A Superstar's Superstar. And Something Else.

On Monday, Huffington Post reported

The Los Angeles Lakers star apologized Sunday for sharing a “getting that Jewish money” lyric from the rap song “asmr” by 21 Savage.

“We been getting that Jewish money / Everything is Kosher,” (LeBron) James typed onto his Instagram story entry.

“Entourage” producer Doug Ellin and others online took offense, informing the superstar that the words reinforced a harmful stereotype.

In his mea culpa, James said he thought the words were positive.

Consideration of the posting of LeBron James, superstar of the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers and now of of the Los Angeles Lakers, would not be fair without context. If the lyrics from the entire song were generally profound or at least inoffensive, quoting the artist might be reasonable. Therefore, consider....

Intro]

Y'all know what's goin' on

21 Gang 'til I'm gone

4L Gang 'til I'm gone

If Young Metro don't trust you, I'm gon'-

[Verse 1]

Roll the window down, stick the Glock out (Stick the Glock out)

This chopper got a AMP, I'ma rock out (I'ma rock out)

When it's time for smoke, they gon' cop out (They gon' cop out)

This AK47 made in Moscow (Made in Moscow)

All these dead bodies got me seein' strange things (Straight up)

Both sides of the gun, I done dealt and felt the pain (On God)

Drive by? Nah, we the walk-up gang (21)

I come from the 6 where they chalk up lames (On God)

Slide in and out (Out)

Spend the night? I doubt (Doubt)

Gold grill mouth (Mouth)

I come from the South (South)

We was stealin' cars

You was inside the house (Pussy)

I know he gon' be a rat one day

Right now we call him a mouse (21)

[Chorus]

I got lots of stripes, all my niggas shyst

You can roll the dice, you might lose your life

Keep my Desert Eagle on me, he not nothin' nice

I just need one Glock, Nas need one mic (Lil' bitch)

[Verse 2]

I done did a lot in the streets and them facts (21)

PTSD like I came from Iraq (On God)

You made it from the gutter, then I'm tippin' my hat (I am)

Don't go big on me, you might get hit with this MAC (Brrah)

I don't need no holster, you get burned like toaster (21)

I don't drink no liquor, but I'm smokin' on mimosa (Yeah)

We been gettin' that Jewish money, everything is Kosher (On God)

Bought myself a 'Ventador and bought my bitch a Roadster(Straight up)

Drive my Lambo to the store, I'ma wave with my doors

I'm on Glenwood, not the Ave., nigga, the road (21)

Talkin' on the pillow, nigga, that shit for the hoes (Straight up)

I'd never snitch on my enemies or my bros (Never)

I'm so 21, dawg, I'm so SG (Yeah)

I'm so 4L Gang, I keep a Glock, not a XD (21)

Head so good, she not even white, I still call her Becky (Yeah, yeah)

Richard Mille cost so much I could push a button and see next week (Straight up)

.30 on the glizzy, got my pants dizzy (Pants dizzy)

Playin' 'round with Savage, you get shot in the kidney (Shot in the kidney)

So many drums, he gon' think a band hit him (Ha)

Chopper clapped his ass, he thought a hand hit him (Ha)

I do the BlocBoy JB on a brick (Skrrt, skrrt)

Make your crew do the Electric Slide with this stick (Straight up)

She don't get no new Chanel, she gon' throw a fit (Straight up)

I wanna buy that girl the world, the way she suck this dick (Yeah)

Fronted me some bags, I ran out the same night (Damn)

When I was in jail, on my momma, I ain't kite (Damn)

Niggas know I'm solid, I shoot and I fight (Straight up)

You just wear Adidas, but in real life, I got stripes (21)

[Chorus]

I got lots of stripes, all my niggas shyst

You can roll the dice, you might lose your life

Keep my Desert Eagle on me, he not nothin' nice

I just need one Glock, Nas need one mic

[Outro]

My brother down the road, they tried to give him life

He swear he so creative, turned a toothbrush to a knife

Savage got your wifey playin' with herself on Skype

She thought the AC was on, it was just my ice

We pull up ready to shoot (Brrrah)

Y'all ready to fight (Stupid)

Pull up, ready to kill (Yeah)

Y'all ready to die (Straight up)

Broke-ass nigga get killed ridin' a bike (Pussy)

Savage left his gun at home, nigga, yeah, right (Ha)

On a positive note, King James did not post the lyrics

We pull up ready to shoot (Brrrah)

Y'all ready to fight (Stupid)

Pull up, ready to kill (Yeah)

Y'all ready to die (Straight up)

Broke-ass nigga get killed ridin' a bike (Pussy)

Savage left his gun at home, nigga, yeah, right (Ha)

The NBA was wise not to take action against the athlete for an action, properly protected from state sanction by the First Amendment, taken on the field for a matter unrelated to performance on the court.

