James L. Paris's Blog, page 114
January 5, 2017
Trump Transition Team Asks DHS for All Records & Executive Orders Pertaining to Border Security
It appears that Donald Trump is ���all in��� on the matter of his immigration agenda.
A number of news outlets, including The Hill, are relaying a report from Reuters that says the Trump transition team has made a request of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for any records and executive orders that pertain to immigration and border security, including those that address the subject of border barriers. Reportedly, the request was made on Dec. 5, during a meeting between members of the transition team and officials of DHS.
The transition team also asked for any and all executive orders and other directives sent directly to immigration officials from the Obama administration. A request was made, as well, for whatever information DHS could provide on the subject of its ability to handle an expanded use of detention centers for immigrants, along with what it might need in order to restart the aerial surveillance regime that was brought to earth by the present administration.
Some have noted with interest that Trump himself had not seem as openly devoted to his aggressive immigration posture since the Nov. 8 election, prompting some to wonder about the sincerity of his declarations made on the subject during the campaign. However, the apparent nature and contents of the requests made of DHS clearly suggest that President-elect is indeed serious about moving forward with all elements of his stated immigration objectives, including the construction of a wall on the southern border.
By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large
Former AG Eric Holder to Become California���s Hired Gun Against Trump Agenda
Several days ago, the blog here at Christian Money.com discussed the declarations made by many California politicians that they would fight the Trump agenda at every turn whenever it clashed with the state���s own hyper-liberal objectives. The vocalization of such an effort by leading political figures has helped to reinforce the idea - both within and without California - that it is fast becoming a sort of foreign country within the United States of America.
Well, it seems as though California is doubling down on its position.
According to NBC News, the California has decided to retain none other than former Attorney General Eric Holder as adviser and counsel to assist the state in fighting the Trump administration whenever disagreements rise to the level of formal legal discord.
���With the upcoming change in administrations, we expect that there will be extraordinary challenges for California in the uncertain times ahead," said California Senate leader Kevin de Le��n and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon in a joint statement about the decision to hire Holder.
���We���re bracing ourselves, more than anything. It seems as though the president-elect wants to undo a lot of what we consider to be very important,��� said Rendon.
As for the matter of Holder���s compensation, de Leon told The New York Times that was still being hashed out, but that it would be a matter of public record once a figure is determined.
While California went for Hillary Clinton in the November general election by a margin of 2-1, some in the state are mystified as to why key Democratic legislators find it appropriate to essentially arm themselves with legal counsel for the purpose of fighting the nation���s president, and doing so on the taxpayers��� dime.
���I���m very, very confused as to why the taxpayers are being asked to pay for this particular expense,��� said Jean Fuller, State Senate minority leader.
So are a lot of other people, senator.
By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large
January 4, 2017
Trump Courts Controversy by Selecting Televangelist Paula White to Pray at Inauguration
President-elect Donald Trump, certainly no stranger to controversy, has raised another set of eyebrows with his choice of televangelist Paula White to join him as a participant at the inauguration. According to a variety of news outlets, including New York Daily News, White is slated to stand with an array of other faith leaders, including New York Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan and The Rev. Dr. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, as Trump is sworn in as the 45th President of the United States.
The objections to White are chiefly coming from within the Christian community, voiced by many who appear to have a problem with the Florida-based pastor on two bases: her own historical record of questionable moral and financial behavior, as well the fact that her message is largely a representation of so-called prosperity theology, which claims that the Bible promises prosperity to believers, and that they shall receive the manifestations of that prosperity, such as wealth and valuable material possessions, in exchange for their faith in Him.
