Due Process” Is Not a Constitutional Footnote, Mr. President

by | Mar 7, 2018 | Uncategorized |

Townhall.com Cherry Blossom season approaches our nation’s capital, the Congress remains gridlocked, and Robert Mueller, the latest “special counsel,” continues his free-wheeling search to unearth “Russian collusion” armed with a limit-free credit card.  All the while, the most recent mass murder involving a firearm fans the flames of gun-control ire from the state legislature in Tallahassee, Florida to Clarksburg, West Virginia (home of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS). Amidst all these goings on, President Trump continues to display his unique understanding of our Bill of Rights.  Last week, during a televised meeting with Republican congressional leaders about the February mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, the President declared that the notion of “due process” is little more than a footnote to the United States Constitution. The President’s view notwithstanding, the principle of due process – that a citizen is absolutely entitled to his or her “day in court” before the government may take action against them – is a bedrock of our representative democracy.  This is the case whether one considers a special counsel attempting to gather evidence against a person believed to have broken the law; or a federal agent seeking to deny someone their constitutionally-guaranteed right to possess a firearm. Imagine for a moment, how large would be the crowd of defendants facing charges initiated by Mueller, in addition to Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort, if the Special Counsel could — to paraphrase Trump – “arrest now, give due process later.”  Manafort would have plenty of company. And yet the President states publicly — in a room full of lawmakers, each of who has taken...

School Shootings Demand Deep Study, Not Faux Solutions

by | Feb 21, 2018 | Uncategorized |

Townhall.com   This is the first in a two-part series on issues relating to and arising out of the mass murders at the high school in Parkland, Florida last week.  The second piece by Congressman Barr will appear next Wednesday.  The Los Angeles Times, a newspaper with the fourth-largest circulation in the country, published an editorial on last week’s mass murder in Florida.  The newspaper’s long-time columnist George Skelton opined that “[m]ass shootings will continue in this country until we finally ban mass-shooting weapons.”  Skelton’s missive was as philosophically deep and intellectually cogent as an attempt by a middle school student to analyze the intricacies of national defense strategies in a multi-polar world order. While I do not doubt that this writer takes his work and his analysis seriously, the views he expresses add absolutely nothing of true substance to the ongoing debates about either what motivates and facilitates mass murderers, or understanding the tools with which these evil acts are committed. In this regard, Skelton reflects nothing but the emerging world view that simplistic solutions will solve complex problems. Skelton’s approach mimics that of gun-control advocates such as “Everytown USA,” an entity supported by well-known gun control hypocrite Michael Bloomberg.  This approach rests on the belief that outlawing this, that, or some other gun will stop evildoers such as the individual who visited such horrors on innocent boys, girls, men and women in Parkland, Florida last week. The Los Angeles-based writer resides also in the company of countless Democrat office holders who trip over themselves to be the first to propose the same failed gun control initiatives in the...

Fixing America’s ‘Invisible’ Infrastructure — The Wireless Spectrum

by | Feb 21, 2018 | Uncategorized |

Investor’s Business Daily America’s wireless spectrum — that long-neglected part of our vital national infrastructure – finally is receiving much needed attention by the Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). XChanges that are important for broadband modernization, however, could be short-circuited by Washington’s continuing budgetary mess. The changes also could become an unintended victim to debates surrounding the creation of a new, “5G” network. Citizens everywhere, especially those in rural parts of the country, have a stake in ensuring that neither contingency occurs. Most of the attention paid to “infrastructure,” including by President Trump in his recent state of the union address, focuses on our physical infrastructure — bridges, highways, water systems, and rail.  Just as important, but far less noticed, is a vital but largely invisible component of America’s infrastructure — the wireless spectrum. Just like a concrete interstate highway, the wireless spectrum has a finite capacity. Sooner or later, only so many users can “ride” its frequencies before it becomes overcrowded, clogged, and eventually, unusable. Unfortunately, while a highway can be widened and more lanes added, the wireless spectrum used by broadcasters cannot. There are only so many megahertz “lanes” or frequencies available for use. Because demand for space has skyrocketed in this digital age — with cell phones, social media, television, radio, law enforcement, 911 emergency systems, and more competing for signal strength — something had to be done to modernize the spectrum so it did not “collapse” under the weight of massively increased demand. These problems demanded the attention of the federal government, which controls the wireless spectrum in the “public interest,” and in 2012 the Congress responded appropriately,...

The EB-5 Visa Program Creates American Jobs And It Deserves Reauthorization

by | Feb 15, 2018 | Uncategorized |

Daily Caller Every once in a while — some would say in a long, long while — the federal government comes up with a good idea. For my Baby Boomer generation, many would say the Apollo Space Program merits such classification. More recently, though on a much smaller scale, airline travelers might suggest the TSA Precheck Program and its Global Entry cousin are examples of successful and timely government initiatives.   In the category of immigration, examples of “good” government programs arguably are among the rarest of all. There is, however, one program that, over the course of its quarter century existence, has delivered consistently on its promise of bringing lawful immigrants to our shores as investors and job creators: the EB-5 visa program (“EB-5” is shorthand for the fifth category of employment-based immigrant visas). The EB-5 program exemplifies the focused, vetted and merit-based immigration policy which President Donald Trump repeatedly has endorsed; most recently in his State of the Union speech last month.   Those waiting for the perfect government program will be forever doomed to disappointment; and the EB-5 visa program is no exception. Despite its flaws, however, the program on balance possesses an indisputable track record of accomplishing its goals; among which are producing some $20 billion in investments in the United States just since the great recession rolled across the country in 2008, and creating more than 174,000 jobs. Some estimates peg the cumulative economic effects of EB-5 based investments, just in terms of tax revenues generated for federal, state and local governments, to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.   Perhaps as...