Trevor Matich, David Martosko, David Frum, Dan Joseph and guest host Tom Fitton joined WMAL on Thursday!

Mornings on the Mall

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Hosts: Brian Wilson and guest host Tom Fitton

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

5am – A/B     Q & A with Tom Fitton – Fitton is president of Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption

5am – C         Christmas weather records in D.C. likely to be toppled in freakishly mild December. Records for both warmest high and low temperatures will almost certainly fall at the three airports. Forecast highs Christmas Eve afternoon are in the low-to-mid 70s compared to the current record highs of 69 in D.C. (1933), 65 in Baltimore (1990 and 1982), and 66 at Dulles. The lows Christmas Eve are forecast to be in the low 60s, while the existing record warmest lows are 58 in D.C. (1891), 53 in Baltimore (1891), and 42 at Dulles (2014 and 1979). Dulles stands to absolutely obliterate the warmest low temperature record by some 20 degrees.

5am – D         Immigration News:

• US blocks UK Muslim family from boarding plane to Disneyland. LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister David Cameron will look into claims that U.S. officials prevented a British Muslim family of 11 from flying to Disneyland for a planned holiday. The issue is sensitive because U.S. Republican presidential contender Donald Trump has called for a temporary ban on Muslims visiting the U.S. due to concerns about extremist attacks. Stella Creasy, a member of the opposition Labour Party, said Wednesday that U.S. officials gave no explanation for refusing to allow her constituents to board a flight from Gatwick Airport on Dec. 15, so she wrote Cameron seeking his intervention. She said there is “growing fear” among British Muslims that aspects of Trump’s plans are coming into practice even though they have been widely condemned. A top Muslim group said cases like this appear to be related to religion and are worrying for British Muslims. Mohammed Zahid Mahmood said he and his family — two brothers and their nine children — were told nothing except that they were not allowed to travel to the U.S. despite having previously obtained clearance.
• Obama Admin Deports Fewest Illegal Aliens Since 2006. (Daily Caller) — Total deportations of illegal aliens by Immigrations Customs Enforcement from the United States fell precipitously in the past year, according to data from the Department of Homeland Security. The Obama administration announced Tuesday that it deported the fewest illegal immigrants since 2006. Between October 2014 and September 2015 DHS deported around 235,413 people. At the same time, 337,117 people were arrested trying to cross the border illegally, the Associated Press notes. Additionally, the AP reports, DHS previously said the drop in deportations by ICE is a result of the decline in arrests at the border. According to DHS, total deportations, including both border and interior cases, dipped 25 percent from 2014. Interior deportations by ICE fell 31 percent from the last year and deportations of criminal aliens dropped 27 percent from 2014.
• Homeland Security plans raids to deport illegal immigrant families. (The Washington Times) — President Obama’s Homeland Security Department is reportedly planning to target illegal-immigrant families from Central America for a series of raids, with raids coming as early as next month. According to the report Wednesday evening in the Washington Post, citing “people familiar with the operation,” the raids will be the first large-scale effort to deport people who have been fleeing violence in Central American countries but also defying removal orders by immigration judges. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation, which The Post says has not been given final approval, is expected to target hundreds of families and result in immediate deportation. About 100,000 families are believed to have crossed the Mexican border since last year. According to the Post report, the proposal has been “controversial inside the Obama administration.”

5am – E         Carson pushes back against reports of campaign shakeup. Washington (CNN) Ben Carson pushed back Wednesday against reports that said he was considering a major shakeup to his campaign staff, though he did not dispute the possibility that changes to his operation could be coming soon. Carson, who has lost his foothold as one of the GOP field’s leaders, appeared to be leading a troubled campaign on Wednesday when The Washington Post and The Associated Press — both of which interviewed the candidate — reported that the retired neurosurgeon was considering changes to his presidential campaign, including senior staff assignments. But speaking to CNN’s Don Lemon on “CNN Tonight” Wednesday evening, Carson said the stories had been overhyped, repeatedly calling out the Post for its “sensationalism” and insisting that no changes had been finalized.

6am – A/B/C Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder highlight Obama’s Christmas playlist. (The Hill) — The White House on Wednesday released Christmas music playlists curated by President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. The president’s playlist kicks off with “O Tannenbaum” by the Vince Guaraldi Trio — which many will recognize as a version of a song from “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” Obama’s list features “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey, “Santa Baby” by Eartha Kitt and “Someday at Christmas” by Stevie Wonder. Other musicians on the president’s list include Boyz II Men, The Jackson 5, Destiny’s Child, Frank Sinatra and Whitney Houston.

6am – D         INTERVIEW – TREVOR MATICH — Redskins elite long snapper and WMAL’s Redskins analyst

• PREVIEW: Washington Redskins VS Philadelphia Eagles / Saturday, December 26, 8:25 PM on NFLN, Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia

6am – E         Ted Cruz: Cartoon of Daughters ‘Has No Place in Politics.’ Sen. Ted Cruz hammered the Washington Post on Wednesday for publishing an online editorial cartoon depicting his two young daughters as dancing monkeys, telling a crowd in Tulsa that the attack “has no place in politics.” “Not too much ticks me off, but making fun of my girls, that’ll do it,” Cruz said in response to the cartoon, which has since been taken down. “It used to be for a long time the rules across the board that kids are off limits,” he added. “That should be the rules. Don’t mess with our kids. Don’t mess with my kids. Don’t mess with Marco’s kids. Don’t mess with Hillary’s kid. Don’t mess with anybody’s kids. Leave kids alone And if the media wants to attack and ridicule every Republican, well that’s what they’re gonna do. But leave our kids alone.” “Let’s argue about marginal tax rates. Let’s argue about policy. But don’t be attacking five year-old girls. That has no place in politics.”

