News & Politics

New Leader Turning Heads in Europe

July 12, 2018 by GregC

A new leader is making headlines in Europe. Sebastian Kurz, the youngest chancellor in Austrian history, burst onto the scene with an unusual combination of generally moderate politics and a strong stance on immigration.
Kurz is working hard to close his country’s borders to asylum seekers flooding Europe. He is invoking an European Union law that states that the country in which an asylum seeker first applies for asylum is responsible for that person. Since Austria is a landlocked country with EU member states on all sides, this would absolve Austria from taking in any asylum seekers they do not want to accept.
Kurz has also set his sights outside Austrian politics. Austria hosts the EU’s rotating presidency from July 1st- December 31st this year, and Kurz hopes to use this opportunity pass an European-wide solution to the crisis. His proposal would include refusing to allow refugees to land in Europe but would, instead, provide supplies for them in a third country outside the EU. Kurz has also been touted as the facilitator behind the Trump-Putin summit recently announced by the White House.
That summit is scheduled to take place in Helsinki on July 16.

‘It Is Exactly the Kind of Judge that We Need’

July 11, 2018 by GregC

Brett Kavanaugh may not have been the first choice of social conservatives for the Supreme Court, but a leading voice in the Christian legal community is applauding the choice and hopes Kavanaugh will help take the court out of the business of policymaking.

President Trump tapped Kavanaugh, a 12-year veteran of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, for the Supreme Court seat held by the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. Many social conservatives championed Judge Amy Coney Barrett for the nomination, but Liberty Counsel Chairman Mathew Staver is thrilled with the choice.

“It is exactly the kind of judge we need on the U.S. Supreme Court,” said Staver. “His credentials are impeccable. He is exceptionally qualified to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court as a justice.

“From a judicial philosophy standpoint, I think that is really what is of interest to most social conservatives or most people that are interested in the court and the rule of law,” said Staver.

Staver says he was very impressed with Kavanaugh’s 2017 speech in which he explained why the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist was his “first judicial hero.”

“He ultimately wanted to bring the court away from social policymaking, which it’s not supposed to do or be, to a rule of law entity, which is exactly what it’s supposed to do,” said Staver.

Kavanaugh has drawn concern from some social conservatives for stating in his confirmation hearings for the appellate court that he considers Roe v. Wade to be an established precedent. Staver says it is a mistake to conflate the role of an appellate court judge with a Supreme Court justice.

“[Appellate judges] have to follow the law as it’s been established by the U.S. Supreme Court, but a Supreme Court justice can actually have the opportunity to overrule bad precedent,” said Staver.

Another concern on the right is Kavanaugh’s 2011 decision siding with the government on a technical issue related to challenge to Obamacare. Again, Staver says the concern is unfounded.

Staver says the decision in question dealt only with whether it was appropriate for the court to take up the issue at that point, and that Kavanaugh was not addressing the merits of the law.

“Had he ruled on the merits, based on his judicial philosophy, he would not say that the commerce clause authorizes the government to force people to purchase a product or service. He’s actually said that before and even after that particular decision,” said Staver.

Staver was not a fan of Donald Trump during the 2016 GOP primary season but supported him in the general election against Hillary Clinton due to the Supreme Court seat vacated upon the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Now that Trump has nominated Neil Gorsuch, who now sits on the court, as well as Kavanaugh, Staver says his trust in Trump’s nominations was well-founded.

“President Donald Trump has kept his promise. A lot of people voted for him because of the U.S. Supreme Court,” said Staver.

Staver doesn’t want Kavanaugh to join the court and make policy favorable to conservatives. He wants the court to get out of that business altogether.

“It needs to get out of politics. It needs to get out of social policymaking and the right justices can extricate the Supreme Court from social policymaking and put it back to where it’s supposed to be , an institution that respects and follows the rule of law,” said Staver.

However, Staver expects a vicious political fight precisely because he believes liberals want the court to keep making social policy they can’t advance legislatively. He also warns that George Soros and others will likely bankroll groups posing as conservatives opposed to Kavanaugh in order to create division on the right.

