The Australian election was held today; voting is compulsory as everyone over the age 18 is required to vote; turnout was greater than 95%…  and all the media and pollsters are stunned, shocked, jaws-agape, as the conservative coalition has received a stunning, unexpected, unanticipated victory.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has won the election.  Yes Alice, 2019 media in Australia look identical to media in the U.S. circa November 2016.

The economy, immigration and push-back against the insufferable climate-change nonsense appear to be the top issues that led to Morrison’s surprising win.  None of the pollsters or media saw it coming.  The BBC are stunned:

BBC – […] The final result of the election may not be known for some hours, but with more than 70% of votes counted the [Conservative] Coalition has won, or is ahead in, 74 seats in its quest for a 76-seat majority, with Labor on just 66 seats.
[…] Try finding someone who says they saw this result coming.

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The ninth circuit court of appeals has ruled unanimously in favor of staying an earlier ruling from Federal Judge Richard Seeborg which blocked President Trump from returning illegal aliens (economic migrants) to Mexico pending their asylum hearing.
The repatriation/deportation program can continue. A major win for President Trump

(Via Associated Press) 4:45 p.m. – A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked a judge’s order that would have stopped the Trump administration from returning asylum seekers to Mexico.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay Friday.  (link)

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Acting chief-of-staff Mick Mulvaney appears on Fox News Sunday to discuss current political events in Washington DC.  Topics include resistance effort by House democrats; the ongoing border crisis with Mexico; the House effort to get President Trump’s income taxes from the IRS; and the upcoming release of the Mueller report by Attorney General William Barr, and Healthcare initiatives.

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Following a meeting between Vice-President Mike Pence, DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and acting WH chief-of-staff Mick Mulvaney, the House leadership team (Kevin McCarthy, Steve Scalise and Liz Cheney) deliver remarks to the capitol press:

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White House – We are no longer in a status quo situation at the Southern Border but in a crisis situation. Status quo funding is not enough.

• In fiscal year (FY) 2018, 17,000 adults at the border with existing criminal records were arrested by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and border agents.
• In FY2017 and FY2018, ICE officers arrested approximately 235,000 aliens on various criminal charges or convictions within the interior of the United States—including roughly 100,000 for assault, 30,000 for sex crimes, and 4,000 for homicides.
• We are now averaging 60,000 illegal and inadmissible aliens a month on our Southern Border.

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is conducting a regional visit to multiple allies and partners in the anti-ISIS campaign.  Today, Secretary Pompeo is in Jordan for discussions as the U.S. anticipates withdrawing troops from Syria.

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Meanwhile, National Security Adviser John Bolton is in Turkey after announcing from Israel the U.S. will not withdraw from Syria until Turkey (NATO ally) agrees not to kill the Kurdish fighters. Turkish President Recep Erdogan said emphatically there would never be such assurances, therefore U.S. troops will never leave Syria.
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Somehow, despite 85-year-old Justice Ginsburg being incapacitated by surgery and intensive care recovery, the supreme court voted 5-4 to allow a lower court block on President Trump’s asylum restrictions to remain in place.  Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the three resistance activists and the unknown puppeteer for Ginsburg.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A divided Supreme Court won’t let the Trump administration begin enforcing a ban on asylum for any immigrants who illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border.
Chief Justice John Roberts joined his four more liberal colleagues Friday in ruling against the administration in the very case in which President Donald Trump had derided the “Obama judge” who first blocked the asylum policy.
New Justice Brett Kavanaugh and three other conservative justices sided with the administration.  There were no opinions explaining either side’s votes.  (read more)

Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen provided the following statement regarding the recent crisis on our southern border.

“Given the activities of the last 24 hours at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, I want to provide an update on what occurred and attempt to dispel many of the rumors and much of the misinformation circulating.
“First, the violence we saw at the border was entirely predictable. This caravan, unlike previous caravans, had already entered #Mexico violently and attacked border police in two other countries. I refuse to believe that anyone honestly maintains that attacking law enforcement with rocks and projectiles is acceptable. It is shocking that I have to explain this, but officers can be seriously or fatally injured in such attacks. Self-defense isn’t debatable for most law-abiding Americans.
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You might remember the journalist delivering the ground report here.  His name is Gadi Schwartz, and he was the guy who did the ground report outlining how the FBI completely botched the investigation of the New Mexico jihadist compound [Reminder Here]
MSNBC was constructing a very specific narrative about the make-up of the migrants who attempted to cross the U.S. border when they asked Gadi Schwartz to explain what he was seeing on the ground.  The answer didn’t support the narrative.  Watch:

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You know the media is in a completely failed state of operations when the rare highlight moments are because they accidentally tell the truth.
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They said he wouldn’t pull out of the Paris Climate Treaty, he did.  They said he wouldn’t withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, he did.  They said he wouldn’t implement global Steel/Aluminum tariffs, he did.  They said he wouldn’t dare withdraw from the G7 agreement in Canada, he did.  They said he couldn’t get Canada to agree to a new NAFTA agreement, he did… the list is long.
One of the more consequential aspects to President Trump is he doesn’t bluff.  Regardless of the scale of the assertion, every adversary is WELL AWARE he will do what he threatens if the situation he confronts doesn’t change.  In this regard, no president, NO-ONE, has ever instilled such direct and focused fear once an adversarial issue, intentionally or unwittingly, falls into Trump’s sights.  They know he will do this:

The truth is, regardless of opposition or public opinion; regardless of how the media will attack the decision; President Trump will factually shut down the U.S-Mexico border if that becomes the remaining best option to deal with the crisis and protect U.S. interests.
Mexico knows this too.
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Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen holds a press availability on border security, enhancements to the border zone, and the current status of the migrant caravan.
According to DHS Secretary Nielsen there are currently 6,200 Central American migrants in Tijuana with more than 2,000 in Mexico City, and thousands more in various stages of norther travel within Mexico.  Worth watching:

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