The Border & Illegal Aliens, And What We Are Doing About It.

[Bullheaded Texan]

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said.

“We are not going to let this country be invaded!

We will not be stampeded!

We will not capitulate to lawlessness!

This is NOT business as usual.

This is the Trump era!," the Attorney General said.
 

[Bullheaded Texan]

Northern Mexifornia Wildfire Deadliest in State History After Death Toll Hits 42.

1112/18 

12 Nov 2018119

 PARADISE, Mexifonia. — Authorities have reported 13 more fatalities from a blaze in Northern Mexifornia that destroyed a town, bringing the total death toll so far to 42 and making it the deadliest wildfire in recorded state history.

 The dead have been found in burned-out cars, in the smoldering ruins of their homes, or next to their vehicles, apparently overcome by smoke and flames before they could jump in behind the wheel and escape.

 In some cases, there were only charred fragments of bone, so small that coroner’s investigators used a wire basket to sift and sort them. The search for bodies was continuing.

 Hundreds of people were unaccounted for by the sheriff’s reckoning, four days after the fire swept over the town of 27,000 with flames so fierce that authorities brought in a mobile DNA lab and forensic anthropologists to help identify the dead.

 The statewide death toll from wildfires over the past week has reached 44.

A 1933 blaze in Griffith Park in Los Angeles killed 29 people, and a series of wildfires in Northern Mexifornia’s wine country last fall killed 44 people.

[Bullheaded Texan]

Nine Arrested in Alleged Voter Fraud Scheme in Texas Border Town.   11/9/18

KGBT/Hidalgo County

Nine individuals were arrested Thursday for their alleged roles in a 2017 voter fraud scheme involving the municipal election in a Texas border town.

These arrests were part of an ongoing investigation into a coordinated effort by political workers to recruit people who would fraudulently claim residential addresses so they could vote in specific races and influence the results of the Edinburg city election held last year, according to information provided by the Office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

“Illegal voting, particularly an organized illegal voting scheme orchestrated by political operatives, is an affront to democracy and results in corruption at the highest level,” said Paxton in a prepared statement.

“Each illegal vote silences the voice of a law-abiding registered voter,” added Paxton. “My office will continue to do everything in its power to uncover illegal voting schemes and bring to justice those who try to manipulate the outcome of elections in Texas.”

The nine Hidalgo County residents arrested were Guadalupe Sanchez Garza, Jerry Gonzalez, Jr., Araceli Gutierrez, Belinda Rodriguez, Brenda Rodriguez, Felisha Yolanda Rodriguez, Rosendo Rodriguez, Cynthia Tamez, and Ruby Tamez. Online jail records show bond was set at $20,000 for both Garza and Ruby Tamez. A $10,000 bond was set for Gonzalez, Gutierrez, Belinda Rodriguez, Brenda Rodriguez, Rosendo Rodriguez, and Cynthia Tamez. Felisha Yolanda Rodriguez’s bail was set at $1,000.

The Office of Hidalgo County District Attorney Ricardo Rodriguez will prosecute the cases.

In May, four other county residents were charged with voter fraud related to the 2017 Edinburg election. One of the accused was also a convicted human smuggler. Another was only charged with making a false statement on a voter registration form, a Class B misdemeanor. In June, they charged a fifth person with two counts of illegal voting.

To date, a total of 14 people stand accused of violating election laws in the 2017 Edinburg city election.

In Texas, it is a state jail felony to vote in an election using fraudulent ballot application information. The crime is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

More arrests are expected in Hidalgo County over last year’s purported illegal voting scheme in Edinburg. The Texas Rangers are assisting the AG’s Election Fraud Unit in this investigation.

Hidalgo County is one of several hotbeds of alleged voter fraud activity where the AG’s office has lent support and assistance to investigations conducted by local district attorneys. In 2015, newly sworn-in Hidalgo County DA Rodriguez vowed to curb public corruption.

This summer, a Hidalgo County grand jury indicted a non-U.S. citizen on a charge of illegal voting for marking a ballot without a voter’s consent in a June 2016 Hidalgo city runoff election. Two of her fellow campaign workers were implicated in the alleged voter assistance scheme. All stand accused of taking advantage of elderly and/or disabled voters.

