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Western Governors Association wants "guest" worker program
From this:The Western Governors Association on Tuesday called on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform including a temporary guest worker program.UPDATE: As you might expect, it's even worse than the blurb suggests. Utah's "Republican" governor Jon Huntsman is working with Arizona's Janet Napolitano on the "guest" worker scheme and immigration "reform" in general, and they have demands.
The group that represents 18 western states passed the policy resolution unanimously while meeting at the National Governors Association annual conference...
For instance, they want to avoid creating incentives to emigrate here illegally by... making legal immigration easier. Until such time as we allow a billion or so people to move here, that's not going to work.
They don't want "amnesty", but, then again, all of those who want amnesty claim they don't want what they want. Instead, they want to fine illegal aliens before giving them amnesty. Orwell would be proud.
And, it appears to have been a setup:
Immigration was among the topics President Bush touched on during a Monday morning meeting with governors - possibly in anticipation of today's policy proposal, Huntsman said.I don't know about Napolitano, but I have no qualms about calling Utah's governor un-American:
Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., Mexico, and illegal immigration
Utah's problem with "American" politicians
Posted to Immigration at 01:26 PM | Comments (2)
Dianne Feinstein supports taking tuition discounts from Americans
Buried in this 2/24 article is this:[Senator Dianne Feinstein] said she would co-sponsor a bill that would offer college grants to the undocumented youths who arrived in the United States before age 16 and have been here at least five years.As pointed out before, every discount given to an illegal alien means one less for an American.
Therefore, Senator Dianne Feinstein wants to take discounted college educations away from American citizens and give them to citizens of other countries who are here illegally.
On an ironic note came this Feb. 9 press release from the Senator:
"...Cuts to federal student loan programs--$12.7 billion over the next five years--will push college out of reach for many middle and low income families. In California, the [budget reconciliation bill] will cost the University of California system more than $10 million over the next three years, and make college less affordable for thousands of California's college students. And graduates will face student loan payments with rates over 7% as they try to get on their feet.Perhaps she's just confused over the definition of "citizen". Write her here and suggest a good dictionary.
The bottom line is that this irresponsible spending-cut bill represents relief for the wealthy in exchange for greater burdens on our nation's poorest and most vulnerable citizens."
Posted to Immigration at 10:16 AM | Comments (6)
How to unblock censored BoingBoing access
Apparently various countries block access to BoingBoing. There are ways to get around the censorship, but the problem is they're listed at BB itself! So, those who are censored might not be able to read it.Thankfully, Insty has stepped into the breach.
In addition, here are some tips if you're using ZimboSSL. Use the following initialization string:
tunnel --site boingboing.net --block "xeni jardin"If you're using ObmizSSL, here's the command to use:
tunnel --site boingboing.net --filter-out "xeni"
If you're using google as a proxy, just add -"yellow journalism" to the query string.
HTH
Posted to Bloggage at 08:44 AM | Comments (0)
Are illegal aliens a security threat?
One of the cherished talking points of supporters of illegal immigration is that illegal aliens who come here for economic reasons don't post a terror-related threat to the U.S. That's usually applied to Hispanic illegal aliens.
And, as the latest example shows, it's frequently used by racial advocates: someone named Marisa Trevino offers "Border control aims at wrong bad guys".
Unfortunately, that's completely wrong. While some reasons why are listed in "Exempt Spanish-speaking from Border Security, Immigration Laws?", there are - believe it or not - a few more.
All those illegal aliens help build up a smuggling infrastructure that could be used - and might already have been used - by terrorists. If there were fewer illegal aliens coming over, those who tried to do so would stick out like sore thumbs rather than being able to disappear in the crowd.
And, it's extraordinarily dangerous and foolish for a country to allow millions of people who have no allegiance to that country to settle within its borders. As pointed out before, if we're (almost) unable to completely expel those who've come here illegally, then we have in effect been invaded and settled.
It gives foreign powers political power inside our country, and one never knows if some of those illegal aliens would decide to rebel or cause similar problems. There have been immigrant riots in the U.S. and other countries. See France for an example. Could some variant of that happen here? Perhaps. What if we tried to expel millions of illegal aliens. Would they resist? Are we avoiding expeling them out of fear of what they would do? If so, then once again: we've been invaded and settled.
On a side note, the writer of the USA Today screed is identified only as a "freelance writer". However, there's someone who has the same name and looks remarkably like her working as the editor of "Ideas", the magazine of the "International Newspaper Marketing Association".
Posted to Immigration_terror at 07:00 AM | Comments (17)
Call your senators and stop Specter's massive amnesty scheme
More information on Senator Arlen Specter's massive illegal alien amnesty - and contact information for your Senators - is here. Additional background here.
Please take a moment and express your opinion on this anti-American bill.
Posted to Immigration at 04:57 AM | Comments (0)
Churchmen, coyotes, and HR 4437
The WashTimes offers "Churchmen and coyotes":Few pieces of immigration legislation have been more egregiously distorted than the alien smuggling provisions that were included in H.R. 4437, the immigration reform bill passed by the House of Representatives in September thanks in large part to the diligent efforts of Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, Wisconsin Republican...The editorial is paired with the article "Stop alien smuggling" by the United States attorney for the district of New Mexico.
...This section of H.R. 4437 is aimed squarely at criminals who attempt to smuggle people into the country for profit while leaving them to die in the desert or suffocate in the back of a truck...
...But unfortunately that is not the case. Church organizations (with the assistance of some know-nothing libertarians who liken H.R.4437's provisions on alien smuggling to the pre-Civil War Fugitive Slave Act) continue to make the unfounded charges the legislation is directed at providers of humanitarian assistance. But, like current law, the bill's provisions apply only to people who act recklessly or knowingly; if someone is not engaged in profit-making activity or thwarting law-enforcement efforts to prevent alien smuggling, Mr. Iglesias points out, they have nothing to worry about under this legislation: The federal government has more important things to do than to waste time prosecuting someone who simply provides basic necessities to an immigrant...
Posted to Immigration at 02:53 AM | Comments (2)
Dubai: DPW takes on Lou Dobbs; Coast Guard had objections
The Coast Guard - at least initially - had questions on the deal (nofollowpolicy). The USCG says that it had all its questions answered by various intelligence agencies.
That causes Bush cheerleader Insty to once again ask what the problem could be. As does co-idiot Kevin Drum.
And:
Lou Dobbs reported today that "Dubai Ports World" officials have tried to silence him and get CNN to suppress his reports... Mark Dennis, spokesman for Dubai Ports World: "CNN won't shut up Lou Dobbs." ...They are refusing to give any more interviews to CNN or allow them to video tape their operations overseas. To CNN's credit they have refused to comply with their demands.
Posted to Terrorism at 09:46 PM | Comments (0)
City of Orange "defends" turning illegal aliens over to Border Patrol
The City of Orange in Orange County arrested eight day laborers on Friday and turned them over to the Border Patrol. They admitted to being here illegally.
Now, we're supposed to believe that this decision is something that has to be defended. The AP offers that view in "Orange city officials defend turning over arrested day laborers to immigration authorities":
City officials are defending the decision to turn eight arrested day laborers over to immigration authorities.
In other news, Newport Beach is defending their decision to shut down a polluting lead smelter in their city. And, Huntington Beach is defending their decision to enforce zoning laws. Going even further, Seal Beach is also considering defending their decision to have a police force at all.
Posted to Immigration at 12:32 PM | Comments (2)
Philadelphia Inquirer supports illegal immigration, "guest" worker schemes
That paper offers the editorial "Crossing the Borders Immigration dilemma: Finding middle ground". It's a long editorial and it's chock full o' canards. This bit tells you all you need to know:
President Bush, who was governor of Texas, knows quite a bit about immigration from Mexico. His instincts are pragmatic.
That makes sense, just as long as your dictionary defines "pragmatic" as "completely corrupt; wants to flood the U.S. with cheap labor."
Previously, from a columnist for the same paper came: "Send illegals home - pronto!"
Posted to Immigration at 06:35 AM | Comments (3)
Mexican consulate coming to Little Rock
Mexico has more consulates in the U.S. than any other country, and since exporting illegal aliens to the U.S. is a growing business they keep building more. The latest will be coming to Little Rock, Arkansas. Jake Beckwith of the Texarkana Gazette offers fawning coverage and transcribes some of the remarks of the Dallas consul.Previous examples of puff pieces about Mexican consuls visiting small towns were featured here.
It's at least a little odd that I haven't seen any articles discussing such visits have featured reporters doing real reporting rather than acting as transcriptionists. Do they somehow think these consuls are paying friendly visits? Are they completely ignorant of the threat posed by a neighboring country sending us millions of their people? Or, is there something else involved?
Perhaps they're just part of the local power structure:
Texarkana, Ark., Mayor Horace Shipp opened the press conference by welcoming Zepeda to the city.Previously:
"The consul general is a very important part of our nation in that it is the official headquarters for representation of Mexico. It plays an important role in matters mutual to the two countries," he said.
New Americans welcomed to Iowa, Arkansas
"Texas has been conquered by Hispanics"
"[AR Gov.] Huckabee plan would give aid to illegal aliens"
Posted to Immigration at 03:18 AM | Comments (4)
First 5 California: bring back integrity!
