Neil A. Carousso produces NewsNation original “Kurt’s Country” – a celebration of country music and a slice of Americana with host Kurt Bardella.
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Sanctuary Cities are Illegal but Mayors are Fighting the President to Protect Illegal Immigrants
By Neil A. Carousso
This article has been updated.
Sanctuary cities provide no sanctuary for American citizens.
Personally, this American believes it is immoral that New York City and upwards of 300 jurisdictions, give or take, plus college campuses consider themselves a sanctuary for illegal immigrants, ignoring and putting law-abiding U.S. citizens’ lives in danger.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has been vocal about his dissent and refusal to abide by President Trump’s policies. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) Mayor de Blasio, Chicago’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel, mayors in California and others could be prosecuted by the the U.S. Department of Justice for violating an existing law, enacted in 1996 under President Bill Clinton. The “Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act” includes section 8 U.S.C. 1373, which provided that “no state or local entity can in any way restrict its law-enforcement officials from communicating with federal immigration authorities regarding an individual’s citizenship or immigration status.” Furthermore, Article VI, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution establishes that federal laws are supreme over state laws and policy.
So-called sanctuary cities allow illegal aliens, including those who are convicted criminals, to be shielded from federal immigration law by the local government; mayors and city officials break the law by refusing to hand over illegal aliens to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE, whose border patrol agents endorsed Mr. Trump for President, generally seeks out criminal illegal aliens and President Donald J. Trump has vowed to detain and deport those criminal illegal immigrants. This is not unreasonable; it is the law and policy by countries worldwide. Why are we putting our citizens at unnecessary risk when we can protect our citizens from preventable crime?
Kate Steinle was killed by an illegal immigrant in July 2015. Perfect example, and not an isolated incident by far, of why sanctuary cities are illegal and immoral: Kate Steinle, a 32-year-old medical sales representative, was killed by illegal immigrant Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, a Mexican national and convicted felon (7 convicted felonies), on July 1, 2015 in San Francisco, CA (a sanctuary city). San Francisco’s sanctuary city policy protected this felon from being handed over to ICE, detained and deported to Mexico. Lopez-Sanchez was deported to Mexico five times only to return to the U.S. illegally six times. This is also a perfect example of the necessities of a border security, the wall on the southern border, border surveillance, and enforcing laws on the books. “Kate’s Law” has been reintroduced in Congress; it would mandate a five year sentence in a federal penitentiary upon conviction for illegal immigrants who reenter the United States after being deported.
The Trump Administration announced Wednesday that the White House will publish a weekly list of crimes purportedly committed by illegal immigrants in sanctuary cities.
There is case law that permits President Trump from withdrawing funding for those cities who claim to be a sanctuary for illegal immigrants. Chicago could be declining over $2 million in grants for the upcoming fiscal year, while New York City is passing up close to $15 million. The DOJ could request Chicago and NYC refund the federal government for previous years in which the cities operated as a sanctuary for illegals. What may be worse is that Mayor de Blasio has threatened to destroy records of illegal immigrants to spite the federal government.
If these mayors continue to defy federal law, this case could end-up in the Supreme Court of the United States. President Trump is expected to nominate a Supreme Court Justice next week, to be confirmed by the Senate, to fill the vacancy left by originalist Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia when he passed last February at the age of 79.
On the economic end, in addition to making cities vulnerable to crime, taxpayers pay for illegal immigrants’ healthcare including doctor visits, shots, prescription drugs, lab tests and surgeries at local providers. The services usually are inexpensive or free to participants, who must prove they live in the county but are told their immigration status doesn’t matter, according to a recent Wall Street Journal survey. Taxpayers also pay for illegal immigrants’ education and subsidized housing. We have about 43 million Americans living in poverty and 13 million more Americans on food stamps since 2009 plus approximately 39,500 U.S. veterans are homeless on a given night. Healthcare costs are skyrocketing for Americans around the country with upwards of 110 percent increase in premiums in Arizona and deductibles so high that many mandated insured Americans never use their insurance.
President Trump signs an executive order. Mr. Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Friday that will implement “extreme vetting” for refugees and illegal immigrants to decrease the threat of terror and crime after temporarily banning immigration from nations that are a hotbed for terrorism. Nations who have and continue to send terrorists to the United States include Syria, Iran and Libya. The ban would be temporary for approximately 120 days, according to a leaked draft of the executive order, until President Trump’s extreme vetting policies are implemented to ensure that people entering the U.S. have no suspicion of terrorism with the assurance that they believe in our inclusive American values and democracy. Syria is the exception the temporary ban; Syria immigrants would face an “indefinite” ban with the Chief Executive promising to build a safe zone in the terror nation for refugees.
