Trump tells NATO members to pay fair share for defense

President boldly addresses alliance members

On his first foreign trip as President, Donald Trump scored high marks with Americans who gave him a stunning victory last November.

His trip included a visit to Saudi Arabia, where he addressed the leaders of Muslim nations telling them they must do more to rout out Islamic extremists from their communities and mosques. In Israel he met with ally Benjamin Netanyahu and visited holy sites. He also used the opportunity to make a pointed reference to the previous administration which meddled in Israel’s election in an attempt to oust President Netanyahu, saying. “America’s security partnership with Israel is stronger than ever. Under my administration, you see the difference.”

The President and First Lady and key members of his administration then met with Pope Francis at the Vatican. Thursday he addressed NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) members, and spoke frankly about their obligations to “contribute their fair share” so the alliance can focus on fighting terrorism and dealing with “the grave concerns” relating to a mass migration crisis.

“The NATO of the future must include a great focus on terrorism and immigration, as well as threats from Russia and our NATO’s eastern and southern borders,” Trump said in a speech at the new $1.2 billion NATO headquarters in Brussels.

He also told members of the NATO alliance they must finally meet their financial obligations. Referring to “chronic underpayments,” Trump said 23 of the 28 member nations are “still not paying what they should be paying for their own defense.”

The United States has borne 22% of the costs associated with defending all of the member nations. In an agreed upon cost sharing formula, at least 2% of each county’s gross domestic product is to be spent on defense. Currently, only five of the 28 member nations carrying their own weight are the United States, the United Kingdom, Greece, Poland, and Estonia. Germany only pays 1.19.percent and Canada a paltry 1%.  Spain spends 0.9%, as does Belgium. Most of the 28 nation alliance prefer to spend on expansive social programs.

“This is not fair to the taxpayers of the United States,” Trump stated.

The president used his NATO speech to reiterate a point he made during his Saudi Arabia visit, when he encouraged Middle Eastern allies to take on a greater role in fighting the Islamic State.

“This call for driving out terrorism is a message I took to a historic gathering of Arab and Muslim leaders across the region, hosted by Saudi Arabia,” Trump said. “The leaders of the Middle East agreed at this unprecedented meeting to stop funding the radical ideology that leads to this horrible terrorism all over the globe.”

Referencing the terrorist attack in Manchester, England earlier this week as an example of the reasons why NATO as an institution must do more to combat Islamic extremism, Trump said, “The recent attack in the United Kingdom demonstrates the depths of the evil we face with terrorism. Innocent little girls and so many others were horribly murdered and badly injured while attending a concert — beautiful lives with such great potential torn from their families forever. It was a barbaric and vicious attack upon our civilization.” 

Salvadoran “refugees,” Mexican Mafia bring terror to US cities

Despite dozens of vicious MS-13 gang members — mostly illegals — captured in a  Los Angeles raid, AZ Sens. McCain and Flake remain committed to amnesty

Following a three-year investigation involving multiple law enforcement agencies, dozens of members of the murderous MS-13 gang have been charged in a Los Angeles federal court in what law enforcement officials called one of the most significant busts of the transnational gang in its notorious decades-long history.

Among those arrested is a former head of the entire gang in Los Angeles and a dozen high-ranking members, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California announced in this statement. The vast majority of these gang members are illegal aliens.

“This gang is responsible for murders –- both of rival gangsters and innocent bystanders –- as well as drug dealing and extortion in many communities in the Los Angeles area,” said Acting United States Attorney Sandra R. Brown. “With thousands of members here in the Southland, the gang’s power is widespread –– power which it maintains with severe acts of violence.”

The investigation involved nearly two dozen law enforcement agencies led by the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Agency and the Los Angeles Police Department.

“This gang uses coercion and intimidation while inflicting horrific violence in the neighborhoods where they operate,” said ATF Los Angeles Field Division Special Agent in Charge Eric Harden. “Today is a great win for justice and a heavy message to the community. Law enforcement will combine their resources and all our areas of expertise to cripple these organizations. We will win, they will lose.”

