from Gene Caferelli
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FORMER BORDER PATROL OFFICERS
Visit our website: http://www.nafbpo.org
Sign up for our report at m3report@yahoo.com
Foreign News Report
The National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers (NAFBPO) extracts and condenses the material that follows from Mexican and Central and South American on-line media sources on a daily basis. You are free to disseminate this information, but we request that you credit NAFBPO as being the provider.
Prensa Libre ( Guatemala City , Guatemala ) 2/27/08
"The government of Guatemala 's president Alvaro Colom announced today that it will carry out a diplomatic offensive in the United States in favor of the thousands of Guatemalan migrants who live in that country." The Minister of Foreign Relations, Haroldo Rodas, told reporters today that the offensive will begin with a visit to Washington set for April 28 when the president will meet his U.S. counterpart, George W. Bush.
"We are going to work not only with the present government but also with the Democrat and Republican candidates who are seeking power."
Rosa said they will also seek to meet with Congressional representatives to discuss the need to give impulse to an integral reform which will benefit the immigrants of this country. According to the Ministry of Foreign Relations 1.2 million Guatemalans live in this country, 60% of them undocumented. As part of the offensive the Guatemalan government is working closely with Mexico , Honduras and El Sakvador.
----------------------
El Heraldo ( Tegucigalpa , Honduras ) 2/27/08
The Honduran consuls in Washington and New York City have been removed from their posts "for corruption" and irregularities. And an investigation continues regarding the consulate in Houston .
---------------------
Milenio & Excelsior (both Mexico City ) 2/27/08
Marek Madej just arrived in Monterrey , Nuevo Leon , on a flight from Madrid . It was a scale stop on his way to the U.S. But inspectors in Monterrey established that the Polish passport he presented was "false" (note: no info given as to whether it was altered or a total counterfeit). "Madej", born early '70 according to the passport, then said he was "Revon Salim Jopraeel", an Iraqi.
This is the fifth case of Iraqis who have arrived at that airport in the last few weeks and who have claimed to be citizens of some European country. (Our report of 2/21/08 relates)
---------------------
Excelsior ( Mexico City ) 2/27/08
In Acapulco , Guerrero, state police answered a call and found human remains: the hands had been cut off as well as the left leg bones. The head had a firearm impact.
A separate article described the broad daylight theft of money by Acapulco "preventive police" from U.S. & Canadian tourists.
---------------------
Diario ( Ciudad Juarez , Chihuahua ) 2/27/08
1. Update regarding the "narcograve" patio of the house in Juarez : the "PGR" (Dep't. of Justice) reported that they have now uncovered 5 bodies, two heads and three thoraxes. (Note: two other papers said nine bodies had been discovered)
There have now been twenty-three people murdered in Juarez this month up to the 25th.
2. Tuesday before dawn Mex. army personnel seized 5,800 packages of marihuana weighing approximately 4.5 tons at a house at #8125 Valle Colina St. , Juarez, just a block from some schools. The armed criminals guarding the house fled in a Yukon and an Escalade before the military arrived.
This is the fifth locale within two weeks in which the military have found "high impact" amounts of illegal drugs or related items in Juarez .
- On 2/13/08 at Pradera Dorada St. , 25 shoulder weapons
- Three days later, at Campestre Arboleda, 21 arrests, ten AK47 rifles, 2+ kilos of base cocaine, 13,000 doses of crack cocaine, military & federal investigative agency uniforms
- Feb. 20, a second drug factory in the Florencia subdivision; 7 arrests; 4 AK47's; two 9 mm. pistols
- Sat. 23rd, at Del Real subdivision: 700 kgs. of marihuana, 15 vehicles, 3 shoulder weapons, 4 arrests
3. Saul Sanchez, a citizen of Mexico residing in Kansas City , KS , was southbound in a vehicle with his wife and daughter at the border inspection gate to enter into Ciudad Juarez from the U.S. but the Mexican officials turned him around due to some reason related to the vehicle. So, Sanchez had to turn around and go through the northbound inspection gate at El Paso . There, an electronic density device led to a search of the doors of his vehicle. The find totaled 1 million 858 thousand 85 U.S. dollars in cash, all in 50, 20, 10 and 5 dollar bills wrapped in plastic and hidden in all five doors. This is the largest haul since April of '97.
Sanchez goes to court Monday.
4. The latest criminal ruse reported in Juarez :
Thugs go to a public parking area by a restaurant, select a vehicle, enter the restaurant and then announce that such-and-such a vehicle, license such-and-such, is blocking another vehicle which needs to leave. The owner of that vehicle then goes out to move his car, the thugs follow and then rob him and steal the vehicle or, alternatively, kidnap him and force him to withdraw money from his bank accounts.
(note: yesterday we reported on a national poll in Mexico showing that 59.6% of the public feared being victims of armed street robberies. Now a new local telephonic poll in Juarez shows the 92% of Juarez residents fear being victims of such a crime.)
----------------
Cuarto Poder ( Tuxtla , Chiapas ) 2/27/08
Three city of Tapachula , Chiapas , police officers flunked the narcotics detection test. And five Palenque , Chiapas , police officers are under 30-day arrest while an investigation continues about their possible murder of a man.
-----------------
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Obama Sex Sting Fizzles: Accuser fails polygraph
http://deathby1000papercuts.blogspot.com/2008/02/larry-sinclair-obama-accuser-fails.html
Public Opinion Poll in Mexico: 59.6% Fear Being Victims of Armed Robbery
Public Opinion Poll in Mexico: 59.6% Fear Being Victims of Armed Robbery
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FORMER BORDER PATROL OFFICERS
Visit our website: http://www.nafbpo.org
Sign up for our report at m3report@yahoo.com
Foreign News Report
The National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers (NAFBPO) extracts and condenses the material that follows from Mexican and Central and South American on-line media sources on a daily basis. You are free to disseminate this information, but we request that you credit NAFBPO as being the provider.
Frontera (Tijuana, Baja Calif.) 2/26/08
A public opinion poll of Mexican citizens was recently conducted for the "Mexico United against Crime" organization by the Mitofsky Consultants. A press conference revealed these results:
- 59.6% fear being victims of armed street robberies
- 55.5% fear being victims of kidnapping
- 83.2% approve of using the military in operations against organized crime
But only 40.3 % would testify if they witnessed a criminal act.
The poll was conducted by personal interviews in 100 "electoral sections" throughout Mexico.
-----------------
La Voz de la Frontera (Mexicali, Baja Calif.) 2/26/08
One man was arrested and 603(plus) kilos of marihuana were seized yesterday by Mex. military on Fresno St. (no number shown), Colonia Obrera, Tijuana.
And another two tons of weed were found unguarded & were reported destroyed by Mex. military in the area of Pueblo Nuevo, Durango.
-----------------
El Heraldo (Tegucigalpa, Honduras) 2/26/08
Yesterday U.S. Coast Guard & Honduran navy units - not otherwise identified - captured a Honduran fishing vessel aboard which were 36 sacks of cocaine weighing nine hundred kilos. The crew: four Hondurans and three Colombians. The boat was found some 60 miles off the eastern end of the Honduran coast.
-----------------
Diario de Yucatan (Merida, Yucatan) 2/26/08
"A wave of executions among "narcoretailers" "
Confrontations between rival groups of drug traffickers resulted in eight executions in three states of Mexico. One, in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, was killed with "more than" forty shots to the head and body. Twenty minutes later, a bit more to the south by the airport, a 25 yr. old was riddled in an SUV. And in Palomas, 150 kms. west of Juarez (and right across from Columbus, NM) another man was shot to death and two others in the same vehicle were wounded; then, in Meoqui (just north of Delicias, Chih.) yet one more victim fell to 9 mm. gunfire while riding in town.
In Rio Verde, San Luis Potosi, officials reported the finding of 2 gagged, blindfolded, dead victims with messages left on them from the Gulf Cartel.
And, in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, two more druggers were executed in a lot by a group of thugs.
---------------
El Debate (Culiacan, Sinaloa) 2/26/08
The Baja California state attorney's office reported that human remains were found in a barrel into which caustic soda had been added. The blood stained blue barrel was found under a bridge on a highway at Km.28, Playas de Rosarito, Baja Calif.
----------------
Diario (Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua) 2/26/08
1. Twelve Juarez police officers flunked a recent "anti-doping" test and proved positive for cocaine usage. One other came up positive for methamphetamine. Reportedly they are being fired.
2. Yesterday morning a man collecting aluminum cans along a highway in the area of Parral, Chihuahua, came upon yet another execution victim. This one was "wrapped" and had multiple abrasions and bruises on his head, face, torso and extremities. He'd also been suffocated.
----------------
El Informador (Guadalajara, Jalisco) 2/26/08
On Feb. 5th, Juan Enrique Munoz got our of his car to change a flat and was then shot on his right buttock by someone in a passing car. He had to have a colostomy and was in Guadalajara, resting at home in bed at 5 a.m. yesterday, when someone shot him again, this time on his right eyebrow and upper lip. He had previously disclaimed knowing why anyone would've wanted to shoot him.
---------------
El Porvenir (Monterrey, Nuevo Leon) 2/26/08
An 18-wheeler went off the road and into a gully by the highway between Ocampo & Tula (southern Tamaulipas state). Amidst the load of avocados: 1,003 packages of marihuana with a total weight of eight tons, 66 kilos, 885 gms.; the report gave no date for the event.
---------------
Tiempo (Chihuahua, Chih.) 2/26/08 - & others-
Ricardo Chacon, 2nd Commander of the Chihuahua state's Dep't. of Justice was executed at around 8 a.m. this morning as he exited a vehicle right in front of the sub-office in the city of Chihuahua. The ambush killers also wounded two others with him, then escaped.
---------------
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FORMER BORDER PATROL OFFICERS
Visit our website: http://www.nafbpo.org
Sign up for our report at m3report@yahoo.com
Foreign News Report
The National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers (NAFBPO) extracts and condenses the material that follows from Mexican and Central and South American on-line media sources on a daily basis. You are free to disseminate this information, but we request that you credit NAFBPO as being the provider.
Frontera (Tijuana, Baja Calif.) 2/26/08
A public opinion poll of Mexican citizens was recently conducted for the "Mexico United against Crime" organization by the Mitofsky Consultants. A press conference revealed these results:
- 59.6% fear being victims of armed street robberies
- 55.5% fear being victims of kidnapping
- 83.2% approve of using the military in operations against organized crime
But only 40.3 % would testify if they witnessed a criminal act.
The poll was conducted by personal interviews in 100 "electoral sections" throughout Mexico.
-----------------
La Voz de la Frontera (Mexicali, Baja Calif.) 2/26/08
One man was arrested and 603(plus) kilos of marihuana were seized yesterday by Mex. military on Fresno St. (no number shown), Colonia Obrera, Tijuana.
And another two tons of weed were found unguarded & were reported destroyed by Mex. military in the area of Pueblo Nuevo, Durango.
-----------------
El Heraldo (Tegucigalpa, Honduras) 2/26/08
Yesterday U.S. Coast Guard & Honduran navy units - not otherwise identified - captured a Honduran fishing vessel aboard which were 36 sacks of cocaine weighing nine hundred kilos. The crew: four Hondurans and three Colombians. The boat was found some 60 miles off the eastern end of the Honduran coast.
-----------------
Diario de Yucatan (Merida, Yucatan) 2/26/08
"A wave of executions among "narcoretailers" "
Confrontations between rival groups of drug traffickers resulted in eight executions in three states of Mexico. One, in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, was killed with "more than" forty shots to the head and body. Twenty minutes later, a bit more to the south by the airport, a 25 yr. old was riddled in an SUV. And in Palomas, 150 kms. west of Juarez (and right across from Columbus, NM) another man was shot to death and two others in the same vehicle were wounded; then, in Meoqui (just north of Delicias, Chih.) yet one more victim fell to 9 mm. gunfire while riding in town.
In Rio Verde, San Luis Potosi, officials reported the finding of 2 gagged, blindfolded, dead victims with messages left on them from the Gulf Cartel.
And, in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, two more druggers were executed in a lot by a group of thugs.
---------------
El Debate (Culiacan, Sinaloa) 2/26/08
The Baja California state attorney's office reported that human remains were found in a barrel into which caustic soda had been added. The blood stained blue barrel was found under a bridge on a highway at Km.28, Playas de Rosarito, Baja Calif.
----------------
Diario (Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua) 2/26/08
1. Twelve Juarez police officers flunked a recent "anti-doping" test and proved positive for cocaine usage. One other came up positive for methamphetamine. Reportedly they are being fired.
2. Yesterday morning a man collecting aluminum cans along a highway in the area of Parral, Chihuahua, came upon yet another execution victim. This one was "wrapped" and had multiple abrasions and bruises on his head, face, torso and extremities. He'd also been suffocated.
----------------
El Informador (Guadalajara, Jalisco) 2/26/08
On Feb. 5th, Juan Enrique Munoz got our of his car to change a flat and was then shot on his right buttock by someone in a passing car. He had to have a colostomy and was in Guadalajara, resting at home in bed at 5 a.m. yesterday, when someone shot him again, this time on his right eyebrow and upper lip. He had previously disclaimed knowing why anyone would've wanted to shoot him.
---------------
El Porvenir (Monterrey, Nuevo Leon) 2/26/08
An 18-wheeler went off the road and into a gully by the highway between Ocampo & Tula (southern Tamaulipas state). Amidst the load of avocados: 1,003 packages of marihuana with a total weight of eight tons, 66 kilos, 885 gms.; the report gave no date for the event.
---------------
Tiempo (Chihuahua, Chih.) 2/26/08 - & others-
Ricardo Chacon, 2nd Commander of the Chihuahua state's Dep't. of Justice was executed at around 8 a.m. this morning as he exited a vehicle right in front of the sub-office in the city of Chihuahua. The ambush killers also wounded two others with him, then escaped.
---------------
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Nothing New: Clintons face new trial over Illegal Campaign Contributions
From Joe Peron
Clintons to face fraud trial
Judge setting date, testimony to include ex-president, senator
Posted: February 19, 2008
11:27 pm Eastern
© 2008 WorldNetDaily
Peter Paul and President Clinton (Courtesy Hillcap.org)
While Hillary Clinton battles Barack Obama on the campaign trail, a judge in Los Angeles is quietly preparing to set a trial date in a $17 million fraud suit that aims to expose an alleged culture of widespread corruption by the Clintons and the Democratic Party.
At the conclusion of a hearing tomorrow morning before California Superior Court Judge Aurelio N. Munoz, lawyers for Hollywood mogul Peter F. Paul will begin seeking sworn testimony from all three Clintons – Bill, Hillary and Chelsea – along with top Democratic Party leaders and A-list celebrities, including Barbra Streisand, John Travolta, Brad Pitt and Cher.
Paul's team hopes for a trial in October. The Clintons' longtime lawyer David Kendall, who will attend the hearing, has declined comment on the suit.
The Clintons have tried to dismiss the case, but the California Supreme Court, in 2004, upheld a lower-court decision to deny the motion.
(Story continues below)
Bill Clinton, according to the complaint, promised to promote Paul's Internet entertainment company, Stan Lee Media, in exchange for stock, cash options and massive contributions to his wife's 2000 Senate campaign. Paul contends he was directed by the Clintons and Democratic Party leaders to produce, pay for and then join them in lying about footing the bill for a Hollywood gala and fundraiser.
The Clintons' legal counsel has denied the former president made any deal with Paul. But Paul attorney Colette Wilson told WND there are witnesses who say it was common knowledge at Stan Lee Media that Bill Clinton was preparing to be a rainmaker for the company after he left office.
Paul claims former Vice President Al Gore, former Democratic Party chairman Ed Rendell and Clinton presidential campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe also are among the people who can confirm Paul engaged in the deal.
Hillary Clinton with Peter and Andrea Paul (Courtesy Hillcap.org)
Paul claims Rendell directed various illegal contributions to the DNC and Hillary Clinton's campaign and failed to report to the Federal Election Commission more than $100,000 given for a Hollywood event for Gore's campaign and the Democratic National Committee in 2000. McAuliffe, Paul says, counseled him in two separate meetings to become a major donor to Hillary Clinton to pave the way to hire her husband. Paul asserts top Clinton adviser Harold Ickes also directed him to give money to the Senate campaign but hid that fact in "perjured testimony" during the trial of campaign finance director David Rosen.
Rosen was acquitted in 2005 for filing false campaign reports that later were charged by the FEC to treasurer Andrew Grossman, who accepted responsibility in a conciliation agreement that fined the campaign 35,000. Paul points out the Rosen trial established his contention that he personally gave more than $1.2 million to Clinton's campaign and that his contributions intentionally were hidden from the public and the Federal Election Commission.
Rosen, accused of concealing Paul's in-kind contribution of more than $1 million, was acquitted, but Paul contends the Clinton staffer was a scapegoat. Paul points out chief Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson told the Washington Post he was aware of the donation, yet he never was called as a witness in the Rosen trial.
Paul contends his case will expose "the institutional culture of corruption embraced by the Clinton leadership of the Democratic Party," which seeks to attain "unaccountable power for the Clintons at the expense of the rule of law and respect for the constitutional processes of government."
The complaint asserts Clinton has filed four false reports to the FEC of Paul's donations in an attempt to distance herself from him after a Washington Post story days after the August 2000 fundraiser reported his past felony convictions. Clinton then returned a check for $2,000, insisting it was the only money she had taken from Paul. But one month later, she demanded another $100,000, to be hidden in a state committee using untraceable securities.
"Why wouldn't that cause someone to inquire?" Paul asked. "Especially since it was days after she said she wouldn't take any more money from me."
Paul has the support of a new grass-roots political action group that is helping garner the assistance of one of the nation's top lawyers
Republican activist Rod Martin says his group plans to highlight Paul's case as it launches an organization based on the business model of the left-wing MoveOn.org but rooted in the principles and political philosophy of former President Reagan.
Martin's group also is assisting in Paul's complaint to the FEC asserting that unless the agency sets aside the conciliation agreement and rescinds immunity granted the senator, it will "have aided and abetted in the commission" of a felony.
Paul's case is the subject of a video documentary largely comprised of intimate "home movies" of Hillary Clinton and her Hollywood supporters captured by Paul during the period.
Clintons to face fraud trial
Judge setting date, testimony to include ex-president, senator
Posted: February 19, 2008
11:27 pm Eastern
© 2008 WorldNetDaily
Peter Paul and President Clinton (Courtesy Hillcap.org)
While Hillary Clinton battles Barack Obama on the campaign trail, a judge in Los Angeles is quietly preparing to set a trial date in a $17 million fraud suit that aims to expose an alleged culture of widespread corruption by the Clintons and the Democratic Party.
At the conclusion of a hearing tomorrow morning before California Superior Court Judge Aurelio N. Munoz, lawyers for Hollywood mogul Peter F. Paul will begin seeking sworn testimony from all three Clintons – Bill, Hillary and Chelsea – along with top Democratic Party leaders and A-list celebrities, including Barbra Streisand, John Travolta, Brad Pitt and Cher.
Paul's team hopes for a trial in October. The Clintons' longtime lawyer David Kendall, who will attend the hearing, has declined comment on the suit.
The Clintons have tried to dismiss the case, but the California Supreme Court, in 2004, upheld a lower-court decision to deny the motion.
(Story continues below)
Bill Clinton, according to the complaint, promised to promote Paul's Internet entertainment company, Stan Lee Media, in exchange for stock, cash options and massive contributions to his wife's 2000 Senate campaign. Paul contends he was directed by the Clintons and Democratic Party leaders to produce, pay for and then join them in lying about footing the bill for a Hollywood gala and fundraiser.
The Clintons' legal counsel has denied the former president made any deal with Paul. But Paul attorney Colette Wilson told WND there are witnesses who say it was common knowledge at Stan Lee Media that Bill Clinton was preparing to be a rainmaker for the company after he left office.
Paul claims former Vice President Al Gore, former Democratic Party chairman Ed Rendell and Clinton presidential campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe also are among the people who can confirm Paul engaged in the deal.
Hillary Clinton with Peter and Andrea Paul (Courtesy Hillcap.org)
Paul claims Rendell directed various illegal contributions to the DNC and Hillary Clinton's campaign and failed to report to the Federal Election Commission more than $100,000 given for a Hollywood event for Gore's campaign and the Democratic National Committee in 2000. McAuliffe, Paul says, counseled him in two separate meetings to become a major donor to Hillary Clinton to pave the way to hire her husband. Paul asserts top Clinton adviser Harold Ickes also directed him to give money to the Senate campaign but hid that fact in "perjured testimony" during the trial of campaign finance director David Rosen.
Rosen was acquitted in 2005 for filing false campaign reports that later were charged by the FEC to treasurer Andrew Grossman, who accepted responsibility in a conciliation agreement that fined the campaign 35,000. Paul points out the Rosen trial established his contention that he personally gave more than $1.2 million to Clinton's campaign and that his contributions intentionally were hidden from the public and the Federal Election Commission.
Rosen, accused of concealing Paul's in-kind contribution of more than $1 million, was acquitted, but Paul contends the Clinton staffer was a scapegoat. Paul points out chief Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson told the Washington Post he was aware of the donation, yet he never was called as a witness in the Rosen trial.
Paul contends his case will expose "the institutional culture of corruption embraced by the Clinton leadership of the Democratic Party," which seeks to attain "unaccountable power for the Clintons at the expense of the rule of law and respect for the constitutional processes of government."
The complaint asserts Clinton has filed four false reports to the FEC of Paul's donations in an attempt to distance herself from him after a Washington Post story days after the August 2000 fundraiser reported his past felony convictions. Clinton then returned a check for $2,000, insisting it was the only money she had taken from Paul. But one month later, she demanded another $100,000, to be hidden in a state committee using untraceable securities.
"Why wouldn't that cause someone to inquire?" Paul asked. "Especially since it was days after she said she wouldn't take any more money from me."