That executive order has not been signed, yet, and it is not a ban on religion. Just the opposite, this executive order bans immigration from countries who persecute people because of their religion, gender, political beliefs, among others. Some nations are majority Muslim, but not 100 percent Muslim nations.
In the long-term, refugee admissions would be reduced by 50 percent if this reported executive order becomes law.
UPDATE:
Miami-Dade Mayor drops sanctuary policy. Right decision. Strong! https://t.co/MtPvaDC4jM
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 26, 2017
President Trump reacted on Twitter Thursday evening, praising the Miami-Dade Mayor’s decision.
Featured Image: Center for Immigration Studies
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The Reality of Chicago’s “Carnage”
By Neil A. Carousso
President Donald J. Trump is dead on about carnage in Chicago and other American inner cities. The third largest city in the United States saw a 57 percent increase in homicides in 2016 from the year prior.
Since 2001, Chicago has experienced 8,384 murders, according to the Chicago Police Department. The number of Americans killed in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq is 2,392 and 4,514, respectively, since 2001, according to iCasualities.org.
If Chicago doesn't fix the horrible "carnage" going on, 228 shootings in 2017 with 42 killings (up 24% from 2016), I will send in the Feds!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 25, 2017
President Trump tweeted from his personal Twitter account Tuesday night writing that he would “send in the Feds” if the City of Chicago doesn’t fix the “horrible ‘carnage,'” a reference to his inauguration address that got unusually negative press from journalists and opinion commentators, like MSNBC’s Chris Matthews who shockingly called the 45th President’s Inaugural Address “Hitlarian.”
“Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families, and good jobs for themselves. These are just and reasonable demands of righteous people and a righteous public.
“But for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists: mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation; an education system flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge; and the crime and the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential.
“This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.” – President Donald J. Trump, Friday, January 20, 2017, Inaugural Address at The Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.”
.@realDonaldTrump: "This American carnage stops right here and stops right now." #Inauguration #Trump45 #InaugurationDay pic.twitter.com/9sKxC3dEmK
— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) January 20, 2017
Many would argue that the National Guard should have already been deployed to Chicago.
Chicago Crime:
There were 762 homicides in the Windy City in 2016 with an average of two murders per day, the most killings in the city for two decades and more than New York and Los Angeles combined. This is the largest spike in homicides in 60 years.
Chicago saw 3,5000 shooting incidents in 2016, 1,100 more shooting incidents than it did in 2015, according to the Chicago Police Department. Many on the political left point to gun control as a solution, but Chicago has some of the strictest gun laws in the country.
Chicago police report that there has been a flood of illegal guns into the city. Police recovered 8,300 illegal guns in 2015, up 20 percent from the previous year.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel took aim at President Trump on Monday for the tone of his inaugural address and Trump’s call to reverse the “dangerous” anti-policing sentiments in the country.
“The most important thing you can do is create a relationship between the desk in the Oval Office and the issues at the kitchen table,” Mayor Emanuel said after a ribbon cutting ceremony in Uptown Chicago. “And I don’t think in the kitchen tables of America — and I definitely can tell you on Saturday at the parade — people were not talking about the crowd size on Friday. They were talking about jobs, education, health care, security.”
What the Chicago Mayor doesn’t understand is that millions of Americans in the rust belt and inner cities voted for Trump’s policies to create jobs, provide better education and opportunity, lower the costs of healthcare, and secure the nation from criminal illegal aliens and radical Islamic terrorism.
Instead, this Mayor makes Chicago a sanctuary city, not enforcing laws on the books by refusing to hand over illegal immigrants, who commit crime, to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Article VI, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution establishes that federal laws are supreme over state laws and policy. President Trump has threatened to stop federal funding of cities who do not enforce immigration laws. Case law shows a precedent for a percentage that the Chief Executive may withhold for cities who do not cooperate with federal law. Mayor Emmanuel is running a lawless city and he is not alone.