From this:Republican activists on Saturday increased their pressure on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to replace movie director Rob Reiner as head of California's First 5 Commission, saying Reiner's decision to take a leave from his state post wasn't enough.Previously: "Rob Reiner denies wrongdoing"
Reiner on Friday took a leave of absence from the chairman's job until after the June 6 election in hopes of defusing a growing controversy about the state commission's $23 million ad campaign for preschool.
The ad campaign, first reported in The Bee in December, generated an outcry that the commission was using tax dollars to benefit the campaign for Proposition 82, the universal preschool initiative Reiner put on the June ballot.
Tony Strickland, a GOP candidate for state controller, said Saturday that the governor needed to replace Reiner with a chairman who could "bring back integrity" to the First 5 Commission.
"Bottom line, I believe they used $23 million worth of our tax dollars to fund their campaign," he said. "I don't think this should go away."
Posted to California at 10:28 PM | Comments (0)
Albany Democrat-Herald (Oregon) supports open borders. Literally.
The editorial "Consider an open border with Mexico" from Oregon's Albany Democrat-Herald has to be read to be believed. They are literally supporting an open border with Mexico:
...We have the North American Free Trade Agreement, which links the economies of the United States, Mexico and Canada. But this arrangement doesn't seem to extend to the movement of people... If it did, there would be no such person as an illegal alien from Mexico — or Canada — in the United States. Instead, citizens of each would be free to move from any one of the three countries to one of the others. They could live where they wanted and work wherever they were qualified to work, or where their labor was wanted and needed...
This is obviously an anti-American and an un-American concept, and if you're in their readership area I urge you to boycott them and encourage everyone you know to do the same.
The Democrat-Herald is owned by Lee Enterprises, which publishes 58 newspapers across the U.S. Consider boycotting those as well, and if you're in the mood let their CEO Mary E. Junck know what you're doing: (563) 383-2100.
In addition to many smaller papers, their major publications are:
- Arizona Daily Star
- North County Times
- The Times of NW Indiana
- St. Louis Post Dispatch
- Lincoln Journal Star
- Wisconsin State Journal / The Capital Times
Note that the idea of creating a "North American community" is one openly supported by the CFR and other anti-American groups. Perhaps this editorial is just a planted trial balloon intended to test popular opinion about the plan.
Posted to NAU at 08:51 PM | Comments (1)
Casa of Maryland helps illegal aliens get driver's licenses
As previously discussed, Casa of Maryland is a state-funded group that not only supports illegal immigration, but they're threatening to picket the jobs of Minuteman Project members and even the schools attended by their children.The article "Maryland group helps immigrants get driver's licenses" may even describe illegal behavior on their part, but whether it actually occured as described and whether this behavior is in fact illegal is not known at this time. Hopefully someone will look into this:
At 5 p.m. on Super Bowl Sunday, dozens of Spanish-speaking immigrants gather inside the cafeteria of St. Bernard's Catholic Church in Riverdale, Md., to learn if someone who is in the United States illegally can get a driver's license.
The event has been organized by CASA de Maryland, a Silver Spring-based organization that deals with issues related to undocumented workers.
As parishioners from the 4 p.m. mass stream into the packed room, Kim Propeack, director of community organizing at CASA de Maryland, takes the floor. "Every year in Annapolis they introduce legislation against undocumented immigrants," she says. "We have beaten those attempts every year, so far."
Ms. Propeack hands the floor over to Francisco Cartagena, a CASA organizer who teaches audiences across Maryland how to navigate the treacherous seas of the Motor Vehicle Administration.
Mr. Cartagena explains the importance of the REAL ID Act approved by Congress in May. Murmurs and sidebar conversations can be heard as more people trickle in.
"In March 2003 some restrictions were applied to driver's licenses," Mr. Cartagena says. "Since May 10 of last year they have added other restrictions. Many people did not realize that it was necessary to have legal migration status to get a license." The room goes quiet.
He explains that it is now impossible to get a license in Virginia and the District of Columbia without full documentation. He says that in Maryland there is still a window of opportunity.
"The REAL ID Act is not currently approved in Maryland. We have three years," he says.
The simplest and yet the most pressing obstacle undocumented immigrants face is stating their address. Mr. Cartagena makes it clear that it is not uncommon for people to be unaware of where they live.
"You need to know your address by heart," he says. "People fail when they are asked to give an address. When they ask, 'Where do you live?' it is as if they have thrown cold water on them." He patiently explains that a complete address must include the city, state and ZIP code.
In lieu of the most common documents that prove identity, a social security or a green card, Mr. Cartagena suggests to the audience that they get a baptism certificate from their country of origin, or even a high school transcript, anything that has their date of birth.
Ms. Propeack interjects to warn about fraudulent international licenses sold for hundreds of dollars that are not valid proofs of identity for the MVA.
Mr. Cartagena resumes. "Our naïveté is such that we think we can take a statement from a foreign bank to the MVA," he says. "Make sure that you get a statement from a U.S. bank."
"Many people rent a basement or a room without a written contract. Go to Office Depot or Staples, get a rental contract form and fill it. This document sticks to the law in Maryland. But if you write $200, they will ask you, 'Where are the $200 homes?'"
At 6:30 p.m. the meeting breaks up. Ms. Propeack and a CASA volunteer are surrounded by people and begin to field questions. Half an hour later they must leave the place to make room for a prayer meeting.
According to Mr. Cartagena, over the past two years CASA has educated about 20,000 people on getting a license. Of these, 3,000 have successfully gotten licenses. He says this was not one of CASA's main goals. Their aim was primarily to protect day laborers. But CASA realized it could also help immigrants get licenses. He crisscrosses Maryland every week to inform as many people as possible.
His is a race against time. By May 2008 all states will have to abide by the provisions of the REAL ID Act that would make it impossible for an undocumented worker to get a license.
Posted to Immigration at 02:52 PM | Comments (0)
Los Angeles Times supports illegal immigration, again and again
Christopher Goffard of the LAT offers "Costa Mesa's Border Heat Puts a Chill in Its Latinos". First, of course, there's the title's assumption that all Latinos are either illegal aliens or supporters of same. Then, the LAT offers the impression that supporting illegal immigration is a "generous" thing and opposing it is only for meanies:In a Republican county known as a cradle of border enforcement zeal, Costa Mesa has long been celebrated — and maligned — as a city that offered immigrants a generous embrace...What would happen if SOS went away? Well, all those "immigrants" might find it more difficult to live there. And, fewer would come. And, all those who are profiting off of illegal immigration would be forced to raise their prices to attract legal workers. This article could have been ordered up by those who are profiting off cheap labor.
Now, [a Latino with illegal aliens in the family] said, the city seems meaner, less like home...
...What Costa Mesa has are high-profile charities, such as Share Our Selves. All week long, immigrants stream in for medical care, clothes and bags of groceries — workers who clean the city's big houses, keep its yards hedged and oil the gears of its humming economy. They know the 36-year-old charity is a friendly place that won't ask about their citizenship.
The charity helped forge Costa Mesa's incongruous reputation as "a city with a heart" — to use the words of a former county supervisor — in a county that has been a caldron of border-enforcement sentiment...
Perhaps it's time for the LAT to drop the charade that supporting illegal immigration is the generous thing to do, when in fact all it does is support those who are trying to profit off of illegal activity.
As always, readers.rep *at* latimes.com is your friend.
Posted to Immigration at 09:44 AM | Comments (1)
Fred Barnes is mostly clueless on immigration
Fred Barnes ("FB"), the executive editor of The Weekly Standard, shows that he's almost clue-free "Losing Friends and Influence":
On immigration, Bush is not a conventional conservative or any other kind of conservative. His instinct is to sympathize with immigrants. Bush believes that whether they come to the United States legally or illegally, they come for the right reasons, chiefly for economic opportunity and the chance to shape their own destiny in life.
Does FB seriously believe that Bush believes the BS he peddles?
This has put the president deeply at odds with most Republicans in Congress and the army of conservative talk radio hosts and their listeners around the country. They regard Bush as a slacker on immigration. Their primary aim is to tighten security along the border with Mexico. And the legislation that passed the House last December would do exactly that, partly by erecting a 700-mile wall.
Actually, supporters of illegal immigration bring up "border security" in various contexts. They say that illegal immigration has increased despite increased border security. And, they say that a further increase wouldn't work. What many opponents of illegal immigration support is going after the employers. Since many of those employers or the organizations representing them fund the GOP, I guess we can understand why Barnes might want to ignore that point. That's assuming, of course, that he even understands what he types.
Bush had little influence in the House debate, though he wound up endorsing the measure. His mistake was having proposed in 2004, as his first major immigration initiative, a program to allow illegal immigrants to work legally in this country. Most Republicans and conservatives want stepped-up border security to come first...
Plus, bankers, employers, and others who profit off illegal immigration doing the perp walk.
...How could this adversarial relationship on immigration have been avoided? "If we had to do it again, we probably would lead with enforcement," a White House official said. In other words, soften up the immigrant-bashers with dramatically increased border security and then, and only then, seek a temporary worker program in a year or two. That might have succeeded.
Yes, Fred, it's all about "bashing" "immigrants". And, note that Barnes is basically suggesting a scam designed to flood the U.S. with cheap labor rather than supporting what's in the country's best interest.
As things now stand, the president's hopes rest with the Senate. His strategy is to get senators to include a modest guest worker program in their bill--a program that could be expanded later.
