swordfish

If you think your having a bad day - Remember - VP Kamala Harris just had to certify the electoral votes in the Senate today. (She lost bigly)

SF's original expectation based on some insider DC knowledge of this theory was never fulfilled, but the Wall Street Journal is shedding some light on the decline of President Biden from day 1. Even revealing how the White House hired a voice coach to help cover up his advanced aging. Wait go Joe - hanging in there long enough to really screw the Democrat establishment....... https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14210053/white-house-conceal-joe-biden-decline-hired-voice-coach.html https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/joe-biden-age-election-2024-8ee15246 https://www.wsj.com/politics/biden-white-house-age-function-diminished-3906a839?mod=WTRN_pos1&cx_testId=3&cx_testVariant=cx_168&cx_artPos=0

'To be fair, she seems to be a much better actress than a judge,' A Broadway actor - SCOTUS Qualified, deeply partisan and can't even define "woman". https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14200049/Supreme-Court-Justice-Ketanji-Brown-Jackson-Broadway-reviews.html Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson shocked the audience at Broadway's &Juliet this past weekend as she 'fulfilled a lifelong dream' to make her debut - but it has led to some less than stellar reviews. Jackson appeared in three scenes on Saturday night - singing in harmony during the Backstreet Boys song 'Show Me The Meaning of Being Lonely.' By stepping into the limelight, Justice Jackson, the first black woman to sit on the court, also inadvertently invited criticism and skepticism about her dedication to maintaining the court’s revered image. Jackson had previously told of her dream of 'becoming the first Black, female Supreme Court Justice to appear on a Broadway stage', but it has now led to some on social media to question if she is in the wrong role when it comes to her day job. 'She should have just been an actress,' stated one user on X. 'Tells you everything about this woman. Broadway is a bigger deal than the Supreme Court,' added another. 'If you needed proof Ketanji Brown Jackson does not belong on the Supreme Court, here it is. Absolutely disgraceful that she did this. Shame on her and on those who confirmed her,' stated conservative radio host Eric Metaxas. Retired sheriff's deputy Penny Farrington agreed that Jackson performed better on stage than in court: 'She is far better suited in this role....instead of an Honorable Justice of the Supreme Court. 'She doesn't know what a woman is...how can she know about queer woman is? Maybe she will change professions after this...we can only hope,' Farrington wrote, bringing up a controversial exchange in March 2022 when Jackson struggled to define a gender type. It was during her senate nomination process when a back and forth exchange with Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn that Justice Jackson appeared unable to give a definitive answer on how she defines a 'woman'. 'Can you define the word ''woman''?' she was asked by Blackburn. 'Can I provide a definition?' Jackson replied. 'No, I can't. I'm not a biologist.' Cruz later took the stand to hound her on similar gender issues. 'I know that I am a woman, I know that Senator Blackburn is a woman,' she responded. 'And the woman who I admire most in the world is in the room today – my mother,' still not giving a definition of the word 'woman.' Those commenting on social media following Saturday's performance appeared concerned about the long-term reputation of the court. 'Seems very undignified for a Supreme Court Justice,' wrote one commenter. 'To be fair, she seems to be a much better actress than a judge,' quipped another.

If it comes out that this gun was brought from home, then SF firmly stands on the opinion that the parent(s) bear responsibility. This kid did not purchase the firearm, nor was legally carrying it. No new law would have stopped this, but proper and stiff enforcement of the law could be a deterrent. Lock the parents up if they can't keep firearms safe in the house with a minor around and this kind of thing happens. (IMHO) https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14200813/Wisconsin-school-shooter-Natalie-Rupnow-father-shooting-range.html Wisconsin school shooter Natalie Rupnow's father shared a chilling image of his daughter practicing at a shooting range in a similar T-shirt to one worn by the Columbine school shooters. Jeff Rupnow posted the snap to his public Facebook page in August. His daughter is filmed pointing a rifle at a clay puck wearing a black top emblazoned with the name of the band KMFDM. Columbine killer Eric Harris was seen wearing a KMFDM T-shirt ahead of the 1999 Colorado high school massacre where 13 were murdered

Will it finally happen!!!????!!! https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/which-countries-observe-daylight-saving-time Donald Trump says he and Republicans want to end daylight saving time in the U.S. If they are successful, the country would join about two-thirds of others globally that do not ascribe to the increasingly controversial practice, according to the Pew Research Center. Daylight saving time – also called summer time in Europe – is the period between spring and fall when participating locales adjust their clocks: forward an hour in the spring, and back an hour in the fall, resulting in brighter winter mornings and summer evenings. The practice is popular in Europe and North America, but is much less common in other regions across the globe. And as more countries have abolished the practice, those that change their clocks twice a year are increasingly in the minority.

