USA Today:

Days after threatening to close the U.S. border with Mexico, President Donald Trump suggested Thursday that his administration would slap tariffs on autos long before it considered sealing the nation off from its southern neighbor.

“I don’t think we’ll ever have to close the border,” Trump said in the Oval Office.

Trump’s statement marked a significant departure from his position  last week, when he said there was a “very good likelihood” he would close the border this week. The White House faced sharp blowback from business groups and Republicans on Capitol Hill for the threat. A closure would disrupt the flow of roughly $1.5 billion in daily trade.

White House aides sought to soften the language through the week as the president prepared for a visit Friday to the border in California. Trump said earlier Thursday that he would give Mexico a year to halt the flow of illegal drugs coming into the USA. If the drugs didn’t stop, he said, the United States would impose tariffs on Mexican-made cars.

Seeking the Latino vote, is he?

There’s a crisis at the border!  There’s a crisis at the border!  There’s a crisis at the border!  Oops.  Not so much.  There will be a year from now.

What a blowhard.  In other news, a brand new gang appears.

The Cártel de Santa Rosa de Lima (CSRL) emerged from a 2017 split from the CJNG which is led by Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, aka “El Mencho.” As a result, this new cartel—the CSRL, led by José Antonio Yépez Ortiz, aka “El Marro”— now dominates the illicit fuel trade in Guanajuato

But be of good cheer.  Maybe they won’t charge too much for “protection” and fuel when they get here.  And Trump will have his Latino voters for the next election.  And America will be the land of “bring all the people here, we’re rich, we can afford it!”

This comment was made at WRSA.

Fool.

“For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not yet been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure.’ ” (Isaiah 46:9-10)

It is God who “works all things after the counsel of His will.”  (Eph 1:11)

“In Him all things hold together.” (Col 1:17)

“And He … upholds all things by the word of His power.” (Heb 1:3)

“For in Him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:29)

The number of breaths this fool takes on earth has been pre-ordained from before the foundation of the world.  His eternal state has been predestined.  The order of the words he wrote today were ordained from before he was born.  Whether he tied his right or left shoe first was determined for him by the Almighty.  The seconds of sleep he got last night, the thoughts he would think, and what he would eat today, were all decided for him from ancient times.  The number of hairs on his head have been pre-determined, each and every day of his existence.  Without the very thoughts of God upholding his constitution every second, his very body and soul would vanish like a vapor in the wind.

However, this man does serve one useful function.  He supplies the fool at which God may scoff (Ps 2:4).

Reuters:

“I don’t think we need military-style weapons in our society. I definitely don’t need them in my job,” he says. “It’s like driving around in a Ferrari, you don’t need it.”

Yea, you’d better check that nice bolt action long gun you’re sporting, boy.  For military snipers the world over, that’s a military gun.  It’s used differently than the AR-15 which is for CQB.  That’s a stand-off weapon.

Sooner or later, the government won’t allow you to have it.  Say, right about the time somebody sits in a tower or tall building or the bush somewhere and shoots enough humans to cause emotional outrage.

When you let the government go after other people because you aren’t affected, not only is that selfish and cowardly, it’s bad strategy.

News from the Northwest:

A baggage handler who worked at Portland International Airport admitted Wednesday in federal court to stealing six guns from checked bags over several weeks last year.

Deshawn Antonio Kelly, 27, pleaded guilty to five counts of possession of a stolen gun before U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon. The fifth count covered taking two guns on one day.

Kelly acknowledged he stole the guns from five people who checked their bags at the Portland airport last August and September. All of them reported their handguns missing after getting their luggage back at their final destinations.

The guns were stolen on Aug. 19, Aug. 29, Sept. 9, Sept. 11 and Sept. 17: three 9mm pistols, two .40-caliber pistols and one .45-caliber pistol, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Hannah Horsley.

Had the case gone to trial, prosecutors would have presented the court with surveillance tapes and witness statements to support the charges.

Following reports of stolen guns from airport baggage, a Portland police detective placed replica guns in bags twice — on Sept. 11 and six days later — as bait to determine who was swiping them and narrowed it to Kelly, according to a probable cause affidavit initially filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court.

The second time, Kelly was seen taking a bait bag and a passenger’s bag with a gun and later putting them back. The police bag had damaged locks, the affidavit said, and looked as if someone tried to pry the locks off the gun case.

Investigators searched Kelly’s home and found five of the six guns reported missing, and Kelly admitted taking them, the affidavit said.

Kelly previously had been convicted of attempted possession of a rented or leased motor vehicle, a felony that barred him from having or handling guns.

I don’t lie to y’all.  It’s like I’ve said before.

