Amnesty Blocked -- For Now

A divided Supreme Court split 4-to-4 on Barack Obama's executive orders granting amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants. It is outrageous that four justices apparently believe the president had the power to unilaterally re-write immigration law.

That said, the split decision leaves in place the ruling of the lower appellate court, which declared the president's orders unconstitutional. So the president's unilateral mass amnesty has been blocked. For now.

Depending on the outcome of the November election, we could well be revisiting the issue next year. And the next president and Senate will nominate and confirm the justice who could decide the case.

So, once again, we see just how critically important this election is. Will we be governed by our elected representatives or by a president's pen and phone?

Clueless Kerry

Addressing attendees at an interfaith iftar on Monday, Secretary of State John Kerry gave a speech in which he condemned the "bigoted and hateful rhetoric" of those concerned about our lax immigration and refugee policies.

"There is absolutely no evidence, my friends, zero evidence, that refugees who make it through this arduous process, pose any greater threat to our society than the members of any other group," Kerry said. "And it is important for people to know that."

I agree that it is important for the American people to know the truth. But as we saw from the IRS scandal, Obama's repeated lies about Obamacare and the attorney general's attempts to whitewash transcripts earlier this week, we have every reason to be skeptical about the claims made by this administration.

So here are some facts from an analysis conducted by the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration:
 

• Between September 11, 2001 and December 31, 2014, 580 individuals were convicted in the United States on terrorism charges.
   
• Of those 580 people, 380 -- 66% -- were foreign born.
   
• Of those 380, 33 were here illegally on expired visas.
   
• And of those 380 foreign born terrorists, 24 were allowed into the United States as refugees.
   
• In addition, the committee identified "at least 131 additional individuals who have been implicated in terrorism [not convicted or still awaiting trial] since early 2014. At least 54 of these individuals are foreign-born and 16 of them were initially admitted to the United States as refugees."

  Keep in mind, friends, that Obama is vowing to bring in at least 10,000 Syrian refugees, while others on the left say we should bring in at least 500% more.

  Liberals Sitting Down On The Job

  Yesterday, liberal politicians staged a sit-in on the House floor. It continued all day long, effectively shutting down the House. Eventually, Republicans decided to pack-up and leave for the July Fourth recess, and adjourned around 3:00 a.m. But the disruptors stayed until 1:00 this afternoon. They did this in response to the Orlando shootings -- not to talk about terrorism or immigration, but to demand restrictions on your Second Amendment rights.

  The political left in America not only wants us to follow the economic policies that have turned Venezuela into a pit of despair, but they are bringing heavy-handed Venezuelan tactics of muscle and extra-legal actions to American politics.

  From Occupy Wall Street to Black Lives Matter and the fascist mob violence at recent political rallies, average, hard-working Americans have been harassed and assaulted by left-wing thugs.

  And when they aren't using muscle to disrupt the process, they thumb their noses at every rule of the Republic. Don't like marriage laws? Ignore them. Don't like immigration law? Suspend it. Don't like religious liberty? Squash it. Can't shut down Gitmo? Empty it.

  On some occasions these actions have been so extreme, the Supreme Court has struck them down 9-to-0.

  Sadly, because conservative can't find a way to stop it, liberals across the country are copying Obama's example. The governor of Virginia unilaterally restored voting rights to hundreds of thousands of convicted felons, including rapists and murders.

  Kudos to Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas. Gohmert had enough of the left's antics and engaged the liberal members on the House floor. There was a heated exchange and Gohmert yelled, "Radical Islam killed these people!" He's right. But the left refuses to face reality.

  Sitting On The Second Amendment

  Let's ponder the actual substance of this publicity stunt for a moment. Forty-nine Americans are dead in just the latest attack by a Muslim supremacist. This follows on the heels of other terrorist attacks like the Boston Marathon bombing and the shootings at Fort Hood, Chattanooga and San Bernardino.

  Yet in response to these jihadist atrocities, left-wing congressmen immediately devised a way to distract from the facts and attack your right to defend yourself. Until now, there was nothing else so important, but when they saw the opportunity to attack the Second Amendment, they launched an unprecedented sit-in.

  They did not do this when it became apparent that our veterans were being abused. There were no sit-ins demanding a serious strategy to crush ISIS.

  One of the leaders of this sit-in is Rep. John Lewis of Georgia. Many of his constituents are faithful churchgoers. Yet there were no sit-ins to protest Obama's repeated attacks on religious liberty or to defend the meaning of marriage.

  Black unemployment is a national scandal. How about a sit-in demanding that the teachers' unions get out of the way and let inner city schools be reformed? How about a sit-in demanding that the borders be secured so blacks and other Americans don't have to compete with illegal immigrants for jobs?

  Top government officials have testified that we cannot fully vet Middle Eastern refugees. Yet these left-wing extremists have never staged a sit-in to demand that the government stop endangering the American people by reforming our immigration and refugee policies.

  I could go on. But you get the point. The one thing the left feels so strongly about is taking away your rights.