Immigration Is A Privilege, Not A Right

posted by Derek Hunter at Townhall 

Our immigration system is broken; you hear it being said all the time by politicians and media types, but what they never say is how or why. Their only response to anything related to immigration is “We need comprehensive reform,” which always includes “a pathway to citizenship,” which is code for voting. We see it. But the truth of the matter is that the system isn’t broken; the people running it are. 

If you had a brand new car, opened the hood, and started pulling wires or loosening bolts, it would not work very well, would it? If you have an entire immigration system in place, then, over years, start ignoring parts of it while randomly changing other parts. How well do you think it will function?

That’s what these people have done to the immigration system. They whine is “broken.” You broke it, you jerks. It doesn’t need “fixing” by creating something new or wiping the slate clean, it needs to be allowed to function. They don’t let it. They won’t let it.

Putting that aside, there is one question that needs to be asked of anyone looking to enter our country, either to visit or wanting to live here with the possibility of becoming a citizen: What do we get out of it?

That’s all that matters. If you bring nothing to the table, you don’t get in. Period. 

That brings us to the case of Mahmoud Khalil. 

We let him into the country to attend school, and he married an American. That’s still not a free pass to be here; he only has a green card. 

What does he bring to the table, exactly? 

He apparently graduated 6 months ago but had time to lead pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, and anti-American protests at the school he used to attend. Columbia is very, very expensive; how can he afford not to work? They keep repeating how he’s “got a pregnant wife at home,” shouldn’t he be working? How about simply being at home, since his wife is 8 months pregnant and he’s just a simple family man, right?

The guy has more lawyers than some towns, each more expensive than the last, but he’s just an innocent guy who never did anything to nobody or something.

There are a lot of unanswered questions about what makes this guy so special: to somehow have mobilized the left in a way they haven’t been able to muster in years. Where does his money come from? Maybe he’s rich, maybe he married rich. Perhaps he has patrons? Perhaps it’s the left-wing industrial complex that launders USAID money to anti-American activities around the globe?

All I know is my question of “What do we get out of it?” doesn’t seem to have an involved answer. 

It’s not like we need another anti-Semite; we have the Democratic Party, after all. We don’t need more anti-Americans; like I said, we already have Democrats. Do we need more people with graduate degrees in “public administration”? Don’t we produce enough of those from people born here with a lifelong understanding of our government and how it works? Do we need someone from Syria to do it?

We don’t, we’re all full.

We have all the native-born BLM/ANTIFA members; we don’t need more ungrateful, privileged 30-year-olds with nothing better to do than incite people. We’re lousy and overloaded with them.

The message should be sent that people can’t come to this country and disrupt it; inspiring violence or hatred is not going to get you welcome here; it will get you invited to leave. No other country would accept it; why should we?

Foreigners are afforded rights when they enter this country, but they are not citizens. People on vacation, in school, or married on green cards are here at our pleasure, not theirs. Break the law, and you’re out. Be particularly annoying, and you’re out. Or should be.

When I was 15, I took driver’s ed. Throughout the 6 weeks, or whatever it was, the instructors drilled into our heads that “driving is a privilege, not a right,” and the state could strip us of it at any point, should we screw up and get too many tickets or whatever. Why should guests in our country not be treated the same way when it comes to being in the country? It’s a privilege, not a right, no matter the conditions you are here or for how long.

X22, On the Fringe, and more-March 18

 

Democrats Unmask Themselves

posted by Fletch Daniels at American Thinker 

The Democrats stand primarily for their own personal power, prestige, and wealth.  To maintain these, they’ve patched together a rogue’s gallery of supporters, forcing party leaders to navigate an array of contradictions.  These incongruities between rhetoric and action blast torpedoes straight into their brand's tattered remains.  Four obvious contradictions were on full display this week.

Democrats claim to care about government workers, which is unsurprising since the bureaucracy is a core Democrat constituency.  Many government agencies are manned almost exclusively by Democrats.

Because of this, the Democrat-media complex portrays these workers as selfless public servants while accusing the heartless Republicans of destroying lives.  These raw emotional appeals are never balanced with any discussion on the existential debt bomb that is driving the government cuts, these workers’ bureaucratic resistance to a duly elected president, or the true villains who created a situation where cuts are an absolute necessity.  The auto-penners who sat perched atop America for the last four years like vultures feasting on a carcass hold a healthy share of that blame.

