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

MAKING MEXICANS AND CENTRAL AMERICAN’S PAY for the border wall indirectly as a means to solve the dilemma has again surfaced as the World Bank released its latest data on remittances going to those countries.

Legal and illegal migrants sent $53.4 billion in remittances back to Mexico and Central American countries in 2018. Mexico alone reached $33 billion, up 21 percent from 2016.

With an estimated 83 percent of Mexicans who enter the U.S. illegally are sending money home, some have suggested that a surcharge would be one way the border wall could be funded.

Oklahoma assesses a one percent fee on all personal wire transfers of cash to accounts outside the state and collects $12 million annually, according to FAIR.

“At the current (and rising) rate of remittances, a nominal two percent surcharge on Mexico bound funds would raise $674 million for the border wall in the first year,” suggests Bob Dane at Immigration Reform.com. “Slap a fee on all foreign remittances – $150 billion last year – and the 2,000-mile barrier is fully paid for within eight years.”

I’M WONDERING if the left-leaning Arizona Republic, that was so excited about Kirsten Sinema filling the Senate seat of Jeff “the” Flake, will publish the photos of her on the Senate floor and walking the halls in a mini-dress and over-the-knee boots. While “The Flake” often made embarrassing comments, at least he knew what was considered appropriate wear.

A TALE OF TWO WOMEN who are disappointed with President Trump – Ann Coulter and Meghan McCain.

When the president agreed to temporarily reopen the government without receiving funding for the border wall, Coulter wrote: “Good news for George Herbert Walker Bush: As of today, he is no longer the biggest wimp ever to serve as President of the United States.

While clearly dissatisfied with Trump, she told an audience on the leftist Bill Maher show, she could be wooed back into the fold. “Just keep your promise and I’m right back in his camp,” she said.

McCain, however, is a lost cause, if that matters to anyone. Not me. She laments the transformation of the GOP, calling it barely recognizable now.

I find it odd that McCain said she “understands Trump supporters. I understand why they voted for him.” Does she really? They elected him because they were sick of the tired Grand Old Party, how her father became a RINO, and how he failed to keep his promise to repeal ObamaCare.

Appearing on CNN with leftist Van Jones, McCain said she wasn’t a liberal, but expressed frustration with being “so outnumbered” by those in her party who’ve backed Trump.

While she still calls herself a conservative, wrote Amy Russo in HuffPost, she is gravely concerned about where the right is headed, noting that she doesn’t recognize the party anymore … “its character seems to be gone.”

MEANWHILE, the president’s base appears to be holding their support. The Washington Times interviewed known Trump supporters. Brian McKenna, 73, a retired police officer in Stuart, Florida: “I haven’t lost any confidence in him or faith in him. I’m dumbfounded that people in this country don’t see the problem down at the border. The whole issue is about somebody breaking the law and the Democrats defending it.”

“He lost on this, but his hands were kind of tied,” said Gus Lester, 66, a disappointed Trump supporter on Maryland’s rural Eastern Shore, who said he has not given up on the president or his border wall.

Jenny Beth Martin, founder of Tea Party Patriots, who recently met with the president, said supporters are “trying to give me the leeway to negotiate” … but “(Pelosi) hasn’t been willing to do that at all.”

After meeting with the president, Pastor Ramiro Pena of Christ the King Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, told him “You’ve done a very good job being the leader we need you to be.”

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL/NBC POLL reveals that the president’s approval rating is at 43 percent, with 54 percent disapproving of this job performance; the same as it was in December, 10 days before the shutdown.

When ABC’s George Stephanopoulos claimed on “This Week” that Trump was “coming back from a 35-day stalemate that drove his poll numbers to historic lows,” Mollie Hemingway of The Federalist challenged with “That’s simply not true,” as she set the record straight on Trump ratings.

Seemingly, it’s okay for the media to lie, but heaven forbid if the president misstates something.

By the way, Nancy Pelosi’s rating came in at 28 percent positive and 47 percent negative. A 19-point spread compared to the president’s 12-point spread.

Incidentally, did you see the coverage of Pelosi trying to act presidential, signing the legislation to reopen the government with multiple pens as Obama used to do, then giving the pens to sycophants who stood around her during the signing?

TOM BROKAW proved that even liberal media people cannot say what’s on their mind. Appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press, Brokaw said, he happens to “believe that the Hispanics should work harder at assimilation. That’s one of the things that I’ve been saying for a long time, that they ought not to be codified in their communities, but make sure that all of their kids are learning to speak English and they feel comfortable in their communities.”

After a flurry of backlash tweets from the left, naturally, Brokaw apologized for his remarks in a series of short tweets.

Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas accused Brokaw of being “stunningly ignorant of the Hispanic community in this country.”

Julio Ricardo Varela wrote @julito77: “Wow, who knew that Tom Brokaw was a closet xenophobe.”

Aura Bogado wrote @aurabogado: “Tom Brokaw arguing classic white supremacist talking points in a deeply racist rant on national television.”

After Brokaw tweeted “I feel terrible a part of my comments on Hispanics offended some members of this proud culture,” a twitterer @pourmecoffee responded with, “You misspelled I apologize for my ignorant and demeaning glib generalization.”

Appearing on Fox’s Special Report with Bret Baier, Brit Hume supported Brokaw, who he has known for many years, saying “Brokaw is no racist,” and adding that he believed that Brokaw merely wants Hispanics to assimilate in their communities.

PELOSI HYPOCRISY IN ACTION – Remember how Nancy Pelosi used to rail against Republicans over the lack of time to read legislation? She changed that when the Democrats returned to the majority in the House and she became speaker, establishing a rule of 72 hours to read legislation.

The ink was barely dry, however, when the House Rules Committee began issuing waivers of that rule. Aren’t those Democrats so accommodating?

DID YOU SEE the coverage of Sen. Kamala Harris’ rally in Oakland over the weekend? When CBS News called attention to her saying, “It’s about fighting for a country with equal treatment, collective purpose and freedom for all,” Mollie Hemingway @MZHemingway wrote: “Then privilege afforded to progressives by the media is that they can attack someone for being Catholic (which she and her Senate colleagues did) and they get write-ups like this just days later. Fascinating to observe.”

PERHAPS YOU’VE NOTICED that a number of journalists at several publications have been victims of layoffs recently. Preston Byrne writing @prestonjbyrne made note that some of the same journalists, who had little sympathy for coal miners when their industry was suffering, are now saying, ‘Capitalism is evil and this is the end of democracy.’

            May God bless the United States of America.