Sanctuary Cities
There are about 300 jurisdictions that “have been identified by ICE as having a policy that is non-cooperative and obstructs immigration enforcement,” as of August 2016, according to the Center for Immigration Studies. Jurisdictions include the States of California, Connecticut, New Mexico and Colorado plus New York City, Dallas, Philadelphia and others.
Courtesy: Center for Immigration Studies The Obama Administration implemented the new Priority Enforcement Program in July 2015 restricting ICE use of detainers. As a result, fewer criminal aliens have been deported. “A detainer is the primary tool used by ICE to gain custody of criminal aliens for deportation.” Under the Obama Administration, the “catch-and-release” policy has led to preventable U.S. citizen deaths.
“Kate’s Law” has been reintroduced in Congress by Texas Senator Ted Cruz. Kate’s Law is named after Kate Steinle, a 32-year-old medical sales representative, who was killed by illegal immigrant Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, a Mexican national and convicted felon (7 convicted felonies), on July 1, 2015 in San Francisco, CA. Lopez-Sanchez was deported to Mexico five times only to return to the U.S. illegally six times. If passed, Kate’s Law would mandate a five year sentence in a federal penitentiary upon conviction for illegal immigrants who reenter the United States after being deported.
Steps to End the Chicago “Carnage”
President Trump’s goal is to lower crime in several ways. One is to increase support for law enforcement to do their jobs with the full support of the federal government with the goal of increasing community relations. Recently, the Department of Justice under Attorney General Loretta Lynch found that the Chicago Police Department found “unconstitutional use of excessive force.”
Former Chicago Superintendent Gary McCarthy believed the investigation’s outcome was “predetermined.”
Former Chicago P.D. Superintendent Gary McCarthy on “60 Minutes.” “The noncompliance of the law is becoming legitimized. And the police are on their heels. We’re reaching a state of lawlessness.” – Former Chicago P.D. Superintendent Gary McCarthy, January 1, 2017, “60 Minutes,” CBS News
Video recording of police and releasing portions of video that does not reveal full encounters plus anti-police rhetoric promoted by Black Lives Matter and indirectly endorsed by President Barack Obama has led to apprehension and discouragement of officers from performing their jobs without hyped scrutiny.
There is also an increase of gang activity and violent behavior by career criminals. Former Superintendent McCarthy told “60 Minutes” that the Police Department knows who the gang leaders are and can apprehend them if given the ability by the federal government.
Poor education and socioeconomic factors contribute to the gang activity. A generational drug problem contributes to the violence.
Chicago and its surrounding area ranked number one in the nation for emergency room visits related to heroin use, according to a recent Roosevelt University study. The majority of heroin-related emergency room visits occurred on Chicago’s west side, home to one out of every four opioid-related hospital admissions in the state of Illinois. There were 2,113 heroin deaths in Illionois from 2013 to 2015; 1,425 of those deaths happened in Chicago. And, overdose deaths go widely under-reported. A majority of the drug epidemic can be traced to Central American and Mexican drug cartels that could be curtailed with the implementation of a border wall, increased ICE officers, surveillance and enforcing federal laws on the books.
Since 2009, 1 in 6 men ages 18-34 are either incarcerated or out of the labor force.
President Trump has vowed to implement school choice policies that will allow parents to choose what schools they want their children to attend in an effort to clean-up the streets and provide opportunity through education. Mr. Trump is also a believer in pro-business policies such as a lower corporate tax rate that will allow U.S. companies to hire more Americans in the inner-city communities for manufacturing and other jobs.
There have been 13 major job announcements by U.S. companies since Mr. Trump’s election, including saving and creating American jobs in inner-cities like Detroit with the auto industry under pressure from the Oval Office to invest in the United States. So far, over 1.2 million jobs have been created and saved and over $62.7 billion has been invested in the country by U.S.-based companies since Trump’s election as 45th President of the United States of America.
Featured Image: Joshua Lott/AFP/Getty Images
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A New Era: “America First!”
By Neil A. Carousso
At 12 Noon ET, Donald John Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States of America.
A group hug for the First Family after President Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) President Trump was joined by First Lady Melania Trump, their child 10-year-old Barron, and the rest of the First Family, including Ivanka, Donald, Jr., Eric and Tiffany Trump, Mr. Trump’s son and daughters-in-law, and grandchildren.
