Here are my observations on some of the news of the day.
MISINFORMATION – After the Florida shooting, I heard a lawmaker state that shootings like the one that just took place there just don’t happen in other countries. I apologize that I didn’t capture his name. Later, I heard that indeed there was such a shooting in Germany. I decided to do a bit of research.
Speaking after a Planned Parenthood attack in June 2015, former President Obama said, “I say this every time we’ve got one of these mass shootings. This just doesn’t happen in other countries.” Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid later that month said, “The United States is the only advanced country where this type of mass violence occurs.”
The Crime Prevention Research Center has done extensive research, however, that reveals that the U.S. is ranked 11th among 17 European countries and Canada in annual death rate from mass public shootings, and 12th in the frequency of mass shootings. The statistics were gathered between 2009 and 2015.
A TEENAGE GUNMAN killed 15 people that began at a school near Stuttgart, Germany in March 2009. Knee-jerk gun control supporters might be interested in knowing these facts: 1. The killer suffered from depression and was described as “a lonely and frustrated person who felt rejected by society.” 2. He used a 9mm semi-automatic pistol in his rampage, not a so-called assault rifle. 3. Germany had tightened tough gun controls after a similar attack at a school seven years earlier, when 16 people were killed in Erfurt.
Our lawmakers need to stop and think seriously before allowing political correctness to overtake their sensibilities on this issue.
ARE THE DEMS STARTING TO WORRY that the Mueller report will turn out to be a “nothingburger” (their phrase)? Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), speaking with NY 970AM radio host John Catsimatidis, recommended that Mueller not release his findings near the midterms. “I think he should wait until after (the election),” he said.
“So, he’s saying its better we not know the full story until after the election,” wrote The Hill’s Josh Delk, quoting a friend, who added, “It’s unbelievable that he would be so straightforward about wanting to keep people in the dark.”
“Perhaps Senator Casey should glance a little closer at the masthead of the Democrats’ semi-official party organ, The Washington Post: Democracy Dies In Darkness,” Delk suggests.
Rather than issue that ultimatum, Casey could have simply urged Mueller to wrap up his work in plenty of time to allow voters to digest the news.
Casey was more than likely thinking about former FBI Director James Comey’s announcement that he was reopening the Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation less than two weeks before the presidential election. Some still mistakenly believe it was that decision that cost Clinton the election.
THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER (yes, there is another newspaper in Washington) opinion page carried the recommendation, “Keep immigration simple, Republicans, and get it done.” “Republicans need to tailor immigration reform as narrowly as possible. Not everything needs to be fixed at once, “the editorial reads.
However, the paper appears to endorse the president’s four-pillar agenda: relief for the so-called Dreamers of DACA, ending the visa lottery program, curbing chain migration and border security, including the wall. Not mentioned was the need to limit the annual number of legal immigrants and the case for merit-based entry.
While these changes could greatly ease pressure on immigration, resolving issues that have been with us for decades, many people are questioning the Democrats’ willingness to kill this issue which has long been used against Republicans in elections.
Immigrant Tnuza Jamal Hassan (photo courtesy Ramsay County Sheriffs Dept.)
THAT’S ASSIMILATION? – The next time you hear one of the open borders people say that we are a nation of immigrants and we should welcome them with open arms, consider the case of Tnuza Jamal Hassan, 19, in Minneapolis.
In March last year, she attempted to recruit two female classmates to join al-Qaida or other organizations. Reportedly, she initially denied it, but later admitted to writing a recruitment letter.
In September she attempted to travel to Kabul, Afghanistan to join al-Qaida, getting as far as Dubai, but was prevented from traveling any further because she lacked a visa. She again attempted to leave in December with her mother, travelling to Ethiopia.
Upset over U.S. military actions overseas, she wanted to “join the jihad in fighting,” but reportedly said she had no intention of carrying out an attack on U.S. soil, and was allowed to go free.
Last month, she ran away from her mother’s home and allegedly started nine fires in multiple buildings on the University of St. Catherine’s campus, including one that housed a day care center in which 33 children and eight adults were present, according to KTSP in Minneapolis. She was charged with first-degree arson, and allegedly told police, “You guys are lucky that I don’t know how to build a bomb, because I would have done that.”
Earlier this month, charges were filed that included her attempt to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, and is being detained, arguing that she presents a danger to the community and therefore should remain in custody pending trial.
BUREAUCRATS IN CHARGE – I have written in the past about agencies, like the EPA, that establish regulations affecting taxpayers at will. I have learned that the IRS decided, without input from the White House or other agencies, to rush out guidance declaring that most taxpayers couldn’t deduct prepaid 2018 property taxes on their 2017 returns to claim that benefit before the new law kicks in.
Big government. This must stop. Our leaders must be “willing to offend institutions, and top advisors, expose internal abuse, and willingly surrender unjustifiable powers,” wrote Kimberly Strassel recently.