It's official. https://time.com/7200212/person-of-the-year-2024-donald-trump/

If this is indeed true - Liberals everywhere are surely lamenting........ https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/11/politics/trump-time-magazine-person-of-the-year/index.html CNN — Donald Trump once publicly speculated that Time would never name him the news magazine’s “Person of the Year.” Now, the honor will be bestowed on him twice. Time will name Trump as this year’s choice on Thursday, recognizing the president-elect as the individual or group deemed to have wielded the greatest influence on global affairs “for good or for ill.” To celebrate the unveiling of the magazine cover, Trump will ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. Trump sat for a wide-ranging interview with the magazine last month. Time declined to comment. Trump’s 2024 selection mirrors his first recognition in 2016, when Time named him Person of the Year after his unexpected rise to the presidency. This time, the unveiling caps a remarkable comeback and a resurgence that has the potential to upend modern American politics. Despite the magazine’s dwindling circulation, Time’s Person of the Year remains an annual cultural touchstone and the distinction has become an obsession of sorts for Trump throughout the years.

https://nypost.com/2024/12/11/media/judge-rejects-sale-of-alex-jones-infowars-to-the-onion-in-dispute-over-bankruptcy-auction/ A federal judge on Tuesday night rejected the sale of the conspiracy platform Infowars to The Onion satirical news outlet after Alex Jones claimed that a recent bankruptcy auction was fraught with illegal collusion. The Onion was named the winning bidder on Nov. 14 over a company affiliated with Jones. US Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez’s decision means Jones can stay at Infowars in Austin, Texas. The Onion had planned to kick Jones out and relaunch Infowars in January as a parody. At the end of a lengthy two-day hearing in a Texas courtroom, Lopez criticized the auction process as flawed and said the outcome “left a lot of money on the table” for families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

https://nypost.com/2024/12/09/opinion/luigi-mangione-the-suspected-unitedhealthcare-ceo-brian-thompson-assassin-looks-to-be-another-deluded-lefty/ Wow: After a week in which a pack of privileged, too-online lefties have been praising the assassination of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson, the NYPD apprehended a suspect … who looks to be a privileged, too-online lefty. We will learn more about Luigi Mangione in the days to come, but he reportedly was caught with a ghost gun and silencer consistent with the killing, multiple fake IDs and a manifesto that raged, “These parasites had it coming.” He’s an alum of a nearly $40,000-a-year elite Baltimore private school and the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned two impressive tech degrees. Law enforcement sources familiar with Mangione’s online activity say he subscribed to anti-capitalist and climate change causes. And while sources suggest his personal motive for the killing involves the insurance or health care industries’ treatment of an ailing relative, we note he also liked a telling quote from “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski complaining that “antidepressants are a means of modifying an individual’s internal state in such a way as to enable him to tolerate social conditions that he would otherwise find intolerable.” Whether or not an insanity defense is coming, we see a common derangement in the assassin and his online fans: the idea that the US health insurance industry is willfully evil, which makes violence against its execs somehow rational. Lord knows, health care financing in this country can be a bewildering, maddening mess. But the left’s obsession with a government takeover as the cure for all ills, and its demonizing of those who disagree, is nothing but dim-witted arrogance. Fact is, health insurance in the country is entangled by a host of government-imposed costs and other mandates. And socialized medical systems like Britain’s and Canada’s require people to wait months to get specialist care or basic tests like MRIs that most Americans get within days. Residents of those countries who can afford it routinely turn to the private sector. There’s no such thing as infinite “free” care, but many of our best and brightest imagine otherwise. That only one of them apparently took the “logical” step of killing an innocent on that basis doesn’t mean there isn’t something horrifically wrong with the thinking of those who cheered him after the fact. After the killing of the UHC CEO this week, SF is reflecting on the state of the healthcare & insurance industries in the US. Remembering back in the BBO period (Before Barack Obama and the ACA) SF paid about $30 per week for group insurance for the whole family through my employer. Fast forward to today, SF is paying $253 per week for myself and spouse for an insurance plan not nearly as good as back in 2008. (ACA did not make it more affordable like BO promised - big surprise). Government's takeover of the healthcare industry has been an absolute clusterf***. This brilliant, highly educated idiot (whose family was wealthy enough to afford whatever healthcare he desired) popped a screw loose after having a surgery and killed an innocent man who was simply running a healthcare insurance company whose stock is probably in many of our 401K's. (FYI - a for profit company is meant to create a profit) BTW - He used a "ghost gun" not a 3D printed gun.

