President Trump announced today that he will sign a bill to keep the government from shutting down, he also announced he will be declaring a national emergency to build the wall along the southern border. President Trump cited the humanitarian crisis at the southern border. 

The bill does give $1.375 billion dollars for border barriers Both Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham from Fox News asked President Trump not to sign the bill. Having just come off of the longest government shutdown in history, Republicans were anxious to make a deal. After the State of the Union address last week, President Trump was polled well, with more than 80% of independants approving of his speech, but more than 60% of Americans blaming him and the Republicans for the shutdown. 

 The President has long made commitments to build the wall, often times citing gang violence, human trafficking, and drug smuggling as reasons to declare a national emergency. With the opioid epidemic he may have some legal wiggle room as there with almost certainly be a legal challenge as soon as he issues his executive order. This will likely see the U.S. Supreme Court, with Justice Ginsburg absent as of late, it will be interesting to see if the President has the votes. 

Written by Marie

Nancy Pelosi, the recently re-speakerized Democrat from California, said the that the next Democratic President may use those same powers that the President is using to skirt Congress and declare a national emergency about gun violence, thus giving the military the right to come and seize our guns.

This was in response to President Trump saying he plans on declaring a national emergency along the nations southern border and will build the wall with funds from the defense budget. 

Simply put Nancy, one of those things is protected by the U.S. Constitution and about 200 million people with guns. The other, has an approval rating in America of above 60%.

One of those things is an inalienable right given to us, the right to defend ourselves, the other is also a right but given to our President, secure our borders and protect it’s citizens from all threats foreign and domestic. 

Written by Marie

The Oregon Legislature is hearing a Bill 2270 that will place a $2 a pack tax on cigarettes, much of the bill also calls for an equivalent tax on other forms of tobacco, like dip and e-cigarettes. The bill will go to support the Oregon Health Authority Programs, which was expecting a $830 million dollar shortfall this year. 

The last time Oregon raised it’s tobacco taxes was in 2002, when it was raised $1.33 a pack. The American Cancer Society says that increased taxes on cigarettes forces some people to quit and others to drastically reduce their intake of tobacco, a spokesman for the society said he estimates 31k Oregon smokers would quit because of the tax increase. It is also estimated that more than 10k new smokers would not start smoking because of the tax and the outrageous cost of smoking. The American Cancer Society estimated that more than 13k Oregon lives would be saved by implementing this tax overall. 

Increases in tax revenue, such as from the marijuana sales tax have not made their way down to the everyday person. Seeing this tax implemented is just another way for them to get money for projects. According to polls, raising taxes on cigarettes may not be the answer, many people feel they are over taxed already, and that the state does not do a very good job of accounting for the money it already spends. 

In Oregon you also have to be 21 years of age to smoke. August 2017, the state enacted it’s law and became the fifth state in the U.S. to make the smoking age 21.

Written by Marie 

The Independent Senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders has announced his intention to seek the Democratic Nomination for the Presidency of the United States of America. Entering a crowded field, much more crowded then he had to deal with in 2015 when he had to just deal with Hillary Clinton, who by all accounts he beat and then was cheated out of the parties nomination. Will this time be different for Bernie? Lately, President Trump has been calling for an end of talks of socialism and that there will never be socialism in the United States, Senator Sanders is a self-avowed socialist and could have just been goaded into another run for President by the current President. 

President Trump was quick to comment on Bernie’s announcement saying “Bernie Sanders has already won the debate in the Democrat primary, because every candidate is embracing his brand of socialism. But the American people will reject an agenda of sky-high tax rates, government-run health care and coddling dictators like those in Venezuela. Only President Trump will keep America free, prosperous and safe.”  

I do not know if America is ready for socialism, I hope not! It has worked no place it has been tried, when people say Norway or Denmark, (they are capitalist societies with a high level of care for their elderly and great medical care, however they are each coming away from those because of the burdensome taxations), just look them in the eye and tell them with a factual response, neither of those are socialist countries, but Venezuela is one. 

Written by Shaemus

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Trump administration on Monday, this was in responses to a case challenging the use of waivers used by DHS in the building of a wall along the southern border of the United States. 

The State of California and a few environmental groups lost when they sued President Trump and the Department of Homeland Security in September of 2017, the lawsuit was to stop construction of a border wall and any repairs to already existing walls near San Diego, citing that the administration had exceeded it’s authority by giving waivers for the projects instead of doing the required environmental studies and taking into account the proper factors for the building of the wall. 

The 9th Circuit ruled 2-1 in favor of DHS and the President, with the dissenting judge Consuelo Callahan writing that she supported President Trump’s position, but that the court lacked the jurisdiction to review California’s appeal. 

Under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, DHS has the authority to install additional barriers and roads in the vicinity of the United States Border. 

Written by Shaemus

The two sides in Washington D.C.  have apparently come to a deal late Monday night, not sure if President Trump will sign it, as it does not give him the 5.7 Billion dollars in funding he wants for a barrier along 215 miles of our southern border, however this tentative deal does give funding for 55 miles of fencing. When President Trump was asked whether he will sign it, he said he did not know, and that after he added some things that he would have to read it. 

