COLLECTIVE MADNESS
“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Damn the Bastards. Listen to a Real American Speak. Fight Back!
Immigration bill would doom American way of life
Commentary by E.J. O'Brien
It is ironic that on Memorial Day, when we honored those who served to defend the American way of life, there is a cabal in Washington, D.C., that seeks to destroy it. In my 50 years of observing politics, this so-called Immigration Reform Bill in Congress is the most egregious affront to our constitution I have ever witnessed.
Our elected representatives no longer represent the American electorate. Because of gerrymandering and other legislative chicanery, the desire of the people is irrelevant. With re-election assured, our members of Congress are free to toady to the paying special interests.
Will Rogers said decades ago that “We have the best Congress money can buy.” That is true now more than ever, aided and abetted by the academic left that sees nothing special in the American culture. These allied forces are on the verge of insidiously destroying our country.
If this Immigration Bill, as it is horrifically constituted, becomes law, our American way of life is doomed. All that countless Americans have fought and died for will be destroyed, not in a cataclysmic blast as the terrorists hope for, but in a slow cultural and economic decline.
Our inundated and overwhelmed schools will no longer be able to teach, and our abysmal educational system will decline further into irrelevance. This may not matter to those in Congress, who are well-heeled enough to enable their families to attend the finest private schools to become well-educated and, hence, competitive in today's world.
The already insolvent Social Security system cannot survive an influx of millions of non-contributing, and uneducated aliens. The result is that the tax burden on the middle class will marginalize even the most productive citizens, since they will be expected to take up the slack for the unproductive. If saving Social Security is our aim, we should be bringing in millions of well-educated, highly-paid people, not the exact opposite.
South of our border, the narco army may already be too powerful for the corrupted Mexican government to control. The violence is now spilling across our own borders as carnage mounts. Thirty-five percent of the U.S. prison population is composed of aliens, and there are hundreds of thousands of un-apprehended felons wandering our streets. (Incidentally, if you read the fine print, the proposed Immigration Bill would, in effect, make them legal! )
Our cities and towns - yes, even Santa Barbara, Santa Maria and Lompoc - will gradually slip into anarchy, as local law enforcement is unable to cope. How many gang murders will it take to tip the scales?
The monetary price tag for this Immigration Bill is estimated to be in the trillions, but the cost to the fabric of our nation is incalculable. If you thought our political elites (Democrats and Republicans) lied about the authorization for war in Iraq, that measure pales in comparison to the authorization of an Immigration Bill capable of destroying our republic.
Rational analysis of this Immigration Bill is hard to come by in the media. I do not believe the bill would survive objective scrutiny by the American people. Perhaps that is why those who champion it are trying to rush its passage through Congress, after which it would immediately become the law of the land.
Like the other “grand compromise” amnesty legislation in years past, rest assured it will be one law that as many as 20 million illegal aliens in this country willingly embrace, even if it means falsifying the scant documentation needed to climb aboard.
E.J. O'Brien lives in Vandenberg Village. The Lompoc Record
May 30, 2007
And The 2007 Award for Most Stupid Architectural Firm goes to..
Berger Devine Yaeger Inc.
Baghdad embassy plans turn up online
USA Today
WASHINGTON (AP) — Detailed plans for the new U.S. Embassy under construction in Baghdad appeared online Thursday in a breach of the tight security surrounding the sensitive project.
Computer-generated projections of the soon-to-be completed, heavily fortified compound were posted on the website of the Kansas City, Mo.-based architectural firm that was contracted to design the massive facility in the Iraqi capital.
The images were removed by Berger Devine Yaeger Inc. shortly after the company was contacted by the State Department.
"We work very hard to ensure the safety and security of our employees overseas," said Gonzalo Gallegos, a department spokesman. "This kind of information out in the public domain detracts from that effort."
The 10 images included a scheme of the overall layout of the compound, plus depictions of individual buildings including the embassy itself, office annexes, the Marine Corps security post, swimming pool, recreation center and the ambassador's and deputy ambassador's residences.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
How Dare Bush Attack Real American Citizens...
..who have actually served in the military and did the right thing for their country? How dare he make light of the American people that see this bill for what it is, a fraud, amnesty and a slap in the face to real American citizens? How dare this foolish incompetent man push for a public taking of the accumulated wealth of law abiding Americans who did things according to the law by rewarding those that did not. How dare this un-read stubborn fool make claims to higher values than the people that erred in electing him to represent our values? How dare this disgraced and discredited peacock, entrusted to enforce all US laws, now lobby to change the laws he ignored, all to the detriment of American workers and lawful citizenry? How dare this shallow man, this vacuous president, so clearly unfit to lead, make a pretense to steer us forward? How dare this blind fool define a future American vision?
Bush Takes On Opponents of Immigration Deal
By JIM RUTENBERG
GLYNCO, Ga., May 29 — President Bush today accused opponents of his proposed immigration measure of fear-mongering to defeat it in Congress, and took on his own conservative political base as he did so.
“If you want to scare the American people, what you say is the bill’s an amnesty bill,” Mr. Bush said this afternoon at a training center for border enforcement agents located in this town in Georgia’s southeastern corner. “That’s empty political rhetoric, trying to frighten our citizens.”
The president used some of his toughest language yet as he began an effort to build support for the bill in the Senate. The measure hews closely to his long-sought goal of a new immigration system with three components: tighter seals on the nation’s borders, a guest-worker system for noncitizens who want to work here, and a path to citizenship for some 12 million illegal immigrants already in the country.
The bill, the product of a compromise struck by Republican and Democratic leaders two weeks ago, has encountered stiff resistance from the left and right. Liberal opposition taking aim at the proposal for shifting the system for awarding permanent residence status to give more weight to education and skills and less to family reunification, while conservatives have derided the plan for allowing illegal aliens to legalize their status.
It was the conservative opponents whom Mr. Bush seemed to address most forcefully in his remarks here today — a rare example of the president crossing swords with key members of the political coalition that helped him attain the Oval Office and then keep it four years later: The same conservative radio hosts, writers, bloggers, and legislators who killed an attempt at compromise immigration legislation last year.
Mr. Bush’s address came just as lawmakers have returned to their districts for a 10-day break from Washington to hear directly from constituents. It was during the late-spring recess last year that opponents of a similar bill barraged their Congressional representatives with complaints, especially about provisions they said amounted to amnesty for illegal aliens.
Then, with Congressional elections looming in the fall and his own party at risk of losing its majority, the president retreated.
But this year is an off year, electorally, and Mr. Bush appears determined to head off a similar outcome this time. In his remarks at the training facility here, he said that the bill includes strong measures to improve border security, and that it was now time to alleviate the pressure on the border by creating what he calls a new “rationalized” system.
“People in Congress need the courage to go back to their districts and explain exactly what this bill is all about,” Mr. Bush said. “The fundamental question is, will elected officials have the courage necessary to put a comprehensive immigration plan in place that makes it more likely we can enforce our border and, at the same time, uphold the great traditions of —— immigrant traditions of the United States of America.”
Mr. Bush’s address, given under a blazing Georgia sun before several hundred border enforcement agents and trainees, was the latest and most visible in a series of administration efforts to beat back critics, who administration officials say are misrepresenting the bill to the public.
In recent weeks, officials have given dozens of interviews on the subject to radio programs, editorial boards and newspaper reporters around the country.
But Mr. Bush and his allies on Capitol Hill are at a significant rhetorical disadvantage: conservative opponents can capture their objection to the bill in a single word — amnesty — while supporters are forced into the complex weeds of policy and the nuances of legislative language.
Let God Sort Them Out Later.
Al-Sadr is reported back in country and now this:
Militia suspected on Iraq kidnapThe story goes on to explain that the degree and complexity of coordination indicate Police involvement.
BBC
A Shia militia group is thought to be behind the kidnapping of five Britons in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said that the Mehdi Army, rather than al-Qaeda, could be responsible.
The Anglican vicar of Baghdad, Canon Andrew White, said the kidnapping could be linked to the recent killing of a radical Shia cleric by UK troops.The Britons were seized at a government building near Baghdad's Sadr City suburb, a Mehdi Army stronghold. The five men - a computer expert and four bodyguards - were taken from the finance ministry building in Baghdad.
The kidnappers wore police uniforms and staged the capture without firing a shot, senior Iraq officials said.