Yes, because many members of the Senate are just as corrupt and un-American as our president.
Posted to Immigration at 03:42 AM | Comments (3)
Pete Domenici to flood U.S. with immigrants based on minor childhood incident
Previously we discussed Senator Pete Domenici's massive amnesty scheme. Now comes word that he must be nuts:...During World War II Domenici's mother Alda, a legal U.S. citizen, was like many other Italian immigrants arrested during a post-Pearl Harbor checkup.Can't we do better than people like this? Is he really qualified for his job?
Alda Domenici was released on bond four hours later and returned safely to her home without further ado. [Senator's Experience Reflected in New Bill, James W. Brosnan, the Albuquerque Tribune, February 18, 2006]
But in a floor statement recalling the incident, Domenici said:"I believe that we can, and must, do our best to prevent situations like this from occurring in the future."So, let's see... based on a four hour event that occurred six decades ago, which has not a single parallel to today's illegal immigration offensive, Domenici proposes his WISH amnesty that would: [massive downsides enumerated]
Posted to Immigration at 09:36 PM | Comments (4)
Dubai: More ports than thought; poll; Thomas Kean; trading arms for national security?
Our "American" president continues to sell out this country: "22 ports in Arab deal, not just 6 as reported":
According to the website of P&O Ports, the port-operations subsidiary of the London-based Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. (P&O), DPW will pick up stevedore services at 12 East Coast ports including Portland, Maine; Boston; Davisville, R.I.; New York; Newark; Philadelphia; Camden, N.J.; Wilmington, Del.; Baltimore, Md.; and Virginia locations at Newport News, Norfolk, and Portsmouth.Additionally, DPW will take over P&O stevedoring operations at nine ports along the Gulf of Mexico including the Texas ports of Beaumont, Port Arthur, Galveston, Houston, Freeport, and Corpus Christi, plus the Louisana ports of Lake Charles and New Orleans...
Also, only 17 percent of Americans are in favor of Bush's scheme.
And, Thomas Kean from the 9/11 commission says the deal never should have been considered:
"From our point of view, we don't want foreigners controlling our ports... From their point of view, this is a legitimate company that had a legitimate bid and won, and here are all these congressmen saying all these things about not wanting this company. It looks to them like it's anti-Arab... I think this deal is going to be killed," Kean said. "The question is how much damage is this going to do to us before it's killed."
Here's a fact sheet on the deal from an industry association.
And:
"The UAE [arms] market is definitely important to the US," said Tom Baranauskas, a senior Middle East analyst at the Connecticut-based Forecast International, a leading provider of defense market intelligence services. "Just the order for 80 of the newest-generation F-16E/Fs alone was a major buy from the US," he said.
Posted to Terrorism at 11:02 AM | Comments (1)
Casa de Maryland might soon get big surprise
The Casa de Maryland is a state-funded group that supports illegal immigration.
Gustavo Torres, their executive director, recently said this about the Minuteman Project members who've been monitoring illegal labor hiring halls:
"We are going to target [the MMP members] in a specific way... [by taking their own pictures]... Then we are going to picket their houses, and the schools of their kids, and go to their work... If they are going to do this to us, we are going to respond in the same way, to let people know their neighbors are extremists, that they are anti-immigrant. They are going to hear from us."
Obviously, it's bad enough that a state-funded group not just supports illegal immigration but threatens to invade the privacy of patriotic Americans' children. However, there are a couple other pitfalls in this scheme which I'm not going to discuss just in case someone reads this and tips them off.
Also:
The most recent annual report for Casa de Maryland, a non-profit, shows $2,771,615 in income for 2004-2005, of which 51 percent was provided by various government agencies. According to its website, the organization's employment program provides day-labor placement for "low-income Latino and African immigrants ... as employers seek to replace permanent workers." "We never ask for documentation," Torres told the New York Times in December. "Our mission is to help anyone in need of service, regardless of their immigration status. We are proud of that."
Note that Kim Propeack of Casa is a frequent quote source for the WaPo and other rags, and every time that a paper quotes them in the future please send them the WND link so they know who they're dealing with.
Previously:
CASA of Maryland worried Sensenbrenner bill will shut their day laborer centers
Maryland to be sued over driver's licenses; AP not telling whole truth
"Purging illegal aliens from voter rolls not easy"
Posted to Immigration at 07:46 AM | Comments (1)
Senator Arlen Specter introduces "temporary" "guest" worker scheme
Senator Arlen "Single Bullet Theory" Specter has introduced a doubleplusgood "temporary" "guest" worker scheme. Not only would the hundreds of thousands of workers be "temporary", they'd also just be "guests". And, it includes a massive amnesty for the millions of illegal aliens already here.
Senator Arlen Specter is a liar.
In fact, anyone who refers to their "guests" as temporary is lying to you. The "guests" would be here to stay, as the recent example of Temporary Protected Status shows. The immigration "reform" we need is to discredit and drive from office corrupt politicians like Specter who put other factors ahead of what's good for the country.
Posted to Immigration at 03:33 AM | Comments (1)
"Union Leader Supporting Guest Worker Proposal"
The NYT has a story about the debates between unions who want massive immigration and guest worker schemes, and those who do not.
It concerns the confab mentioned in "Floridians: ask John McCain questions he can't answer!", but they - of course! - didn't look into all the other groups involved in the meeting that I discussed.
Posted to Immigration at 12:57 PM | Comments (1)
The myth of a labor shortage: letter to the L.A. Times
The LAT prints two letters under the heading "Immigrants taking jobs from unskilled workers":
No technologically advanced industrial nation like the United States, which has 27 million functionally illiterate adults, needs to be concerned about a shortage of unskilled workers.
And:
It's reassuring that a newspaper whose editorials support immigration can report the unvarnished truth in news articles: Immigrant workers contribute to unemployment among blacks. The civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s was able to reduce job discrimination because it took place before immigration skyrocketed.
Posted to Immigration at 12:55 PM | Comments (2)
"Did UAE Save Bin Laden?"
Here's more on our new port partners:Before President Bush gets anywhere near casting his first veto to ensure that the government of the United Arab Emirates can manage elements of six U.S. ports, someone ought to put before him pages 137-139 of "The 9/11 Commission Report...
The story the commission tells is that [Richard C. Clarke] made a call to a high-ranking UAE official that may have inadvertently saved bin Laden from a U.S. missile strike. The commission’s reporting strongly suggests someone in the UAE government tipped off someone in Afghanistan, protecting bin Laden.
In early 1999, the Clinton Administration wanted to fire missiles at bin Laden without risking civilian casualties. Bin Laden played into our hands. Intelligence reports from Afghan “tribals” indicated he was frequenting a small hunting camp adjacent to a larger camp outside Kandahar, Afghanistan. Here U.S. missiles could score a clean kill.
But then officials from the UAE got in the way. The commission said:
"On February 8, the military began to ready itself for a possible strike. The next day, national technical intelligence confirmed the location and description of the larger camp and showed the nearby presence of an official aircraft of the United Arab Emirates. But the location of Bin Laden's quarters could not be pinned down so precisely... According to reporting from the tribals, bin Laden regularly went from his adjacent camp to the larger camp where he visited the Emiratis. The tribals expected him to be at the hunting camp for such a visit at least until midmorning on February 11. Clarke wrote to Berger's deputy on February 10 that the military was then doing targeting work to hit the main camp with cruise missiles and should be in position to strike the following morning. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert appears to have been briefed on the situation.
"No strike was launched. By February 12 bin Laden had apparently moved on, and the immediate strike plans became moot. According to CIA and Defense officials, policymakers were concerned about the danger that a strike would kill an Emirati prince or other senior officials who might be with bin Laden or close by. Clarke told us the strike was called off after consultations with Director Tenet because the intelligence was dubious, and it seemed to Clarke as if the CIA was presenting an option to attack America's best counterterrorism ally in the Gulf. The lead CIA official in the field, Gary Schroen, felt that the intelligence reporting in this case was very reliable. The bin Laden unit chief, 'Mike,' agreed. Schroen believes today that this was a lost opportunity to kill bin Laden before 9/11...
Posted to Terrorism at 11:46 AM | Comments (0)
Al Gore's Current TV gets sued... twice!
A Maryland company and Minnesota Public Radio are suing Al Gore's Current TV network in separate suits charging trademark infringement over the name of the network.
An earlier statement had the following:
"We know of no consumers who confuse us with Minnesota Public Radio, and we can't imagine that anybody ever would".
Maybe if they tried harder!
Posted to Miscellania at 06:46 AM | Comments (0)
FBI discovers $2.2 million in stolen loot in Lagos, Nigeria
Dear esteemed reader:
The daily dispatches have gleefully reported the bright news that the United States FBI has recovered $2.2 million in stolen loot obtained through the provenances of Internet fraud. in Lagos, Nigeria. That sum is Three Hundred and Nineteen Million Nigerian Dollars (N$319).
The FBI, however, has trouble finding out who this money belongs to due to the scurilous nature of the transactions involved. Therefore, I ask you, the reader, for your help to disburse this money. We are informed that they need a victim to step forward as having been the person from whom these goods were obtained.
etc. etc.
