Afghanistan and Paris Terrorism while the French Vote and Trump Turns Around Obama's Soft Illegal Immigrant Stance

Other events took the spotlight in the news this weekend, especially the French presidentia election, but there are two tragic events that deserve attention -- the Taliban attack on Afghan soldiers and the terrorist attack on the Champs-Elysée in Paris that had an obvious effect on the French electorate. • • • THE TALIBAN ATTACK. As Afghanistan reels from the attack that killed at least 140 unarmed soldiers and wounded many others -- all of them coming from Friday prayers or their lunch -- President Ashraf Ghani has declared a national day of mourning. The attack by Taliban fighters disguised as fellow Afghan soldiers was the deadliest attack of its kind on an Afghan military base that is the headquarters of the Afghan National Army's 209th Corps, responsible for much of northern Afghanistan, including Kunduz, a province which has seen heavy fighting. The Friday attack in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif highlights the difficulty of the long struggle by the Afghan government and its international allies to defeat the Taliban insurgency. After arriving in Mazar-i-Sharif to visit the base on Saturday, Ghani ordered that flags be flown at half mast on Sunday in memory of the troops who died. President Ghani also held an emergency meeting with senior security officials and called for a "serious" investigation into the attack. In a statement online, he condemned the attack as "cowardly" and the work of "infidels." Reuters reported that as many as 10 Taliban fighters, dressed in Afghan army uniforms and driving military vehicles -- some of them wearing plaster limb casts to fake being injured soldiers -- made their way into the base and opened fire on mostly unarmed soldiers eating and leaving a mosque after Friday prayers, according to officials. They used rocket-propelled grenades and rifles, and several detonated suicide vests packed with explosives. Witnesses described a scene of confusion as soldiers were uncertain about the attackers' true identity. One wounded army officer told Reuters : "It was a chaotic scene and I didn't know what to do. There was gunfire and explosions everywhere." • Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Saturday the attack on the base was retribution for the recent killing of several senior Taliban leaders in northern Afghanistan. The US military command in Kabul said an American air strike had killed a commander, Quari Tayib, and eight other Taliban on April 17. Mujahid said the attack on the base killed as many as 500 soldiers, including senior commanders. Four of the attackers were Taliban sympathizers who had infiltrated the army and served for some time, Mujahid said, but this was not confirmed by the Afghan army. • The NATO-led military coalition deploys advisors to the base to train and assist Afghan forces but coalition officials said no foreign troops had been hurt. US Navy Captain Bill Salvin, spokesperson for the NATO-led Resolute Support mission, said there were a small number of coalition force advisors on the base at the time of the attack. Salvin said : "They sheltered in place during the incident. The Afghan Special Forces brought the attack to an end." Coalition Force Commander US General John Nicholson said in a statement on Friday that the attack "shows the barbaric nature of the Taliban." • • • GERMANY'S ROLE IN EUROPEAN SEMI-CAPITULATION. Ironically, German forces have long led the international mission in northern Afghanistan where Friday's deadly attack occurred. In Berlin, military officials said the work of the mission on the base would be on hold for one or two days while the Afghan army investigated the attack, but would resume : "The situation shows that we cannot stop supporting, training and advising our Afghan partners." • It would probably be distasteful in the extreme but not surprising to the German military to read the Reuters article on Saturday that quoted a Der Spiegel magazine report : "Thousands of former Taliban fighters may have entered Germany over the past two years among an influx of more than a million migrants and refugees." Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) informed security officials that thousands of migrants had identified themselves as former Taliban insurgents during the asylum application process, Der Spiegel said, adding that at least 70 Afghan men were being investigated by Germany's over-stretched chief federal prosecutor, although it was not clear whether all of them were suspected of being active Taliban militants. Six are being held in investigatory detention and preliminary court hearings involving several others are due to start next week, the magazine added. No comment was made available to Reuters from the migration office or federal prosecutors. The government of Chancellor Angela Merkel, under fire for allowing in so many migrants, especially after several militant attacks linked to migrants last year, has been actively deporting groups of rejected Afghan asylum seekers. Merkel, seeking a fourth term in a September 24 election, recently defended the increase deportations of rejected Afghan asylum seekers, saying all other European Union countries were doing the same. She said about 55% of Afghans were granted refugee status in Germany, while 45% were turned down. • • • THE PARIS TERRORIST ATTACK -- TRUMP HIT AGAIN FOR SPEAKING THE TRUTH. That bastion of extreme leftist opinion masquerading as journalism, MSNBC, attacked President Trump for calling Thursday's Paris attack that killed one police officer and seriously wounded two others "another terrorist attack." In the moments following President Trump’s Thursday press conference with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, MSNBC and its mindless panelists swiftly condemned Trump for referring to the deadly shooting on the Champs-Élysées as a terrorist attack. MSNBC host Brian Williams, the disgraced NBC news anchor who lost his job for lying, led the charge : “President Trump said right off the bat to a question looks like another terrorist attack in France that we have not been comfortable to call it that or report that but we'll have more reporting upcoming.” That was followed by NBC's Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd complaining about Trump “getting ahead of the facts” and trying to blame Paris itself for being attacked -- a truly dispicable affront to France, which is on an all-hands alert to stop terrorists. Todd said : "And then I am with you, look, the only thing on the what's going on in Paris, you know, always a dangerous time to be -- you know, the coverage is getting ahead of the facts and I think, you know, the President was referring to what he was saying he's watching on television." • All this occurred while French television was speaking to Paris police who were indicating that what took place "was terrorism." The frustration of President Trump was clear in his statement that the shooting "looks like another terrorist attack." He and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni offered their condolences to France. It is outrageous that these fake news comedians who cannot even call a terrorist attack by its name -- I thought that went out with Obama -- have the gall to blame President Trump for being honest and calling the Paris attack correctly, and then tossing in the CYA statement that Paris is dangerous -- was Todd trying to say that because there are terrorist threats in France, the Paris attack was not "terrorist"? • The fact is that a police officer was killed and two were seriously injured when a gunman opened fire late Thursday on the famed Champs-Élysées before he was shot dead. The police were brave in confronting the attacker who was firing a Kalashnikov. Paris police spokeswoman Johanna Primevert told the AP the attacker targeted police guarding the area near the Franklin Roosevelt subway station at the center of the avenue popular with tourists. French President Francois Hollande almost immediately said in a TV statement to the French people that he was convinced the circumstances of the Paris shooting pointed to a terrorist act : "We need to realize our security, law enforcement forces targeted have the full support of the nation." The French Interior Ministry said the shooting attack "deliberately targeted" police officers guarding the area. Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said on BFM television that a man came out of a car and opened fire on the police vehicle. "We are faced with a specifically high terrorist threat," he told reporters, referring to the French concern that terrorists would try to disrupt the presidential balloting on Sunday. The attacker was known by secret service in France as an extremist, officials confirmed to Fox News. • The beauty of the French reaction occurred on Saturday when thousands of Parisians filled streets and squares waving posters and carrying banners in support of their police -- balloons were released and flowers and candles lit. • • • "IT JUST NEVER ENDS." Trump is right about that if he meant Europe. And France is at the epicenter of both the islamic terrorist attacks in the EU and the fight against them. On Sunday, 20,000 police and 7,000 military were deployed to ensure that the first round ofthe presidential election went without a hitch. The incident on Thursday was similar to two recent attacks on soldiers providing security at prominent locations around Paris, one at the Louvre museum in February and one at Orly airport last month. But, the virtual omni-presence of military and police on French streets, shopping and tourist areas, and in rail stations and airports, show the French determination to keep its people and visitors safe -- if anyone is "safe" in Europe these days. France has been in a state of emergency following a series of terrorist attacks, including the the November 2015 attacks, which targeted the Bataclan concert hall and Stade de