In an editorial for The Washington Post in which he is critical of Trump���s inclusion of White in his inauguration ceremony, Michael Horton, a theology professor at Westminster Seminary California, discusses what he terms her ���heretical��� belief doctrine, writing:
���Like her mentor, T. D. Jakes, White adheres closely to the Word of Faith teachings. Besides throwing out doctrines like the Trinity and confusing ourselves with God, the movement teaches that Jesus went to the cross not to bring forgiveness of our sins but to get us out of financial debt, not to reconcile us to God but to give us the power to claim our prosperity, not to remove the curse of death, injustice and bondage to ourselves but to give us our best life now. White says emphatically that Jesus is ���not the only begotten Son of God,��� just the first. We���re all divine and have the power to speak worlds into existence.���
Besides the objections voiced about her prosperity message, those unhappy with White note the accusations of personal moral failings that have dogged her for years. Additionally, she was one of the subjects of a Senate Finance Committee investigation initiated several years ago into the tax-exempt status of several high-profile televangelists and their churches. That inquiry concluded in 2011 without the assessment of any penalties, but questions have persisted about White and her organization, particularly in light of the fact that she failed to provide all of the information requested by ranking committee member Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).
All of this said, according to the Daily News, Trump has referred to White as his ���most trusted spiritual confidant outside of his family.���
By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large
Allegedly Drunk, Boeing 737 Pilot Passes Out in Cockpit
Well, THIS isn���t good.
According to a variety of news outlets, including CNN, the pilot of a Sunwing Airlines Boeing 737 who passed out in the cockpit just prior to takeoff in Canada was arrested by Calgary police on a charge of having control of an aircraft while impaired. The incident occurred this past Saturday.
Capt. Miroslav Gronych, 37, a Slovak national employed in Canada on a work visa, was ���behaving oddly before he became unconscious in the cockpit,��� according to police. Tests later revealed that Gronych had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit of .08.
The CNN report details that the gate crew noticed strange behavior on the part of the pilot, and notified the co-pilot, who later found Gronych passed out in the pilot���s seat.
���It had all the potential for a disaster, but I'll tell you this much -- the likelihood of a pilot on a major airline like this actually being able to take off when they're impaired like that is pretty slim, because there's a lot of checks and balances," said Calgary police spokesman Staff Sgt. Paul Stacey.
���There's the other flight crew and there's gate crew and they're all about safety.���
The scheduled flight from Calgary to Cancun, Mexico, with stops along the way in Regina and Winnipeg, was carrying 99 passengers and six crew members. After a brief delay, the plane took off with a different pilot.
By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large
January 3, 2017
Rosie O���Donnell Goes After Trump Again, Calls the President-Elect ���Mentally Unstable���
This is, clearly, a new era in not only political dialogue, but in social dialogue, period. We appear to have lost our collective minds.
It was not very long ago at all that to publicly wish death on a President-elect of the United States, as actor Charlie Sheen did recently, would have been an act considered entirely out-of-bounds by practically every citizen of every political stripe.
Now, a guy like Sheen does it on Twitter, and the message receives tens of thousands of ���likes��� and re-tweets in practically no time. Even those Americans who find the message reprehensible are, sadly, unsurprised to see it, so far down has the bar of decency been allowed to plummet.
Well, the hits just keep on coming if you���re the incoming president, Donald Trump.
As was widely reported by a variety of news outlets, including US Weekly, on Sunday, January 1���and prompted by nothing in particular, apparently���historical Trump nemesis Rosie O���Donnell took to Twitter to proclaim him both ���mentally unstable��� and a ���criminal.���
Here is the first tweet:
���Trump is a criminal.���
And the second:
���Donald Trump is mentally unstable��� less than 3 weeks to stop him America.���
Do you recall any time in American politics previously when new presidents were the targets of such regularly-spewed vitriol from celebrities?
Just recently, O���Donnell found herself in what was surely the awkward position of feeling obligated to apologize to Melania Trump after suggesting in a post that Barron Trump, the 10-year-old son of Melania and Donald, was possibly afflicted with autism. While O���Donnell later tried to put a more innocent spin on the post, saying she was simply trying to awareness about autism, many saw that effort as disingenuous, given acrimony that has characterized the historical back and forth between O���Donnell and Trump.
Now, Trump himself is ���mentally unstable,��� and a ���criminal,��� according to Rosie.