However, the NBA's decision was taken instead because of who took it- King James, indisputably the best player in all of basketball and one of the league's half dozen greatest players of all time.

The league evidently has elected to claim that it is letting bygones be bygones because James has allegedly apologized. Unsurprisingly, because he is King James and real apologies are nearly extinct (a tremendous exception here), it was no apology.

The "mea culpa" cited by Huffington Post included....

"Apologies, for sure;" i.e., "whatever." 

James continued" if I offended anyone."  There is no "if," fella.

He added "That’s not why I chose to share that lyric," as if anyone is accusing him of going out of his way to alienate fans and others and sullying his favorable reputation. Doing so would have been remarkably stupid.

"I always [post lyrics]. That’s what I do. I ride in my car, I listen to great music, and that was the byproduct of it." That would be "don't blame me- it was accidental. It's great music, and the controversial lyrics blend in."

"So I actually thought it was a compliment, and obviously it wasn’t through the lens of a lot of people. My apologies. It definitely was not the intent, obviously, to hurt anybody.” 

He "thought it was a compliment." To be fair, the man lauded by many people (a notable exception being the President of the USA) for being intelligent may actually have believed "we been gettin' that Jewish money, everything is Kosher" is a "compliment."

If he did so, Mr. James is not nearly as smart as he has been held up to be. Ultimately, there are exactly two possibilities- James is fairly unintelligent or he is a bigot. As for me, I never have believed, and still do not believe, that LeBron James is at all stupid.

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Wall Money

Trump wins.

Donald Trump hasn't won yet, may not yet win, and shouldn't win, because there is only one way he squirms out of the Trump Shutdown successfully declaring victory.

After President Trump on Tuesday signaled support for short-term funding for the government without money for his beloved wall, conservative author and political commentator Michelle Malkin complained on "Fox and Friends"

Well, I'm not going to sugarcoat it and I'm not going to spin it. I wish I could but this was a cave, a blink, and all you have to do is look at- you quoted it, Steve- the exact, precise words that President Trump used.

And now look at what the White House is forced to do- and yes, to answer Brian a couple of seconds ago, yes, we have to hold the Republicans, especially Mitch McConnell, who's been in office since 1981 and never has been able to get this deal done because he's afraid of a shutdown. But now look at what the White House is forced to do, scrounge around for 600 million dollars in the defense budget in order to fund a puny 100 miles. It's as if border security is an afterthought and for Nancy Pelosi....

Malkin was only one of several GOP talking heads who would not have forgiven if the President and the GOP House not recklessly chosen to shut down the federal government over the border wall.

Whether funding is increased or reduced for other border security measures and whether the wall will deter illegal immigration is secondary. They are determined to beat the Democratic Party by getting funding for construction. Therefore, on Thursday Trump reversed course, the House fell in line, and the Trump Shutdown ensued.

Afterward, Budget Secretary Mick Mulvaney and Vice President Pence met with congressional leaders and members of Congress were sent home for Christmas break. Then

Mulvaney put the onus on Democrats, saying the White House is now offering to open the government for less than the $5 billion in wall funding Trump had demanded. Democrats say the wall is immoral and would be ineffective, and they are instead offering to keep the border-security funding at the current $1.3 billion, with money going to fencing and other security measures, but not for a wall.

“We moved off of the 5. We hope they move up from their 1.3,” Mulvaney said during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.”

Mulvaney refused to offer specifics, but a Democratic aide said the White House offer was for $2.1 billion for border security, including new fencing, plus an additional $400 million fund for other Trump immigration priorities....

Despite near-unanimous opposition to the wall, Democrats have said they are willing to negotiate on funding for other border-security measures. And the administration’s recent shift in focus from a concrete wall to a fence-like barrier made of steel slats offered a slight glimmer of hope for room to compromise.

Malkin, Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, and their ilk are demanding, in Homeland Security Nielsen's lingo, "wall."  President Trump promised he'd be "proud" to shut down the government over the wall and Fox News' Doocy stated “If there’s not a shutdown, he’s going to look like a loser."

But if Trump gets any money for something he can call a "wall," he will brag that he broke the Democrats, and that includes his "artistically designed steel slats."