Paul has the support of a new grass-roots political action group that is helping garner the assistance of one of the nation's top lawyers
Republican activist Rod Martin says his group plans to highlight Paul's case as it launches an organization based on the business model of the left-wing MoveOn.org but rooted in the principles and political philosophy of former President Reagan.
Martin's group also is assisting in Paul's complaint to the FEC asserting that unless the agency sets aside the conciliation agreement and rescinds immunity granted the senator, it will "have aided and abetted in the commission" of a felony.
Paul's case is the subject of a video documentary largely comprised of intimate "home movies" of Hillary Clinton and her Hollywood supporters captured by Paul during the period.
Mexico Fights Back Against the NarcoTrafficantes despite staggering losses
Tijuana Sets New Record for Murders
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FORMER BORDER PATROL OFFICERS
Visit our website: http://www.nafbpo.org
Sign up for our report at m3report@yahoo.com
Foreign News Report
The National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers (NAFBPO) extracts and condenses the material that follows from Mexican and Central and South American on-line media sources on a daily basis. You are free to disseminate this information, but we request that you credit NAFBPO as being the provider.
Frontera (Tijuana, Baja California) 2/23/08
Yesterday's four executions bring Tijuana's total to 70 this year. From February 11th to the 18th there were 15 executions in Tijuana and, according to the "SSP" (Mexico's Federal Dep't. of Public Security), this January Tijuana was Mexico's most violent city: 70 in 53 days; 43 in January.
Two of the three cases reported yesterday were a 19 & 20 year old brother and sister. Both had been handcuffed. They were finished off with 37 shots from AK47 rifle.
-------------------
Diario 21 (Iguala, Guerrero) 2/23/08
19,900 "cocaine reactive" pills inside 199 containers were found and seized by Mex. military at the airfreight facility of the Tijuana airport.
-------------------
Diario de Xalapa (O.E.M./ Xalapa Veracruz) 2/23/08
(headline:) "Due to migration, there are neither teachers nor students."
In Chalahuite, Tuxpan, state of Veracruz, the migration of younger married couples has emptied kindergarten and elementary schools in this area, and teachers have had to go elsewhere. The playgrounds are deep in weeds and the swings and teeter-totters sit unused. (note: a photo with the article showed exactly this: the empty playground equipment sitting in tall weeds) The town had 1500 residents in 1970 but now there are less than 300. They've left for Reynosa and other cities to the north, where there is work.
--------------------
Diario (Ciudad Juarez) 2/23/08
yesterday in Juarez at :
- 3 p.m. : at the intersection of 21 de Marzo & Juan de la Barrera Sts., an "armed commando" in a vehicle shot a man out on the street six times. There were other pedestrians including pre-school age children in the area at the time.
- 5:10 p.m.: at Oasis de Mongolia Street: a man, face down, handcuffed behind his back, torso on the sidewalk, legs on the street. Shot dead.
- 5:30 p.m.: in an empty lot where De Las Torres Ave. ends, the body of yet another man shot to death.
-------------------
El Pulso (San Luis Potosi, S.L.P.) 2/23/08
43 packages of marihuana weighing 454 kilos, cocaine "cutting" gear, some ammo, ski masks & cartridge bandoleers were seized at 100-A Valle de Santa Aguede St., Villa de Pozos, San Luis Potosi. No arrests were made.
-------------------
Tiempo (Chihuahua, Chih.) 2/23/08
(both items below are updates)
1. Re the report yesterday about the military cordon around the house at #1847 Cocoyoc St. in Juarez: They have now found six cadavers (La Jornada , Mexico City, says eight) in the patio of that house. Digging continues using mechanized equipment.
2. Re the aircraft found by the ranch 50 miles downriver from Juarez: that aircraft turned out to be a 2-seater "Ultra-light", a UL-12, Rotax-6913440, serial # 0894511. It was equipped with lights for nighttime operation.
The vehicles at the site: '04 Escalade, Texas lic. 152-HNF; an '04 Expedition, Oklahoma lic. AGI096; an '06 Silverado with no license. All had keys in the ignition and all may have been stolen from the U.S.
The name of the ranch: El Trebol.
------------------
-end of report-
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FORMER BORDER PATROL OFFICERS
Visit our website: http://www.nafbpo.org
Sign up for our report at m3report@yahoo.com
Foreign News Report
The National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers (NAFBPO) extracts and condenses the material that follows from Mexican and Central and South American on-line media sources on a daily basis. You are free to disseminate this information, but we request that you credit NAFBPO as being the provider.
Frontera (Tijuana, Baja California) 2/23/08
Yesterday's four executions bring Tijuana's total to 70 this year. From February 11th to the 18th there were 15 executions in Tijuana and, according to the "SSP" (Mexico's Federal Dep't. of Public Security), this January Tijuana was Mexico's most violent city: 70 in 53 days; 43 in January.
Two of the three cases reported yesterday were a 19 & 20 year old brother and sister. Both had been handcuffed. They were finished off with 37 shots from AK47 rifle.
-------------------
Diario 21 (Iguala, Guerrero) 2/23/08
19,900 "cocaine reactive" pills inside 199 containers were found and seized by Mex. military at the airfreight facility of the Tijuana airport.
-------------------
Diario de Xalapa (O.E.M./ Xalapa Veracruz) 2/23/08
(headline:) "Due to migration, there are neither teachers nor students."
In Chalahuite, Tuxpan, state of Veracruz, the migration of younger married couples has emptied kindergarten and elementary schools in this area, and teachers have had to go elsewhere. The playgrounds are deep in weeds and the swings and teeter-totters sit unused. (note: a photo with the article showed exactly this: the empty playground equipment sitting in tall weeds) The town had 1500 residents in 1970 but now there are less than 300. They've left for Reynosa and other cities to the north, where there is work.
--------------------
Diario (Ciudad Juarez) 2/23/08
yesterday in Juarez at :
- 3 p.m. : at the intersection of 21 de Marzo & Juan de la Barrera Sts., an "armed commando" in a vehicle shot a man out on the street six times. There were other pedestrians including pre-school age children in the area at the time.
- 5:10 p.m.: at Oasis de Mongolia Street: a man, face down, handcuffed behind his back, torso on the sidewalk, legs on the street. Shot dead.
- 5:30 p.m.: in an empty lot where De Las Torres Ave. ends, the body of yet another man shot to death.
-------------------
El Pulso (San Luis Potosi, S.L.P.) 2/23/08
43 packages of marihuana weighing 454 kilos, cocaine "cutting" gear, some ammo, ski masks & cartridge bandoleers were seized at 100-A Valle de Santa Aguede St., Villa de Pozos, San Luis Potosi. No arrests were made.
-------------------
Tiempo (Chihuahua, Chih.) 2/23/08
(both items below are updates)
1. Re the report yesterday about the military cordon around the house at #1847 Cocoyoc St. in Juarez: They have now found six cadavers (La Jornada , Mexico City, says eight) in the patio of that house. Digging continues using mechanized equipment.
2. Re the aircraft found by the ranch 50 miles downriver from Juarez: that aircraft turned out to be a 2-seater "Ultra-light", a UL-12, Rotax-6913440, serial # 0894511. It was equipped with lights for nighttime operation.
The vehicles at the site: '04 Escalade, Texas lic. 152-HNF; an '04 Expedition, Oklahoma lic. AGI096; an '06 Silverado with no license. All had keys in the ignition and all may have been stolen from the U.S.
The name of the ranch: El Trebol.
------------------
-end of report-
Under the weight of Realism the Anti-McCainiac Wing of the Party Falters
| Date: | Sun, 24 Feb 2008 13:52:22 -0800 (PST) |
| From: | "James Bretney"  View Contact Details  Add Mobile Alert |
| Subject: | Re: Will McCain return to the party? |
| To: | "Strider" |
Second, lets be honest, our conservative leadership has let us down. Remember when immigration was the crown jewel of the 2006 election for Republicans? Not Social Security reform, tax cuts, SPENDING CUTS, or fighting the War on Terror with a winning strategy, kick the illegals out. Ask former Presidential candidate Tom Tancredo, former State Legislator Randy Graf and former Congressman JD Hayworth, how that is working out for them.
The moderates have taken over the party. Its ugly and its true and it could be bad for us. But instead of pillorying our ONLY candidate against the 2 socialists we need to get behind conservative legislators and elect a conservative governor.
I am convinced that if we can find a Conservative who is like-able, effective and charismatic to run for Governor and win against Janet or in an open seat, that man will go one to win the Presidency. This state has a long history of being a birthplace of strong national leaders.
Strider <strider@theriver.com> wrote:
Posted by Chuck Muth (GOPUSA Eagle)
February 17, 2008 at 12:24 pm
February 17, 2008 at 12:24 pm
About the only consolation Republicans can take from the presidential race right about now is that the Democrats are even more screwed up than they are. Some consolation. But that might be the only glint of optimism for Republicans, as the mutiny by conservatives against the party’s all-but-crowned presidential nominee is far wider and far deeper than many would care to admit.
Let’s face it, John McCain has gone out of his way to poke conservatives in the eyes for years, and conservative leaders who are now in open revolt command an awful lot of influence over millions of grassroots conservatives on issues ranging from taxes to guns; from immigration to free speech. And I’m not just talking about conservative talk-radio hosts here. I’m talking about the heads of established, highly-respected, well-funded conservative organizations which have been around a lot longer than John McCain has been in Congress.
Continued in the Eagle
TOP 10 REASONS NOT TO VOTE FOR JOHN MCCAIN
GrassTopsUSA Exclusive Commentary
By Don Feder (GrasstopsUSA)
02-12-08
GrassTopsUSA Exclusive Commentary
By Don Feder (GrasstopsUSA)
02-12-08
I just got back from the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C., where conservatives began lining up behind a man who's been sticking it to us for years. By a process of self-hypnosis, many have managed to convince themselves that McCain is actually one of us.
Not for nothing did Benjamin Disraeli call conservatives the stupid party.
What part of John McCain do we not get? McCain-Kennedy, McCain-Feingold, McCain-Lieberman, McCain-Edwards -- among other socialist, anti-speech, open-borders, enviro-Marxist measures he's co-sponsored with the hardcore left of the Democratic Party over the years.
Continued in Grasstops
There is no need to repeat all the criticisms of John McCain that is found in the media and on the net, just wanted to set the tone. The thing going around just now is whether or not the conservatives will vote for him. Or, if enough conservative do not vote for him he will lose the election. The other thing going around in the party and with some of the party faithful is that, oh, if we don't vote for McCain the Democrats will win and all sorts of havoc will follow.
John McCain has been branded a maverick. By his actions he has shown that he has not always considered the party when he acts. Like the elder Bush who just endorsed McCain, you know, the "read my lips" Bush, McCain, too, has said that he will not allow taxes to be raised if he is elected president. However, so far he has refused to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge sponsored by Americans for Tax Reform (ATR).
If you received the GOPUSA Eagle newsletter you will see that the contract with conservatives by GOPUSA is off to a great start. Thousands of grassroots conservatives have signed the petition stating that they will not vote for McCain unless he pledges to return to core, Republican principles.
Now, who reaches out to whom? Do the conservative need McCain so badly to defeat the Democrats that they will vote for him in spite of his sticking his finger in the party's eye for years, or does McCain need the party's vote badly enough to reach out to the conservatives? It would be easier for McCain to return to the party than to try and have conservatives buckle to him.
There are a number of things McCain must do to reach out to the conservatives. One is to sign the ATR. Words are cheap (so are lips.) Another is to sign the contract with conservatives. So, just who is going to get him to do that?
There are two possibilities. One is the National Republican party. It could be a , "come John, lets reason together. Don't continue to be a maverick." The other possibility is the Arizona state Republican Party. McCain being from Arizona could be most receptive from suggestions and support from his home state.
If the party fails to act and McCain doesn't work to correct the split in the party that he has caused, McCain will probably lose president election, leaving the party in shambles.
But, even though the party sees it differently, losing the election is not the end of the world. There are some who are 'conservatives' first and Republicans second. There are those who blindly follow the party line while at the same time talk about the 'big tent'. The party needs those who let the party think for them so the party hierarchy can remain in party power. There are those who, if McCain were to come up to them, addressed them by name and shook their hand, they would have some kind of mental organism and swoon, saying, "Oh, he touched me!" The point is, government of the people, for the people and by the people make the elected elite responsible to the voters, and not the other way around, And, if we can cause McCain to return to the party principles, he could be elected. But, if he remains the 'maverick', consider, which is better a liberal calling themselves a Democrat, or a liberal calling themselves a Republican. At least in the first case one know whether or not they have a snake in their pocket (remember that story?) If you do what you always done you gonna git what you always got.
To thine ownself be true.
Jim
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Tim Richardson Endorses Bill Cloud
from Tim Richardson
Bill Cloud, candidate for Sheriff of Cochise County, has received an endorsement from the Border Patrol Local 2544, which covers the Tucson Sector.
Bill Cloud, candidate for Sheriff of Cochise County, has received an endorsement from the Arizona Highway Patrol Association.
Read the endorsement on Bill’s website
And while you are there take some time to read the comments/blog.
I endorse Bill Cloud as well. - James A. Bretney
Bill Cloud, candidate for Sheriff of Cochise County, has received an endorsement from the Border Patrol Local 2544, which covers the Tucson Sector.
Bill Cloud, candidate for Sheriff of Cochise County, has received an endorsement from the Arizona Highway Patrol Association.
Read the endorsement on Bill’s website
And while you are there take some time to read the comments/blog.
I endorse Bill Cloud as well. - James A. Bretney
Isn’t this judge amazing and refreshing.
"Here is a Federal Judge who is making the correct decisions for all of the right reasons. I applaud him. " Tim Richardson
Judge denies injunction during appeal of state's employer sanctions ruling
By Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services
Tucson , Arizona | Published: 02.19.2008
PHOENIX -- A federal judge on Tuesday refused to block prosecutors from enforcing Arizona 's employer sanctions law while foes ask the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn it.
Judge Neil Wake, who earlier this month ruled the statute is valid, said the potential hardships on employers and others forced to follow the law is "minimal.'' He said there is only a small cost for companies to obtain the necessary equipment to run computer checks on the legal status of new workers.
Conversely, Wake said putting the law on "hold'' could financially damage the state.
In his Tuesday ruling, the judge cited a study commissioned by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office by George Borjas, a professor of economic and social policy at Harvard University , which showed legal Arizona workers lose $1.4 billion a year because companies hire undocumented employees at lower costs.
Judge denies injunction during appeal of state's employer sanctions ruling
By Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services
Tucson , Arizona | Published: 02.19.2008
PHOENIX -- A federal judge on Tuesday refused to block prosecutors from enforcing Arizona 's employer sanctions law while foes ask the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn it.
Judge Neil Wake, who earlier this month ruled the statute is valid, said the potential hardships on employers and others forced to follow the law is "minimal.'' He said there is only a small cost for companies to obtain the necessary equipment to run computer checks on the legal status of new workers.
Conversely, Wake said putting the law on "hold'' could financially damage the state.
In his Tuesday ruling, the judge cited a study commissioned by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office by George Borjas, a professor of economic and social policy at Harvard University , which showed legal Arizona workers lose $1.4 billion a year because companies hire undocumented employees at lower costs.
Obama Campaign Goes into Damage Control
Friend --
Make a matching donationNews broke yesterday that a few wealthy Clinton supporters are gearing up for a massive spending campaign to boost her chances in the big upcoming contests in Texas and Ohio on March 4th.
The so-called "American Leadership Project" will take unlimited contributions from individuals and is organized the same way as the infamous Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.
ABC News reports that this group is seeking 100 Clinton supporters to each give $100,000 to fund its $10 million effort to promote Senator Clinton and "contrast" her positions with Barack Obama's.
That's the opposite of how politics should work, and the opposite of how Barack Obama has run this campaign.
The same day this group's activity was revealed, we announced that nearly 1 million individual people have donated to this campaign.
Stand up against politics-as-usual. Be one of the million supporters who are calling out for change.
If you give as part of our matching program, your gift will be doubled by a previous donor. You can even choose to exchange a note with them about why you are part of this movement.
Make your matching donation now:
https://donate.barackobama.com/match
Groups like this are forbidden from working primarily for the purpose of electing or defeating a candidate.
Yet here we have a committee that springs up on the eve of an election, promotes a specific candidate, and has no history or apparent purpose of lobbying specific issues outside the benefit to the candidate of these communications.
This raises a number of legal and ethical issues, but more than anything it reveals an attitude towards politics as a game that is played to win at all costs.
Americans are ready for change. We are tired of Swift Boat-style groups and smear campaigns.
Be one of a million voices calling for a new kind of politics and a new kind of leadership.
Make a matching donation now:
https://donate.barackobama.com/match
I'll keep you updated as the situation with this group evolves.
Thank you for your support,
David
David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America
Donate
P.S. -- I also wanted to pass along Barack's personal message about reaching our goal of one million donors before the critical primaries and caucuses on March 4th.
--- Forwarded Message ---
From: Barack Obama
Subject: Major news
Friend --
We learned something extraordinary since I wrote to you last night.
We've crunched all the numbers and discovered that we are within striking distance of something historic: one million people donating to this campaign.
Think about that ... nearly one million people taking ownership of this movement, five dollars or twenty-five dollars at a time.
We're already more than 900,000 strong, including over half-a-million donating so far this year. This unprecedented foundation of support has built a campaign that has shaken the status quo and proven that ordinary people can compete in a political process too often dominated by special interests.
Unlike Senator Clinton or Senator McCain, we haven't taken a dime from Washington lobbyists or special interest PACs. Our campaign is responsible to no one but the people.
One million donors would be a remarkable feat -- something that's never been done before in a presidential primary and something no one ever thought would be possible for us. And you still have the opportunity to be a part of it.
If you make a donation right now, one of those 900,000 donors has promised to give again in order to match your first gift. You can double the impact of your first donation -- and you can even choose to exchange a note about why you are part of this movement.
Be one of the million who will own a piece of this campaign before the potentially decisive March 4th contests:
https://donate.barackobama.com/match
We started this improbable journey a little over a year ago in Springfield, Illinois.
And because you've joined together to make your voices heard, this journey isn't looking as improbable anymore.
Since our victory on February 5th, we've won ten straight contests.
But on March 4th, we face a huge challenge in Texas and Ohio, who will vote along with Rhode Island and Vermont. We are behind in the big states and need as many people involved as possible if we're going to win.
If we can reach our goal of one million donors by March 4th, we can send a powerful message that the Washington establishment and big-money interests cannot ignore.
As one million people with one voice, we can tell them that their days of dominating Washington are coming to an end -- the old politics are crumbling and a new voice is breaking through. Our voice.
Will you make a matching donation now to make it happen?
https://donate.barackobama.com/match
I learned the power of ordinary people coming together as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago.
I worked side-by-side with people who had been laid off from steel plants that were moved overseas. These were people who needed new jobs to rebuild their lives, and their political leaders were ignoring them.
But even though the odds were stacked against them, they discovered that by coming together with one voice, they could no longer be ignored.
When we launched this campaign, we knew we were up against similar odds. We knew we'd be running against a massive political machine with deep ties to the Washington establishment.
We knew it wouldn't be easy.
But if we can do this, we're not just going to win an election. We're going to change our country.
Thank you so much,
Barack
Donate
Paid for by Obama for America
McCain Fights Back
PLAY THIS WHILE YOU READ:
Dear James,
Well, here we go. We could expect attacks were coming; as soon as John McCain appeared to be locking up the Republican nomination, the liberal establishment and their allies at the New York Times have gone on the attack. Today's front-page New York Times story is particularly disgusting - an un-sourced hit-and-run smear campaign designed to distract from the issues at stake in this election. With John McCain leading a number of general-election polls against Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, the New York Times knew the time to attack was now, and they did. We will not allow their scurrilous attack against a great American hero to stand.
The New York Times -- the newspaper that gave MoveOn.org a sweetheart deal to run advertisements attacking General Petraeus -- has shown once again that it cannot exercise good journalistic judgment when it comes to dealing with a conservative Republican. We better get ready for more of the Democrats' attacks over the coming months as the Democrats pick their nominee, MoveOn.org starts spending their unlimited soft money, and the liberal media tosses standards aside in an attempt to stop our momentum. We need your help to counteract the liberal establishment and fight back against the New York Times by making an immediate contribution today.
John McCain has a 24-year record of serving our country with honor and integrity. He has led the charge to limit the money and influence of the special interests in politics and stomp out corruption. His life and his record prove just how preposterous the smear by the New York Times really is.
Objective observers are viewing this article exactly as they should - as a sleazy smear attack from a liberal newspaper against the conservative Republican frontrunner. Sean Hannity said, after reading the article three times, "It was so full of innuendo and so lacking of fact, and so involved in smear, I came to the conclusion that the goal here was to bring up a 20-year-old scandal." Washington attorney Bob Bennett, who was the Democrat counsel during the Keating investigation, said, "This is a real hit job." Joe Scarborough called the allegations "outrageous." Even pundit Alan Colmes -- not known for his conservative leanings -- concludes "this is a non-story."
Yet, it is there, right on the front page of the New York Times. It is now dominating the cable news coverage. We can only expect these sorts of baseless attacks to continue as we move into the general election cycle. We are going to need your help today, and your continued help in the future to have the resources to respond. We'll never match the reach of a front-page New York Times article, but with your immediate help today, we'll be able to respond and defend our nominee from the liberal attack machine.
Sincerely,
Rick Davis
Rick Davis, Campaign Manager
Please visit this page if you want to remove yourself from the email list.
Paid for by John McCain 2008
John McCain 2008
P.O. Box 16118, Arlington, VA 22215
Phone: (703) 418-2008
Contributions are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income-tax purposes. Federal law requires us to report the name, address, occupation, and employer of any contributor who gives more than $200 in an election cycle. For the primary election, an individual may give up to $2,300, a couple may contribute up to $4,600, and a federal PAC may contribute up to $5,000. Contributions from corporations, labor unions, federal-government contractors, national banks, and foreign nationals without permanent residency status are prohibited.
