90 Miles From Tyranny

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

House GOP 'Working With Whistleblowers' In Clinton Foundation Probe

House Republicans will hear testimony on December 5 from the prosecutor appointed by Attorney General Jeff Sessions to investigate allegations of wrongdoing by the Clinton Foundation, according to Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC).

Meadows - chairman of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations, told The Hill that it's time to "circle back" to former Utah Attorney General John Huber's probe with the Justice Department into whether the Clinton Foundation engaged in improper activities, reports The Hill.

"Mr. [John] Huber with the Department of Justice and the FBI has been having an investigation – at least part of his task was to look at the Clinton Foundation and what may or may not have happened as it relates to improper activity with that charitable foundation, so we’ve set a hearing date for December the 5th.," Meadows told Hill.TV on Wednesday.

Meadows says the questions will include whether any tax-exempt proceeds were used for personal gain and whether the Foundation adhered to IRS laws.

Sessions appointed Huber last year to work in tandem with the Justice Department to look into conservative claims of misconduct at the FBI and review several issues surrounding the Clintons. This includes Hillary Clinton’s ties to a Russian nuclear agency and concerns about the Clinton Foundation.

Huber’s work has remained shrouded in mystery. The White House has released little information about Huber’s assignment other than Session’s address to Congress saying his appointed should address concerns raised by Republicans. -The Hill

According to a report by the Dallas Observer last November, the Clinton Foundation has been under investigation by the IRS since July, 2016.

Meadows says that it's time for Huber to update Congress concerning his findings, and "expects him to...

Gallup Poll: Illegal Immigration ‘Top Problem’ Facing U.S.

Illegal immigration is top problem facing Americans, according to November’s Gallup survey that was released on Tuesday.

Gallup’s poll found that 21% of Americans believe that “immigration/illegal aliens” is the top problem facing the country, up from 13% from October. “Dissatisfaction with government/Poor leadership” came in second at 18%, followed by health care at 11%.

The poll, conducted November 1-11, found that the “immigration/illegal aliens” issue is particularly important to Republicans, “37% of whom name it as the most important problem — an increase of 17 points from the prior month.”

It also found that 18% of independents and even 10% of democrats cited the illegal immigration as their top concern facing the country.

President Donald Trump campaigned for weeks on the migrant caravan before the midterm elections, forcing the mainstream press to cover illegal immigration like he did during his successful 2016 campaign when he highlighted “Angel Moms” and other victims of illegal immigrant crimes like Kate Steinle’s family.

While he was barnstorming across the country for Republican candidates, Trump said he wanted to talk about illegal immigration because it is still a “big problem” that the country needed to solve.

Trump sent nearly 5,000 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border before the caravan’s arrival, but his administration announced that some of those troops will be called back starting this week.

Gallup said it is possible that immigration could “retreat from the top of the list” for some people in the months ahead. But Gallup predicted that issue will still remain front and center, especially for Republicans, as discussions about building the border wall or a potential...

Genius!

Illegal Alien Deported 2 Years Ago Arrested in Murder of Store Clerk in Houston

An illegal immigrant, who was back in the country after being deported in 2016, is being charged in the murder of a convenience store clerk during an armed robbery in Houston.

Jose Bonilla-Ortiz, 18, was arrested on Saturday in the fatal, Nov. 10 shooting of 48-year-old Faruk Bhuiya, according to local KTRK-TV.

Bonilla-Ortiz was caught on surveillance video entering the convenience store with another unidentified man, the station reported.

Our Homicide investigators have released surveillance video of the suspects wanted in the fatal shooting of a convenience store employee at 1600 Witte on November 10. Call HPD Homicide at 713-308-3600 or @CrimeStopHOU if you recognize them #hounews pic.twitter.com/qcDNwqLyRu
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) November 14, 2018

Bonilla-Ortiz and Bhuiya struggled over a security door that the Bhuiya tried to close, according to prosecutors.

Then, Bonilla-Ortiz fired once and struck Bhuiya in the face, who then died at the scene.