7am – A         INTERVIEW — DAVID MARTOSKO — US Political Editor at DailyMail.com

• Carson pushes back against reports of campaign shakeup
• Ted Cruz: Cartoon of Daughters ‘Has No Place in Politics’
• Trump Jumps To 21-Point Lead In CNN/ORC Poll. Trump polled at 39 percent, which represents a 3-point jump for the real estate magnate since the last poll taken at the end of November. He’s followed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) at 18 percent, which is only a 2-point jump for the freshman senator. This is the highest both men have polled thus far in the CNN/ORC poll.

7am – B         TSA changes rules for who must go through body scanner. (CNN) The Transportation Security Administration can now mandate some passengers go through a body scanner even if the travelers ask to opt out and get a full-body pat-down instead. Mandated screening for some passengers would be “warranted by security considerations in order to safeguard transportation security,” the TSA said in a document updating the protocol. The change comes at a time of heightened concern about aviation security and terror plots against commercial aviation.

7am – C         College Students Sign Petition to Ban ‘Racially-charged’ Song: ‘White Christmas.’ Some college students agree radio stations should stop playing “White Christmas,” because the holiday classic is said to be “a racially-charged micro-aggression.” Media Research Center’s Dan Joseph asked students on a college campus to sign a petition against the song “because the song only focuses on ‘White’ Christmases.” Joseph asks, “We think that the song ‘White Christmas’ is insulting to people of color because it says snow is white and therefore it is good.” “Sounds understandable, makes sense,” one student responds to his plea for a signature. Only one student refused, while another requested more information, according to the video, but most students who passed by agreed with Joseph and signed the petition. In one hour, 18 college students signed the petition to ban the song.

7am – D         Q & A with Tom Fitton

7am – E         Warm Christmas:

• Christmas weather records in D.C. likely to be toppled in freakishly mild December. Every day but one this December has been warmer than average in Washington, D.C. and it’s likely the last 8 days of the month will all feature milder than normal temperatures. This December is destined finish as the warmest on record, by a substantial margin, and the warmth climaxes on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Temperatures at times will be more than 30 degrees above normal and numerous records are in jeopardy.
• Maryland’s only ski resort announces weekend opening. MCHENRY, Md. (AP) — Maryland’s only ski resort says it’s opening Saturday despite unseasonably warm weather that has hampered snowmaking. General Manager Jerry Geisler said in a statement Tuesday that Wisp Resort in McHenry expects to have one of its 35 trails open, plus a children’s learning area and carpets that enable skiing and snowboarding on a synthetic surface. Ice skating, Segway tours, tree-canopy tours and a mountain coaster ride will also be available.

8am – A         INTERVIEW – DAVID FRUM – a senior editor at The Atlantic and the chairman of Policy Exchange. In 2001-2002, he was a speechwriter for President George W. Bush – discussed the state of play of the 2016 election.

8am – B/C     CHRISTMAS QUESTION: Do you prefer Christmas letters or email from friends and family?

8am – D         INTERVIEW – DAN JOSEPH – MRC’s Man on the Street

• College Students Sign Petition to Ban ‘Racially-charged’ Song: ‘White Christmas.’ Some college students agree radio stations should stop playing “White Christmas,” because the holiday classic is said to be “a racially-charged micro-aggression.” Media Research Center’s Dan Joseph asked students on a college campus to sign a petition against the song “because the song only focuses on ‘White’ Christmases.” Joseph asks, “We think that the song ‘White Christmas’ is insulting to people of color because it says snow is white and therefore it is good.” “Sounds understandable, makes sense,” one student responds to his plea for a signature. Only one student refused, while another requested more information, according to the video, but most students who passed by agreed with Joseph and signed the petition.

8am – E         Christmas News:

• U.S. Christmas lights use up more electricity than some countries use in a year. Washington (AFP) – American household Christmas lights, a favorite holiday tradition, use up more electricity than some poorer countries — such as El Salvador or Ethiopia — do in a year. Bright lights strung on American trees, rooftops and lawns account for 6.63 billion kilowatt hours of electricity consumption every year, according to a recent blog post by the Center for Global Development. That’s more than the national electricity consumption of many developing countries. El Salvador for one, uses 5.35 billion kilowatt hours, while Ethiopia consumes 5.30 billion and Tanzania 4.81 billion. The researchers, Todd Moss and Priscilla Agyapong, used data from a 2008 US Department of Energy report and the World Bank to carry out their research.
• Obama highlights persecuted Christians in Christmas message. President Barack Obama highlighted the plight of Christians persecuted at the hands of the Islamic State in an unusual Christmas message on Wednesday. “In some areas of the Middle East where church bells have rung for centuries on Christmas Day, this year they will be silent; this silence bears tragic witness to the brutal atrocities committed against these communities by ISIL,” Obama said in a statement. Obama typically thanks troops serving overseas, praises Jesus Christ’s universal message of compassion or lauds religious freedom more broadly in his Christmastime remarks. The statement on persecuted Christians comes as religious groups and members of Congress are urging his administration to include Christians as victims of “genocide” committed by ISIL as the State Department considers applying that designation to Yazidis, a different religious minority in Iraq and Syria.
• Christmas celebrations banned in Somalia, Tajikistan and Brunei. Somalian government declared holiday is ‘only for Christians’ and festivities could prompt attacks from al-Shabaab, as other countries issue strict warnings. The governments of three countries – Somalia, Tajikistan and Brunei – have banned Christmas celebrations this year, with punishments ranging up to a five-year jail term. Somalia issued a ban on Christmas and New Year’s celebrations in the Muslim country on Wednesday, saying the festivities “have nothing to do with Islam”. Officials also said that Christmas celebrations may attract attacks from the Islamist militants’ al-Shabaab.