Blatant...

ILLEGAL immigration is a “blatant example of European powerlessness,” French conservative François-Xavier Bellamy, leader of the centre-right Les Républicains (LR) party list in the upcoming European parliament elections, said on Sunday

The French right-winger, whose party has called for increased border security, added that it was for migrants to adapt to the host culture, and not vice-versa. 

“Confronted with massive migration flows, Europe chose re-distribution instead of choosing protection,” Mr Bellamy told Le Figaro newspaper. “What we are saying is simple: we want a double border.” The LR party has called for internal border controls to be permanently restored inside the passport-free Schengen zone, and for a reinforcement of the bloc’s external borders.

“We want to continue taking in those who need our help. But there is a difference [between welcoming refugees] and having your front door dented every single day." 

Economic migration “distorts the meaning of asylum” and shrouds many asylum requests in suspicion, the parliamentary hopeful added.   

He said: “European civilisation is in danger… There is no reason to ask the French to adapt to the culture of those who arrive: it is up to those who want to live in France and in Europe to adapt to the host culture.” 

The EU has since tightened its external borders, turned more restrictive on granting asylum and struck deals with the likes of Turkey and Libya to keep migrants from crossing the Mediterranean sea.

Leaning...

A Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Twitter poll asking what type of Supreme Court justices social media users would like to have on the bench apparently backfired when 71 percent of respondents selected “justices like Brett Kavanaugh” compared to just 29 percent who chose “justices like Ruth Bader Ginsburg.”

However, by Sunday afternoon, the tweet had vanished.

Ginsburg is one of the longest-tenured justices on the Supreme Court and is known for her liberal dissents. 

She has become an icon in liberal circles for her stances on women’s rights, abortion and gender discrimination.

Kavanaugh, following a brutal confirmation process that saw multiple women accuse him of sexual misconduct while in high school. 

A social conservative, Kavanaugh previously worked in the administration of President George W. Bush and the United States Court of appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where he was ranked as one of the most conservative judges on the D.C. court, according to the Washington Post.

Is the country leaning conservative?

Poll...

Passions...

Pelosi, the de facto head of the Democratic Party until a presidential nominee is selected in 2020, offered Democrats her “coldblooded” plan for decisively ridding themselves of Mr. Trump: Do not get dragged into a protracted impeachment bid that will ultimately get crushed in the Republican-controlled Senate, and do not risk alienating the moderate voters who flocked to the party in 2018 by drifting too far to the left.

“Own the center left, own the mainstream,” Ms. Pelosi, 79, said.

“Our passions were for health care, bigger paychecks, cleaner government  a simple message,” Ms. Pelosi said.

“We did not engage in some of the other exuberances that exist in our party” — a reference to ambitious plans advocated by the left wing and some 2020 candidates, including “Medicare for all” and the Green New Deal, which she has declined to support.

Retire...

Workers looking forward to enjoying a long and leisurely retirement after years of toil, may need to think again.  New research shows that brain function declines rapidly as soon as people stop work and put their feet up.

 A major British study which tracked 3,400 retired civil servants found that short-term memory declines nearly 40 per cent faster once employees become pensioners.

 It appears that the lack of regular stimulation takes a heavy toll on cognitive function and speeds up memory loss and dementia, researchers warned.

The more cognitively active you are the more it offsets the risk of dementia.

“The most important thing is to interact with people.”  

Even high-ranking civil servants with mentally demanding jobs saw brain capacity plummet once they quit, the study found.

It suggests a busy and high-flying career offers no protection against cognitive decline unless pensioners keep physically and mentally active.

Experts say the best way to avoid the conditions is stay active, eat a healthy diet, stop smoking and drink in moderation.

But the latest research suggests giving up work could be a major catalyst for the incurable illness in some people.

Tripoli...

Eight years after the fall of its former ruler, Muammar Gaddafi, Libya remains plagued by instability, thanks to Hillary Clinton's desire to start wars everywhere.

Last month the self-styled Libyan National Army led by strongman General Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive on the capital, Tripoli.

BBC Arabic's Feras Killani has spent time embedded with fighters allied to the country's internationally recognised Government of National Accord, as they battle to repel the assault.

Fighting raged in the battle for the Libyan capital Tripoli, with neither faction able to secure gains as an offensive by eastern commander Khalifa Haftar entered its fifth week, killing almost 400 people and displacing 50,000.

Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA), which is allied to a parallel administration based in Benghazi, has in the past week brought up more troops and heavy guns to the frontline.  

But it has been unable to breach the defenses in the city's southern suburbs of forces loyal to the internationally recognized government in Tripoli.

Wad...

Skids...

A Department of Defense plane from Guantanamo Bay skidded off a runway into shallow water in Jacksonville with no serious injuries.

Union...

In 1787, the Founding Fathers laid out their plan for a “more perfect union” - a shining city on the hill where life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were fundamental human rights. Today, democracy is considered synonymous with the freedoms and ideals upon which the United States was founded. 

That was the principle upon which the United States was founded more than two centuries ago...more or less. In point of fact, the Founding Fathers never intended for the country to be a direct democracy; James Madison, who is credited with authoring the Constitution, once called democracy “the most vile form of government.”

What the founders actually created is a system known as a representative democracy in which some decisions are made by popular vote while others are determined by elected representatives. 

Work...

The Democrats on camera declare that infrastructure is a non partisan issue. What other things that are non partisan that can  start improve/build/ modernize projects to help the American people improve their lives. What about lower prescription pricing?