MS-13 started three decades ago on the streets of L.A., and was originally made up young illegals from El Salvador. Today its tentacles reach throughout Central America and across the United States — from the west to east coasts with a series of gruesome slayings recently in New York City. Last month President Donald Trump singled out the vicious gang as “one of the gravest threats to American safety.”

Yet Arizona Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake, who led the failed 2013 Gang of Eight amnesty scheme with a gaggle of the most far left Democrats and a couple of other RINOs, remain dedicated to gifting rights belonging to Americans to illegal invaders from Mexico and Central America. They no doubt hope to wait until after Jeff Flake’s 2018 reelection bid before flipping on the neon “enter here” switch and rolling out the amnesty welcome mat again. Don’t provide the opportunity. Stop Jeff Flake with your ballot.

Dr. Kelli Ward offers Arizonans a far better, conservative choice — unlike Republicrats McCain and Flake who both refused to vote for the 2016 GOP presidential nominee — now President Donald Trump.

Pres. Trump delvers key speech to Arab world

Calls for stamping out “Islamic extremism”

President Trump’s Speech begins at 1:23

*H/T NBC News

Pres. & Melania Trump’s Saudi trip a solid winner

Perfectly attired Melania Trump makes us proud

Gateway Pundit answers the question as to whether First Lady Melania Trump will be donning a headscarf as she joins President Donald Trump in Saudi Arabia, on the first leg of their week-long foreign trip. The schedule also includes stops in Israel, Brussels, Rome and Sicily.

The flawlessly attired Mrs. Trump who arrived in Saudi Arabia in a long sleeved, one piece black, wide-legged pantsuit adorned with a gold belt, represents America with class. Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir is quoted as saying, “We welcome any style in clothing.” Al-Jubeir issued his statement to media sources on Thursday. 

President Donald Trump appropriately shook hands as he met the Saudi Royals.  Unlike Obama who swooned at the sight of Muslim royalty, he did not bow. No previous American president has ever assumed a subservient position to other world leaders. Saudi King Salman stepped forward to greet President Trump on the red carpet rolled out for his arrival. The gracious salutation included  dancers, prancing horses and overhead welcoming jets, none of which was accorded Barack Obama.

Saudi Arabia practices one of the world’s strictest interpretations of Islam. Shops close five times daily for prayers. Local women are required to wear floor length robes known as abayas, and a head scarf. However, when asked whether the U.S. First Lady would have to dress accordingly, the Saudi official said the capital city of Riyadh — the Kingdom’s political, financial and administrative hub, “usually doesn’t demand” a specific dress-code, but rather “accepts suggestions.”

Scroll through Daniel Pipes’ Hijabs on Western Public Women to see photos of former First Lady, Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton donning a hijab or headscarf — required attire of repressed Muslim women. Her daughter Chelsea also wore the garment, as did former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, NBC anchor Ann Curry followed suit. ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer did so while conducting an interview with oppressive dictator and Holocaust denier Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representative Nancy Pelosi also scarfed up. George W. Bush’s wife Laura is pictured wearing a hijab while visiting Saudi Arabia. Obama’s U.S. Attorney General, Iranian-born Valerie Jarrett, is shown in the same garb.

Other female foreign dignitaries, celebrities, and members of various royal families are shown in headscarves. Former First Lady, Michelle Obama’s is fringed.

Democrat female politicos are skilled at giving lip service to “women’s causes” and denouncing “repression.” First Lady Melania Trump’s voice will be unambiguous through her grace and actions.

TX Gov. Abbott signs bill banning sanctuary cities

Rational Americans understand the danger posed by sanctuary cities, which thwart federal immigration law, releasing arrested illegal alien criminals back onto our streets. The issue gained notoriety following the horrific murder of San Francisco resident Kate Steinle, strolling along the pier with her father and gunned down by a repeatedly arrested and deported illegal alien felon who had just been released from jail. Her tragedy — one of countless such deaths — where the perpetrators are given cover by sanctuary cities — highlights the need to rein in these disastrous policies.

