House passes GOP tax reform bill: How does the Senate's version compare?

By Kaitlyn Schallhorn | Fox News

The Senate is moving to add a repeal of the ObamaCare mandate to their version of the tax bill.

The House passed its tax reform legislation Thursday afternoon with a majority of Democrats voting against it.

The legislation passed 227 to 205 along party lines, which would bring the biggest revamp of the U.S. tax system in three decades. Thirteen Republicans voted against the measure, including House Appropriations Committee chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen of New Jersey. 

Both the House and Senate have pressed forward on overhauling the nation’s tax code. The Senate tweaked its legislation earlier this week to include a repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s requirement to buy insurance.

Here’s a look at how the House and Senate bill’s compare – and what’s at stake for your taxes.

State and local deductions

After the tax reform framework was revealed last month, some lawmakers grumbled about a provision that would eliminate state and local tax deductions – meaning taxpayers in high-taxed states would lose a write-off. This impacted mostly blue states, such as California and New York.

Bipartisan 'Fix NICS' Gun Bill is a Win for Everyone

Beth Baumann / Townhall Tipsheet

 

In the wake of last week's deadly church shooting in Texas and this week's shooting in Northern California, legislators have come together to find common ground. The one thing that everyone can agree on is that the National Instant Background Check System (NICS) has flaws. That was proven in a couple of mass shootings where the shooter legally obtained a firearm.

A bipartisan group of senators on Thursday introduced Senate Bill 2135, also known as the Fix NICS Act, which is designed to fix the reporting requirements for the NICS. This bill penalizes federal agencies who fail to report relevant criminal records to the FBI and creates an incentive for states to make sure their reporting is up-to-date by giving federal grant preferences to states who comply. The bill also directs more federal funding to make sure domestic violence records are accurately reported to the FBI.

“For years agencies and states haven’t complied with the law, failing to upload these critical records without consequence,” Sen. Cornyn said in a release. “Just one record that’s not properly reported can lead to tragedy, as the country saw last week in Sutherland Springs, Texas. This bill aims to help fix what’s become a nationwide, systemic problem so we can better prevent criminals and domestic abusers from obtaining firearms.”

Read entire article here: https://townhall.com/notebook/bethbaumann/2017/11/16/bipartisan-fix-nics-gun-bill-is-a-win-for-everyone-n2410554?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl&newsletterad=

Twitter begins verification purge, stripping blue checkmarks from accounts of people it opposes         By Pamela Geller - THE GELLER REPORT

 

The blue checkmark is supposed to be simply a verification that an account really belongs to the person whose name is on it. It is a protection against fakes and imposters. Now they’re validating the long-held suspicion that it constitutes some kind of endorsement: “Verification has long been perceived as an endorsement,” Twitter said in a series of tweets Wednesday. “This perception became worse when we opened up verification for public submissions and verified people who we in no way endorse.”

If it is a stamp of approval, someone like white supremacist neo-Nazi Richard Spencer should never have been verified in the first place. But why punish everyone?

Twitter is being extremely selective in this, and demonstrating again their leftist bias. Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey still have their blue checkmarks. Twitter is starting with white nationalists because they do not have any support outside of their own groups. But no one in Antifa or Black Lives Matter are losing their verification symbol. Soon Twitter will be coming for legitimate voices that oppose the left’s agenda. They say now that you will not be verified if you promote “hate,” which is the left’s code for opposing jihad terror, among other things.
 
Read entire article here: https://pamelageller.com/2017/11/twitter-verification-purge.html/

RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE! 

Today, Friday, November 17th from 7 to 9pm on American Political Radio, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss immigration trouble in the name of diversity; the political lynching of Roy Moore; and important news of the day.

Hope you can tune in at: http://listen.samcloud.com/w/73891/American-Political-Radio#history

Op-ed:
Importing Trouble in the Name of Diversity
By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots on American Political Radio

The Diversity Visa Lottery Program...ill-conceived from inception...conceived simply to increase the Democratic voting base as it is nothing but affirmative action for immigration...immigration to the tune of one million people who have no ties to our country gaining admission to our country since 1995. And most importantly, the Diversity Visa Lottery Program is but a propaganda tool of the left that has proven to be both a danger to our country and to 'We the People's safety. 

How so...do these few names ring a bell: Safullo Saipov, Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev, Abdul Razak Ali Artan, Abdi Adan, Tashfeen Malik, and Imran Awan and his brothers Abid and Jamal? They should as they all came to our country via the State Department's Diversity Immigrant Visas Program...now commonly referred to as the Diversity Visa Lottery Program... or via its evil stepchild the Chain Migration Program...and all have either committed terrorist acts or compromised our national security. And when you throw the 9/11 hijackers into the mix...with one hijacker coming here on a student visa but never actually attending school; with 14 others overstaying their tourist visas; and with the last four overstaying their business visas...you can see why our immigration system is broken beyond that of just illegal aliens crossing our southern border.