After pardoning his son for everything he did or may have done, President Biden is considering "preemptive pardons" for a host of others of his circle of friends because they are all scared of Trump since he didn't go away like he was supposed to do..... In the (made up) words of Jeff Foxworthy - If you need a "preemptive" Presidential Pardon, you might be a criminal.... https://apnews.com/article/biden-pardons-trump-f36ead0eb92ea30e47cbfddfaf326f20 WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is weighing whether to issue sweeping pardons for officials and allies who the White House fears could be unjustly targeted by President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, a preemptive move that would be a novel and risky use of the president’s extraordinary constitutional power. The deliberations so far are largely at the level of White House lawyers. But Biden himself has discussed the topic with some senior aides, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday to discuss the sensitive subject. No decisions have been made, the people said, and it is possible Biden opts to do nothing at all. Pardons are historically afforded to those accused of specific crimes – and usually those who have already been convicted of an offense — but Biden’s team is considering issuing them for those who have not even been investigated, let alone charged. They fear that Trump and his allies, who have boasted of enemies lists and exacting “retribution,” could launch investigations that would be reputationally and financially costly for their targets even if they don’t result in prosecutions. While the president’s pardon power is absolute, Biden’s use in this fashion would mark a significant expansion of how they are deployed, and some Biden aides fear it could lay the groundwork for an even more drastic usage by Trump. They also worry that issuing pardons would feed into claims by Trump and his allies that the individuals committed acts that necessitated immunity. Recipients could include infectious-disease specialist Dr. Anthony Fauci, who was instrumental in combating the coronavirus pandemic and who has become a pariah to conservatives angry about mask mandates and vaccines. Others include witnesses in Trump’s criminal or civil trials and Biden administration officials who have drawn the ire of the incoming president and his allies. Some fearful former officials have reached out to the Biden White House preemptively seeking some sort of protection from the future Trump administration, one of the people said. It follows Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter — not just for his convictions on federal gun and tax violations, but for any potential federal offense committed over an 11-year period, as the president feared that Trump allies would seek to prosecute his son for other offenses. That could serve as a model for other pardons Biden might issue to those who could find themselves in legal jeopardy under Trump. Biden is not the first to consider such pardons — Trump aides considered them for him and his supporters involved in his failed efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election that culminated in a violent riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. But he could be the first to issue them since Trump’s pardons never materialized before he left office nearly four years ago. Gerald Ford granted a “full, free, and absolute pardon” in 1974 to his predecessor, Richard Nixon, over the Watergate scandal. He believed a potential trial would “cause prolonged and divisive debate over the propriety of exposing to further punishment and degradation a man who has already paid the unprecedented penalty of relinquishing the highest elective office of the United States,” as written in the pardon proclamation. Politico was first to report that Biden was studying the use of preemptive pardons. On the campaign trail, Trump made no secret of his desire to seek revenge on those who prosecuted him or crossed him. Trump has talked about “enemies from within” and circulated social media posts that call for the jailing of Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, former Vice President Mike Pence and Sens. Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer. He also zeroed in on former Rep. Liz Cheney, a conservative Republican who campaigned for Harris and helped investigate Jan. 6, and he promoted a social media post that suggested he wanted military tribunals for supposed treason. Kash Patel, whom Trump has announced as his nominee to be director of the FBI, has listed dozens of former government officials he wanted to “come after.” Richard Painter, a Trump critic who served as the top White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, said he was reluctantly in support of having Biden issue sweeping pardons to people who could be targeted by Trump’s administration. He said he hoped that would “clean the slate” for the incoming president and encourage him to focus on governing, not on punishing his political allies. “It’s not an ideal situation at all,” Painter said. “We have a whole lot of bad options confronting us at this point.” While the Supreme Court this year ruled that the president enjoys broad immunity from prosecution for what could be considered official acts, his aides and allies enjoy no such shield. Some fear that Trump could use the promise of a blanket pardon to encourage his allies to take actions they might otherwise resist for fear of running afoul of the law. “There could be blatant illegal conduct over the next four years, and he can go out and pardon his people before he leaves office,” Painter said. “But if he’s going to do that, he’s going to do that anyway regardless of what Biden does.” More conventional pardons from Biden, such as those for sentencing disparities for people convicted of federal crimes, are expected before the end of the year, the White House said.