A compromise with Republicans is impossible. He will get wall-like money and declare victory. Or he will not get wall money, the right-wing talk show will erupt, and the part will be riven.

"Do we succumb to tyranny of talk radio hosts?” asked outgoing Tennessee Republican senator Bob Corker.  We do, if Democrats succumb to the lure of a "compromise" spun by Trumpists as a victory.

                                                  MERRY CHRISTMAS

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Not A Great Week For Europe, Either

Following the resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Axios' Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen reveal "We talked all day yesterday with Republican officials, operatives and advisers who are truly scared for America. But it's telling that few have the courage to say it publicly."

Obviously, General Mattis had the courage to say it publicly, noting his concern with

treating allies with respect and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held and informed by over four decades of immersion in these issues. We must do everything possible to advance an international order that is most conducive to our security, prosperity and values, and we are strengthened in this effort by the solidarity of our alliances.

With the opportunity to express his appreciation for serving his Commander-in-Chief or the President, Mattis instead wrote (emphasis mine) "I very much appreciate this opportunity to serve the nation and our men and women in uniform."

Senators especially appreciated the General's hawkishness, commitment to international alliances, and general demeanor, with Democratic senator Tim Kaine stating "I want someone like Mattis who will tell the President the truth to his face." Republican senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin asserted "I'd like  a Mattis clone. I think we all would" and Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse remarked "This is a sad day for America."

Evidently so, because it leaves a vacuum which Secretary of State Mike Pompeo may, disastrously, partially fill.

In a six-sentence statement, Senate Majority Leader McConnell maintained that he is "particularly distressed that he (Mattis) is resigning due to sharp differences with the President on these and other key aspects of America’s global leadership." He added “I believe it’s essential that the United States maintain and strengthen the post-World War II alliances that have been carefully built by leaders in both parties."

The Europeans would agree. Nevertheless (or perhaps therefore) at the 2018 NATO Foreign Minister Summit in Brussels early this month, reports the New Yorker's Susan Glasser, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo  "attacked the United Nations, the E.U., the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, and derided what he called Europe’s flawed vision of multilateralism as 'an end to itself.'" He ludicrously compared “the type of leadership that President Trump is boldly reasserting” with American leadership during the Cold War and refused to take questions after his speech ended.

Not having boasted sufficiently, while returning from Brussels Pompeo actually claimed

We’ve rebuilt NATO in important ways already. NATO is a far stronger organization as a result of the Trump administration than it was for the previous decade, I can assure you. And the 28 European ministers who were there with me today know that too.

This is no way to win friends (aside from Moscow) while a brilliant strategy to alienate friends and allies. A few days earlier, Fogh Rasmussen, a prime minister of Denmark who went on to become the Secretary-General of NATO, had warned

If, at a certain state, Mattis — for one reason or another — were to leave the U.S. government, that would create huge, huge problems with U.S. allies within NATO. If he were to be sacked, that would be an indication that the U.S. government doesn't feel as committed to Article V as in the past. And, in the worst case, it might also tempt [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to test the strength of the alliance and in particular the strength of Article V.

Less than three weeks later, Defense Secretary Mattis- alarmed by the Administration's attack on alliances, the decision to withdraw from Syria, and other matters- would resign. By contrast

“It no longer makes sense for there to be 2,000 soldiers stationed there," he (Pompeo) said this week, even as reports emerged that he privately disagreed with the move.

Such willingness to defend Trump — no matter the potential damage to his reputation — is par for the course for Pompeo. The diplomat is a former congressman from Kansas with a reputation as a highly partisan Republican, and he has worked exceedingly hard to stay in Trump’s good graces. He often tries to spin Trump’s unpopular actions in a positive light — even agreeing to pose for a smile-filled photo with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman at the height of outrage over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

One guy is well respected by Congress and his peers. He tries unsuccessfully to steer President Trump away from a dangerous policy, then honorably resigns with a letter warning of the threat to our national security, international order, and democratic values.   

The other fellow, fairly fresh after trying to weaken the Trans-Atlantic Alliance, cozies up even further with a reckless President, all the while trying to preserve his reputation with the GOP establishment. He pauses to whisper in the ear of friendly reporters so that he may preserve his reputation with a GOP establishment while he recognizes the SS Titanic heading to the iceberg and urges the captain on.

It was a bad week for the President. It may have been an even worse week for the USA and the west.

