Monday, October 09, 2017

Pence Walks Out on NFL Game

By John Hinderaker


The latest on the National Anthem controversy in the National Football League: Vice-President Pence attended the Indianapolis Colts game today to see Peyton Manning’s jersey retired. (Indiana is, of course, Pence’s home state, where he served as governor.) But Pence walked out when a handful of players refused to stand for the Anthem:

Vice President Mike Pence has left the 49ers-Colts game after about a dozen San Francisco players took a knee.
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Pence said on Twitter : “I left today’s Colts game because @POTUS and I will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem.”
The White House also issued a statement from Pence, in which he says Americans should rally around the flag. Pence said: “I don’t think it’s too much to ask NFL players to respect the Flag and our National Anthem.”
Colin Kaepernick, meanwhile, says that if a team will sign him, he will stand for the Anthem.
And a new poll finds a shocking drop-off in the NFL’s image:
From the end of August to the end of September, the favorable ratings for the NFL have dropped from 57 percent to 44 percent, and it has the highest unfavorable rating – 40 percent – of any big sport, according to the Winston Group survey provided exclusively to Secrets.
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The Winston Poll from the Washington-based Winston Group found that the attitude of [men aged 34 to 54] went from an August rating of 73 percent favorable and 19 percent unfavorable to 42 percent favorable and 47 percent unfavorable, a remarkable turn against the sport.
It remains to be seen how this will play out in game attendance and television ratings, but it seems obvious that the NFL has been hurt badly by its tacit endorsement of protests that most Americans see as wholly unjustified and anti-patriotic.
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In Other News
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 8, 2017
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IMMIGRATION POLICY PRIORITIES
Executive Summary
The Trump Administration is ready to work with Congress to achieve three immigration policy objectives to ensure safe and lawful admissions; defend the safety and security of our country; and protect American workers and taxpayers.
BORDER SECURITY:  Build a southern border wall and close legal loopholes that enable illegal immigration and swell the court backlog.
  • Fund and complete construction of the southern border wall.
  • Authorize the Department of Homeland Security to raise and collect fees from visa services and border-crossings to fund border security and enforcement activities.
  • Ensure the safe and expeditious return of Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) and family units. 
  • End abuse of our asylum system by tightening standards, imposing penalties for fraud, and ensuring detention while claims are verified.
  • Remove illegal border crossers quickly by hiring an additional 370 Immigration Judges and 1,000 ICE attorneys.
  • Discourage illegal re-entry by enhancing penalties and expanding categories of inadmissibility.
  • Improve expedited removal.
  • Increase northern border security.
INTERIOR ENFORCEMENT:  Enforce our immigration laws and return visa overstays.
  • Protect innocent people in sanctuary cities.
  • Authorize and incentivize States and localities to help enforce Federal immigration laws.
  • Strengthen law enforcement by hiring 10,000 more ICE officers and 300 Federal prosecutors. 
  • End visa overstays by establishing reforms to ensure their swift removal. 
  • Stop catch-and-release by correcting judicial actions that prevent ICE from keeping dangerous aliens in custody pending removal and expanding the criteria for expedited removal.  
  • Prevent gang members from receiving immigration benefits.
  • Protect U.S. workers by requiring E-Verify and strengthening laws to stop employment discrimination against U.S. workers. 
  • Improve visa security by expanding State Department’s authority to combat visa fraud, ensuring funding of the Visa Security Program, and expanding it to high-risk posts.
MERIT-BASED IMMIGRATION SYSTEM:  Establish reforms that protect American workers and promote financial success.
  • End extended-family chain migration by limiting family-based green cards to include spouses and minor children.
  • Establish a points-based system for green cards to protect U.S. workers and taxpayers.