It would appear that President Elect Trump may be more of a Libertarian than a Republican...... SF is enjoying seeing the left and even some of the establishment republicans squirm as Trump's picks for top positions are taking shape. I especially like his pick of Kash Patel to head the FBI. It is obvious the DOJ has been weaponized on many fronts - none more obvious than the last 7 1/2 years against Trump. This needs to end and impartiality needs to be restored. Anyone the press and the left tends to hate the most seems to get my attention.

Absolutely NO SURPRISE here. FYI - This move has very little to do with the younger Biden as much as it had to do with protecting "The Big Guy" from the incoming DOJ. SF finds the irony in President Biden claiming the incoming President Trump will "weaponize" the DOJ against him.....Like that hasn't been what we witnessed the past 3 1/2 years.....Laughable.... https://apnews.com/article/biden-son-hunter-charges-pardon-pledge-24f3007c2d2f467fa48e21bbc7262525 WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, sparing the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions and reversing his past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family. The Democratic president had previously said he would not pardon his son or commute his sentence after convictions in the two cases in Delaware and California. The move on Sunday night comes weeks before Hunter Biden was set to receive his punishment after his trial conviction in the gun case and guilty plea on tax charges, and less than two months before President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to the White House. It caps a long-running legal saga for the younger Biden, who publicly disclosed he was under federal investigation in December 2020 — a month after his father’s 2020 victory — and casts a pall over the elder Biden’s legacy.

President Biden was woke from his daily snooze to let the world know that he was able to broker a deal to end the war in the Middle East - with a little help from France.......The unspoken reason for the ceasefire can be found in the last paragraph of the article...... https://nypost.com/2024/11/26/us-news/biden-announces-israel-hezbollah-cease-fire-plan-in-rose-garden-address/ WASHINGTON — President Biden spoke from the Rose Garden Tuesday to tout a cease-fire plan between Israel and Hezbollah — claiming credit for helping broker the agreement after months of fighting. “I just spoke with the prime ministers of Israel and Lebanon. I’m pleased to announce that their governments have accepted the United States proposal to end the devastating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah,” Biden, 82, said. Biden said that “this is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities.” “What is left of Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations will not be allowed,” Biden said of the Iran-backed terrorist group based in Lebanon. “Over the next 60 days, the Lebanese army and state security forces will deploy and take control of their own territory,” he went on. “Once again, Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure and southern Lebanon will not be allowed to be rebuilt and over the next 60 days, Israel will gradually withdraw its remaining forces and civilians.” The outgoing president added that “civilians on both sides will soon be able to safely return to their communities and begin to rebuild their homes, their schools, their farms, their businesses and their very lives.” The deal, approved after significant involvement by France’s government, comes as Biden has failed to broker a cease-fire deal between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group in the Gaza Strip. “Just as the Lebanese people deserve a future of security and prosperity, so do the people of Gaza,” Biden added in the Rose Garden. “Now Hamas has a choice to make. Their only way out is to release hostages, including American citizens, which they hold and in the process bring an end to the fighting, which would make possible a surge of humanitarian relief.” The Israeli military in the past two month killed the leaders of both Hamas and Hezbollah — with longtime Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah killed in a Sept. 27 airstrike in Beirut just 10 days after a covert Israeli operation killed and wounded hundreds of the group’s operatives by detonating the pagers they used to communicate.

