HALF-FULL REPORT 05/31/19

President Trump tweeted yesterday (5/30) that beginning June 10, he’ll impose a 5 percent tariff on all goods coming from Mexico until such time as the flow of illegal immigrants coming through Mexico stops.

The tariff will rise to 25 percent by Oct. 1 if the Mexicans don’t act, said OMB Director Mick Mulvaney.

“We are interested in having the Mexican government act tonite, tomorrow,” Mulvaney said.

“Mexico’s passive cooperation in allowing this massive incursion constitutes an emergency and extraordinary threat to the national security and economy of the United States,” the president said in this statement.

“The United States is a great country that can no longer be exploited due to its foolish and irresponsible immigration laws,” he said. “I will not stand by and allow our sovereignty to be eroded, our laws to be trampled, or our borders to be disrespected any more.”

Mexico’s president asked President Trump to have U.S. officials to meet with Mexico’s foreign minister today (5/31) to seek a solution that benefits both nations.

* * * *

The Supreme Court summarily reversed Tuesday (5/28) a 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling favoring Planned Parenthood.

Indiana passed a law in 2016 that forbade Planned Parenthood from disposing of fetal remains from abortions as “infectious waste.”

Another provision of that law prohibited abortions on the basis of race, disability or sex selection.

Planned Parenthood sued. Both parts of the Indiana law are unconstitutional, the 7^th Circuit Court ruled.

The fetal burial provision is constitutional, the Supreme Court said. The vote was 7-2. Only Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor were opposed.

“Since burials make no sense for an amputated limb or clump of cells, this is a sign the Supreme Court is beginning to recognize the fetus as a separate human being with dignity and rights,” said Dinesh D’Souza.

A consequence of upholding the fetal burial provision is to cripple Planned Parenthood’s lucrative business of selling fetal tissue.

The Supreme Court punted on the second portion of the law, which prohibits abortions on the basis of race, disability or sex selection.

The Justices took no position on the merits. Certiorari was denied on a technicality, that the issue has been raised in only one Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court normally agrees to hear a case only when the legal issues have been adjudicated in two or more appeals courts.

 “Heartbeat” laws have now been passed in several appellate court jurisdictions.

 * * * *

The concurring opinion of Justice Clarence Thomas is a must read. (It’s lengthy, and you have to scroll to the bottom of this link to get to it, but it’s worth the effort.) For the impatient, this is a terrific summary.

In clear, compelling language, Thomas traced the ugly history of abortion and eugenics.

“Enshrining a constitutional right to an abortion based solely on the race, sex or disability of an unborn child, as Planned Parenthood advocates, would constitutionalize the views of the 20^th Century eugenics movement,” he said.

By refusing certiorari on the second part of the Indiana law, the Supreme Court avoided having to address the issues it raised. But the Supremes won’t be able to dodge it much longer, Thomas said.

“Given the potential for abortion to become a tool of genetic manipulation, the Court will soon need to confront the constitutionality of laws like Indiana’s,” he said.

“So long as the Supreme Court forces a policy of unfettered elective abortion on the entire country, it ought to at least allow for states to protect babies from unjust discrimination.

“Having created the constitutional right to an abortion, this Court is duty bound to address its scope,” he concluded.

The way Justice Thomas framed the issue foreshadows trouble for Dems in 2020.

I noted in last week’s HFR how out of step with the vast majority of Americans is the Democrat demand for abortion up to (and sometimes beyond) the moment of birth, how young people are the most pro-Life of all age groups.

By attacking abortion as a tool of eugenics, Justice Thomas – the only black on the Supreme Court – points out that abortion also is racist.

* * * *

The brand new Brexit Party dominated elections for the European Parliament in Britain, garnering more votes than Labour and the Tories combined.

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage is now the most popular politician in Britain.

Brexit, with 29 MEPs, will be the single largest party in the European Parliament, thanks to a dismal showing by Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats in Germany (28 MEPs).

In France, the “far right” party of Marine LePen edged out the party of Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron.

For Fake Newsers in Europe, any party to the right of Antonio Gramsci is “far right,” “extreme,” “fringe.” If they’re winning elections, how “fringe” can they be?

Populist/nationalist parties dominated in Italy, Hungary, Poland, Austria, the Czech Republic, made substantial gains in Belgium and Sweden.

The Green Party also made big gains, especially in Germany.