Yours,
Mobutu Sese Sese
Posted to WackyHumor at 04:30 AM | Comments (0)
Rob Reiner denies wrongdoing
Meathead is on the defensive:Hollywood director Rob Reiner denied any wrongdoing Thursday in response to recent scrutiny about the potential misuse of taxpayer funds for a June ballot initiative he is spearheading.
Reiner, who heads the state's First 5 California Children and Families Commission he helped create, is now leading a campaign for a ballot initiative that would establish a state constitutional right to preschool for all 4-year-olds and raise income taxes for wealthier households to fund a preschool program.
A Los Angeles Times story earlier this week detailed, however, how the commission spent $23 million on ads to promote the idea of "preschool for all," which happens to be the same slogan Reiner uses to describe his latest initiative, Proposition 82.
The commission also earlier paid for a political consultant who now is the campaign manager of Prop. 82, the story noted.
...Reiner's attorneys have asserted that the First 5 ads were legal and proper, and the entertainer-turned-activist himself on Thursday dismissed the Times story as "the price of being a public figure."
When asked to comment about the money spent on the commission's ads following a speech he gave in San Jose on Prop. 82, Reiner said, "There is absolutely no conflict of interest."
Posted to California at 02:43 AM | Comments (1)
Yet another illegal alien march against HR 4437
This one was on Long Island and featured on the other side:
- Luis Valenzuela, executive director of the Long Island Immigrant Alliance, ("an immigrant advocacy group")
- Hempstead Village Deputy Mayor Henry Conyers
- Edison Severino of the Manhattan-based Local 78 of the Asbestos, Lead and Hazardous Waste Laborers
Reporting was by Bart Jones of Newsday.
And, they've got a cute new talking point!
"We're here on George Washington's birthday to demonstrate our moral outrage against this un-American bill," said Luis Valenzuela, executive director of the Long Island Immigrant Alliance, an immigrant advocacy group. "Our founding father would be turning over in his grave if he knew what was happening."
Valenzuela's group is mentioned here as having a link to the New York Immigration Coalition. Even worse, they have an indirect (and perhaps even direct) link to the local Mexican consul. And, he dares mention George Washington? If this group had pulled this same deal in Washington's time I hesitate to think what would have happened.
And, as Bart informs us:
The bill is provoking street protests among immigrants and activists from Boston to Miami to California. In Philadelphia, some restaurant workers stayed home on Valentine's Day. The same day, the foreign ministers of Mexico, Colombia, Panama and El Salvador flew to Washington to meet with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and voice alarm over the bill.
We really can't afford to have foreign citizens - some with ties to the governments of those countries - agitating and protesting inside our country.
Previous coverage of this latest round of marches starts in "Send illegals home - pronto!" and "Illegal aliens, supporters to march on Washington".
UPDATE: Here's another one from Delaware. Chicken processor Perdue Farms appears to be hinting that it employs illegal aliens.
Posted to Immigration at 08:42 PM | Comments (5)
"Republicans, H-1B Work Visas, Immigration and Charlie Brown"
There's a long article about the titular subject here. Other topics covered include MN's Gov. Tim Pawlenty, 3M, Microsoft, and George Bush.
Posted to Immigration at 12:07 PM | Comments (0)
Most hate crime victims are young, poor, and white
WASHINGTON – The most likely victim of a hate crime in the U.S. is a poor, young, white, single urban dweller, according to an analysis of Justice Department statistics collected from between July 2000 and December 2003.
A November report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics detailing a study of 210,000 "hate crimes" a year during that period has gone virtually unreported by the U.S. press.
But it does contain some surprising numbers. While race is, by far, the No. 1 factor cited as the reason for hate crimes, blacks are slightly less likely to be victims and far more likely to be perpetrators, the statistics show...
Posted to MultiCultiCult at 06:52 AM | Comments (14)
Georgia farmers should just consider out-and-out bribery
Russ Bynum of the AP offers today's article about crops rotting in the fields: "Effects of Crackdown on Illegals".
It contains several quotes from Georgia farmers claiming that they'd go out of business if they couldn't hire workers. And, while they claim that all of them provide the proper documentation, they also admit that most of them are probably here illegally. And, they also warn that if the documentation requirements are strengthened, they might have to shut up shop.
Have they just considered giving bags of cash to public officials? That will probably get their attention.
If you'd like to suggest that the AP does actual news coverage rather than printing propaganda, please send an email to: feedback *at* ap.org
Previously in this series: "The Guardian: American crops rotting in the fields"
Posted to Immigration at 04:38 AM | Comments (0)
"Temporary" Protected Status extended; preview of "guest" worker schemes
The Bush administration has extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of Central Americans. They get yet another year in the U.S.Some of them have been here since 1998, others since 2001.
Obviously, this is exactly how the various "guest" worker schemes proposed by Bush and others would work: at the start of the program we'd be promised that they'd have to leave after six years. Then, year after year it would be extended and extended.
Once again: anyone who claims "temporary" workers wouldn't be permanent residents is lying to you. And, this latest episode shows some of the people who'd support keeping our "guests" around:
But Central American leaders and several members of Congress have been pushing for a renewal. Immigrants and their advocates say allowing the special status to expire would devastate not only these individuals but also their families — and the Central American nations — who count on the billions of dollars the immigrants earn in the United States and send home.What country does Ros-Lehtinen really represent?
Salvadoran President Tony Saca is scheduled to visit Washington Friday.
[Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen] said in a statement that without a renewal of the special residency, the Central Americans would "face deportation back to a country where they may encounter violence, civil unrest or a homeland still recuperating from natural disasters."
Posted to Immigration at 02:38 AM | Comments (2)
Mexico tightens border security
Mexico has deployed soldiers to the border. And, this time they're on Mexico's side of the border.
Specifically, they're at bridges between Brownsville and Laredo. The Border Patrol wasn't informed of this new move and they only noticed it because much less traffic was coming through.
I think this can be considered to be two things: a) a preposterous attempt to show that that corrupt country is doing something about drug trafficking, and b) an attempt to show the economic power of legal visitors from Mexico.
Posted to Immigration at 10:34 PM | Comments (4)
Bishops urge: show false, idiotic compassion to illegal aliens
Dear Archbishop Michael Sheehan of the New Mexico archdiocese:
I read that you want us to show "compassion" to "immigrants". In fact, you say: "We don't condone illegal entry, but when someone is here, we try to take care of them."
Let me try to put this in a way that you might understand. (Regular readers are invited to skip this post since you already know this, but the archbishop probably doesn't.)
Let's say you set up an ice cream stand in Afghanistan, and you gave out free ice cream to anyone who shows up. (Afghanis love ice cream!) There's just one catch: your stand is surrounded by a mine field.
Most of the people who come for the free ice cream make it, but a certain percentage don't.
Obviously, you don't want people to be blown up. But, at the same time, you're smarter than Archbishop Michael Sheehan, so you realize that you can't just build giant bridges over all the mine fields, because everyone in Afghanistan would come for the free ice cream.
Hmmmmm.... That's a bit of a head-scratcher, isn't it?
Hey! Here's an idea! Let's say you stopped giving out the free ice cream. That way, no one would get blown up trying to cross the mine field. If anyone does make it through, you send them back without free ice cream, and you make sure they tell their friends. That way, fewer and fewer will get blown up.
If you're thinking compassionately, that is your only option. Every other option might sound compassionate, but it isn't. In fact, it's easy to question whether someone is really compassionate if they support anything else. If anyone tries to claim there is some other option, then they're literally living in a fantasy world.
Plus, that will encourage the Afghanis to build up their own ice cream manufacturing infrastructure, even if they need to replace their current corrupt political system to do that.
So, Archbishop Michael Sheehan, do you want to be truly compassionate, or do you want to just look like you're being compassionate?
Posted to Immigration at 08:52 PM | Comments (7)
Insty reports: port deal no problem!
Instapundit reports that the port deal was much ado about nothing. Whew! I'm relieved that we don't need to worry about yet more Bush administration corruption and attempts to sell this country out to the globalist agenda. Everyone: relax!
Extra-special bonus: co-idiot Kevin Drum weighs in.
Previously: "Dubai company set to run U.S. ports has ties to administration"
Posted to Terrorism at 08:29 PM | Comments (0)
"States mull bills on aliens"
There's a roundup of various states' activities here.
Posted to Immigration at 02:35 PM | Comments (0)
"Dubai company set to run U.S. ports has ties to administration"
I already reported this, but now that the MSM is covering it I guess it's official:The Dubai firm that won Bush administration backing to run six U.S. ports has at least two ties to the White House.And, of course: "Bush Says Dubai Port Deal Should Proceed, Threatens Veto"
One is Treasury Secretary John Snow, whose department heads the federal panel that signed off on the $6.8 billion sale of an English company to government-owned Dubai Ports World - giving it control of Manhattan's cruise ship terminal and Newark's container port.
Snow was chairman of the CSX rail firm that sold its own international port operations to DP World for $1.15 billion in 2004, the year after Snow left for President Bush's cabinet.
The other connection is David Sanborn, who runs DP World's European and Latin American operations and who was tapped by Bush last month to head the U.S. Maritime Administration...