Earlier this year, Paxton announced a significant voter fraud initiative in the adjacent Starr County where DA Omar Escobar pledged to crack down on voter fraud after questionable registrant records and mail-in ballot applications surfaced. Officials made seven arrests.

Recently, four North Texas women, who allegedly belonged to a paid voter fraud ring in Tarrant County, were indicted on 30 counts of voter fraud following an investigation by the AG’s office. Purportedly, they sought to influence the outcome of certain down-ballot candidate races in the 2016 March Democratic Party primary election. Court documents filed by Paxton’s office accused the county’s former Democratic Party executive director of funding the voter fraud ring’s criminal activities.

The Rio Grande Valley area also made national news before the 2018 election when the Public Interest Legal Foundation released a complaint to county and state officers regarding “altered” voter registration forms circulated by the Texas Democratic Party that were directed to noncitizen residents. The applications featured pre-printed claims of U.S. citizenship. The Texas Secretary of State referred the matter to Attorney General Paxton for further investigation. ProPublica reported that Paxton’s office “does not comment on potential investigations.”

[Bullheaded Texan]

Order at the Border: New WH Rule Makes Illegal Border Crossers Ineligible for Asylum.

11/8/18  Leah Barkoukis

 The White House announced Thursday that it will crack down on “meritless” claims of asylum by illegal immigrants attempting to cross the border.

 The new rule will require that migrants who wish to claim asylum do so at an official border crossing.

President Trump is expected to enact the rule Friday in a presidential proclamation.  

“Consistent with our immigration laws, the President has the broad authority to suspend or restrict the entry of aliens into the United States if he determines it to be in the national interest to do so,” Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said in a joint statement.  “Today's rule applies this important principle to aliens who violate such a suspension or restriction regarding the southern border imposed by the President by invoking an express authority provided by Congress to restrict eligibility for asylum.

 Our asylum system is overwhelmed with too many meritless asylum claims from aliens who place a tremendous burden on our resources, preventing us from being able to expeditiously grant asylum to those who truly deserve it.  Today, we are using the authority granted to us by Congress to bar aliens who violate a Presidential suspension of entry or other restriction from asylum eligibility.”

 Senior administration officials hope the effort to make asylum claims more orderly will help speed up the process of assessing and adjudicating the claims.

 According to DHS, the department has seen a 2,000 percent increase since 2013 in migrants claiming that they have "credible fear" of persecution should they return to their home country. In 2017, the U.S. fielded more than 330,000 asylum claims, nearly double the number two years earlier and surpassing Germany as highest in the world.

 A senior administration official said Thursday that the vast majority of such claims are "non-meritorious."

Administration officials said those denied asylum under the proclamation may be eligible for similar forms of protection if they fear returning to their countries, though they would be subject to a tougher threshold. Those forms of protection include "withholding of removal" -- which is similar to asylum, but doesn't allow for green cards or bringing families -- or asylum under the United Nations Convention Against Torture. (FoxNews.com)

 The rule has already faced backlash, with idiotic groups promising a legal response.

[Bullheaded Texan]

ILLEGAL ALIEN INVASION
SPECIAL REPORT!!!
 Dear Judicial Watch Supporter,
Right now, Judicial Watch Director of Investigations is on the ground in Guatemala reporting back live on the illegal alien invasion of America.
 I know you realize that in this tense atmosphere he is putting at risk life and limb…
But, JW wants you to know firsthand what is really going on as hordes of illegal aliens prepare to overrun Americas borders… .. and destroy our sovereignty.
 Thank you for your support!
  Carter L. Clews
Director of Communications
 A 40-year-old Honduran who previously lived in the United States for decades and got deported is part of the Central American caravan making its way north. His interview occurred around 35 miles from the Honduran border near the Guatemalan town of Chiquimula where a group of around 600 men, ages 17 to 40, marched demanding that the U.S. take them in.