* * * *

Globalists in Britain said the Brexit Party’s victory is less than it seems, because “hard remain” parties got more votes than did “hard leave” parties.

They’re gaslighting. They got their “hard remain” and “hard leave” numbers by not counting Labour (many Brexit supporters) and Conservative (mostly Brexit supporters) votes.

The effect on British politics is electric. The Tories – who finished 5^th – now fight for their lives. The Conservatives will continue to exist as a major party only if they deliver Brexit by October 31^st.

Labour – which was wishy washy on Brexit – lost considerable support to the “hard remain” Liberal Democrats. Party leader Jeremy Corbyn faces a leadership challenge.

The muscling up of the Liberal Democrats – an afterthought in recent parliamentary elections – makes it more difficult for Labour to win the next general election.

When will that be? If the Conservatives turn hard Brexit (as they must), the elitists will call for a vote of no confidence, in the hopes enough Tory “wets” will join them to make the government fall.

A by-election June 6^th may indicate how much of a force the Brexit Party has become.

* * * *

Elections elsewhere don’t matter much because the European Parliament doesn’t matter much – except in Germany, where the Social Democrats, Merkel’s coalition partner, got creamed, even in their stronghold of Bremen, which the SPD had carried in every election since WW2.

The Social Democrats may withdraw from the governing coalition, which would cause Merkel’s government to fall.

* * * *

In a halting, stumbling nine minutes Wednesday (5/29), an evidently nervous (and maybe senile) Robert Mueller briefly stoked moonbat hopes for impeachment, and trashed his own reputation.

If called to testify, he would say nothing more than what was in his final report. He took no questions.

Here’s the key question Mueller absolutely, positively does not want to answer – especially under oath.

He never considered indicting President Trump for obstruction because of the Office of Legal Counsel’s longstanding opinion that a sitting president cannot be indicted, Mueller said.

This appeared to contradict Attorney General Barr’s testimony that Mueller told him the OLC opinion was not a factor. Teams Barr and Mueller issued a joint statement to say there was no contradiction. If there had been clear evidence of obstruction, Mueller would have indicted.

That there was no such evidence is proved by the Special Counsel’s failure to indict any Trump confederates for obstruction.

The Lying Swine misreported this as Mueller saying were it not for the OLC opinion,

he would have indicted, which triggered more calls for impeachment. Which makes it harder for Nancy Pelosi to resist political seppuku.

“Impeaching Trump holds all the thrill and assured self destruction as a group of drunk driving teenagers barreling down the highway in the wrong direction,” said Rising Serpent.

Mueller’s statement put him back in the good graces of the Left, which may make it easier for them to accept his finding there was no collusion. Otherwise, this was Much Ado About Nothing.

As Mueller strolls off into the sunset, Ryan Fournier summarized the state of play from the beginning of his probe until the end:

“Original claim: Trump is a Russian agent. Current claim: Mueller couldn’t prove that Trump isn’t guilty of obstructing an investigation into a crime that he didn’t commit.”

Before you conclude Mueller is the deep state dirtball he certainly seems to be, remember that everything Mueller actually has done – including Wednesday’s fiasco – has benefited Trump.

* * * *

The coup plotters and their accessories after the fact have shot their bolt. Now comes retribution.

If you were disappointed there was no document dump after President Trump made his declassification order, don’t be. The president has prioritized prosecutions.

No coup plotter who watched the CBS interview with Attorney General Bill Barr this morning (5/31) has unstained trousers. Here’s a transcript. Jeff Carlson hits the highlights.

* * * *

Israel will go to the polls again Sept. 17 because a small conservative party trashed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts to form a governing coalition.

Under Israel’s idiot proportional representation rules, any party that gets 3.25 percent of the vote gets representation in the Knesset. This means, effectively, that no party can ever win a majority.

Avigdor Liberman, who heads the tiny Israel Beiteinu Party, refused to join the coalition unless religious parties agreed to allow religious students to be eligible for the draft.

This delays, and seriously complicates, President Trump’s efforts to win support for his Middle East peace plan.

* * * *

Iran is withdrawing Hezbollah militia from Syria, thanks to pressure from U.S. sanctions, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said Wednesday (5/29).

Russia has rejected Iran’s request to buy S-400 anti-aircraft missiles, Bloomberg News reported yesterday (5/30).