Previously: "Dubai: Donald Rumsfeld not consulted despite being on CFIUS board"
Posted to Terrorism at 09:26 AM | Comments (2)
Profiting off illegal activity in Santa Ana, California
Social Compact is a "Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit research group that gets funding from financial and real estate companies." More on them below. They recently released a study on Santa Ana, and found out that the residents have more money than previously thought. In fact, it might even be a massive profit opportunity for those who don't mind profiting off of illegal activity:It's not surprising that the study would find previously uncounted residents and income, because it was already known that these neighborhoods are home to some number of undocumented immigrants, said Esmael Adibi, an economist at Chapman University in Orange.All those illegal aliens just came here to work, but they stayed to corrupt our local politicians and business leaders. Maybe someone should whisper the word "RICO" in their ears before they go too far down the road of trying to tap into the "informal" economy.
"They tried to quantify all of that," Adibi said. "Quantification helps, because any business that wants to start any operation, they usually do market research to have a good profile of who potential customers are going to be. This type of a study gives some numbers and helps these people to better evaluate the market."
The study found that two-thirds of the households in the two neighborhoods have no documented credit histories or banking relationships. It estimated the informal economy at $183 million, or 17 percent of the area's total economy.
If a group pimps profiting off illegal activity, should you really be surprised at where they get their money?
Social Compact is funded through fee-for-service income from its market analysis work and through contributions from Social Compact board members and private foundations. State Farm Insurance, the Ford Foundation, the Fannie Mae Foundation, Bank of America, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation provided funding for the Emerging Neighborhood Markets Initiative pilot work in Chicago, the foundation from which the Drill Down techniques were developed. Government grants from SBA and HUD provide funding for the National Pilot Initiative aimed at strengthening communities anchored by MLK thoroughfares or institutions. Typically our fee-for-service income comes from private sector leaders who wish to better understand the untapped potential in specific inner-city markets and/or from municipal governments and community-based institutions that are looking for ways to articulate their intuitive sense of their neighborhoods' strengths in a business-based manner.Please contact your representatives and ask them to avoid funding groups that promote illegal immigration and corruption.
Posted to Immigration at 06:26 AM | Comments (3)
Dubai: Donald Rumsfeld not consulted despite being on CFIUS board
I think this tells you all you need to know (nofollowpolicy):
Donald Rumsfeld, as Secretary of Defense, is a member of Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States. As such, he was one of the people who, according to the Treasury Department, unanimously approved the sale on February 13. How could do that when he didn't even find out about the sale until last weekend?
Previously: "I changed my mind! The Dubai deal must go through!" (/satire)
"Dubai would control part of U.S. military shipments under Bush scheme"
Chertoff assures: massively unsafe, dangerous Dubai ports deal is safe
UPDATE: Now, Bush claims that he also didn't know about the deal until recently. This could be an excuse, but it's also quite possible that other members of his crew didn't bother to tell him.
White House counselor Dan Bartlett said Wednesday the UAE company, Dubai Ports, "is a reputable firm that went through a congressionally approved vetting process." He said the U.S. has "the necessary safeguards to make sure that the security of our country is in place" and that rejecting the deal would send "a dangerous signal to people overseas that America plays favorites."... "The president wants this deal to go forward because it was followed by the book and he wants Congress to understand that," Bartlett said on CBS' "The Early Show." He told Fox News Channel that Bush felt strongly that "we need to be adding strategic partners" in the Mideast.
The last might make some sense, but not with something closely linked with our security. Perhaps we could get those "strategic partners" to supply non-essential products having no relation to security.
Posted to Terrorism at 04:26 AM | Comments (0)
I changed my mind! The Dubai deal must go through!
I've just done a complete 180 on this whole deal of the Bush administration turning control of key ports over to a company controlled by a questionable foreign country with links to terrorism.
I now fully support the deal.
What changed my mind was this post over at what I used to refer to as InstaIjit. As "Glenn" points out, giving a country with terrorist ties deep control of our ports and even military shipping is necessary in order to show the Arab world that we're nice people.
The last thing I'd want to do is offend our friends in the Arab world, so therefore I fully support turning over a vital part of our infrastructure to this questionable foreign country.
Tomorrow: revisiting my comments about George Bush's plan to outsource border protection to the "good-hearted" workers of Mexico. Hugh Hewitt changed my mind: it just might work as long as we believe!
UPDATE: Dick Meyer, Editorial Director of CBSNews.com, read my mind and offers the comforting "In Defense Of Dubai".
Posted to Terrorism at 08:59 PM | Comments (3)
Sen. Pete Domenici's massive amnesty scheme
This would be funny if it weren't so sad that we have people like this in charge:In preparation for a debate in the Senate next month on immigration policy, Senator Pete Domenici (R-New Mexico) has introduced legislation that would grant amnesty to an estimated 12 million people now living illegally in the U.S. and admit an additional 500,000 new guest workers plus dependant family members every year. Under the Domenici legislation, known as the Welcoming Immigrants to a Secure Homeland (WISH) of 2006 bill, all of the "guest workers" would eventually be allowed to become permanent residents.
In addition to creating a new guest worker visa, the WISH Act would vastly expand existing guest worker programs. Under the Domenici bill, limits on H-1B high tech workers would be virtually eliminated, and foreign student visas would be almost automatically convertible to permanent residency.
"There is virtually no American job, educational opportunity, or community that would not be undermined by this disastrous piece of legislation," said Dan Stein, president of FAIR. "Under the WISH Act, millions of illegal aliens would be rewarded with amnesty, and business interests would be granted access to unlimited numbers of guest workers who will never have to leave. For ordinary Americans, the legislation holds the promise of downwardly spiraling wages, massive population growth and the collapse of vital social institutions...
Posted to Immigration at 03:35 PM | Comments (1)
Alfonso Chardy of Knight-Ridder supports illegal immigration
That reporter offers "Migrants say they'll stay, legally or not". It's a highly-skewed "news" piece that doesn't look beyond the plight of those who came here illegally. It doesn't even have any quotes from those who support our laws, and it doesn't discuss things like political corruption.
Posted to Immigration_piipps at 11:28 AM | Comments (2)
Don't be a hater, support illegal immigration and lowering American wages!
A company called Triumph wants to bring a new pork plant to East Moline, IL. From December came "Residents debate over new pork plant in area":"And then you have the air-quality issues, such as dangerous levels of hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, as well as dust-borne pathogens," [Karen Hudson, a factory farm consultant from west-central Illinois who is president of Families Against Rural Messes] said. "There are not enough regulations to protect the people. The only way the big corporations can make a profit is by bending the rules."Now, the "Latino community" is speaking out:
Terry Spence, a factory farm consultant from northeast Missouri, said such plants often bring with them costs people don't anticipate. He said those costs involve hospitalization for workers without health insurance, upkeep of roadways and education for migrant workers.
Terry Bush of Davenport, a retired steel worker, said he was greatly concerned about working conditions...
They're concerned the plant is spawning racism and unfair stereotypes about Mexican workers. They held an anti-hate rally on Monday afternoon at the Moline Community Center to address some of the comments pork plant opponents have been making.Obviously, they're trying to shout down the legitimate concerns of U.S. citizens and make them politically incorrect. Who wants to be called a hater? If the illegal immigration supporters can get the local "liberals" on their side, they just might win.
Some have called the pork plant an illegal alien magnet that will bring crime and drain the healthcare system. But Latino leaders say these comments are made out of fear and ignorance.
Of course, that win would come at the expense of the truth. Whereever illegal workers go, those who prey on them are sure to follow. For instance: "Iowans get exotic treat: Central American gangs". They came to victimize the workers at various meatpacking plants in that state, and they would surely come for the new East Moline workers. As for the health costs, either all those academic studies are based on "fear and ignorance", or supporters of illegal immigration simply have no counter-argument.
The article also contains a quote from Esteban Loustanau, VP of Casa Guanajuato:
"We need to start breaking barriers and have an honest discussion about issues"Will that "honest discussion" include calling the other side "haters" for opposing illegal immigration?
As for his organization, could you please see if there are any links between it and the Mexican government?
Bearing in mind that there might be several organizations with the same name, from "Public-private efforts 'inject life' across border" we have:
...Mr Pichardo and Mr. Rubi take part in the Mexican government's 3-for-1 program through Casa Guanajuato, a Dallas club formed about eight years ago to meet the needs of communities back home in Mexico.And, from 8/7/02's "Mexico Shuffles Responsibility For Migrant Affairs"
For every dollar the group kicks in, the government adds $2 to $3 more, with the matches coming from the municipal, state and federal governments in Mexico.
In the state of Guanajuato, the number of public-private projects financed this way has nearly doubled to about 100 in two years, says Diana Alvarez, coordinator of Guanajuato's Migrant Abroad Program...
Despite complaints from some immigrants in the United States, President Vicente Fox closed a special presidential office on migrant affairs Tuesday and created a cabinet-level council and institute to take its place...If you can find direct links between Casa Guanajuato and either the pork plant company or the Mexican government that would be much appreciated.
But Hernandez's agency [the Presidential Office for Attention to Mexicans Abroad] struggled with a small staff and budget. Those close to migrant issues also say Hernandez suffered from competitive clashes with Foreign Minister Jorge Castaneda, who will sit on the new National Council for Mexican Communities Abroad and supervise the new Institute for Mexicans Abroad.
Fox praised the work of Hernandez, who attended Tuesday's event and was named a public relations aide to the president.
"That office had very clear and specific tasks to be completed within a certain time frame," Fox said of Hernandez's agency. "That has been done. And that's why now we are moving on to a new phase."
