James L. Paris's Blog, page 93

AG Jeff Sessions Flatly Says, ������the Border is Not Open. Please Do Not Come���

Did you happen to catch Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Fox News��� Hannity Tuesday night?

If so, you saw him strongly suggest that those seeking to enter the United States illegally are probably better off not trying. Saying that ���the border is not open��� and that those who come anyway will be ���apprehended��� and ���deported promptly,��� Sessions seemed to take the opportunity of his appearance to make it clear there���s a new sheriff in town:

���[C]an you believe that we have had the lowest number of entrances at the border in 17 years? This is the direct result of Donald Trump���s strong, clear leadership. It has an impact. The most important thing for us is to send a message to the world that the border is not open. Please don���t come. You will be apprehended if you do come, and you will be deported promptly. And if you���re a criminal, you���ll be prosecuted. And if you assault our officers, we���re going to come at you with a ton of bricks. This is the kind of message we need to send. It is already being sent. It is having a dramatic effect so far. I knew strong presidential leadership unlike the wishy-washiness we���ve seen in the past would impact the flow, but not as much as we���ve seen already. The numbers are down 70 percent since President Obama left office. It is really a remarkable achievement.���

Sessions was asked about reports that Republican lawmakers were planning to drop a provision to fund a border wall from the forthcoming spending bill.

���I believe he will get funding for the wall. I can���t imagine Congress to deny him that,��� responded Sessions. ���It doesn���t have to be every foot of the entire 1,700-mile border ... But a wall, a barrier, multiplies the ability of our border patrol and customs officers to be effective ... So, this is the way to go.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

 

Atheist Group Says College Football Coach Violating Constitution by Tweeting About Christianity

As reported by The Christian Post, the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, a non-profit that specifically advocates for the interests of atheists, agnostics, and ���non-theists,��� has a problem with Hugh Freeze, the head football coach at the University of Mississippi.

It seems they don���t like all that tweeting about God he���s been doing.

More specifically, the group objects to Freeze���s tweets promoting Christianity, messages he sends out through his personal Twitter account.

Now, given that he is using his personal Twitter account to send the messages, there should be no problem, right?

Not according to Sam Grover, attorney for the FFRF. It is Grover���s position that because Freeze explicitly uses his personal Twitter account to conduct official business on behalf of the Rebel���s football program, and the University of Mississippi is a public institution, that Freeze���s Christianity-oriented tweets violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution.

Grover has fired off a letter to Mississippi chancellor Jeffrey Vitter asking that he take steps to prevent Freeze and any other members of the coaching staff from using their social media outlets to promote Christianity.

Just this past Sunday, Freeze sent out a message over his Twitter account that invited people to come worship with him at an Oxford, Mississippi church:

���Hope you have the chance to worship today with others. Looking for a place near Oxford?Join us @PinelakeOXF 9:15 or 11:00.���

On Saturday, Freeze took the opportunity to retweet a message sent out by one of his assistant coaches, Maurice Harris, that read, ���Perfect people are not real, and real people are not perfect,��� and that further cited 1 John 1:8 and Romans 3:21 as the Scriptural bases for the sentiment.

A law firm in Texas, the First Liberty Institute, seems to be taking up Freeze���s cause (whether they are doing so formally is not known, presently). First Liberty senior counsel Jeremy Dys issued the following statement to The Christian Post:

���Football coaches do not lose their First Amendment rights simply because they work for a public university. The First Amendment protects the right of Americans like Coach Freeze to engage in religious expression on their personal Twitter accounts. And our universities ought be places where tolerance, inclusivity, and diversity are promoted. The FFRF has resorted to intolerant bullying in an attempt to silence and censor Coach Freeze. At First Liberty Institute, we defend religious freedom for all Americans.���

The university has yet to issue any official response to the FFRF letter.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

Gallup Poll Reveals that Job Creation Index Continues to Climb

It appears that, finally, job creation in the U.S. is actually occurring.

At least, that���s the impression Americans seem to have.

The folks over at the well-known research company Gallup conduct a survey on behalf of a proprietary measure of theirs known as the Job Creation Index. The basis of the ���measurement,��� such as it is, is the perceptions that U.S. adults have regarding whether their employers are in a hiring mode, or if they���re instead in a phase where they���re laying off. The computation simply involves subtracting the percentage of those folks who say their employers are in a firing sort of mood���from the percentage who say their employers are more interested in hiring.