 Judicial Watch Director of Investigations and Research Chris Farrell and Judicial Watch Investigator Irene Garcia went to Guatemala to uncover the truth about the migrant "caravan." 
https://cf.pr.judicialwatch.org/imagesJW/3964/content_Guatemala.jpg"/>
 The Judicial Watch crew took a helicopter to observe the caravan for their fact-finding mission. 
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https://cf.pr.judicialwatch.org/imagesJW/3964/content_guatemala_4.jpg"/>
 Pictured is a group of men leading the edge of the one of the "waves" composing the caravan. 
https://cf.pr.judicialwatch.org/imagesJW/3964/content_migrant_1.jpg"/>
 Below, are some Judicial Watch tweets about the "caravan":  
https://cf.pr.judicialwatch.org/imagesJW/3964/content_Tom_Tweet_1.jpg"/>
https://cf.pr.judicialwatch.org/imagesJW/3964/content_Tom_Tweet_2_.jpg"/>
https://cf.pr.judicialwatch.org/imagesJW/3964/content_Tom_Tweet_3.jpg"/>

[Bullheaded Texan]

FACT CHECK: Has The Trump Admin Fired Over 1,500 VA Employees?

12:37 PM 02/01/18 Emily Larsen | Fact Check Reporter

 President Donald Trump claimed that his administration has fired over 1,500 Veterans Affairs (VA) employees after enacting VA reform legislation.

“Last year, Congress also passed, and I signed, the landmark VA Accountability Act. Since its passage, my administration has already removed more than 1,500 VA employees who failed to give our veterans the care they deserve – and we are hiring talented people who love our vets as much as we do,” Trump said during his State of the Union address Tuesday night.

Verdict: True

The VA has fired about 1,700 people since Trump signed a VA reform bill into law.

Fact Check:

The VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act gave the VA more flexibility to hire and fire employees and created an office dedicated to accountability. The VA press office said that the agency has fired 1,737 people, with 1,046 regular removals and 691 probationary removals, since President Trump signed the bill into law in June 2017.

“Probationary removals take place during an employee’s probationary period. Regular removals take place outside of the probationary period. Both are permanent removals,” VA press secretary Curt Cashour told The Daily Caller News Foundation in an email. New employees and new supervisors in the federal government must complete a one-year probationary period where they have fewer employment protections than other employees.

The VA fired 2,537 people in total for 2017, according to Cashour. That’s a 27 percent increase from 2016, when the VA fired 2,001 people.

 The Associated Press (AP) said that Trump’s claim was “inaccurate” and the Marine Corps Times said that his figures were an “exaggeration.” They based their assessment on data posted publicly on the VA accountability website that showed that while 1,500 people were fired since Trump took office, about 500 people were fired before Trump signed the reform legislation into law. But that information did not include data provided by the VA press office on people who were removed during a probationary period.

It was difficult to fire employees caught breaking protocol or incapable of serving veterans before the VA Accountability Act was signed into law. The VA had to wait 30 days to fire an employee caught watching pornography while with a patient in March because the law required an advance notice period to fire employees who did not commit a crime. An investigation by TheDCNF revealed that the VA shuffled nearly 100 hospital administrators, many of whom they could not fire, to different hospitals over eight years.

VA reform proposals followed revelations in 2014 that more than 1,000 veterans may have died due to malpractice or lack of care after VA administrators manipulated waiting lists to hide long wait times. One Phoenix VA hospital continued to manipulate wait time data for years after the scandal.

“The department is tackling head-on issues that have lingered for years, including accountability, whistleblower protection, improving transparency and customer service for Veterans and expanding suicide prevention and mental health care services,” VA Secretary David Shulkin said in a statement about Trump’s State of the Union speech Tuesday.

The AP later updated its fact check to reflect the new data from the VA and removed its assertion that Trump’s claim was inaccurate. The Marine Corps Times also updated its story and wrote another post about the additional probationary removal figures.

[Bullheaded Texan]

FACT CHECK: Does Illegal Immigration Cost The US More Than $100 Billion A Year?

11/11/18 Brad Sylvester | Fact Check Reporter

 President Donald Trump claimed during a rally in Cleveland, Ohio, that illegal immigration costs the U.S. more than $100 billion a year. “Illegal immigration costs our country more than $100 billion every single year,” he said.