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said: "Because these men were very unusually seized from a government ministry in broad daylight by people dressed as special police commandoes, in an incredibly brazen raid, the Iraqi government itself has got a few questions to answer about this.Whatever happened to "Kill them all. Let God sort them out later."?"I think the suspicion is that there was some connivance, possibly low or middle-level, within the police. The Iraqi police is known to be heavily infiltrated by Shia militias."
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
In the News
Whit and I can read each other's posts while we draft them. You will see that the bottom gives authorship to Whit but I snuck in. Looking at some of the headlines today you can keep going and going but I want to add one more to the top of his list. It seems that Bush is going to a direct attack on his base. This is the political genius that declared his undying love for Putin. He practically frenched him and got greeked in return. Now he is going after "fear-mongering" opponents of his give-away of your savings and future social security benefits. - Deuce
Bush Takes On Opponents of Immigration Bill
By JIM RUTENBERG
Published: May 30, 2007
Al-Qaida Video Threatens Attacks on U.S.
By ANNA JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer
2 hours ago
CAIRO, Egypt - An American member of al-Qaida warned President Bush on Tuesday to end U.S. involvement in all Muslim lands or face an attack worse than the Sept. 11 suicide assault, according to a new videotape.
Wearing a white robe and a turban, Adam Yehiye Gadahn, who also goes by the name Azzam al-Amriki, said al-Qaida would not negotiate on its demands.
"Your failure to heed our demands ... means that you and your people will ... experience things which will make you forget all about the horrors of September 11th, Afghanistan and Iraq and Virginia Tech," he said in the seven-minute video.
Read More.
Read more:
Bush Takes On Opponents of Immigration Bill
By JIM RUTENBERG
Published: May 30, 2007
GLYNCO, Ga., May 29 — President Bush took on parts of his conservative base on Tuesday by accusing opponents of his proposed immigration measure of fear-mongering to defeat its passage in Congress.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
President Bush spoke at a training center for border enforcement agents located in Glunco, Ga., on Tuesday.
“If you want to scare the American people, what you say is the bill’s an amnesty bill,” Mr. Bush said at a training center for customs protection agents and other federal agents here in southeastern Georgia. “That’s empty political rhetoric trying to frighten our citizens.”
Al-Qaida Video Threatens Attacks on U.S.
By ANNA JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer
2 hours ago
CAIRO, Egypt - An American member of al-Qaida warned President Bush on Tuesday to end U.S. involvement in all Muslim lands or face an attack worse than the Sept. 11 suicide assault, according to a new videotape.
Wearing a white robe and a turban, Adam Yehiye Gadahn, who also goes by the name Azzam al-Amriki, said al-Qaida would not negotiate on its demands.
"Your failure to heed our demands ... means that you and your people will ... experience things which will make you forget all about the horrors of September 11th, Afghanistan and Iraq and Virginia Tech," he said in the seven-minute video.
Read More.
Mexicans Boo Miss USA, Showing Discord
By JULIE WATSON, Associated Press Writer
MEXICO CITY - Many here south of the border reveled in her disastrous evening: First Miss USA Rachel Smith slipped and fell on her bottom during the Miss Universe evening gown competition. Then she was booed by hundreds in the Mexican audience.Read more:
Musharraf Hears the Footsteps - Fiddles As Pakistan Burns.
The BBC's Barbara Plett is watching as the Taliban puts on a Paki face. The Islamists in Pakistan, calling themselves Taliban, are becoming bolder as Musharraf fiddles. They have organized themselves into "neighborhood watch groups" and armed to the teeth, they patrol their "assigned areas" enforce strict Islamic standards. Meanwhile, Musharraf is criticized from all sides and it appears that he may have already lost control. He has been unwilling and perhaps unable to bring the necessary force to bear on the militants. Instead, he has tried to appease them but it's not working. Pakistan has been modernizing and the western influences of pop culture have had a strong appeal there. As in Iran, the fundamentalists are attempting to beat back the pop culture and Musharraf is allowing these religious vigilantes to operate unimpeded.
Experts who know about such things have cited two examples of governments which have successfully dealt with Islamist insurgencies. Egypt and Algeria successfully fought off jihadis who had been trained fighting the Russians in Afghanistan. In the case of Algeria, the cost in blood was very high. Even today, the outcome is in doubt. The eventual victor is likely to be the "last man standing."
Things have been quiet in Egypt lately as Hosni Mubarak eliminates the strong candidates who would oppose his son and successor, Gamal. But while he rigs the election to install his son, the Islamists are gaining popular support and President Gamal Mubarak may regret taking the office.
Musharraf says trouble is rising. May 19, 2007
Experts who know about such things have cited two examples of governments which have successfully dealt with Islamist insurgencies. Egypt and Algeria successfully fought off jihadis who had been trained fighting the Russians in Afghanistan. In the case of Algeria, the cost in blood was very high. Even today, the outcome is in doubt. The eventual victor is likely to be the "last man standing."
Things have been quiet in Egypt lately as Hosni Mubarak eliminates the strong candidates who would oppose his son and successor, Gamal. But while he rigs the election to install his son, the Islamists are gaining popular support and President Gamal Mubarak may regret taking the office.
Musharraf says trouble is rising. May 19, 2007
By MUNIR AHMAD, Associated Press Writer
Sat May 19, 8:22 PM
Sat May 19, 8:22 PM
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - President Gen. Pervez Musharraf acknowledged that Islamic militancy was increasing across Pakistan and said tough measures were needed to counter it, as religious students from a pro-Taliban mosque abducted four police officers.There will soon be chaos is Pakistan and its not likely that the affluent lawyers like this judge will be at the top of the food chain when the dust settles.
Musharraf made his remarks in an interview aired late Friday by the private Aaj television channel after four plainclothes officers were captured while patrolling in the capital, Islamabad, near the Lal Masjid mosque _ notorious for launching its own anti-vice campaign. Two officers were later released.
The president said that militancy in Pakistan was increasing, and "we need to strongly counter it." Musharraf did not elaborate."The remaining two policemen will also be freed soon," Ghazi told reporters.Critics have accused Musharraf's government of appeasing the religious vigilantes _ despite concerns that pro-Taliban hard-liners, intent on enforcing a stringent version of Islamic law or Shariah, are gaining sway in Pakistan.
Suspended Top Judge Attacks Musharraf, May 6, 2007Musharraf may be finished and with reports like Plett's, no one should be surprised when the Islamists get the upper hand. When they do, it's all over for the US in that part of the world. Pakistan, Aghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, the Gulf countries, and Saudi Arabia could tumble like dominos.By ASIF SHAHZAD, Associated Press Writer
LAHORE, Pakistan - Pakistan's top judge launched a thinly veiled attack on President Gen. Pervez Musharraf before thousands of supporters Sunday in his strongest criticism since being suspended by Musharraf two months ago.The suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry sparked a political crisis for the president, with critics accusing him of trying to tame the judiciary during an election year to avoid legal challenges to his continued military rule."The dictatorial system of government and the concept of concentration of power is now ended," Chaudhry told 10,000 lawyers and nearly as many opposition activists in the eastern city of Lahore. "All these are bitter lessons of history."As the lawyers, some carrying black flags, chanted "Musharraf Go!" and raised clenched fists in the air, Chaudhry told the rally in the parking lot of the Lahore High Court that, "Nations that do not learn from history and repeat its mistakes, they have to face the consequences."
Chaudhry left the capital, Islamabad, in a motorcade on Saturday morning for Lahore but his journey was repeatedly delayed by rallies along the way. Thousands of lawyers had waited through the night at the High Court to welcome the chief justice, he said.
"Neither a political nor any judicial scene has ever witnessed such an event in Pakistan's history," said Ahsan Bhoon, president of the High Court Bar Association in Lahore. "It's the people's verdict for the supremacy of law and the Constitution."
Chaudhry, who became chief justice in 2005, has a reputation for challenging government misdeeds and human rights abuses in the country. The government has accused him of misuse of his office. The top judicial complaints council is hearing Chaudhry's case and Musharraf has said he will abide by its ruling _ which is not expected for months.
That future is almost unthinkable and maybe that's why the world's attention is on Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Truth or Consequences on Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants
Joe Murray: One Criminal Immigration Response Deserves Another
By: Joe Murray, The Bulletin
05/25/
"Compromise used to mean that half a loaf was better than no bread. Among modern statesmen it really seems to mean that half a loaf is better than a whole loaf," mused famed English writer G.K. Chesterton. With decades passing since Chesterton penned those words, it appears the U.S. Senate has not only agreed to give away its half of the loaf in regards to immigration reform; it is also throwing in the keys to the store.
