A Silly World: Today's news for March 22nd

Chuck Barris is dead today. He was 87.

Barris was the creator of popular games shows The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game, although he was best known as the host of The Gong Show:



Barris was also a songwriter, best known for Freddy Cannon's Palisades Park:


I would say the world is a little less silly without Barris, but the news doesn't allow for that assessment.

On a more serious note...

Fox News:

Rape focuses critical attention on 'sanctuary' states

The rape of a 14-year-old girl last week in a boys’ bathroom of a Maryland high school, for which two immigrants have been charged, has fueled opposition to officials making the state a sanctuary for illegal immigrants.

One suspect in last Thursday’s attack is 17; the other is 18. Both were enrolled as freshman because of their weak English language skills. The two suspects, who were enrolled in Rockville’s Montgomery High School, are from Central America.

Four days after the rape, Maryland’s House of Delegates passed legislation to join states like California in becoming a “sanctuary state,” affording illegal criminal aliens additional protections and making it more difficult to deport them or ask about immigration status.

...The legislation that passed Monday will make Maryland a sanctuary for illegal alien criminals, further endanger its citizens and interfere with state and local law enforcement’s ability to cooperate with federal law enforcement, the governor said.

...One suspect, Henry E. Sanchez, 18, of Guatemala had been stopped by a Border Patrol agent in August 2016 in Rio Valley Grande, Texas, when he entered the country illegally from Mexico. Sanchez was ordered to appear before an immigration judge, but the hearing had not yet been scheduled.

It was not immediately clear if the other suspect, Jose O. Montano, 17, from El Salvador, was in the county illegally but county executive Ike Leggett told local press both had outstanding ICE orders.

Somehow, this news story got missed by CNN, even though the White House commented on it:

"The reason the president has made it such a priority to crack down on illegal immigration is because of cases like this," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Tuesday.

Speaking of the White House...

Newsweek:

AMERICA FIRST? TRUMP BUSINESSES KEEP HIRING FOREIGN WORKERS

In speeches and tweets, President Donald Trump insists it's time to put "America first," but when it comes to his family's vast empire of successful businesses, foreign workers apparently make attractive hires.

Trump Vineyard Estates, owned by Eric Trump, is seeking permission to hire 29 foreign workers through the federal H-2A visa program to cultivate grapes at its Virginia winery, the Associated Press reported Tuesday. The immigration program lets agricultural employees temporarily hire foreign workers to do the jobs Americans don't want or can't do.

Eric Trump applied for six foreign workers in December, just before his father moved into the White House and described his "America first" vision in his Inauguration Day speech. Now, Trump Vineyard Estates is seeking permission to hire 23 more foreign workers at $10.72 an hour.

Maybe we misunderstood Trump's campaign slogan?

Perhaps it was supposed to be "Make America Grape Again"?



But seriously folks...

Breitbart:

Exclusive — Rand Paul: ‘Easily 35 No Votes’ Against Paul Ryan’s Obamacare 2.0, 

‘I Would Predict They Pull Bill, Start Over’

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) told Breitbart News exclusively on Tuesday afternoon that he expects House Speaker Paul Ryan will be forced to pull the American Health Care Act (AHCA) before a scheduled Thursday vote because Ryan will not get the votes to pass the legislation.

...Paul said in the in-person interview at his U.S. Senate office in the Russell Senate Office Building:

"I think there’s easily 35 no votes right now so unless something happens in the next 24 hours, I would predict they pull the bill and start over. I think if conservatives stick together, they will have earned a seat at the table where real negotiation to make this bill an acceptable bill will happen. But it’s interesting what conservatives are doing to change the debate. We went from keeping the Obamacare taxes for a year—hundreds of billions of dollars—but they’re coming towards us because we’re standing firm. So we have to stick together, and if we do stick together there will be a real negotiation on this. The main goal I have is not to pass something that does not fix the situation. If a year from now, insurance rates and premiums are still going through the roof and it’s now a Republican plan it will be a disservice to the president and all of us if we pass something that doesn’t work."

Stay tuned. Or as Chuck Barris would have said, "We'll be right back, with more stuff!"