“Let’s face it, folks.  Since we are dropping off the luggage and we are picking it up, the only necessity for the luggage to be locked up is what happens behind the wall.  The only good of locking up the gun is theft by airport employees.  We know it, the TSA knows it, and the airlines know it.  It’s the truth.  None of this has anything to do with security.  It’s all about airport theft by airline or airport employees.”

Prior: Baggage Handler Steals Firearms In Austin Airport

The Washington Post:

Senior White House officials are exploring ways to exempt commercial trade from President Trump’s threat to shut down the U.S. border with Mexico, three people briefed on the discussions said, amid warnings that blocking the flow of goods between the two countries would have severe consequences for the U.S. economy.

Hmm … what costs would that be?  Maybe these costs?

“The findings of this analysis show that the average cost of a deportation is much smaller than the net fiscal drain created by the average illegal immigrant. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported the average deportation cost as $10,854 in FY 2016. In FY 2012, ICE removed 71 percent more aliens with a similar budget, creating an average inflation-adjusted cost of $5,915. This compares to an average lifetime net fiscal drain (taxes paid minus services used) of $65,292 for each illegal immigrant, excluding their descendants. This net figure is based on fiscal estimates of immigrants by education level from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS). The total fiscal drain for the entire illegal population is estimated at $746.3 billion. Of course, simply because deportation is much less costly than allowing illegal immigrants to stay does not settle the policy questions surrounding illegal immigration as there are many factors to consider. Steven A. Camarota is the director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies, 8/3/17   (Reported in www.CarryingCapacityNetwork.org)

How about this sobering figure as to LEGAL immigration?

29,000 LEGAL Immigrants per Week Cost Us U.S. Taxpayers $6.3 BILLION per Week, NET!

Unsustainable 1.5 Million Annual Legal-Immigrant Influx  Costs U.S. Taxpayers $330 Billion NET (i.e., after subtracting Taxes Immigrants Pay) per Year NET, i.e., $758 MILLION per Year for EACH Congressional District   (does not include State & Local Costs to Taxpayers)
See CCN’s Cost of Immigration Study

David Durham, director at CCN, said, “If the 1.5 to 1.6 Million Annual Legal Immigrant Inflow were cut to 150,000/Year (i.e., Zero-Net Annual Immigration = Emigration), Federal Deficit could be reduced by One-Half Trillion $ in a Decade!

And to be sure, screwing with health care subsidies means alienating the Latino population.

While the economy is usually the top voting issue among the electorate, when asked about the most important issue facing their community, 31% of Latinos viewed health care costs and access to care as the number one issue, according to Latino Decisions American Election Eve Poll findings. Moreover, Latinos feel strongly about securing Obamacare, with a large majority of 71% agreeing that the Affordable Care Act should be strengthened compared to only 15% of Latinos disagreeing with such efforts.

That’s about the percentage opposition (70%) to second amendment rights found in the Latino community, so there’s that to consider as well.

Then of course there is the drug gang violence to consider.  But we could go on all day about this, yes?

But be of good cheer.  I’m sure the “cost” Trump is trying to avoid won’t be incurred, and Monsanto and Archer-Daniels-Midland will get their low paid workers somehow.  That means the boards of directors will have their ocean-front and mountain retirement homes.

Via Uncle, this.

Most local and area law enforcement agencies aren’t seeing a flood of bump stocks, attachments that allow shooters to continuously fire semi-automatic weapons, being turned in as a result of a federal ban that went into effect a week ago.

Only one agency reached by The State Journal-Register had reported a bump stock being turned over.

As of March 26, owners had 90 days to surrender the devices to local law enforcement agencies or to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives or to destroy them on their own.

On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a one-sentence order upholding the ban.

In October 2017, a gunman used a bump stock to rain gunfire down from a Las Vegas hotel room, killing 58 people and injuring hundreds of others at a country music festival.

The novelty of the device — and some say its inaccuracy — have made it a bit of rarity among gun owners.

“I don’t think it’s a popular item,” said Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell, adding that none have been turned into his office.

“It’s a possibility (some could still be turned in). I don’t know how many were purchased in Sangamon County, and we don’t track the sales.

“You’re going to have a few holdouts. There were gun owners who were adamant that this was part of their Second Amendment right to keep it.”

“What I’ve found out about bump stocks is that they’re unique,” Morgan County Sheriff Mike Carmody said.

Carmody’s office also hasn’t handled any since the ban, though he expects the issue to come up in conversation with gun advocates.

Carmody also said he was unsure if owners would strictly adhere to the ban, but “I guarantee that anyone who has a bump stock knows the law.”

Menard County Sheriff Mark Oller said the only bump stock turned into his office was done so weeks before the ban took effect.

“Someone was going through a person’s estate (when it was found),” Oller said. “It had never been used. It was still in the package.

“It’s not surprising that only one was turned in because I don’t think there are many out there.”