Last week, a group of U.S. senators proved that politics (or, in this case, special interest) makes strange bedfellows. This Tequila troupe of piñata politicos, led by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), created an immigration bill unlike any seen before. This dynamic duo, however, was not without assistance, as Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) were more than happy to hold the pencil as an eraser was taken to the border.
For a number of weeks Senators and White House officials had been working behind closed doors to draft a comprehensive immigration reform package that would protect America's bleeding border while simultaneously dealing with the 12 million-plus illegal immigrants already in the nation. The result? A Corona Compromise.
Despite the preemptive proclamations by Sen. Specter that the Senate bill "is not amnesty," the devil is in the details of this legislation, and it is clear that while the amnesty may not be de jure, it is clearly de facto.
Just what exactly does the bill do? Well, it immediately legalizes the 12 million immigrants who evaded the U.S. Border Patrol and broke into the country. Rather than facing deportation, these immigrants now face open arms and a "Z visa." Put simply, this bill not only allows illegals to stay in the country; it makes Uncle Sam roll out the red carpet of citizenship for them.
Under the bill, the path to citizenship, starting with a Z visa, will be an 8-13 year journey. During that journey, only the head of household will have to return the native country, briefly, to file papers and obtain citizenship. And to quell any fears, the right to re-entry back into America is guaranteed.
While the Gang of 12 argues that the denial of instant citizenship is proof that the deal is not amnesty, such an argument is as hollow as Nicole Richie, because even though the illegal immigrant may not be technically a citizen, he will be treated like one. Just look at the details hidden within the Z visa program.
A Z visa is available only for an illegal alien, and, according to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, the probationary benefits include work authorization, protection from removal, and a Social Security number. These benefits are granted immediately and are subject only to the submission of an application (with fingerprints) and a 24-hour wait on a background check.
And what about the border security concerns (i.e., triggers) the Gang of 12 argue must be realized before the humanitarian elements of the bill kick in? The Z visa probationary benefits are not subject to such triggers and begin as soon as the bill is signed by President Bush -border security be damned.
Another interesting tidbit is that the illegal immigrant who "comes out of the shadows" does not have to become a U.S. citizen. A Z visa is valid for four years and can be renewed indefinitely. An applicant for a Z visa need not understand English but merely demonstrate "an attempt to gain an understanding of the English language" upon renewal of the visa.
Translation: Those Mexican immigrants that broke into America out of love of currency rather than love of country will be permitted to stay indefinitely. Their wallets will be filled with money while their hearts are retained by Mexico.
Make no mistake, this bill is de facto amnesty and will create a tsunami of immigrants that will crash upon America's shores. If a person can break into this nation and obtain citizenship without significant repercussion, what does that say to the rest of the world?
It says America does not value citizenship; it values cheap labor. It does not value a sense of national pride; it values the Wall Street bottom line. It says we granted amnesty twice, and we will be sure to do it again. It says America is on the road to becoming a third-world nation that will be unrecognizable in the next 50 years.
This immigration bill is a watershed moment for America, as it will determine whether she retains her status as a great nation or becomes the "polyglot boarding house" feared by Teddy Roosevelt. The face of America is changing and the white population that used to claim the majority mantle is no longer reproducing-it is no longer sustaining the population.
Rather, third-world people of different races are coming to America in droves, and unlike the Germans, Irish and Italians that came before them, these people are not assimilating into the culture. They are holding onto the apron strings of the Motherland and establishing cultural barrios in the hearts of American cities.
If this immigration deal passes and 12 to 20 million illegal immigrants are thrust into the U.S. population, the character of America will be under siege. America will no longer be one people united by a common history, language, culture, literature and history. She will become a people whose only common denominator is the almighty dollar. And as Texas taught Mexico a century or so ago, a country needs more than currency to command loyalty.
"The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities," Roosevelt told the Knights of Columbus. This is what the immigration debate is all about.
It is clear that the American people do not want this Corona Compromise jammed down their throats, as a Rasmussen poll showed only 26 percent of voters favor the proposal. Sensing the storm clouds over the horizon, President Bush, so desperate for a legacy that he would turn over our borders to Mexico City, has dispatch Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to quell dissent.
"If they don't leave, then you are going to give them silent amnesty. You're either going to let them stay or you're going to be hypocritical," Chertoff said. Translation: Chertoff will not do his job. Such an understanding was further realized when Chertoff proclaimed that the deportations sought after by some Congressmen were "not going to happen."
Enough is enough. This Administration, while more than willing to secure the borders of a desert nation who wants neither our presence nor our aid, has told America that it has no intention of filling the gaps in America's borders. Such an act is criminal.
©The Evening Bulletin 2007
Labels:
amnesty,
Illegal Immigration,
immigration bill
Memorial Day 2007. Share your family story.
We have only died in vain if you believe so
You must decide the wisdom of our choice
by the world which you shall build upon our headstones
And the everlasting truths which have your voice.
Though dead, we are not heroes yet, nor can be,
'Til the living by their lives which are the tools,
Carve us the epitaphs of wise men
and give us not the epitaphs of fools.
-David J. Phillips, 506th PIR
Mark Bandos web site
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Wonder Why CO2 Levels are Increasing? Welcome to Brown China.
This is the eastern coast of China from a NASA photo. The brown is the air that is over China everyday. If there is a man made reason for why climatic change is occurring, you are looking at it. Here is the same photo with greater detail
Is George Bush the Last Republican President? Could be.
George W. Bush is GOP's Bill Clinton
By: Chuck Baldwin | Submitted on: 05/26/07 SmallGovTimes
EDITORIAL - Those of you who heard my radio program back in 2001 know that I predicted then that George W. Bush would do to the Republican Party much the same thing that Bill Clinton did to the Democratic Party. However, I must confess, I could not then realize the magnitude of that prediction.
Most of us remember that it was the election of Bill Clinton in 1992 that was the impetus for the Republican revolution of 1994. If you recall, a congressional election sweep of the magnitude of 1994 had not been seen in the previous seventy years. It is a truism that Bill Clinton helped to elect more Republicans than the Republican National Committee could ever dream about. Now, the same thing is happening with George W. Bush. In spades!
Amazingly, the two issues that I predicated my prediction on have materialized exactly as I said they would. I warned my audience in 2001 that George W. Bush had every intention of invading Iraq, and once there, did not plan to leave, but would probably seek to expand the war’s theatre. I also predicted that Bush would seek to facilitate illegal immigration and create the working group to create a hemispheric government.
I then said that if Bush did as I suspected he would, it would be the end of the Republican Party as a major force in American politics. Looking back, I cannot believe how right I was. And, make no mistake about it: I would love to have been proven wrong.
George W. Bush is driving the GOP off the cliff. His mad infatuation with Mexican immigration, and his unbelievably naïve and dangerous policies in the Middle East are causing people to leave the Republican Party like rats off a sinking ship.
In a recent CNN poll, fewer than 25% of the American people now identify themselves as Republicans. If there is any saving grace for the GOP, it is only found in the fact that a majority of people are also fed up with the Democratic Party. Only 33% of the American people now identify themselves as Democrats. Instead, a much larger percentage, some 42% of the American people now identify themselves as Independents. However, it is the Republican Party that will take the brunt of the voters’ wrath come next year.
Even those who were willing to forgive Bush for taking us to war with Iraq have no patience or mercy for his dogged determination to grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens, and to merge America into a regional commercial entity with Mexico and Canada.
Add to the frustration of the GOP faithful the fact that the popular frontrunners for next year’s elections are all conservative misfits. Rudy Giuliani is a blatant liberal on most of the fundamental issues that conservatives care about. Mitt Romney has flipped and flopped so many times, he looks like a dying trout. And John McCain can kiss whatever campaign hopes he had goodbye, as conservatives now realize that he is one of the movers and shakers of the amnesty bill currently being shoved down our throats. Some believe Fred Thompson can save the sinking ship, but he can’t. He is too closely connected to Big Government interests to become 2008’s version of Ronald Reagan. Ditto for Newt Gingrich.
Of course, Ron Paul is the man that could save the GOP in next year’s general election, but the Republican machine would rather die than let him win the nomination. Therefore, the GOP is in a self-destruct mode, and I don’t believe anyone can do anything to prevent it.
Then again, perhaps George Bush knows something we don’t know. Writing for World Net Daily, Dr. Jerry Corsi reports that President Bush has just signed a Presidential Directive that would give the President dictatorial powers should he decide to declare a "national emergency."