Verdict: Unsubstantiated

Estimates of the cost of illegal immigration vary widely. Trump likely based his claim on an estimate from the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), which has received criticism for its methodology.

Fact Check:

Trump was in Cleveland Nov. 5 campaigning for Ohio Republicans ahead of the 2018 midterm elections when he made the claim. He was likely referencing a report from FAIR, an organization that supports more limited immigration.

The report, released in September 2017, concluded that illegal immigration costs the U.S. $135 billion per year. FAIR estimated that 12.5 million illegal immigrants, as well as their 4.2 million U.S. citizen children, cost the federal government almost $46 billion and cost about $89 billion at the state and local levels annually.

The majority of this expense comes in the form of medical care and public schooling expenditures. FAIR estimated that illegal immigrants generate about $19 billion in taxes each year, bringing the net cost down to $116 billion annually.

 There are relatively few other studies that examine the net cost of illegal immigration. The results for the ones that do exist are much lower than FAIR’s. One study released in 2013 by the right-leaning Heritage Foundation estimated that illegal immigration costs the government about $54.5 billion per year, less than half of the FAIR estimate.

A review by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released in 1995 entitled “National Net Cost Estimates Vary Widely” found that the net cost of illegal immigration ranged between $2 and $19 billion a year. The report was published at a time when the Census Bureau estimated that 3.5 to 4 million illegal immigrants resided in the country. When adjusted for inflation, net costs would be far higher today.

 The wide range of estimates is partly due to the fact that reliable information on illegal immigrants is limited.

No one is sure exactly how many illegal immigrants are even in the U.S. FAIR’s estimate assumed that there are 12.5 million, but Pew Research Center estimated there were 11.3 million in 2016. The Center for Migration Studies put the number at 10.8 million for 2016. A recent Yale University study estimated there may be as many as 22 million in the country. Naturally, the number of illegal immigrants assumed in a study will affect cost estimates.

 Calculating the cost of providing public benefits such as medical care and public schooling to illegal immigrants, as well as the tax revenue they generate, is also no exact science.

 The FAIR report in particular has received criticism from several experts and think tanks who contend that their cost estimate is too high. To start, some argue that FAIR’s estimate of the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. is overstated by about 1 million. The most commonly cited number is about 11 million, whereas FAIR puts the number at 12.5 million. (The Yale study that estimates 22 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. had not been published at the time FAIR did its analysis.)

  Alex Nowrasteh, a senior immigration policy analyst at the Cato Institute, a pro-immigration think tank, calls the FAIR report “fatally flawed.” Nowrasteh points out that the FAIR report includes the benefits consumed by the children of illegal immigrants born in the U.S., who under law are U.S. citizens, but then does not include the tax revenue generated by this group.

“Counting the benefits consumed but ignoring the tax revenue they pay (or will do so in the future) is one way FAIR gets such a negative result for this report,” writes Nowrasteh. “If FAIR counts the welfare consumed by the U.S. born children of illegal immigrants then it must also count the taxes that that cohort pays, but it does not. In this way, the FAIR report biases its results to increase the value of benefits received and diminish the value of taxes paid.”

 Nowrasteh takes issue with several other assumptions in the FAIR report and estimates that “merely using the correct numbers” drops the cost down to between $3.3 billion and $15.6 billion a year.

Kim Rueben, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, also believes the FAIR report is faulty.

“The number cited is almost surely too high and doesn’t take account of the taxes all immigrants pay both directly and with regard to the future earnings of them and their children. I generally find the FAIR report to overstate the costs and understate the benefits of documented and undocumented immigrants,” Rueben said in an email to The Daily Caller News Foundation.

FAIR did not respond to a request for comment.

While the total cost of illegal immigration has been debated, available estimates nonetheless show that the costs of illegal immigration exceed the revenues.

 Robert Rector, a senior research fellow at Heritage and one of the authors of the 2013 report, explained that this mostly has to do with the education levels of illegal immigrants. “The reality is, as almost anyone would acknowledge, even outside the context of immigration, is that a person that only has a high school degree is very likely to receive more in government benefits and services than they pay in in taxes.