Yet, at the time of writing, we stand on the brink of the Democrats shutting down the government and sending home every one of these government workers they claim to cherish.  They will do it with a filibuster, setting another precedent that will bite them if the pendulum swings back.

This seemed inevitable ever since the president’s address to Congress, when Democrats were beaten like mad mules thanks to their foolish unwillingness to stand for Americans.  They are desperate for anything they can claim as a win to their crazy base, no matter how pyrrhic.

“Send the bums home” is a bold strategy when the Corruptocrats are trying to convince the public that all government workers are essential.  Chuck Schumer is playing a pair of twos and expecting the Republicans to fold.  It’s not going to happen, and Republicans have no reason to negotiate when they are being threatened with a plastic water gun, especially when the Democrats are stepping so furiously on their own messaging rake.

The second core message Democrats assaulted this week was their lunatic argument that climate change is an existential threat.  Tesla is the American company that has done more than any other in cutting greenhouse gases.  It’s not even close, since the companies the Democrats laundered gold bars into in service to their climate religion imploded.  In fact, Tesla is the only company that has created a profitable business model centered on electric vehicles.  It’s everything Democrats claim to dream about.

So what did Democrats do?  They reached into their usual Marxist bag of tricks and settled on political intimidation and violence as their preferred tools of choice, declaring war on Tesla.  They attacked dealerships, defaced cars, and firebombed charging stations.

Clearly, even Democrats don’t believe their virtue-signaling nonsense that elevated climate change as the issue of the day.  It brings back memories of Barack Obama being so concerned about oceans rising that he built a $12M mansion next to one.   

With more Republicans now likely to buy Teslas, they will be doing more than Democrats to reduce greenhouse gases, which is par for the course.

In other news, the Democrats claim to stand for Israel and against antisemitism.  How did they show that support this week?  By rushing to turn a terrorist-supporting thug into a hero.  If you listened to the Democrats all lining up to support Mahmoud Khalil, you’d think he was the combination of George Washington and Gandhi.  Hey, he’s going to have a baby!

The reality is that he’s an evil man.  He celebrates the October 7 atrocities, and his group has called for the eradication of Western civilization.  His group also encourages violent extremists to fight the U.S.  If Americans actually had the full picture of Khalil, this would be a 90-10 issue, with his only support coming from the terrorist-hugging Rashida Tlaib–Ilhan Omar wing of the country.  No sane leader would keep such a hostile non-citizen around.

Fourteen Democrats wrote a letter demanding his release as Democrats compete to be his loudest defender.  The irony-challenged Dems wrote that “universities through the country must protect their students from this vile assault on free thought and expression” in defense of a guy who is leading an assault on the free thought and expression of Jewish students.  Democrats do love their shock troops.

This happened around the same time universities discovered they would face consequences for not protecting their students when Columbia lost $400 million in federal funding.  The biggest question is why they had such obscene federal funding in the first place.  Considering that universities are the incubator of anti-American evil, all taxpayer funding of universities, save the military academies, should end.

That batty bartender, AOC, was horrified that we could “disappear” a “legal US permanent resident without reason.”  After all, he isn’t so awful as to be a Trump-supporter.  That’s what passes for Democrat wisdom these days.

That tension in the party between their Jewish voters and their Jew-hating voters will worsen.  It’s already driving their foreign policy agenda, as their constant betrayals of Israel under the auto-penners made clear.

Jewish voters who have traditionally voted for Democrats have been slowly moving toward Republicans, hitting record levels in 2024 since the message “vote for us so we can hate you better” has a rather limited appeal.  That movement will pick up steam as the mask increasingly falls away.

Finally, we saw the ongoing contradiction in the Democrats’ argument that they are the defenders of women as they continue to champion men in women’s spaces.  They are determined to continue their 20-80 crusade, convinced that the 80 percent will eventually rally to their cause.  Not only are they determined to die on this hill, but they intend to silence anyone who opposes them wherever they have the power to do so.  A robust debate isn’t your friend when your position is despised by anyone with even a smidgen of logic.  That’s why Democrats in Maine censured Republican state representative Laurel Libby for her efforts to keep boys out of girls’ sports.