France sports arena in Paris and the deadly truck attack in Nice on Bastille Day in July 2016. The state of emergency has been extended by several parliamentary votes and remains in effect. • • • OBAMA FAILED TO CONTROL ILLEGALS. German Chancellor Merkel isn't the only head of state who allowed her country to be overrun by uncontrolled illegal immigrants. Breitbart published an article on Saturday about a new report from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Office of Inspector General (OIG) that reveals startling failures during the Obama administration that allowed 2.2 million deportable aliens to remain free on American streets in a “supervised” status. Aliens with criminal convictions accounted for nearly 400,000 of that total. The report issued by ICE Inspector General (IG) John Roth last week details several failures under Obama that built a tremendous backlog for deportation officers (DO). Those failures, states the report, include imbalanced workloads for DOs, unachievable goals, a lack of clear policies and procedures,and lack of training. The Obama Administration announced its “Priority Enforcement Program” (PEP) in November 2014, claiming it would focus on the removal of certain criminal aliens including those convicted of felonies, multiple misdemeanors, and “significant” misdemeanors (e.g., domestic violence, sexual abuse, and sexual exploitation). It also stated that it would prioritize aliens who entered, or re-entered, the country illegally and could not prove continuous presence since January 1, 2014. But, the real result was a backing off from detaining illegals and a seriously exaggerated caseload of undetained illegals per deportation officer that, for example, was 10,500 in Washington DC in the summer of 2016. • As a result of this failed program, ICE DOs were supervising more than 2.2 million undetained aliens as of the end of August 2016. Of that number, 368,574 of the aliens were convicted criminals. • In July 2016, GOP Senator John Cornyn of Texas introduced a bill to provide remedies for countries that refuse to accept the deportation of their citizens. The measure is similar to legislation filed by Representative Ted Poe of Texas that called for restricting diplomatic visas to countries that deny or unreasonably delay the repatriation of their citizens subject to deportation from the US. In July 2016, the Center for Immigration Studies reported that nearly 1,000,000 illegal aliens ignored deportation orders from immigration judges, including nearly 200,000 criminal aliens. The CIS report confirms the refusal of countries to accept repatriation as one of the primary causes contributing to the high number of non-removals by ICE. • But, since President Trump’s election on November 8, each month shows a decline in apprehension. The two full months following the inauguration show a dramatic drop to levels not seen in the past five years, decreasing by more than 75%. Border Patrol agents arrested 16,600 illegal border crossers during the month of March. The February report indicated 23,570 apprehensions along the southwestern border with Mexico. This represents the lowest number of border apprehension in the past five years. The apprehension of Family Unit Aliens (FMUA) decreased in March by 64% from the previous month while the apprehension of Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) fell by 46%. FMUA apprehensions have fallen by 88% since President Trump took office. • • • DEAR READERS, in the US, as in Europe, it is possible to control borders and prevent the majority of illegal entries. But, it demands strong leadership to make clear that the borders are being patrolled and illegal immigrants will be refused entry. This is not the whole solution, but sometimes just following the law works wonders. • And, the same rationale can be applied to the EU plague of ISIS and al-Qaida. Although the strike at the Afghan military base is miles from Europe and the borders of France and appears to not be in any way connected to Sunday's French election, it speaks to the heart and soul of France and the outlook for the longevity of the EU and of the West. The EU and life in Europe is now in the crosshairs of ISIS/al-Qaida islamic terrorists, but neither Europe nor the West in general has as yet developed a unified plan or even a "fall back" position in the war on terrorism that we are thus far sadly losing. The West and democratic nations everywhere need to regroup and press forward in a co-ordinated effort -- not with a multi-headed NATO-led force but with a "Supreme Allied Commander," much like the position General Eisenhower held during the allied assault on Hitler during World War II. The rules of engagement should also be similar to those under which Hitler was defeated -- Whatever It Takes to Win. A cleansing sweep through all countries up to the borders of the Middle East, and then microscopic examination of infiltration in those Middle East countries that seek democratic government and adherence to human rights, the rule of law, and religious freedom. Countries and allied groups should always enter a conflict to win -- to fight for principles and ideals, not tomorrow's mainstream media reports or the next opinion poll. • And, now for the French election results. Emmanuel Macron placed first with a projected 23.7% of hte vote. Marine Le Pen placed second at 21.7% of the vote. And François Fillon is at 19.8%, while Jean-Luc Melenchon is at 19.2%. The next two weeks will see a battle between the center-left "elite" Macron and the nationalist-populist conservative Le Pen as they seek broad support before the May 7 vote that will see one of them elected President of France.

Casing the Colors © Week 6

Casing the Colors © Week 6 • • • CHAPTER 11 • General Philip Carlson was an infantry commander. He had graduated from West Point with Scott Bennett and fought in the Middle East's various campaigns. He had been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for field valor. Phil and Scott were friendly rivals from the day they met. When Phil Carlson was named General Gordon's deputy, it rankled Scott, who at the time was Pentagon liaison for troop training. Phil thought being deputy to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs would give him the inside shot at becoming a member himself. Scott wanted the deputy appointment for the same reason, but General Gordon told Scott it wasn't the right step for him. When the Middle East campaigns gave Phil and Scott their chance, it was Scott who won the day. American troops who had been trained under his rigorous system were superior, tough and battle-ready. When deployed in tactical units in strategic sectors, they responded superbly. Scott was recognized by the US military and allied leadership as an extraordinary troop tactician and began his climb up the ground command ladder with his success in ending the civil war in Syria. Finally, Phil Carlson had to be content to ride shotgun to General Gordon, watching Scott on television with the rest of the world. Carlson, slightly built but muscular and tanned with a dark brown crewcut, assembled General Bennett and the members of the Joint Chiefs at the table in General Gordon's Pentagon conference room for a Monday morning briefing in late January, 2023. Kate had given Stu quick backgrounder on General Carlson as they drove from the White House. The briefing was informal. Phil began by discussing the details of troop strength in his sector. He had more than a hundred thousand troops under his command, but they were spread thin, stretched along two thousand miles of Rio Grande border and deployed farther north in Houston, El Paso, Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Francisco. He also controlled several large Air Force bases, reaching from Texas to California. "We plan to use the Air Force both for cover and first strike sorties," he explained to the assembled group of civilian and military leaders. "It should give us a tactical jump start, because we don't expect Miguel's army in Mexico to have air capability for several months. It will take at least that long for the recruited Cuban and Mexican military commanders to make any headway in coordinating with the guerrilla specialists assigned from Cuba and Miguel's empire. Local intelligence confirms our satellite observations of heavy weapons being massed in Cuba and moved by boat to the Yucatan in Mexico. They plan to cache their armaments in readily accessible areas south of the Rio Grande. If we can prevent the constant trickle of small arms from Mexico, it will mean fewer snipers and armed guerrilla bands at our rear while we're concentrating on eliminating the larger weaponry cached in Mexico." General Gordon, who wanted to drive home to Stu Wellford the threat in practical terms, asked Phil, "What about terrorist activities in your sector?" "We've been watching the inter-sector flow of weapons and money, measured by riot activity and operational levels, for the past month. The pattern is west to east and south to north. FBI undercover work has verified that Raqqa's headquarters is in the Los Angeles area. We don't have a current photo of Raqqa but our independent data about money flow and ghetto unrest squares with FBI information. As you know, Raqqa is Syrian but he has ties to Iran, Algeria, Libya and Palestine radicals. He is particularly vicious and determined to recreate the world in his fundamentalist jihad image...and for his personal and financial glory. Syria and Libya deny helping him, but our operatives confirm that he receives money from Teheran through Damascus and trains his terrorists at sites near Tripoli and Teheran. He often works with Carlos Miguel, using his operatives to deliver drugs for Miguel in areas outside Miguel's direct control. Occasionally, Raqqa personally eliminates one of Miguel's particular enemies in return for very large cash payments. They have obviously found a common interest in fomenting a US rebellion." General Bennett displayed a map of the