“I think there’s even going to be false, so-called conservative groups that are created by the left and make it look like there’s a division within conservatives and those that believe in the rule of law,” said Staver.

Assessing Kavanaugh on Criminal Justice

July 11, 2018 by GregC

Every opinion rendered by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh will be severely scrutinized as his confirmation process unfolds, but so far conservative advocates for criminal justice reform like what they see in Kavanugh’s record.

“He has a great record of really respecting the role of the judiciary and respecting the rule of law, defending the separation of powers, and resisting that temptation of judicial activism,” said Right on Crime attorney Haley Holik.

She says several cases show Kavanaugh’s reasoned approach and his balance between enforcing the law and having an instinct for protecting citizens from an encroaching government.

Holik specifically cited the case of U.S. v. Moore, a 2010 case ruled on by the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and which included a concurring opinion by Kavanaugh. The case centered on Marlin Moore and his conviction for writing a fictitious name while signing for a package delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. The incident was part of a larger drug investigation.

Moore was appealing his conviction for signing the fake name, claiming he had no idea it was a federal offense and that no warning was printed on the form he signed.

Kavanaugh agreed with the court’s decision to uphold the conviction while stating there could well be circumstances where people might have grounds to challenge such a conviction for not knowing they committed a crime in what are known as § 1001 cases. The legal term at issue is known as mens rea.

“As many others have noted, § 1001 prosecutions can pose a risk of abuse and injustice. In part, that’s because § 1001 applies to virtually any statement an individual makes to virtually any federal government official — even when the individual making the statement is not under oath (unlike in perjury cases) or otherwise aware that criminal punishment can result from a false statement,” wrote Kavanaugh.

“To be sure, in many false statements cases the Government will be able to easily prove that the defendant knew his conduct was unlawful. But in some cases, it will not be able to do so — and those of course are precisely the cases where it would seem inappropriate and contrary to § 1001’s statutory text to impose criminal punishment,” added Kavanaugh.

“He indicated that perhaps he could have looked at Supreme Court precedent and applied it differently and come to a different conclusion because mens rea is so important to the foundation of criminal law,” said Holik.

She says Kavanaugh’s concern for determining whether someone knowingly committed a crime is an important step in establishing an effective criminal justice system.

“He has really shown this jurisprudence that he values this traditional presumption of needing a mental culpability when you’re dealing with these cases,” said Holik, who also appreciates Kavanaugh for limiting his decisions to the issue at hand.

“At the same time, he’s always ruled only on the scope of the legal challenges that have been raised. That’s important, again, because he has resisted judicial activism,” said Holik.

Holik says having a standard like that is good for all Americans as the federal government keeps piling on laws that most people know nothing about.

“Overcriminalization at the federal level is this phenomenon that maybe your listeners are familiar with. It’s whenever the government criminalizes activities that aren’t typically what of you and I think of as being criminal in nature.

“There’s kind of this anecdote out there that we commit three to seven federal crimes a day. That’s largely due to the fact that the federal government, these non-elected agency officials, keep creating laws that are redundant, meaning the state already has a law that criminalizes this or just doesn’t include a criminal intent element,” said Holik.

Haitian Unrest Puts Mission Trips on Hold

July 9, 2018 by GregC

Protests sparked by sudden spikes in fuel prices have roiled Haiti since Friday. As the unrest continues, numerous American missions trips are on pause, unable to reach their destinations to help the desperately poor in the most impoverished nation in the western hemisphere. So what is it like to arrive in a foreign land to this kind of chaos? When might some semblance of order be restored? And what kind of missions work will be done once it’s safe to travel again? We discuss it all with Marcus Lynn, senior pastor at First Christian Church in Versailles, Kentucky.

Trump Has ‘Upper Hand’ in Disarming North Korean Nukes

July 9, 2018 by GregC

North Korea is bristling at American the verification demands for the dismantling of its nuclear program, but one prominent expert believes the Trump administration’s hardball tactics got Kim Jong-Un to the negotiating table and will likely lead to him truly abandoning his nukes as well.