Diversity...the crux of the matter...is a nightmare in and of itself for what does the mandated call for diversity do but strip our nation of what should be common societal norms that help blend and unite our nation together...and it does so in the name of inclusion. Throwing aside the similarities that should unite us, diversity instead highlights the many cultural and individual differences that any given group of people normally have and uses those differences...especially in today's America...to force upon the majority the ways and beliefs of a given minority and does so for fear of not being seen as politically correct. And the forcing of diversity upon a population for political gain alone makes the entire concept of diversity the antithesis of the rightful call for assimilation for why assimilate when the newly arrived can divide their host country and bend it to their will....or see a given group of people's agenda pushed forward...both by using said host country's laws against them.

And while it seems on the surface that intolerance of others hurts a country's collective well-being, and that both the individual and the collective whole of a country thrive when they are able to tolerate and embrace the diversity...the uniqueness...of others...the pluses quickly become negatives when the call for diversity...especially in our country...is used both as a political weapon against the opposition party and as a way to tear apart the fabric of our American society. And it does so while leaving the security of our country open to the random nature of a computer generated lottery...to the random nature of luck.

Now a brief but factual history lesson on this controversial yet so dangerous program that comprises just 5% of the one million U.S. visas issued each year. Fact: the basis of this current lottery program can be traced back to the Immigration Act of 1965, which did away with the then in-place quota system and instead prioritized the reuniting of families and attracting skilled laborers to our country. Fact: this act opened the door for what was to follow, however, the actual instituting of a lottery itself dates to the mid-1980s, when hundreds of thousands of Irish immigrants came to the U.S. due to a serious economic crisis in Ireland. Arriving too late to qualify for amnesty, few who came had neither family ties here nor job experience to qualify for green cards, in fact most were undocumented...coming here as tourists and then overstaying their visas. Fact: with deportation not an option a solution had to be found...and that solution morphed into the green card lottery...the very lottery that lets a person...via their green card or permanent residency status...remain in our country indefinitely giving terrorists the time needed to plan and carry out terrorist attacks.

Fact: the green card lottery as we know it today was born from the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1990, when then N.Y. Rep. Chuck Schumer (D) sponsored and then introduced the section for diversity immigration into said bill...as per Section 201(e) which provides 50,000 visas per year for a class of immigrants referred to as “diversity immigrants”...immigrants from countries with historically low rates of immigration into the U.S., and now with high-immigration countries such as India, China and Mexico being excluded when the law actually went into effect in fiscal year 1995.

But historically low immigration rate countries are just pretty words on paper. In fact, since 2007 almost 30,000 diversity visas have been issued to those from nations that are officially designated as sponsors of terrorism. In fact, according to official Department of State statistics, from 2007 through 2016, 20,739 persons from Iran; 7,232 persons from Sudan; and 812 from Syria have come to our country via the Diversity Visa Program. And in fiscal year 2016 alone 2,788 Iranians, 1,833 Sudanese, and 164 Syrians won said lottery and came into our country no matter that Iran, Sudan, and Syria are currently the only countries on the 'State Sponsor of Terrorism' list.

And dare we forget that both Pakistan and Bangladesh are also on the list of non-entry countries and yet the earlier mentioned Pakistani Awan brothers...DNC-IT specialists directly tied to the stolen equipment and breached House computer networks scandal...entered our country through the Diversity Lottery Program. And Tasheen Malik, the Pakistani wife of Syed Rizwan Farook, the American born son of Pakistani lottery winners and the perpetrators of the December 2, 2015 San Bernadino Massacre that saw 14 Americans shot dead...did so as well.

And while persons from Somalia at the time were on the list of those allowed into our country, Somali native Dahir Adan...the knife-wielding man who on September 17, 2016 attacked and injured nine Americans at a mall in St. Cloud, Minnesota before being shot and killed by an off-duty police officer...came into our country via the Diversity Visa Program as did fellow Somali native Abdul Razak Ali Artan. Artan was the man who on November 28, 2016 attacked 11 Americans with a knife and a car on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio before a campus police officer also shot and rightfully killed him before he continued on with his carnage. And lastly, this past Monday's Mall of the America's Macy*s dressing room stabber Mahad Abdiaziz Abdirahaman is also believed to have come to the U.S. via the Diversity Visa Lottery Program.

Now as for Uzbekistan...who surprisingly is still on the list of allowed countries even though they do not like us very much and who last fiscal year saw 2,524 Uzbek's entering our country via the diversity lottery...we know that NYC truck driving terrorist and ISIS loyalist Sayfullo Saipov... killer of eight...came to the U.S. from Uzbekistan in 2010 via said Diversity Visa Program. But did you know that fellow Uzbek national Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev, his roommate Akhror Saidakhmetov, and financier Abror Habibov, also came here via the diversity lottery and all tried (but thankfully failed) to leave the U.S. to join ISIS in Syria after having already given them material aid.

And the commonality in all the above mentioned examples is that all came to our country via the Diversity Visa Program and that all are devout muslims...muslims whose loyalty is to islam...muslims whose loyalty is to the qur'an commanded call to jihad...and all should never have been allowed entry into our country. And yet their gaining entry proves that being seen as diverse is more important than exactly who enters here...and who do so simply by the luck of the draw.

Basically, we are laying out the welcome mat for those from low immigration countries without us asking the all-important question of exactly why a given country is a low immigration country...and it is not just about numbers...as we seem to be importing trouble into our country solely in the name of diversity.