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Still Cagey

Progressives left their skepticism of corporate power at the door as earlier this week they unloaded on Nate Silver, when- wary of the boycott against :"Tucker Carlson Tonight"- he remarked "I don't want the PR department of Applebee's deciding for us all what's racist vs. legitimate/acceptable political speech."

Silver may still be bold, but he's now off the mark when he argues

Old enough to remember when Trump would pursue some obviously dumb strategy and "savvy" pundits/reporters would talk about his keen political instincts and how it was actually a brilliant move. You rarely read those sort of takes anymore, thank goodness.

— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) December 21, 2018

Hold your thanks, Nate. Donald Trump still knows where his political bread is buttered.

Shutdown today if Democrats do not vote for Border Security!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 21, 2018

The Democrats, whose votes we need in the Senate, will probably vote against Border Security and the Wall even though they know it is DESPERATELY NEEDED. If the Dems vote no, there will be a shutdown that will last for a very long time. People don’t want Open Borders and Crime!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 21, 2018

Border security. Bernie Sanders goes where too few Democrats are willing to go when he tweets

This is what happened:

1) The Senate unanimously voted to keep the government open
2) The House was ready to pass the bill
3) Rush and Fox & Friends criticized Trump
4) Trump now wants to shut down the government, putting 800,000 people out of work the week before Christmas

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) December 21, 2018

Rush and Fox & Friends criticized Trump. 

This is not about "border security"- it's about maintaining support where his party's real power lies, in the right-wing media. Yet, if Democrats allow the President to cite "border security" without rebuttal, voters will come to believe that is what it's all about.

Democrats need a counter-narrative, and Sanders suggests the way forward: "Rush and Fox & Friends criticized Trump."

They cannot cede the claim of "strength" or "power" to Donald Trump.  He should be portrayed as he is- a captive of unelected media extremists. Take away Trump's aura of strength, and he has nothing.

By contrast, if Trump is allowed to tweet and say "border security," he comes off as the strong man and his opponents as opposed to border security.

It is not a good look for the President's critics.  Donald Trump would have been swept off the political stage if he hadn't bloviated about immigration when he came down the escalator in June of 2015. It is what his supporters most want, and a large middle finger to the people they don't want- or like.

These are the people the President needs, the voters who are a daily reminder to GOP members of Congress that if they are not satisfied, they can become the next Eric Cantor.

President Trump knows that he cannot be removed from office as long as he has the support of thirty-three Republican senators.  If he stays "strong" on the wall- and is allowed to posture as strong- he'll maintain enough popular support that many Republican senators will not be able to desert him.

Donald Trump may be impulsive, ignorant, and addicted to drugs. He may even be crazy- but only like a fox.

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Careless

Inviting controversy and even a boycott, last week Tucker Carlson stated  “The left says we have a moral obligation to admit the world's poor, even if it makes our own country more like Tijuana is now, which is to say poorer and dirtier and more divided.”

And then a reputable news organization, the Huffington Post posts the headline "Fox News Tucker Carlson Gets Called Out On Racist Rhetoric By Own Guest."

There are individuals who believe that proper concern with grammar is a fetish, incidental to anything pertinent, and can obscure the fundamental point being made.

But HuffPost's headline, which literally infers the guest is guilty of racist rhetoric, is emblematic of a misleading implication. Then Lee Moran leads off the piece with "Retired Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz wasted no time in addressing Tucker Carlson’s racist rhetoric in his appearance on the Fox News host’s show Wednesday."

The headline and the first sentence, while not explicitly quoting Carlson's guest, imply that the famed lawyer had referred to the host's rhetoric as "racist." However, he did not do so, as indicated by both the video (below) and the remainder of the article, in which Moran noted

The “Tucker Carlson Tonight” host had brought Dershowitz on air to talk about the latest developments in the case of President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who is awaiting sentencing for lying to the FBI.

However, Dershowitz immediately interrupted Carlson to chastise him for controversially claiming last week that immigrants make America “poorer and dirtier,” which has seen multiple major sponsors flee the show.

“I hate boycotts and attempts to censor free speech. I’m in favor of complete dialogue, but as such, I feel compelled to tell you that I, with due respect, disagree with the way you categorize mass immigration,” Dershowitz said. “That’s all. I just want to say that.”

Dershowitz later told Carlson: “I wish you hadn’t used that language. Language like that was used to describe my grandparents and great-grandparents and probably some of yours. So let’s move on.”