Corsi writes, "President Bush, without so much as issuing a press statement, on May 9 signed a directive that granted near dictatorial powers to the office of the president in the event of a national emergency declared by the president.
"The ’National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive,’ with the dual designation of NSPD-51, as a National Security Presidential Directive, and HSPD-20, as a Homeland Security Presidential Directive, establishes under the office of president a new National Continuity Coordinator."
Corsi continued by saying, "Translated into layman’s terms, when the president determines a national emergency has occurred, the president can declare to the office of the presidency powers usually assumed by dictators to direct any and all government and business activities until the emergency is declared over."
In much the same way that President Bush has committed the United States to a new hemispheric governmental entity with Mexico and Canada under the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) agreement, he has created a new position of "National Continuity Coordinator," complete with dictatorial powers, without the knowledge or consent of Congress.
So, the sixty-four million dollar question seems to be, Is George W. Bush an egomaniac, without conscience or regard for his own party, or is he a bumbling, stumbling, simpleton-cowboy who is really as dumb as he talks, or is he deliberately and meticulously (with much help, of course) orchestrating America’s entrance into Daddy Bush’s "New World Order"? I personally believe the correct answer is found behind curtain number three.
In any case, President Bush has almost single-handedly superintended the destruction of the Republican Party, which by itself, is not necessarily a bad thing. America desperately needs a strong Independent party that respects America’s working men and women and submits to constitutional government. Perhaps the demise of the GOP will create a void that such a party can fill in 2008--providing that Bush has not become der Führer by then.
Chuck Baldwin ran as the Vice Presidential candidate of the Constitution Party in 2004 and is the host of a hard-hitting radio talk show called, "Chuck Baldwin Live." Chuck's web site is available at chuckbaldwinlive.com.
Here's the Spread on Indy Chicks
Danica Patrick Faces 18/1 Odds to Win the Indy 500
Saturday, May 26th, 2007
Saturday, May 26th, 2007
If you think Danica Patrick’s got a chance at becoming the first woman to win the Indy 500, then you can make quite a bit of money Sunday if you’re right.
The Indy 500 odds for Patrick, who will start eighth, is 18/1, making her a long shot for the celebrated race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Patrick’s not the only woman looking to make history. Sarah Fisher, 250/1 odds, and Milka Duno, 200/1 odds, will also be contending.
Labels:
Danica Patrick,
Indy 500,
odds Indy 500
Saturday, May 26, 2007
The Great Leap Forward.
Declassified intelligence reports available here highlight five important factors that were brought to the attention of the Bush Administration when the Iraqi adventure was contemplated. They should have been considered . There should have been contingency planning and caution. Similar warnings are in effect over the consequences of the proposed immigration amnesty. Do not expect more caution this time. Would you have ignored these warnings and not bother to plan? Just in case?
• Establishing "an Iraqi democracy would be a long, difficult and probably turbulent process, with potential for backsliding into Iraq's tradition of authoritarianism."
• Unless the occupying forces prevented it, "score settling would occur throughout Iraq between those associated with Saddam's regime and those who have suffered most under it."
• Among the majority Shiite population, which Saddam had kept out of power, a political form of Islam could take root, "particularly if economic recovery were slow and foreign troops remained in the country for a long period."
• Iran would probably try to shape the post-Hussein Iraq, in a bid to position itself as a regional power.
• Al Qaeda would probably take advantage of the war to increase its terrorist activities, and the lines between it and other terrorist groups "could become blurred."
The Facts Behind the Immigration Liars at The New York Times
The NY Times headlines, widely quoted by the MSM read, "Immigration Bill Provisions Gain Wide Support in Poll".
Not too encouraging to the opponents of this bill. Could it be that it was printed to encourage our masters and rulers in DC, who will not read the details behind the headlines, as they will probably not read the bill itself? I asked myself, how is this possible?
I decided to do something quaint. Read the data.
The poll itself covers many subjects. It contains over one hundred questions. The published pdf version has been edited.
I simply highlight some of the questions in the same poll that would point to a far different picture from the propaganda and outrageous distortion portrayed by the New York Times. Could it be that the New York Times has an agenda?
8. Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the issue of
immigration?
approve 27% disapprove 60%
41. Which comes closer to your opinion: 1) America should always welcome all immigrants, OR 2) America should always welcome some immigrants, but not others, OR 3) America cannot afford to open its doors to any newcomers?
Welcome all 24% Welcome some 48% No newcomers 24%
42. Which of the following three statements comes closest to expressing your overall view of immigration policy in the United States? 1) On the whole, our immigrationpolicy works pretty well and only minor changes are necessary to make it work better. 2) There are some good things in our immigration policy, but fundamental changes are needed. 3) Our immigration policy has so much wrong with it that we need to completely rebuild it.
Only minor changes 8% Fundamental changes 41% Completely rebuild 49%
46. In the long run, do you think the people who are emigrating to the United States
today will make American society better, will make American society worse, or do you
ink today's immigrants won't affect American society one way or the other? th
Better 28% Worse 35% Won’t affect society 29%
51. What about ILLEGAL immigration – How serious a problem do you think the issue of
ILLEGAL immigration is for the country right now — very serious, somewhat serious, not too serious, or not at all serious?
Very 61% Somewhat 30% Not too 6% Not at all 1%
52. What, if anything, is your main concern about immigrants in the U.S.?
They use public services 17%
They don’t pay taxes 8%
Terrorism/security threat 8%
Take jobs away from residents 13%
Breaking law by being here 11%
Don’t learn to speak English 5%
Commit crimes 6%
56.Do you think illegal immigrants do more to strengthen the U.S. economy because they provide low-cost labor and they spend money or do illegal immigrants do more to weaken the U.S. economy because they don't all pay taxes but can use public services?
Strengthen 23% Weaken 70%
59. As a result of LEGAL immigration into the United States, do you think the threat of terrorism against the United States has increased, decreased, or stayed about the same? ASKED OF HALF THE RESPONDENTS N=568
Increased 42% Decreased 3%
60. As a result of ILLEGAL immigration into the United States, do you think the threat of terrorism against the United States has increased, decreased, or stayed about the same? ASKED OF HALF THE RESPONDENTS N=564
Increased 45% Decreased 2%
74. Should illegal immigrants be prosecuted and deported for being in the U.S. illegally, or shouldn't they?
Should be prosecuted 69% Should not 24%
The full poll pdf here
Friday, May 25, 2007
Reports of al-Qaeda in Latin America should not confuse the US Congress with facts.
Channel 6 News in Costa Rica is reporting that four men with false Bangladesh passports were turned away back to Nicaragua and denied entrance to Costa Rica.
Al Qaeda alert in Nicaragua
Filadelfo Aleman in Managua, Nicaragua | May 25, 2005 14:02 IST
Nicaragua's National Police declared an alert along its borders because of the "possible presence" of two suspected members of the al-Qaeda terrorist network in Central America, officials said Tuesday.
An Interior Ministry news release identified the two as Ahmad Salim Swaydan, suspected of involvement an April 2002 plot against the US Embassy in Thailand, and a Yemeni man known only as Altuwiti.
A photo of Swaydan released by Nicaraguan authorities matched that of a man on the FBI's most-wanted terrorist list: Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan, a 36-year-old Kenyan indicted on December 16, 1998 for alleged involvement in the bombings that year of US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya.
The US State Department has offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest.
Labels:
al-Qaeda,
Illegal Immigration,
Latin American gang
Golly Gee, the Chinese are Spending the Trade Surplus on Military!
What did you expect the Chinese to do do with their accumulated trade surplus? Another foreign policy success from the brain trust in Washington. It could have occurred to our rulers and masters that maybe, just maybe, it would have been a good idea to invest in factories all over Latin America and then we could have created wealthy trading partners and then we may not have had so many millions coming to the US to work. That way we still could go to Wal-Mart and our children would not be overly concerned with Bolivian aircraft carriers.
By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
May 25, 2007
More and more.
""The Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them."
Pentagon details China's new military strategiesBy Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
May 25, 2007
The Pentagon's forthcoming annual report on Chinese military power will reveal a growing threat from Beijing's new forms of power projection, including anti-satellite weapons and computer network attack forces.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said yesterday that the report, scheduled for release today, shows how China "has steadily devoted increasing resources to their military."
According to defense officials familiar with the report, it also highlights new strategic missile developments, including China's five new Jin-class submarines, and states that Beijing continues to hide the true level of its military spending.
