Borders...

Federal agents have arrested the driver of a moving truck at the southern United States border after finding nearly a dozen Chinese migrants hiding inside furniture within the vehicle.

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers inspected the truck when it arrived on Saturday night at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego, California, attempting to cross over from Mexico.

As officers searched the contents of the vehicle, they discovered 11 migrants concealed within various pieces of furniture and appliances, including a wooden chest, a dresser and a washing machine, according to a press release from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.

Last month, officers at the same port of entry discovered six Chinese migrants concealed behind a false wall in another moving truck.

And in the United Kingdom in late October, 39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead in a refrigerated truck container that had traveled into England from Belgium.

Quick Quo...

Deadlines have a way of motivating Capitol Hill to get to work.

Democrats have been outspent in the impeachment fight, and are worried about being out-maneuvered. They still need to sort through their own conflicting instincts and political agendas before they can move on to the serious matter at hand.

In addition to the self-imposed pressure Democrats now face to work quickly on impeachment, there's also a fast-approaching deadline at the end of the month for Congress to pass a spending bill to avoid a government shutdown.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said last week that she did not think Congress was headed for a shutdown.

Giuliani's travels to Ukraine aside, the Republican effort to portray as a circus what Democrats want to showcase as a sober responsibility has had some impact.

Ahead...

The Republicans will not agree with the Democrats in this impeachment endeavor. They don't want to hand victory to the Democrats.

By the same talking, the Democrats wouldn't hand the Republicans any victory on any issue.

The impeachment process is a way to vacate the unexpected choice of the people not to elect a politician at this time. Those who voted for Trump earlier will not just accept these trickery from Pelosi and her pals.   Just a thought.

Hardly...

We are in such an era of polarization and tribalism that it is extremely hard to move public opinion even when the facts and the law all seem lined up consistently in one direction.

 It appears that the House Judiciary Committee will soon draw up multiple articles of impeachment and pass them out of committee without any Republican support.

The articles will then move quickly to the House floor and send the matter to the Senate. And because Republicans hold a majority in the Senate, it seems nearly impossible for that to happen.

A compromise may be reached. Instead of impeaching the president, we may see a move towards censure, which signals disapproval.

All of this points to a fundamental political principle: when there is serious political division and leaders need to be held accountable, an impeachment is hardly ever the solution.

Misguided...

A New York man who tweeted an offer of $500 to anyone willing to kill a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer was acquitted.

The case against Brandon Ziobrowski, 35, centered on whether a threatening social media post is protected speech under the First Amendment.

A federal jury in Boston cleared Ziobrowski of using interstate and foreign commerce to transmit a threat after a week of testimony. He had faced up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

Regardless,   In 2019, over 100 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty, that is protecting you and me.

Damn...

Joe Biden got into an extremely tense, aggressive confrontation with a potential voter in Iowa, lashing out about the man’s intelligence, calling him a liar and — in what’s becoming a signature Biden move — challenging him to a push-up contest.

Biden responding heatedly after the man, who described himself as an “old, Iowa retired farmer,” stood up to ask why Biden had “sent” his son Hunter to Ukraine to “sell access to the president.”    

 Biden angrily retorted, “You’re a damn liar, man,” before getting into a tense back-and-forth. When the man said he had heard claims about Biden selling access via his son on MSNBC, Biden snapped, “You don’t hear that on MSNBC you do not hear that at all.

This issue will destroy the half hearted candidacy of Old Joe.
The way Joe responded, walking towards the person as if to intimidate
 him, and  challenging the guy.....  Just a thought.

Creepy...

 

Warped...

A quick turnaround on impeachment articles, an event of historic significance, a vital moment of moral reckoning for the nation, will occur over the sleepy holiday season when Americans’ attention is sparse.

The Senate trial, will  force Senators Booker, Klobuchar, Sanders and Warren to cease campaigning in the crucial month before the Iowa caucuses to return to sit as jurors. Rushing to draft articles also means that crucial information about the Ukraine scandal will not be made public.

More broadly, such a narrow and quick impeachment process risks being not only politically wasteful for the Democrats, but cowardly as well, in the admittedly warped logic of American political messaging.    Just a thought.

Produce...

Just when you thought dairy and raw meat were more likely to get you sick, it turns out that produce may actually be the biggest culprit.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, produce is the culprit for about 50 percent of all foodborne illnesses. However, meat and poultry are only involved in about 22 percent of the cases, in comparison.

Recent research from the FDA has proven the risk unwashed produce can do for your health.

In one experiment, the Food and Drug Administration tested the bacteria existing in avocados and guacamole, later determining that E. coli and Salmonella were present in most of the samples. Furthermore, three out of the four subjects that tested positive for listeria came from domestic suppliers.

Facial...

China put into effect new regulations that require Chinese telecom carriers to scan the faces of users registering new mobile phone services, a move the government says is aimed at cracking down on fraud.  

The rules mean millions more people will come under the purview of facial recognition technology in China.

Supermarkets, subway systems and airports already use facial recognition technology. Alibaba hotel in its headquarters city of Hangzhou where guests can scan their face with their smartphones for advance check-in.

The metro systems of some major Chinese cities will use the technology to "classify passengers" for "different security check measures."