Gallup reports that after a year in which the index was basically flat throughout, 2017 has been a much different story, with the measure at +35 in February and now, we learn, at +37 in March. To break down the February number, 44 percent of employees said in that month that their company was hiring, while just 9 percent said their company was laying off - hence the +35 figure for that month. In March, the percentage who said their company was hiring rose to 46 percent, while those saying it was firing remained at 9 percent.

���The continued record highs in the Gallup Job Creation Index coincide with several positive economic signals,��� said Gallup. ���The Bureau of Labor Statistics' job creation estimates for January and February both exceeded expectations. Additionally, while currently down from record highs, the stock market has performed well over the past several months, and the Nasdaq composite ended the first quarter of 2017 with its best performance since 2013.���

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

 

Amazon Announces It Will Be Hiring 5,000 At-Home Customer Service Reps

The new job marketplace continues to grow.

As reported by a variety of media outlets, including Colorado���s 9News, online retail giant Amazon announced last week that it will be adding a total of 30,000 part-time job positions inside the United States over the course of the next year, with 5,000 of those coming in the form of virtual customer service positions, where employees will be able to work from home in the capacity of customer service representatives.

Home-based phone and email-based customer service work appears to be growing in popularity with an increasing number of companies. These types of customer service jobs don���t really demand the presence of a work-based group dynamic, as a representative���s typically day is generally spent engaging one-on-one with the person at the other end of the phone. Additionally, as all that is really needed to do the job, in terms of equipment, is a phone and personal computer - devices already owned by roughly 90 percent of Americans - there is no investment required by the company in any kind of office equipment.

In a statement, Tom Weiland, vice president for worldwide customer service at Amazon, said, ���There are lots of people who want or need a flexible job ��� whether they���re a military spouse, a college student, or a parent ��� and we���re happy to empower these talented people no matter where they happen to live.���

Something else ��� unlike a lot of virtual customer service jobs, the ones being added by Amazon are employee, rather than contractor, positions. Accordingly, those who work in them, as long as they put in at least 20 hours per week, are eligible for benefits at Amazon.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

Marco Rubio: ���Mexico is Not Going to Pay for the Wall���

Well, are they, or aren���t they?

Paying for the wall, that is.

Mexico, that is.

As you surely remember, when Donald Trump was on the campaign trail last year, perhaps the most resonant promise he made (along with the commitment to repeal and replace Obamacare) was that, if elected, he would build a wall on America���s southern border, and, even more impressive, that he would find a way for Mexico itself to pay for the structure.

To those in this country acutely concerned about illegal immigration, it sounded awfully good. And while few doubt that some kind of wall is going to be built, there is some growing skepticism on the part of many about whether Mexico is actually going to foot the bill.

In an appearance reported by the Washington Examiner, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., was a guest Sunday on ABC News��� This Week with George Stephanopolous, during which he flatly said the following:

���Let me just say, Mexico is not going to pay for the wall. And by the way, America should, if we believe that���s in our national interests to do so.���

Adding to the speculation that finding a way to force Mexico to pay for any border wall is not the priority it once was���is news that during Secretary of State Rex Tillerson���s meeting last week with Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray Caso, the subject of Mexico���s possible payment for any border wall did not come up.

According to Rubio, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, negotiations between Mexico and the U.S. are presently oriented on a renegotiation of NAFTA, as well as providing assistance to Mexico in its effort to buttress its own southern border (with Central America).

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

Was Serial Killer Ted Bundy Demon Possessed?

Rare Revelations Of A Murderous Rampage. Within the pages of THE BUNDY SECRETS:Hidden Files Of America's Worst Serial Killer is a unique, never-before-published look at the investigations undertaken to stop the depredations of America���s most infamous serial killer, Ted Bundy. Presented here in an easy-to-follow chronology are the raw, unedited and most fascinating official case files as they appeared to the detectives from the Pacific Northwest to the Rocky Mountains to Florida.