Dear James,
Well, here we go. We could expect attacks were coming; as soon as John McCain appeared to be locking up the Republican nomination, the liberal establishment and their allies at the New York Times have gone on the attack. Today's front-page New York Times story is particularly disgusting - an un-sourced hit-and-run smear campaign designed to distract from the issues at stake in this election. With John McCain leading a number of general-election polls against Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, the New York Times knew the time to attack was now, and they did. We will not allow their scurrilous attack against a great American hero to stand.
The New York Times -- the newspaper that gave MoveOn.org a sweetheart deal to run advertisements attacking General Petraeus -- has shown once again that it cannot exercise good journalistic judgment when it comes to dealing with a conservative Republican. We better get ready for more of the Democrats' attacks over the coming months as the Democrats pick their nominee, MoveOn.org starts spending their unlimited soft money, and the liberal media tosses standards aside in an attempt to stop our momentum. We need your help to counteract the liberal establishment and fight back against the New York Times by making an immediate contribution today.
John McCain has a 24-year record of serving our country with honor and integrity. He has led the charge to limit the money and influence of the special interests in politics and stomp out corruption. His life and his record prove just how preposterous the smear by the New York Times really is.
Objective observers are viewing this article exactly as they should - as a sleazy smear attack from a liberal newspaper against the conservative Republican frontrunner. Sean Hannity said, after reading the article three times, "It was so full of innuendo and so lacking of fact, and so involved in smear, I came to the conclusion that the goal here was to bring up a 20-year-old scandal." Washington attorney Bob Bennett, who was the Democrat counsel during the Keating investigation, said, "This is a real hit job." Joe Scarborough called the allegations "outrageous." Even pundit Alan Colmes -- not known for his conservative leanings -- concludes "this is a non-story."
Yet, it is there, right on the front page of the New York Times. It is now dominating the cable news coverage. We can only expect these sorts of baseless attacks to continue as we move into the general election cycle. We are going to need your help today, and your continued help in the future to have the resources to respond. We'll never match the reach of a front-page New York Times article, but with your immediate help today, we'll be able to respond and defend our nominee from the liberal attack machine.
Sincerely,
Rick Davis
Rick Davis, Campaign Manager
Please visit this page if you want to remove yourself from the email list.
Paid for by John McCain 2008
John McCain 2008
P.O. Box 16118, Arlington, VA 22215
Phone: (703) 418-2008
Contributions are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income-tax purposes. Federal law requires us to report the name, address, occupation, and employer of any contributor who gives more than $200 in an election cycle. For the primary election, an individual may give up to $2,300, a couple may contribute up to $4,600, and a federal PAC may contribute up to $5,000. Contributions from corporations, labor unions, federal-government contractors, national banks, and foreign nationals without permanent residency status are prohibited.
More Iraqis with false passports found in Mexico
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FORMER BORDER PATROL OFFICERS
Visit our website: http://www.nafbpo.org
Sign up for our report at m3report@yahoo.com
Foreign News Report
The National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers (NAFBPO) extracts and condenses the material that follows from Mexican and Central and South American on-line media sources on a daily basis. You are free to disseminate this information, but we request that you credit NAFBPO as being the provider.
Diario Xalapa (Xalapa, Veracruz/ "O.E.M." nationwide paper chain), El Porvenir (Monterrey, Nuevo Leon) 2/21/08
Another two Iraqis with false Bulgarian passports were detected and detained at the airport in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. Now, Mexican officials are reportedly investigating "a network that could be made up of Mexicans operating in Greece who are selling false Bulgarian passports for ten thousand dollars to European and Middle Eastern citizens." Last year 28 illegals from Iraq were detected at the airport in Monterrey (El Porvenir said there were 23, seventeen of them in a single event)
The latest two, "Wisam Gorgies", 34 yr. old male, and "Rana Nazar Peyoz", 26 yr. old female, flew from Madrid and said they obtained the false passports in Greece; their aim was to reach the United States.
The two are to be taken to Saltillo, Coahuila, for further determination of their status.
-----------------
Notiver (Veracruz, Ver.) 2/21/08
When a call came in to the police at Las Choapas, Veracruz, about an attempted murder two officers responded but upon arrival they themselves were met with gunfire. One officer died on the spot . The other, shot on the neck, was in critical condition. Three persons were subsequently arrested; they were identified as ex-policemen now under investigation for drug trafficking and alien smuggling.
-----------------
Milenio (Mexico City) 2/21/08
Another police officer was murdered, this one with a shotgun in Coyuca de Benitez, state of Guerrero. And the chief of police of Lomas de Chapultepec, in the area of Acapulco, was found wounded by a gunshot near his neck.
-----------------
La Voz de la Frontera (O.E.M.) (Mexicali, Baja California) 2/21/08
At # 36 & 37, Jalisco Ave., San Luis, Sonora, a search revealed 75 kilos of marihuana, scales, packaging gear, a 12 ga. shotgun and some ammo.
-----------------
Excelsior (Mexico City) 2/21/08
The state of Chihuahua has now reached 62 murders for the year. Yesterday the owner of a car repair shop was executed by a group of killers on the north side of Chihuahua City. And 50 kilometers to the southwest at General Trias, a 27 year old who'd also been shot was found in a dam.
-----------------
Novedades de Quintana Roo (Cancun, Q.R.) 2/21/08
Chetumal, Quintana Roo, is just across the border from Belize, in an area many have called Mexico's "forgotten" frontier. Now the director of the Border Police in that area, Mario May Pinzon, says that international smuggling rings are using the area and charging ten thousand dollars per each Cuban or Chinese to take them across the thinly guarded border and then to the Cancun airport for a flight to Miami
using false passports.
-------------------------
Diario 21 (Iguala, Guerrero) 2/21/08
The governor of the state of Guerrero, Zeferino Torreblanca Galindo, acknowledged that the hill country area of the state of Guerrero is Mexico's top producer of poppy and marihuana and that this activity will not decrease as long as the government does not offer realistic development activities to the area inhabitants and that the problem won't go away by means of law enforcement alone.
--------------
-end of report-
Visit our website: http://www.nafbpo.org
Sign up for our report at m3report@yahoo.com
Foreign News Report
The National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers (NAFBPO) extracts and condenses the material that follows from Mexican and Central and South American on-line media sources on a daily basis. You are free to disseminate this information, but we request that you credit NAFBPO as being the provider.
Diario Xalapa (Xalapa, Veracruz/ "O.E.M." nationwide paper chain), El Porvenir (Monterrey, Nuevo Leon) 2/21/08
Another two Iraqis with false Bulgarian passports were detected and detained at the airport in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. Now, Mexican officials are reportedly investigating "a network that could be made up of Mexicans operating in Greece who are selling false Bulgarian passports for ten thousand dollars to European and Middle Eastern citizens." Last year 28 illegals from Iraq were detected at the airport in Monterrey (El Porvenir said there were 23, seventeen of them in a single event)
The latest two, "Wisam Gorgies", 34 yr. old male, and "Rana Nazar Peyoz", 26 yr. old female, flew from Madrid and said they obtained the false passports in Greece; their aim was to reach the United States.
The two are to be taken to Saltillo, Coahuila, for further determination of their status.
-----------------
Notiver (Veracruz, Ver.) 2/21/08
When a call came in to the police at Las Choapas, Veracruz, about an attempted murder two officers responded but upon arrival they themselves were met with gunfire. One officer died on the spot . The other, shot on the neck, was in critical condition. Three persons were subsequently arrested; they were identified as ex-policemen now under investigation for drug trafficking and alien smuggling.
-----------------
Milenio (Mexico City) 2/21/08
Another police officer was murdered, this one with a shotgun in Coyuca de Benitez, state of Guerrero. And the chief of police of Lomas de Chapultepec, in the area of Acapulco, was found wounded by a gunshot near his neck.
-----------------
La Voz de la Frontera (O.E.M.) (Mexicali, Baja California) 2/21/08
At # 36 & 37, Jalisco Ave., San Luis, Sonora, a search revealed 75 kilos of marihuana, scales, packaging gear, a 12 ga. shotgun and some ammo.
-----------------
Excelsior (Mexico City) 2/21/08
The state of Chihuahua has now reached 62 murders for the year. Yesterday the owner of a car repair shop was executed by a group of killers on the north side of Chihuahua City. And 50 kilometers to the southwest at General Trias, a 27 year old who'd also been shot was found in a dam.
-----------------
Novedades de Quintana Roo (Cancun, Q.R.) 2/21/08
Chetumal, Quintana Roo, is just across the border from Belize, in an area many have called Mexico's "forgotten" frontier. Now the director of the Border Police in that area, Mario May Pinzon, says that international smuggling rings are using the area and charging ten thousand dollars per each Cuban or Chinese to take them across the thinly guarded border and then to the Cancun airport for a flight to Miami
using false passports.
-------------------------
Diario 21 (Iguala, Guerrero) 2/21/08
The governor of the state of Guerrero, Zeferino Torreblanca Galindo, acknowledged that the hill country area of the state of Guerrero is Mexico's top producer of poppy and marihuana and that this activity will not decrease as long as the government does not offer realistic development activities to the area inhabitants and that the problem won't go away by means of law enforcement alone.
--------------
-end of report-
Stop Janet's Reach Around (for your wallet)
Dear Arizona NMA Members,
A state Senate panel approved three measures this week, including two for the November ballot, that could limit or ban Governor Janet Napolitano's statewide ticket camera program:
Aaron Quinn
NMA Communications
This message was sent from National Motorists Association to biz_account_only@yahoo.com. It was sent from: National Motorists Association, 402 W 2nd St, Waunakee, WI 53597. You can modify/update your subscription via the link below.
A state Senate panel approved three measures this week, including two for the November ballot, that could limit or ban Governor Janet Napolitano's statewide ticket camera program:
Senate Bill 1470
Would ban ticket cameras on state roads.Senate Concurrent Resolution 1032
Would let voters decide whether to ban the ticket cameras or not.Senate Concurrent Resolution 1033
Would require a traffic study on any road where ticket cameras would be installed.
We urge you to contact your legislators to express your opinion on these measures. You can find their contact information here.
We urge you to contact your legislators to express your opinion on these measures. You can find their contact information here.
For some talking points on this issue, click here.
Thank you for your support!
Aaron Quinn
NMA Communications
This message was sent from National Motorists Association to biz_account_only@yahoo.com. It was sent from: National Motorists Association, 402 W 2nd St, Waunakee, WI 53597. You can modify/update your subscription via the link below.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
AZ's Anti-Illegal Alien Law Goes to Jersey
Tim Richardson wrote:
NJ senator targets immigrant hiring after AZ law upheld
By TOM HESTER Jr.
Associated Press Writer
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 02.18.2008
TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey Senate leader said he will push legislation to punish businesses who knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.
Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney said his decision comes after a federal judge upheld a new Arizona law that prohibits businesses from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants and yanks the business licenses of those that do.
"Companies that knowingly hire illegals are destroying job opportunities for the working men and women of New Jersey," said Sweeney, D-Gloucester. "The practice has to be stopped."
The Immigration and Naturalization Service in 2003 estimated that New Jersey had 221,000 illegal immigrants, though the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which favors tighter border security and immigration laws, estimates the state has 490,000.
New Jersey has about 8.7 million residents and 4.1 million workers.
Under Sweeney's measure, which he said he will introduce next week, first-time offenders would have their business licenses suspended for 10 days.
Second offenses would bring permanent revocations, Sweeney said.
In approved, the law would take effect at the end of the year and require employers to verify the legal status of their work forces.
"New Jersey should welcome legal immigrants with open arms, but we need to put up a stop sign for illegals who undermine family, educational and health care support systems," Sweeney said.
The proposal worries businesses, said Jim Leonard, a vice president with the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce.
"We feel immigration is an issue best handled on the federal level," Leonard said. "Creating a patchwork of laws on this issue throughout the nation makes it even more difficult to run a business."
John Rogers, a vice president with the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, said employers are prohibited from asking certain information about an employee's background while hiring and are legally required to take Social Security cards that appear valid.
"I fear that another New Jersey-only bill will unfairly ask the employer community to shoulder increased liability and be responsible for what is a national problem," Rogers said.
On Feb. 8, a federal judge in Arizona dismissed a lawsuit filed by business groups against Arizona's law, which was approved last year by the Republican-led Legislature and Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano.
Arizona business groups argued the law unconstitutionally infringed on federal immigration powers, but the judge ruled there was no conflict because states regulate business licensing.
The Arizona law took effect Jan. 1. An Oklahoma law with similar provisions takes effect for private employers in July.
Earlier rulings on similar measures have been mixed.
In July, a federal judge struck down a Hazleton, Pa., ordinance that would deny business permits for companies that employ illegal immigrants, but another judge upheld a similar measure in Valley Park, Mo., earlier this month.
NJ senator targets immigrant hiring after AZ law upheld
By TOM HESTER Jr.
Associated Press Writer
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 02.18.2008
TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey Senate leader said he will push legislation to punish businesses who knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.
Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney said his decision comes after a federal judge upheld a new Arizona law that prohibits businesses from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants and yanks the business licenses of those that do.
"Companies that knowingly hire illegals are destroying job opportunities for the working men and women of New Jersey," said Sweeney, D-Gloucester. "The practice has to be stopped."
The Immigration and Naturalization Service in 2003 estimated that New Jersey had 221,000 illegal immigrants, though the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which favors tighter border security and immigration laws, estimates the state has 490,000.
New Jersey has about 8.7 million residents and 4.1 million workers.
Under Sweeney's measure, which he said he will introduce next week, first-time offenders would have their business licenses suspended for 10 days.
Second offenses would bring permanent revocations, Sweeney said.
In approved, the law would take effect at the end of the year and require employers to verify the legal status of their work forces.
"New Jersey should welcome legal immigrants with open arms, but we need to put up a stop sign for illegals who undermine family, educational and health care support systems," Sweeney said.
The proposal worries businesses, said Jim Leonard, a vice president with the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce.
"We feel immigration is an issue best handled on the federal level," Leonard said. "Creating a patchwork of laws on this issue throughout the nation makes it even more difficult to run a business."
John Rogers, a vice president with the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, said employers are prohibited from asking certain information about an employee's background while hiring and are legally required to take Social Security cards that appear valid.
"I fear that another New Jersey-only bill will unfairly ask the employer community to shoulder increased liability and be responsible for what is a national problem," Rogers said.
On Feb. 8, a federal judge in Arizona dismissed a lawsuit filed by business groups against Arizona's law, which was approved last year by the Republican-led Legislature and Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano.
Arizona business groups argued the law unconstitutionally infringed on federal immigration powers, but the judge ruled there was no conflict because states regulate business licensing.
The Arizona law took effect Jan. 1. An Oklahoma law with similar provisions takes effect for private employers in July.
Earlier rulings on similar measures have been mixed.
In July, a federal judge struck down a Hazleton, Pa., ordinance that would deny business permits for companies that employ illegal immigrants, but another judge upheld a similar measure in Valley Park, Mo., earlier this month.
Guest Worker Slavery
Tim Richardson wrote:
Representatives Bill Konopnicki, Steve Gallardo, Phil Lopes, Pete Hershberger,
Nancy McLain, John Nelson, Rich Crandall, Michele Reagan
Senators Jake Flake, Tom O'Halleran
Regarding HB 2791
I believe that this proposed program, as with SB 1492, duplicate Federal Programs that are already in place and functioning. That Federal program is being used in Yuma and Cochise Counties. In Yuma County though the United Farm Workers are suing because they believe the foreign worker programs are taking work away from their membership.
Expect a similar suit against the State of Arizona if this passes.
As with the Senate version there are no stipulations for what purposes the identification cards can and cannot be used. Such as applying for driver’s licenses, applying for welfare, etc.
Growers that I have talked with in the Phoenix area, and their sentiments are probably valid for anyone north of the Gila River, have said that they would probably not use this program because it would require the to make at least three trips to Mexico for each planting/picking crew that they required. One trip to complete find workers and complete the paper work, one trip to take the ID cards to the border and bring back any workers still available and one trip to take them back at the end of the work. They would have to buy buses and hire CDL drivers.
As the crews they bring in dwindle because of disappearances they would have to repeat the trips to Mexico.
If you view this measure from the standpoint of the potential workers it is like a Christmas present.
Instead of paying a coyote $2,000 or more they can simple pay $300 for two sets of forged documents and get a free ride to the interior, right past the Border Patrol. There is no provision for validating the documents that they present in Mexico and probably cannot be done anyway. One set of documents will declare them to be someone who has a clean record in Mexico and the U.S and they will have forged birth certificates to prove it.
Once in this country they will wait a week or maybe two. Then they will catch a bus to Chicago, Seattle, Atlanta or wherever using the second set of documents. They know that the law provides that no one will be looking for them for at least two weeks, which is plenty of time to disappear. What is the threat to them? The person that will be barred from any further participation will be their assumed identity. All they will have to do in the future is assume another.
This just provides one more method of back-dooring illegal aliens who will ignore the provisions of visas and will greatly add to the number of illegal aliens already in this country who refuse to perform agricultural work. As newspaper articles attest they would rather go begging on the streets than perform agricultural work.
Please stop this measure.
Tim Richardson
McNeal, AZ
tmrich@vtc.net
tmrich@hughes.net
Representatives Bill Konopnicki, Steve Gallardo, Phil Lopes, Pete Hershberger,
Nancy McLain, John Nelson, Rich Crandall, Michele Reagan
Senators Jake Flake, Tom O'Halleran
Regarding HB 2791
I believe that this proposed program, as with SB 1492, duplicate Federal Programs that are already in place and functioning. That Federal program is being used in Yuma and Cochise Counties. In Yuma County though the United Farm Workers are suing because they believe the foreign worker programs are taking work away from their membership.
Expect a similar suit against the State of Arizona if this passes.
As with the Senate version there are no stipulations for what purposes the identification cards can and cannot be used. Such as applying for driver’s licenses, applying for welfare, etc.
Growers that I have talked with in the Phoenix area, and their sentiments are probably valid for anyone north of the Gila River, have said that they would probably not use this program because it would require the to make at least three trips to Mexico for each planting/picking crew that they required. One trip to complete find workers and complete the paper work, one trip to take the ID cards to the border and bring back any workers still available and one trip to take them back at the end of the work. They would have to buy buses and hire CDL drivers.
As the crews they bring in dwindle because of disappearances they would have to repeat the trips to Mexico.
If you view this measure from the standpoint of the potential workers it is like a Christmas present.
Instead of paying a coyote $2,000 or more they can simple pay $300 for two sets of forged documents and get a free ride to the interior, right past the Border Patrol. There is no provision for validating the documents that they present in Mexico and probably cannot be done anyway. One set of documents will declare them to be someone who has a clean record in Mexico and the U.S and they will have forged birth certificates to prove it.
Once in this country they will wait a week or maybe two. Then they will catch a bus to Chicago, Seattle, Atlanta or wherever using the second set of documents. They know that the law provides that no one will be looking for them for at least two weeks, which is plenty of time to disappear. What is the threat to them? The person that will be barred from any further participation will be their assumed identity. All they will have to do in the future is assume another.
This just provides one more method of back-dooring illegal aliens who will ignore the provisions of visas and will greatly add to the number of illegal aliens already in this country who refuse to perform agricultural work. As newspaper articles attest they would rather go begging on the streets than perform agricultural work.
Please stop this measure.
Tim Richardson
McNeal, AZ
tmrich@vtc.net
tmrich@hughes.net
Bill Clinton loses temper at Catholic Mecca in Ohio
Joe Peron wrote:
IS IS THE SAME PERSON WHO SPENT TAX PAYERS MONEY TO INVESTIGATE WOMEN HE WAS ACCUSED OF RAPING????WHEN HE TALKS ABOUT TEARING PEOPLE UP, HE OBVIOUSLY DOES NOT CONSIDER THE UNBORN,PEOPLE..REMEMBER TO VOTE THE CONSTITUTION AND THE TEN COMMANDMENTS VOTE PRO-LIFE
Bill Clinton Lashes Out at Pro-Life Advocates During Ohio Stop for Hillary
RSS Newsfeed
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 18, 2008
Steubenville, OH (LifeNews.com) -- Former president Bill Clinton made a campaign stop for Hillary in Steubenville, Ohio on Sunday and found himself greeted by more than 100 pro-life students from nearby Steubenville University. According to eye witnesses accounts, Clinton lost his temper and lashed out at the pro-life students during the speech.
Clinton's heated response came after being questioned on his support of abortion-on-demand.
"I gave you the answer. We disagree with you," Clinton said about the position he and Hillary Clinton hold on abortion.
Clinton relied on the old argument that pr-life advocates want to put women in prison, even though abortion bans have never targeted women because they are a second victim in the abortion process.
"You want to criminalize women and their doctors and we disagree,” he said of the pro-life advocates.
“If you were really pro-life, if you were really pro-life, you would want to put every doctor and every mother as an accessory to murder in prison. And you won't say you want to do that because you know that because you know that you wouldn't have a lick of political support,” he added.
Clinton claimed his police and those that Hillary Clinton supports are doing more to reduce abortions even though both have steadfastly opposed bills to limit abortions, such as a ban on partial-birth abortions not spending taxpayer money on abortions.
“Now, the issue is you can't name me anybody presently in politics that did more to introduce policies that reduce the number of real abortions instead of the hot air putting out to tear people up and make votes by dividing America,” he said.
Billy Valentine, one of the Franciscan University of Steubenville students who helped organize the protest, told LifeNews.com that he was surprised Clinton would go to Steubenville after hundreds of students told John Kerry he was wrong on supporting abortion.
“Perhaps national Democrats will finally realize that they can't take the heat from Steubenville pro-life students," he said.
"I have been amazed by the stupidity of these pro-abortion Democrats who think they can come campaign anywhere near Steubenville, especially after the utter embarrassment John Kerry went through in 2004 when he came here,” he added.
Later, Clinton said Hillary should become the Democratic nominee because she will stand up to pro-life advocates.