* * * *

As President Trump’s tariffs and sanctions crush China’s economy, China’s government, in unusually bellicose rhetoric, threatens to withhold rare earth minerals – vital to the production of many high technology products – from the U.S.

China dominates the rare earth minerals market chiefly by price. They can be obtained elsewhere – including here in the U.S. – but will cost more.

The Pentagon submitted to Congress Wednesday (5/29) a plan for reducing dependence on China.

* * * *

About one percent of the population of Guatemala has, or is trying to immigrate to the United States illegally. Guatemala signed Tuesday (5/28) an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security to “confront irregular immigration and combat human smuggling.”

One of the “areas of cooperation” in the agreement evidently is to stop caravans from further south in Central America from passing through Guatemala to Mexico.

The president of Honduras is the target of a DEA investigation.

* * * *

Nevada’s Democrat governor vetoed yesterday (5/30) the bill the legislature passed to give the Silver State’s electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote.

The Maine legislature has rejected it too.

* * * *

What could the Lying Swine report about President Trump’s state visit to Japan other than how successful it was?

This phony story by Wall Street Journal reporter Rebecca Ballhaus.

The White House ordered the Navy to cover up the name of the destroyer John S. McCain prior to the president’s Memorial Day visit to the Pacific Fleet in Yokosuka Harbor, Ballhaus alleged.

Her story was based on an email from an anonymous source she either fabricated herself, or was willingly duped by. Ballhaus has smeared President Trump before.

The Navy debunked her story.

The tarp that briefly covered the destroyer’s name while the ship was being painted was removed two days before the president’s visit.

Within four hours the Enemedia went into Emily Litella mode, but not before many prominent Lying Swine, and Meghan McCain, embarrassed themselves. Brian Cates excoriates them deliciously here.

Incidentally, Meghan, the destroyer is named after Maverick’s father, not him.

* * * *

Joe Biden’s campaign team has told him the best way to win the Democrat nomination is to campaign as little as possible, says Emily Zanotti.

Given Slow Joe’s gaffetastic history, that’s good advice. But I’d have loved to be a fly on the wall when his advisers told him that.

Another reason for “Hidin’ Biden” is because he can’t keep his hands off little girls.

Even this Washington Post reporter found Biden’s behavior… odd.

* * * *

Biden has a past which will catch up with him. On Memorial Day, President Trump slammed him with these tweets:

Here’s a clip of Biden from 1993 warning of “predators on our streets” who are “beyond the pale,” and must be removed from the rest of society.

Former Obama aide and CNN commentator Van Jones praised President Trump for criminal justice reform. Biden, not so much.

If blacks learn about all the nasty things Biden has said about them, there’ll be a Blexit if he’s the nominee.

* * * *

Due to plummeting ratings, CNN laid off virtually all of its health reporting team in Atlanta, and the London bureau. As per usual, CNN lied to staffers about the impending layoffs.

* * * *

Stacey Abrams, who still hasn’t conceded she lost the Georgia gubernatorial race last year, is in BEEG trouble.

Andrew Gillum, who lost the gubernatorial race in Florida last year, is in trouble too. Evidently taking bribes from an undercover FBI agent is a crime. The investigation of Gillum could drag down other Swamp creatures, noted Dawson S. Field.

* * * *

Roy Moore is planning to run for the Senate again in Alabama. Trumps father and son think that’s a very bad idea. So do I.

Jeff Sessions, please perform one more great service to your country.

* * * *

A privately funded group headed by Brian Kolfage, a vet and a triple amputee, has built a half mile of border wall at a major crossing point near El Paso.

They built the wall on a piece of ground so steep the Army Corps of Engineers said it was “impossible” to build a fence there.

Once this was publicized, the Democrat mayor of Sunland Park, NM, Javier Perea, issued a cease and desist order, alleging no building permits had been issued.

He’s lying, Kolfage claims.

Sunland Park has a history of corruption. I wonder how much the cartels pay Javier Perea.

Apparently the creep backed down after being inundated with angry phone calls.

Brian Kolfage is the HFR hero of the week.

* * * *

Thanks for putting up with me for the last three weeks. Jack Wheeler will be back  next week.

 

Jack Kelly is a former Marine and Green Beret, and was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force during the Reagan Administration.  Until his retirement in January 2017, he was the national security writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.