Activists invited to the event said they hope the new council can achieve gains for migrants that were stymied by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, including a proposal by Fox and President Bush to legalize millions of undocumented migrants and grant more temporary work visas to Mexicans.
But some U.S. Latino activists who considered Hernandez's office a direct link to Fox were upset that Fox closed the office without consulting them first.
"For many in the Mexican community in the United States, it is impossible to accept an invitation to the installation of this council because the community was not consulted about the disappearance of the presidential office," Francisco Zamora Horta of the Atlanta-based group Casa Guanajuato said in a written statement.
Casa Guanajuato is a U.S. network of migrants from Fox's home state...
Posted to Immigration at 10:01 AM | Comments (2)
"Send illegals home - pronto!"
Normally, one might consider philly.com a "liberal" rag, but apparently they've got someone there who's bucking the trend. From Stu Bykofsky:...Watching the rally at Independence Mall last week I was struck by the dazzling chutzpah of illegal aliens' demands to be left alone by the government, like a teenager shrugging off a nagging mother.
They were complaining about legislation - the Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act - that would make them felons and boot them out of the U.S.A.
But - oh! In Philadelphia, the restaurant industry is heavily dependent on bracero labor. Elsewhere in the nation, agriculture and construction leans heavily on "undocumented" workers to do the back-breaking work.
Who would do that work if we had no "uninvited guests?" we're asked.
Um, the same people who did it before they arrived: Low-income Americans.
Americans won't work for so little money, we're told.
Yes they will, because they have.
And if they won't, unleash capitalism and hike the pay until they will. If that means I may pay more for produce, or a restaurant meal, I'm OK with that...
Posted to Immigration at 04:23 AM | Comments (11)
Floridians: ask John McCain questions he can't answer!
From this:
[Arizona Sen. John McCain] will be in Miami on Thursday and will promote a business-backed guest worker program and other immigration reforms. The Arizona senator will speak at "town hall" meeting in South Florida sponsored by the New American Opportunity Campaign. That group includes labor unions, business interests, Hispanic groups and other supporters of guest worker program.
If you're in Miami, could you please try to attend this event and publicly embarass John McCain by trying to ask him a tough question he can't answer? Unfortunately, the event isn't listed at his site (mccain.senate.gov), nor is it listed at that groups's site (cirnow.org). Perhaps there will be an announcement soon, or perhaps they're keeping it private to avoid difficult questions.
For instance, ask him why he wants to bring around 36 million new people here over the next 8 years.
On a more generic note, ask him how we could end illegal immigration without doing something about political corruption. And, point out that his bill is an example of political corruption: giving in to those forces that oppose our immigration laws rather than fighting against our enemies.
If you prefer the sign format, try something like: "McCain-Kennedy, the massive amnesty prefered by 9 out of 10 corrupt Mexican government officials" or similar.
You can also ask him what he's doing speaking before a group that, through a member of its board of directors, allegedly has links to the Mexican government. Is John McCain willing to sell out America to Mexico? Here are few groups on their board of directors:
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) (allegedly has links to the Mexican government)
Illinois Coalition for Immigration and Refugee Rights
National Council of La Raza ("National Council of The Race")
New York Immigration Coalition
Posted to Immigration at 11:54 PM | Comments (2)
Dubai would control part of U.S. military shipments under Bush scheme
As discussed here (nofollowpolicy), the Bush scheme to sell off port operations in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia to a company controlled by the United Arab Emirates has even more downsides than originally thought:A major part of the story, however, has been mostly overlooked. The company, Dubai Ports World, would also control the movement of military equipment on behalf of the U.S. Army through two other ports. From today's edition of the British paper Lloyd's List:Now, let's take a look at this:[P&O] has just renewed a contract with the United States Surface Deployment and Distribution Command to provide stevedoring [loading and unloading] of military equipment at the Texan ports of Beaumont and Corpus Christi through 2010.According to the journal Army Logistician "Almost 40 percent of the Army cargo deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom flows through these two ports."
In mid-January, President Bush nominated a senior executive of Dubai Ports World, David Sanborn, to run the Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration. Mr. Sanborn had been running the company's operations in Europe and Latin America...Both Sanborn and Snow were previously with CSX. Snow was their CEO, and Sanborn was an executive with the CSX/Sea-Land division.
The Dubai purchase was approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, of which [Treasury Secretary John Snow] is chairman and which does not usually disclose information about its deliberations, said Brookly McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Treasury Department. Ms. McLaughlin declined to say when the committee began or ended its review of the deal or what national-security implications it considered...
Obviously, the Bush administration is completely, absolutely corrupt.
Posted to Terrorism at 09:44 PM | Comments (5)
Bush gets new orders from Vicente Fox; Chertoff named to help
This all sounds so Soviet:U.S. President George W. Bush named Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff as the U.S. point person to work with Mexican officials to clamp down on increasing violence along the U.S.-Mexican border, the White House said on Monday.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan made the announcement after Bush talked by telephone with his Mexican counterpart, Vicente Fox, to discuss immigration and border violence, which has surged in recent months.
"Primarily they talked about the increased border violence and the two leaders talked about the importance of working together to improve our border security and stop the violence," McClellan told reporters.
The leaders decided to pick a high-level contact within each government to work together on the issue and Bush tapped Chertoff for the role, McClellan said...
Posted to Immigration at 09:41 PM | Comments (0)
To: Dennis Hastert. Re: DREAM Act.
Dear Dennie:
I understand that either late this month or early next, supporters of illegal immigration - including the Center for Community Change - will be conducting a "Diplomas Not Death" vigil outside your office in Batavia, IL. They want you to assist them in passing the DREAM Act, an explicitly anti-American bill that would devalue American citizenship and increase illegal immigration.
I am absolutely positive that you do not want to be seen to be taking college discounts away from U.S. citizens and giving them to illegal aliens. Many Americans realize exactly what this bill does and how anti-American it is, and I'm sure you don't want them to think you're will to sell out this country for non-existent votes from far-left supporters of illegal immigration.
And, regarding their slogan "Diplomas Not Death", all the groups that support illegal immigration are indirectly responsible: if prospective illegal aliens knew they couldn't find a job or get services, they wouldn't try to come here. Groups like the CCC help form the magnet drawing illegal aliens to try to cross the desert.
Posted to Immigration at 08:27 PM | Comments (1)
Texans, Mexicans on cost/benefits of illegal immigration
The Dallas Morning News and their Mexican counterpart polled people in Texas and in Mexico:Mexicans and Texans are divided on whether illegal immigration helps or hurts the U.S. economy:Even if illegal aliens came here carrying free ice cream, would it be good? What about, oh, just as an example, political corruption: companies profiting off illegal activity donating to politicians who then support illegal immigration. Isn't preventing that much more important than any economic benefits?
83% of Mexicans surveyed say it helps the U.S. economy.
56% of Texans say illegal immigration hurts it.
58% of Mexicans doubt their next president will reduce illegal immigration to the U.S.
47% of Texans oppose building a security fence on the U.S.-Mexico border. About 45 percent said they favor it.
Posted to Immigration at 03:09 PM | Comments (2)
Rob Reiner-supporting commercials paid for by tax money
From "TV Ads Put Focus on Reiner":Police sirens wail as a scruffy teenager, clutching a bag, runs frantically through the streets. Entering a schoolyard, he reaches into the bag. Out comes … a graduation gown, which he dons to receive a diploma.I assumed that the commercial they describe was being paid for by Reiner or one of his private groups. Now it turns out he's much smarter! Those Hollywoodians are indeed experts at using OPM.
The scene is from a television ad, paid for with tax money and made by consultants close to Hollywood producer Rob Reiner. It aired across California this winter, touting the benefits of preschool. "When kids go," the narrator says, "we all benefit."
The release of the ad, and two others, by a state commission Reiner heads coincided with his launch of a ballot initiative that would tax the rich to fund preschool for all California 4-year-olds.
Although Reiner did not directly approve the spots, their timing and substance highlight ties between the public commission and his private political campaigns and raise questions about whether the state-funded commercials were used to boost the initiative's prospects...
Previously: "[Rob] Reiner initiative bad for preschoolers"
Posted to California at 12:46 PM | Comments (0)
Illegal aliens, supporters to march on Washington
Yet another march for and by illegal aliens is planned for March:[Armando Navarro of the National Alliance for Human Rights] told The Washington Times that 2006 will be a year of "massive mobilizations, activism and political participation to countervail the heinous, racist and nativist crusade" of those who support the bill and the construction of "an Iron Curtain" along the U.S.-Mexico border.They point out that those countries get about $32 billion in remittances, which just might explain their crusade.
In addition to efforts by the coalition, the foreign ministers of 11 Latin American countries opposed to the Sensenbrenner bill [Colombia, Mexico, Panama, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador, Belize, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic] met in Cartagena, Colombia, last week and also agreed to begin a massive lobbying campaign in Washington to defeat the legislation.
The ministers will send a team to Capitol Hill this week to identify key members of Congress on the immigration issue. They will call for the implementation of a guest-worker program, outline their opposition to the criminalization of illegal entry, demand better treatment of migrants, and condemn proposals for tighter control of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Previously: "Illegal aliens march, demand same rights as citizens. A good thing?"
