Here are my observations and opinions on selected news of the day.

THE BORDER ISSUE, with children supposedly being separated from their parents, is an issue right up the alley for Democrats. I say “supposedly” because many of the children are unaccompanied with their separation actually having taken place in Guatemala or some other Central American country as parents send children to our border with a “coyote.”

We all know that the Democrats are being intellectually dishonest when they, with the help of a complicit media, place blame for the problem in the lap of President Trump, who continues to push for zero tolerance. Democrats, led by Sen. Chuck Schumer (O-NY), are for open borders.

Supporters of Trump’s position on protecting our border are standing with him. Challenging a recent headline in the Arizona Republic – “Kids aren’t bargaining chips” – David Sinclair of Sun City, Arizona wrote, “Why then does the Arizona Republic persist in using them as such on a daily basis from page one on? Neither President Trump nor the Department of Homeland Security created the situation. The parents and sponsors of those kids did. Please get over yourselves.”

“Thousands of times every day American citizens, if arrested, are separated from their children.,” writes Dennis Martin of Phoenix, “Where is the outrage? Enough already. We cannot allow the thousands of people who cross the border illegally every day to continue.”

Asking who is going to pay for the continued flow of illegals?, asks Linda Lindsey of Mesa, Arizona, reviewing costs for housing, food, clothes, health care and education. “Isn’t this what Democrats want? Free housing, free food, free health care, free education, etc.?”

Then there’s Linda Williamson of Phoenix, who pathetically admits “I cried myself to sleep the day Donald Trump was elected,” and adds “Today I am crying inwardly and outwardly regarding the policy of separating parents and children at the border …”

A social worker (of course), Williamson obviously has selective memory and has conveniently forgotten about the Democrat’s miserable record on immigration, and thinks the answer is to “make sure you are registered to vote … educate yourself on the candidates … and vote” … for a Democrat I presume.

YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED in knowing that 81 percent of Republicans favor a wall on our southern border, while just four percent of Democrats do, according to a recent Quinnipiac poll.

“In the eyes of the left, this makes Republicans ‘the bad guys,” writes political commentator Donna Carol Voss in The Federalist. ‘They are portrayed as a stain on our national character – ‘that’s not who we are’ – we’re a nation of immigrants,” she adds, quoting Democrats. “But they’re not. They’re anti-illegal immigration.”

PERHAPS YOU’VE HEARD about Homeland Security Director Kristjen Nielsen being loudly mocked while dining in a Washington DC Mexican restaurant this week, but I have learned that one of the loudest voices came from an employee of our DOJ. Nice.

WORD IS DRIBBLING OUT that might eventually answer the often-asked question why former President Obama didn’t do more to stop the Russians from meddling in our 2016 election beyond his telling Vladimir Putin to “cut it out.”

Obama’s director of cybersecurity Michael Daniel was particularly concerned and was worried about the Russian ability to manipulate the vote, according to the Michael Isikoff – David Korn book, “Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and the Election of Donald Trump.”

Daniel and top Russia analyst on the National Security Council Celeste Wallender hatched a plan to push for the U.S. to strike back at Russia, but when NSA Advisor Susan Rice learned of the plan she ordered him to “stand down” and “knock it off.”

You may recall that Rice – just moments before Trumps inauguration – mysteriously e-mailed herself about a meeting that took place that month with members of the intelligence community about Russian hacking during the 2016 election to remind her that Obama wanted things “done by the book.” Hmmmmm

You will recognize the names of the others in that meeting – James Comey, Sally Yates, and Joe Biden

Stay tuned.

USA TODAY and the newspapers in its network regularly attack President Trump, in their headlines, but on Wednesday they buried the results of their own poll when they found that 51 percent approved of the president’s handling of North Korea, with just 34 percent disapproving.

MEAGHAN MCCAIN continues, of course, to come to the defense of her father, Sen. John McCain (RINO-AZ). She referred to President Trump’s recollection of the senator’s thumbs down vote that stopped the Republican attempt to repeal ObamaCare as “gross.” Though he mentioned his disappointment in the ObamaCare vote during his rally in Duluth, Minnesota Wednesday night, the president did not mention the senator by name.

Following the senator’s diagnosis of brain cancer, I initially stated here that I would no longer write about him, but as long as he continues to oppose the president, I believe he is fair game.

You will recall McCain’s criticism of the president’s missile response to Syria’s use of chemical warfare, his refusal to support the president’s nomination of Gina Haspel to become CIA Director, his remarks concerning the president’s North Korea summit and most recently his attack on the separation of children from illegals.

THE LEFT, with their incessant opposition to anything attached to the Trump administration, views our withdrawal from the UN’s Human Rights Council as a continuation of the administration’s “uncooperative and isolationist foreign policy,” FLIPSIDE reports.

“The move … adds to concerns that the United States, under Trump, is retreating from its leading position as an international advocate of human rights,” claims the left-leaning POLITICO.

STARBUCKS “may have appeased progressives with its social justice workshops and open bathroom policy,” wrote Valerie Richardson in the Washington Times, “but such moves have failed to caffeinate the company’s bottom line.” Starbucks announced that it plans to close 150 company-owned stores next year as shares fell 10 percent, the lowest in a year.

FOOD STAMP APPLICATIONS were down 1.6 million to 46.2 million according to the latest figures last month. Applications hit a record 47.8 million in December 2012. Reportedly, 14.8 percent of the U.S. populations receive food stamps under the SNAP program, down from 15.3.

The Trump economy, with its resulting improvement in jobs and wages, are credited with the reduction of food stamp applications.

BILLIONAIRE MICHAEL BLOOMBERG announced that he plans to spend at least $80 million during the 2018 midterm election cycle, largely to support Democrat efforts to regain the majority in the House. Gun safety, climate change, environment education and immigration are his hot issues.

Overseeing the spending effort will be … wait for it … former Hillary Clinton campaign manager Howard Wolfson.

It must be nice to be so well-heeled that you are willing to “invest” millions in a losing effort.

I WROTE MY FAREWELL to political commentator Charles Krauthammer here on June 9, 2018, when we learned from him that he had just weeks to live. “The Krautster,” as my wife and I affectionally referred to him, left us today. He will be missed, but the memory of his intellect and humor will remain with us.

Whether you have been an admirer of Krauthammer or interested in learning about his contribution to the political scene, I encourage you to watch the special, “Charles Krauthammer, In His Words,” on Fox News Channel at 9 p.m. ET on June 22, 2018.

 

                    May God bless the United States of America