Just a little friendly advice to the other guys out there from Uncle SF - If it's after midnight and your wife is out drinking at the hotel bar with a man who isn't you, she's probably cheating......

The latest.... https://apnews.com/article/alex-jones-infowars-auction-onion-newtown-8352f1e442c5d37f64a798416ff5afa8 A bankruptcy judge on Monday delayed a hearing in conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ effort to stop the satirical news outlet The Onion from buying Infowars, keeping the auction sale up in the air for at least another few weeks. Jones alleges fraud and collusion marred the bankruptcy auction that resulted in The Onion being named the winning bidder over a company affiliated with him. A trustee overseeing the auction denies the allegations and accuses Jones of launching a smear campaign because he didn’t like the outcome. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez had been scheduled to hear an emergency motion to disqualify The Onion’s bid on Monday, but put it off until either Dec. 9 or Dec. 17. That’s also when the judge will hear arguments on the trustee’s request to approve the sale of Infowars to The Onion. Lopez said it made sense to have one hearing on both requests.

Rep Gaetz will not be down for breakfast.......Will he return to congress or just go away? https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/11/21/matt-gaetz-withdraws-consideration-attorney-general/76480095007/ WASHINGTON – Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., withdrew his nomination to be President-elect Donald Trump's attorney general over continuing allegations of sexual misconduct. "It is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition," Gaetz wrote on Thursday in a post on X, formerly Twitter. "There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I'll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General." The GOP will control the U.S. Senate 53-47 next year, but it became apparent there were not enough Republicans willing to support Trump's controversial nominee. Gaetz said he had "excellent meetings" with senators Wednesday and said the "momentum was strong" for his candidacy. But Gaetz's controversial bid to lead the Department of Justice was marked by allegations of sex with a minor and drug use. Asked about Gaetz's withdrawal, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell declined to speak up for Trump's choice: "I think that was appropriate," he said. It's unclear whether Gaetz, who was reelected, will retake his spot in the House in January when his next term was set to begin.

Delaware has elected a male identifying as female (transexual) to Congress, and he/she is blaming Speaker Johnson for "the effort to distract from the real issues" ....... Personally I would prefer not to see MTG "come to blows" with him/her..... https://nypost.com/2024/11/20/us-news/transgender-people-banned-from-capitol-bathrooms-that-match-their-gender-identity-house-speaker-johnson-declares/ House Speaker Mike Johnson declared Wednesday that women’s facilities in the Capitol complex are reserved for biological females, as Congress is poised to swear in its first openly transgender rep. “All single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House Office Buildings — such as restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms — are reserved for individuals of that biological sex,” Johnson (R-La.) said in a statement. “It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol,” he added. “Women deserve women’s only spaces.” The speaker later told reporters that “like all House policy, it’s enforceable” and contended that “we’re not anti-anyone, we’re pro-woman” with the policy. The speaker’s announcement comes in response to controversy among House Republican lawmakers over transgender Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-Del.), who represents the First State’s at-large district. “I’m not here to fight about bathrooms. I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families. Like all members, I will follow the rules as outlined by Speaker Johnson, even if I disagree with them,” McBride, who was born a man and identifies as a woman, responded in a statement on X. “This effort to distract from the real issues facing this country hasn’t distracted me over the last several days, as I’ve remained hard at work preparing to represent the greatest state in the union come January,” added the 34-year-old incoming lawmaker. Back in 2016, McBride publicly crowed about flouting a policy restricting transgender access to women’s bathrooms. “Here I am in a NC women’s restroom that I’m barred from being in. Stop this. We are good people. #ThisIsTransgender, McBride wrote on X at the time with a selfie inside the bathroom. President-elect Donald Trump indicated that same year that Caitlyn Jenner would be allowed to use women’s bathrooms at Trump Tower. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) both publicly and privately demanded that women’s facilities at the Capitol be reserved for biological females. She has been backed up by multiple female Republican lawmakers such as far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). Greene has even threatened to come to blows with McBride if they had an encounter in any women’s facility. “He’s a man. He’s a biological male. So he is not allowed to use our women’s restrooms, our women’s gym, our locker rooms and spaces that are specified for women,” Greene told reporters this week. “He’s got plenty of places he can go.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) blasted Republicans this week for harping on the transgender bathroom issue. “This is the lesson you’ve drawn from the election in November … that you want to bully a member of Congress?” Jeffries moaned during a press conference Tuesday. Mace has drafted two resolutions to safeguard women’s facilities — one that did so in the Capitol complex and a second she announced Wednesday that applies to federal offices. “Oh you thought threatening me would silence me? No. I just doubled down and filed a new bill to protect women and girls across the entire country on all federal property everywhere,” she proclaimed on X Wednesday.