2/22 UPDATE: Yet another protest, this time in Florida. It has the usual suspects and slogans, including two priests acting like cheap labor pimps:
About 550 Hispanic immigrants cheered and waved signs under the banyan tree at the Old Lee County Courthouse to draw attention to a proposed federal law that could criminalize routine contact with undocumented aliens.
Cheers could be heard for two blocks in all directions as they shouted "No somos criminales" — "We are not criminals" — and listened to impassioned speeches from protest organizers and supporters addressing the orderly group through bull horns.
The Florida United Latinos Organization set up the event, which attracted people from Tampa to Naples, and from farms in De Soto, Manatee and Hardee counties...
Two Roman Catholic priests, the Revs. Victor Caviedes of Fort Myers and Ililario Rivera of Wachula, said most migrant workers want only the opportunity to cross the border legally and to get driver’s licenses to work here and be productive.
"I know the reality," said Caviedes, of Jesus the Worker church in Fort Myers, who said workers supply labor for employers who have unmet demands for work.
Posted to Immigration at 08:34 AM | Comments (5)
Chertoff assures: massively unsafe, dangerous Dubai ports deal is safe
Yes, I know it's Reuters, but broken clocks and all they seem to have gotten this right:The Bush administration has failed to put adequate security conditions on a deal for a state-owned Dubai company to manage major U.S. ports, and it should not go forward pending a full investigation, a key Republican congressman said yesterday.As you might expect, an administration representative stepped forward to assure the Americans that the deal was A-OK:
Lawmakers from both parties joined in criticizing the deal, and one called the administration "tone deaf" for approving it.
Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said that before the administration approved the sale of British firm P&O, which manages six U.S. ports, to Dubai Ports World of the United Arab Emirates, it failed to determine whether the company could be trusted...
"You can be assured that before a deal is approved we put safeguards in place, assurances in place, that make everybody comfortable that we are where we need to be from a national security viewpoint," [Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff] said on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos."Time and time again, the Bush administration has demonstrated that they're completely corrupt, incompetent, untrustworthy, and do not have America's best interests at heart. Hopefully hearings are held and this can be blocked before it becomes yet another legacy of their administration.
Posted to Terrorism at 07:17 AM | Comments (1)
David Moats of Rutland Herald: idiot or corrupt?
David Moats is the editorial page editor of Vermont's Rutland Herald, and could I trouble you to ask him whether he's an idiot or whether he's just corrupt? His email address is david.moats *at* rutlandherald.com, and back on February 4 he or a proxy offered an unsigned editorial called "Bienvenidos":Quietly, the Douglas administration has been taking steps to help the growing population of illegal immigrants who in recent years have become an essential part of the dairy industry in Vermont... Vermont farmers are adamant about the importance of Mexican workers to the state's farm economy. Without immigrant workers, the farmers would face a dire labor shortage. It's no wonder that officials in the state Agriculture Agency are more interested in making the workers feel at home than in sending them away...Thankfully, someone responded with "The high cost of illegal labor", which is quite good:
David Moats' "Bienvenidos" editorial endorsed violating our immigration and labor laws, supported the cheap labor lobby, and called our border with Mexico "a geopolitical abstraction."There's more! But, once again, please send an email to david.moats *at* rutlandherald.com and ask him: "are you an idiot, or are you just corrupt?"
...The illegal Mexicans are paid $7 to $8 an hour but the living wage for a single person is at least $10.50, and many of the Mexicans have their families here – illegally, of course. Who pays the difference between what they earn and what they need to survive? We all do...
...If it's ethically OK to violate our immigration and labor laws, is it also ethically OK to violate any other laws we find inconvenient? If it's alright for Vermont farmers to hire cheap, exploitable illegals from Mexico, is it also acceptable for any American employer to hire illegals from any country? There are about 4 billion people in over 80 countries with a lower per capita income than Mexico. Should the illegal Mexicans be replaced with Chinese if they will work cheaper? If we abolish Moats' "geopolitical abstraction" that we call our border, is it possible that some terrorists might be included in the human tsunami that would overwhelm us? As Robert Frost said, "Good fences make good neighbors..."
Posted to Immigration at 03:49 AM | Comments (3)
Will Chicago's surveillance cameras come to Los Angeles?
Guess what: they already have. As detailed a year ago, L.A. City Councilman Eric Garcetti - consistently an idiot - together with then-mayor Jim Hahn welcomed Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley to the rollout for new security cameras which were placed on Hollywood Boulevard.
Chicago now has a proposed ordinance to require bars to install security cameras. Who exactly would monitor those cameras is uncertain, but I have no doubt that the government would eventually assume that role.
If Daley's advocacy for cameras on the street lead to Los Angeles installing them, have no doubt that our own leading lights - lead no doubt by Garcetti - will soon come out with a similar proposal.
Also, as pointed out in the other entries in this category, there's usually someone around to say something creepy, and here's the current version:
"The safer we make the city, the better it is for everyone," says Chicago Alderman Ray Suarez, who first proposed mandatory cameras in some businesses. "If you're not doing anything wrong, what do you have to worry about?"
Posted to Privacy at 09:25 PM | Comments (3)
Illegal aliens march, demand same rights as citizens. A good thing?
Is it a good thing to have illegal aliens agitating for extra rights inside your country? Isn't that a dangerous situation?Here are three recent examples: "Hundreds gather in opposition to federal immigration legislation" by Ted Roelofs of the Grand Rapids Press. It's PIIPPish, and it includes this quote from an illegal alien: "We ask the same rights as every citizen".
"Immigrant groups rally in Miami against proposed law"
And, lastly this:
Thousands marched in northeast Las Vegas today for Immigration Reform. The marchers claim immigrants are treated unfairly and they want equality.Should we give those illegal aliens what they want? Of course not. Even more illegal aliens will come here and they'll demand the same things. And, they'll have a precedent. We can't just allow people to move here illegally and then give them benefits - including even voting rights - because they managed to evade our laws and because our politicians are corrupt.
There have been three events like this in the past 12 months. But today's was the largest with nearly three-thousand participants. Immigration leaders came from Arizona and California.
...The marchers chanted in defiance of current U.S. immigration law and demonstrated their freedom in America.
Marchers were eager to get out what they believe, Hispanics aren't treated equally in Las Vegas.
"There are a lot of people that raise their families, pay their taxes, these people deserve to be legal in America," said Miguel Barrientos, the March Organizer.
The march was put together by the group United Families for Earned Immigration. They are asking for support of the federal McCain-Kennedy Immigration bill being debated in Congress. It would provide a formal path for the nation's illegal immigrants to become citizens.
Posted to Immigration at 01:03 PM | Comments (3)
Bush is lying to you about "guest" workers
Speaking in Tampa yesterday, president Bush offered a fairly standard recitation of his immigration talking points, albeit a bit more incoherent than usual.
Let's just look at this one lie-rich paragraph:
My attitude is, you recognize it for what it is, and you say, you can do this on a temporary basis. You say, if there's a willing employer and a willing worker on a job an American won't do, then it's okay to fill that job, so long as you're not here permanently, so long as this is not -- (applause.) And so I believe there ought to be a temporary worker program. We've tried this in America before -- pretty successful, at least in my own home state of Texas. You got people -- Red Putnam over there, he's got people -- probably have been bringing people in to pick oranges, I don't know. Agriculture relies upon a lot of people willing to do the work that others won't do. And it seems like to me that there ought to be a legal way to make this happen without creating a sense of amnesty or permanency.
First of all, as pointed out many times before, these "temporary" workers will be here for as long as they want. They'll have U.S. citizen children, they'll buy property, start businesses, and variously become entrenched in the U.S. The "liberals" will whine if we try to deport them, and the "conservatives" will whine about losing their monetary contributions.
And, if there were some way to deport "temporary" workers once their time was up, why don't we deport those illegal aliens who are here now?
The answer is simple: president Bush is lying right to your face.
As for the bracero program, it was certainly pretty successful in increasing illegal immigration both during and after its implementation, in addition to being rife with worker abuse.
As for the "Red Putnam" shoutout, I believe that's a reference to Rep. Adam Putnam or another member of his family. He's a 20-something member of a Florida orange growing clan.
Is Bush accusing him of employing illegal aliens, or is he just referring to legal worker programs? Would he care? Would someone read "In Florida Groves, Cheap Labor Means Machines" to our leader?
Posted to Immigration at 05:06 AM | Comments (8)
Denver Post blog
Did you know that the Denver Post has a blog? In fact, you're ordered to think of it "as a funky old apartment building where a lot of different personalities live and hang out".
Cool! Is one of those "different personalities" the Denver Mexican consul? Remember that in 2002 the Denver Post collaborated with the government of Mexico on a pro-illegal immigration puff piece.
Please register to comment there and leave that last link whereever it's appropriate.
Posted to Bloggage at 09:13 PM | Comments (0)
Mexico admits: most emigrants had work in Mexico
Allan Wall discusses this comment from a Vicente Fox spokesman:
In some cases it [emigration] has to do with real problems of poverty, and in others it answers to other types of personal interest. Statistics reveal that a very, very high number of the persons who emigrate to the United Status had work in Mexico. They don't emigrate to get a job, but they emigrate for another series of conditions also of a cultural character, because they hope for a better condition of life despite the fact that they had work here. They aren't going because they don't have work in Mexico.
Kinda shoots holes in the Sally Struthers-level arguments provided by supporters of illegal immigration, doesn't it? Especially those from various Catholic bishops.