Rio Grande border region. "There are two relatively easy routes for delivering larger weapons across the border," he said. "The first is from Merida or Campeche in the Yucatan by boat to Matamoros on the Gulf Coast near Monterrey, then on to Nuevo Laredo and into the US for use as far north as Canada. The region north of Monterrey is flat, with innumerable border crossing possibilities." He paused to give his audience time to study the map and then moved his laser pointer across the Mexican terrain to a region south of Arizona. "The other likely marshaling area is in the Sonoran Desert south of Tucson. Our planning anticipates air delivery from Monterrey, landing in the desert where portable metal airstrips, easily put down by Miguel's unskilled recruits, would work. The weapons being amassed are powerful," he continued. "Tanks with missile delivery systems, manpads, bazookas, small artillery, anti-aircraft systems, and hand weapons" he said, flipping a chart showing the various weapons as he named them. "Bottom line," General Gordon summarized, "is that we are facing a well-financed, international terrorist coalition determined to take on the United States and win." "We've got to stop them," Stu said, his mental image of the terrorist threat and destructive capability vivid. "I could not agree more," General Gordon said. Her father's voice had the exasperated edge that Kate had sometimes heard as a child when he wanted the civilian world to march by the numbers he barked. "The campaign," the General continued crisply, "will be a combination of border strikes and commando raids to cripple the terrorists and their supply lines before they get dug in on US territory. We will also sweep across the American southwest to destroy terrorist cells. You had better inform the President because we're talking about civilian casualties and the possibility of a major military and diplomatic confrontation with the Mexican government." "How much time do we have?" Stu asked. "Not more than two or three days." "Serious civilian casualties," Kate repeated. "Do you mean mainstream Americans?" "Mainstream?" Stu stormed, "what the hell, Kate?" "How do I know who the hell will be killed," her father snapped, equally irritated by her remark. "Kate," Scott intervened, "you're asking a question none of us can answer." "I'm not trying to be difficult," she said, "but we need an answer, for our own political protection, before the TV cameras roll. Otherwise, the whole American Agenda show could blow up in living color." Stu spoke quietly in support of Kate, but everyone in the room felt his muffled anger. "Kate is right. We cannot sacrifice white Americans without at least some prior warning." "Warning?" General Gordon's voice was taut. "You mean a front page story that gives the street coordinates for our artillery targets?" "Wait, hold on," Kate said. "I simply wanted to know if we're going to target white residential areas. It makes a big difference politically." Kate could taste the venality of her words. She didn't want to start a war inside American Agenda, but she needed an answer to her coldly pragmatic question. "Listen, both of you," General Gordon said. "This is not going to be easy for any of us. Hell, Americans are going to be killed. Explain it to the President and to America any way you want. But just be damned sure you tell the President that Americans are going to die because the United States military is going after terrorists who live in American neighborhoods, feed American kids drugs and radical propaganda, and mean to take our country from us. If we don't have the courage to act, we had better know it now, and you can start writing the speech that begins, there used to be a place called America." "I hear you, Dad," Kate said. She knew from the tone of his voice that it would be useless to continue the discussion. "Give Stu and me two days. We'll bring the President around. But, it's not going to be so easy to get the media into the same lifeboat." "That's your job," Scott replied sharply, "and you are both experts. Just make it happen." As the briefing ended, Scott moved ahead of General Gordon to walk between Stu and Kate. "I'm sorry for snapping, Kate," he apologized. Turning to Stu, he asked, "do you mind if I borrow our guru this evening? I have a few free hours and I'd like to spend them with my girl." Without waiting for an answer, he said to Kate, "I'll pick you up at the White House at 19 hours." As Scott hurried down the corridor, Kate laughed quietly. "Can you believe that, Stu?" she asked. "He made a date for 19 hours, not 7 o'clock." And without even waiting for an answer, she noted mentally. • • • CHAPTER 12 • "It's almost noon," Stuart said as he smoothed his suit jacket and settled himself in the back seat of the White House limousine. "Let's have lunch before we go back to the Pennsylvania Avenue zoo. I need a break. I know a place up on Fourteenth Street." Their driver headed north, past the shopping area around the Marriott. Kate Gordon was quiet as she sat beside the man who would be President of the United States, if the tiny but powerful group of political insiders and military advisors she belonged to could deliver. The morning's Pentagon briefing assured her that the military was doing its part. She and the other politicians in the group would have to do the rest. But, as she reviewed the past several months, she knew that events were moving fast across a national and worldwide front and that as much luck as effort would be needed to cement their plan to replace the disastrous administration of President Carl Harper before the United States came completely unglued. "Where is this place, in Maryland?" Kate asked after fifteen minutes drive. "Here we are," Stu said. "I used to eat here often when I was simply a law clerk trying to make good." The limousine pulled into a restaurant parking lot far up on Fourteenth Street, in one of Washington's upper middle class black neighborhoods. The sign above the door read, TRACES. Inside, half the space was a dark piano bar with a low black ceiling. It reeked of stale tobacco smoke. Deep burgundy red cocktail stools matched the piano's padded bar extension. The rest of the space, separated from the bar by partially closed folding doors, was a dining room lightened by pink tablecloths and brightly patterned fabrics on the chairs and drapes. Kate quickly noted that hers was the only white face in the room. The owner recognized Stu and found them a table against one of the fake exposed brick walls. A tiny chrome lamp warmed a small area. "Welcome sir," the owner said. "Glad to see you." "Pay attention, Kate," Stu whispered after the owner gave them menus and left. "The customers don't know who I am yet, so my skin still looks black to them, but, as the word spreads that I'm Stuart Wellford, in their eyes I'll become as white as you." "Stu, what are we doing here?" Kate asked apprehensively. "Why did you bring me here if you're uncomfortable? I thought it was just a place where we could have an hour alone." "You need to feel what it's like to live in a world that's a different color," he said, "because then you just might be able to understand my position. I'm always in a world of a different color, no matter where I am. You talk about racism, but you don't feel it. It's simply a question of ethics for you." "I'm sorry, Stu. I try. It's important for me to understand," she said, fidgeting slightly in her chair. Kate wasn't used to being the uncomfortable person in a conversation and she didn't like it, especially when it was Stu making her feel that way. "I know, Sweetie. But no one can understand racism before they feel it. Maybe no matter how smart you are, you're just too young and too white to ever understand what I'm talking about." "Is this about the problem in the southwest, Stu?" she asked, searching to explain his unexpected peevishness and ignoring his remark about her age to avoid another round of bickering. "Do you want to call off the military sweep?" she asked, hoping he would say no. The morning meeting had cemented their plans to attack the terrorists in their stronghold in the southwest, and it needed Stu Wellford's political charisma to make it acceptable to the American public. "Hell no, Kate, I don't want to call it off. It's just that a citizen killed in this nightmare is not a bigger deal because he has white skin. Your father said it this morning, but it got lost in the tension. Americans of every color are going to be killed and I'm the guy with the political clout to hold things together while it goes down. At least that's what everyone tells me," he added, almost smirking at the idea that he could do anything either to slow down or stop what was going to happen. "Darling, you don't have to take this decision. We can pass it back to the President. You don't need to be involved in the deaths of black Americans." "Kate, quit trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist. I'm goddamned tough-minded enough to give orders that result in American deaths, but I won't do it if everybody around me thinks that a dead white American is a martyr while a dead black American is simply one less problem. I didn't take on this job to perpetuate the status quo. I can do what's required but, for God's sake, don't ask me to become a racist, too." "My God, Stu, I...we...didn't mean it that way. But the truth is that right now black deaths are less serious, especially now when the public is focused on blaming blacks for all our problems." Stu tried to clear his mind of its growing anger. "Look around," he said, carefully controlling his normally resonant and commanding voice. "Remember these people. They're black but they're Americans, mainstream Americans, eating lunch, going back to work, going home to their three bedroom bungalows tonight to face the same fears we're facing. They're the people you consigned to the Southwest killing grounds today. Remember these faces the next time you talk about the political backlash from