 

Digital Currency Hot - Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, And Monero

On this episode Jim discusses the top handful of digital currencies that are all very popular right now. In addition to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Monero, are all doing well with their own following. Amazon to hire 5,000 work from home employees, Indian Police catch alleged Fake IRS ringleader, and identity theft warning from the IRS.

 

Threats Against Education Secretary DeVos Prompt $1 Million Per Month Security Protection

It is surely a testimony to the lunacy of many on the left in America today that the amount spent by the government to protect the Secretary of Education has to be what it is.

According to an agreement recently arrived at by the Education Department and the U.S. Marshals Service, the former will be reimbursing the latter - to the tune of about $1 million per month - for the purpose of helping to cover the costs of Betsy DeVos���s security detail. It seems that the number of threats faced by the secretary is regularly so great that her protection has had to be significantly upgraded.

That���s right; threats to the Secretary of Education.

As is standard with cabinet officials, each is normally protected by security teams that exist within each of the departments, respectively. The change to having protection of a cabinet member provided by the Marshals Service, while not unprecedented, is very much out of the ordinary.

The Washington Times, citing a Washington Post story on the matter, points out that an unidentified government official has told the Post that DeVos has been the recipient of an ���unusually high number of threats for an education secretary.��� According to a different source, the Marshals Service is in the process of hiring dozens more people for the express purpose of providing security to Secretary DeVos.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

'Mark Of The Beast' Style Microchips Coming To The Workplace

You knew this day was coming.

Well, ���this day��� isn���t here quite yet, but it���s just a matter of time���and, probably, very little time.

What are we talking about? People implanted with microchips, and it being no big deal.

According to an article over at CNBC.com , a company called Biohax is knee-deep in the effort to make available the ability (���privilege���? ���requirement���? You pick the word) for humans to be injected with a tiny microchip that would make them even more efficient when it comes to completing simple, everyday tasks.

Jowan Osterlund, Biohax founder, says the microchips could be programmed in such a way that they could effectively communicate with an array of devices, including coffee makers and electronic door locks. The point of having such capability would be to allow any of a variety of devices to be activated and otherwise controlled by a simple wave of one���s hand.

���I���m turning the internet of things into the internet of us, says Osterlund.

Except, considering the wide-ranging issues associated with the so-called ���internet of things,��� turning that into the ���internet of us��� may not be such a hot idea.

As the CNBC article points out, privacy concerns would abound should humans find themselves implanted with microchips, and particularly if it is something that begins to happen in great numbers. Hacking of the microchips would have the potential of revealing all kinds of information ��� the mind reels just considering it.

No doubt, however, large numbers of people will be convinced that the ���benefits��� far outsize whatever risks there are, and will go along with it.

Will you be one of them?

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

���Extreme Vetting��� Measures Could Include Ideological Test

Candidate Donald Trump promised so-called ���extreme vetting��� of those seeking to enter the United States if he managed to win election to the White House. Well, he did win, of course, and now, details of President Donald Trump���s proposed efforts to keep dangerous people out of the country are beginning to see the light of day. Among them, reportedly, is a method by which the ideologies of those seeking to enter the country would be evaluated.

According to The Wall Street Journal, by way of Newsmax, this ���extreme vetting��� could include such measures as requiring prospective entrants to the country to turn over cellphones for examination; requiring that they hand over a list of social sites visited, as well as the passwords needed to access those sites; and even requiring that they answer questions that pertain to the matter of one���s ideology.

So���an ideology test? Well, yes. A test of those seeking entry to America might include questions about their views on ���honor killings,��� the purpose of which would be to block from entry those who approve of - and thus might actually engage in - the practice while in the U.S.

As for the matter of scrutinizing a candidate for entry on the basis of the websites they visit, John Kelly, Homeland Security Secretary, testified at a congressional hearing in February as to how that might go.

���We want to say for instance, ���What sites do you visit? And give us your passwords,��� so that we can see what they do on the internet,��� said Kelly. ���If they don't want to give us that information then they don't come.���

Addressing the possibility of these new proposed measures becoming a reality, Kelly���s senior counselor, Gene Hamilton, said, ���If there is any doubt about a person's intentions coming to the United States, they should have to overcome ��� really and truly prove to our satisfaction���that they are coming for legitimate reasons.���

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large