The officials also said that the report will detail how China is developing two new types of strategic forces that go beyond what nations have done traditionally using air, sea and land forces by aiming to knock out modern communications methods on which the U.S. military relies for advanced warfighting techniques.
First, U.S. intelligence officials estimate that by 2010 China's ASAT missiles will be capable of delivering a knockout blow to many U.S. military satellites. Second, China also is training large numbers of military computer hackers to deliver crippling electronic attacks on U.S. military and civilian computer networks.
Mr. Gates described this year's report as an honest assessment devoid of "arm-waving" and said, "I don't think it does any exaggeration of the threat."
"But it paints a picture of a country that is devoting substantial resources to the military and developing ... some very sophisticated capabilities."
More and more.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
In Marxian Fashion, The US Congress and George Bush will re-distribute Your Wealth.
(hattip: doug)
Millions of foreigners illegally break into the United States and the government that is supposed to represent you does nothing. It gets worse. For whatever reason, the US Government and the fool of a president are going to fix the problem by redistributing your wealth, your heritage and forever change the country while America watches American Idol.
I listened to the debate between Senators Kyl and Kennedy. Kennedy is the same buffoon he has always been and Kyl is a defeatist useful idiot. I don't want amendments, I want the thing scrapped and then start all over. There is only one person that can do that and I think that for the second time in his public service career that person is AWOL.
It is all up to George W. Bush. How the hell did this happen?
May 22, 2007
The Fiscal Cost of Low-Skill Immigrants to the U.S. Taxpayer
by Robert E. Rector and Christine Kim Heritage
Special Report #14
Each year, families and individuals pay taxes to the government and receive back a wide variety of services and benefits. A fiscal deficit occurs when the benefits and services received by one group exceed the taxes paid. When such a deficit occurs, other groups must pay for the services and benefits of the group in deficit. Each year, govern ment is involved in a large-scale transfer of resources between different social groups.More here. You have to read this.
Fiscal distribution analysis measures the distribution of total government benefits and taxes in society. It pro vides an assessment of the magnitude of government transfers between groups. This paper provides a fiscal distri bution analysis of households headed by immigrants without a high school diploma. It measures the total benefits and services received by this group and the total taxes paid. The difference between benefits received and taxes paid represents the total resources transferred by government on behalf of this group from the rest of society.
The first step in an analysis of the distribution of benefits and taxes is to count accurately the cost of all benefits and services provided by the government. The size and cost of government is far larger than many people imagine. In fiscal year (FY) 2004, the expenditures of the federal government were $2.3 trillion. In the same year, expendi tures of state and local governments were $1.45 trillion. The combined value of federal, state, and local expenditures in FY 2004 was $3.75 trillion.[1]
The sum of $3.75 trillion is so large that it is difficult to comprehend. One way to grasp the size of government more readily is to calculate average expenditures per household. In 2004, there were some 115 million households in the U.S.[2] (This figure includes multi-person families and single persons living alone.) The average cost of govern ment spending thus amounted to $32,707 per household across the U.S. population.[3]
The $3.75 trillion in government expenditure is not free, but must be paid for by taxing or borrowing economic resources from Americans or by borrowing from abroad. In general, government expenditures are funded by taxes and fees. In FY 2004, federal taxes amounted to $1.82 trillion. State and local taxes and related revenues amounted to $1.6 trillion.[4] Together, federal, state, and local taxes amounted to $3.43 trillion. At $3.43 trillion, taxes and related revenues came to 91 percent of the $3.75 trillion in expenditures. The gap between taxes and spending was financed by government borrowing.
Pakistan Army on the Gold Standard.
Just standard operating procedures for the UN and Pakistan? Probably. Pakistan sure seems to have a hard time finding OBL in Whatchacallitstan and I am sure OBL has plenty of the gold to pass around. UN troops are notoriously second rate. I guess the rest of the story is that in Iraq, Africa and elsewhere the only real gold standard for use of force is the US Military.
UN troops traded guns for gold with militias, says report
By David Usborne in New York Independent
Published: 24 May 2007
UN troops traded guns for gold with militias, says report
By David Usborne in New York Independent
Published: 24 May 2007
Scandal is engulfing the United Nations once again after allegations that peacekeepers stationed in Congo traded guns for gold with militia groups that they were meant to be disarming. Meanwhile, a trial got under way in New York of a former UN official accused of taking bribes.More here
The UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) said in a statement that an investigation into the guns-for-gold claims had begun and was continuing, adding that it had a "zero-tolerance policy for misconduct and will remain vigilant in preventing egregious and unacceptable behaviour".
At the heart of the investigation are allegations that, in 2005, Pakistani soldiers sent by the UN to restore peace in Ituri province around the north-eastern mining town of Mongbwalu began returning guns to militia groups, receiving gold in exchange.
Witnesses confirmed the existence of the trade to the BBC. One Congolese officer "repeatedly saw militia who had been disarmed one day but the next day would become rearmed again. The information he could obtain was always the same, that it would be the Pakistani battalion giving arms back to the militia."
Human Rights Watch said it had its own information on the case which it had passed to the UN. "Pakistani officers were involved in illegal smuggling of between $2m-$5m in gold out of Ituri. We have very solid information on this," said Anneke Van Woudenberg, a researcher with the group.
The Congo force of almost 18,000 soldiers is the largest UN deployment in the world. It has been credited with helping the country's transition to a fragile democracy after a vicious civil war from 1998 to 2003 that killed as many as four million people and drew in forces from several neighbouring countries.
The UN has been accused of burying the initial findings of the investigation to avoid embarrassing Pakistan, the largest peacekeeping troop contributor. The UN's special representative in the DRC, William Swing, emphatically denied the guns-for-gold claims.
Gore Says Bush has Made Things Worse.
A drive for global domination has put us in greater danger
Moral authority, which is our greatest source of strength, has been recklessly put at risk by this willful president
Al Gore
Thursday May 24, 2007
The Guardian
The pursuit of "dominance" in foreign policy led the Bush administration to ignore the UN, to do serious damage to our most important alliances, to violate international law, and to cultivate the hatred and contempt of many in the rest of the world. The seductive appeal of exercising unconstrained unilateral power led this president to interpret his powers under the constitution in a way that brought to life the worst nightmare of the founders. Any policy based on domination of the rest of the world not only creates enemies for the US and recruits for al-Qaida, but also undermines the international cooperation that is essential to defeating terrorists who wish to harm and intimidate America. Instead of "dominance", we should be seeking pre-eminence in a world where nations respect us and seek to follow our leadership and adopt our values.
With the blatant failure by the government to respect the rule of law, we face a great challenge in restoring America's moral authority in the world. Our moral authority is our greatest source of strength. It is our moral authority that has been recklessly put at risk by the cheap calculations of this wilful president.
The Bush administration's objective of attempting to establish US domination over any potential adversary was what led to the hubristic, tragic miscalculation of the Iraq war - a painful misadventure marked by one disaster after another, based on one mistaken assumption after another. But the people who paid the price have been the American men and women in uniform trapped over there, and the Iraqis themselves. At the level of our relations with the rest of the world, the administration has willingly traded respect for the US in favour of fear. That was the real meaning of "shock and awe". This administration has coupled its theory of US dominance with a doctrine of pre-emptive strikes, regardless of whether the threat to be pre-empted is imminent or not.
The doctrine is presented in open-ended terms, which means that Iraq is not necessarily the last application. In fact, the very logic of the concept suggests a string of military engagements against a succession of sovereign states - Syria, Libya, North Korea, Iran - but the implication is that wherever the combination exists of an interest in weapons of mass destruction together with an ongoing role as host to, or participant in, terrorist operations, the doctrine will apply. It also means that the Iraq resolution created the precedent for pre-emptive action anywhere, whenever this or any future president decides that it is time. The risks of this doctrine stretch far beyond the disaster in Iraq. The policy affects the basic relationship between the US and the rest of the world. Article 51 of the UN charter recognises the right of any nation to defend itself, including the right to take pre-emptive action in order to deal with imminent threats.
By now, the administration may have begun to realise that national and international cohesion are indeed strategic assets. But it is a lesson long delayed and clearly not uniformly and consistently accepted by senior members of the cabinet. From the outset, the administration has operated in a manner calculated to please the portion of its base that occupies the far right, at the expense of solidarity among all Americans and between our country and our allies. The gross violations of human rights authorised by Bush at Abu Ghraib, Guantánamo Bay and dozens of other locations around the world, have seriously damaged US moral authority and delegitimised US efforts to continue promoting human rights.