Over the weekend, North Korea accused Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of engaging in “gangster” tactics for making a number of unilateral demands for North Korean disarmament.

The negotiations themselves followed international reports that North Korea was upgrading its primary enrichment site at Yongbyon and two other facilities. There is also evidence that North Korea is moving forward with its ballistic missile program.

Population Research Institute President Steven Mosher doesn’t see North Korean cheating as evidence that the deal is collapsing but as proof the Trump administration intends to see the entire nuclear program reduced to rubble.

“I think the Trump administration is leaking intelligence reports to the media in order to put Kim Jong-Un on notice that we are watching,” said Mosher.

“We’re putting Kim and his people on notice that if they do not tell us exactly where all the missile launch and manufacturing sites are, all the centrifuges are, all the nuclear sites, all the nukes they may have in storage somewhere,” said Mosher.

And despite the North Korean pushback on Trump’s tactics, Mosher is confident Kim will ultimately comply.

“My guess is that he is (going to go along with nuclear disarming). I hope he understands that the sanctions will not be lifted unless he denuclearizes. He knows, I think, that the president has his number. I think that’s why the U.S. has the upper hand in these negotiations,” said Mosher.

Mosher says Trump caught Kim off guard by not communicating in the same manner as his predecessors. He says Trump’s threatening Kim with “fire and fury” and comparing the sizes of their nuclear buttons appears to have rattled Kim.

He also asserts that Trump promising to help revitalize the North Korean economy once the nukes are gone is a major attraction for Kim. But even if all of that happens, Mosher says the Kim regime’s days are numbered.

“[Trump] made clear in Singapore that he can make life in North Korea much easier. Kim Jong-Un can stay in power. His economy can develop and his people will be much better off.

“Now think about his other options. I believe we’ll see other steps taken to lock up the North Korean regime inside the hermit kingdom that it really is. That will eventually lead to the collapse of the regime,” said Mosher.

One of the other options is for Kim to demonstrate the power of his arsenal with a desperate pre-emptive strike on the U.S. or one our allies in the region. Mosher says that would be a colossal mistake.

“If he tries some sort of pre-emptive strike against the South, that would only accelerate this process. He would be driven back. The Chinese would be forced to intervene again. He would be signing his death warrant and all but inviting China to absorb his half-kingdom,” said Mosher.

Even though China keeps North Korea afloat economically, there’s no great love for the Chinese in Pyongyang. Mosher points out that the government forces women impregnated by Chinese men to undergo abortions so as not to pollute the race.

But China is another reason Mosher thinks Kim will eventually play ball and get rid of his nuclear program. He says Trump has China in a position of weakness as well.

“We’ve caught China cheating on the sanctions a half dozen times already. We caught them cheating on land when the trucks and the trains were still going into North Korea carrying Chinese goods. We caught them at see when they were doing at-sea fuel transfers and goods transfers. Satellite photos showed they were Chinese ships doing the cheating.

“And we caught them again just a couple of weeks ago, when Chinese businesses were rushing into North Korea, anticipating the lifting of the sanctions. We said, ‘Wait a minute. The sanctions are still in place.’ Beijing has ordered all the companies and their representatives back to China,” said Mosher.

Mosher says China is also cautious about flouting sanctions due to the resurgent American economy.

“The American economy may grow faster than the Chinese economy this year. They’re claiming six percent growth but that probably a 30 percent exaggeration. The real growth is about four percent. They have an aging population because of the one-child policy, a shrinking workforce.

“They have huge government corruption and they have off the books debt that is just enormous, probably 300 percent of GDP,” said Mosher.

So what are the demands that have North Korea so upset over the past few days? Mosher hopes Pompeo is leaving no wiggle room for Kim to cheat on his promises.

“You have to have verified, irreversible denuclearization of North Korea. We have to have American teams of inspectors going in there, unrestricted by any conditions of when you can visit a site and how often you can visit a site and where you can go.

