Update on the Southern Border:

According to a Gallup Poll released Wednesday, 57 percent of respondents said they either “oppose” or “strongly oppose” increasing border wall construction, while 41 percent said they either “favor” or “strongly favor” building more fencing. 

Respondents were largely split along party lines with 73 percent of Republicans and those that lean right supporting more wall construction and only 13 percent of Democrats or those leaning left approving of expanding construction. 

Respondents on both sides of the political aisle overwhelmingly support a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers with 83 percent of those surveyed saying they approve of allowing DACA recipients to have an avenue to become citizens.

Of those who identified as Republicans or independents who lean right, 75 percent said they support a policy that would let undocumented immigrants who were unlawfully brought to the U.S. when they were children pursue a path to citizenship should they adhere to specific conditions.  

Results of the poll come as President Trump and Congress face fierce criticism over the Trump administration's “zero tolerance” immigration policy at the southern border, which has caused children to be removed from their parents upon attempting to enter the United States. 

The Associated Press in a report earlier this month said approximately 2,000 children were removed from their families in recent weeks. 

The House is slated to vote Thursday on two different pieces of immigration legislation. President Trump said Tuesday that he backs Republican House members “1,000 percent” in their push for legislation.

Pope Francis Criticized Trump's Immigration Policy Separating Migrant Children From Their Parents

Pope Francis joined U.S. Catholic bishops in speaking out against the White House’s zero-tolerance immigration policy, which has led to the forced separation of families attempting to illegally cross the Mexican border. 

“It’s not easy, but populism is not the solution,” Francis told Reuters, later adding that populists’ immigration policies were “creating psychosis.” 

Francis also indicated that he agreed with statements made by members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, who called the policy “immoral” and “contrary to our Catholic values.” 

The pope also voiced his support for immigrants on Twitter Wednesday morning. “A person’s dignity does not depend on them being a citizen, a migrant, or a refugee. Saving the life of someone fleeing war and poverty is an act of humanity,” he wrote. 

The pope’s comments come after Attorney General Jeff Sessions used the Bible to defend the administration’s policy last week, citing a passage that emphasizes the importance of following laws “because God has ordained them for the purpose of order.” 

Michael Horowitz testimony:

The hearing started with lawmakers and protesters focused on immigration rather than the Inspector General’s report. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), said she was feeling "very discouraged" that the committee was spending so much time going into the report's findings from last week instead of exploring "what's right and what's wrong" with regards to the administration's policy. She further referred to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen as being “arrogant and dismissive” adding that she has “not a heart in her.”

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), asked Michael Horowitz if it was time to "move on" from the Clinton email investigation, the IG declined to answer. "People aren't talking about the god damn emails, they're not...they are talking about kids sitting in cages."

Michael Horowitz told lawmakers that as a result of the report's findings, the FBI found two additional FBI agents beyond Peter Strzok and Lisa Page as well as one attorney that exposed political bias during the investigation. He explained that the most troubling aspect of Strzok and Page's exchanges was the fact that they thought their messages were private when they weren't. 

"My view of this was that this was extremely serious, completely antithetical to the core values of the department. However, that through the investigation, we didn't find or see evidence prosecutors were impacted by that bias." 

Horowitz said that Peter Strzok "exhibited" some form of bias but that decisions made by others during the Clinton investigation "were not infected by that bias."

Peter Strzok Escorted Out of the Building:

Peter Strzok was escorted from the FBI building on Tuesday and suspended from his duties, his lawyer confirmed. News of Strzok’s removal came after Michael Horowitz confirmed during a Congressional hearing earlier on Tuesday that his office was looking into whether Peter Strzok’s anti-Trump text messages and bias played a role in the launch of the bureau’s Russia probe. 

During a testimony Tuesday before Congress, IG Horowitz was asked if he believed whether Peter Strzok's texts showed political bias. "I think as we found it clearly shows a biased state of mind," Horowitz said. 

Since he was removed from Robert Mueller’s team last summer, he has been placed in the Human Resources department. Peter Strzok’s removal from the FBI building “put Strzok on notice that the bureau intends to fire him,” The Washington Post reported.  

Strzok’s lawyer, Aitan Goelman, has confirmed that Strzok was escorted from the building but he claims Peter Strzok is still employed by the FBI. Goelman released a statement to the press regarding Strzok’s employment at the FBI, stating, “Just as he has been for the last 20 years, Pete Strzok remains a proud FBI agent who wants to continue working to keep the American people safe.” 

He said that the reason Peter Strzok was escorted from the building was part ongoing internal proceedings.

Police Say No Deal on California Bill To Restrict Their Use Of Force

California lawmakers introduced a bill Tuesday that would tighten the state standard for use of lethal force to "necessary".

“Necessary” occurs when there are no alternatives for the officer to consider in that situation. Police would not be justified in killing the suspect if their own actions caused the deadly force to become necessary. Assembly Bill 931 walks back California’s “reasonable force rule,” enacted in 1872. The standard hasn’t been updated in California since 1872, making it the nation’s oldest unchanged use-of-force law. Assembly Bill 931, would increase the state standard for lethal use of force from "reasonable" to "necessary" to become law. 

The new bill requires officers to consider all nonlethal techniques before shooting or using deadly force and allows prosecutors and jurors in criminal cases to examine the actions that led up to a fatal police shooting. 

Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, a San Diego Democrat, introduced the new measure for the “reasonable force” standard. A state Senate committee advanced the legislation that would allow police to use deadly force only in situations where it is necessary to prevent imminent and serious injury or death to the officer or another person.

Texas Billboard tells liberals to keep driving until they leave the state

A billboard on I-40 East, in the town of Vega, Texas is telling liberals to leave the state. Vega, Texas, is located about 26 miles west of Amarillo, on the Texas Panhandle. The small town of Vega, where the billboard is located, is about halfway between Amarillo and the Texas/New Mexico border. 

The billboard sign reads: "Liberals, please continue on I-40 until you have left our GREAT STATE OF TEXAS.” The billboard has gone viral on social media. 

In less than 24 hours the photo has been share almost 15,000 times on Facebook. 

Smoking Pot in NYC Will Still Get Some Arrested Under New Policy

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) on Tuesday announced that beginning later this year, city police will stop arresting people for smoking marijuana in public. The move does not make it legal to smoke marijuana in public, but the mayor said that police will issue criminal summonses, the same punishment for possessing a small amount of marijuana, instead of arresting people caught smoking pot in public.

People with prior arrests, as well as parolees, drivers, those without ID and some other exemptions, may still be arrested. 

“We know there is a bigger discussion happening across the nation and at the state level on legalization of marijuana,” de Blasio said in a tweet. “But until that debate is resolved, we're doing what we can to make our city safer and fairer for all New Yorkers.

De Blasio said that the overhaul to marijuana policy, which has been expected for weeks, will lead to as many as 10,000 fewer arrests in the next year.

Mail Time!

• Trump has to pivot by week's end or he will suffer irreparable political harm. This will do far more harm than his Charlottesville response, another missed opportunity where he could have connected with independent voters by showing compassion to minorities and disadvantaged people. 

• Dear Bill, why are we so stuck on the term "Fake News”? It just angers the journalists then they keep going about reporting how they wish. I believe if we went back to the term "Yellow Journalism" they would see the historical relevance of how they are reporting, and it would have a greater impact on the media as well as the public. What are your thoughts on this?


• Hi Bill,
my 10-year-old son Brendan is a big history buff and has read several of your books. At the end of the school award ceremony, he was awarded with Historian of the Year. Thank you for writing children books that assist with their historical knowledge.


Word of the Day: Blatherskite