President Bush offered a brief and halfhearted apology to the Arab world, but he should make amends to the American people for abandoning the Geneva conventions, and to the US forces for sending troops into harm's way while ignoring the best advice of their commanders. Perhaps most importantly, he owes an explanation to all those men and women throughout our world who have held high the ideal of the US as a shining goal to inspire their own efforts to bring about justice and the rule of law.
Most Americans have tended to give the Bush-Cheney administration the benefit of the doubt when it comes to its failure to take action in advance of 9/11 to guard against an attack. Hindsight casts a harsh light on mistakes that should have been visible at the time they were made. But now, years later, with the benefit of investigations that have been made public, it is no longer clear that the administration deserves this act of political grace from the American people. It is useful and important to examine the warnings the administration ignored - not to point the finger of blame, but to better determine how our country can avoid such mistakes in the future. When leaders are not held accountable for serious mistakes, they and their successors are more likely to repeat those mistakes.
Part of the explanation for the increased difficulty in gaining cooperation in fighting terrorism is Bush's attitude of contempt for any person, institution or nation that disagrees with him. He has exposed Americans abroad and in the US to a greater danger of attack because of his arrogance and wilfulness, in particular his insistence upon stirring up a hornet's nest in Iraq. Compounding the problem, he has regularly insulted the religion, the culture and the tradition of people in countries throughout the Muslim world.
The unpleasant truth is that Bush's failed policies in both Iraq and Afghanistan have made the world a far more dangerous place. Our friends in the Middle East, including most prominently Israel, have been placed in greater danger because of the policy blunders and sheer incompetence with which the civilian Pentagon officials have conducted this war.
We as Americans should have "known then what we know now"- not only about the invasion of Iraq but also about the climate crisis; what would happen if the levees failed to protect New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina; and about many other fateful choices that have been made on the basis of flawed, and even outright false, information. We could and should have known, because the information was readily available. We should have known years ago about the potential for a global HIV/Aids pandemic. But the larger explanation for this crisis in American decision-making is that reason itself is playing a diminished, less respected, role in our national conversation.
· Al Gore is a former US vice-president; this is an edited extract from his new book, The Assault on Reason, published this week by Bloomsbury
© Al Gore
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Sunni and Shiite's Going after al-Qeada?
IRAQ: SUNNI TRIBES SEEK SADRIST ALLIES
Baghdad, 23 May (AKI) - A delegation of Sahwa al-Anbar, (Anbar Awakening) the tribal alliance in the restive Sunni province of Al Anbar, has made an unprecedented visit to Sadr City, the Baghdad stronghold of radical Shiite imam Moqtada al-Sadr, according to pan Arab daily al-Sharq al-Awsat. "We have taken this step to place national interest ahead of any differences" said the head of the US-endorsed Sunni alliance Hamid al-Hayas. "This is an effort to bring closer together the Sunni and Shiite Iraqi points of view. We want to deliver a message to all the political groups to put aside their differences and act for the common good" he said.
The whereabouts of Moqtada al-Sadr remain undisclosed, but he was represented in the meeting by three MPs from the 30-strong bloc in Parliament loyal to him and prominent individuals from the Sadr City area.
At the end of the meeting the two sides signs a joint document in which they vowed to fight the terrorism of al-Qaeda. The group has become increasingly isolated within the Sunni insurgency because of its indiscriminate targeting of civilians.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq has been seeking to impose its fierce Salafite philosophies and strategies and consolidate its power over the many resistance groups in the Sunni Arab galaxy, some of whom view foreign fighters and Wahhabis with suspicion.
In recent months the heads of the powerful al-Anbar tribes have coalesced in a big to counteract al-Qaeda in Iraq and have begun a tentative dialogue with some elements in the al-Maliki government about entering the political process.
As well as coming under increasing pressure from US and Iraqi forces in Baquba and elsewhere, the al-Qaeda in Iraq fighters have been increasingly in clashes with other insurgent formations.
Labels:
al-Qaeda,
Shiite,
sunni-shiite tension
Bombs for Bongs. Iraq and Afghanistan exchange ideas.
For some time, it has been obvious that tactics learned in Iraq have been spreading to Afghanistan as IEDs are becoming a common problem for Nato troops in Afghanistan. Roadside bombs kill troops both in Iraq and Afghanistan at an alarming rate. It was a technique developed in Iraq and transferred to Afghanistan.
Trade of goods and ideas is always a two way street and this time it is in the other direction from Afghanistan to Iraq. Opium production is starting in Iraq:
Opium: Iraq's deadly new export
Amid the anarchy, farmers begin to grow opium poppies, raising fears that the country could become a major heroin supplier
By Patrick Cockburn in Baghdad
Published: 23 May 2007
The Independent
More here
Trade of goods and ideas is always a two way street and this time it is in the other direction from Afghanistan to Iraq. Opium production is starting in Iraq:
Opium: Iraq's deadly new export
Amid the anarchy, farmers begin to grow opium poppies, raising fears that the country could become a major heroin supplier
By Patrick Cockburn in Baghdad
Published: 23 May 2007
The Independent
Farmers in southern Iraq have started to grow opium poppies in their fields for the first time, sparking fears that Iraq might become a serious drugs producer along the lines of Afghanistan.
Rice farmers along the Euphrates, to the west of the city of Diwaniya, south of Baghdad, have stopped cultivating rice, for which the area is famous, and are instead planting poppies, Iraqi sources familiar with the area have told The Independent.
The shift to opium cultivation is still in its early stages but there is little the Iraqi government can do about it because rival Shia militias and their surrogates in the security forces control Diwaniya and its neighbourhood. There have been bloody clashes between militiamen, police, Iraqi army and US forces in the city over the past two months.
The shift to opium production is taking place in the well-irrigated land west and south of Diwaniya around the towns of Ash Shamiyah, al Ghammas and Ash Shinafiyah. The farmers are said to be having problems in growing the poppies because of the intense heat and high humidity. It is too dangerous for foreign journalists to visit Diwaniya but the start of opium poppy cultivation is attested by two students from there and a source in Basra familiar with the Iraqi drugs trade.
More here
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
A Twelve Million Man March. Pass it on.
Yes, there is a fifth column. Why add more?
Poll finds some U.S. Muslim support for suicide attacks
David Morgan, Reuters, National Post
Published: Tuesday, May 22, 2007
WASHINGTON - About one-quarter of young American Muslims believe to some extent that suicide bombings can be justified to defend Islam, while nearly 80 percent of all U.S. Muslims reject such attacks, a survey showed on Tuesday.The rest here.
The nationwide poll of 1,050 Muslim adults by the Pew Research Center said the U.S. Muslim community is largely moderate, assimilated and happy.
But the community also contains pockets of support for Islamist militancy among Muslims aged 18-30 and black Muslims, the survey showed.
The survey, billed as one of the most far-reaching polls of Muslims living in the United States, asked the following question about suicide attacks:
"Some people think that suicide bombing and other forms of violence against civilian targets are justified in order to defend Islam from its enemies. Other people believe that, no matter what the reason, this kind of violence is never justified.
"Do you personally feel that this kind of violence is often justified to defend Islam, sometimes justified, rarely justified or never justified?"
The survey found 26 percent of younger Muslims believed suicide bombings are often, sometimes or rarely justified, compared with 69 percent who believed such attacks can never be accepted.
By contrast, 13 percent of all U.S. Muslims felt suicide attacks could be justified often, sometimes or rarely, while 78 percent completely rejected the deadly tactic that has been used by al Qaeda and other Islamist militants.
The poll, conducted from Jan. 24 to April 30 in four languages, had a 5 percent margin of error.
Hugh Hewiit has some suggestions.
Hugh Hewitt has posted seven items he wants in an immigration bill:
(1) An amendment to establish a special category of illegal aliens which includes all males between the ages of 18 and 30 from countries with significant jihadist networks, with that list of countries to be determined by the DoD, the CIA and State. No probationary Z visas under Section 601(h) would issue to such illegals. A special visa could issue, but one that required special care in the background checks and special restrictions on the movement of such applicants until after their background checks were complete.
(2) Construction of at least half of the double-fencing prior to the issuance of a single probationary visa, and completion of all 800+ miles of the double fencing prior to the issuance of any 4 year Z visa or any Y visa.