Instead of getting 5.7 Billion dollars they will get 1.4 billion dollars for barriers. The Republicans apparently felt they had taken the worst of the reprisals from the first shutdown and did not want any more of that. 

Democrats were trying to get limits on the amounts of illegals ICE could detain, but that was taken off the table when they started taking backlash from it. Some Democrats were still upset about ICE detention facilities and wanted them to drop their numbers from around 49k to around 40k with a maximum of 16k of those being from non border areas. Republicans threatened to shut off talks if the capacity limits for ICE did not immediately come off the table. Democrats, in the interest of negotiating and contrary to the more left leaning of their members reluctantly pulled ICE capacity limits from the table. Other funding included in this funding bill is increased electronic security at the border, increased customs personnel, and humanitarian aid requested by Democrats. 

President Trump  ” we can call it anything. We’ll call it barriers, we’ll call it whatever they want,” Trump went on to say, ” But now it turns out not only don’t they want to give us money for a wall, they don’t want to give us space to detain murderers, criminals. drug dealers, and human smugglers.” ICE released figures last week supporting what the President said, indicating that out of the 159,000 illegal immigrants it detained last year, 66% of them were previously convicted of crimes, also that in 2016 under Barrack Obama the 110,000 detained, 89% had previously been convicted of crimes. Showing that under President Trump more immigrants are being detained, and around the same numbers of criminals are still crossing our borders. 

Whatever happens it will be interesting to see if President Trump signs the funding bill to prevent another shutdown, while getting some funding for a barrier, he has not been able to secure his campaign promise of a border wall across the countries southern border. 

Written by Stephan B

Netflix just paid 10 million dollars for the rights to a documentary featuring the Democratic Party’s rising star, Alexandra Ocasio Cortez a Congresswoman out of the NY. Netflix reportedly paid for the documentary after it was featured at the Sundance Film Festival.

The documentary called “Knock Down the House,” seems ironic that a new Freshmen Congressional Delegate would have a documentary made about her and have it featured on such a prestigious platform, but she is their parties new celebrity.

She is most recently well known for her “Green Deal.” Where she puts forward a plan to do away with fossil fuel usage in the United States in the next ten years, and talks about establishing a living wage for those who are “unwilling to work.”

The documentary actually follows the elections of four delegates from around the country and their trials backgrounds during the grassroot campaigns of each. From West Virginia, Nevada, Missouri, and New York, Jean Swearingen, Cori Bush and Amy Vilela are also featured. 

 Ocasio worked as a bartender before she put a thrashing on Joe Crowley, a 10 term Democratic incumbent in the New York’s 14th Congressional District. Crowley at the time of his defeat was the fourth ranking Democrat in the House. Ocasio has worked as a book publisher, a waitress, been involved in community activism, and worked on the 2016 Bernie Sanders Presidential Campaign.

She is a self avowed socialist, She is also a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. 10 Million dollars is the highest amount ever paid for a documentary for any subscription service like Netflix or HBO. In May of 2018, Barrack Obama signed a deal to work for Netflix, and as the unofficial leader of the Democratic Party and someone who endorsed Ocasio, it could be a reason for such a high price for the deal, bringing light to her plight during the election using multimedia is a pretty often used tool of both political parties. 

Written by Charles C

Senator Amy Klobuchar, a three term Senator for Minnesota announced she is going to join the field of democrats who are running for President of the United States in 2020. From a snow covered stage in Minnesota, standing in the past on a platform of global climate change she was virtually covered with hypocrisy at the end of her speech.

Klobuchar has been a proponent for force election enrollment at the age of 18 for all Americans. Senator Klobuchar has in the past backed medicare for all, also spoke about affordable college for all, she has sided with Senator Sanders on many issues in the past.

Make no mistake, she may be labeled a centrist, I think only because she is from a midwestern state, she is as blue as they get. Klobuchar grew up the child of a school teacher, a journalist by profession, and serving three terms in the Senate. 

Senator Klobuchar’s office has the highest turnover amongst Senators in Congress with many citing this, attributing it to her being reportedly abusive to her staff. When the Senator was asked about the high turnover, she said ” I have high expectations.” Republican Party spokesman Michael Ahrens said her staff finds her ” intolerably cruel.” 

Written by Shaemus

Cory Booker admitted to sexually assaulting a woman in 1992, writing a book about how when he was a teen he was with a girl on a bed kissing and he attempted to touch her breast, she pushed his hand away and then he tried again.

According to his own rhetoric used during the Kavanaugh nomination proceedings last year, that should immediately disqualify him from your vote. Senator Booker is a Democratic Senator from New Jersey, and if that does not throw you off, then perhaps his ” I am Spartacus” moment will, he threatened to release what he said were sensitive documents, (also during the Kavanaugh hearing,) to the public without first clearing them, it was later confirmed that those documents were indeed not sensitive and could have and were released anyway.

Such grandstanding is commonplace within the Democratic Party, with each person attempting to upstage the others, pushing the party further and further left. Making centrist and possible 2020 Presidential Candidate and CEO of Starbucks Howard Shultz look appealing to most Democrats. With people like Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand also announcing their candidacies recently, it is shaping up to be a full field of lefties for sure.

Written by Shaemus