Mr. Trump gave a brief, nonpartisan and unideological 1,433 word Inaugural Address to the nation promising a bright future under his Administration in which the President said he would not bend to political influences. Mr. Trump, in a contrast to President Barack Hussein Obama, was concise and direct in laying out his goals of prosperity, strength, peace and unity for the nation. Despite sharp opposition to his Presidency, Trump vowed to return power to the American people, as the framers intended.
“January 20th, 2017 will be remembered as the day the people became rulers of this nation again. The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer,” said President Trump.
The “Movement” began on June 16, 2015 as Mr. Trump rode down his Trump Tower escalator with his wife Melania. (Courtesy: ABC News) A new era has begun as the man whom everyone underestimated since he announced his candidacy on June 16, 2015 when Trump famously took a ride down his golden Trump Tower escalator in New York City.
What elitists didn’t realize was people were sick of establishment politics, the “all talk, no action” games, and the unkept promises. Furthermore, the “blue collar businessman” connected with Americans in the heartland of the country, many of whom have seen their jobs taken from underneath them in favor of globalist policies that Trump has promised to reverse. In fact, he has already created and saved American jobs; companies like Carrier, Sprint, Amazon, Alibaba, Ford and General Motors, among others, have made major economic announcements in a nod to President Trump’s favorable business and pro-growth policies, a stark contrast to the past 8-years of high taxes and restrictive business regulations that have stifled economic growth.
America currently has the lowest labor participation rate since the 1970s with 95 million Americans out of the labor force, 13 million more Americans on food stamps since 2009 and the lowest home ownership rate in 51 years.
“I will fight for you with every breath in my body – and I will never, ever let you down. America will start winning again, winning like never before. We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth. And we will bring back our dreams.” – President Donald J. Trump, Friday, January 20, 2017, Inaugural Address at The Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
Despite the minuscule amount of violence rioters and anarchists played-up by liberals and the press, President Trump was unifying in message, giving hope and pride to millions of Americans who have felt left out under the Obama Administration and encouragement to those who didn’t vote for the novice politician.
“When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice.” – President Donald J. Trump, Friday, January 20, 2017, Inaugural Address at The Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
Personal politics aside in a politically divided nation, today is a wonderful day for the United States of America as the transition of power between 44th President Obama and 45th President Trump occurred when Mr. Trump took the oath of office at high noon. This only happens in a free nation. Former Presidents Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and his wife, Trump’s political opponent, former Senator, former First Lady, and former Obama Administration Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Jimmy Carter were present as well as the Supreme Court Justices, demonstrating continuity of our government. President George H.W. Bush been in a Houston, Texas hospital since Saturday. Shortly before his hospitalization due to pneumonia, the 92-year-old 41st President regretfully informed Mr. Trump that he would not be in attendance.
George H.W. Bush wrote a letter to then, President-elect Donald Trump ahead of the inauguration. 
“Donald Trump’s Contract with the American Voter,” President Trump’s ambitious agenda and promise to the American people. This is a time to give President Trump a chance to succeed. Patriotism means rooting for our President and rooting for our country.
Mr. Trump has published a “Contract with the American Voter,” which includes repealing and replacing The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act with a more affordable healthcare program consisting of personal health savings accounts and nationwide competition in the private sector to decrease premiums and deductibles. President Trump’s first executive order upon entering the Oval Office for the first time was titled “Minimizing the Economic Burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Pending Repeal.”
President Trump has promised to secure our borders with the wall being a necessary component of the nation’s security. Marine General John Kelly has been nominated and confirmed as Director of Homeland Security on President Trump’s first day in office. President Trump aims to vet refugees to ensure that radical Islamic terrorists and other foreign terrorists do not enter the U.S., deport criminal illegal immigrants, enforce our laws, support law enforcement and restore peace and creating opportunity for inner-city Americans, including supporting education controlled by the states and charter schools. American students are ranked 20th in reading, 19th in science and 31st in math compared to students in 35 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, dropping since 2009 from 14th in reading, 17th in science and 25th in mathematics.
President Trump aims to cut the corporate tax rate to 15 percent while reducing the amount of personal tax brackets to 3 brackets. The Republican President’s agenda includes getting rid of restrictive regulations, repatriating money for a low 10 percent tax in order to create economic opportunity for Americans who have lost their jobs to outsourcing. Trump is promising to bring back and create more American jobs even more than he already been able to take credit for as a result of his pro-business and pro-growth policies. Trump intends to implement ethics reforms like term limits for members of Congress. Mr. Trump will also be tasked with appointing a Supreme Court Justice to replace Antonin Scalia who passed away last February.
