How much a duly-elected yet hotly-contested US president can take is awe-inspiring. Our current commander-in-chief sure is towing the line. Despite the chronic brouhaha from the Left and even some from Republican tides, President Donald Trump shows no sign of crumbling under pressure.
Determined, President Trump is deeply devoted to one of his campaign tenets: building “a big, beautiful wall.” Border wall contractors’ prototypes are on display in San Diego. On October 26, 2017 agents of the federal government got a sampling of several border wall models.
But it seems some on the Left are sticking out their lanky legs trying to trip-up and sabotage the construction process.
Border Wall Impediments
In a November 2, 2017 report published by Bloomberg News, it is alleged that, “Construction companies worried about a backlash for working on President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall are pushing for federal protections, including stopping cities and states from penalizing them, as a new battle erupts over his crackdown on illegal immigration.”
Reportedly, border wall work is confronting a fusion of bold hands-off and subtle uncooperative commerce. So much so that the “Associated General Contractors of America wants Attorney General Jeff Sessions to sue to prevent states and localities from denying contracts or divesting from companies that participate in wall construction. The group also wants assurances that local authorities will provide reasonable protection for workers and equipment on job sites, as well as contractor reimbursement for security costs or damage from vandalism,” Bloomberg News revealed.
Perhaps not so much of a spoiler alert: Sanctuary cities are attached to some of those lanky Left legs. According to Bloomberg News, the California cities of Oakland, Richmond and Berkeley are joined by Tuscon, Arizona, all of which are among border wall-proximite jurisdictions allegedly sabotaging border wall contractors’ construction efforts. Per a listing of all sanctuary cities dotting our nation, San Diego is also an anti-immigration stalwart and sanctuary locale.
Given that the ongoing saga of self-contained sanctuary cities make talk-to-the-hand gestures, purportedly admonishing their cops to refrain from cooperating with federal immigration authorities, one can assume this is part of the border wall vulnerability story. “Damage from vandalism” is cited as an element surrounding the border wall construction. I suspect theft of materials is another huge headache contractors are encountering. It is a most prevalent aspect of developing property of any kind.
Frankly, I question how anything in the realm of property crimes is transpiring, especially with the wide-ranging and imperative national security scope which surely is attended by a vast cadre of armed federal law enforcement officials.
Moreover, I suspect sanctuary city-based cops are towing the line dictated by sworn oath, still making rounds despite local governance wagging a don’t-do-that finger.
American Friends Service Committee – San Diego)
Discriminating Against Alleged Discriminators?
After tantrums, some sanctuary cities’ leaders wrote and passed resolutions to cease doing business with any company contributing to the border wall initiative in any fashion. If you’ve never witnessed a city taking its ball and leaving the field, now you have. Talk about children putting a tiny pinch on a larger embodiment…hoping they’ll get their way.
Bewilderingly, the anti-Trump, anti-immigration folks in yet another liberal-minded sanctuary city not even remotely near a national border threw their weight against the border wall. Interestingly, the Bloomberg media outlet which spawned this border wall contention story happens to be the baby of former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg.
New York, New York
Where it all began for me, my Big Apple birth-origin New York City inserted itself in the mix of hands-off-the-border-wall shenanigans. The Big Apple’s second in-command, Public Advocate Letitia James (D), claims any entity and any individual whose hands are in any way involved in the border wall project are contributing to racism. Ms. James stated “Companies have a choice: help build the wall, a monument to racism and xenophobia, or do business in New York City” followed by “We won’t allow you to do both.” How’s that for an elected official governing a sanctuary mecca while laying down the gauntlet?
Ms. James bandied about legislating a NYC prohibition against companies partaking in border wall commerce. NY State Assemblywoman Nily Rozic (D — Queens) ran with that torch too. A January 2017 Associated Press piece reported Ms. Rozic’s intention to write a bill, effectively boycotting businesses who wish commerce contracts from NY State from working on the border wall.
Ms. Rozic told the AP, “Many of us have been thinking about different ways we could counter the actions coming out of Washington D.C. This will be a decisive and effective way of showing where our values are at.” Not only is Ms. Rozic intent on creating anti-border wall bills, she also spearheaded a bill to undo what is already on the books.
Ms. Rozic’s Assembly Bill A08668 “Directs the commissioner of the office of parks, recreation and historic preservation to provide for the re-designation of Donald J. Trump State Park, in Putnam and Westchester counties to Heather D. Heyer State Park.” Ms. Rozic’s bill was read September 2017 in the State Assembly…and was marked “Effective immediately.”
Ironically, the land Ms. Rozic seeks to have renamed was donated by Donald Trump in 2006, per a Fox News report.
Among the business entities which were in the bidding process to facilitate the “design and build of several prototype wall structures” are 18 firms with more than $800 million in past and current city contracts, revealed Ms. James. By her own revelations and forebodings, she seems inclined to breach established “contracts” with firms…just to trip-up President Trump. According to a March 2017 NY Daily News piece, Ms. James foisted the words “The same cranes President Trump uses for his wall cannot be turned around to build our schools and libraries.” Well, then…nana-nana-boo-boo. Doesn’t her position deprive young citizens from enhanced academic structures and access to newly-constructed buildings, both offering volumes of knowledge for minds to expand?