“This is not your rally. I heard you. That's another thing you need is a president, somebody who will stick up for individual rights and not be pushed around, and she won't,” he said.
Printed from: http://www.lifenews.com/state2908.html
IS IS THE SAME PERSON WHO SPENT TAX PAYERS MONEY TO INVESTIGATE WOMEN HE WAS ACCUSED OF RAPING????WHEN HE TALKS ABOUT TEARING PEOPLE UP, HE OBVIOUSLY DOES NOT CONSIDER THE UNBORN,PEOPLE..REMEMBER TO VOTE THE CONSTITUTION AND THE TEN COMMANDMENTS VOTE PRO-LIFE
Bill Clinton Lashes Out at Pro-Life Advocates During Ohio Stop for Hillary
RSS Newsfeed
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 18, 2008
Steubenville, OH (LifeNews.com) -- Former president Bill Clinton made a campaign stop for Hillary in Steubenville, Ohio on Sunday and found himself greeted by more than 100 pro-life students from nearby Steubenville University. According to eye witnesses accounts, Clinton lost his temper and lashed out at the pro-life students during the speech.
Clinton's heated response came after being questioned on his support of abortion-on-demand.
"I gave you the answer. We disagree with you," Clinton said about the position he and Hillary Clinton hold on abortion.
Clinton relied on the old argument that pr-life advocates want to put women in prison, even though abortion bans have never targeted women because they are a second victim in the abortion process.
"You want to criminalize women and their doctors and we disagree,” he said of the pro-life advocates.
“If you were really pro-life, if you were really pro-life, you would want to put every doctor and every mother as an accessory to murder in prison. And you won't say you want to do that because you know that because you know that you wouldn't have a lick of political support,” he added.
Clinton claimed his police and those that Hillary Clinton supports are doing more to reduce abortions even though both have steadfastly opposed bills to limit abortions, such as a ban on partial-birth abortions not spending taxpayer money on abortions.
“Now, the issue is you can't name me anybody presently in politics that did more to introduce policies that reduce the number of real abortions instead of the hot air putting out to tear people up and make votes by dividing America,” he said.
Billy Valentine, one of the Franciscan University of Steubenville students who helped organize the protest, told LifeNews.com that he was surprised Clinton would go to Steubenville after hundreds of students told John Kerry he was wrong on supporting abortion.
“Perhaps national Democrats will finally realize that they can't take the heat from Steubenville pro-life students," he said.
"I have been amazed by the stupidity of these pro-abortion Democrats who think they can come campaign anywhere near Steubenville, especially after the utter embarrassment John Kerry went through in 2004 when he came here,” he added.
Later, Clinton said Hillary should become the Democratic nominee because she will stand up to pro-life advocates.
“This is not your rally. I heard you. That's another thing you need is a president, somebody who will stick up for individual rights and not be pushed around, and she won't,” he said.
Printed from: http://www.lifenews.com/state2908.html
AZ Congressional Report
February 18, 2008
In this MegaVote for Arizona's 8th Congressional District:
Recent Congressional Votes -
* Senate: FISA Amendments Act of 2007
* House: To extend the Protect America Act of 2007 for 21 days
* House: Providing for the adoption of H. Res. 979 and H. Res. 980, contempt of Congress resolutions
Editor's Note: The Senate and House are in recess until February 25.
Recent Senate Votes
FISA Amendments Act of 2007 - Vote Passed (68-29, 3 Not Voting)
The Senate passed this intelligence bill that would revise U.S. surveillance laws and grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that helped the government conduct warrantless wiretapping of U.S. citizens.
Sen. John McCain voted YES......
Sen. Jon Kyl voted YES......
Recent House Votes
To extend the Protect America Act of 2007 for 21 days - Vote Failed (191-229, 9 Not Voting)
The House rejected this bill that would have extended the current FISA law for 21 days and given Congress time to resolve the differences between the House and Senate bills.
Rep. Raul Grijalva voted YES
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords voted YES.....
Providing for the adoption of H. Res. 979 and H. Res. 980, contempt of Congress resolutions - Vote Passed (223-32, 1 Present, 173 Not Voting)
The House passed this resolution finding former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with subpoenas issued by the Judiciary Committee.
Rep. Raul Grijalva voted YES
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords voted YES.....
In this MegaVote for Arizona's 8th Congressional District:
Recent Congressional Votes -
* Senate: FISA Amendments Act of 2007
* House: To extend the Protect America Act of 2007 for 21 days
* House: Providing for the adoption of H. Res. 979 and H. Res. 980, contempt of Congress resolutions
Editor's Note: The Senate and House are in recess until February 25.
Recent Senate Votes
FISA Amendments Act of 2007 - Vote Passed (68-29, 3 Not Voting)
The Senate passed this intelligence bill that would revise U.S. surveillance laws and grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that helped the government conduct warrantless wiretapping of U.S. citizens.
Sen. John McCain voted YES......
Sen. Jon Kyl voted YES......
Recent House Votes
To extend the Protect America Act of 2007 for 21 days - Vote Failed (191-229, 9 Not Voting)
The House rejected this bill that would have extended the current FISA law for 21 days and given Congress time to resolve the differences between the House and Senate bills.
Rep. Raul Grijalva voted YES
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords voted YES.....
Providing for the adoption of H. Res. 979 and H. Res. 980, contempt of Congress resolutions - Vote Passed (223-32, 1 Present, 173 Not Voting)
The House passed this resolution finding former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with subpoenas issued by the Judiciary Committee.
Rep. Raul Grijalva voted YES
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords voted YES.....
Friday, February 15, 2008
ID Program is Working
Gene Cafarelli wrote:
CK is a friend of the MCDC. I met him at Camp Anvil where he was interviewing volunteers for his radio talk show (WKYH—600AM). He makes an important point---that smaller communities are becoming more involved in the IA problem.
Gene; This is from the Lexington Herald, Feb 17... It appears that Kentucky is waking up... Keep in mind that Lexington is not that big of a town.
CK
New immigration policy has ID'd dozens
40 MAY FACE DEPORTATION; FEDS GET 13+ NAMES A DAY
By Valarie Honeycutt Spears
VHONEYCUTT@HERALD-LEADER.COM
Since Mayor Jim Newberry's new immigration policy went into effect Feb. 1, the Fayette County Detention Center has been sending the names of 13 to 20 people born outside the United States to federal immigration officials each day.
And in the last three weeks, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in Kentucky say they have put deportation detainers on an estimated 40 foreign-born nationals who are booked into the Lexington jail.
However, determining exactly how many foreign-born nationals are affected by Newberry's policy could prove difficult.
Urban County Government officials, ICE, and local prosecutors are all gathering different numbers from different time frames that show how many immigrants are eligible for deportation.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Gail Montenegro said one thing is clear: "We have noticed an increase in activity in the past three weeks. As a result of Lexington's new policy, ICE anticipates a growing increase in detainers placed on criminal aliens at the jail."
Montenegro said the jail is faxing a daily list of foreign-born inmates to ICE -- by her agency's estimate more than 20 new arrests each day. That list includes people arrested for misdemeanors as well as felonies. The majority of those people eligible for deportation, Montenegro says, are felons.
Susan Straub, a spokeswoman for Newberry, said that jail records show lower numbers than the ICE estimates: an average of 13 names of foreign-born nationals sent each day and 21 detainers in the last three weeks. Part of the reason for the confusion, Straub says, could be that detainer orders can be issued by ICE at any time while inmates are in jail, not just when they are arrested.
Montenegro said that typically, her agency doesn't track numbers of the names they get from specific jails or how many detainers result from that. She said she gathered estimates solely because the Herald-Leader asked for them.
First Assistant Fayette County Attorney Brian Mattone said that when his office asked for numbers from the jail on Feb. 8, when the policy had been in effect for one week, he was told that 98 names had been sent to ICE from the jail and that only two deportation detainers had been filed since Feb. 1.
Meanwhile, Fayette Commonwealth Attorney Ray Larson has, since November, been asking ICE to review the names of all people charged with felonies who don't appear to have a legitimate Social Security number and who were born outside the United States.
From November until now, Larson said, he asked ICE to review the immigration status of 32 people who had been charged with felonies. One turned out to be a legal resident, and 31 were illegally in the United States, he said. ICE put deportation detainers against 22 of them. The other nine had already been released from the jail when they came to the attention of ICE, Larson said. Of the nine, scheduled court appearances have come up for two. They failed to appear and face additional charges as a result.
Larson said the charges include murder, first-degree rape, robbery and burglary, drug charges and charges related to having fake identification.
Under Newberry's new policy, the jail sends a report to the ICE office daily containing information about all people booked that day who were born outside the United States. ICE has the option of issuing a detainer order for an individual so that it can pursue possible immigration law violations.
If there is no detainer order by the time a person is eligible for release, the person will be released. If a detainer order is issued before the inmate would normally be eligible for release, the person can generally be held for up to 48 hours beyond the normal release date.
The policy has sparked controversy, particularly within Lexington's immigrant community. Lexington immigration attorney Rachel A. Newton said that advocates are not taking issue with sanctions against dangerous criminals.
"I don't know of anyone who would protest violent people being removed from the community as long as everyone got due process," she said.
Aaron Hutson, Program Coordinator for the Kentucky Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said the numbers sent to ICE should be tracked carefully and that a written policy should be in place at the jail.
Hutson said he is concerned that foreign-born legal residents and U.S. citizens who are jailed for a minor offense might be deported by mistake, as has happened occasionally in other cities. In Lexington, he said, foreign-born legal residents and U.S. citizens both inside and outside of the Hispanic community are fearful.
Hutson said his group would like to implement a program in which volunteers would be trained to go into the Fayette Detention Center and monitor how the immigration policy works.
"Just to have an extra set of eyes and ears would make sure that people's rights are respected," Hutson said.
CK is a friend of the MCDC. I met him at Camp Anvil where he was interviewing volunteers for his radio talk show (WKYH—600AM). He makes an important point---that smaller communities are becoming more involved in the IA problem.
Gene; This is from the Lexington Herald, Feb 17... It appears that Kentucky is waking up... Keep in mind that Lexington is not that big of a town.
CK
New immigration policy has ID'd dozens
40 MAY FACE DEPORTATION; FEDS GET 13+ NAMES A DAY
By Valarie Honeycutt Spears
VHONEYCUTT@HERALD-LEADER.COM
Since Mayor Jim Newberry's new immigration policy went into effect Feb. 1, the Fayette County Detention Center has been sending the names of 13 to 20 people born outside the United States to federal immigration officials each day.
And in the last three weeks, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in Kentucky say they have put deportation detainers on an estimated 40 foreign-born nationals who are booked into the Lexington jail.
However, determining exactly how many foreign-born nationals are affected by Newberry's policy could prove difficult.
Urban County Government officials, ICE, and local prosecutors are all gathering different numbers from different time frames that show how many immigrants are eligible for deportation.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Gail Montenegro said one thing is clear: "We have noticed an increase in activity in the past three weeks. As a result of Lexington's new policy, ICE anticipates a growing increase in detainers placed on criminal aliens at the jail."
Montenegro said the jail is faxing a daily list of foreign-born inmates to ICE -- by her agency's estimate more than 20 new arrests each day. That list includes people arrested for misdemeanors as well as felonies. The majority of those people eligible for deportation, Montenegro says, are felons.
Susan Straub, a spokeswoman for Newberry, said that jail records show lower numbers than the ICE estimates: an average of 13 names of foreign-born nationals sent each day and 21 detainers in the last three weeks. Part of the reason for the confusion, Straub says, could be that detainer orders can be issued by ICE at any time while inmates are in jail, not just when they are arrested.
Montenegro said that typically, her agency doesn't track numbers of the names they get from specific jails or how many detainers result from that. She said she gathered estimates solely because the Herald-Leader asked for them.
First Assistant Fayette County Attorney Brian Mattone said that when his office asked for numbers from the jail on Feb. 8, when the policy had been in effect for one week, he was told that 98 names had been sent to ICE from the jail and that only two deportation detainers had been filed since Feb. 1.
Meanwhile, Fayette Commonwealth Attorney Ray Larson has, since November, been asking ICE to review the names of all people charged with felonies who don't appear to have a legitimate Social Security number and who were born outside the United States.
From November until now, Larson said, he asked ICE to review the immigration status of 32 people who had been charged with felonies. One turned out to be a legal resident, and 31 were illegally in the United States, he said. ICE put deportation detainers against 22 of them. The other nine had already been released from the jail when they came to the attention of ICE, Larson said. Of the nine, scheduled court appearances have come up for two. They failed to appear and face additional charges as a result.
Larson said the charges include murder, first-degree rape, robbery and burglary, drug charges and charges related to having fake identification.
Under Newberry's new policy, the jail sends a report to the ICE office daily containing information about all people booked that day who were born outside the United States. ICE has the option of issuing a detainer order for an individual so that it can pursue possible immigration law violations.
If there is no detainer order by the time a person is eligible for release, the person will be released. If a detainer order is issued before the inmate would normally be eligible for release, the person can generally be held for up to 48 hours beyond the normal release date.
The policy has sparked controversy, particularly within Lexington's immigrant community. Lexington immigration attorney Rachel A. Newton said that advocates are not taking issue with sanctions against dangerous criminals.
"I don't know of anyone who would protest violent people being removed from the community as long as everyone got due process," she said.
Aaron Hutson, Program Coordinator for the Kentucky Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said the numbers sent to ICE should be tracked carefully and that a written policy should be in place at the jail.
Hutson said he is concerned that foreign-born legal residents and U.S. citizens who are jailed for a minor offense might be deported by mistake, as has happened occasionally in other cities. In Lexington, he said, foreign-born legal residents and U.S. citizens both inside and outside of the Hispanic community are fearful.
Hutson said his group would like to implement a program in which volunteers would be trained to go into the Fayette Detention Center and monitor how the immigration policy works.
"Just to have an extra set of eyes and ears would make sure that people's rights are respected," Hutson said.
Tim Richardson's War on the H2B Visa's
Tim Richardson wrote:
And here you have it documented.
These workers would rather live on the street, homeless and beg for food, than fill any of the jobs that the growers are SCREAMING to have filled to keep their crops from rotting in the fields.
Tell me again why we need a temporary worker program to bring in people who will join the ranks of the people described below.
Tim Richardson
Day laborers feel foreclosure fallout
Feb 15, 4:30 PM EST
By EVELYN NIEVES
Associated Press Writer
GRATON, Calif. (AP) -- The most desperate men park themselves on corners well before dawn, hoping for first dibs on jobs.
Most days, no one gets dibs - no one gets jobs.
Foreclosures are at record highs, home sales are at record lows and skittish consumers are cutting back on spending, all of which means contractors, construction crews and carpenters are no longer hiring. Neither are landscapers, cleaning services or homeowners.
Work, never a given for day laborers in the best of times, is almost nonexistent these days.
"These are the worst of times," would-be worker Ramon De la Cruz said recently in Spanish, noting that he had worked only one day in the previous six.
De la Cruz came here from Tabasco, Mexico three years ago to earn money to provide for his daughter, now 5. Only a year ago, he could still make $500 a week.
But Graton (pop. 1,815), sits in western Sonoma County, which has been hit hard by the housing downturn. Home loan defaults nearly tripled from 2006 to 2007, while housing prices dropped by 22 percent, according to DataQuick, a real estate data firm.
De la Cruz and his friends at the Graton Day Labor Center, where seven out of 70 workers might nab work on what passes for a good day, are not sure what they will do. Some have tried moving to other states only to find that workers everywhere are reeling under the fallout from the nation's housing woes.
Not since the weeks after Sept. 11, when the entire nation froze in shock, have day laborers been in a more precarious position, according to workers and their advocates.
The more than 100,000 day laborers looking for work on any given day - already among the poorest, most stigmatized workers in the country, and many of them here illegally - are finding themselves struggling as never before. Without the proper documents, their job options are limited to odd jobs for cash. Without those, many can barely feed themselves, let alone provide for their families, here or in their native countries.
And they're facing more competition for the few jobs that are left. As companies in the housing and home improvement industries have cut back on salaried employees, many of those workers have joined the day labor pool.
As a result, advocates say, more day laborers are becoming homeless, more are taking risks for jobs that endanger their health or don't pay and more are spending their days haunting street corners, where they are resented, even reviled.
"Our fear is that the economic downturn will create a perfect storm where day laborers will be scapegoated more than they already are," said Chris Newman, legal director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. "They're already deemed symbols of a broken immigration system. What will happen next?"
In the last year, cities and states across the country have been stepping up efforts to drive away day laborers.
In Phoenix, for instance, the county sheriff began rounding up undocumented day laborers even before a state law took effect Jan. 1 punishing employers who hire illegal immigrants. In Oklahoma, a state law that took effect in November makes it a felony to transport, hire or shelter any one who lacks the documents proving legal status in this country
Citizens who oppose illegal immigration are taking their own action. In Houston, members of U.S. Border Watch, a civilian border patrol group, scribble down license plate numbers at popular day labor hiring spots and report would-be employers to federal authorities.
Chris Simcox, founder and president of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, a Phoenix-based civil border patrol, said his group has been hearing from communities burdened by idle day laborers.
The laborers used to migrate for jobs, but with no work, they are staying in one spot and creating a nuisance, he said. "We hear complaints of public urination, littering and petty shoplifting," Simcox said, echoing common gripes in cities that have passed ordinances to push the day laborers off their corners.
Most immigrants here illegally will try to ride out the economic downturn, their advocates say.
"They know the situation is even more desperate where they come from," said Rene Saucedo, an organizer and former director of the San Francisco Day Labor Center.
Meanwhile, the lack of work, a hostile environment and fear of deportation is having a devastating effect, Saucedo said. Some, she said, are taking to drowning their sorrows in a bottle.
"Because they're barely surviving and not able to provide for their families," she said, "a lot of them suffer from depression and feelings of worthlessness."
None of this helps the workers or their advocates fend off those who believe they have no right to be in this country.
In towns like Graton, where day laborers have a place to wait for work, residents tend to be more sympathetic to their plight.
The Graton center, open since September, is considered a model day laborer center. It was organized after a year's worth of community meetings, and built by day laborers and community volunteers. Volunteers hold English classes five days a week and teach practical skills.
The other day, 50 men and six women showed up when the center opened at 7 a.m., most not expecting to find work, said Juan Cuandon of Mexico City, a 27-year-old day laborer who is also an organizer for the Graton Day Labor Center.
The workers, ranging in age from about 18 to 50, milled around folding tables, drinking coffee, bundled fat against a chilly morning. Some reminisced about the days when they made up to $700 a week.
Underneath their amiable chatter, the workers were all very worried, Cuandon said, speaking Spanish.
"Winter doesn't help," he said. "The hope is that jobs will bloom again in the spring
And here you have it documented.
These workers would rather live on the street, homeless and beg for food, than fill any of the jobs that the growers are SCREAMING to have filled to keep their crops from rotting in the fields.
Tell me again why we need a temporary worker program to bring in people who will join the ranks of the people described below.
Tim Richardson
Day laborers feel foreclosure fallout
Feb 15, 4:30 PM EST
By EVELYN NIEVES
Associated Press Writer
GRATON, Calif. (AP) -- The most desperate men park themselves on corners well before dawn, hoping for first dibs on jobs.
Most days, no one gets dibs - no one gets jobs.
Foreclosures are at record highs, home sales are at record lows and skittish consumers are cutting back on spending, all of which means contractors, construction crews and carpenters are no longer hiring. Neither are landscapers, cleaning services or homeowners.
Work, never a given for day laborers in the best of times, is almost nonexistent these days.
"These are the worst of times," would-be worker Ramon De la Cruz said recently in Spanish, noting that he had worked only one day in the previous six.
De la Cruz came here from Tabasco, Mexico three years ago to earn money to provide for his daughter, now 5. Only a year ago, he could still make $500 a week.
But Graton (pop. 1,815), sits in western Sonoma County, which has been hit hard by the housing downturn. Home loan defaults nearly tripled from 2006 to 2007, while housing prices dropped by 22 percent, according to DataQuick, a real estate data firm.
De la Cruz and his friends at the Graton Day Labor Center, where seven out of 70 workers might nab work on what passes for a good day, are not sure what they will do. Some have tried moving to other states only to find that workers everywhere are reeling under the fallout from the nation's housing woes.
Not since the weeks after Sept. 11, when the entire nation froze in shock, have day laborers been in a more precarious position, according to workers and their advocates.
The more than 100,000 day laborers looking for work on any given day - already among the poorest, most stigmatized workers in the country, and many of them here illegally - are finding themselves struggling as never before. Without the proper documents, their job options are limited to odd jobs for cash. Without those, many can barely feed themselves, let alone provide for their families, here or in their native countries.
And they're facing more competition for the few jobs that are left. As companies in the housing and home improvement industries have cut back on salaried employees, many of those workers have joined the day labor pool.
As a result, advocates say, more day laborers are becoming homeless, more are taking risks for jobs that endanger their health or don't pay and more are spending their days haunting street corners, where they are resented, even reviled.
"Our fear is that the economic downturn will create a perfect storm where day laborers will be scapegoated more than they already are," said Chris Newman, legal director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. "They're already deemed symbols of a broken immigration system. What will happen next?"
In the last year, cities and states across the country have been stepping up efforts to drive away day laborers.
In Phoenix, for instance, the county sheriff began rounding up undocumented day laborers even before a state law took effect Jan. 1 punishing employers who hire illegal immigrants. In Oklahoma, a state law that took effect in November makes it a felony to transport, hire or shelter any one who lacks the documents proving legal status in this country
Citizens who oppose illegal immigration are taking their own action. In Houston, members of U.S. Border Watch, a civilian border patrol group, scribble down license plate numbers at popular day labor hiring spots and report would-be employers to federal authorities.
Chris Simcox, founder and president of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, a Phoenix-based civil border patrol, said his group has been hearing from communities burdened by idle day laborers.
The laborers used to migrate for jobs, but with no work, they are staying in one spot and creating a nuisance, he said. "We hear complaints of public urination, littering and petty shoplifting," Simcox said, echoing common gripes in cities that have passed ordinances to push the day laborers off their corners.