“We’ve denuclearized countries before. We went into Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union and de-nuked that country in a couple of years. We know how to do it if we have access,” said Mosher.

If North Korea fails to allow that kind of access or reneges on it’s promises, Mosher says the consequences should be severe.

“I think the sanctions can be tightened even further. We have to make sure that China’s not cheating. Russia needs to be sidelined as well. They’re both spoilers. They’ve violated the sanctions regime in the past. If we’re not watching and putting pressure on them, they’ll violate the sanctions regime in the future.

“I think we also have to ask countries to send the North Korean workers home who are working in their countries. That’s a big source of revenue for Pyongyang,” said Mosher.

He also says the U.S. could put the North Korean economy in a vise grip to compel compliance.

“Finally, I think we need to consider blockading North Korean ports to stop North Korean trade through the oceans. If we do that, we can then sit back and watch the North Korean economy gradually grind to a halt. That, if anything, will bring Kim Jong-Un back to the negotiating table to get serious this time,” added Mosher.

Thai Cave Rescues, Media SCOTUS Scramble, Hillary 2020?

July 9, 2018 by GregC

Listen to “Thai Cave Rescues, Media SCOTUS Scramble, Hillary 2020?” on Spreaker.
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America herald the divers successfully rescuing the young Thai soccer players trapped in the cave and pray everyone else can be brought to safety tomorrow. Greg rolls his eyes at reports that Hillary Clinton may be planning a 2020 presidential bid but Jim explains how a crowded field and the notion that history robbed her in 2016 could propel her to the nomination. And they get a kick out of the media pumping out conflicting reports about which of the final four Supreme Court possibilities will be chosen by President Trump today.

Iranian Regime to Fall Within Year or Two?

July 5, 2018 by GregC

Authorities in four European nations foiled a terrorist plot against an Iranian resistance rally in Paris, and a key figure in the resistance says Iran is right to be worried about regime change, hinting all the pieces are in place for the mullahs to be toppled within the next year or two.

Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal and other sources reported multiple arrests were made in connection with an attempted terrorist attack against last weekend’s “Free Iran” rally. An Iranian diplomat based in Austria is heavily implicated in the plot.

Alireza Jafarzadeh is deputy director of the Washington office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, or NCRI, which is preparing to lead Iran if regime change can be achieved. He is grateful to the authorities for stopping an attack that would have left “huge crowds” vulnerable.

He says it’s also a signal to the world that Iran is not like other nations.

“It was a warning to the rest of the world that you cannot allow the Iranian regime’s embassies to operate where they are operating,” said Jafarzadeh.

However, he also says the Iranian government is lashing out against his group out of well-founded fear grounded in swelling discontent inside the country.

“You can imagine how desperate the Iranian regime is on one hand. The majority of the 80 million population are very discontented with this regime and they want change. They’re chanting in the streets of Iran, ‘Death to Khamenei’ and ‘Death to Rouhani,’ calling for an end to the religious theocracy in Iran,” said Jafarzadeh.

The chants referred to Ayatollah Ali Khameini and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Jafarzadeh says the protests that made headlines at the beginning of 2018 are still going on and are even intensifying in some areas. Shortly, before the resistance rally in Paris, demonstrators even took to the streets of Tehran.

Jafarzadeh firmly believes a smooth transition to a much better system could happen if the NCRI were to replace the mullahs and Rouhani.

“(The NCRI) has called for the suppression of church and state (being intertwined as one), ballot boxes being the only criteria for legitimacy. It’s called for freedom of speech, freedom of political parties, gender equality, religious tolerance, peace in the Middle East, a free-market economy, and a non-nuclear Iran,” said Jafarzadeh.

He says the resistance is so well-organized that Iran would not face the same destabilizing crises as Egypt and Libya should the current Iranian regime be ousted.

Jafarzadeh says the resistance group MEK is spearheading the internal unrest, which is made easier my the wretched economic conditions in Iran and the realization that all economic gains are gobbled up by the regime, especially the Iranian Republican Guard Corps.

But he also calls on the U.S. and other nations to suffocate the regime with sanctions and provide demonstrators with hope.