media coverage of mainstream Americans being killed by the military." The pair sat silently, studying their menus and trying to let the air clear between them. Finally Stu made an effort to shift the conversation, "What's this I hear about you and Scott?" "Sheila promised not to tell you," Kate frowned. "It's nothing, Stu. I'm just not overwhelmed with physical desire for Scott, but that's not exactly breaking news for you." "Well, damn it, my dear, find someone you are overwhelmed by. There are other men in the world besides soldiers, you know." "Don't be so eager to get rid of me," she said, half in jest, half seriously. "Sweetie," Stu insisted, taking her hand, his voice apologetic, "Sheila told me about your talk with her because she's worried you're working too hard." Kate was sure that Sheila hadn't told Stu everything about the conversation, certainly not that she knew about his relationship with Kate. "You know I'll always love you," Stu said, "but I can't give you any of the other things love ought to lead to. Find somebody, Sweetie, and then tell me who the bastard is, so I can run the son of a bitch off," he said, with a hollow laugh that betrayed his misery. He patted her arm paternally, a movement that could not be mistaken for anything but friendship. The touch hurt Kate, with its inference of his need to be careful, to keep the world between them. She smiled blankly at him and withdrew her hand. "I adore you," he offered, "but you need someone who can hold your hand in a restaurant without worrying about reporters or rumors. I hate to be the realist, but we live in a fish bowl and that's never going to change. I don't know what in the hell to do, but I will not let your life be ruined by my selfishness." "Don't," she said, almost in tears. "Don't even think about it." Stu grimaced. "Did I say you haven't felt racism? Forgive me. Let's get out of here. It was a stupid idea." "Dad's not home. We can be there in twenty minutes or so." He tossed more than enough money on the table to pay for their aperitif and found their driver waiting in the parking lot. Less than a half hour later, they left him and the limousine in the driveway of her father's home and disappeared into the quiet interior. Kate walked ahead of Stu, straight to her bedroom. In seconds they were undressed and making love with the passion he had minutes ago told her she would have to find with someone else. The afternoon lost its sense of time or problems as they held each other and moved together. He held her smooth, naked body tight against his own, breathing life from her blond hair, its subtle rose and jasmine perfume mesmerizing him with its cool sophistication. Her sounds, soft at first and then rising, never failed to arouse him, exciting him each time as if he had never heard her moan before. If he lived forever, he thought, he would never forget her sounds, full of the joy and pain of their lovemaking. But, those brief moments of intimacy were always torture for him. Why, for Christ sake, couldn't she be black, he thought, cursing every color. He never asked himself why he couldn't be white. That was unthinkable. His blackness was as much a part of him as his mind or his muscles and in his less emotional moments he was too astute not to realize that her whiteness was just as much a part of her. She moved her body slightly, touching his dark shoulder. "We have to go," she said. "Why do we always have to go? I would like, just once, to stay with you for a whole night." "Don't, Sweetie," he said quietly. It was the only thing he ever said when she railed against their predicament. They dressed and headed back to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

French Presidential Election Sunday -- Watch Macron and Fillon

There are only two names in European news right now -- Theresa May and Marine Le Pen -- and they both want to get out of the European Union. One will succeed. The other will most likely not. • • • THERESA MAY'S SNAP ELECTION. British Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday called for an early parliamentary election on June 8 to strengthen her hand in negotiating the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union, Brexit. May said she had been reluctant to ask parliament to back her move to bring forward the poll from 2020. But, after thinking "long and hard" during a walking holiday in Wales, she decided it was necessary to try to stop the opposition "jeopardizing" her work on Brexit. Some were surprised by her move because she has repeatedly said she does not want to be distracted by campaigning, but opinion polls give her a strong lead and the British economy has so far defied predictions of a slowdown, with growth faster than expected, consumer confidence is high and unemployment low. Mrs. May stood in front of 10 Downing Street on Tuesday to make the announcement : "It was with reluctance that I decided the country needs this election, but it is with strong conviction that I say it is necessary to secure the strong and stable leadership the country needs to see us through Brexit and beyond." She later told ITV News : "Before Easter I spent a few days walking in Wales with my husband, thought about this long and hard, and came to the decision that to provide that stability and certainty for the future that this was the way to do it, to have an election." Parliamant has agreed, voting on Wednesday to dissolve and stand for re-election. Mrs. May had, as required, told the Queen of her plan on Monday. • May is banking on capitalizing on her runaway lead in the opinion polls that show her Conservative Party 20 points ahead of the opposition Labour Party, meaning that the Conservatives could win an additional 100 seats in parliament. The prime minister's own personal ratings also dwarf those of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, with 50% of those polled saying she would make the best prime minister. Corbyn wins only 14%, according to pollster YouGov. May, who has served in many positions in Conservative governments, was interior minister under David Cameron, and then was appointed prime minister after Britain's vote to leave the European Union led to his resignation as PM. The election will be a vote on her performance so far, and an affirmation that Britain agrees with hte Conservative Party that she ought to be prime minister. She is counting on winning the support of British voters, who backed Brexit by 52-48%. Business groups largely welcomed the move, while expressing concern that the government's focus may stray away from the economy, which May said had defied "predictions of immediate financial and economic danger." • Underlining tensions are not likely to be healed by the election. Nicola Sturgeon, first minister of the Scottish government, described the decision as a "huge political miscalculation" that could help her own efforts to hold a new independence referendum. Corbyn welcomed the election plan, but some of his Labour members of parliament doubted whether it was a good move, fearing they could lose their seats. At least two said they would not run. • If Theresa May has guessed right, she will win a new mandate for a series of reforms she wants to introduce in Britain and and at the same time get a vote of confidence in a vision for Brexit which sees the country outside the EU's single market. May says : "The decision facing the country will be all about leadership. What they [her opponents] are doing jeopardizes the work we must do to prepare for Brexit at home, and it weakens the government's negotiating position in Europe." • Britain thus joins the European countries scheduled to hold elections this year. Votes in France in April and May, and in Germany in September, have the potential to reshape the political landscape around the two years of Brexit talks with the EU expected to start in earnest in June. • • • POLLS FOR FRANCE'S SUNDAY VOTE. The polls are tightening as four people battle for the two places available in the May 7 second round vote that will choose France's next president. Le Figaro, the conservative French daily newspaper, reported the latest OpinionWay/Orpi opinion poll on Thursday. Calling the poll an affirmation of "general stability" in the results -- none of the scores of the top four principal candidates has varied much in the last two days, according to Le Figaro. The poll shows that those who have the intention to vote place Emmanuel Macron ahead with 23%, Marine Le Pen still at 22%, François Fillon at 20% and Jean-Luc Mélenchon at 19%. The Socialist Party candidate, Benoît Hamon, is at 8%, suffering from the almost total repudiation of the outgoing Socialist President François Hollande. In the second round, the poll shows that Marine Le Pen would lose to Emmanuel Macron by 65% to 35%, and she would also lose to François Fillon by 57% to 43%. The OpinionWay/Orpi poll has a margin of error est of 1.1 to 2.2%. • The UK's Telegraph has been doing tracking polling by averaging the last eight national French polls every day, and Thursday afternoon reported the results of their Wednesday tracking : Macron 23.6%; LePen 22.5%; Fillon 19.4%; Melenchon 18.8%; and Hamon 7.8%. • The Le Figaro and Telegraph results are very similar, with Emmanuel Macron locked in a duel with the far-right leader Marine Le Pen at the top of the polls for the first round of voting. Centrist Macron, the former protege of François Hollande who left his position as economy minister to found his own party -- En Marche! (On the Move) that just happens to have Macron's initials EM, is now the bookies' favorite to become president, with the average of the latest polls showing him marginally ahead of Le Pen. Far left communist candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon is surging in the polls and has drawn level with François Fillon in third place and is within four points of Macron. If you like odds, here they are for the first round on Sunday : Emmanual Macron - Even; Marine Le Pen - 3/1; François Fillon - 3/1; Jean-Luc