 And of course, half of illegals don’t have a high school degree,” Rector told TheDCNF.

About 47% of illegal immigrants ages 25 to 64 have not completed a high school education, compared to 8%  among U.S. citizens in the same age bracket, according to a 2009 report from Pew.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

[Bullheaded Texan]

Landel,
  I am forwarding you an email I sent on November 8, 2016…
Over 500,000 supporters stepped up. And if they never did, I would not be writing to you today as your President. I will never forget all of you patriots.
 You will be remembered as someone who believed in us despite the media's predictions.

 Thank you,

Donald J. Trump

[Bullheaded Texan]

President Donald Trump said he's considering issuing an executive order to end birthright citizenship in the U.S.

  Trump told Axios reporter Jonathan Swan on Monday that he had discussed with his lawyers ending this tradition—which grants citizenship to children born on U.S. soil even if their parents are not citizens, per the 14th Amendment—and plans to proceed despite constitutional concerns.

 "It was always told to me that you needed a constitutional amendment. Guess what? You don't," said Trump. "It's in the process. It'll happen ... with an executive order."

Constitutional law professors and pundits seem to agree that this would be illegal.

This proposed executive order would be unconstitutional. A federal statute relying upon Congress's Section V power might present an interesting issue, but an EO doesn't. https://t.co/Pd1p3yuuyH

— Jonathan H. Adler (@jadler1969) October 30, 2018

It also provides good evidence for the wisdom of orginalist interpretations of the Constitution, suggests Case Western Reserve University law professor and The Volokh Conspiracy blogger Jonathan Adler.

This proposed EO is a good reason to be happy President Trump has nominated judges who believe the original public meaning of the Constitution controls. The originalist arguments against this proposal are quite strong. See, e.g., https://t.co/HQg1aB3rsm https://t.co/Pd1p3yuuyH

— Jonathan H. Adler (@jadler1969) October 30, 2018

And here's University of Texas professor and Lawfare blogger Steve Vladeck:

It's not "unclear." He can't:https://t.co/iqAHsoXpNg https://t.co/vpECc2fiTd

— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) October 30, 2018

Meanwhile, immigration and Trump administration reporters have been cautioning against making too much of the president's comments or reporting on them without proper context—such as that Trump's claims we're the only country with birthright citizenship are untrue, or that we've been here before.

Be smart: Trump saying he's going to do this isn't indication of when/if it'll actually happen. An EO like this would need serious review not just from WH Counsel but DOJ/DHS/etc; no sign any of that's happened.(So "Trump to terminate" is  misleading.) https://t.co/nzqK1pe8bP

— Dara Lind (@DLind) October 30, 2018

 Trump can't terminate amendments via executive order. To respond as if he's ending birthright citizenship because he told an outlet he is ending birthright citizenship is to allow him to be our assignment editor. It's an obvious stunt

— Sam Stein (@samstein) October 30, 2018

What Trump floated to Axios is the holy grail of immigration restrictionists. The expression of deep, long-term demographic and political anxieties. It would be patently unconstitutional. Read this excellent @DLind explainer, written after Anton op-ed https://t.co/9mzfLCSrKe

— Nick Miroff (@NickMiroff) October 30, 2018

For reference, even Trump appointee to the 5th Circuit Jim Ho says this would be unconstitutional: https://t.co/fOUqw1srOC 2/

— Michael Li (@mcpli) October 30, 2018

FOLLOW-UP

Migrant caravan inspires more Mexican border militarization.

 Thousands more troops will be deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border, the Pentagon announced yesterday. An additional 5,200 troops will join the nearly 3,000 National Guard members already there. Buzzfeed points out "that is more than are currently deployed to Iraq and Syria" and "about half the US military presence of 15,000 in Afghanistan."

 More importantly, it's more than double the number of people traveling north through Mexico to seek asylum here. Media have characterized Trump's fearmongering about migrant caravan "invaders" as a midterm election ploy. It also seems to be a step toward ongoing militarization of the U.S. border and possible preparations for building Trump's promised wall.

 Those deployed will include members of the Army Corps of Engineers who will help with construction projects, according to a Pentagon press conference. They and other newly-deployed military members will be stationed in southern Arizona, California, and Texas.