The week's bizarre news was that all of Maine’s federal judges recusedthemselves from hearing Libby’s lawsuit.  There is no apparent conflict of interest, so it appears that they don’t want to touch this issue.  The lawsuit will now be heard in Rhode Island.  Until Democrats bow to reality, they will fail to convince anyone that they stand for women instead of putting them at great risk from mentally ill men.

The Democrats are a party that values rhetoric over action, particularly when their actions consistently run counter to that rhetoric.  This week, we saw the party of government champion shuttering the government, the party of climate doom actively attacking the most successful climate-conscious company, the party of faux tolerance championing a ruthless antisemite, and the party that pretends to be for women continuing its ruthless crusade against them.

When a political party goes insane, consistency of message becomes a casualty.  The contradictions are causing the mask to slip off, revealing the maggots wiggling in the pile of dung underneath.  That leaves Democrats’ hopes vested in the media helping them to make America blind again.

Chuck Schumer Now Lives With a Target on His Back...and Pelosi Might be the Spotter

posted by Matt Vespa at Townhall 

When I was in high school and college, the prospect of Chuck Schumer having his career cut short due to a horrendous political decision or primary challenge seemed unfathomable. He increased those odds mightily during last week’s spending bill duel that exposed the Democrats as leaderless, fractured, and without a message. Schumer thought he could jump the chasm in two bounds—it didn’t work. Now, the progressive left has painted a target on his back, with Nancy Pelosi serving as a spotter. 

Schumer had no leverage. The continuing resolution (CR) passed by the House was clean, but Democrats know they’re cooked on budget reconciliation; the GOP has shockingly kept things together. The irony here is that it was the Democrats who imploded over the CR bout. Schumer held the line in the first cloture vote but caved on the second. Schumer didn’t want to vote to advance the CR, but he knew Trump won on both fronts. There’s a significant fear among Democrats about what Trump would do if firing non-essential federal workers became a mandatory exercise. 

On our end, a shutdown would’ve disrupted the budget reconciliation process, which is the real legislative goal for Republicans, halted deportations, the rebuilding of our military, and the Department of Government Efficiency maximizing its work. Still, not disrupting the reconciliation process was paramount. In short, the Democrats got scared. In this duel, you need unity, a message, and a strategy for the shutdown fallout from voters. Democrats didn’t have that, as evidenced by the level-five meltdown following Schumer’s defection. 

Extraordinary moment — Nancy Pelosi issues a statement calling on Democratic senators to reject the House funding bill, i.e. to defy Chuck Schumer.

"Democratic senators should listen to the women," she says, referring to Murray/DeLauro who want a 1-month stopgap bill instead. pic.twitter.com/TEprXrSHOJ

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) March 14, 2025

Nancy Pelosi urged an all-out rebellion against Chuck. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), leader of House Democrats, was more focused on trying to downplay the level of Democratic disunity and dysfunction. However, he could not do so because, like Kamala Harris, the man lacks political skill. The left wants Schumer to be ostracized like Themistocles, and they want Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to do it. 

The meltdowns are beautiful! pic.twitter.com/YqmGTGliCn

— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) March 15, 2025

For years, Schumer has been wary of an AOC challenge, with rumors that he urged New York Democrats not to remove her district when the state had to select which district to sacrifice since former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s COVID policy killed so many people that the Empire State lost a congressional seat. New York Democrats do not like her and viewed this as a window to retire her from public life. Schumer supposedly intervened—rather keep her busy on the Hill than preoccupied with planning a primary challenge against him. The truth is that Schumer will likely be okay for now: AOC is not popular outside of New York City. But these old fogey lawmakers always think they’re going to lose, no matter how safe they are. Given how insane Democrats have become, however, maybe there is something to fear, especially with a party that is dead-set on stopping Trump, even if they’re in a strategic position that’s no better than the Japanese on Iwo Jima.

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Is This the Aide Behind Biden's Controversial Autopen Signings?

Sarah Arnold reporting for Townhall 

A key aide to former President Joe Biden is under scrutiny following accusations that she overused the former president’s autopen, a device typically used for signing official documents. This raised concerns about the authenticity of her signature on critical matters. In addition to this controversy, she faced a Hatch Act complaint for allegedly making illegal fundraising solicitations in her official government role. These allegations have sparked criticism over potential misuse of power and violation of ethics rules within the Biden administration.

