicted of felony burglary multiple times. It does mention that Multnomah County, Oregon, Sheriff Michael Reese refused to honor the ICE detainer to hold Martinez for just 48 hours, so, Martinez was released to then go on his murder spree.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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We’re Saved: Climate Change Warrior To Take Long Fossil Fueled Trip To Climb Himalayan Mountain

By William Teach December 2, 2017 – 5:28 pm

Nothing says “anthropogenic climate change is real” like drastically increasing your carbon footprint, right?

(The Himalayan) The European Space Agency’s Climate Change Initiative has announced that Swedish mountaineer Carina Ahlqvist would attempt to climb Mt Makalu, the world’s fifth highest peak, in the next spring season to raise awareness of climate change from the high Himalayas.

Announcing their collaboration today, the ESA CCI and Climate Change Explorer as well as Expedition Project Manager, Carina, said in a joint statement that Carina was partnering with ESA to highlight how measurements of Essential Climate Variables, such as those tackled in the Climate Change Initiative programme, are vital for measuring climate change.

“Carina, one of the most experienced 8,000 meters mountain climbers in Sweden, will be the first Swedish woman to attempt to summit the 8481 metre-peak,” it said, adding that she would take part in a number of experiments, including taking ground truth measurements that will complement data from satellites. Whilst Carina is not a scientist, she has collaborated with NASA, as well as leading universities in the US and in Europe, collecting snow samples to contribute to research in climate change, the statement added.

“For me, the purpose is higher than the summit. I appreciate the collaboration with ESA CCI that enables me to climb Mt Makalu to inspire individuals to greater respect our planet”, Carina, who has experience from four 8,000-meter expeditions; twice to Mt Manaslu (8,167 meters) in Nepal, Mt Cho Oyu (8,201 meters) and Mount Shishapangma (8,027 meters) in Tibet, said.

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Posted in Climahypocrites, Global Warming | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach December 2, 2017 – 1:00 pm

…is carbon pollution caused snow, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Political Clown Parade, with a post on what the really big story was.

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About That General Flynn Thing…

By William Teach December 2, 2017 – 10:37 am

According to ABC News’ Brian Ross, doom was coming down on Trump. Um, but

As Allahpundit notes

So “candidate” Trump asked his top natsec guy to rethink U.S. foreign policy towards Russia, and president-elect Trump reached out to make it happen. This is ABC’s big scoop.

Keep trying, guys, keep trying. After over a year of this Russia Russia Russia schtick, there’s still nothing.

https://twitter.com/compliancecamp/status/936871791720402944

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Could Kate Steinle Verdict Affect Any DACA Deal?

By William Teach December 2, 2017 – 7:39 am

The Mercury News’ Tatiana Sanchez asks a good question. The original headline wonders if it could affect. At some point it was changed to

Could Kate Steinle verdict torpedo Congress’ DACA deal?

A San Francisco jury shocked the nation Thursday when it found an undocumented immigrant not guilty of murder and involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of Kate Steinle.

Now, with Congress’ deadline to salvage a program protecting young undocumented immigrants from deportation fast approaching, “Dreamers” and immigration advocates are left to wonder how the political tensions from such a polarizing case — one that quickly reignited a decadeslong national debate on illegal immigration — will affect the program’s chances of survival.

Political analysts said the explosive verdict will probably make it more difficult for Congress to pass the long-proposed Dream Act, but they disagreed on whether it will be a fatal blow.

Sanchez offers various opinions from people on both sides, who all agree this might make it more difficult to pass.

Like Valenciano, other Dreamers and many legal analysts on Friday said that while the verdict will surely intensify opposition to illegal immigration among conservatives, it won’t deter Congress from passing Dreamer legislation, particularly given that young undocumented immigrants have garnered significant bipartisan support. However, they acknowledge that it will now be a tougher fight.

“I don’t necessarily think it’s going to impact legislation as a whole in terms of whether or not Congress chooses to pass a Dream Act,” said Luisa Tembo, a DACA recipient from Oakland. “But I do think it will have more of an influence on people’s perspective on undocumented immigrants in this country.”

