Senate voted to end shutdown
The Senate reached the 60+ vote threshold today to break filibuster and move forward on a plan to end the government shutdown. Democrats accepted a GOP pledge to hold a vote on immigration legislation in the coming weeks. The results of the vote were 81 in favor of reopening the government and 18 opposed it. 2 Republican Senators voted to keep it shut down.
Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has committed that if negotiators fail to reach an immigration deal before the stopgap spending measure expires on Feb. 8 “the Senate will immediately proceed to consideration of legislation” to protect "Dreamers."
The bill, which would fund the government through February 8th, passed in both houses of Congress today, so the next step is for President Donald Trump to sign it into law.
After several failed votes the government officially, shutdown on Saturday morning at midnight. The effects of the shutdown over the weekend were relatively limited: halting trash pickup on National Park Service property, canceling military reservists’ drill plans, switching off some government employees’ cellphones. But the shutdown’s continuation into Monday meant that hundreds of thousands of workers stayed home and key federal agencies were affected. Federal contractors will see payments delayed, and the Internal Revenue Service will slow its preparations for the coming tax season.
Politico/Morning Consult Poll Shows that More Blame Congressional Republicans for shutdown than Democrats
41% of people surveyed in this Politico/Morning Consult poll said that the Republican Party is to blame for the Congressional shutdown, while 36% of voters said it was Democrats fault.
Pollsters were also asked if they believe the funding of a wall along the Mexican border is important enough to prompt a government shutdown. 27% said, yes, it is important enough while 59% said no, it is not important enough.
The poll was conducted by Politico/Morning Consult. The survey of 1,017 voters was conducted from Jan. 18 to 19. It has a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points.
Mexico Suffers Record Homicide Tally
There were more than 25,000 murders in Mexico in 2017, the highest annual tally since modern records began, government data showed.
Investigators opened 25,339 murder probes last year, up nearly 25% from the 2016 tally, interior ministry data released on Saturday showed. It was the highest annual total since the government began counting murders in 1997.
There were 40% more murder investigations opened last year compared with 2013, Pena Nieto's first full year in office.
According to the FBI there were an estimated 17,250 murders in the U.S. in 2016, an 8.6% increase from 2015. Numbers from 2017 have not yet been released.
Border-Crossings Surge to Obama Levels
Between April 2017, when border-crossings hit a historic low, and December 2017, family unit border-crossings have surged 625%, Breitbart Texas reported.
In the month of December alone, U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended almost 30,000 illegal aliens trying to cross into the country between ports of entry, where Trump’s border wall would be sitting if it were constructed today.
According to figures from Pew and the Department of Homeland Security, an estimated 1,900,000 have entered the US illegally between 2002-2016, including visa over stayers.
The Politics of Illegal Immigration – California to allow Illegals to Vote
Beginning April 1st, every person who gets a California driver’s license will be automatically entitled to vote. The state complied with the order under a program dubbed the California New Motor Voter Act.
The new statute requires the DMV to forward records for all eligible applicants to the Secretary of State’s Office for registration unless those applicants elect not to register to vote.
The League of Women Voters and three other groups sued the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles and Secretary of State’s Office in May 2017, claiming the state burdens would-be voters by making them fill out the same information on two separate forms to register to vote. Other plaintiffs in the lawsuit include the ACCE Institute, California Common Cause and the National Council of La Raza.
The law also applies to people renewing or changing their addresses on an existing driver's license or ID, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.
The California New Motor Voter Act is expected to add more than two million new registrants in the first year.
Since January 1, 2015, California has provided driver's licenses to anyone who claims to be in the country legally, whether they provide proof or not
What is the Democrat Solution to Illegal Immigration?
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Monday promised to take up an immigration bill protecting an estimated 800,000 Dreamers from deportation and allow an open amendment process if Democrats agree to reopen the government.
Democrats have been pressing McConnell for a vote on the Dreamers legislation and refusing a budget deal until the issue is brought forward
Senate Democrats and Republicans will try to negotiate an immigration compromise before the pending stopgap measure would expire on Feb. 8, if that stopgap is approved.
If they fail to reach a deal, McConnell promised he will bring an immigration bill to the floor in February.
More texts turned over from FBI agent taken off Mueller team
The Associated Press is reporting that the Department of Justice has given congressional investigators additional text messages between FBI investigator Peter Strzok and his girlfriend Lisa Page.
One particular text message conversation was sparked by then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who made an announcement that she would rely on the recommendation of then-FBI Director James Comey regarding the Clinton probe after her secretive tarmac meeting with Former President Bill Clinton was drawing negative attention.
The FBI also told investigators that five months worth of text messages, between December 2016 and May 2017, are unavailable because of a technical glitch.
Peter Strzok said in a July 1st text message that the timing of Loretta Lynch’s announcement “looks like hell.” And Lisa Page appears to mockingly refer to Lynch’s decision to accept the FBI’s conclusion in the case as a “real profile in courag(e) since she knows no charges will be brought.”
Loretta Lynch never did recuse herself from the investigation, but because of the tarmac meeting with Bill Clinton, she did announce on July 1st that she would accept the decision of the FBI. Comey would make his statement clearing Hillary of any criminal wrongdoing on July 5th. Based on these text messages, it sounds as if Lynch was already aware what the FBI Director’s conclusion was going to be.
Super Bowl Preview - Super Bowl LII (Super Bowl 52)
The New England Patriots are officially heading to Minneapolis to play the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII on February 4th. Both teams had records of 13-3 this season.
On Sunday night, the New England Patriots beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 24-20. This will be the 10th time the Patriots have gone to the Super Bowl which is an NFL record, they have won 5 of those times. Tom Brady led the Patriots back from a 20-10 deficit in the fourth quarter, even though he seemed to have the odds stacked against him. Brady threw two touchdown passes over the game's final nine minutes, and he did that he even though he had 12 stitches in his hand, didn't have Rob Gronkowski on the field and was going up against the NFL's best pass defense.
The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Minnesota Vikings, 38-7 making this their 3rd time going to the Super Bowl and they haven’t won a Super Bowl yet.
This year, the national anthem singer will once again be female, with pop singer Pink set to take the stage.
This year’s halftime show will be performed by Justin Timberlake. It’s his first halftime performance since Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004, when he infamously pulled part of Janet Jackson's costume off.
Mail Time!
- Bill, I really don’t think you understand why Trump was elected. Perhaps you are too close to the mainstream media. In spite of yourself, Trump’s base has no problems with the tweets. Like every other Republican he refuses to allow the press or left to define him.
- Bill, loved your Fake News Blues column, I rather imagine you think the Fake News Awards should be dropped.
- Dear Bill, while reviewing the 'words of the day' from last week it occurred to me that you have been most perspicacious once again! You have, by accident or design, hit upon an excellent definition for much of the mainstream media - "a herd of blethering barbermongers and puzzlewits peddling puerile bilge"!
Word of the Day:Meretricious |