(3) Acceleration of the six-year build-up in the authorized level of Border Patrol agents so that its number of agents reaches 25,000 within 3 years with the funding for their hiring in place. This should be another hard trigger.
(4) A detailed statement of how and by whom the millions of background checks and interviews called for by the act are to be done, with funding authorized and allocated to support such obligations. This should also be a trigger.
(5) A set of easy to read ceilings on Y visas which cannot be raised except by Congressional directive.
(6) The elimination of social security credits for years worked as an illegal, and the payment --perhaps over a term of years-- of at least 50% of unpaid back taxes
(7) This may seem odd, but I believe the employer penalties for record-keeping violations should be struck from the bill. The burden-shifting to business of enforcing the immigration laws is going to be large in any event, but to impose on businesses the absurd paperwork completion and storage requirements --backed by a $1,000 per incident fine-- empowers bureaucrats to punish any employer they take a disliking to. Keep Mike Nifong in mind when you consider how abusive such a requirement could be made to be even for employers who cannot be shown to have employed a single illegal alien.
I disagree with number seven and would support a bill that would be a two phase proposition. The first phase would deal with the immediate and would include going after the employers and building the fence. There would be no phase two until phase one was complete and in place.
I would hammer the employer aspect. They are the ones who encouraged the illegals to be here in the first place. A tough fine based on the number of hours an employee worked would be a significant deterrent. I would suggest $10 per hour. That would get their attention and take away the incentive to use illegals. What are your suggestions?
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
ACTION:
#1. Call your two Senators now toll free: 1-866-340-9281 or 1 800 828 0498 or 1 800 833 6354 - any time day/night/weekend
#2. FAX: a): www.numbersusa.com will fax - or you FREE -fast and free signup-
b) If you have a fax machine, fax the Senate fax numbers below:
Key Senators to hammer:
Sen. Kyl (202) 224-4521
Sen. McCain (202) 224-2235
Majority Leader Harry Reid: 202-224-5556
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell: 202-224-3135
Sen. Arlen Specter: 202-224-4254
Sen. Mel Martinez: 202-224-3041
Sen. Lindsay Graham: 202-224-5972
Minority Whip Trent Lott: 202-224-2708
#3 -- Forward this message to your friends, grandmothers, grandfathers, neighbors and co-workers;
#4 -- Sign petition: We want to deliver at least 600,000 petitions next week to the Senate: http://www.grassfire.org/142/petition.asp?PID=11634532
# 5 Call them all. It took me 2.5 hours to call their offices and give them a piece of my mind on S.B. 1348. First-Last-Party-Address-Telephone--FAX
AK Ted Stevens R 522 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-3004; 202-224-2354
AK Lisa Murkowski R 709 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-6665; 202-224-5301
AL Richard Shelby R 110 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-5744; 202-224-3416
AL Jeff Sessions R 335 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-4124; 202-224-3149
AR Blanche Lincoln D 355 Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-4843; 202-228-1371
AR Mark Pryor D 257 Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-2353; 202-228-0908
AZ John McCain R 241 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-2235; 202-228-2862
AZ Jon Kyl R 730 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-4521; 202-224-2207
CA Dianne Feinstein D 331 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-3841; 202-228-3954
CA Barbara Boxer D 112 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-3553; 415-956-6701
CO Wayne Allard R 521 Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-5941; 202-224-6471
CO Ken Salazar R 702 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-5852 ;202-228-5036
CT Christopher Dodd D 448 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-2823 ;202-224-1083
CT Joseph Lieberman D 706 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-4041; 202-224-9750
DE Joseph Biden D 201 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-5042; 202-224-0139
DE Thomas Carper D 513 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-2441; 202-228-2190
FL Bill Nelson D 716 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-5274; 202-228-2183
FL Mel Martinez R 317 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-3041; 202-228-5171
GA Saxby Chambliss R 416 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-3521; 202-224-0103
GA Johnny Isakson R 120 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-3643; 202-228-0724
HI Daniel Inouye D 722 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-3934 ;202-224-6747
HI Daniel Akaka D 141 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-6361 ;202-224-2126
IA Chuck Grassley R 135 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-3744 ;202-224-6020
IA Tom Harkin D 731 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-3254 ;202-224-9369
ID Larry Craig R 520 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-2752 ;202-228-1067
ID Mike Crapo R 239 Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-6142; 202-228-1375
IL Richard Durbin D 332 Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-2152; 202-228-0400
IL Barack Obama D 713 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-2854 ;202-228-1372
IN Richard Lugar R 306 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-4814; 202-228-0360
IN Evan Bayh D 463 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-5623; 202-228-1377
KS Sam Brownback R 303 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-6521; 202-228-1265
KS Pat Roberts R 109 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-4774 ;202-224-3514
KY Mitch McConnell R 361A Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-2541; 202-224-2499
KY Jim Bunning R 316 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-4343 ;202-228-1373
LA Mary Landrieu D 724 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-5824 ;202-224-9735
LA David Vitter R 516 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-4623 ;202-228-5061
MA Edward Kennedy D 317 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-4543; 202-224-2417
MA John Kerry D 304 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-2742; 202-224-8525
MD Barbara Mikulski D 503 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-4654 ;202-224-8858
MD Benjamin Cardin D B40B Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-4524 ;202-224-1651
ME Olympia Snowe R 154 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-5344; 202-224-1946
ME Susan Collins R 461 Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-2523; 202-224-2693
MI Carl Levin D 269 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-6221; 202-224-1388
MI Debbie Stabenow D 133 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-4822 ;202-228-0325
MN Norm Coleman R 320 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-5641; 202-224-1152
MN Amy Klobuchar D C4 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-3244; 202-228-2186
MO Christopher Bond R 274 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-5721; 202-224-8149
MO Claire McCaskill D 825A Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-6154; 202-228-1518
MS Thad Cochran R 113 Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-5054; 202-224-9450
MS Trent Lott R 487 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-6253; 202-224-2262
MT Max Baucus D 511 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-2651; 202-224-0515
MT Jon Tester D B40E Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-2644; 202-228-6363
NC Elizabeth Dole R 555 Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-6342; 202-224-1100
NC Richard Burr R 217 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-3154;202-228-2981
ND Kent Conrad D 530 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-2043 ;202-224-7776
ND Byron Dorgan D 322 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-2551; 202-224-1193
NE Charles Hagel R 248 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-4224 ;202-224-5213
NE Benjamine Nelson D 720 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-6551; 202-228-0012
NH Judd Gregg R 393 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-3324; 202-224-4952
NH John Sununu R 111 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-2841 ;202-228-4131
NJ Frank Lautenberg D 324 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-3224; 202-225-4054
NJ Robert Menendez D 502 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-4744 ;202-228-2197
NM Pete Domenici R 328 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-6621; 202-228-3261
NM Jeff Bingaman D 703 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-5521; 202-224-2852
NV Harry Reid D 528 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-3542 ;202-224-7327
NV John Ensign R 356 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-6244 ;202-228-2193
NY Charles Schumer D 313 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-6542; 202-228-3027
NY Hillary Clinton D 476 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-4451; 202-228-0282
OH George Voinovich R 524 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-3353 ;202-228-1382
OH Sherrod Brown D C5 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-2315;202-224-6519
OK Jim Inhofe R 453 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-4721 ;202-228-0380
OK Tom Coburn R 172 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-5754 ;202-224-6008
OR Ron Wyden D 230 Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-5244; 202-228-2717
OR Gordon Smith R 404 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-3753; 202-228-3997
PA Arlen Specter R 711 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-4254 ;202-228-1229
PA Bob Casey D B40C Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-6324; 202-228-0604
RI Jack Reed D 728 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-4642; 202-224-4680
RI Sheldon Whitehouse D B40D Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-2921 ;202-228-6362
SC Lindsey Graham R 290 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-5972; 202-224-3808
SC Jim DeMint R 340 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-6121 ;202-228-5143
SD Tim Johnson D 136 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-5842 ;202-228-5765
SD John Thune R 383 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-2321 ;202-228-5429
TN Lamar Alexander R 302 Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-4944; 202-228-3398
TN Bob Corker R B40A Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-3344 ;202-228-1264
TX Kay Hutchison R 284 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-5922 ;202-224-0776
TX John Cornyn R 517 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-2934 ;202-228-2856
UT Orrin Hatch R 104 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-5251; 202-224-6331
UT Robert Bennett R 431 Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-5444 ;202-228-1168
VA John Warner R 225 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-2023; 202-224-6295
VA James Webb D C1 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-4024; 202-224-5432