Closer to home was the cold blooded murder of Grant Ronnebeck, a 21-year-old Mesa convenience store clerk killed by a Mexican illegal repeat offender, facing deportation but released on bond. Ronnebeck was killed for counting the money before handing the impatient illegal alien the cigarettes he was purchasing.

On Sunday Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, signed a state law which imposes stiff penalties and hefty fines on elected or appointed officials who fail to comply with the provisions included in Senate Bill 4.

Gov. Greg Abbott should stand on solid legal ground. He was previously the longest-serving Attorney General of Texas, served as a Justice on the Texas Supreme Court and as a State District Judge in Harris County. With her own interesting bio — holding two Master’s Degrees and a Bachelor’s, Cecilia Abbott, has made Texas history as the first Hispanic First Lady of the state.

The Texas measure comes as President Donald Trump has prioritized combating illegal immigration. Texas, which has an estimated 1.5 million illegal immigrants and the longest border with Mexico of any U.S. state, has been at the forefront of the immigration debate.

“As governor, my top priority is public safety, and this bill furthers that objective by keeping dangerous criminals off our streets,” Gov. Abbott said in a statement after signing the bill into law. It will take effect on Sept. 1.

This Weekly Declined Detainer Outcome Report published on March 20, 2017 details a portion of what U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been dealing with regarding “Detainers that were declined.” Another tricky description is “Non-cooperative jurisdictions.”

Gov. Abbott stands in stark contrast to the repugnant policies of California Gov. Jerry Brown, a left-wing Democrat.

Pres. Donald Trump wows Atlanta NRA crowd

Declaring he is proud to be the first president to address the NRA since Ronald Reagan in 1983, President Donald Trump told the convention of Second Amendment defenders on Friday, “Your activism helps safeguard our freedoms.”

The NRA’s endorsement of Republican candidate Trump in May 2016 was the earliest in the organization’s history.  He was greeted with appreciative applause and cheers throughout his speech, but they reached a crescendo when he reminded the NRA members, “Only one candidate came to speak to you, and that person is the President of the United States, speaking to you today.”

The National Rifle Association has more than 5 million members. Those in the audience at the Leadership Forum heard President Trump pledge, “No longer will the government come after lawful gun owners.”

Trump reaffirmed his support of the Second Amendment and gun rights during his keynote speech. “You came through for me,” Trump said, referencing the strong support he received from the NRA during the presidential election. “And I am going to come through for you.”

“The eight-year assault on your Second Amendment freedoms has come to a crashing end,” Trump said to enthusiastic cheers. “You have a true friend and champion in the White House.”

“To the NRA, I can proudly say: I will never, ever let you down.”

If you missed the convention coverage, we have it here.

Liberal hypocrite mob emboldened by ability to repress free speech

On occasion we’ve posted columns under the heading, “Weekend reading guaranteed to make you smarter.” They’ve been written by well-respected conservative thinkers who had a message we thought our readers would not only appreciate, but actually benefit from.

Today is Monday.  The weekend is behind us. But the column by Derek Hunter posted on Townhall is definitely worth your time. We hope you‘ll take time to read, “Is Ann Coulter The Last Conservative With Guts?”

Focusing on the left’s repression of speech that disagrees with its own, Hunter highlights not only the withdrawal of an invitation issued to Ann Coulter to speak at UC Berkeley — and her refusal to acquiesce — but also on the removal of prime time stalwart Bill O’Reilly, host of Fox News’ highest rated show The O”Reilly Factor.

Derek Hunter zones in on ground zero as he states: “To the fascistic left, Fox News can’t do right because its existence is wrong. As long as it exists, they will find something to be upset about and demand action on. And advertisers will cave. I don’t know what Bill O’Reilly did or didn’t do,“ he writes,  “but I do know nothing was proven.”

As to the issue of subjugating First Amendment freedoms on campuses that should be bastions of liberty, Hunter writes, “But the Nazi march across publicly funded college campuses to prevent students from inviting conservative speakers is a government issue. It’s a direct, unambiguous violation of the First Amendment. Where’s the outrage? Where are the public statements of condemnation? More importantly, where is the legislation to defund these indoctrination centers?”