The Trump defender- not supporter- was bold in criticizing his host at all. Nonetheless, he was more respectful than to accuse Carlson of making a "racist" remark, instead telling him "with due respect, (I) disagree with the way you categorize mass immigration."

Dershowitz added "that's all. I just want to say that" because his purpose was not to berate Carlson. The latter had been condemned for comments which were, or at least appeared to be, hateful and bigoted.  The guest wanted to make it clear that his appearance soon afterward on the program should not in any way be interpreted as agreement or consent.

It is no little thing to exaggerate and state- in this case, approvingly- that a celebrity (as he has become, in Republican and Democratic circles, for good and ill) has referred to someone or something as racist.

In defense of his immigration remarks, Carlson maintained

Those who won’t shut up get silenced. You’ve seen it a million times. It happens all the time. The enforcers scream “racist!” on Twitter until everyone gets intimidated, and changes the subject to the Russia investigation or some other distraction.

It’s a tactic. A well-worn one. Nobody thinks it's real. And it won’t work with this show. We’re not intimidated. We plan to try to say what’s true until the last day.

"Screaming 'racist'" is an occasional tactic of the left. But it's less of a tactic than the right would have us Americans believe.

Far more than calling someone "racist," the left will imply racism or racial hostility or bigotry. That is a crucial distinction; the right rallies its supporters by charging the left with making constant accusations of racism.  It is a successful tactic because rank-and-file conservatives feel victimized at (allegedly) being ceaselessly attacked as racists.

The charge of racism is legitimately, even justifiably, made at times, such as when a David Duke or a Donald Trump suggests an inherent racial inferiority or continually makes hostile or bigoted remarks bearing little resemblance to reality. In the instant case, however, the Huffington Post inferred that Alan Dershowitz had accused Tucker Carlson of making a racist remark, which he had not. Whenever the term itself is applied recklessly, it is not only counter-productive but cheapens the seriousness of bias.

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Slow Down There, Foks

I did not intend this week to blog about the political prospects of any of the 763 Democrats considering running for President, nor about the Baltimore Ravens' quarterback controversy.  However, a recent New Yorker chat with Minnesota Democrat and Senate Judiciary Committee member Amy Klobuchar included a question beginning "your response to Kavanaugh was so straightforward, unpersonalized. A different kind of politics than we're used to."

In November, an impressed Will Bunch maintained that Klobuchar is "absolutely right on the politics." He also waxed enthusiastic because the senator is from the Midwest- where, as he noted, the last Democratic presidential nominee unacceptably faltered.  Additionally, Klobuchar is in the mold of "center-left women who promised liberal-but-not-radical reforms to health care and education" who ran impressively well on November 6, as did she.

There was no mention that the last Democratic presidential nominee, who flopped while an odds-on favorite to win election, is a center-left woman who promised liberal-but-not-radical reforms to health care and education.

 But never mind.   While an argument can be made that Klobuchar, as an inoffensive woman (unlike, say, Hillary Clinton or Kamala Harris) who is not an inveterate free-trader is a solid prospect, objectivity flew out the window when Bunch argued

Klobuchar got something of a political break — even if America didn't — when she found herself facing off in the Senate Judiciary Committee with embattled jurist Brett Kavanaugh, who tried to bully the Minnesotan. When Klobuchar mentioned her father's struggles with alcohol and pressed the nominee on his own alleged drinking problem, Kavanaugh bizarrely tried to throw shade back on her, saying "I think you've probably had beers, senator," and asking her if she'd blacked out. Klobuchar responded with dignity and grace ("I have no drinking problem, Judge") while staying on course with tough questioning. The moment made Klobuchar a star, if not yet a superstar.

It also raised Klobuchar’s media profile....

It did raise the Senator's profile, though the party's last nominee may not agree that widespread name recognition is key to being elected President. Moreover, she recognizes that responding to your opponent "with dignity and grace" may even be a hindrance.

Nonetheless, Senator Klobuchar once a prosecutor in Hennepin County, Minnesota, did respond with dignity and grace- especially if "dignity and grace" is spelled "being owned."

Kavanaugh (below) states "I provided material that's still redacted about the situation with the second-year roommate and I don't really want to repeat that in a public hearing." Klobuchar nods her head in agreement with a candidate she opposed. Kavanaugh, seizing on an opportunity to show his human side, smiles and tells a brief story about a roommate, after which Klobuchar smiles again.

"So there's never been a case." Klobuchar asked, "where you drank so much that you didn't remember what happened the night before or part of what happened." That is a sharp contrast to "tough questioning." Not surprisingly, with the "question" framed more as a statement, Kavanaugh agreed with Klobuchar that he has no drinking problem.