 Conservative media has mostly been happy to parrot the president's characterization of the caravan. But a few prominent pundits haven't been playing along. On Sunday, Bill Kristol condemned "Fox News and parts of … right-wing media" for "their coverage of the caravan and the dangers of these immigrants" and for being "obsessed" with George Soros. And here's Fox's Shep Smith:

Shep Smith on the migrant caravan: "There is no invasion. No one is coming to get you. There is nothing at all to worry about." pic.twitter.com/4dLmPuZem0

[Bullheaded Texan]

12 Dead In Mass Shooting At Mexifornia Bar.

[UPDATE: Gunman Identified]

11/8/18 by Tom Knighton

 Last night, we went to bed thinking about a great many things. For some of us, our thoughts were still on the midterm elections, on how bad that whole thing could have turned out, but there was an infinite number of possibilities.

In Thousand Oaks, Mexifornia, some folks decided to call it a late night and hit the dance floor.

 The last thing they expected was to be gunned down in the middle of their night of fun.

Reports are still early, which means they’ll be contradictory going forward. What we know at this time is that 12 people have been reported dead.

 That number includes the gunman who entered the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks. At least an equal number of people are reported wounded in the attack.

 Witnesses report the man entering the bar, then shooting a woman behind a counter just inside the bar.

Hundreds of people were believed to be inside the nightclub when the attack began. Some began busting windows to escape.

 Right now, we know very little about the attack, the attacker, or much of anything. More information will be coming. Police are just now really delving into their investigations, and while updates will be forthcoming, it’s still very early. NBC News is reporting that one of the dead includes a responding police officer.

 Sgt. Ron Healus died after being struck “multiple times by gunfire,” Dean said. Healus was a 29-year police veteran who was looking to retire in the next year.

 Healus was injured when he arrived at the scene and “attempted to neutralize the threat,” Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Garo Kuredjian said.

 An eyewitness reports that the killer entered the club with a handgun and what he described as “smoke grenades.”

 One survivor, Matthew Estron, told NBC Los Angeles that the shooter was tall dressed “all in black” and armed with a handgun and some kind of smoke grenades.

 “We heard shots, I looked up and knew exactly what was happening. I tried to pull down as many people as I could,” he said. “As soon as we heard a break in the shooting we knew he was reloading and we threw a couple of bar stools through the closest to us so we could get out.”

 He said the shooter entered and turned to the door counter and coat check area before eventually working his way to the bar.

 “He didn’t say anything, at least not that we could hear,” Estron added. “Everyone was just trying to get out.”

Please keep in mind that any of this information is subject to change as the situation there is very fluid. People are making mistakes and passing that information on, so that may cause some contradictory reports.

We will keep you informed as we receive new information throughout the day.

 7:15 AM (Eastern) Update: 12 people are dead, but the mainstream media is on top of things.

Dean said investigators had not found any type of assault rifle within the bar.

“Right now as far as we know there was only one handgun, but that could certainly change as we do a more thorough search of the building.”

 Because what matters right now is advancing an anti-assault weapon narrative.

7:37 AM (Eastern) Update:

 While it may seem obvious, we now know that the sheriff’s deputy slain in the attack was killed while trying to take down the shooter.

 Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean choked back tears as he described the sheriff’s sergeant killed in a mass shooting at a Mexifornia bar.

 The sheriff said Sgt. Ron Helus undoubtedly saved lives by going in to confront the gunman. He says Helus was the first responder and was immediately hit with multiple gunshots.

 He says a Highway Patrolman pulled out Helus and waited for a SWAT team as scores of other officers converged on the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks at about 11:20 p.m.

 By the time they entered the bar again the gunfire had stopped, and they found 12 people dead inside, including the gunman. He says Helus was later declared dead at a hospital.

 We don’t know if the gunman killed himself or succumbed to wounds that resulted from his engaging with Helus. Either way, Helus died a hero!

8:10 AM (Eastern) Update: 

 Rep. Jim Himes, whose home state of Connecticut endured the deadly Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, blasted inaction on gun control after hearing about the mass shooting in California on Wednesday night.