“You also want to send a message of encouragement to the population that is coming to the streets. You want them to feel that they are not alone. The world is watching them as well as watching the regime,” said Jafarzadeh.

He says the conditions are ripe for the collapse of the current regime and he suspects it may not take long.

“The next year or so or even less will be absolutely crucial for the process of regime change in Iran,” said Jafarzadeh.

Dems Embrace Socialism, Boot Wants Dems in Control, Vox Calls Revolution A ‘Mistake’

July 5, 2018 by GregC

Listen to “Dems Embrace Socialism, Boot Wants Dems in Control, Vox Calls Revolution A ‘Mistake'” on Spreaker.
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are more than happy to run against a Democratic Party that is now embracing socialism, and they worry that young people don’t understand socialism or its history. They shake their heads at “conservative” Max Boot, who wrote for the Washington Post that he wants Democrats to win control of Congress in the midterm elections. And they take aim at Vox for it’s absurd column suggesting the American Revolution was a “monumental mistake.”

Trump SCOTUS List ‘An Embarrassment of Riches’

July 3, 2018 by GregC

President Trump plans to announce his choice to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court Monday, and grassroots activists are ready to promote and defend whomever Trump chooses from his public list of potential nominees.

On Monday, Trump reportedly interviewed four people for the job, including Judge Amy Coney Barrett of the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Raymond Kethledge and Amul Thapar from the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and Brett Kavanaugh of the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Judicial Crisis Network Chief Counsel Carrie Severino says the most important thing is that everyone on Trump’s list has the right view of a judge’s role.

“The most important thing is this is going to be someone is faithful to the law, is faithful to the Constitution. We’re not looking for a specific outcome in any one case or the other. You want someone who is going to keep those principles first and foremost,” said Severino.

In the past week since Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his impending retirement, Democrats have alternated among demanding no confirmation vote be held until after the midterm elections to lamenting that one more originalist on the court will mean catastrophe for every liberal priority.

“It’s really a hysterical list. Everyone take a deep breath and try to look at the actual facts on the ground. As it happens, all these people are excellent and have great records of upholding the Constitution and reading the laws as they’re written,” said Severino.

So what does Severino think of the names on the list and the four candidates screened by Trump this week?

“You’ve got the constitutional legal scholar in Amy Coney Barrett. You’ve got Amul Thapar who’s got district court experience as well as now being an appellate court judge. He was even a short-lister and interviewed by the president for Justice Gorsuch’s spot. So he’s obviously been in the running for awhile.

“And then two Kennedy clerks, Judges Kethledge and Kavanaugh, both of whom have long track records on the bench and both of whom are incredibly highly regarded in their fields. It’s really an embarrassment of riches. I think I could be in love with any of these nominees,” said Severino.

When discussing the intense liberal reaction to Trump getting the chance to name the justice to succeed Justice Kennedy, Severino admits she was filled with dread in early 2016 when it appeared President Obama would have the chance to name a replacement for Justice Antonin Scalia. That was before Senate Republicans insisted on waiting until the election was over before considering a nominee.

However, Severino also says the corollary to Obama naming a replacement for Scalia would be for Trump to name a successor for someone like Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She says the outrage over Trump choosing a justice following Kennedy’s retirement is is far too hysterical.

“Justice Kennedy, yes he was a swing vote, but he swung much more often with the conservatives. A couple of the recent terms were pretty discouraging for conservatives but this term he voted 100 percent with the conservative bloc,” said Severino.

She also says many Americans might be surprised to learn which justice Kennedy was closest to in his opinions.

“The justice he aligned the most with was Justice (Neil) Gorsuch and vice versa. It turns out that for all the hysteria of this is going to have such a huge, dramatic impact on the court, it turns out that you couldn’t have picked a better justice to mimic Justice Kennedy. So if we get a similar pick to Gorsuch, then any liberal worried about keeping Kennedy’s legacy alive should be happy,” said Severino.