Mélenchon - 7/1; and Benoît Hamon - 200/1. • • • FACTS ABOUT THE KEY CANDIDATES. Let's dismiss Melenchon first. He is considered to be a 'wild man' communist who would drive France into the arms of Venezuela or Bolivia, whose president has called on the French to vote for Melenchon. The race is a 3-way race among Le Pen, MAcron and Fillon. • Marine Le Pen is 48. Her political career has been marked by her efforts to distance the Front National from the more explicitly far-Right party of her father, FN founder Jean-Marie Le Pen. She calles the process “de-demonisation.” It ended in an attempt to expel her father from the party in 2015, over controversial statements about the Holocaust. She won that battle for control of the FN and is not now speakign to her father, at least publicly. The Front National's major policies are : zithdrawing from the EU and the Euro; protecting the French economy from “unfair” competition and globalization; giving priority to French citizens in jobs and housing; ending mass immigration; taking a tough stance on law and order issues; reasserting “French cultural identity”; and, being a “strong and independent” France in defence and foreign affairs. In late 2015, Marine Le Pen said : “The National Front is the only party to defend an authentic French Republic, a Republic with only one vocation: the national interest, the development of French employment, the conservation of our way of life, the development of our tradition and the defense of all the French.” She says she will hire 15,000 police, curb migration and leave NATO's integrated command. Although she has sought to make the Front National more mainstream - removing both the party name and her surname in election posters and rallies in favor of a blue rose and the name 'Marine' - anti-immigrant rhetoric is still central. • Emmanuel Macron, at 39, would be France's youngest president under the Fifth Republic. He launched his centrist En Marche! party as a maverick outsider candidate fo rthe presidency. He is a pro-business former investment banker who made a lot of money at Rothschild, but has never held elected office. When Macron quit the Hollande government last summer to form his own party, he said : "I've seen the emptiness of our political system from the inside....I reject this system." He calls for a “democratic revolution” but without providing much in the way of a detailed action plan. Perhpas the biggest question mark concerning Emmanuel Macron is his marriage to divorcee Brigitte, a chocolate maker heiress 24 years his senior. The relationship has intrigued the French public. The pair met when he was 15 and she was a married mother of three and his French and drama teacher. Braving the disapproval of his parents, who sent him to Paris, the pair wed in 2007. She has three children from her first marriage and seven grandchildren. Madame Macron plays a hands-on role by her husband's side, offering support and helping him edit speeches. The couple have publicly tried to quash persistent rumors that he was having a homosexual affair, which he accused the entourage of ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy of starting. Macron describes himself as both Left-wing and a "liberal." He is in fact a pro-business reformist, who is firmly on the Left on social issues, including the freedom to practice religion in a secular state, equality and immigration. Macron has pledged to reduce public spending by €60 billion and cut 120,000 public sector jobs. He has also vowed to get tough on unemployment benefits for those who repeatedly turned down job offers and wants greater flexibility on the retirement age, currently 60, and the statutory 35-hour working week, allowing employers and staff more latitude to negotiate. In a headline-grabbing sweetener, he said 80% of households would be exonerated from a property tax known as the ‘taxe d’habitation’, which is an annual tax everyone in France pays on their home, whether rented or owned. He also plans a €50 billion public investment program on green energy, training of tradesmen to reduce youth unemployment, transport, public sector administration and justice. • François Fillon, 63, was Nicolas Sarkozy’s prime minister for his entire five-year term - a feat uniaue in its longevity in modern French politics, where the prime minister changes often as presidential policies rise and fall in public favor. Fillon ended up more popular than his then boss in the polls. An Anglophile who admires Margaret Thatcher, he has described France as “bankrupt” and pledges to slash the number of state workers by up to 600,000 in five years to fund €40 billion in tax breaks for companies and slashing state spending. He lives with his Welsh wife, Penelope, and their five children in a 12th-century home near Le Mans in western France.He is seen as embodying the values of provincial conservative France and has the backing of conservative Catholics, many of whom are opposed to gay marriage. He wants a rapprochement with Russia to protect Christians of the Middle East. His campaign is in jeopardy after a "fake jobs" scandal involving his British wife sent him plummeting in the polls. But, this week the conservative political elite is rallying around François Fillon. Wednesday, former prime minister Alain Juppé, whim Fillon beat in the conservative party primaries, shook Fillon's hand for the cameras and told conservatives to vote for him. Thursday, Fillon had breakfast at Nicolas Sarkozy's home and the two posed for photos afterward. Sarkozy, the former French president beaten by Hollande in 2012, was also beaten by Fillon in the party primaries. Sarkozy then sent a new message to the French public to vote for Fillon : "This is a serious matter, a very important election, and I want to signal that we conservatives should be together. I support François Fillon. It's normal that we sat down ot breakfqst to talk, to discuss, and to show to everyone who has shown confidence in me and has voted for me that I consider that not one of our voices should be missing in the support of François Fillon." Fillon posted a photo of Sarkozy and himself on his Twitter account, and thanked "Nicolas Sarkozy for his clear and important support." • • • WHO WILL WIN ON SUNDAY? Macron is the professionals' favorite to be elected president at this stage. While Le Pen and Macron are in a dead heat in the polls for the first round, it is expected that Macron or Fillon would be the likely winner if they were to face her in the second round. • There are many conservatives in America who think Marine Le Pen would be the nationalist, anti-elite president France needs. But, they don't understand French politics, or France. Le Pen has a family name that is anathema in France because Jean-Marie Le Pen represents the anti-Semitism and extremist pro-Hitler right that led France into the shame of Vichy during World War II. And, instead of going away into oblivion after WWII, Le Pen insisted in his point of view until shut down for good by his daughter Marine. But, she bears a tainted name, and it will take more than one generation, if the Front National survives beyond the Le Pen family, to bring the FN into the mainstream of French politics. In addition, Marine Le Pen controls no governing coalition, or even a minor voice, in the French National Assembly, where all French law is made -- she could not enact withdrawal from the Euro or the EU, or even hire police, without Assemblée Nationale agreement. And, finally, most French voters today remember vividly the presidential election of 1995 -- when sitting conservative president Jacques Chirac, whose Assemblée Nationale was controlled by Socialists. His Socialist prime minister decided to run against him for the presidency. Remember that we are talking about French parliamentary government where, uniquely, the president and majority coalition in the Assemblée Nationale don't have to be from the same political spectrum. Jean-Marie Le Pen was also running, as he did every time. The Socialist lost -- because the French were delivering their traditional "message" vote in the first round but delivered it too thoroughly against the unpopular Socialist -- and Chirac faced Jean-Marie Le Pen in the second round. France was well and truly traumatized. Even the Socialists called on all patriotic French to vote for the conservative Chirac. The Tricolor was unfurled all over the country and Chirac won with over 80% of the vote. • Skip forward to this 2017 election. In the homes and cafés all over France, you will hear the same discussion. They do not want a repeat of the horror of 1995. They do not want a 'Le Pen' to come even close to the presidency. They are afraid of what may be the dark underside of those who support Marine Le Pen. And, they know that she would have a hard time finding enough ministers to fill her government, let alone deal with a hostile Assemblée Nationale. AND, they are conservative-to-centrist Gaullists at heart. The great man may be long dead, but whoever the French president is, he visits De Gaulle's grave every year. • The talk in those French cafés right now is about how to play the first round vote on Sunday. The French know that a vote for Marine Le Pen is a lost vote because she cannot win the second round, or as the conservatives say, it is "a vote for Macron," whom they see as a Socialist in centrist clothing. Macron is fascinating but untested and unknown for the most part. Fillon is the only tried and tested politician in the lot. And he is conservative and Catholic -- two great attributes for anyone who wants to move into the Elysée. • • • DEAR READERS, here is my prediction. It is not one I have heard from a single political analyst so far, and it is certainly a longshot. BUT, I predict that on Sunday the French will vote for Macron and Fillon, in that order. Le Pen will place third and will not get to the second round. And on May 7, French voters will decide whether Emmanuel Macron or François Fillon will be their next president. Vive la France !!!