Most immigrants here illegally will try to ride out the economic downturn, their advocates say.
"They know the situation is even more desperate where they come from," said Rene Saucedo, an organizer and former director of the San Francisco Day Labor Center.
Meanwhile, the lack of work, a hostile environment and fear of deportation is having a devastating effect, Saucedo said. Some, she said, are taking to drowning their sorrows in a bottle.
"Because they're barely surviving and not able to provide for their families," she said, "a lot of them suffer from depression and feelings of worthlessness."
None of this helps the workers or their advocates fend off those who believe they have no right to be in this country.
In towns like Graton, where day laborers have a place to wait for work, residents tend to be more sympathetic to their plight.
The Graton center, open since September, is considered a model day laborer center. It was organized after a year's worth of community meetings, and built by day laborers and community volunteers. Volunteers hold English classes five days a week and teach practical skills.
The other day, 50 men and six women showed up when the center opened at 7 a.m., most not expecting to find work, said Juan Cuandon of Mexico City, a 27-year-old day laborer who is also an organizer for the Graton Day Labor Center.
The workers, ranging in age from about 18 to 50, milled around folding tables, drinking coffee, bundled fat against a chilly morning. Some reminisced about the days when they made up to $700 a week.
Underneath their amiable chatter, the workers were all very worried, Cuandon said, speaking Spanish.
"Winter doesn't help," he said. "The hope is that jobs will bloom again in the spring
ASU ends Illegal Alien Scholarships
from Tim Richardson
ASU ends scholarship program for illegal immigrants
ASU ends scholarship program for illegal immigrants
John Faherty and Maxine Park
The
Feb. 15, 2008 05:40 PM
A controversial scholarship which benefited
As many as 200 students who graduated from
But now the money is spent, and ASU is advising students who depended on it to "seek private funding sources."
The scholarships were a response to Proposition 300, a voter-approved law that requires illegal immigrants to pay the out-of-state tuition rate at the state's public universities and colleges.
The proposition also prohibits those students from receiving any type of financial assistance that is funded with taxpayer money.
In September, ASU President Michael Crow, said the university was helping students with private money already in the school's coffers.
Based on Crow's estimate that 150-200 students would receive the aid, the total amount disbursed was approximately $1.8 million.
Terri Shafer, the Assistant Vice President, Office of Public Affairs, wrote in an e-mail that ASU will continue to try to help the students.
ASU will provide a list of private funding sources for interested students. Included on the list are some sources that do not take citizenship status into consideration of scholarships and grants.
State Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, is thrilled ASU will no longer be providing money to these students.
"The university should never have been complicit in bypassing the will of the voters," Kavanagh said. Prop. 300 passed in 2006 with the support of nearly seven of 10 . "They were given tuition breaks to illegal immigrants."
Smuggler's Blues: Phoenix PD Busts a Cuban Coyotes
from Gene Caferelli
Nearly 50 Charged in Mexican Border Human Trafficking Ring
Friday , February 15, 2008
PHOENIX —
Four dozen people accused of taking part in an immigrant trafficking ring have been indicted on human smuggling and money laundering charges, authorities said.
The group brought in as much as US$130,000 a week moving people from Naco , Mexico , to its center of operations in Phoenix and then to destinations across the U.S. , Phoenix police Lt. Vince Piano said Thursday.
Piano said the ring was believed to be one of the biggest operating in Arizona , the busiest illegal entry point into the country.
"It's not the end of the game, but we believe we have made some very important intelligence directions in the fight against the smugglers," said Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, whose office was prosecuting the case.
Ten of the 48 suspects were arrested. An additional 10 people who are expected to face charges in the future also were netted in the sweep, authorities said.
The investigation led to the discovery of 13 "drop houses" in Phoenix where human smugglers hold customers until they pay up and are sent to their final destinations. The area is believed to have about 1,000 drop houses.
Authorities allege that two Cuban immigrants living in the area, 41-year-old Jose Luis Suarez-Lemus and 35-year-old Roel Ayala Fernandez, ran the ring and paid people in Mexico and Arizona to help smuggle immigrants.
"The police just came in the house and found no proof," said Suarez-Lemus' stepson, Daril Hidalgo , who answered the phone at the accused smuggler's home and whose name was not mentioned in the redacted indictment released to reporters. Hidalgo said he did not know the name of Suarez-Lemus' lawyer.
It was not immediately clear whether Fernandez had a lawyer. He did not have a listed phone number.
The two paid recruiters in Mexico to find customers, Mexican police to allow smugglers to stage their crossings and trail guides to lead immigrants through a conservation area in southeast Arizona, Piano said.
Drivers were paid to bring the immigrants by van to Phoenix , and other drivers were used to spot law enforcement vehicles and protect rival smugglers from forcing them off the road in an attempt to kidnap and extort their customers, he said.
Once the immigrants were in a drop house and payments were made, drivers were hired to bring immigrants to spots across the country, authorities said.
They said the group would move four to six loads of immigrants per day, each with six to 10 people. Smuggling fees averaged US$2,500 per person.
Obama Worried about Superdelegates
"We have delegates, superdelegates, and undecideds. There's a new category. Given what's happening, I would say Hillary is losing her 'undies.' Undies are the decideds for Clinton who are undeciding." Rush Limbaugh
"David Plouffe" wrote:
Friend --
As you've probably heard, there could be a wildcard in the race for the Democratic nomination.
We firmly believe that the candidate who has won the most pledged delegates -- the result of having more voters in more places supporting your campaign -- will be the Democratic nominee.
But to be safe, we are working to attract the support of "superdelegates" -- party officials and Democratic officeholders from across the country -- who also have a vote at the Democratic National Convention.
You may already know some superdelegates -- they include senators, governors, and even former presidents and vice presidents. But many others are ordinary people who hold positions in the state and local party operations.
These nearly 800 superdelegates will vote alongside the more than 3,000 pledged delegates who are chosen in the various state primaries and caucuses. The candidate that gets a majority of all delegates (superdelegates and pledged delegates combined) will be the Democratic nominee for president.
Right now, Barack is ahead in the contest for pledged delegates. We've won 23 contests out of the 35 that have been held so far -- including the last 8 in a row. And with our decisive victories in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC on Tuesday, we now lead by more than 135 pledged delegates in the race for the Democratic nomination.
While we intend to continue winning states and expanding our lead among the pledged delegates, and believe that will likely ensure that Barack is the Democratic nominee, we're also doing the work of reaching out to superdelegates and making sure as many as possible support Barack Obama.
Here's where you can play a key role.
Our work so far has taught us one important lesson: that your personal story about why you support Barack Obama is often the most powerful persuasion tool for someone who's undecided. That's true whether that undecided voter is your neighbor or a superdelegate.
The story of where you're from, what brought you into the political process, the issues that matter to you, and why you became part of this movement has the potential to inspire someone who could cast a deciding vote in this contest.
Our staff will compile stories from supporters like you and make them a key part of the conversation with superdelegates as Barack asks for their support.
Share your story to help persuade superdelegates now:
http://my.barackobama.com/superdelegates
I've received a lot of email from folks asking how best to help with the superdelegate effort, and this is it.
Your note, combined with those of other Obama supporters, will tell the story of an extraordinary movement of ordinary people -- a story with a common thread of hope that becomes all the more powerful when it brings together the diverse backgrounds and experiences of our supporters.
Together we're building something historic, and your story can help make someone else a part of it.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you,
David
David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America
"David Plouffe" wrote:
Friend --
As you've probably heard, there could be a wildcard in the race for the Democratic nomination.
We firmly believe that the candidate who has won the most pledged delegates -- the result of having more voters in more places supporting your campaign -- will be the Democratic nominee.
But to be safe, we are working to attract the support of "superdelegates" -- party officials and Democratic officeholders from across the country -- who also have a vote at the Democratic National Convention.
You may already know some superdelegates -- they include senators, governors, and even former presidents and vice presidents. But many others are ordinary people who hold positions in the state and local party operations.
These nearly 800 superdelegates will vote alongside the more than 3,000 pledged delegates who are chosen in the various state primaries and caucuses. The candidate that gets a majority of all delegates (superdelegates and pledged delegates combined) will be the Democratic nominee for president.
Right now, Barack is ahead in the contest for pledged delegates. We've won 23 contests out of the 35 that have been held so far -- including the last 8 in a row. And with our decisive victories in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC on Tuesday, we now lead by more than 135 pledged delegates in the race for the Democratic nomination.
While we intend to continue winning states and expanding our lead among the pledged delegates, and believe that will likely ensure that Barack is the Democratic nominee, we're also doing the work of reaching out to superdelegates and making sure as many as possible support Barack Obama.
Here's where you can play a key role.
Our work so far has taught us one important lesson: that your personal story about why you support Barack Obama is often the most powerful persuasion tool for someone who's undecided. That's true whether that undecided voter is your neighbor or a superdelegate.
The story of where you're from, what brought you into the political process, the issues that matter to you, and why you became part of this movement has the potential to inspire someone who could cast a deciding vote in this contest.
Our staff will compile stories from supporters like you and make them a key part of the conversation with superdelegates as Barack asks for their support.
Share your story to help persuade superdelegates now:
http://my.barackobama.com/superdelegates
I've received a lot of email from folks asking how best to help with the superdelegate effort, and this is it.
Your note, combined with those of other Obama supporters, will tell the story of an extraordinary movement of ordinary people -- a story with a common thread of hope that becomes all the more powerful when it brings together the diverse backgrounds and experiences of our supporters.
Together we're building something historic, and your story can help make someone else a part of it.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you,
David
David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America
Mexican Intel Round Up
Gene Caferelli wrote:
A Border Fence within Mexico Causes Controversy
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FORMER BORDER PATROL OFFICERS
Visit our website: http://www.nafbpo.org
Sign up for our report at m3report@yahoo.comForeign News Report
The National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers (NAFBPO) extracts and condenses the material that follows from Mexican and Central and South American on-line media sources on a daily basis. You are free to disseminate this information, but we request that you credit NAFBPO as being the provider.
El Porvenir (Monterrey, Nuevo Leon) 2/15/08
(note: on 2/13/08 we reported about the plan by the Mayor of San Nicolas to build a fence along a creek which divides the cities of San Nicolas and Guadalupe, suburbs of Monterrey. San Nicolas wants to keep thieves from Guadalupe from constantly coming across the creek to rob them. What follows is a section of an op/column by Antonio Mendieta commenting on the opposition to the fence by the Mayor of Guadalupe and others.)
"Those damned people sure holler a lot..... There's already fences fences everywhere. Don't pay attention to the demagogues. Guadalupe itself has several "colonias" (read: neighborhoods) surrounded by fences to protect themselves from criminals. The same thing applies to Monterrey and even in Santa Catarina and Juarez. To say nothing of San Pedro. As to the American fence, they could say a Mass if they wish, but the gringos, besides the fact that they have a right to build it, are correct in doing so, and if we had the money we would already have built one bordering Guatemala and Belize. Or not ?"
------------------
El Sol de Mexico (Mexico City; part of "O.E.M.", a nationwide newspaper chain) 2/15/08
1. A total of two hundred twenty-nine "undocumented immigrants" from Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala were found stuffed under a false bottom cover in a tractor trailer at dawn Thursday. The find took place at a regular inspection point on a highway in Chiapas along the Pacific coast. The group included 52 women and three children. On top of the false bottom over the people being smuggled was a number of boxes with bananas.
According to the "INM" (Mex. immigr.) 57,494 immigrants without papers were detained in Chiapas, Mexico's southernmost state, in 2007.
2. In a press conference at the end of his recent visit to some U.S. cities, Mexico's President Calderon said that during his trip to the U.S. he had contact with staff members of all the U.S. presidential candidates, though not with the candidates themselves. He also expressed his pleasure that the most radical and less thoughtful voices on sensitive issues such as immigration are not the ones which are now in the latter stages of the party elections.
"I see in the main contenders of the two parties important opportunities to generate a much more objective, much more rational, much less emotional dialogue which allows us to deal with and find solutions to the immigration issue."
-----------------
El Universal (mexico City) 2/15/08
1. (note: there has been fairly wide coverage and remarks about President Calderon's recent visit to the U.S.; a report of such an example follows)
(item headline:) "Trip to the United States revives rejection of migrants"
In a letter to President Calderon, Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo pointed out "If (Calderon - you) wish to change governmental policies, apply your efforts to the laundry list of Mexican problems instead of getting involved in the domestic politics of the United States."
At the same time, Tancredo's letter presented a catalog of the "infractions" Calderon committed in openly expressing his opinion about the immigration problem and which ranged from involving himself in U.S. domestic issues and up to the alleged "expansionist designs" of the Mexican government.
2. (note: part of today's litany of violence) - The state of Chihuahua had two executions in Parral and an assault on a police officer in the the "Juarez ranch". In Chilpancingo, Guerrero, a 72 year old man was riddled by gunfire and, in Cutzmala, a 19 year old met the same fate. Then, in Durango, Maximino Perez died from five shots. Jalisco added three more executions to the list, two in Guadalajara and one in nearby Zapopan. (note: the Jalisco dead from an article in El Informador today)
--------------
Diario (Ciudad Juarez and Nuevo Casas Grande editions, Chihuahua) 2/15/08
1. After the shootout in Juarez (reported by us yesterday), Mex. military personnel went to the area, specifically to a house at Rancho Las Cabras St. # 3202, in Colonia Pradera Dorada, Juarez. The thugs had left but they left behind:
- two .50 caliber anti-aircraft "cop killer" guns, capable of trespassing concrete and steel armor
- 25 shoulder weapons - 15 of them assault rifles -
- 5 pistols
- 7 fragmentation grenades
- 3,493 rounds of ammo
- 142 loader clips; 14 bullet-proof vests; 13 other black vests; 8 radios; 5 vehicles (3 of them with Sinaloa plates; one had (U.S.) New Mexico plates FXH693). The house has 3 stories and a 13' tall surrounding wall. (note: the photo attached to this report shows some of that arsenal)
And in Buenaventura, Chihuahua (south of Nuevo Casas Grande), anonymous reports lead to a search of another house. That one yielded:
- Seven AR 15; eight AK47; an HK-223 high power G3 rifle
- Nine thousand rounds of ammo and ten tear gas grenades
- Thirty-one silencers for automatic weapons
- Eight vests and eight shirts with "AFI" logos (Mex. fed. investigations agency)
- Fifteen sets of handcuffs; seven black helmets "level IIIA", plus other uniform and cartridge belt items.
2. From 2003 to 2007 there have been 224 murders, 168 suicides and 54 riots inside Mexican jails. Most murders ( 67) took place in the Distrito Federal (Mexico City metro area) together with the state of Mexico, followed by Sinaloa (34), Tamaulipas (32) and Chihuahua (24) .
Overcapacity and struggles for internal control are said to be the main causes. Criminologist Jose Luis Miasi said that what happens inside a prison is nothing more than a reflection of society.
------------------
La Cronica de Hoy (Mexico City) 2/15/08
The "Federal Judicature" counselor, Elena Diaz de Leon, revealed yesterday that there are death threats by organized crime against 25 federal judges and magistrates, mostly in Mexico's northern border area states of Baja California, Tamaulipas, Sonora, Chihuahua but also in Guerrero and Michoacan.
------------------
La Voz de la Frontera (Mexicali, Baja California) 2/15/08
Yesterday two more bodies of executed men were found in Tijuana, bringing the current string up to eight in 72 hours. The sixth victim has been definitely identified as a police officer; he not only had a "narcomessage" written on his body but had also been beaten so that his jaw had been broken and his teeth had been knocked out. His neck was "grooved" all the way around and he'd been shot in the head.
The seventh victim had the same style neck groove or furrow, severe bruises on the face and body due to beatings, and his right index finger had been cut off and was taped to the tag board on his body with the usual narco threat message. The eighth body was shot with a .45 in his right eye. The killers left no message that time. Speculation is that at least one of the last two victims is also a police officer.
-----------------
El Heraldo (Tegucigalpa, Honduras) 2/15/08
Someone stole thirty-three Honduran passports from their Consulate in Houston, TX. They discovered this in October but didn't get around to reporting it until last month. An investigation has been fruitless and some officials claim the passports were "lost", not stolen.
-----------------
Prensa Libre (Guatemala City, Guatemala) 2/15/08
During a meeting with members of the Guatemalan Congress, David Barrientos, head of the "Department of Firearms and Ammunition Control" of Guatemala stated that their calculation is that there are 250,000 (two hundred fifty thousand) illegal firearms in Guatemala and that the country has no control mechanisms in that regard.
------------------
El Tiempo.com (Colombia) 2/15/08
In Maicao (note: far northern Colombia, near the Caribbean) police seized almost two metric tons (1,937 kilos) of cocaine camouflaged in 47 packs in a tractor trailer at a parking lot.
Last Jan. 19th, another camouflaged load of a ton and a half was seized in a "fast boat", waiting to be taken to a fishing vessel for later transfer to a Central American country and from there to the U.S.
------------------
-end of report-
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Agribusiness Against Illegals
Tim Richardson wrote:
Jennifer Burns jburns@azleg.gov, "Manuel Alvarez V." malvarez@azleg.gov, Martha Garcia mgarcia@azleg.gov, Lynne Pancrazi lpancrazi@azleg.gov, Theresa Ulmer tulmer@azleg.gov
I read and then cogitated on SB1482, Arizona Temporary Worker Act, and all of a sudden it hit me as to what it was all about.
A friend of mine is a rancher/farmer in the Phoenix Metro area, his family has been ranching there since 1919 on the same land.
He has citrus, cattle, radishes, carrots, potatoes, hay and does crop rotations. The citrus is for different varieties. Navel oranges, Valencias, white grapefruits, red grapefruits. Almost none of the crops are ready to be picked at the same time, nor planted or maintained. For some of them it is only weeks between when one is finishing picking and the crop is ready for attention.
If he were to use the provisions of that bill, every few weeks he would have to make a trip to Mexico, to a U.S. Consulate, and obtain workers, with all of the attendant paper work and as soon as the work was over take them back.
And since they cannot cross state lines they would have no reason to stay.
I sent him a copy of SB1482 and asked him if he would use this program. He replied that he had shown it to a number of his friends in the ranching community and none could see themselves using it.
He, and they, would have to make at least two round trips to Nogales, from Phoenix, per month and would have to buy a bus and hire a bus driver with a CDL. The program does not seem cost effective to him or his friends.
Now if I were to start up a temporary help business I could go and get those people, based on the "industry" standard of a shortage for multiple industries, and rent them out. Maybe work out an arrangement where I would be the statutory agent for the business and work on their behalf.
I could collect a fee from the workers and a fee from the actual employers.
As they finished one job I could move them to the next. This way I would not have to make that trip to Mexico, where I have hired someone to represent me at the U.S. Consulate and the true employer would never have to make the trip.
If I kept the numbers up I would not have to worry very much about them deciding to move to Texas and stay.
My only worry would be getting sued by the United Farm Workers Union, who has already have sued one broker last December.
It would seem a good business for a relative or friend of a Senator or Representative, especially one who has dual American/Mexican citizenship.
Just a thought.
Please stop this bill.
Tim Richardson
McNeal, AZ
PS
My rancher friend called me back. It appears that I under-read the bill, SB 1482.
For him to get a crew he will have to make three trips, not two, to Nogales . 1. Sign the people and get paper work 2. Receive cards and go get workers if they are still there and available. 3. Take the workers back.
He said it would be about a three week lead time, which is too far out to accurately predict that he will not have local workers.
He also pointed out that if he gets some of the workers more than one time, to plant or harvest different crops, he will have to pay the background check and card issuance fees each time they are selected. And that adds to the overhead.
Please stop this bill
Jennifer Burns jburns@azleg.gov, "Manuel Alvarez V." malvarez@azleg.gov, Martha Garcia mgarcia@azleg.gov, Lynne Pancrazi lpancrazi@azleg.gov, Theresa Ulmer tulmer@azleg.gov
I read and then cogitated on SB1482, Arizona Temporary Worker Act, and all of a sudden it hit me as to what it was all about.
A friend of mine is a rancher/farmer in the Phoenix Metro area, his family has been ranching there since 1919 on the same land.
He has citrus, cattle, radishes, carrots, potatoes, hay and does crop rotations. The citrus is for different varieties. Navel oranges, Valencias, white grapefruits, red grapefruits. Almost none of the crops are ready to be picked at the same time, nor planted or maintained. For some of them it is only weeks between when one is finishing picking and the crop is ready for attention.
If he were to use the provisions of that bill, every few weeks he would have to make a trip to Mexico, to a U.S. Consulate, and obtain workers, with all of the attendant paper work and as soon as the work was over take them back.
And since they cannot cross state lines they would have no reason to stay.
I sent him a copy of SB1482 and asked him if he would use this program. He replied that he had shown it to a number of his friends in the ranching community and none could see themselves using it.
He, and they, would have to make at least two round trips to Nogales, from Phoenix, per month and would have to buy a bus and hire a bus driver with a CDL. The program does not seem cost effective to him or his friends.
Now if I were to start up a temporary help business I could go and get those people, based on the "industry" standard of a shortage for multiple industries, and rent them out. Maybe work out an arrangement where I would be the statutory agent for the business and work on their behalf.
I could collect a fee from the workers and a fee from the actual employers.
As they finished one job I could move them to the next. This way I would not have to make that trip to Mexico, where I have hired someone to represent me at the U.S. Consulate and the true employer would never have to make the trip.
If I kept the numbers up I would not have to worry very much about them deciding to move to Texas and stay.
My only worry would be getting sued by the United Farm Workers Union, who has already have sued one broker last December.
It would seem a good business for a relative or friend of a Senator or Representative, especially one who has dual American/Mexican citizenship.
Just a thought.
Please stop this bill.
Tim Richardson
McNeal, AZ
PS
My rancher friend called me back. It appears that I under-read the bill, SB 1482.