So the fact is that people from certain countries must not be afforded entry into our country under any circumstances, and that their home countries must be placed on the person non-grata list...and that public safety alone demands this whether the islamic-condoning left likes it or not. And dare we forget that persons from the aforementioned countries, for the most part, do not possess the 'so-called' marketable skills, the education, nor the resources to become productive American citizens...yet they arrive here with their hands out ready to take all this country has to offer with us more than willing to give it to them in the name of diversity...in an effort to garner votes...no matter that many of them in secret are plotting and planning to kill us all. 

And the simple but usually overlooked fact is that the Diversity Visa Lottery Program does not increase diversity... all it does is place an even heavier burden on our already overburdened immigration system with its forcing a blind eye to the ongoing problem of not just illegal immigration but also of immigration fraud. And immigration fraud of any kind is both a serious and a direct threat to our nation's security especially as today there is a disproportionate number of 'so-called' diversity winners from countries that were listed as part of the special registration system for temporary visitors set up by the D.H.S. in the aftermath of 9/11.

And that temporary visitors system was both devised and implemented in accordance with provisions in the U.S. Patriot Act of 2001 and the post-9/11 legislation for homeland security. Creating the US-visit program within the Border and Transportation Security Directorate, the US-visit was designed to “identify visitors who may pose a threat to the security of the United States, who may have violated the terms of their admission to the United States, or who may be wanted for the commission of a crime in the United States or elsewhere, while simultaneously facilitating legitimate travel and trade.” 

So when all this information is put into proper perspective, when it is seen that not only does the Diversity Visa Lottery Program actually make it easier for terrorists to enter our country...for no terrorist on the required visa forms would dare to put down who they really are, who their allegiances are to, or what is their true reason for wanting to come to the U.S...only then will the reality of just how unfair this program is to those who wait years and who pay large fees to come to our country through the normal visa process be taken as fact.

So what can be done to end this abomination of a program...actually President Trump can suspend the Diversity Visa Lottery Program unilaterally even though it is written into statute, and he can do so as per section 212 of the INA...General Classes of Aliens Ineligible to Receive Visa and Ineligible for Admission; Waivers of Inadmissibillity...which grants the president the authority to halt immigration when he determines there is a risk. And know that there was, is, and remains a great risk to our country if the Diversity Visa Lottery Program is allowed to stay in place for most of the people coming here are doing so not for the right reasons. And this program is a risk to such a degree that President Trump must demand that the House immediately pass H.R. 1178...the Safe for America Act which would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the Diversity Immigrant Program...and to do so now as public safety depends on it.

And while this amending is taking place, provisions should also be put into place for kicking the lower courts out of immigration altogether...some place they had absolutely no right entering into in the first place. The actual regulating of immigration belongs to the federal government...belongs to the president and to Congress...but with state and local involvement in the regulation of the lives of immigrants allowed. However, not allowed is their involvement in the regulation and enforcement of laws controlling the flow of immigration itself...and so it is with the court's attempt to do just that and whose actions in that regard are truly unconstitutional.

But until Congress does the right thing and does away with the Diversity Visa Lottery Program, the TSA has been charged with the chore of doing 'enhanced screening' of those wanting into our country...specifically those from the list of countries that fall under the TSA's 'countries of interest' label...a label that is supposed to automatically trigger the enhanced screening process.

And those countries include the three countries that are known to sponsor terrorism...Sudan, Syria, and Iran...as well as Afghanistan, Algeria, Chad, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Venezuela, and Yemen. But what I want to know is why these folks are being screened by the TSA once they are here instead of before they set even one foot on American soil, especially when this is the very same TSA that has failed to stop potentially deadly materials from making it onto planes around 80% of the time according to recent unannounced inspections. 

So what exactly does enhanced screening mean in relation to the still in effect Diversity Visa Program... simply that all applicants from the above listed countries along with adult male nationals from Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, North Korea, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and Palestine...nationals who must submit a Security Advisory Opinion (which is a detailed process used in deciding to grant or deny a U.S. visa to certain visa applicants)... must have no connection to a terrorist organization, otherwise pose a threat, or previously traveled to Iraq, Syria, Iran, or Sudan.

But how is one to know if the information given is truthful when so many of the countries listed have no reliable databases from which to draw such critical information. 
  
So with U.S. airports being instructed to increase "threat-based" screening of any passenger who may be acting in a suspicious manner, and with enhanced screening including a full-body pat down, luggage searches, full body scanning, and scans by explosive devices, know that the only way to truly keep us safe is to shut down all immigration...diversity or otherwise... from all the countries listed above. But to do so means we must throw diversity to the wayside and damn political correctness...something I sadly do not see happening in the swamp that is still D.C.

Copyright @ 2017 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All Rights Reserved.
 
**************************************************************************************************** RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE! 

Today, Friday, November 17th from 7 to 9pm on American Political Radio, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss immigration trouble in the name of diversity; the political lynching of Roy Moore; and important news of the day.

Hope you can tune in at: http://listen.samcloud.com/w/73891/American-Political-Radio#history