Yea, you keep telling yourself that.  Nationally, some 550,000 of them.  But here’s the real question, Sheriff.  If America is going to make felons out of innocent and peaceable men, what’s the purpose in stopping with bump stocks?  Why not SBRs, suppressors and fully automatic weapons?

From a reader, news from Virginia.

Though one of the men in the group was ineligible to buy a gun — and had been previously convicted of making a false statement on a firearm consent form — he made the purchase without a hitch.

Police took the video footage from the gun store in the course of investigating a homicide, according to search warrants filed in Danville Circuit Court.

Days after seeing the video, police found the man riding in a Buick with a Glock 45 tucked under his seat — a round in the chamber — and a magazine on him. Court records show police arrested and charged him with possessing a gun as a non-violent felon, carrying a concealed weapon and felonious possession of ammunition.

Though federal and state laws prohibited him from possessing ammo, there were no background checks required to buy it, as there are when purchasing a gun at a store.

In fact there is no background-check infrastructure in the state to stop a felon from purchasing ammo, Virginia State Police public relations manager Corinne Geller said.

The state police handles background checks for firearms purchases, referring applications to the Virginia Firearms Transaction Center in Richmond. The center combs through four state databases and one national database maintained by the FBI to check a buyer’s criminal history, mental health history, protective orders and other disqualifying factors when they go to buy a gun.

But of course.  Instead of reversing the unconstitutional gun sales background checks, since they don’t stop crime, just expand it to ammunition as well.  When a process fails, double-down on it, the progressive way.

They are eventually going to implement a new AWB, and they will eventually come after ammunition too.  Without ammunition, a gun is a paperweight.  Get it now while you can.  Otherwise, red flag laws may sweep you into their net.

By the way, I fear that the good folks of Virginia are going to fall victim to the progressives in Northern Virginia, just as North Carolina has to Mecklenburg and Wake Counties.

Army Times:

The Army has selected the sub compact weapon it will arm its security soldiers with and it wasn’t one of the big companies that have grabbed other recent weapons contracts.

Brugger and Thomet, USA won the competition over Sig Sauer and four other companies that had been vying for the job. Their APC9K was the winner, according to an update on fbo.gov, a government business website.

The small submachine gun is chambered in 9mm and variants of the weapon are in use with police units such as Special Weapons and Tactics, or SWAT teams.

I don’t shoot 9mm, I shoot .45ACP.  But if I did shoot 9mm it isn’t clear to me why you wouldn’t choose the Sig MPX.  I’m sure they had their reasons, but those reasons may not translate to civilian ownership (e.g., cost).  Also, for civilian ownership of that weapon above you’d have to drop the forend grip and the stock, or register it as an SBR.

News on Pete Buttiegieg:

Buttigieg, an Afghanistan war veteran and lieutenant in the United States Navy Reserve, could become America’s first openly gay president. If it wasn’t apparent from how much money he’s raised so far, he’s gained an incredible amount of momentum since launching his presidential exploratory committee on January 23, 2019. When it comes to key issues like gun control, Buttigieg has made it clear over the years where he stands: He supports universal background checks, and knows that mental health contributes to America’s gun violence epidemic.

[ … ]

“Joined bipartisan Mayors Against Illegal Guns to do something about need for common sense gun safety. #NowIsTheTime.”

“I’m with the majority of Americans (& gun owners) who agree with @POTUS that we need universal background checks to help #StopGunViolence.”

[ … ]

Buttigieg is a member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a bipartisan group within the Everytown network that’s comprised over 1,000 mayors advocating for gun safety. Think: Advancing policies and practices that reduce firearm suicides; and minimizing shootings by the police. After Parkland, he supported the young people within his community demanding that our country ends gun violence.

[ … ]

We had an assault weapons ban in this country in the 90s. I would like to see more research on the effect it had. I do think we need to draw a line. Look, compatible with the Second Amendment, there are some restrictions. Somewhere between a slingshot and a nuclear weapon, we’ve decided that the American people would draw a line. Whether, for example, an AR-15 is on this side or that side of the line, I’m skeptical that it belongs in our neighborhoods in peacetime, but let’s at least have a healthy national debate about what’s best for keeping our families, our homes, and our schools safe.

Yea, as if there isn’t a healthy national debate already on this very subject.  Any time a progressive wants to have a “healthy national debate,” she is lying.  One already exists, and they know it.  What they want is draconian gun controls.  They want to occupy the throne of God, who alone grants rights and issues duties.

This candidate is the progressive’s wet dream.  Don’t count him out by a long stretch.  It’s messy-hair Bernie, creepy-Joe, or confused Beto, versus a guy who is gay, a veteran who can trot out pictures of himself in uniform, and believes in gun control.  He hasn’t been in politics long enough to have heavy baggage, so money is pouring into his campaign.

I say again.  Don’t count him out.