Reports suggest Neera Tanden, Biden's former White House Staff Secretary, may have used the autopen to sign pardons while President Biden was golfing in St. Croix in December 2022. The Oversight Project pointed out that six individuals received pardons during Biden's vacation on December 30, 2022, raising concerns that the president may not have been present or fully aware that the pardons were being signed. 

Last week, I covered a report about documents signed by Biden’s autopen that could be considered invalid, alleging that one of Biden's key aides may have abused the device to sign official papers. President Donald Trump has increased scrutiny over Biden's use of the autopen throughout his presidency, with sources close to the administration suggesting that the device may have been misused.

Trump claimed that Biden’s autopen pardons are “null and void” “because I’m sure Biden didn’t have any idea that it was taking place.” 

In response, Tanden, an ultra-progressive liberal, lashed out at Trump, urging lawyers to file lawsuits against the president. 

“More importantly, does this mean everything with a Trump autopen signature is void in this Administration and the last? Because there’s a lot by autopen in every Administration. Some enterprising lawyers may want to sue,” Neera Tanden wrote on X on Monday. 

Tanden was the president of the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank that has championed progressive policies. Renowned for her outspoken criticism of conservatives, Tanden has long been seen as a symbol of the liberal establishment’s overreach. Her recent role in the Biden administration only reinforces the connection between her and the administration’s profoundly progressive agenda.

Additionally, Tanden was charged with violating the law by using social media to solicit campaign donations for Democrats despite being warned that such actions violated the Hatch Act. The Hatch Act restricts political campaigning during government hours, yet Tanden allegedly continued posting on social media, disregarding the warning. 

“The absolute best thing you can do to prevent a MAGA sweep is to contribute to the campaigns of frontline House candidates,” an Aug. 28 solicitation Tanden reposted. However, she deleted it after the special counsel warned her. 

President Trump Calls Biden J6 Pardons Null and Void Following Revelations of Auto Pen Use

President Trump sends a shot across the bow to those who received a preemptive pardon from the administration of Joe Biden, noting the use of an autopen could nullify the issuance.

Via Truth Social – “The “Pardons” that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen. In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them! The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden. He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime.

Therefore, those on the Unselect Committee, who destroyed and deleted ALL evidence obtained during their two year Witch Hunt of me, and many other innocent people, should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level. The fact is, they were probably responsible for the Documents that were signed on their behalf without the knowledge or consent of the Worst President in the History of our Country, Crooked Joe Biden!” (Source)

Trapped Antarctic scientists plead for rescue after ‘assault’

 Ten months from rescue and 2,500 miles from home, South African researchers have complained that one team member ‘threatened to kill’ a colleague.

It typically takes about two weeks to reach the Antarctic research station on a freezing clifftop some 2,500 miles from the southernmost tip of Africa. When the weather allows.

One group of scientists dispatched to the frozen continent to study its climate are now utterly alone for at least ten more months, as ice floes and extreme weather make getting in or out impossible.

Given their isolation, the email that arrived from the Sanae IV base last week caused immediate alarm.

An overwintering team at the Sanae base in 2014, who must stay at the base for months as travel is restricted

ALAMY

Members of the team, a researcher wrote, were living in fear not because of the hostile conditions, but because one of their number had attacked them. This person, the author added, was a threat to the entire team.

The message, shared with South Africa’s Sunday Times, pleaded for rescue. It said: “Regrettably, [his] behaviour has escalated to a point that is deeply disturbing. Specifically, he physically assaulted [name withheld], which is a grave violation of personal safety and workplace norms.”

Neither the author nor the person accused of wrongdoing have been named. The letter added: “Furthermore, he threatened to kill [name withheld], creating an environment of fear and intimidation. I remain deeply concerned about my own safety, constantly wondering if I might become the next victim.”

The team member was also accused of sexually assaulting another researcher. “His behaviour has become increasingly egregious, and I am experiencing significant difficulty in feeling secure in his presence,” the letter said. “It is imperative that immediate action is taken to ensure my safety and the safety of all employees.”

Extremely thick winter gear is vital in Antarctica, where the average temperature is minus 23C in the winter

The team is entirely cut off on a base where the average winter temperature is minus 23C and wind speeds can reach 135 mph.

Dion George, South Africa’s environment minister, said he would speak to team members “to assess for myself”.

He said: “There was a verbal altercation between the team leader and this person. Then it escalated and then that person did physically assault the leader. You can imagine what it’s like, it is close quarters and people do get cabin fever. It can be very disorientating.”