In terms of foreign policy, President Trump’s has been specific in his action plan to enhance the U.S. Armed Forces, including updating dilapidated military equipment and providing monetary support, leading by “peace through strength,” an ode to the President Ronald Reagan foreign policy mantra. General James Mattis, another Marine, has been confirmed as the Chief Executive’s Defense Secretary. Trump has also been vocal and active in his support for U.S. veterans. He has promised to reform the Veterans Affairs Administration and allow vets to seek medical care in any hospital they choose to be reimbursed by the federal government.
“We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones – and unite the civilized world against Radical Islamic Terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the Earth.” -President Donald J. Trump, Friday, January 20, 2017, Inaugural Address at The Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
Other items on Trump’s agenda include renegotiating trade deals to ensure Americans have priority in American jobs and are not being “ripped off” by countries like China, which devalues its currency and sees tremendous growth of about 6.8 percent of GDP in the 3rd quarter of 2016 while U.S. growth was 3.5 percent of gross domestic product. Trump has said he will renegotiate or scrap the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), signed by President Clinton in 1994, in favor of “smart” trade policies with a greater benefit for American citizens. President Trump is also planning on abandoning the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade deal that many argue hurts American workers. Democratic socialist Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) also said he would kill NAFTA and TPP if he was elected president.
Trump also seeks to accomplish energy independence by using our own resources as opposed to dealing with terror sponsored nations like Iran and Saudi Arabia that are rich in oil. President Trump says he will reevaluate our commitments to the United Nations and NATO for which the United States spends the majority of dues without enough reward to the U.S. and its allies, many would argue.
This is an ambitious agenda, emphasizing “American exceptionalism;” if President Trump can implement these policies, continue to create and save American jobs, restore peace and unity and truly be the President for all Americans, Mr. Trump, and by extension, the country succeeds.
“When you succeed, the country succeeds.” – President Barack Obama to President-elect Donald Trump, November 10, 2016, The White House
Let’s pray and support President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and the United States. Now it’s time to get to work and “Make America Great Again, greater than ever before!”
President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump share a dance at the Liberty Ball. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst) “We always felt we are going to do it. It’s a movement like they have never seen anywhere, anytime in the world. And now the work begins. There is no games. We are not playing games. The work begins. We love you, we are going to be working for you and we are going to be producing results.” – President Donald J. Trump, Friday, January 20, 2017 Liberty Ball, Walter Washington Convention Centre in Washington, D.C.
God Bless America!
Featured Image Courtesy: Associated Press.
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115th Congress Convenes Today, Are Priorities in Order?
By Neil A. Carousso
This post has been updated for breaking news.
The 115th United States Congress convened today in the nation’s capital. Are lawmakers’ priorities in order? President-elect Donald J. Trump doesn’t think so.
Shortly after new members of Congress were sworn into office, House Republicans reversed course on weakening the independent ethics watchdog following pressure applied by Trump via Twitter.
Mr. Trump tweeted earlier about the importance of Congress using its time wisely.
With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017
……..may be, their number one act and priority. Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance! #DTS
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017
“With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it may be, their number one act and priority. [sic],” Mr. Trump tweeted in the 10 AM ET hour, continuing, “Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance! #DTS““DTS” is an acronym of his campaign promise to “drain the swamp,” meaning to rid Washington, D.C. of corruption, private dealing and optics that benefit the elitists at the expense of regular, hard-working Americans.
Just after new Congress members were sworn in on Capitol Hill, though, House Republicans, in an emergency meeting in the Capitol basement, scrapped plans to gut the OCE. Representative Charlie Dent (R-PA) confirmed that President-elect Trump’s Tuesday morning tweets were a factor in the decision to scrap the controversial amendment.
BREAKING: Two Republican lawmakers say House GOP drops rules change gutting ethics office .
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) January 3, 2017
McCarthy asked Rs to pull the ethics change by unanimous consent. Told them GOP didn't have the votes to pass the rules package, per Dent
— Robert Costa (@costareports) January 3, 2017
News: Dent tells reporters that Trump factor was discussed by House leadership… told Rs that pres-elect was opposed to OCE change
— Robert Costa (@costareports) January 3, 2017
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) (Courtesy: AP/J. Scott Applewhite) “Republicans claim they want to ‘drain the swamp,’ but the night before the new Congress gets sworn in, the House GOP has eliminated the only independent ethics oversight of their actions,” Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. “Evidently, ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress.”