 He told CNN: “I’m embarrassed to say … my first thought was, ‘here we go again, it’s this week’s mass shooting,’ and that’s a really hard way to think about this. I contrast where we are today with how we all felt about Sandy Hook.”

“This is a weekly thing (and) even though it’s become a weekly thing, nobody does anything, especially the Congress where I work,” he lamented.

“35,000 Americans dead a year as a result of gun violence and Congress can’t even find its way to studying the problem,” Himes said.

Do note, however, if a pro-gun politician started going on about gun free zones and Mexifornia’s strict concealed carry laws preventing anyone being armed inside the bar, there would be screams about how insensitive the remarks are.

 We know because we saw the outrage at President Trump’s similar suggestion after the Tree of Life shooting.

Decency is a one-way street, apparently.

10:02 AM (Eastern) Update:  CNN is reporting 21 people injured in the attack were treated and released from area hospitals. There were no details released.

 It’s also unclear if these were all the injuries or merely the ones not being kept for further treatment.

10:15 AM (Eastern) Update: ABC 7 News in Mexifornia is now reporting 13 dead.

10:43 AM (Eastern) Update: Police have identified the gunman as a 28-year-old Marine Corps veteran. He was found dead inside the bar from a self-inflicted wound after the attack.

 He used a .45 caliber Glock and was known to law enforcement.

Here’s how Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean described the suspect’s previous run-ins with police:

 We’ve had several contacts with [the gunman] over the years, minor events, a traffic collision. He was a victim of a battery at a local bar in 2015. In April of this year, deputies were called to his house for a subject disturbing. They went to the house, they talked to him. He was somewhat irate. Acting a little irrationally. They called out our crisis intervention team, our mental health specialists who met with him, talked to him and cleared him. Didn’t feel he was qualified to be taken under 5150. And he was left at that scene last April.

President Trump weighed in earlier this morning on Twitter;

 "I have been fully briefed on the terrible shooting in Mexifornia. Law Enforcement and First Responders, together with the FBI, are on scene. 13 people, at this time, have been reported dead. Likewise, the shooter is dead, along with the first police officer to enter the bar....Great bravery shown by police. California Highway Patrol was on scene within 3 minutes, with first officer to enter shot numerous times. That Sheriff’s Sergeant died in the hospital. God bless all of the victims and families of the victims. Thank you to Law Enforcement."

 It should be noted, however, that this happened in Mexifornia, a state known for having among the toughest gun control laws in the nation.

12:30 PM (Eastern) Update: President Trump orders U.S. flag to be flown at half-staff to honor the shooting victims.

 "God bless all of the victims and families of the victims. Thank you to Law Enforcement." — President Donald J. Trump on last night's horrific shooting in Thousand Oaks.

 1:00 PM (Eastern) Update: Andrew Pollack, who lost his daughter in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida earlier this year, responded to the attack on Twitter.

"Let’s not make this a 2A issue in a state with some of the strictest gun laws in the country .Instead let’s look at the issues mental health ,security and soft targets ! Prayers to all the victims and families."

[Bullheaded Texan]

Trump Puts New Pressure on Mexifornia.

11/8/18

President Trump has called out Mexifornia for its terrible forestry management, which seriously limits controlled burns. Fox News reports:

 Just hours after President Trump issued an emergency declaration to provide funds to help firefighters in Mexifornia as they battle at least three major wildfires across the state, the president threatened to withhold the federal payments — citing the state’s “gross mismanagement” of its forests.

 Tweeting from Paris early Saturday, Trump wrote that “there is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly fires in Mexifornia.” He added that “billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!”

 The Camp Fire in Northern Mexifornia, which has destroyed nearly 6,500 homes and killed at least nine people, appears to be the most destructive fire in at least a century.

 The wildfire in the North incinerated most of the town of Paradise, authorities said Friday. “There was really no firefight involved,” Capt. Scott McLean of the Mexifornia Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said, adding that the crew had to focus on helping people to get out alive. “These firefighters were in the rescue mode all day yesterday.”

 Will the rest of the nation have to continue paying for Mexifornia’s stupidity?