Democrats Collapse in Georgia, and Sessions Is Pursuing Them for their Sanctuary City Rebellion against America

On a day when the Progressive Democrats and their media lapdogs are trying to make a winner out of a loser, there is also the important question of sanctuary cities to consider. • • • PROGDEMS FAIL IN GEORGIA ELECTION. Newsmax reported that Democrat candidate Jon Ossoff, "an upstart Democrat in a special election in a conservative Georgia 6th congressional district failed to stave off a runoff election early Wednesday morning." With 100% of the vote counted, Jon Ossoff, a 30-year-old former congressional staffer, had 48.1% of the vote, according to AP results, well below the 50% plus one needed to prevent a runoff." To be clear, Ossoff was running against an unpardonable number of GOP candidates -- 11 among the 17 on the ballot with Ossoff -- and he had money pour into the district as Democrats tried to snag the seat previously held by Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price. A report from The Center for Public Integrity found that of more than $9 million spent on the race by outside groups as of Sunday just $1,070 came from inside Georgia. Of that total, Ossoff raised more than $8.3 million, mostly from donors far from the northern suburbs of Atlanta or Georgia, dwarfing what any Republican candidate has spent on the contest. President Trump hit Twitter urging Republicans to cast ballots late Tuesday. He even mocked Ossoff's choice of residence -- outside the district : "Just learned that Jon @Ossoff, who is running for Congress in Georgia, doesn't even live in the district. Republicans, get out and vote!" Later, Trump tweeted : “Despite major outside money, FAKE media support and eleven Republican candidates, BIG 'R' win with runoff in Georgia. Glad to be of help!” The failure of one candidate to breach the 50% mark means that voters will go to the polls in June to select the winner between Ossoff and Republican Karen Handel, a former Georgia Secretary of State with high name recognition. In the runoff in June; when there is just one Republican instead of 11 dividing up the vote on the right, it’s hard to see how Ossoff can win. An outright Democratic win on Tuesday would have been a painful blow to Trump’s agenda. A loss so shocking for the party would have caused current members of the House to take big steps back from Trump and his initiatives. But, Democrats may have hyped the race too much, giving Trump an opportunity to claim what otherwise would have been a completely unremarkable win in a long-term red district. Now that the Democrats have made it "big news," it gives the President the chance to claim victory. Pity the Democrats who will have to slog along with Ossoff while hetakes a probable drubbing in June. • Georgia will definitely be on our minds come June. • • • NEIL GORSUCH, SUPREME COURT JUSTICE. American Thinker said last Friday that the signs of the American renewal championed by Donald Trump are finally beginning to show : "The week started with the swearing in of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. This portends a potentially sane court policy for years. Another ideological leftist on the court would have been a disaster. Instead, we have a stabilizing, common sense, intellectually clear judge to countermand the court’s drift to the left. It means we still have a reasonable shot at holding on to being a country of laws, rather than a country of cool personalities with bad ideas. We no longer need to fear the lack of constitutional authority. That’s a big deal. Equally big is how the foolish Democrats tried to filibuster his nomination and lost. This means that the next good Supreme Court nomination by Trump will also sail through. And the next if there is one." • Justice Gorsuch will be key in the fight against illegal immigration and sanctuary cities. American Thinker says : "The wave of illegals has been cut by 70% since Trump’s inauguration. And the Wall doesn’t even exist yet. So much for all those who said we couldn’t halt this illegal flood. ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] is deporting criminals, sanctuary cities are going to lose funds, Lansing, Michigan, just voted to stop being a sanctuary city, overcoming their 'sanctuary' mayor. • The Reagan years began shakily, with his agenda building steam slowly, but it eventually became an unstoppable force for the renewing of the American spirit in the 1980s. Many look back on Reagan’s decision to fire the air traffic controllers as the beginning point of the good things that happened. And, Americans today may eventually look back on the confirmation of Justice Neil Gorsuch as the turning point in the Trump agenda to put America back into "constitutional good health." • • • WHAT IS A SANTUARY? Wikipedia states that 'Sanctuary' is a word derived from the Latin sanctuarium, which is like most words ending in -arium, a container for keeping something in -- in this case holy things or perhaps holy people, sancta or sancti. The meaning was extended to places of holiness or safety. A religious sanctuary may be a sacred place (such as a church, temple, synagogue or mosque), or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar. In Europe, Christian churches were sometimes built on land considered to be a particularly holy spot, perhaps where a miracle or martyrdom was believed to have taken place or where a holy person was buried. Examples are St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and St. Albans Cathedral in England, which commemorate the martyrdom of Saint Peter (the first Pope) and Saint Alban (the first Christian martyr in Britain), respectively. The place, and therefore the church built there, was considered to have been sanctified (made holy) by what happened there. In modern times, the Catholic Church has continued this practice by placing in the altar of each church, when it is consecrated for use, a box (the sepulcrum) containing relics of a saint. The relics box is removed when the church is taken out of use as a church. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the antimension on the altar serves a similar function. It is a cloth icon of Christ's body taken down from the cross, and typically has the relics of a saint sewn into it. In addition, it is signed by the parish's bishop, and represents his authorization and blessing for the Eucharist to be celebrated on that altar. • • • SANCTUARY CITIES AND THE BIBLE. James K. Hoffmeier -- a professor of Old Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and author of “The Immigration Crisis: Immigrants, Aliens and the Bible” -- wrote an article for Religion News Service in February that dealt with Sanctuary Cities, asking the question, Does the Bible really advocate sanctuary cities? Approximately 40 cities and hundreds of counties in America have joined the “sanctuary cities” movement, which means they offer limited or no cooperation to federal officials carrying out deportations. President Trump’s January 25 executive order to halt federal funding to these local governments has reignited the debate over the practice. Hoffmeier writes : "While immigration laws require local governments to inform federal officials when undocumented immigrants are held in nonfederal prisons for various offenses, the practice of sanctuary -- a place of legal protection -- is rooted in laws of the Torah or Old Testament. That leads some Christians and Jews to think that offering such a shield from the law to illegal immigrants is a noble thing. Most advocates, however, seem totally unaware of the conditions prescribed in the Old Testament for receiving such protection." Hoffmeier explains that sanctuary is among the laws given to Moses at Mount Sinai, according to Exodus 21:12-15. Only intentional or premeditated killing was punishable by death. Thus, accroding to Hoffmeier : "The reason why people in Bible times sought sanctuary was because of the lex talionis, the law of retaliation, or the 'eye for an eye' principle. But, often, the punishment exceeded the crime. When the Old Testament law introduced the law of retaliation, it was to limit the punishment to fit the crime, as Exodus 21:23-25 specifies : 'if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.' ” In later biblical law specific cities would serve as a place of sanctuary. They will be places of refuge from the avenger, so that a person accused of murder may not die before he stands trial before the assembly. The purpose of the practice of sanctuary at the temple or the cities of refuge scattered throughout Israel was to provide safe zones to which the person who had accidentally killed someone could flee, be protected from excessive retribution and have the case heard by an impartial judge....A person who was found guilty of