For him to get a crew he will have to make three trips, not two, to Nogales . 1. Sign the people and get paper work 2. Receive cards and go get workers if they are still there and available. 3. Take the workers back.
He said it would be about a three week lead time, which is too far out to accurately predict that he will not have local workers.
He also pointed out that if he gets some of the workers more than one time, to plant or harvest different crops, he will have to pay the background check and card issuance fees each time they are selected. And that adds to the overhead.
Please stop this bill
Gabby's Hand Outs
From Representative Gabrielle Giffords
Dear Mr. Bretney,
Tax season is upon us and I want to help make the process as easy as possible for you and your family.
On my website, www.giffords.house.gov, you will find a "Tax Resource Center" on the homepage. It offers state and federal resources to help you file your taxes.
Rebates from Economic Stimulus Package
I also urge you to file your taxes early. The earlier you file your taxes this year, the sooner you will receive your tax rebate as part of the Economic Stimulus package that passed the House and was signed into law by the President yesterday. The stimulus package will provide tax relief to qualified taxpayers of up to $300 per individual and $600 per family. To receive this rebate, you must file a tax return this year for your 2007 taxes. For more information and to see if you qualify, click here.
Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)
On December 19, 2007, the House passed the Temporary Tax Relief Act, to provide Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) relief to middle-class families. This legislation reformed the AMT structure to prevent middle-class American families from being overtaxed.
On February 11th, the IRS completed the reprogramming of its systems for the new AMT law and eligible taxpayers are now able to file their taxes.
Below are the links to the updated AMT forms:
oForm 8863, Education Credits
oForm 5695, Residential Energy Credits
oSchedule 2, Form 1040A, Child and Dependent Care Expenses for Form 1040A Filers
oForm 8396, Mortgage Interest Credit
Tax Filing Assistance
I have also linked the locations and hours of 14 IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites in Southern Arizona on my website here. The VITA Program offers free tax help to low and moderate-income individuals. Volunteers receive training and certification from the IRS so they can help citizens complete their tax forms.
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
Last year, about 150,000 eligible Arizona families failed to receive thousands of dollars in tax credits because they did not file a tax return. You, or someone you know, may qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) when you file your state and federal taxes. Last year the program served over 3361 families and brought $2.2 million in EITC refunds and $4.4 million in federal refunds back to our community. Click here to find out if you qualify to receive the ETIC.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact my Tucson (520-881-3588) or Cochise County (520-459-3115) offices if you require any additional assistance or information.
Sincerely Yours,
Gabrielle Giffords
Member of Congress
Washington DC
Office
502 Cannon House Office
Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone:(202) 225-2542
Fax: (202) 225-0378
Tucson
Congressional Office
1661 North Swan
Suite 112
Tucson, AZ 85712
Phone:(520) 881-3588
Fax: (520) 322-9490
Cochise County
Congressional Office
77 Calle Portal
Suite B - 160
Sierra Vista, AZ 85635
Phone:(520) 459-3115
Fax: (520) 459-5419
Dear Mr. Bretney,
Tax season is upon us and I want to help make the process as easy as possible for you and your family.
On my website, www.giffords.house.gov, you will find a "Tax Resource Center" on the homepage. It offers state and federal resources to help you file your taxes.
Rebates from Economic Stimulus Package
I also urge you to file your taxes early. The earlier you file your taxes this year, the sooner you will receive your tax rebate as part of the Economic Stimulus package that passed the House and was signed into law by the President yesterday. The stimulus package will provide tax relief to qualified taxpayers of up to $300 per individual and $600 per family. To receive this rebate, you must file a tax return this year for your 2007 taxes. For more information and to see if you qualify, click here.
Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)
On December 19, 2007, the House passed the Temporary Tax Relief Act, to provide Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) relief to middle-class families. This legislation reformed the AMT structure to prevent middle-class American families from being overtaxed.
On February 11th, the IRS completed the reprogramming of its systems for the new AMT law and eligible taxpayers are now able to file their taxes.
Below are the links to the updated AMT forms:
oForm 8863, Education Credits
oForm 5695, Residential Energy Credits
oSchedule 2, Form 1040A, Child and Dependent Care Expenses for Form 1040A Filers
oForm 8396, Mortgage Interest Credit
Tax Filing Assistance
I have also linked the locations and hours of 14 IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites in Southern Arizona on my website here. The VITA Program offers free tax help to low and moderate-income individuals. Volunteers receive training and certification from the IRS so they can help citizens complete their tax forms.
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
Last year, about 150,000 eligible Arizona families failed to receive thousands of dollars in tax credits because they did not file a tax return. You, or someone you know, may qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) when you file your state and federal taxes. Last year the program served over 3361 families and brought $2.2 million in EITC refunds and $4.4 million in federal refunds back to our community. Click here to find out if you qualify to receive the ETIC.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact my Tucson (520-881-3588) or Cochise County (520-459-3115) offices if you require any additional assistance or information.
Sincerely Yours,
Gabrielle Giffords
Member of Congress
Washington DC
Office
502 Cannon House Office
Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone:(202) 225-2542
Fax: (202) 225-0378
Tucson
Congressional Office
1661 North Swan
Suite 112
Tucson, AZ 85712
Phone:(520) 881-3588
Fax: (520) 322-9490
Cochise County
Congressional Office
77 Calle Portal
Suite B - 160
Sierra Vista, AZ 85635
Phone:(520) 459-3115
Fax: (520) 459-5419
Mexican Drug War Escalating
from Gene Cafarelli
In Mexico, not quite the sort of events for Valentine's Day
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FORMER BORDER PATROL OFFICERS
Visit our website: http://www.nafbpo.org
Sign up for our report at m3report@yahoo.com
Foreign News Report
The National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers (NAFBPO) extracts and condenses the material that follows from Mexican and Central and South American on-line media sources on a daily basis. You are free to disseminate this information, but we request that you credit NAFBPO as being the provider.
El Universal, La Jornada (both Mexico City) 2/14/08
"The wave of violence left 16 more executions, one of them a Ministerial Police officer, in the last few hours."
(note: the reference to the police is the case reported by us yesterday in Epitacio Huerta, Michoacan)
Michoacan had two other executions yesterday, one in Uruapan and the other in Tanguancicuaro. In the state of Sonora an area drug dealer was found with his bodyguard, both shot to death in the back of a vehicle. That particular drug dealer was himself sought on murder charges.
The state of Nuevo Leon had 3 execution murders reported; one, in Guadalupe, a Monterrey suburb, was the 10th murder linked to organized crime this year in that locality. Two others fell victim in Montemorelos. Other execution murders were reported in Chihuahua (three), Durango (two) and Sinaloa (one). And twelve kidnappings were reported in seven states.
---------------
Cuarto Poder (Tuxtla, Chiapas) 2/14/08
A passenger bus bearing signs for the musical group "Galaxia Musical" was northbound toward Veracruz from Chiapas when it was stopped at a highway checkpoint north of Tuxtla. But there were no musical instruments aboard. Instead, under a false double bottom, 16 women and 25 men, all 41 of them (including several children) undocumented Salvadorans en route to the United States. The "pollero" was also arrested.
The local Mex. immigration office reported that over four thousand illegals were arrested in that area last month, mostly Central Americans.
----------------
El Debate (Culiacan, Sibnaloa) 2/14/08
Mex. army units conducted an "exhaustive" four hour search of the light aircraft at the local area's Valle del Fuerte federal airport. The search was both physical and related to the aircrafts' documentation and "legal status." At the end of the day, 47 light aircraft were apparently seized and turned over to the "Federal Public Ministry" for further disposition.
-----------------
Frontera (Tijuana, Baja California) 2/14/08
1. Today Thursday the body of yet another executed man turned up in Tijuana at dawn; it was the sixth such victim with an attached tag board message threatening against informants. One of the six has now been identified as a local police officer. The Mex. army has made available a phone line and three e-mail addresses for citizens to report about criminal groups and activities.
On the stomach of one of yesterday's "narcothreat message" victims, the killers had written: www.dedo.com (note: "dedo" = finger, meaning the victim had been identified as an informant)
2. The U.S. Consul in Tijuana admitted that U.S. citizens have been kidnapped in Tijuana this year and said that fortunately none are known to have lost their life. He opted for not dealing further with the issue and added he could not talk about specific cases.
-----------------
Tribuna (Sonora) 2/14/08
The Mexican Consul in Phoenix, AZ, Carlos Flores Vizcarra, said that there are some 745,000 illegal residents from Mexico in that state and that some 120,000 of them are from the state of Sonora.
-----------------
Norte (Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua) 2/14/08
Ten days ago, Monday before last, Jesus Enrique Solis Luevano, a Juarez police officer, finished his workshift at six a.m.; he hasn't been seen since.
And drug traffickers are again fighting with each other for control of the area; yesterday at five p.m. they started a shootout out on a Juarez street. It ended with one death, one kidnapping and the wounding of of an innocent third party.
-----------------
-end of report-
In Mexico, not quite the sort of events for Valentine's Day
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FORMER BORDER PATROL OFFICERS
Visit our website: http://www.nafbpo.org
Sign up for our report at m3report@yahoo.com
Foreign News Report
The National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers (NAFBPO) extracts and condenses the material that follows from Mexican and Central and South American on-line media sources on a daily basis. You are free to disseminate this information, but we request that you credit NAFBPO as being the provider.
El Universal, La Jornada (both Mexico City) 2/14/08
"The wave of violence left 16 more executions, one of them a Ministerial Police officer, in the last few hours."
(note: the reference to the police is the case reported by us yesterday in Epitacio Huerta, Michoacan)
Michoacan had two other executions yesterday, one in Uruapan and the other in Tanguancicuaro. In the state of Sonora an area drug dealer was found with his bodyguard, both shot to death in the back of a vehicle. That particular drug dealer was himself sought on murder charges.
The state of Nuevo Leon had 3 execution murders reported; one, in Guadalupe, a Monterrey suburb, was the 10th murder linked to organized crime this year in that locality. Two others fell victim in Montemorelos. Other execution murders were reported in Chihuahua (three), Durango (two) and Sinaloa (one). And twelve kidnappings were reported in seven states.
---------------
Cuarto Poder (Tuxtla, Chiapas) 2/14/08
A passenger bus bearing signs for the musical group "Galaxia Musical" was northbound toward Veracruz from Chiapas when it was stopped at a highway checkpoint north of Tuxtla. But there were no musical instruments aboard. Instead, under a false double bottom, 16 women and 25 men, all 41 of them (including several children) undocumented Salvadorans en route to the United States. The "pollero" was also arrested.
The local Mex. immigration office reported that over four thousand illegals were arrested in that area last month, mostly Central Americans.
----------------
El Debate (Culiacan, Sibnaloa) 2/14/08
Mex. army units conducted an "exhaustive" four hour search of the light aircraft at the local area's Valle del Fuerte federal airport. The search was both physical and related to the aircrafts' documentation and "legal status." At the end of the day, 47 light aircraft were apparently seized and turned over to the "Federal Public Ministry" for further disposition.
-----------------
Frontera (Tijuana, Baja California) 2/14/08
1. Today Thursday the body of yet another executed man turned up in Tijuana at dawn; it was the sixth such victim with an attached tag board message threatening against informants. One of the six has now been identified as a local police officer. The Mex. army has made available a phone line and three e-mail addresses for citizens to report about criminal groups and activities.
On the stomach of one of yesterday's "narcothreat message" victims, the killers had written: www.dedo.com (note: "dedo" = finger, meaning the victim had been identified as an informant)
2. The U.S. Consul in Tijuana admitted that U.S. citizens have been kidnapped in Tijuana this year and said that fortunately none are known to have lost their life. He opted for not dealing further with the issue and added he could not talk about specific cases.
-----------------
Tribuna (Sonora) 2/14/08
The Mexican Consul in Phoenix, AZ, Carlos Flores Vizcarra, said that there are some 745,000 illegal residents from Mexico in that state and that some 120,000 of them are from the state of Sonora.
-----------------
Norte (Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua) 2/14/08
Ten days ago, Monday before last, Jesus Enrique Solis Luevano, a Juarez police officer, finished his workshift at six a.m.; he hasn't been seen since.
And drug traffickers are again fighting with each other for control of the area; yesterday at five p.m. they started a shootout out on a Juarez street. It ended with one death, one kidnapping and the wounding of of an innocent third party.
-----------------
-end of report-
Tucson Right to Life to Show Signs with Dead Babies
From Joe Peron
ON MONDAY!!!
Dear Friends For Life,
Face The Truth AZ, Inc. will demonstrate with extremely graphic posters on Monday, Feb. 18th (Presidents' Day), since the school children will not be at school for the holiday.
We will gather at 7:00 AM along Beverly Street, between Grant and Pima for an Opening Prayer, distribution of signs, and information on locations for the demonstration which will end at 10 AM.
If you are interested in being on site with us, please let me know, so I can plan our strategy. If you prefer to pray elsewhere while we pray and demonstrate, please remember to use the Prayer to End Abortion, as follows:
Prayer to End Abortion
Lord God, I thank you today for the gift of my life, and for the lives of all my brothers and sisters. I know there is nothing that destroys more life than abortion, Yet I rejoice that you have conquered death by the Resurrection of Your Son. I am ready to do my part in ending abortion. Today I commit myself never to be silent, never to be passive, never to be forgetful of the unborn. I commit myself to be active in the pro-life movement, and never to stop defending life until all my brothers and sisters are protected, and our nation once again becomes a nation with liberty and justice not just for some, but for all, Through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Being a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves, the Innocents,
Sunny Turner
AZ RTL Tucson Central/SW Chapter
Joe Peron is a member of the Arizona Right to Life.
ON MONDAY!!!
Dear Friends For Life,
Face The Truth AZ, Inc. will demonstrate with extremely graphic posters on Monday, Feb. 18th (Presidents' Day), since the school children will not be at school for the holiday.
We will gather at 7:00 AM along Beverly Street, between Grant and Pima for an Opening Prayer, distribution of signs, and information on locations for the demonstration which will end at 10 AM.
If you are interested in being on site with us, please let me know, so I can plan our strategy. If you prefer to pray elsewhere while we pray and demonstrate, please remember to use the Prayer to End Abortion, as follows:
Prayer to End Abortion
Lord God, I thank you today for the gift of my life, and for the lives of all my brothers and sisters. I know there is nothing that destroys more life than abortion, Yet I rejoice that you have conquered death by the Resurrection of Your Son. I am ready to do my part in ending abortion. Today I commit myself never to be silent, never to be passive, never to be forgetful of the unborn. I commit myself to be active in the pro-life movement, and never to stop defending life until all my brothers and sisters are protected, and our nation once again becomes a nation with liberty and justice not just for some, but for all, Through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Being a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves, the Innocents,
Sunny Turner
AZ RTL Tucson Central/SW Chapter
Joe Peron is a member of the Arizona Right to Life.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Tim Bee to speak in SV!
from Gail Griffin
Our Lincoln Day Dinner is Saturday February 23rd at the Windemere... 5pm social...6pm dinner and speakers at 7pm... cost $30.00 per person. The speakers are Tim Bee and Dean Martin (State Treasurer).
If you would like to come please send your check to ..
PO Box 615, Sierra Vista, Az. 85636
Our Lincoln Day Dinner is Saturday February 23rd at the Windemere... 5pm social...6pm dinner and speakers at 7pm... cost $30.00 per person. The speakers are Tim Bee and Dean Martin (State Treasurer).
If you would like to come please send your check to ..
PO Box 615, Sierra Vista, Az. 85636
An illegal immigrant who assaulted a U.S. Border Patrol agent was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison Monday.
from Gene Caferelli
Zach Fowle
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 12, 2008 07:04 PM
Rafael Rivera-Alonzo, 34, from Mexico , was found guilty of numerous charges and was sentenced to a total of 12 years in federal prison by a U.S. District Judge Monday.
Rivera-Alonzo had just crossed the U.S.-Mexico border into San Luis , Ariz. , on July 15, 2006, when he was pursued by a Border Patrol Agent. When the agent moved in for the arrest, Rivera-Alonzo wrestled the agent's handgun away and attempted shoot him with it, but the gun had been made inoperable during the struggle. The agent's partner then arrived and the two were able to subdue Rivera-Alonzo.
A federal jury found Rivera-Alonzo guilty of the assault on June 6, and was sentenced to 10 years for the assault on Monday. He also pleaded guilty to a federal charge of Illegal Re-Entry After Deportation, for which he received a term of seven years. This will run concurrently to his 10-year sentence for the assault.
The judge also sentenced Rivera-Alonzo to two additional years in prison for committing the assault while on a term of federal supervised release. That sentence will run consecutively to the 10-year sentence for the assault.
Zach Fowle
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 12, 2008 07:04 PM
Rafael Rivera-Alonzo, 34, from Mexico , was found guilty of numerous charges and was sentenced to a total of 12 years in federal prison by a U.S. District Judge Monday.
Rivera-Alonzo had just crossed the U.S.-Mexico border into San Luis , Ariz. , on July 15, 2006, when he was pursued by a Border Patrol Agent. When the agent moved in for the arrest, Rivera-Alonzo wrestled the agent's handgun away and attempted shoot him with it, but the gun had been made inoperable during the struggle. The agent's partner then arrived and the two were able to subdue Rivera-Alonzo.
A federal jury found Rivera-Alonzo guilty of the assault on June 6, and was sentenced to 10 years for the assault on Monday. He also pleaded guilty to a federal charge of Illegal Re-Entry After Deportation, for which he received a term of seven years. This will run concurrently to his 10-year sentence for the assault.
The judge also sentenced Rivera-Alonzo to two additional years in prison for committing the assault while on a term of federal supervised release. That sentence will run consecutively to the 10-year sentence for the assault.
Huckabee can't win but he can be a spoiler.
To: Team McCain
Re: Wrapping Up the Nomination
Last night, after our strong victories in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC, I put together an analysis of the state of the race for the Republican nomination. Including the delegates won last night, John McCain is now close to securing the number of delegates needed to be the presumptive Republican nominee. In addition, it is now mathematically impossible for Mike Huckabee to win enough delegates to secure the Republican nomination; there simply aren’t enough delegates left at stake for him to win. Take a look at the following chart:
Results based on AP reporting
Current Delegate Count
Remaining Delegates Needed for Nomination
Available
Delegates % Needed to Win
McCain Delegate Count
839 352 774 35%
Huckabee Delegate Count
241 950 123%
Despite the mathematical certainty, the field is not clear on our side and we must continue to wage an aggressive fight in the upcoming states, including Wisconsin, Washington, Ohio, Texas, Vermont and Rhode Island. The sooner we wrap up this nomination fight, the sooner we can unify our party and begin to face the challenge of defeating the democrats in the fall. But we need your help to wage aggressive campaigns in these next primary states - will you make a contribution of $100, $200, $500 or whatever you can afford to help us wrap up the Republican nomination and head in the fight against the Obama and Clinton money machines?
Until John McCain secures 1,191 delegates, we must campaign aggressively for the Republican nomination, and that requires additional resources in some of the most populous states in the country. We cannot turn our attention to the Democrats and their enormous war chests until this nomination is secure, and we cannot accomplish that goal without your additional help.
Thank you for being part of Team McCain, for being with the campaign through thick and thin. We’ve won some exciting contests over the last two months, but the challenge is not over – we must continue to spread John McCain’s conservative message of lowering taxes, strengthening our economy, winning the war in Iraq, and fighting radical Islamic extremists. There is a lot of work ahead, but as John McCain has noted, there has never been an election where the choices between the two parties will be so stark. Please help us right now with your most generous contribution.
Sincerely,
Rick Davis
Rick Davis
Campaign Manager
For more information, log on to www.JohnMcCain.com.
Please forward this email to family, friends and fellow John McCain supporters.
Please visit this page if you want to remove yourself from the email list.
Paid for by John McCain 2008 · www.JohnMcCain.com
John McCain 2008
P.O. Box 16118, Arlington, VA 22215
Phone: (703) 418-2008
Re: Wrapping Up the Nomination
Last night, after our strong victories in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC, I put together an analysis of the state of the race for the Republican nomination. Including the delegates won last night, John McCain is now close to securing the number of delegates needed to be the presumptive Republican nominee. In addition, it is now mathematically impossible for Mike Huckabee to win enough delegates to secure the Republican nomination; there simply aren’t enough delegates left at stake for him to win. Take a look at the following chart:
Results based on AP reporting
Current Delegate Count
Remaining Delegates Needed for Nomination
Available
Delegates % Needed to Win
McCain Delegate Count
839 352 774 35%
Huckabee Delegate Count
241 950 123%
Despite the mathematical certainty, the field is not clear on our side and we must continue to wage an aggressive fight in the upcoming states, including Wisconsin, Washington, Ohio, Texas, Vermont and Rhode Island. The sooner we wrap up this nomination fight, the sooner we can unify our party and begin to face the challenge of defeating the democrats in the fall. But we need your help to wage aggressive campaigns in these next primary states - will you make a contribution of $100, $200, $500 or whatever you can afford to help us wrap up the Republican nomination and head in the fight against the Obama and Clinton money machines?
Until John McCain secures 1,191 delegates, we must campaign aggressively for the Republican nomination, and that requires additional resources in some of the most populous states in the country. We cannot turn our attention to the Democrats and their enormous war chests until this nomination is secure, and we cannot accomplish that goal without your additional help.
Thank you for being part of Team McCain, for being with the campaign through thick and thin. We’ve won some exciting contests over the last two months, but the challenge is not over – we must continue to spread John McCain’s conservative message of lowering taxes, strengthening our economy, winning the war in Iraq, and fighting radical Islamic extremists. There is a lot of work ahead, but as John McCain has noted, there has never been an election where the choices between the two parties will be so stark. Please help us right now with your most generous contribution.
Sincerely,
Rick Davis
Rick Davis
Campaign Manager
For more information, log on to www.JohnMcCain.com.
Please forward this email to family, friends and fellow John McCain supporters.
Please visit this page if you want to remove yourself from the email list.