VT Patrick Leahy D 433 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-4242; 202-224-3479
VT Sanders Bernard I C2 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-5141; 202-228-0776
WA Patty Murray D 173 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-2621; 202-224-0238
WA Maria Cantwell D 717 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-3441; 202-228-0514
WI Herb Kohl D 330 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-5653;202-224-9787
WI Russell Feingold D 506 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-5323 ;202-224-2725
WV Robert Byrd D 311 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-3954 ;202-228-0002
WV John Rockefeller D 531 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-6472 ;202-224-7665
WY Craig Thomas R 307 Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-6441 ;202-224-1724
WY Mike Enzi R 379A Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-3424;202-228-0359
#1. Call your two Senators now toll free: 1-866-340-9281 or 1 800 828 0498 or 1 800 833 6354 - any time day/night/weekend
#2. FAX: a): www.numbersusa.com will fax - or you FREE -fast and free signup-
b) If you have a fax machine, fax the Senate fax numbers below:
Key Senators to hammer:
Sen. Kyl (202) 224-4521
Sen. McCain (202) 224-2235
Majority Leader Harry Reid: 202-224-5556
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell: 202-224-3135
Sen. Arlen Specter: 202-224-4254
Sen. Mel Martinez: 202-224-3041
Sen. Lindsay Graham: 202-224-5972
Minority Whip Trent Lott: 202-224-2708
#3 -- Forward this message to your friends, grandmothers, grandfathers, neighbors and co-workers;
#4 -- Sign petition: We want to deliver at least 600,000 petitions next week to the Senate: http://www.grassfire.org/142/petition.asp?PID=11634532
# 5 Call them all. It took me 2.5 hours to call their offices and give them a piece of my mind on S.B. 1348. First-Last-Party-Address-Telephone--FAX
AK Ted Stevens R 522 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-3004; 202-224-2354
AK Lisa Murkowski R 709 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-6665; 202-224-5301
AL Richard Shelby R 110 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-5744; 202-224-3416
AL Jeff Sessions R 335 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-4124; 202-224-3149
AR Blanche Lincoln D 355 Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-4843; 202-228-1371
AR Mark Pryor D 257 Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-2353; 202-228-0908
AZ John McCain R 241 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-2235; 202-228-2862
AZ Jon Kyl R 730 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-4521; 202-224-2207
CA Dianne Feinstein D 331 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-3841; 202-228-3954
CA Barbara Boxer D 112 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-3553; 415-956-6701
CO Wayne Allard R 521 Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-5941; 202-224-6471
CO Ken Salazar R 702 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-5852 ;202-228-5036
CT Christopher Dodd D 448 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-2823 ;202-224-1083
CT Joseph Lieberman D 706 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-4041; 202-224-9750
DE Joseph Biden D 201 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-5042; 202-224-0139
DE Thomas Carper D 513 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-2441; 202-228-2190
FL Bill Nelson D 716 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-5274; 202-228-2183
FL Mel Martinez R 317 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-3041; 202-228-5171
GA Saxby Chambliss R 416 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-3521; 202-224-0103
GA Johnny Isakson R 120 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-3643; 202-228-0724
HI Daniel Inouye D 722 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-3934 ;202-224-6747
HI Daniel Akaka D 141 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-6361 ;202-224-2126
IA Chuck Grassley R 135 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-3744 ;202-224-6020
IA Tom Harkin D 731 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-3254 ;202-224-9369
ID Larry Craig R 520 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-2752 ;202-228-1067
ID Mike Crapo R 239 Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-6142; 202-228-1375
IL Richard Durbin D 332 Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-2152; 202-228-0400
IL Barack Obama D 713 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-2854 ;202-228-1372
IN Richard Lugar R 306 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-4814; 202-228-0360
IN Evan Bayh D 463 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-5623; 202-228-1377
KS Sam Brownback R 303 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-6521; 202-228-1265
KS Pat Roberts R 109 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-4774 ;202-224-3514
KY Mitch McConnell R 361A Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-2541; 202-224-2499
KY Jim Bunning R 316 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-4343 ;202-228-1373
LA Mary Landrieu D 724 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-5824 ;202-224-9735
LA David Vitter R 516 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-4623 ;202-228-5061
MA Edward Kennedy D 317 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-4543; 202-224-2417
MA John Kerry D 304 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-2742; 202-224-8525
MD Barbara Mikulski D 503 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-4654 ;202-224-8858
MD Benjamin Cardin D B40B Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-4524 ;202-224-1651
ME Olympia Snowe R 154 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-5344; 202-224-1946
ME Susan Collins R 461 Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-2523; 202-224-2693
MI Carl Levin D 269 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-6221; 202-224-1388
MI Debbie Stabenow D 133 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-4822 ;202-228-0325
MN Norm Coleman R 320 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-5641; 202-224-1152
MN Amy Klobuchar D C4 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-3244; 202-228-2186
MO Christopher Bond R 274 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-5721; 202-224-8149
MO Claire McCaskill D 825A Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-6154; 202-228-1518
MS Thad Cochran R 113 Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-5054; 202-224-9450
MS Trent Lott R 487 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-6253; 202-224-2262
MT Max Baucus D 511 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-2651; 202-224-0515
MT Jon Tester D B40E Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-2644; 202-228-6363
NC Elizabeth Dole R 555 Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-6342; 202-224-1100
NC Richard Burr R 217 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-3154;202-228-2981
ND Kent Conrad D 530 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-2043 ;202-224-7776
ND Byron Dorgan D 322 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-2551; 202-224-1193
NE Charles Hagel R 248 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-4224 ;202-224-5213
NE Benjamine Nelson D 720 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-6551; 202-228-0012
NH Judd Gregg R 393 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-3324; 202-224-4952
NH John Sununu R 111 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-2841 ;202-228-4131
NJ Frank Lautenberg D 324 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-3224; 202-225-4054
NJ Robert Menendez D 502 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-4744 ;202-228-2197
NM Pete Domenici R 328 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-6621; 202-228-3261
NM Jeff Bingaman D 703 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-5521; 202-224-2852
NV Harry Reid D 528 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-3542 ;202-224-7327
NV John Ensign R 356 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-6244 ;202-228-2193
NY Charles Schumer D 313 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-6542; 202-228-3027
NY Hillary Clinton D 476 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-4451; 202-228-0282
OH George Voinovich R 524 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-3353 ;202-228-1382
OH Sherrod Brown D C5 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-2315;202-224-6519
OK Jim Inhofe R 453 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-4721 ;202-228-0380
OK Tom Coburn R 172 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-5754 ;202-224-6008
OR Ron Wyden D 230 Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-5244; 202-228-2717
OR Gordon Smith R 404 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-3753; 202-228-3997
PA Arlen Specter R 711 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-4254 ;202-228-1229
PA Bob Casey D B40C Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-6324; 202-228-0604
RI Jack Reed D 728 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-4642; 202-224-4680
RI Sheldon Whitehouse D B40D Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-2921 ;202-228-6362
SC Lindsey Graham R 290 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-5972; 202-224-3808
SC Jim DeMint R 340 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-6121 ;202-228-5143
SD Tim Johnson D 136 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-5842 ;202-228-5765
SD John Thune R 383 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-2321 ;202-228-5429
TN Lamar Alexander R 302 Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-4944; 202-228-3398
TN Bob Corker R B40A Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-3344 ;202-228-1264
TX Kay Hutchison R 284 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-5922 ;202-224-0776
TX John Cornyn R 517 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-2934 ;202-228-2856
UT Orrin Hatch R 104 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-5251; 202-224-6331
UT Robert Bennett R 431 Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-5444 ;202-228-1168
VA John Warner R 225 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-2023; 202-224-6295
VA James Webb D C1 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-4024; 202-224-5432
VT Patrick Leahy D 433 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-4242; 202-224-3479
VT Sanders Bernard I C2 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-5141; 202-228-0776
WA Patty Murray D 173 Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-2621; 202-224-0238
WA Maria Cantwell D 717 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-3441; 202-228-0514
WI Herb Kohl D 330 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-5653;202-224-9787
WI Russell Feingold D 506 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-5323 ;202-224-2725
WV Robert Byrd D 311 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-3954 ;202-228-0002
WV John Rockefeller D 531 Hart Senate Office Building 202-224-6472 ;202-224-7665
WY Craig Thomas R 307 Dirksen Senate Office Building 202-224-6441 ;202-224-1724
WY Mike Enzi R 379A Russell Senate Office Building 202-224-3424;202-228-0359
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