intentionally murdering someone should be removed from the protection of the sanctuary and receive his punishment. • Hoffmeier says : "According to these biblical passages dealing with the practice of sanctuary in the Bible, it is clear that its purpose was limited exclusively for offenders who had accidentally or unintentionally killed someone, thereby providing a place where their case could be heard. Sanctuary was never intended as a place to avoid “the law” and the consequences of criminal behavior, but to allow the law to take its proper course rather than unwarranted vengeful retaliation when it was not called for....American cities, counties and universities that offer sanctuary for foreigners who have broken American laws regulating entry to our country cannot claim to be following the practice described in the Bible. Rather, they are twisting biblical statutes to political ends and subverting federal law." • • • THE US SANCTUARY CITY BATTLE. The battle to enforce federal immigration law in sanctuary cities is escalating as cities defy orders from federal immigration authorities to put a "hold" on illegal aliens, and federal authorities bring pressure on sanctuary cities by denying them certain federal funds. At the same time, Republican legislatures across the country are considering legislation to ban sanctuary cities in their states. The Hill reports that legislators in 33 states have introduced measures to limit or prevent cities from acting as sanctuaries for undocumented immigrants. Sanctuary cities and counties often defy requests from federal ICE officials to hold undocumented immigrants so they can be picked up later for deportation. Many of the state bills under consideration would require cities to swear under penalty of perjury that they comply with federal detainer requests. There have been numerous instances where an illegal has been charged with a felony and the city refuses to hand him or her over. Sanctuary cities may complain about agents "stalking" illegals, but if a city isn't going to cooperate, then ICE agents will enforce the law without their help. Cutting off funding is a good way to apply pressure on sanctuary cities, but it usually ends up hurting law abiding citizens who, in any case, should be putting pressure on politicians to comply with the law. A few politicians who lose elections due to their defiance may do more than all the pressure the federal government can bring to bear. • San Francisco asked a federal judge last Friday to halt enforcement of President Trump’s executive order blocking federal money from so-called “sanctuary cities." NBC News reported last Friday that the city argued that Trump cannot withhold federal funds without approval from Congress. The lawsuit asks Judge William Orrick to issue a nationwide injunction. San Francisco says it could lose about $2 billion annually in federal funding, NBC said, but a Justice Department lawyer told Orrick the total would be much lower. The dispute centers on detainer requests, according to NBC, in which the federal government asks local police and sheriff offices to hold jail inmates for up to 48 hours after they have finished serving their sentences. The requests apply to undocumented immigrants who are convicted of local crimes and can ultimately result in deportation after release. San Francisco city ordinances prohibit its police from providing advance notice of an inmate’s release from jail, NBC added, even if ICE wants to detain them. • • • FEDERAL JURISDICTION OVER IMMIGRATION. President Trump issued a broad order on immigration law enforcement in January which gave his administration the power to limit financial grants to sanctuary cities. Immigration and the entry of aliens into the US have been delegated to the President by Congress; giving him extremely broad authority under 8 USC §1182 (f) to suspend the entry of any aliens or class of aliens into the US if he believes it “would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.” • Unfortunately, certain states have petitioned federal courts to ignore the Constitution, federal law, and precedent in the case of President Trump's executive order putting a telporary hold in immigration from countries where it is impossible to 'vet' immigrants. Some federal courts have agreed, substituting their judgment for that of the President and Congress. Essentially, states such as Hawaii and Washington are turning to activist federal judges to nullify the exclusive authority of the federal government over immigration and the security of our national border -- and those judges are complying. • Sanctuary policies implemented by cities such as San Francisco and Seattle also seek to nullify federal immigration law and obstruct its enforcement. 8 USC §1373 prohibits states and local jurisdictions from preventing their law enforcement officials from exchanging information with federal officials on the citizenship status of individuals they have arrested or detained. The Supreme Court upheld this provision in 2012 in Arizona v. United States. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has announced that he will not award any discretionary federal grants from the Justice Department to cities that violate Section 1373. Seattle has filed suit, claiming that the federal government has no right to cut off its access to discretionary funding. The city also makes the specious claim that its policy does not violate federal immigration law. Sanctuary cities claim that Sessions is trying to force them to enforce federal immigration law by “commandeering” the states to “enact or administer a federal regulatory program.” But AG Sessions is simply trying to get states to not obstruct federal enforcement. That includes abiding by the ban contained in Section 1373, which doesn’t force local law enforcement officials to notify federal officials when they detain an illegal alien. It simply says that local governments can't ban law enforcement officials from doing so. Further, the legal argument that Section1373 violates the anti-"commandeering" principle -- an argument raised by New York City in a lawsuit against the federal government only 11 days after the provision became federal law -- was thrown out by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals because the federal law was constitutional and "well within congressional authority" on immigration. The court pointed out that Section 1373 does not compel “state and local governments to enact or administer any federal regulatory program. Nor has it affirmatively conscripted states, localities, or their employees into the federal government’s service.” The only thing the provision does is prohibit state and local governmental entities or officials from “directly restricting the voluntary exchange of immigration information with the INS [ICE].” The court said a contrary holding would cause chaos : “If Congress may not forbid states from outlawing even voluntary cooperation with federal programs by state and local officials, states will at times have the power to frustrate effectuation of some programs.” • • • HAVE SANCTUARY CITIES SECEDED FROM THE UNION? This is the question asked in an American Thinker article on April 9, in which writer Fay Voshell, a theologian and prominent writer on religion topics, noted : "New York City seriously contemplated seceding from the Union just before the outbreak of the Civil War. The mayor of the city was Fernando Wood, a rakish, charming, and handsome devil. He put his finger to the wind when southern states began to secede and decided NYC should stand with her sorely afflicted southern cousins. But veiled in all the rosy political rhetoric was the hard and pragmatic fact that New York was a central hub of the slave trade, inextricably tied to the South’s cotton empire. Money did the real talking. Wood knew that, as he was a crook who had made a fortune selling public offices and offering immigrants citizenship in exchange for votes. Mayor Wood decided disunion was a 'fixed fact' and on January 6, 1861, he proposed New York City declare its independence. Wood proclaimed New York City would 'make common cause with the South' as a sovereign entity. He added the City could 'deny Federal troops the right to march through the city.' ” What NYC Mayor Woods tried to do was establish a slave city within a free state. Woods failed. But, today, in establishing cities separate from the rest of the US, some American cities such as San Francisco and Miami have succeeded to declare themselves “sanctuaries” -- and, says Voshell, these American cities "essentially have seceded from the Union and have created an ungovernable archipelago of city states within America." • It is clear that by declaring themselves "sanctuary cities," these cities have declared themselves above the rule of law