The nominee did not "bizarrely" try "to throw shade back on her." He successfully threw shade upon her, in so doing turning the issue back to her. For that brief moment- which concluded her time- the interviewer and the interviewee switched roles. Kavanaugh took over the interview.

In classic prosecutorial style, the Senator had led the witness- except in this case, she led him into an answer he wanted to give, one which undermined the Democratic argument against the nominee. It's an ideal outcome for a witness aiming to control the interview, and Klobuchar got served.

Bunch is not alone in romanticizing Amy Klobuchar's conversation with the judge, which may increase the Senator's odds of ending up on the national ticket in 2020. However, while in her brief time with Bart O'Kavanaugh she elevated her profile, she also enhanced (however marginally) the image of an undesirable nominee for the US Supreme Court.

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Trump: A Wall For Thee, Illegal Workers For Me

Unsurprisingly, as something neither Trump supporters (the entire GOP) nor Democrats wanted to talk about, it was only a one-day story.  Still, it was notable that on Sunday's Face The Nation, White House senior adviser Stephen Miller (not this Steve Miller) vigorously defended Donald Trump's dream of a border wall with Mexico.

After Miller stated "we're going to do whatever is necessary to build the border wall, to stop this ongoing crisis of illegal immigration" and asked a follow-up question, he responded

This is a very fundamental issue. At stake is the question of whether or not the United States remains a sovereign country, whether or not we can establish and enforce rules for entrance into our country.

The Democrat Party has a simple choice. They can either choose to fight for America's working class or to promote illegal immigration. You can't do both.

While Miller is trying to convince the country that fighting for America's working class requires a wall, he might want to persuade the president he works for. Twelve days ago we learned

During more than five years as a housekeeper at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., Victorina Morales has made Donald J. Trump’s bed, cleaned his toilet and dusted his crystal golf trophies. When he visited as president, she was directed to wear a pin in the shape of the American flag adorned with a Secret Service logo.

Because of the “outstanding” support she has provided during Mr. Trump’s visits, Ms. Morales in July was given a certificate from the White House Communications Agency inscribed with her name.

Quite an achievement for an undocumented immigrant housekeeper.

Ms. Morales’s journey from cultivating corn in rural Guatemala to fluffing pillows at an exclusive golf resort took her from the southwest border, where she said she crossed illegally in 1999, to the horse country of New Jersey, where she was hired at the Trump property in 2013 with documents she said were phony.

She said she was not the only worker at the club who was in the country illegally....

“There are many people without papers,” said Ms. Diaz, who said she witnessed several people being hired whom she knew to be undocumented.

Whatever Donald Trump's level of knowledge about the illegal immigrants working at his club- and there is no hard evidence that Trump, a notorious micro-manager, was aware- there is no reason to believe he would have objected. In July, Miami Herald columnist Fabiola Santiago wrote

... it’s not surprising that his posh Palm Beach estate and private resort club, Mar-a-Lago, is asking the Labor Department to grant Trump 61 foreign worker visas — six more than requested last year.

Amid the scandals that constantly surround Trump, the request might seem insignificant news. But, coming from immigrant-bashing "America First" Trump, it takes the cake in the hypocrisy department.

Under the H-2B visa program for seasonal, non-agricultural workers, employers must prove that they can’t find Americans to fill the jobs. Are there not enough cooks, servers and housekeepers in South Florida to staff Trump’s "Winter White House?"

Hard to believe, but then again, the Trump organization makes the minimal effort required to prove to the government that it can’t find U.S.-based employees.

As anyone who has tried can attest, all you have to do is ask for recommendations on Facebook — and a flood of candidates turn up.

Tourism being our No. 1 industry, Florida is hospitality haven, with a slew of programs at universities and colleges churning out skilled graduates. In addition, the state is home to a healthy, hard-working and young immigrant population eager to make a decent living cooking, waitressing and housekeeping — even if it’s seasonal, lower skilled employment.

Add to this the displaced and unemployed people from Puerto Rico post Hurricane Maria, and how can the Labor Department justify Trump’s foreign hires?

The Labor Department doesn't have to justify Trump's foreign hires.  Democrats, fearful of even a remote possibility of appearing anti-immigrant, would not strenuously complain. And neither will Republicans, who are in the pocket of Donald J. Trump. There is no downside except for the American worker, never a high priority for Stephen Miller's boss.

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