Bhuiya’s widow, Phyllis Bhuiya, offered her sympathy for the suspect’s mother, according to The Houston Chronicle.

“I feel bad for this boy’s mother. His life is ruined. Ruined for nothing, absolutely nothing,” Bhuiya said.

However, Bhuiya wants Bonilla-Ortiz to pay for...

Tom Fitton: 'OUTRAGEOUS' that DOJ and State Dept. CONTINUE to Protect Hillary Clinton

In this edition of “Inside Judicial Watch,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton gives an update on some of the key cases and investigations Judicial Watch is involved with, including the Clinton email scandal, the Mueller probe into alleged Trump/Russia collusion during the 2016 election, and the midterm election recount in Florida.

President Donald Trump joked about the midterms, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and Democrats during the annual presidential turkey pardon Tuesday.

Speaking from the Rose Garden, Trump delivered the annual address. “At this time of the year, we reflect on all of the many blessings in our lives,” he said.

Speaking alongside First Lady Melania Trump, the president explained that “the winner of this vote was decided by a fair and open election.” Trump announced that of the two turkeys, Peas and Carrots, Peas had won the popular vote for the pardon. Referencing the contentious midterm elections, Trump joked, “Unfortunately, Carrots refused to concede and demanded a recount, and we’re still fighting with Carrots,” Trump joked.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, Trump announced he would be pardoning them both. Unfortunately, “even though Peas and Carrots have received a presidential pardon,” Trump said, “I have warned them that House Democrats are likely to issue them both subpoenas.”

The president joked that his decision to pardon them both might not be final. “I can’t guarantee that your pardons won’t be enjoined by the Ninth...

The rationale for immigrant workers has always been “we need them for jobs American’s won’t do.” Within 10 years, 90 percent of human labor on farms and will be replaced by robots. So, where are the 30 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. working these days? Certainly not on farms. ⁃ TN Editor

As a boy, Abel Montoya remembers his father arriving home from the lettuce fields each evening, the picture of exhaustion, mud caked knee-high on his trousers. “Dad wanted me to stay away from manual labor. He was keen for me to stick to the books,” Mr. Montoya said. So he did, and went to college.

Yet Mr. Montoya, a 28-year-old immigrant’s son, recently took a job at a lettuce-packing facility, where it is wet, loud, freezing — and much of the work is physically taxing, even mind-numbing.

Now, though, he can delegate some of the worst work to robots.

Mr. Montoya is among a new generation of farmworkers here at Taylor Farms, one of the world’s largest producers and sellers of fresh-cut vegetables, which recently unveiled a fleet of robots designed to replace humans — one of the agriculture industry’s latest answers to a diminishing supply of immigrant labor.

The smart machines can assemble 60 to 80 salad bags a minute, double the output of a worker.

Enlisting robots made sound economic sense, Taylor Farms officials said, for a company seeking to capitalize on Americans’ insatiable appetite for healthy fare at a time when it cannot recruit enough people to work in the fields or the factory.

A decade ago, people lined up by the hundreds for jobs at packing houses in California and Arizona during the lettuce season. No more.

“Our work force is getting older,” said Mark Borman, chief operating officer of Taylor Farms. “We aren’t attracting young people to our industry. We aren’t getting an influx of immigrants. How do we deal with that? Innovation.”

Moving up the technology ladder creates higher-skilled positions that can attract young people like Mr. Montoya, who is finishing a computer science degree, and bolster retention of veteran employees who receive new training to advance their careers.

“We are making better jobs that we hope appeal to a broader range of people,” Mr. Borman said.

In a 2017 survey of farmers by the California Farm Bureau Federation, 55 percent reported labor shortages, and the figure was nearly 70 percent for those who depend on seasonal workers. Wage increases in recent years have not compensated for the shortfall, growers said.

Strawberry operations in California, apple orchards in Washington and dairy farms across the country are struggling with the consequences of a shrinking, aging, foreign-born work force; a crackdown at the border; and the failure of Congress to agree on an immigration overhaul that could...