and are willing to disrupt national unity by setting themselves outside the law and federal governance -- all on the basis of supposed compassion for the alien, when it is clear that, just like NYC Mayor Woods in the 1861, some of the underlying and murky motives include vote getting and cheap labor. Voshell says : "It is not too much to say that almost universally Democratic rule of sanctuary cities such as New York City are...iron-fisted. No rival parties were and now are tolerated, and the citizens of the city are bound hand and foot by the decrees of the Democratic rulers. Patronage ensures continued rule as well as continued corruption, just as the House of Tammany did in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries....This is to say nothing of the ideological secession of states like California, which is seeing some call for the entire state to become a sanctuary state. That declaration of intent by some of California’s legislators is also essentially a call for secession from the rest of America. Most certainly, it is a call for police to disregard immigration status as well as a call to shun federal law and the status of its own citizens. The upshot is that sanctuary cities and states are essentially a new confederacy rising in the midst of a formerly United States. Behind the fervor of sanctuary advocates exist crucial ideas similar to those of zealous secessionists of the pre-Civil War era. Basically, those committed to sanctuary cities and states are devoted to the abstract ideas of a new kind of order, a far country not yet actualized. Abstract theory about what a future world should look like is diametrically opposed to the current constitutional order, the checks and balances and the distinction between citizen and non-citizen provided by the present workable, but imperfect system of our Republic." • Confederate President Jefferson Davis wrote, “If the Confederacy fails, there should be written on its tombstone, ‘Died of a theory.’ The Confederacy did die of a theory, but not before the nation was torn apart and hundreds of thousands died. Sanctuary cities and states also must die by their theories as well, or the Union will die along with them, says Voshell. • • • AG SESSIONS TAKES THE LEAD FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP. During his trip to the southern border on April 11, Attorney General Jeff Sessions made it clear that he will carry out the mandate he was given by President Trump : "to vigorously enforce our immigration laws, and go after the human smugglers and traffickers who work for the Mexican cartels that have caused many of our border security problems." In his April 11 speech to Customs and Border Protection agents in Nogales, Arizona, Sessions bluntly stated his intent to go after the “transnational gangs like MS-13 and international cartels” that are flooding “our country with drugs” and “leave death and violence in their wake.” According to Sessions, it is “criminal aliens and the coyotes and the document-forgers” who want to “overthrow our system of lawful immigration” : "[They] turn cities and suburbs into war zones, that rape and kill innocent citizens and who profit by smuggling poison and other human beings across our borders....Depravity and violence are their calling cards, including brutal machete attacks and beheadings. [It is on the border,] on this sliver of land, where we first take our stand against this filth." • Strong words that certainly were never spoken by the two attorneys general who served in the Obama administration. • Sessions also announced that he was sending a memorandum to all federal prosecutors directing them to make the prosecution of certain immigration offenses a higher priority. As Sessions said -- in what seems like common sense to most Americans -- “consistent and vigorous enforcement...will disrupt” these organizations and “deter unlawful conduct.” • Here are the enforcement priorities listed by Sessions : prosecute sex traffickers; give priority to those who bring in three or more illegal aliens or where there are aggravating circumstances, such as serious bodily injury, physical or sexual assault, or death; bring felony charges against illegal aliens already deported at least twice or deported at least once and who have a history of felony crime, gang membership, or other aggravating factors; target for felony prosecutions anyone who knowingly enters into a sham marriage to evade immigration laws, or engage in identity theft or immigration-related fraud; prosecute illegal aliens who assault, resist or otherwise impede immigration officers and agents. • Sessions directed each of the 94 offices of US Attorneys to appoint a “Border Security Coordinator” by April 18. The coordinators will oversee the immigration enforcement program of each office, coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies, and report the “prosecution statistics related to these offenses.” This latter requirement is obviously an attempt to force transparency on the offices and to provide a measuring stick to gauge how well the US attorneys are actually carrying out Session’s directive. • The deterrent effect of AG Sessions' policies is already apparent. Sessions cited some stunning numbers on April 11 : [From] January to February of this year, illegal crossings dropped by 40%, unprecedented. Then in March, a 72% drop compared to the month before the President was inaugurated -- the lowest monthly figure for at least 17 years. As Sessions said, “this is no accident.” It results from : "[A president who] understands the threat, who is not afraid to publicly identify the threat and stand up to it, and who makes clear to law enforcement that the leadership of their country finally has their back." In his speech, AG Sessions also announced plans to hire 50 more immigration judges this year to handle the large backlog of cases. Another 75 judges will be added next year with the help of a new, streamlined hiring process. This comes after Trump’s previously announced plans to hire 5,000 more Border Patrol agents and 10,000 more ICE agents -- and building a secure wall along the Mexican border. • Sessions has brought sweeping change to the Department of Justice. In just two months, Sessions has moved quickly to overhaul the policies and priorities of the Obama administration. He has rolled back executive orders for transgender students that allowed children to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity, and rescinded plans to phase out the federal government’s use of private prisons. He has called for a review of consent decrees, reached with local police departments to address allegations of misconduct. Many of the consent decrees were drafted in response to fatal shootings by police. He has made immigration enforcement a top priority. He has notified federal prosecutors of a new national push to crack down on violent crime. Law enforcement groups say the new attorney general is focused on the right things. Jonathan Thompson, executive director of the National Sheriffs’ Association told TheHill : “I think Sessions has brought a new focus to the core mission of the department, which is to make sure the nation is safe and secure in its law and make sure law enforcement operations are focused on the thing that matters most, preventing crime.” • • • DEAR READERS, the Progressive Democrat Socialist Left has commandeered the traditional Democrat Party to use it in an ideological battle against the US Constitution and its Rule of Law. Conservatives and Republicans have 'hired' President Trump to wage a bloodless war against these mutineers who are in full attack mode against American democratic institutions. The mutineers were able to apply and enforce their Progressive Globalist ideology during the past eight years under President Obama. They disregarded and undermined laws and tradition, using methods that might be called “cynical” -- “Stalinist” would also be an apt description. These Progressive Democrat mutineers subject Congress, the courts, and the presidency to slanderous attacks and abuses concocted from their willingness to abuse the Constitution in a fashion in which the ends do justify the means. Their "end" is the destruction of the United States. They fight against lawful immigration, the Trump presidency, the new Supreme Court Justice and the traditions of Congress. Moreover, having lost these powerful institutions of government when Donald Trump was elected President, they loudly declare that their Progressive ideology, the only true way forward according to them, must prevail, and they are not constrained but use riots, political mutiny and disregard for settled law and the Constitution to win. They are, to be blunt, in rebellion against America, its Founders, the American Revolution and the Constitution.