Posted to Immigration at 09:58 AM | Comments (5)
HotelWorkersRising.org meets Antonio Villaraigosa
HotelWorkersRising.org is a "progressive" organization featuring losing VP candidate John Edwards and involving the UNITE HERE union. They seek to improve the lot of low-wage earning hotel workers.
Today they met with L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a Democrat and a former member of the racial separatist organization MEChA.
A while back, another Democrat, Gil Cedillo, (also a former member of the racial separatist organization MEChA) said the following:
"Latinos have displaced other work communities - clothing, hotel, and restaurant industries that used to be done by blacks and anglos."
Being a "progressive" is a delicate balance between supporting good jobs for Americans and helping flood the U.S. with cheap foreign labor designed to drive down American wages. And, a similar delicate balance between not being racist and supporting racists.
Posted to Immigration at 09:40 PM | Comments (2)
Dick Cheney, ear protection, King Cobra, and birdshot penetration tests
First of all, Dick Cheney has admitted having a little to drink:
We'd taken a break at lunch -- go down under an old -- ancient oak tree there on the place, and have a barbecue. I had a beer at lunch. After lunch we take a break, go back to ranch headquarters. Then we took about an hour-long tour of ranch, with a ranch hand driving the vehicle, looking at game. We didn't go back into the field to hunt quail until about, oh, sometime after 3:00 p.m... The five of us who were in that party were together all afternoon. Nobody was drinking, nobody was under the influence.
"A beer", eh? Could it have been one of those "ice" beers with increased alcohol content? Perhaps even a 40 of King Cobra could be called "a beer" under the right circumstances.
And, thinking ahead, Peggy Noonan offers "Hit Refresh: Why Bush may be thinking about replacing Cheney".
To save time, and since nearly every other message at DUmmieland is about Dick Cheney shooting Harry Whittington, so let's mine their collective intelligence for clues.
First up, there are a couple prior pictures of Cheney hunting here and here. Notice anything about those pictures that might cast doubt on part of Cheney's explanation? Yes, that's right, he's wearing ear protection. One DUmmie supposes that the Secret Service probably is in contact with him through those earphones and could have broadcast something such as, "Harry is walking behind you".
And, "The Swiss Miss...the VP... & UBS Enron?" tries to find links between the various members of the hunting party.
See also "Poll question: How big of "a Beer" did Cheney Consume at lunch?"
There are penetration test for shotgun loads here. That would tend to cast a bit of doubt on how such small pellets fired from such a (stated) distance could cause such penetration.
Another angle involves "Funeralgate", a Texas scandal apparently involving the Bush Gang and Whittington. See also this and this.
And, a public defender in New Hampshire offers obsessive coverage including raising the possibility that Cheney engaged in felony witness tampering and questioning the time of the accident.
I wondered about the sunny/dusk discrepancy earlier.
Posted to Politics at 11:11 PM | Comments (1)
Businesses worried about being sued for hiring illegal aliens
From this:Employers who hire illegal immigrants to depress wages have something new to fear: Employees who use racketeering laws to take them to court.
A law originally conceived to hammer the Mafia – the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations statute – is now being swung against employers at chicken-plucking plants, apple orchards and janitorial firms.
In April, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear a Georgia racketeering case involving carpet giant Mohawk Industries Inc., its employment practices and allegations that it used labor recruiters in Brownsville.
The case is being closely watched by many employment law specialists – particularly in areas such as North Texas with large illegal immigrant populations – because it could trigger a rash of costly suits against businesses that depend on illegal labor.
A handful of similar suits have already been filed under RICO, and last month a judge approved a $1.3 million settlement in one of them...
Because so many of the RICO suits are brought in areas that hire large numbers of Hispanics, [Mohawk attorney Juan Morillo] said the issue should be of concern to the Hispanic community as a whole...
...The U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a brief in support of Mohawk. So did Associated Builders & Contractors, a powerful trade group.
"This case is about RICO, which was initially used to go after the mob, and now it is being expanded by smart plaintiff lawyers to go after employers who have nothing to do with the mob," said Amar Sarwal, general counsel of the National Chamber Litigation Center, the public policy law firm of the U.S. Chamber...
Posted to Immigration at 11:07 AM | Comments (5)
Waving Mexican flags on America's Independence Mall
Independence Mall in Philadelphia - home of the Liberty Bell and of Independence Hall - was home to quite a spectacle yesterday as 1000 illegal aliens and their supporters marched against HR4437. Some of them were waving large Mexican flags. You can see a few pictures of the protest here (including the one to the right), and read a report from the local paper here.
This was part of the "Day Without an Immigrant" protest. Illegal aliens were asked to not go to their work at Philly's restaurants. An earlier article made clear that many Philly restaurants knowingly employ illegal aliens. It also contained a damning quote from the National Restaurant Association.
Realistically speaking, we only have two choices in this matter:
1. Give illegal aliens an amnesty or a "guest" worker scheme of some kind. (Or, leave things as they are). Those forces who support illegal immigration will still be out there, and they'll even have more power than before. And, they'll continue to support illegal immigration that occurs as a result of the amnesty. Expect to see more protests of this kind until illegal aliens are given almost all the rights of American citizens. Expect to see hostile foreign governments gaining more and more power inside our country and perhaps even agitating their citizens inside our country.
2. Completely oppose those forces who support illegal immigration. That includes those corrupt politicians who for one reason or another support illegal immigration.
With the second option, prices might rise. Would you rather pay a bit more at local restaurants, or would you rather have foreign citizens who are here illegally wave their flags on Independence Mall?
Posted to Immigration at 05:53 AM | Comments (15)
Beer at the Dick Cheney quail shooting party?
Were alcoholic beverages available at the meal prior to the Dick Cheney hunting incident? Were Cheney, Harry Whittington, or others in their party drinking?
The "NBC Investigative Unit" report "Cheney's hunting host lobbied White House" originally contained this paragraph:
[Ranch owner Katharine Armstrong] also told NBC News that she does not believe alcohol was involved in the accident. She says she believes no one that day was drinking, although she says there may have been beer available during a picnic lunch that preceded the incident. "There may be a beer or two in there," she said, "but remember not everyone in the party was shooting."
That paragraph has since been removed...
Apparently she said this during a telephone interview. I can think of absolutely no reason to remove that paragraph, since the article was probably reviewed by an editor who listened to the (presumably taped) interview before it was published to the web.
There's a screengrab of the original version here, and more links here. The DUmmies discovered this.
UPDATE: Please contribute news about this incident to the new site TheQuailHunter.com Anyone can register to post entries.
Posted to Politics at 01:33 AM | Comments (4)
Where will the Bush administration move if the worst happens?
If - God forbid - Harry Whittington shouldn't pull through or suffers a lasting disability, what will happen to the Bush administration?
There's a good chance that Dick Cheney will resign. Of course, you never know, and he might decide to stick around.
If he does resign, perhaps Bush will try to get Jeb, "P", or even Daddy to replace him. The first two for on-the-job training, the last for an experienced hand in times of continual crisis.
Another alternative is that the entire Bush administration - including all family members - will decide to leave the U.S. They could still continue to run the U.S. via a videophone link-up from Mexico, Brazil, or some friendly Mideast country like the UAE. One day their domestic staff will wake up and realize that they've flown the coop during the night.
I'm betting on the latter being the most realistic scenario.
Posted to Miscellania at 10:17 PM | Comments (2)
Is Harry Whittington still alive? Plus, Field & Stream
Just morbidly blue-skying a bit, the question arises whether Harry Whittington is still alive or not.Of course, you wouldn't expect a whole hospital to be in on the game, but then again there's probably only a limited number of people who have seen him.
Of course, if this were a mystery novel or something, the kicker might be that the man in the hospital is still alive, but he's not Harry Whittington. In that case, the real victim died in that Texas field, and someone else agreed to take a shot for Dick Cheney. The hospital staff are being told that he's Harry Whittington, when in fact he's just someone else.
I'm just blue-skying, I said! However, feel free to post something like that to DU or DK if you have an account there. Just for fun.
Meanwhile, a Field & Stream contributing editor offers:
Reports from the owner of the ranch where the VP was hunting that Whittington violated some sort of ``Texas protocol'' requiring hunters to make formal announcement of their comings and goings in the field were a bit misleading. Everywhere that upland birds are hunted, the drill is pretty much the same. It makes sense to let other hunters know when you're moving to the left or right, or that you're back after visiting a nearby tree, but there's no requirement to do so. The onus is on everyone who carries a gun not to shoot at anyone else.Also, Slate has some thoughts:
Cheney shot another hunter. Sooner better than later, he should own up to his mistake.
If there is anything that Harry's friends at the Vaughn Building are angry about, it is not the shooting itself but the attempt by White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan to place the blame on the victim. It's the shooter's duty to know what he is shooting at and where his companions are. A shooting accident is always the fault of the shooter. Always.Tags: Dick Cheney, Cheney
Posted to Politics at 07:30 PM | Comments (0)
Some Philadelphia illegal aliens threaten to strike restaurants that illegally employ them
Illegal aliens working in Philly restaurants are being asked to stay home today. The goal is to show the power of Mexican citizens illegally living inside our country and show opposition to HR4437.Let's hope it works. It could even work doubly good if they don't show up, are fired, and then are able to sue. That would raise the co