He added that researchers undergo pyschometric evaluation before they are sent to Antarctica because of the strenuous conditions in the remote, harsh landscape, which he likened to outer space.

Alan Chambers, a professional explorer who completed a 700-mile skiing expedition to the South Pole last year, said: “From a psychological perspective it’s a very very lonely place. There’s very little interaction with humans or animals so if you’re in a camp or a research centre you’re with those people for six months, if not a year.

“What I think it does, from a psychological point of view, is that everything becomes heightened. It’s all white — there’s no colour, no noise and nothing you would see as normal so everybody’s behaviour — including your own — gets magnified and the little things become the big things.

Alan Chambers skied 700 miles to the South Pole last year

“The loneliness of the continent has a huge impact on the behaviour of individuals. You really have to be happy with yourself because in the Arctic or the Antarctic you spend a lot of time inside your mind. So if you have a small issue with somebody or something, it can become magnified into a large problem.”

The team at the Sanae base includes experts in meteorology, medicine and engineering, according to the South African National Antarctic Programme, where they carry out climate monitoring, atmospheric studies and geological surveys. A photo of the “overwintering” team on the website shows a smiling bunch of South Africans as they’re about to set forth on their expedition.

The team of nine are living in orange modules that look a bit like shipping containers. They contain labs and offices, accommodation units, a library, a games room, TV rooms and a bar. They use diesel generators for heat and water is generated through a snow smelter. A satellite connection provides telephone lines.

The Times contacted several of the team members on Facebook. One, Alain Jacobs, a diesel mechanic , responded that he had no comment and asked not to be contacted again. Photos on his page show him gearing up for the Antarctic trip and cooking with some of his team mates.

The Facebook page of another team member, Geomarr van Tonder, an electronics engineer, shows stunning pictures taken from the base of the Aurora Australis.

“First glimpse of the Aurora Australis—one more bucket list item down, and what a way to tick it off! Now I’ve officially seen both the southern and northern lights. That’s right, I’m now a proud member of the ‘Both Hemispheres Aurora Appreciation Club.’ Next mission: convincing the Sun to throw in a solar storm for the full experience!” she says in the post.

In another Facebook post over the weekend she says herself and several teammates have had “a little adventure to Windscoop, just below Vesleskarvet, with the SANAE-IV base towering above. Just a few of us, some Heineken, and the endless Antarctic ice.”

Further back in her Facebook history, before the voyage to Antarctica, she’d posted photos of team cooking classes and emergency medical training.

“The thrill is real, and the adventure is calling!” she said in December. “Badass Team SANAE 64 is Ready to Roll!”

The first Sanae base was established in 1959. South Africa also formally administers two islands between the country and Antarctica, Prince Edward and Marion, where it has a research station. In 2017, an “unstable” team member on Marion Island was reported to have attacked a colleague in the kitchen with a frying pan and destroyed his room with an axe.

Over the winter, some 15 researchers live in close quarters for up to ten months

Chambers added: “The weather is so cold in winter that nobody is allowed to go outside of the research station — even just for fresh air. They are imprisoned by choice and so relationships and behaviours become really really important.

“So I’m not surprised that somebody is really struggling out there. If it’s at all possible, that person needs to be removed as soon as possible for their safety, the team’s safety and for the sake of any ongoing research.”

George said an initial investigation suggested the person mentioned in the email did not have immediate “dangerous intentions”. He said the ministry had spoken to counterparts in Norway and Germany “in the event that we need to do an urgent intervention”. Those countries have the closest bases to Sanae IV, the nearest one about 200 miles away.

Isolation can be beautiful — but only if you work as a team

Wintering in the Antarctic is a unique challenge. To be thrust together with a small group of individuals with widely differing skills and outlooks in the harshest of environments, completely isolated from the outside world, concentrates the mind beautifully — as I know from personal experience.

The cold is not the problem. It is the need to form an integrated team with people who in normal circumstances would not be friends, but whom you now must rely on for your comfort and safety.

A strong team is paramount, which for me, meant not forming close friendships or participating in splinter groups. The big lesson I learnt is to be a good team player but keep your intimate self to yourself, and question your own motives in disputes before you question those of others.

https://archive.ph/jjpoA#selection-1657.0-1941.109

Dr John Dudeney is former deputy director of the British Antarctic Survey and author of Footst