Duly noted.....Was there a question asked? Muda and I were just kinda opining.......

All the talk about Trump deporting a million undocumented immigrants illegal aliens has certainly got the left's panties in a twist while they conveniently forget about the DICK "Deporter In Chief" (K added for emphasis) Former President Barack Hussein Obama who deported over 3 million illegal aliens. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportation_and_removal_from_the_United_States Between 1993 and 2001, during the Presidency of Bill Clinton, about 870,000 people were deported.[3] Between 2001 and 2008, during the Presidency of George W. Bush, about 2.0 million people were deported, while between 2009 and 2016, during the Presidency of Barack Obama, about 3.2 million people were deported.[4] Many legal Latinos are actually in favor of Trump's planned aggressive policy (although US news won't report it) https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c79zxjj0j55o Undocumented migrants hope Trump mass deportations only 'for criminals' Bernd Debusmann Jr & Angélica María Casas BBC News Gabriela entered the United States more than two decades ago, gasping for breath under a pile of corn stalks in the boot of a smuggler's car. Now a housekeeper in Maryland, the Bolivian national is one of at least 13 million undocumented migrants living in the US - an umbrella term that includes those who entered the US illegally, overstayed their visas or have protected status to avoid deportation. Across the US, migrants like Gabriela are grappling with what the incoming Trump administration's vow to conduct mass deportations could mean for their future. In over a dozen interviews, undocumented immigrants said it was a topic of heated discussion in their communities, WhatsApp groups and social media. Some, like Gabriela, believe it won't impact them at all. "I'm not scared at all, actually," she said. "That's for criminals to worry about. I pay taxes, and I work." "In any case, I'm undocumented," she added. "[So] how would they even know about me?" In an election campaign where immigration loomed large as a major concern of US voters, Trump frequently pledged to deport migrants en masse from US soil from his first day in office if he were to return to the presidency. But nearly two weeks after his sweeping election win, it remains unclear what exactly these immigration enforcement operations will look like. The president-elect has insisted cost won't be an issue, and has confirmed he plans to declare a national emergency to secure the necessary resources. But experts have cautioned that his promises may run into enormous financial and logistics challenges. His newly appointed "border tsar", Tom Homan, has said that undocumented migrants deemed to be national security or public safety threats will be a priority. And he has suggested workplace raids - a practice ended by the Biden administration - could return. Speaking to Fox News on Saturday, the former acting director of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement during Trump's first term challenged the notion that "those who enforce the law are the bad guys and those who break the law are the victims". "What member of Congress, what governor or what mayor is against taking public safety threats out of their community?" he asked, adding that the new administration would "follow through on the mandate that American people gave President Trump". US authorities deporting migrants is nothing new. More than 1.5 million people have been expelled under President Joe Biden, in addition to millions swiftly turned away from the border during the Covid-19 pandemic. During the eight-year administration of Barack Obama - whom some dubbed the "deporter-in-chief" - about three million people were deported, with a focus on single men from Mexico that could easily be deported from border regions. Trump's promised plans, however, are more wide-ranging and aggressive, including enforcement operations in the US far from the border. Officials are reportedly also mulling using the National Guard and military aircraft to detain and ultimately deport people. JD Vance, Trump's running mate and incoming vice-president, has said that the deportations could "start" with one million people. Still, some undocumented migrants believe that they will benefit from a Trump presidency instead of being kicked out. "A lot of Latinos, those who can vote, did so because they think he [Trump] can improve the economy. That would be very good for us too," said Carlos, an