And to think���he hasn���t even taken office yet.
What a stunning four years in political discourse this is shaping up to be.
By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large
Britain���s Minister of State for Security Warns of ISIS ���Mass Casualty��� Chemical Attack
Ben Wallace, the Minister of State for Security for Britain, says that ISIS squarely has his countrymen in their sights as the targets of a chemical attack, and revealed, as well, that security leaders there recently engaged in exercises for the purpose of being better prepared to deal with a threat that, in the opinion of Wallace, is fast becoming a likelihood.
As frightening as the prospect is, Wallace���s words can hardly be discounted as hyperbole. In November, results of an independent analysis conducted by IHS Conflict Monitor, an intelligence-gathering service, showed that ISIS had deployed chemical weapons at least 52 times in both Syria and Iraq since 2014.
Wallace expressed his concerns to The Sunday Times, and his comments were widely reported by a variety of outlets, including the Daily Mail.
Minister Wallace told The Sunday Times flatly that ���they have no moral objection to using chemical weapons against populations and, if they could, they would in this country.���
Wallace is not the first credible person to suggest that ISIS chemical attacks on the European Continent may be imminent. Back in April 2016, Abdelhak Khiame, head of counterterrorism for Morocco, said that his unit had thwarted 25 ISIS attacks within his country during the prior 12 months, and that one of those was a planned mustard gas attack. He also said the following:
���It's very possible that Daesh (ISIS) would use this process to target Britain and other EU countries.
���It already has brigades of children and we know they train them in their camps looking to use them in terrorist attacks in Europe. As for chemical weapons, we have seen here how easy they are to prepare.
���The substances used in the plot we dismantled in February in Morocco are available in shops all over Britain, all over Europe.���
By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large
January 2, 2017
CNN Commentator Van Jones: ���The Clinton Days Are Over���
Appearing Sunday on his own network���s State of the Union program, CNN���s leftist talking head Van Jones made it clear that, in his opinion, the Clintons were done wielding any significant power from within the Democratic Party.
Speaking with host Jake Tapper, Jones said, ���You have to understand, I think that the Clinton days are over. This idea that we're going to be this moderate party that's going to move in this direction, that's going to throw blacks under the bus for criminal justice reform, and for prison expansion, that's going to throw workers under the bus for NAFTA, those days are over.���
At the same time, Jones sang the praises of what he sees as the new generation of party leaders. One person of whom Jones is especially fond is Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress and regarded as a leading candidate to replace Debbie Wasserman Schultz as permanent chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
���I think that Keith Ellison is very important because he is somebody who represents the progressive wing of the party," said Jones. ���One thing that happened, when Hillary Clinton had a chance to make a VP pick, she didn't pick someone from the progressive wing, which made it much harder to heal those wounds with the (Bernie) Sanders and Elizabeth Warren wing. Keith Ellison represents that wing very, very well.���
Of particular interest is that Jones seems to be of the mind that the Democratic Party failed in 2016 because it was not progressive enough. This apparent conclusion tends to fly in the face of what many saw throughout 2016���namely, an energized base of voters, reflecting more traditional values, telling a Democratic candidate they saw as being plenty progressive that they were simply not going to entrust to her the country, including future Supreme Court appointments in the near term.
Evidently, Van Jones does not interpret the previous year in quite the same way.
By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large
British Prime Minister Pushes Back Against Kerry���s Rebuke of Israel
Is Britain taking sides against John Kerry and the Obama administration in the wake of the U.S. Secretary of State���s criticism of Israeli settlement-building in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem?
It sure seems that way.
Although Kerry went on the record to condemn Palestinian violence during his 70-minute speech delivered in the State Department���s auditorium last Wednesday, the nation���s top diplomat also surprised many observers with his denunciation of Israel���s continued effort at building homes for Jewish settlers in Palestinian territories.
Exacerbating tensions is the fact that Kerry���s comments come in the wake of President Obama���s decision against vetoing a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding that Israel cease building the settlements.