The Goodlatte Amendment would dictate that investigations be conducted by the same politicians who would come under scrutiny for ethical violations. In other words, the House would police itself.
Investigations under this proposed amendment would be required to be completed within a limited time frame. The office would be known as the Office of Congressional Complaint Review, replacing the Office of Congressional Ethics that was established in 2008, and would “be subject to the authority and direction of the Committee on Ethics,” a standing committee of the House of Representatives.
It would also prohibit the board of the news office from employing a spokesperson and openly discussing ethics investigations. Criminal violations will be sent to the Ethics Committee first.
The Trump Effect and the Power of his ‘Beautiful’ Twitter Account in an Effort to ‘Drain the Swamp’ and Put American Workers First:
President-elect Trump has proposed and promised “six measures to clean up the corruption and special interest collusion in Washington, D.C.” in his “Contract with the American Voter” with the goal of enacting “new ethics reforms to drain the swamp and reducethe corrupting influence of special interests on our politics.”Before the House GOP dropped the rule change to gut the ethics watchdog committee, Ford Motor Company canceled plans for a $1.6 billion new plant in Mexico, safeguarding approximately 3,500 American jobs. Ford will also create the new Manufacturing Innovation Center at its Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Flat Rock, Michigan. Ford announces it will invest $700 million during the next four years, adding 700 U.S. jobs during Mr. Trump’s first term in office.
Employees at the expanded plant will build the “all-new small utility vehicle with extended battery range as well as the full autonomous vehicle for ride-hailing or ride-sharing – along with the iconic Mustang and Lincoln Continental.”
Instead of driving jobs and wealth away, AMERICA will become the world's great magnet for INNOVATION & JOB CREATION.https://t.co/siXrptsOrt
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017
The “Trump Effect” is on full display as the 115th Congress convenes for the first time, 17 days before Trump is sworn in as the 45th President of the United States of America.
Featured Image: File photo courtesy of Reuters.
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President Obama Portrays a Tough-Guy Persona by Sanctioning Russia but His Failed Policies Indicate Otherwise
By Neil A. Carousso
President Barack Hussein Obama has just imposed 9 different sanctions on Russia, which could “box in Trump,” wrote The New York Times.
Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C. Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. Reuters and the Associated Press are reporting that Obama has expelled 35 Russian intelligence operatives from the Russian embassy in Washington. D.C. and the Russian consulate in San Francisco. The President has also ordered the closing of 2 Russian compounds in the nation’s capital and New York City as a result of the alleged Russian “hacking” into the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Russian intelligence officials have 72 hours to leave and will no longer be able to access the compounds as of noon on Friday, according to a senior U.S. official who spoke with Reuters anonymously.
The Russian foreign ministry said the U.S. sanctions are “counterproductive and will harm the restoration of bilateral ties,” reported Interfax news agency, citing Konstantin Dolgov, Foreign Ministry commissioner for human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman says Moscow regrets the new U.S. sanctions and will consider retaliatory measures. On Thursday, the Kremlin vowed retaliation to the U.S. sanctions that will be “adequate,” but Friday morning Putin, in a statement on the Kremlin’s website, said, “While we reserve the right to respond, we will not drop to this level of irresponsible diplomacy, and we will make further steps to help resurrect Russian-American relations based on the policies that the administration of Trump will pursue.”
While it may seem like a strong and necessary move from an inherently weak leader, who is on vacation in Hawaii, it may cause major problems in the United States during this period of transition from the Obama Administration to the Trump Administration. The sanctions do not include economic holds or an impact on Russian oil reserves, and many believe the Russian compounds should have been closed a long time ago.
Simply put: Obama waited this long to punish Russia, starting what he cannot finish in office. This is another problem for President-elect Trump to resolve starting on January 20 when he is sworn in as the 45th President of the United States.
Liberal Democrat and Fox News contributor Julie Roginsky said on the air Thursday afternoon that it was a “disgraceful and weak move by the Obama Administration,” adding that Obama’s sanctions are “feckless.” The perplexity is bipartisan.