undocumented Mexican who lives in New York City. His son is a US citizen. According to the American Immigration Council - a non-partisan organisation that conducts research and advocates for an overhaul of the US immigration system - there are more than five million Americans who were born to undocumented parents and have the security of US citizenship. Carlos says he is "a little" worried about getting swept up in immigration raids. But that fear is tempered by the possibility of an improved economy under Trump and more work. "Things may be a bit tense right in our communities right now, but being worried isn't a solution," he said. "The best thing to do is avoid problems and not commit any crimes." There are many others who don't share in this optimism, and are living in fear. Among them is California resident Eric Bautista, a so-called "Dreamer", who benefits from a longstanding programme that protects from deportation those who were brought illegally into the US as children. At 29, Mr Bautista has only fleeting memories of life in Mexico, the country in which he was born and left at the age of seven. For the last four years, he has taught US history to high schoolers - including details of how waves of immigrants from Italy, Ireland, China, Japan and Mexico settled in the country, and often faced xenophobia. "I don't think I've ever felt this way, even after more than 20 years here," Mr Bautista told the BBC. "It feels like we're at a turning point, a new wave of nativism like those I teach about. "It's just a future of fear and uncertainty for us." Advocates and legal experts said there was no guarantee that undocumented migrants without criminal convictions would not be ensnared in ramped-up deportation efforts. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, policy director at the American Immigration Council, said that he foresaw an uptick in "collateral arrests" - a term used in the first Trump administration to describe immigrants swept up during enforcement actions even though they may not have been the original targets. "Let's say they go after somebody with a criminal record, and that person lives in a house with four other [undocumented] people," he said. "We saw with the first Trump administration, they'll arrest those people as well." In a recent interview with CBS, the BBC's US partner, Homan was asked about a hypothetical situation in which a grandmother was caught up in a "targeted" enforcement operation going after criminals. When asked if she would be deported, Homan responded "it depends". "Let the judge decide," he said. "We're gonna remove people that a judge has ordered deported." The arrest and potential removal of such collateral arrests would mark a drastic departure from the Biden administration, which has focused on public safety threats and deporting people soon after their apprehension at the border. While Homan recently dismissed suggestions that there could be "a mass sweep of neighbourhoods" or large detention camps set up, the stock prices of companies that could be involved in building detention facilities have jumped by as much as 90% since the election. They include publicly traded prison firms GEO Group and CoreCivic. Undocumented migrants are employed throughout the US economy - from agricultural fields to warehouses and construction sites. Mr Reichlin-Melnick said operations targeting such workplaces could lead to "indiscriminate" detentions. "I don't think that being a person with no criminal record [who] pays taxes protects anybody," he said. "One of the first things that Trump will do is get rid of the Biden administration's enforcement priorities. And we've seen that when there are no priorities, they will go after whoever are the easiest targets." The possibility of becoming "an easy target" has worried many migrants - particularly those from families with mixed legal statuses. Their biggest fear is finding themselves separated. Brenda, a 37-year-old Mexico-born "Dreamer" in Texas, is currently protected from deportation but her husband and her mother are not. Her two children were born in the US and are American citizens. While Brenda told the BBC she does not believe that "good people" would be the first targets for deportation, she can't escape the thought that her husband could be sent back to Mexico. "It's important for us that we see our sons grow up," she said. "Of course, the thought of being separated leaves one frightened." Can we at least agree that something needs to be done to close the porous southern border?