For an illustrative dose of Ms. James’ cohorts, here is an unambiguous BFF blast:
Standing with the Great Leader of the Resistance, Aunty Congress Member Maxine Waters. pic.twitter.com/Naxdr8QTh3
— Tish James (@TishJames) October 28, 2017
Looking at things from an appealing aerial perspective provides a view of what law enforcement officials will contend with regarding border wall completion.
With recent revelations from the former DNC chair outing Hillary Clinton as a sinister puppet-master rigging the Democratic conventions of political engagement, the Left doing everything it can to impede national security comes as no shock. Audaciously, minionizing and sending physical bodies to thwart White House policies and plans persists. Unabashedly, figures on the D.C. Hill toss around the impeachment rock, seemingly oblivious to the fact it is not the hot potato they purport it to be. That stone keeps falling for a darn good reason. Ever wonder how many times the “Russia” reference was stated, written or alluded to in the last full year?
Flaking Out
Speaking of rocks dropping, some are fumbled. Besides “Hollywood celebs” threatening to depart the nation purportedly because of our current commander-in-chief, some politicos have been vacating their seats also.
A chronic mantra of President Trump is “drain the swamp.” Lately, it appears the swamp is self-draining by virtue of some business-suited swimmers pulling the plug, post-haste.
Senator Jeff Flake launched his get-outta-the-race hat recently, orating a strongly-worded and targeted speech before the Senate Luncheon with President Trump in the audience…listening to barbs.
Although it was ruled a very impressive speech, Sen. Flake droned on and disavowed many of the principles for which our nation’s leader stands. Akin to a master wok and hot-grill chef armed with Ginsu knives, Sen. Flake metaphorically sliced and diced at the legs of the Trump presidency. If border wall construction workers were to show up to find anti-Trump epithets graffitied upon the prototypes, I’d hastily check Mr. Flake’s fingernails for paint residue. He was quite clear where he stood with President Trump, effectively putting up barriers of his own.
And it seems a strange domino effect is mobilizing.
Gromer Jeffers, Jr., a political writer for the Dallas News, titled his recent piece “Is Donald Trump the reason two powerful Texas lawmakers are retiring?” I do not believe so.
Two powerful veteran Texas legislators, Lamar Smith (R) and Jeb Hensarling (R), have announced their departure from US Congress by way of not seeking re-election after current terms.
Rep. Smith is an avid supporter of President Trump and also “encouraged Americans to get their news from President Donald Trump and not the news media,” reported the Business Insider.
Rep. Hensarling is widely known as the thrust to successfully repeal many Obama-era Wall Street regulations, giving way to Hensarling’s Financial CHOICE Act, reported the Texas Tribune.
“Still, retirements in Congress for folks like Hensarling and Smith are rare, and it’s fair to consider if the unusual and often toxic political climate in Washington hastened the departure of two of Texas’ most respected elected leaders,” the Dallas News surmised.
Immigration is not a Problem?
Unambiguously, a Left-leaning writer printed “The first measure in this paper illustrates that Trump’s description of an America overrun by illegal aliens and criminal refugees is bogus.”
On October 31, 2017 The Brookings Institution published a scathing rebuke of President Trump’s position relating to immigration, titled “When policy is cut off from reality: Donald Trump’s immigration problem” (accompanied by graphics).
Throughout most of the article, I notice his earned-by-election positional title –“President”– is not used before his full name. In fact, the author chooses to write her statement whereby the first 17 references to the current duly-elected commander-in-chief were void of the moniker “President” before “Donald Trump” or, even more watered-down, “Trump.” To pull that thread further, the author finally makes the more respectful reference “President Donald Trump” after first writing “President George W. Bush” followed by references to “President Obama.”
Although I ordinarily refrain from semantics, I make the point above to not only denote the author’s insistence that our nation does not have an immigration dilemma but also that she seems to disfavor President Donald Trump.
Starkly, The Brookings Institution piece goes on to indict President Trump, citing he has “created a myth about illegal immigration—a myth designed to create distrust and fear, thus providing easy scapegoats for the many Americans unhappy with their current situation. Having created the boogeyman of dangerous, out-of-control illegal immigration, the president now has to solve it.”
Invoking the rhetoric of how statistics can be skewed, molded and fashioned to bolster one’s contentions and thrust, The Brookings Institution article displays data depicted in graphs and charts to dispel any notion of an immigration problem…including a gentle tone about Islamic terrorism as if it were a mere paper-cut.
The author of The Brookings Institution article is a UC-Berkeley PhD recipient who “In the 1980s…was one of the founders of the New Democrat movement that helped elect Bill Clinton president” and has also “been a member of the Democratic National Committee and the DNC’s Rules Committee since 1997,” according to her bio. For what it’s worth, Berkeley is one of the municipalities which enacted “resolutions to stop doing business with firms involved in building the wall or to divest from them.” I wonder what kind of anti-discrimination and/or free-enterprise laws the City of Berkeley has on the books.
Twitter-less
And if all of these border wall woes weren’t enough, President Trump’s Twitter account was recently disabled for a spell. According to the Media Research Center, “Liberal media figures everywhere rejoiced when, for a mere 11 minutes, President Trump’s Twitter account was deactivated. According to Twitter, the account was deactivated by a rogue employee on his last day” after Twitter initially claimed “human error by a Twitter employee” for the account sabotage.
Sabotage, sabotage and more sabotage…and the beat of President Donald Trump’s drum resounds unwaveringly and unyieldingly to naysayers and oppositionists alike. Despite the president’s best efforts, do you see our border wall project ever getting off the ground?