Paid for by John McCain 2008 · www.JohnMcCain.com
John McCain 2008
P.O. Box 16118, Arlington, VA 22215
Phone: (703) 418-2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
DPS Still Stalling on Mandatory 30 day impound questions
Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2008 22:43:29 -0800 (PST)
From: "James Bretney"
Subject: Re: 30 Day Impound questions - Response
To: HSanders@azdps.gov
Mr. Sanders,
I am still waiting a response from your office. Thank you.
James A. Bretney
HSanders@azdps.gov wrote:
Good Evening,
Your E-mail request for information has been received and you will be provided a timely response to your inquiry.
Harold A. Sanders, Spokesman
Arizona Department of Public Safety
±
----- Original Message -----
From: James Bretney [biz_account_only@yahoo.com]
Sent: 01/30/2008 06:49 PM
To:
Subject: 30 Day Impound questions
To the Department of Public Safety Spokesperson,
What happens to the fees paid ($150.00) to the Department of Public Safety for cars under the 30 day impound? How much money is collected statewide from these fees? What is the role and responsibilities of a Public Hearing Officer? How much discretion is given to this Public Hearing Officer? How does this Public Hearing Officer discern extenuating circumstance? How does this Public Hearing Officer discern culpability? What kind of legal training does this Public Hearing Officer have? Does the Public Hearing Officer have a duty to be courteous or polite to members of the public who have had their vehicles impounded?
Thank you.
Sincerely,
James A. Bretney
From: "James Bretney"
Subject: Re: 30 Day Impound questions - Response
To: HSanders@azdps.gov
Mr. Sanders,
I am still waiting a response from your office. Thank you.
James A. Bretney
HSanders@azdps.gov wrote:
Good Evening,
Your E-mail request for information has been received and you will be provided a timely response to your inquiry.
Harold A. Sanders, Spokesman
Arizona Department of Public Safety
±
----- Original Message -----
From: James Bretney [biz_account_only@yahoo.com]
Sent: 01/30/2008 06:49 PM
To:
Subject: 30 Day Impound questions
To the Department of Public Safety Spokesperson,
What happens to the fees paid ($150.00) to the Department of Public Safety for cars under the 30 day impound? How much money is collected statewide from these fees? What is the role and responsibilities of a Public Hearing Officer? How much discretion is given to this Public Hearing Officer? How does this Public Hearing Officer discern extenuating circumstance? How does this Public Hearing Officer discern culpability? What kind of legal training does this Public Hearing Officer have? Does the Public Hearing Officer have a duty to be courteous or polite to members of the public who have had their vehicles impounded?
Thank you.
Sincerely,
James A. Bretney
House Votes for College Aid for Vets
Recently the House voted for more pork for vets. Now, I am not against the vets, being one myself. But what America needs is affordable higher education not give aways like this (or Obama's $ 4,000 a year scheme) only drive it upward. Costs will only come down when State and Federal Governments privatize education and delegate government bureaucracy to private contractors.
Gabby's email:
February 8, 2008
Dear Mr. Bretney,
Last night, the House of Representatives bolstered educational opportunities for our men and women in uniform by passing H.R. 4137, the College Opportunity and Affordability Act. I was proud to cast my vote for the bill, which passed with a strong bipartisan majority of 354-58. It reforms our higher education system by making higher education more affordable and accessible for those who have served our country in the military.
H.R. 4137 expands college aid programs for our nation's heroes and their families, creating new scholarships to help them sustain the cost of higher education. It also includes a provision that will prevent interest from accruing on their student loans during deployments overseas to Iraq and Afghanistan.
In addition to financial support, this legislation provides resources to help our veterans finish college successfully, establishing support centers that will work with them until the day they graduate. Furthermore, the bill reforms student housing aid policies to make it easier for our soldiers, sailors, Marines and airman to go to school while fulfilling their military obligations.
House passage of the bill is an important first step. However, H.R. 4137 still awaits consideration by the Senate and the President's signature. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to take action and pass this important legislation.
Thank you for your continued interest in issues of importance to the men and women who serve in the United States Military as well as our nation's veterans. As this issue is debated in Congress, I will continue to keep you informed of its progress.
Sincerely Yours,
Gabrielle Giffords
Member of Congress
Washington DC
Office
502 Cannon House Office
Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone:(202) 225-2542
Fax: (202) 225-0378
Tucson
Congressional Office
1661 North Swan
Suite 112
Tucson, AZ 85712
Phone:(520) 881-3588
Fax: (520) 322-9490
Cochise County
Congressional Office
77 Calle Portal
Suite B - 160
Sierra Vista, AZ 85635
Phone:(520) 459-3115
Fax: (520) 459-5419
Gabby's email:
February 8, 2008
Dear Mr. Bretney,
Last night, the House of Representatives bolstered educational opportunities for our men and women in uniform by passing H.R. 4137, the College Opportunity and Affordability Act. I was proud to cast my vote for the bill, which passed with a strong bipartisan majority of 354-58. It reforms our higher education system by making higher education more affordable and accessible for those who have served our country in the military.
H.R. 4137 expands college aid programs for our nation's heroes and their families, creating new scholarships to help them sustain the cost of higher education. It also includes a provision that will prevent interest from accruing on their student loans during deployments overseas to Iraq and Afghanistan.
In addition to financial support, this legislation provides resources to help our veterans finish college successfully, establishing support centers that will work with them until the day they graduate. Furthermore, the bill reforms student housing aid policies to make it easier for our soldiers, sailors, Marines and airman to go to school while fulfilling their military obligations.
House passage of the bill is an important first step. However, H.R. 4137 still awaits consideration by the Senate and the President's signature. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to take action and pass this important legislation.
Thank you for your continued interest in issues of importance to the men and women who serve in the United States Military as well as our nation's veterans. As this issue is debated in Congress, I will continue to keep you informed of its progress.
Sincerely Yours,
Gabrielle Giffords
Member of Congress
Washington DC
Office
502 Cannon House Office
Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone:(202) 225-2542
Fax: (202) 225-0378
Tucson
Congressional Office
1661 North Swan
Suite 112
Tucson, AZ 85712
Phone:(520) 881-3588
Fax: (520) 322-9490
Cochise County
Congressional Office
77 Calle Portal
Suite B - 160
Sierra Vista, AZ 85635
Phone:(520) 459-3115
Fax: (520) 459-5419
The Year of the Rat: A look at the Democrats
"The Rat (鼠) was welcomed in ancient times as a protector and bringer of material prosperity. It is an animal associated with aggression, wealth, charm, and order, yet also associated with death, war, the occult, pestilence, and atrocities. In the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of the Rat is associated with the earthly branch symbol 子." (Wikipedia)
This is the year of the rat!
Obama has stopped attacking Hillary and started attacking J-Mac. J-Mac just swept MD, VA and DC.
The house hasn't fallen on the wearer of the Ruby Slippers. But it is coming. Slick Willie can't attack Obama anymore because he is worried that black people will remember his racist remarks when they think about his legacy. The attack of the killer surrogates hasn't worked either. This is the last scene of the second act of this political theater.
If I was Lady MacBeth and I had some dirt on Obama, I would unleash it. I would pounce on him for defining what change is as he hasn't defined what it is. I would also attack Obama as naive too much of a pansy to stand up and fight the Republicans.
HILLARY CLINTON
America needs a real man and I am the man to do it.
[Applause]
Look for this androgynous Caligua from Arkansas to stab Obama in the back in the weeks leading up to TX and OH.
But if Obama or Hillary wins and we withdraw from Iraq in defeat, then the men and women I knew who were injured or killed over there would have died for nothing. My tour of duty meant nothing. But if we hand them another defeat, it will set the Democrats back another ten years and it will mean certain death for bin Laden and the other Mohammedans.
Further, Iran is having Parliamentary elections in March and presidential elections in May. For the first time, there is a rift in the government between the Ayotollah and Ahmedinejad. 70% of the population in Iran is under the age of 30 and is frustrated with the failures of Ahmed to deliver on his campaign promises of greater economic prosperity 4 years ago. The Ayotollah threw Ahmed under the bus recently by decrying Ahmed's failure to provide heating subsidies to those living above vast natural gas reserves. German engineers were supposed to develop those fields. We blocked that development by sanctions because of Ahmed's nuclear quest to bring about the Mahdi - the Islamic messiah who will bring about Armageddon.
We need a President who will confront the Ahmed if he is in power and if he is not ease Iran back into the family of nations on the democratic path free of the religious bigotry and brutality that has marked the 3 decade life of this evil regime.
The world economy is tettering because of geopolitical instability. A free, democratic and pro-Western Iran will assuage that anxiety and be the final chapter to the end of the war on terror.
November is a long way away. But it is something to think about.
This is the year of the rat!
Obama has stopped attacking Hillary and started attacking J-Mac. J-Mac just swept MD, VA and DC.
The house hasn't fallen on the wearer of the Ruby Slippers. But it is coming. Slick Willie can't attack Obama anymore because he is worried that black people will remember his racist remarks when they think about his legacy. The attack of the killer surrogates hasn't worked either. This is the last scene of the second act of this political theater.
If I was Lady MacBeth and I had some dirt on Obama, I would unleash it. I would pounce on him for defining what change is as he hasn't defined what it is. I would also attack Obama as naive too much of a pansy to stand up and fight the Republicans.
HILLARY CLINTON
America needs a real man and I am the man to do it.
[Applause]
Look for this androgynous Caligua from Arkansas to stab Obama in the back in the weeks leading up to TX and OH.
But if Obama or Hillary wins and we withdraw from Iraq in defeat, then the men and women I knew who were injured or killed over there would have died for nothing. My tour of duty meant nothing. But if we hand them another defeat, it will set the Democrats back another ten years and it will mean certain death for bin Laden and the other Mohammedans.
Further, Iran is having Parliamentary elections in March and presidential elections in May. For the first time, there is a rift in the government between the Ayotollah and Ahmedinejad. 70% of the population in Iran is under the age of 30 and is frustrated with the failures of Ahmed to deliver on his campaign promises of greater economic prosperity 4 years ago. The Ayotollah threw Ahmed under the bus recently by decrying Ahmed's failure to provide heating subsidies to those living above vast natural gas reserves. German engineers were supposed to develop those fields. We blocked that development by sanctions because of Ahmed's nuclear quest to bring about the Mahdi - the Islamic messiah who will bring about Armageddon.
We need a President who will confront the Ahmed if he is in power and if he is not ease Iran back into the family of nations on the democratic path free of the religious bigotry and brutality that has marked the 3 decade life of this evil regime.
The world economy is tettering because of geopolitical instability. A free, democratic and pro-Western Iran will assuage that anxiety and be the final chapter to the end of the war on terror.
November is a long way away. But it is something to think about.
Military.com's Legislative Report Card: So AZ Delegation
megavote@mailmanager.net wrote:
Military.com
presents:
MegaVote
Edit Subscription | Unsubscribe
Congressional Directories
February 11, 2008
In this MegaVote for Arizona's 7th Congressional District:
Recent Congressional Votes -
* Senate: Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act of 2008
* House: College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007
* House: Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act of 2008
Upcoming Congressional Bills -
* Senate: FISA Amendments Act of 2007
* House: Public Housing Asset Management Improvement Act of 2007
* House: Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008
Recent Senate Votes
Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act of 2008 - Vote Passed (81-16, 3 Not Voting)
The bipartisan economic stimulus package passed the Senate last week, with the chamber opting to amend this House bill rather than pass its own.
Sen. John McCain voted YES......send e-mail or see bio
Sen. Jon Kyl voted NO......send e-mail or see bio
Recent House Votes
College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007 - Vote Passed (354-58, 17 Not Voting)
The House passed this bill to address rising tuition costs and remove obstacles that make it more difficult for students to attend college.
Rep. Raul Grijalva voted YES......
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords voted YES......
Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act of 2008 - Vote Passed (380-34, 16 Not Voting)
The House agreed to the Senate amendment of the economic stimulus package, expanding the eligibility of rebate checks to over 130 million people.
Rep. Raul Grijalva voted YES......send e-mail or see bio
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords voted YES......send e-mail or see bio
Upcoming Votes
FISA Amendments Act of 2007 - S.2248
The Senate will continue work on this intelligence surveillance bill.
Public Housing Asset Management Improvement Act of 2007 - H.R.3521
The House is scheduled to vote on this bill to improve the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s operating fund for public housing.
Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008 - H.R.____
The House may also vote on a bill that would extend and increase renewable energy and efficiency tax incentives.
Military.com
presents:
MegaVote
Edit Subscription | Unsubscribe
Congressional Directories
February 11, 2008
In this MegaVote for Arizona's 7th Congressional District:
Recent Congressional Votes -
* Senate: Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act of 2008
* House: College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007
* House: Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act of 2008
Upcoming Congressional Bills -
* Senate: FISA Amendments Act of 2007
* House: Public Housing Asset Management Improvement Act of 2007
* House: Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008
Recent Senate Votes
Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act of 2008 - Vote Passed (81-16, 3 Not Voting)
The bipartisan economic stimulus package passed the Senate last week, with the chamber opting to amend this House bill rather than pass its own.
Sen. John McCain voted YES......send e-mail or see bio
Sen. Jon Kyl voted NO......send e-mail or see bio
Recent House Votes
College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007 - Vote Passed (354-58, 17 Not Voting)
The House passed this bill to address rising tuition costs and remove obstacles that make it more difficult for students to attend college.
Rep. Raul Grijalva voted YES......
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords voted YES......
Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act of 2008 - Vote Passed (380-34, 16 Not Voting)
The House agreed to the Senate amendment of the economic stimulus package, expanding the eligibility of rebate checks to over 130 million people.
Rep. Raul Grijalva voted YES......send e-mail or see bio
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords voted YES......send e-mail or see bio
Upcoming Votes
FISA Amendments Act of 2007 - S.2248
The Senate will continue work on this intelligence surveillance bill.
Public Housing Asset Management Improvement Act of 2007 - H.R.3521
The House is scheduled to vote on this bill to improve the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s operating fund for public housing.
Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008 - H.R.____
The House may also vote on a bill that would extend and increase renewable energy and efficiency tax incentives.
Richardson to America: Enforcement Works!
From Tim Richardson
San Antonio Express-News
U.S., local immigration teamwork is hailed
Web Posted: 02/10/2008 11:07 PM CST
Hernán Rozemberg
Express-News
The rapid growth of a little-known program that teams federal agents with local authorities to identify and deport jailed immigrants is being embraced as a way to reduce crime and illegal immigration simultaneously.
The expansion has been felt throughout South Central Texas, with 22 more Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents added to the area last year.
The Travis County Sheriff's Department approved an ICE request last month to open an office at its lockup. A similar acceleration is planned for Bexar County Jail, which ICE agents already visit daily.
Under the Criminal Alien Program, the agents check inmates identified by jail administrators as foreign nationals.
Those who are not legally in the country — a determination that only federal agents can make — receive "detainers," meaning ICE agents have one day after their release date to take them into federal custody once their criminal cases are resolved.
They're subject to deportation after they've served their sentence — or if the charges are dismissed without a conviction.
The Criminal Alien Program has operated since the 1980s under the former Immigration and Naturalization Service. CAP is one of an array of programs the Department of Homeland Security last year offered to local and state law enforcement agencies.
"It has always been a politically popular concept," said Jan Ting, assistant INS commissioner in the early 1990s. "Who could argue against saying, 'Hey, we're kicking bad guys out?'"
But until last year, CAP had been an informal arrangement without a centralized tracking system.
Now its funding has increased and it has moved from ICE's investigations unit to its detention and deportation wing, with a goal of assigning CAP teams to more than 4,000 local jails and state prisons and 114 federal prisons.
"I live in this community," said Adrian Ramírez, second in command of ICE's detention and deportation office in San Antonio, whose five CAP teams are responsible for monitoring inmates at 84 jails in 54 counties stretching from Harlingen north to Temple and from Del Rio east to Victoria.
"We don't want the reintroduction of criminal aliens into our community. We don't want to free up people that could cause harm," Ramírez added.
That's a goal shared by local authorities, who have welcomed federal agents into their jails.
Dale Bennett, a deputy chief with the Bexar County Sheriff's Office, said ICE agents have been checking inmate rolls at the county jail for years.
"If they're criminal aliens, they need to be gone," Bennett said. "If we have (ICE agents) sit in an office to screen possible illegal aliens, it would only speed up the process."
Though the program is under ICE control, in some areas such as the Rio Grande Valley, Border Patrol agents have retained "jail check" duties, said agency spokesman Oscar Saldaña in Edinburg.
The CAP expansion has been controversial after the national attention it gathered in Irving, a suburb of Dallas. The city's Police Department took the initiative by dramatically increasing its referrals to ICE, leading to the deportation of more than 2,000 people since September 2006.
Though the city claimed the move was the primary factor in a 7 percent drop in crime from 2006 to 2007, it created an uproar in the Hispanic community, which accused police and city leaders of trying to clear out Latino residents through racial profiling.
Ramírez, the ICE administrator here, said that for security reasons he couldn't divulge how agents determine inmates' immigration status, but he noted that it's not done by race or ethnicity. Security also was the reason the agency denied repeated Express-News requests to observe ICE agents on CAP duty at Bexar County Jail.
Nationwide, more local law enforcement agencies are asking ICE to visit their jails. The annual budget for CAP efforts has ballooned from $33.7 million in 2005 to $178.8 million this year.
Localities signing up span the country, from Los Angeles County, Calif., to the city of Lewisville near Denton, to Okaloosa County in Florida and Suffolk County in New York.
It's hard to tell what the precise effect will be, other than a presumed increase in the numbers being deported. In practice, the program has given priority to identifying and deporting felons, but the expansion aims to include undocumented immigrants booked into jail on any crime.
Statistics on how many Bexar inmates have been flagged for deportation were unavailable. Ramírez said nationwide record keeping has been spotty at best and ICE only recently standardized it, so the agency does not know how many of the 164,296 criminally charged undocumented immigrants it identified in 2007 were actually deported.
Chris Kirk, sheriff of Brazos County and president of the Sheriffs' Association of Texas which represents all 254 county sheriffs in the state, said his colleagues deem illegal immigration a problem for local law enforcement.
But he noted that not all of them may deal with the issue the same way. While he would personally welcome CAP agents, others may not be so agreeable.
"Texas is a very diverse state" Kirk said. "We've got 254 counties and 254 ways that sheriffs choose to deal with this question."
Principal opposition to CAP has come from immigrant advocates, who don't question the need to swiftly boot out convicted felons. Their beef is the potential abuse of power by local authorities.
Nina Perales, regional counsel with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund in San Antonio, which has participated in lawsuits against cities trying to assume immigration enforcement powers, said there's not much accountability for programs such as CAP.
For example, there could be legal worries with the way jail workers flag potential illegal inmates for ICE.
"They need to understand that CAP is a limited program and you can't use it to declare open season on Latinos or immigrants," Perales said.
San Antonio Express-News
U.S., local immigration teamwork is hailed
Web Posted: 02/10/2008 11:07 PM CST
Hernán Rozemberg
Express-News
The rapid growth of a little-known program that teams federal agents with local authorities to identify and deport jailed immigrants is being embraced as a way to reduce crime and illegal immigration simultaneously.
The expansion has been felt throughout South Central Texas, with 22 more Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents added to the area last year.
The Travis County Sheriff's Department approved an ICE request last month to open an office at its lockup. A similar acceleration is planned for Bexar County Jail, which ICE agents already visit daily.
Under the Criminal Alien Program, the agents check inmates identified by jail administrators as foreign nationals.
Those who are not legally in the country — a determination that only federal agents can make — receive "detainers," meaning ICE agents have one day after their release date to take them into federal custody once their criminal cases are resolved.
They're subject to deportation after they've served their sentence — or if the charges are dismissed without a conviction.
The Criminal Alien Program has operated since the 1980s under the former Immigration and Naturalization Service. CAP is one of an array of programs the Department of Homeland Security last year offered to local and state law enforcement agencies.
"It has always been a politically popular concept," said Jan Ting, assistant INS commissioner in the early 1990s. "Who could argue against saying, 'Hey, we're kicking bad guys out?'"
But until last year, CAP had been an informal arrangement without a centralized tracking system.
Now its funding has increased and it has moved from ICE's investigations unit to its detention and deportation wing, with a goal of assigning CAP teams to more than 4,000 local jails and state prisons and 114 federal prisons.
"I live in this community," said Adrian Ramírez, second in command of ICE's detention and deportation office in San Antonio, whose five CAP teams are responsible for monitoring inmates at 84 jails in 54 counties stretching from Harlingen north to Temple and from Del Rio east to Victoria.
"We don't want the reintroduction of criminal aliens into our community. We don't want to free up people that could cause harm," Ramírez added.
That's a goal shared by local authorities, who have welcomed federal agents into their jails.
Dale Bennett, a deputy chief with the Bexar County Sheriff's Office, said ICE agents have been checking inmate rolls at the county jail for years.
"If they're criminal aliens, they need to be gone," Bennett said. "If we have (ICE agents) sit in an office to screen possible illegal aliens, it would only speed up the process."
Though the program is under ICE control, in some areas such as the Rio Grande Valley, Border Patrol agents have retained "jail check" duties, said agency spokesman Oscar Saldaña in Edinburg.
The CAP expansion has been controversial after the national attention it gathered in Irving, a suburb of Dallas. The city's Police Department took the initiative by dramatically increasing its referrals to ICE, leading to the deportation of more than 2,000 people since September 2006.
Though the city claimed the move was the primary factor in a 7 percent drop in crime from 2006 to 2007, it created an uproar in the Hispanic community, which accused police and city leaders of trying to clear out Latino residents through racial profiling.
Ramírez, the ICE administrator here, said that for security reasons he couldn't divulge how agents determine inmates' immigration status, but he noted that it's not done by race or ethnicity. Security also was the reason the agency denied repeated Express-News requests to observe ICE agents on CAP duty at Bexar County Jail.
Nationwide, more local law enforcement agencies are asking ICE to visit their jails. The annual budget for CAP efforts has ballooned from $33.7 million in 2005 to $178.8 million this year.