https://nypost.com/2024/11/19/world-news/putin-issues-warning-to-united-states-with-new-nuclear-doctrine/ Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a warning to the United States on Tuesday, lowering the threshold for a nuclear strike just days after the administration of Joe Biden reportedly allowed Ukraine to fire American missiles deep into Russia. The updated doctrine, formally known as “The basics of state policy in the field of nuclear deterrence,” outlines the threats that would make Russia, the world’s biggest nuclear power, contemplate using such weapons. Russia would consider a nuclear strike if it, or its ally Belarus, faced aggression “with the use of conventional weapons that created a critical threat to their sovereignty and (or) their territorial integrity,” the new doctrine said. The previous doctrine, set out in a 2020 decree, said Russia may use nuclear weapons in case of a nuclear attack by an enemy or a conventional attack that threatened the existence of the state. Other innovations included considering any conventional assault on Russia by a non-nuclear power supported by a nuclear power to be a joint attack. Any mass aerospace attack with aircraft, cruise missiles and unmanned aircraft that crossed Russia’s borders could also trigger a nuclear response.“Aggression against the Russian Federation and (or) its allies on the part of any non-nuclear state with the participation or support of a nuclear state is considered as their joint attack,” the doctrine said. “Aggression of any state from a military coalition (bloc, union) against the Russian Federation and (or) its allies is considered as aggression by the coalition (bloc, union) as a whole.” The Kremlin said Russia considered nuclear weapons as a means of deterrence and that the aim of the updated text was to make absolutely clear to potential enemies that the inevitability of retaliation should they attack Russia.

Homeland Security has been raising the alarm, to no avail with this administration...... https://nypost.com/2024/11/19/us-news/tren-de-aragua-has-already-set-up-shop-in-these-16-states-homeland-security-warns/ The vicious Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua has expanded its territory to at least 16 US states — an area that includes half of America’s population, The Post has learned. Homeland Security officials last week were warned in an internal department intelligence memo about TdA’s growing presence across the country, most recently in Washington, DC, Virginia, Montana and Wyoming. The gang already has footholds in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin, according to the memo and previous reporting by The Post. The gang has only increased its “violent tendencies” as it spreads, the memo added. Tren de Aragua’s arrival in the nation’s capital and nearby Virginia coincided with “increases in migrant populations” there, the memo stated. “As the population of Venezuelan nationals continues to increase, the potential for violent TdA migrants is highly probable,” the memo warned. In one run-in with the cutthroat gang in Virginia, cops in Fairfax County arrested three suspected members in August 2023 for shoplifting. One of the suspects had a fake Venezuelan ID, and all three bore the gang’s signature tattoos. The gang’s members are targeting the DC area because they can travel with ease to nearby suburbs in northern Virginia to carry out thefts, robberies and assaults, the memo said. Its members are increasingly engaged in “lower-level fraud and theft schemes,” sending their stolen funds “back to South America as a means of financing additional criminal enterprises,” the memo said. In one case cited in the document, a suspected Tren de Aragua member withdrew $118,000 from a Florida bank account with “fraudulent check deposits” and wired the money to bank accounts in Venezuela before any fraud was detected. The sheriff of Wyoming’s most populous county told The Post on Monday that while he “would not say they have established a presence” in the Western state, he is holding a suspected TdA member in his jail. “We have a person in our jail who is suspected of being TdA who is being held for trial in December for being in possession of a car that was stolen in Colorado,” Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak said. “This is the only arrest of a possible TdA member in Wyoming, and he was just passing through when he was arrested. We have not seen an increase in Venezuelan immigrants in Wyoming, especially the criminal gang type,” he insisted. TdA members embedded themselves in the waves of millions of migrants who crossed the US-Mexico border during the Biden-Harris administration. With no information-sharing between the US and Venezuela to detect the gang members, they were easily released into the US, according to US Border Patrol sources. Further complicating the disastrous situation is a fraught relationship between the Biden-Harris administration and Venezuela’s Maduro regime, which refuses to accept deportation flights carrying Venezuelans from the US back to the South American country. President-elect Donald Trump has said that cracking down on Tren de Aragua will be a top priority for his administration, which he says will carry out a historic “mass deportation” effort leveraging not only ICE but the US military. In New York, TdA members have engaged in shootings of cops, assaults, snatch-and-grab robberies and gun smuggling into migrant shelters. The gang is also said to be engaged in sex trafficking of migrant women on Roosevelt Avenue in Queens. Outside of Democratic sanctuary cities and states, TdA has established itself in other unlikely areas of the country. Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch told “Fox & Friends” on Friday that the gang has been running human trafficking rings in Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga. “They go from human trafficking to organized retail crime theft, and then they move into the drug trade, taking on the cartels in very violent, bloody battles that they’ve had,” Rausch said.