We don’t know what will happen yet, but, you can bet that one outcome is that the illegal alien Dreamers and their supporters will not get the clean bill they have been demanding. There will surely be lots of enforcement measures within an DACA bill, and possibly measures to crack down on sanctuary cities. And, if they’re smart, they will crack down on chain migration. As it stands, their parents should already be forced to leave the country, since, per illegal alien supporter talking points, they were the “sinners”. You know that won’t happen. But, if Dreamers are given some sort of legal status, they should not be allowed to bring others in. Ever.

“As we move into the 2018 (political) season, I think this could make it more difficult for some Republicans — especially those up for re-election — to be willing to compromise on DACA,” Jackson said. “They don’t want to appear to be soft on crime or to be compromising too much with Democrats.

“This is clearly going to put the focus back on border security and making sure that immigrants who have committed crimes are held accountable for those crimes,” she added. “Unfortunately, if I were a Dreamer, I would be very worried right now about what this means for my future.”

We’ll see what happens. Especially if Democrats try to scuttle any budget deal over DACA. It won’t play well if they refuse to fund the government in support of illegal aliens who kill Americans.

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Senate Passes Major Tax Reform

By William Teach December 2, 2017 – 7:15 am

Let’s see how this played in the biggest D.C. local “journalism” outlet

(Washington Post) Senate Republicans passed a $1.5 trillion tax bill early Saturday morning that bestows massive benefits on corporate America and the wealthy while delivering mixed blessings to everybody else.

After a frantic round of negotiations, Republicans came together in near unanimity behind the landmark legislation. The final vote was 51 to 49, with Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) the lone GOP holdout. No Democrats voted for the bill.

The measure still has to be reconciled with an earlier House-passed version before being sent to President Trump. Yet in getting the bill through the Senate, Republicans succeeded where they failed earlier this year, when their efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act collapsed in mortifying fashion.

Woof! Regardless, it passed.

The most recent review of the bill by the Joint Committee on Taxation, Congress’s nonpartisan tax analysts, found that only 44 percent of taxpayers would see their burden reduced by more than $500 in 2019 but that high earners would fare much better than the poor under the bill.

Yeah, but over 38% do not even pay any net federal taxes, so, kinda hard to actually give them a tax break.

And the bill makes other changes that reach far beyond the tax code itself. It repeals the individual mandate from the Affordable Care Act, a major change that was added in recent weeks as part of a broader GOP effort to dismantle the Obama-era law. The individual mandate creates penalties for many Americans who don’t have health insurance, but the repeal would leave 13 million more people uninsured. It authorizes oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. And by curtailing deductions for state and local taxes, it will put pressure on some state and local spending on education, transportation and public health programs.

First, no one should be forced to purchase health insurance. Of course, no one should be forced to provide medical service to people who will never pay, either. If 13 million choose to opt-out, that’s not leaving them without: that’s a personal choice. Second, we should have been drilling in ANWAR years ago. And it is a tiny, tiny area that’s in play. Third, Democrats are always saying how people should pay more taxes, and that they love the notion of paying more taxes, well, now’s their chance.

Now, though, the Senate must reconcile with the House. There were a lot of concessions made, such as for squishy Susan Collins. Will those stick around in the final bill?

Of course, Excitable Nancy Pelosi (who had been protecting sexual predators in the House) chimed in

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., also responded, calling the legislation a “betrayal of the American middle class.”

“The GOP tax scam is a product of haste, carelessness and cruelty,” Pelosi wrote. “It was written on Republicans’ trickle-down delusions, not analysis or facts.  It was written first and foremost for the wealthiest one percent, not middle class families trying to get ahead.”

Because her ideas when she was in charge of the House worked so well, right? Spend trillions on programs that were temporary and didn’t do much to help the economy, while saddling future generations with massive debt. Oh, and lose the House in a historic fashion in 2010.

At the end of the day, I do not care how much money “The Rich” (like Nancy and the Washington Post) keep: it’s their money. I care how it effects me. If it makes it easier to file taxes and means I keep more of my money, great! Why are some people so offended that other people might have lower tax rates? Why is it their business? Oh, right, because they are invested in class warfare (while taking direction and supporting those very same rich people and companies who run the Democratic Party) and think that Other People’s money is actually the governments.

BTW, Nancy, the Washington Post, and the other complainers can refuse to pay the lower tax rates and stroke checks to Los Federales.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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