Shutdown Showdown
 
It's Day 26 of the partial government shutdown.  Amid all the hysterical headlines of reduced economic growth and bankrupt bureaucrats, here's something you need to know:  Congressional liberals still refuse to negotiate with President Trump.
 
Consider these excerpts from The Hill:
 
"Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer . . . told reporters Tuesday that he hasn't spoken to President Trump in nearly a week. . .  A group of centrist House Democrats on Tuesday rejected a White House invitation to attend talks with Republicans and Trump."
 
Yes, you read that right.  Schumer isn't talking and neither are House Democrats. 
 
Keep in mind that many of these "centrist House Democrats" promised voters that they would be independent and willing to buck their leadership.  Yet not one was willing to cross Nancy Pelosi. 
 
Even more disturbing were other meetings that did not take place yesterday. 
 
Angel families, the relatives of those killed by illegal aliens, went to Capitol Hill hoping to speak to liberal leaders who say this is a "manufactured crisis."  Incredibly, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi refused to meet with them.
 
Schumer and Pelosi, who refuse to secure our borders, hid behind their walls, behind their security details and behind their phalanx of staff members. 
 
Once again, the left is showing that it is far more sympathetic to illegal immigrants than American citizens and their families. 
 
 
 
Pelosi's Pique
 
Speaker Pelosi clearly despises President Trump.  Citing security concerns, she essentially rescinded her invitation for the president to deliver his annual State of the Union address.
 
Initially scheduled for January 29th, Pelosi said the address should be delayed until after the government re-opens.  Or the president could submit his remarks in writing.
 
Call me skeptical, but I don't think Pelosi is really concerned about Trump's safety.  I think she is attempting to deny President Trump another prime time opportunity to address the American people about the crisis at the border.
 
And we do have a crisis at the border.  As we have reported in recent days:
 

• The Washington Post acknowledged that "Record numbers of migrant families are streaming into the United States, overwhelming border agents." 

• The Pew Research Center reports that apprehensions in 2018 were "the most . . . since 2014." That was same the year as Obama's big border crisis.

• The Department of Homeland Security reports that December apprehensions of migrant families set a record and marked "the third month in a row that more than 50,000 people have illegally crossed into the U.S."

• The first wave of the latest migrant caravan from Honduras just crossed into Guatemala on its way to our southern border.

 
Here's something else to keep in mind:  Not every illegal immigrant is looking for work or is a refugee fleeing violence. 
 
We don't know who they are because they are trying to illegally sneak across our border totally unvetted.  But we do know that ranchers along the border are finding Muslim prayer rugs in the desert.
 
Administration officials have told us that thousands of people on the terrorist watch list have been detained attempting to enter the country.  That is a fact.
 
The left counters that very few known terrorists have actually crossed the southern border.  But exactly what is the acceptable number of terrorists allowed to enter the country from the southern border? 
 
In my opinion, one is too many.  It took only one terrorist to kill eight people on the streets of New York City.
 
Those on the left who argue for open borders are intentionally ignoring the reality that a vast network of Islamic supremacists already exists within our borders.  Numerous radical mosques are spewing hatred on a regular basis.  (Here, here, here and here.)
 
By the way, German intelligence officials recently declared that the Muslim Brotherhood was a greater threat to German democracy than Al Qaeda or ISIS.  Has anyone at the FBI read the German report?
 
 
 
Religious Freedom Day
 
Today is Religious Freedom Day.  While the ability to worship freely is something many Americans take for granted, that hasn't always been the case. 
 
The Pilgrims came to America not in search of treasure but seeking religious freedom.  And our Founding Fathers were so concerned about guaranteeing that freedom that they enshrined it in the First Amendment to the Constitution.
 
Nor is religious freedom the norm in many parts of the world today.  As a commissioner on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, I can tell you that we are currently working on our annual report identifying the world's worst violators of religious liberty.  The reality of religious persecution around the world is harrowing. 
 
President Trump issued a proclamation recognizing today as Religious Freedom Day.  Here are some excerpts:
 
"On Religious Freedom Day, we celebrate our Nation's long‑standing commitment to freedom of conscience and the freedom to profess one's own faith.  The right to religious freedom is innate to the dignity of every human person and is foundational to the pursuit of truth. . .
 
"Our Nation was founded on the premise that a just government abides by the 'Laws of Nature and of Nature's God.'  As the Founders recognized, the Constitution protects religious freedom to secure the rights endowed to man by his very nature.  On this day, we recognize this history and affirm our commitment to the preservation of religious freedom."
 
 
 
A High Barr
 
William Barr, President Trump's nominee for attorney general, returned to Capitol Hill this morning for a second round of confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee.  By all accounts, Barr's handled himself well and effectively deflected the left's attacks. 
 

• Barr assured senators that he would be independent, saying, "I am not going to do anything that I think is wrong, and I will not be bullied into doing anything I think is wrong. By anybody."

• He described James Comey's handling of Hillary Clinton's email scandal as "weird," "herky jerky" and "bizarre."

• Barr assured Chairman Lindsey Graham that he would look into reports that the FBI launched an investigation to determine if President Trump was a Russian agent.

• He told senators that physical barriers were "a critical part of border security."

• On the Mueller probe, Barr resisted demands that he recuse himself.

 
Barr was unanimously confirmed in 1991, and there is no reason for senators to oppose his nomination now.  He did not express a single opinion that is out of the conservative mainstream. 
 
But because of the "resist-at-all costs" mentality that prevails on the left, I will be surprised if one Judiciary Committee liberal votes for him.  They don't want this president to have a conservative attorney general.