Really, President Obama? Kicking out a few Russian intelligence agents? How about exposing and freezing Putin and inner circle assets. #weak
— Julie Roginsky (@julieroginsky) December 29, 2016
Clip: @julieroginsky is 'disgusted' by the administration's 'weak and feckless' sanctions against Putin… pic.twitter.com/VAP33lm2wR
— johnny dollar (@johnnydollar01) December 29, 2016
The fact is that the election was a repudiation of President Obama’s policies and leadership by the American voters. Obama even tied his legacy to Mrs. Clinton on the campaign trail saying that he would consider it a “personal insult” if Clinton was not elected.
“My name may not be on the ballot, but our progress is on the ballot.” – President Barack Obama, Saturday, September 17, 2016, Congressional Black Caucus Dinner.“Hacking” neither affected Americans’ votes on their ballots nor the Electoral College votes. There is no proof that Russia affected the election results in any way.Russia’s “hacking” is a distraction to undermine and delegitimize President-elect Trump and avoid discussion about the failed and rejected Obama policies that have led to the decimation of the Democratic party in terms of lost seats across all levels of government, including losing the party majority of members in Congress in 2010, and 948 lost state legislature seats since Obama took office in 2009. The GOP controls the most state legislative seats since the 1920s. Republicans, now, have 31 sitting governors, compared to just 18 Dems, after losing 12 governorships.
“These actions follow repeated private and public warnings that we have issued to the Russian government, and are a necessary and appropriate response to efforts to harm U.S. interests in violation of established international norms of behavior,” President Obama said in a statement, calling out the highest levels of the Russian government for their alleged involvement in the U.S. election.
Obama has said that these sanctions are just the beginning, but not all acts will be made public. It is suspected that the U.S. will engage in a counter-cyber attack. The U.S. should also update cyber-security systems and strategy and upgrade computer software that dates back to the 1950s, according to the United States Government Accountability Office.
President-elect Donald Trump makes an economic announcement on Wednesday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Courtesy: Evan Vucci/AP. While Russia should be held accountable for any involvement or intent to influence the election, Obama’s consistent lashing out of spite of Trump’s upset victory over Hillary Clinton, is immature and unpresidential, and perhaps, jealousy of Trump’s early success in the name of tax and business policies of the President-elect, who has saved 1,100 American jobs that Carrier was sending to Mexico, announced that Sprint is bringing back 5,000 jobs to the U.S. that were sent overseas, and new company, OneWeb’s announcement that it is creating 3,000 jobs in the U.S., which is associated with Korean-Japanese businessman and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son’s guarantee to invest $50 billion to create 50,000 American jobs.
Just in the past two weeks, Obama has signed an executive order banning offshore drilling in the Arctic, policy that continues oil dependency on terror-sponsored nations, and officially dumped an entry-exit registry for immigrant men. Last week, Obama decided to abstain from a United Nations resolution to sanction Israel over settlements in the West Bank. This has been seen as a betrayal of the United States’ strongest ally in the Middle East and “anti-Israel” by many, including most Republicans. David Keyes, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told Fox News that Israel has “ironclad information” that the Obama Administration worked with Egypt to draft the resolutions, which has been denied by the White House. Important to note that President Obama worked to unseat Netanyahu during last year’s parliamentary elections by spending $350,000 in American taxpayer grants to oust the Israeli prime minister, a congressional report concluded last summer.
“Russian Reset:” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after she gave him a device with red knob during a meeting on March 6, 2009 in Geneva. Courtesy: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images. Now, Obama is punishing Russia after a failed 8-years of Russian foreign policy, started with the “Russian Reset” in March 2009 while Clinton was Secretary of State, and punctuated by three transactions of a total of 20 percent of American uranium to Russia, between 2009-2013, that made “Rosatom one of the world’s largest uranium producers and brought Mr. Putin closer to his goal of controlling much of the global uranium supply chain.”
With President-elect Trump taking office, U.S. foreign policy will be approached differently from the abominable past 8 years under Obama. “It’s time for our country to move on to bigger and better things,” said Trump in a statement issued Thursday evening. “Nevertheless, in the interest of our country and its great people, I will meet with leaders of the intelligence community next week in order to be updated on the facts of this situation.”
Featured image: President Obama (right) met with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in Los Cabos, Mexico on June 18, 2012. Courtesy: REUTERS/Jason Reed.
Last updated: Friday, December 30, 2016 at 11:10 AM ET.