Although Britain actually voted for the resolution, in reporting by a variety of news outlets, including Reuters, Prime Minister Theresa May said that the Israel���s settlement policy was by no means the only issue preventing peace in the region, and clearly indicated that she was wholly uncomfortable with Kerry���s criticisms.
According to May���s spokesman, Israel has had to contend ��� for far too long ��� with perpetual threats of terrorism, and that the largely-singular focus on the matter of the settlements was misguided.
May, through her spokesman, also seemed to disagree sharply with Kerry���s declaration that the Netanyahu coalition is ���the most right-wing in Israeli history, with an agenda driven by its most extreme elements.���
���We do not believe that it is appropriate to attack the composition of the democratically-elected government of an ally,��� said May���s spokesman in response to Kerry���s characterization.
By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large
January 1, 2017
Long-Time Exorcist Details How to Distinguish Possession from Mental Illness
Is it a case of possession���or ���merely��� mental illness?
It is imperative that those who make it their business to chase demons from bodies know the difference, and one veteran exorcist, a man who has been at the practice for well over six decades, says there are two ways to tell.
In reporting by Christian Today, Father Cipriano de Meo, who has been an exorcist since 1952, says that one sign of genuine possession is if the person exhibiting the concerning behavior is able to tell that a prayer is being said for him by an exorcist. The other, related sign is if the subject reacts to any such prayers being said for him in specifically blasphemous ways.
According to de Meo, an exorcist at work will usually verbalize a ���prolonged prayer to the point where if the adversary [demon] is present, there's a reaction.���
As for the typical reaction by the subject if he is, in fact, possessed?
���There's no lack of frightening facial expressions, threatening words or gestures and other things, but especially blasphemies against God and Our Lady,��� says de Meo.
So, is there anything one can do to remain immune from possession?
While there are no guarantees, Father de Meo says that the best course of action to take in order to remain free from demonic possession is to indulge in a simple life characterized by prayer. ���It's absolutely fundamental to get rid of sin and live in the grace of God,��� he said.
Additionally, those seeking to remain so insulated must refrain from engaging in such activities as those typically representative of the occult.
Father de Meo references paragraph 2116 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for further detailing of those activities to be avoided: ���Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.���
By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large
Report: Vermont Utility Penetrated by Russian Hacking Operation
Have you heard the saying, ���Just because you���re paranoid doesn���t mean you���re not being watched?���
Well, just because the Russians may not have ���hacked��� the U.S. election as is popularly claimed...does not mean they���re not out there trying to carry out a variety of nefarious deeds against the interests of America.
The country must work more diligently than ever to protect itself from hacking attacks of all kinds, and from a wide variety of sources ��� non-state political actors, rogue states, criminal gangs, and even rival nations.
As for the threats posed by superpower rivals like China and Russia, they remain one of the top priorities of the American agencies devoted to keeping the nation secure. On that note, a variety of news outlets, including The Washington Post, are reporting that malicious software, or ���malware,��� found on a computer belonging to Burlington Electric, one of Vermont���s utility service providers, has been traced to Russia.
According to Christopher Recchia, commissioner of Vermont���s Public Service Department, the malware was discovered on a laptop that was not connected in any way to the electrical power grid.
���The grid is not in danger. The utility flagged it, saw it, notified appropriate parties and isolated that one laptop with that malware on it,��� said Recchia.
Still, the existence of the code at all anywhere inside of a U.S. utility is highly disconcerting. Although the grid may not have been at risk in this instance, no such hacking effort would have been made in the first place unless the ultimate goal was to find a way to access the power grid.
Part of what makes the nation���s electrical grid so vulnerable is that much of it operates on more dated computer networks that can present a distinct challenge to safeguard.
While American officials have said they do not know the Russians��� intentions in the installation of this code, they admit that whatever they were, they clearly were not good ��� it was either to wreak havoc on Burlington Electric���s operations, specifically, or to see just close they can come to launching a direct attack on the power grid.
By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large