With just a 51-49 majority and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., unlikely to be able to vote, Republicans cannot afford any defections. In addition, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, now says she cannot support a nominee who could pose a threat to Roe v. Wade.

Nonetheless, Severino is confident that Collins and other moderate Republicans will stay in line. She says its the Democrats who have the real dilemma.

“They have to decide if they’re going to stand with the president’s nominee who is clearly, from the list we’re looking at, going to be an outstanding pick for the Supreme Court, or are they going to align themselves with a liberal fringe in the Democrat Party, and vote lockstep with Chuck Schumer.

“That might play well in California, in Massachusetts, in New York. I don’t know how that plays in West Virginia, Indiana, North Dakota, Missouri, Montana,” said Severino.

Ten senators are running for re-election in states carried by Trump in 2016. The five states mentioned by Severino went for Trump by wide margins.

‘They Don’t Want Immigration Enforcement at All’

July 2, 2018 by GregC

A growing number of elected Democrats are now on record in wanting to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, a development that one immigration law expert believes has exposed the desire among many liberals to have fully open borders.

The trend started on Wednesday after avowed socialist Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez defeated 10-term Rep. Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., in a stunning congressional primary. Reporters discovered Ocasio-Cortez wants to abolish ICE. She publicly defended that position, saying ICE has run far off course by separating parent and children entering the U.S. illegally.

Thursday, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., echoed Ocasio-Cortez in supporting the abolition of ICE, appalled that the agency is acting like a “deportation force.” On Friday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced his solidarity as well, and “Abolish ICE” posters were frequently seen at rallies around the country over the weekend denouncing President Trump’s immigration policies.

Center for Immigration Studies Research Fellow Andrew Arthur helped write the homeland security legislation that created ICE in the wake of 9/11. He says the Democrats are just trying to score political points.

“This is just a political stunt. This is all political theater,” said Arthur.

“Blaming ICE for immigration enforcement is sort of like blaming the janitor for the mess that you left if you’re a member of Congress. They created the laws. They can change the laws,” said Arthur.

But Arthur firmly believes that Democrats do want open borders.

“They don’t want immigration enforcement at all. There’s no other way to explain it,” said Arthur.

He says such a policy move would lead for a human tidal wave at our southern border since word would spread quickly that getting into the U.S. would guarantee they get to stay. He also says it would lead to a massive increase in Mexican drug cartels pushing their products across the border.

The calls for abolishing ICE come on the heels of a passionate debate over ICE enforcing existing law which requires parents and children to be separated while the parents are prosecuted for an illegal border crossing. Arthur stresses ICE is doing the job it was created to do.

“Immigration and Customs Enforcement performs many critical tasks. They counter trafficking in the United States, child smuggling. They go after foreign corruption, and they enforce the immigration laws of the United States. To say that they’ve suddenly become a vast deportation force is to say they are exactly what they were when they were set up,” said Arthur.

Arthur says the immigration laws being enforced exist for a very simple reason.

“First and foremost, the immigration laws exist to protect the wages and working conditions of working Americans. That’s not just United States citizens, but it also includes aliens who are lawfully here,” said Arthur.

Democrats are already touting legislation to abolish ICE. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wisc., is planning legislation that is short on details but would establish a commission to determine what duties ICE should be performing.

Arthur says that ambiguity is at the heart of the problem.

“They just don’t want immigration enforcement. They don’t like the idea of it but they really haven’t thought through the ramifications of their proposals or their ideas,” said Arthur.

For his part Pocan, wants borders enforced for the purposes of stopping terrorists but is staunchly opposed to removing people from the country because they came here illegally.

The Democrats are looking to benefit from the family separation controversy in the midterm elections, and Arthur admits the images from the border have been difficult to watch. However, he says Democrats are in for a big surprise if they think calling for the abolition of ICE will play well all over America.

“I’m supportive of the president’s policies but the optics of it were very bad. There was no way to avoid that. [Democrats] are now taking that policy and taking it way too far to an extreme. I think that’s actually going to turn off independent voters who understand there is a reason why we have immigration laws in the United States,” said Arthur.