Localities signing up span the country, from Los Angeles County, Calif., to the city of Lewisville near Denton, to Okaloosa County in Florida and Suffolk County in New York.
It's hard to tell what the precise effect will be, other than a presumed increase in the numbers being deported. In practice, the program has given priority to identifying and deporting felons, but the expansion aims to include undocumented immigrants booked into jail on any crime.
Statistics on how many Bexar inmates have been flagged for deportation were unavailable. Ramírez said nationwide record keeping has been spotty at best and ICE only recently standardized it, so the agency does not know how many of the 164,296 criminally charged undocumented immigrants it identified in 2007 were actually deported.
Chris Kirk, sheriff of Brazos County and president of the Sheriffs' Association of Texas which represents all 254 county sheriffs in the state, said his colleagues deem illegal immigration a problem for local law enforcement.
But he noted that not all of them may deal with the issue the same way. While he would personally welcome CAP agents, others may not be so agreeable.
"Texas is a very diverse state" Kirk said. "We've got 254 counties and 254 ways that sheriffs choose to deal with this question."
Principal opposition to CAP has come from immigrant advocates, who don't question the need to swiftly boot out convicted felons. Their beef is the potential abuse of power by local authorities.
Nina Perales, regional counsel with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund in San Antonio, which has participated in lawsuits against cities trying to assume immigration enforcement powers, said there's not much accountability for programs such as CAP.
For example, there could be legal worries with the way jail workers flag potential illegal inmates for ICE.
"They need to understand that CAP is a limited program and you can't use it to declare open season on Latinos or immigrants," Perales said.
Urging you to attend AZ Right to Life gala Feb. 23rd, Saturday
from Rachel Alexander
Please consider attending Arizona Right to Life's Annual Benefit Gala & Silent Auction next Saturday evening, Feb. 23rd. AZRTL's annual galas are fun with lots of interesting speakers, and you'll be helping save the lives of the unborn. Charitable and nonprofit organizations across the country all took a hit financially this past year because of the economy. If you're thinking about attending a charitable event, please consider the AZ Right to Life dinner. Please join me there!
2008 Gala
Arizona Right to Life is proud to present the “Building a Legacy of Life & Liberty” Gala.
Honorary Hostesses Cheryl Flake, Josie Franks, Roberta Renzi and Shirley Shadegg cordially invite you to the 2008 Annual Benefit Gala and Silent Auction benefiting Arizona Right to Life.
Special Guest:
Secretary James Nicholson
Date:
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Time:
Silent Auction 5:30 pm, Dinner 7:00 pm
Cost:
$125 per person
Private VIP Hors d’Oeuvres Reception: 5:30 pm
$50 per person
Click here to reserve your tickets
Location:
Scottsdale Chaparral Suites Resort
Conference Center
5001 North Scottsdale Road
Scottsdale, Arizona
Dress:
Black Tie Optional
Please consider attending Arizona Right to Life's Annual Benefit Gala & Silent Auction next Saturday evening, Feb. 23rd. AZRTL's annual galas are fun with lots of interesting speakers, and you'll be helping save the lives of the unborn. Charitable and nonprofit organizations across the country all took a hit financially this past year because of the economy. If you're thinking about attending a charitable event, please consider the AZ Right to Life dinner. Please join me there!
2008 Gala
Arizona Right to Life is proud to present the “Building a Legacy of Life & Liberty” Gala.
Honorary Hostesses Cheryl Flake, Josie Franks, Roberta Renzi and Shirley Shadegg cordially invite you to the 2008 Annual Benefit Gala and Silent Auction benefiting Arizona Right to Life.
Special Guest:
Secretary James Nicholson
Date:
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Time:
Silent Auction 5:30 pm, Dinner 7:00 pm
Cost:
$125 per person
Private VIP Hors d’Oeuvres Reception: 5:30 pm
$50 per person
Click here to reserve your tickets
Location:
Scottsdale Chaparral Suites Resort
Conference Center
5001 North Scottsdale Road
Scottsdale, Arizona
Dress:
Black Tie Optional
Grass Roots Activist Takes On Tim Bee over rotting Yuma Lettuce
Senator Tim Bee, President Arizona Senate
I am one confused individual and am hoping you can explain some things to me.
This all relates to SB1482.
A grower in Yuma needed some pickers. He supposedly was unable to find local workers and made arrangements with a broker to hire workers from Mexico.
The broker applied for and received a number of work visas and brought in a crew legally.
In December of 2007 the local farm workers union brought suit against the broker for taking the work that union members could have done and giving it to legally entered workers.
Now I see that there is a bill in the AZ Senate to establish an Arizona temporary worker program. Will this bring suits against the State of Arizona from the farm union?
It seemed to me that this bill was duplicating a Federal program that was already in place and functioning. So I contacted legislators to ask why we need this.
One response that I got from a legislator said: The program is needed in Arizona because workers are needed in industries where American workers are not available (i.e.., picking chilies or lettuce, stuccoing new buildings, roofing in Phoenix at 120 degrees). The article you read was about a federal visa for agricultural workers only. There is a shortage in the Arizona available work force in several industries, including agriculture.
I have looked at the sponsors and it appears to me that most of the sponsors are from geographic areas that have mostly agriculture opportunities for temporary workers. And stuccoing and roofing of new buildings have pretty much ground to a halt in this state.
Since agricultural work is covered by a functioning Federal program, then why not eliminate the agricultural provisions of the proposed Arizona program?
There are over 18 million illegal aliens in this country now.
Go look on the streets of Metropolitan Phoenix and count how many are hanging out and flagging passing cars. Multiply that by 4 for how many there are hanging out on the streets in Orange County, CA.
Yet the growers cannot find picking crews.
Why? Because agriculture work is not something illegal aliens are willing to accept, unless forced to through a Federal guest worker program that span’s state boundaries so that the workers can be migratory.
To bring in additional workers, who will quickly jump ship to find more desireable work and disappear to the interior will only compound the problem.
Tim Richardson
McNeal, AZ 85617 tmrich@vtc.net
I am one confused individual and am hoping you can explain some things to me.
This all relates to SB1482.
A grower in Yuma needed some pickers. He supposedly was unable to find local workers and made arrangements with a broker to hire workers from Mexico.
The broker applied for and received a number of work visas and brought in a crew legally.
In December of 2007 the local farm workers union brought suit against the broker for taking the work that union members could have done and giving it to legally entered workers.
Now I see that there is a bill in the AZ Senate to establish an Arizona temporary worker program. Will this bring suits against the State of Arizona from the farm union?
It seemed to me that this bill was duplicating a Federal program that was already in place and functioning. So I contacted legislators to ask why we need this.
One response that I got from a legislator said: The program is needed in Arizona because workers are needed in industries where American workers are not available (i.e.., picking chilies or lettuce, stuccoing new buildings, roofing in Phoenix at 120 degrees). The article you read was about a federal visa for agricultural workers only. There is a shortage in the Arizona available work force in several industries, including agriculture.
I have looked at the sponsors and it appears to me that most of the sponsors are from geographic areas that have mostly agriculture opportunities for temporary workers. And stuccoing and roofing of new buildings have pretty much ground to a halt in this state.
Since agricultural work is covered by a functioning Federal program, then why not eliminate the agricultural provisions of the proposed Arizona program?
There are over 18 million illegal aliens in this country now.
Go look on the streets of Metropolitan Phoenix and count how many are hanging out and flagging passing cars. Multiply that by 4 for how many there are hanging out on the streets in Orange County, CA.
Yet the growers cannot find picking crews.
Why? Because agriculture work is not something illegal aliens are willing to accept, unless forced to through a Federal guest worker program that span’s state boundaries so that the workers can be migratory.
To bring in additional workers, who will quickly jump ship to find more desireable work and disappear to the interior will only compound the problem.
Tim Richardson
McNeal, AZ 85617 tmrich@vtc.net
Holy Third Party Politics Batman! The Conservative Party of Cochise County?
from Jim Ehl
Strider wrote:
A short while ago the Arizona Town Crier sent an article titled, "Communications, lack thereof". That received a number of positive replies. However, one from a higher up in the party noted, "....every time I read your missives where you talk about leaving the party, 3rd parties , your disappointment about this or that it makes you irrelevant ." To continue with the irrelevance,
At the CPAC meeting in Washington, D.C, which I understand the state chair attended, Newt Gingrich warns of a GOP catastrophe. In a rousing speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Sunday, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich called for a conservative “declaration of independence” from the Republican Party. He also warned that Republicans face a “catastrophic” election this year unless the GOP changes course. Gingrich stressed that he was not commenting on any of the current candidates for president. He went ahead to say, and it's a comment about the Republican Party, and all the candidates currently running fit within those two phrases. But it is about all of us. It is about our Congressman, our Senator, our governors, our county commissioners, our school board members. He followed that by saying “And I believe that this is a time for the conservative movement to issue a declaration of independence… . And, he said, I also think that we need to declare our independence from trying to protect and defend failed bureaucracies that magically become ours as soon as we are in charge of them. You are encouraged to read the whole thing at http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/Gingrich_Warns_of_GOP_Cat/2008/02/11/71879.html?s=al&promo_code=4505-1
Read the underlined line again.
Bobby Eberle writes in the GOP Eagle in an article titled, "The Contract With Conservatives", ".... the conservative base has seen the Republican Party go astray. From runaway spending, to big government programs, to assaults on our First Amendment rights to amnesty for illegal aliens, conservatives have become disheartened. Conservatives are told to be loyal to the Republican Party, yet the Republican Party has shown no loyalty to the conservative base. Conservatives are told to fall in line and work for Republican candidates, yet Republican candidates are not working for conservatives." He also stated that "The elections of 2006 showed what can happen when Republican officeholders do not follow through on core Republican principles. Turnout goes down, and Republicans lose. The trend is looking even worse for 2008."
You can read the contract by going to http://www.gopusa.com/activist/petitions/petition.php?petition=080211_cwc.our
In GrassTops USA Don Feder noted in his article "10 reasons not to vote for John McCain", I just got back from the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C., where conservatives began lining up behind a man who's been sticking it to us for years. By a process of self-hypnosis, many have managed to convince themselves that McCain is actually one of us."
Certainly, there are McCain supporters out there He was elected in presidential preference primary in Arizona, wasn't he? Ron Paul is scaling back his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination and has ruled out running as a third-party candidate, but he’s making it clear that he’s not about to endorse GOP front-runner John McCain.
So, where do we go from here?? On the party blog in a letter from the chair he says, " our party’s nominee will be our own Arizona US Senator John McCain. Let me state once again, our Republican nominee for president will be Arizona US Senator John McCain. " Notice, "our own". He goes on to say, "“Our job as a political party is specifically to elect Republicans to office. That is why the Republican Party was first created and it remains our singular mission today. To do our job, we must unite."
He ends by saying, "If we are united and focused, they cannot be successful, and 2008 will be a year of true Republican resurgence in our state."
I was told "All Republicans should support the parties nominees." That's one size fits all! That's not what I just read from Newt and others.
The only way that I can read this for the members of the party to forget and forgive all the hate and discontent that John McCain has brought on the party and for not other reason than he is a registered Republican support him.
The chair said, to do out job we must UNITE! How, when, why, where???? For the state committeemen receiving no communications, nor plans, nor ideas or direction from the state party not in many cases (like mine) nothing from the local party, repeat, who, how, what, where, when and why?
The chair also repeats the scare phrase, ?Who would we rather trust with the paychecks we earn or with the lives of our sons and daughters: Senator John McCain, or the winner of the Clinton-Obama primary?" That's a qualified answer. Unless McCain signs the contract with conservatives he not going to get a hell of a lot of votes from conservatives, and that should be the goal of the party right now, not to elect him just because he Republican after his name.
Irrelevant Jim
Strider
A short while ago the Arizona Town Crier sent an article titled, "Communications, lack thereof". That received a number of positive replies. However, one from a higher up in the party noted, "....every time I read your missives where you talk about leaving the party, 3rd parties , your disappointment about this or that it makes you irrelevant ." To continue with the irrelevance,
At the CPAC meeting in Washington, D.C, which I understand the state chair attended, Newt Gingrich warns of a GOP catastrophe. In a rousing speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Sunday, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich called for a conservative “declaration of independence” from the Republican Party. He also warned that Republicans face a “catastrophic” election this year unless the GOP changes course. Gingrich stressed that he was not commenting on any of the current candidates for president. He went ahead to say, and it's a comment about the Republican Party, and all the candidates currently running fit within those two phrases. But it is about all of us. It is about our Congressman, our Senator, our governors, our county commissioners, our school board members. He followed that by saying “And I believe that this is a time for the conservative movement to issue a declaration of independence… . And, he said, I also think that we need to declare our independence from trying to protect and defend failed bureaucracies that magically become ours as soon as we are in charge of them. You are encouraged to read the whole thing at http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/Gingrich_Warns_of_GOP_Cat/2008/02/11/71879.html?s=al&promo_code=4505-1
Read the underlined line again.
Bobby Eberle writes in the GOP Eagle in an article titled, "The Contract With Conservatives", ".... the conservative base has seen the Republican Party go astray. From runaway spending, to big government programs, to assaults on our First Amendment rights to amnesty for illegal aliens, conservatives have become disheartened. Conservatives are told to be loyal to the Republican Party, yet the Republican Party has shown no loyalty to the conservative base. Conservatives are told to fall in line and work for Republican candidates, yet Republican candidates are not working for conservatives." He also stated that "The elections of 2006 showed what can happen when Republican officeholders do not follow through on core Republican principles. Turnout goes down, and Republicans lose. The trend is looking even worse for 2008."
You can read the contract by going to http://www.gopusa.com/activist/petitions/petition.php?petition=080211_cwc.our
In GrassTops USA Don Feder noted in his article "10 reasons not to vote for John McCain", I just got back from the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C., where conservatives began lining up behind a man who's been sticking it to us for years. By a process of self-hypnosis, many have managed to convince themselves that McCain is actually one of us."
Certainly, there are McCain supporters out there He was elected in presidential preference primary in Arizona, wasn't he? Ron Paul is scaling back his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination and has ruled out running as a third-party candidate, but he’s making it clear that he’s not about to endorse GOP front-runner John McCain.
So, where do we go from here?? On the party blog in a letter from the chair he says, " our party’s nominee will be our own Arizona US Senator John McCain. Let me state once again, our Republican nominee for president will be Arizona US Senator John McCain. " Notice, "our own". He goes on to say, "“Our job as a political party is specifically to elect Republicans to office. That is why the Republican Party was first created and it remains our singular mission today. To do our job, we must unite."
He ends by saying, "If we are united and focused, they cannot be successful, and 2008 will be a year of true Republican resurgence in our state."
I was told "All Republicans should support the parties nominees." That's one size fits all! That's not what I just read from Newt and others.
The only way that I can read this for the members of the party to forget and forgive all the hate and discontent that John McCain has brought on the party and for not other reason than he is a registered Republican support him.
The chair said, to do out job we must UNITE! How, when, why, where???? For the state committeemen receiving no communications, nor plans, nor ideas or direction from the state party not in many cases (like mine) nothing from the local party, repeat, who, how, what, where, when and why?
The chair also repeats the scare phrase, ?Who would we rather trust with the paychecks we earn or with the lives of our sons and daughters: Senator John McCain, or the winner of the Clinton-Obama primary?" That's a qualified answer. Unless McCain signs the contract with conservatives he not going to get a hell of a lot of votes from conservatives, and that should be the goal of the party right now, not to elect him just because he Republican after his name.
Irrelevant Jim
Code Pink Need Not Apply
from Tim Richardson
Here are companies that I will certainly do business with.
***************************************************************************
BERKELEY, Calif. Local officials in this liberal city say it's time for the U.S. Marines to move out. The City Council has voted to tell the Marines their downtown recruiting station is not welcome and 'if recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome guests.' The measure passed this week by a vote of 8-1.
Now check this out, here is a letter a businessman wrote to the Mayor of Berkeley. Is this a great country or what? ...and this is the kind of response it takes from Americans to stand up against the tide of apathy and self serving idiots.
I pasted the story in below, but you can see the site story for yourself. http://www.anewtone.com/
Dear Mayor Bates,
In that you and your city have chosen to gravely insult the brave men and women, who have indeed bought you that right with their blood, I am informing you that my company will no longer do business with any of our current suppliers located in the Berkeley, California metro area.
In that my company is in international resort real estate development, and do business with and am associated with, developers and investors worldwide, I am informing all of my contacts, associates and patrons that we will no longer do any business of any sort with anyone living in the Berkeley area.
In that we/MDG Resorts are currently building a state of the art mega-yacht marina, all of the suppliers of Marina equipment, all owners of Yachts, all suppliers of Yacht materials & supplies, all yacht brokers and all tangential yacht business purveyors will likewise be informed that we will not do any business whatsoever with anyone from the Berkeley area.
Likewise all suppliers of building materials, both interior and exterior, currently associated with any of our several resort developments (Brisamar 300+ villas and 200+ condos: Porto Hussong
marina) both of which I might add have international recognition by virtue of glowing reports in Robb Report, Wall Street Journal, Yacht World, Forbes.
I will likewise inform all of our investors, most of whom are very wealthy yacht owners, casino owners, high net worth international businessmen, of our decision to essentially boycott all products and providers located in, or associated with in any way whatsoever, Berkeley, Ca .
Trust me when I say that having been in the real estate development business for over 35 years, our list of contacts and associates is long and very, very impressive. We, and I personally, are going to recomend that they ALL along with us boycott your city, its purveyors, suppliers, and businesses and CHARITIES of every kind.
You have every right to choose to take the obnoxious anti-military stance you have taken, and as stated, that right was bought for you with the blood of better men than you.
I too have every right to do all that I can to insure that your city suffers consequences arising from that obnoxious, sickening stance.
Cordially,
Brian G Dennard
In another piece from Melanie Morgan
Good Morning "Code Pink Corps"
Our company has just completed an analysis of the funds we have spent during 2007 within the city limits of Berkeley. The number was larger than I expected: $230,716. This amount is broken down in the following categories:
Meals and meeting expenses: $43,807; Printing, copies and imaging services: $36,954. Shipping expenses $18,534; temporary employment $103,954; Office supplies and equipment purchases: $27,467.
Our expenses above in Berkeley increased by about 12% this past year. We have budgeted a similar increase for 2008.
Because of the actions of "CodePink" and the Berkeley City Council we find that we must now exercise our 'freedom to act' and not do business within the City of Berkeley any longer. Over the next five years, the City of Berkeley will lose just from our organization from
$1.4 to $1.7 million in business.
We will still grow our business successfully but we will fulfill our service needs, including meals and meeting expenses, at locations OTHER THAN BERKELEY. We are also encouraging our colleagues and business associates to do the same. Many will not be as direct as we are in communicating to you our actions.
While we regret that this action will hurt many worthy individuals and businesses in Berkeley, we are sure to gain a more friendly business environment elsewhere as our business continues to thrive. Gee, ain't freedom and free markets great?
You've made your decisions ... we have made ours.
Karl G.
copies to:
Berkeley City Council
SF Chronicle reporters Rubenstein & Fagan
Melanie Morgan, KSFO Radio
CEO of Berkeley Downtown Business Association
Code Pink Corps
Neil Cavuto, Your World, Fox News Channel
Here are companies that I will certainly do business with.
***************************************************************************
BERKELEY, Calif. Local officials in this liberal city say it's time for the U.S. Marines to move out. The City Council has voted to tell the Marines their downtown recruiting station is not welcome and 'if recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome guests.' The measure passed this week by a vote of 8-1.
Now check this out, here is a letter a businessman wrote to the Mayor of Berkeley. Is this a great country or what? ...and this is the kind of response it takes from Americans to stand up against the tide of apathy and self serving idiots.
I pasted the story in below, but you can see the site story for yourself. http://www.anewtone.com/
Dear Mayor Bates,
In that you and your city have chosen to gravely insult the brave men and women, who have indeed bought you that right with their blood, I am informing you that my company will no longer do business with any of our current suppliers located in the Berkeley, California metro area.
In that my company is in international resort real estate development, and do business with and am associated with, developers and investors worldwide, I am informing all of my contacts, associates and patrons that we will no longer do any business of any sort with anyone living in the Berkeley area.
In that we/MDG Resorts are currently building a state of the art mega-yacht marina, all of the suppliers of Marina equipment, all owners of Yachts, all suppliers of Yacht materials & supplies, all yacht brokers and all tangential yacht business purveyors will likewise be informed that we will not do any business whatsoever with anyone from the Berkeley area.
Likewise all suppliers of building materials, both interior and exterior, currently associated with any of our several resort developments (Brisamar 300+ villas and 200+ condos: Porto Hussong
marina) both of which I might add have international recognition by virtue of glowing reports in Robb Report, Wall Street Journal, Yacht World, Forbes.
I will likewise inform all of our investors, most of whom are very wealthy yacht owners, casino owners, high net worth international businessmen, of our decision to essentially boycott all products and providers located in, or associated with in any way whatsoever, Berkeley, Ca .
Trust me when I say that having been in the real estate development business for over 35 years, our list of contacts and associates is long and very, very impressive. We, and I personally, are going to recomend that they ALL along with us boycott your city, its purveyors, suppliers, and businesses and CHARITIES of every kind.
You have every right to choose to take the obnoxious anti-military stance you have taken, and as stated, that right was bought for you with the blood of better men than you.
I too have every right to do all that I can to insure that your city suffers consequences arising from that obnoxious, sickening stance.
Cordially,
Brian G Dennard
In another piece from Melanie Morgan
Good Morning "Code Pink Corps"
Our company has just completed an analysis of the funds we have spent during 2007 within the city limits of Berkeley. The number was larger than I expected: $230,716. This amount is broken down in the following categories:
Meals and meeting expenses: $43,807; Printing, copies and imaging services: $36,954. Shipping expenses $18,534; temporary employment $103,954; Office supplies and equipment purchases: $27,467.
Our expenses above in Berkeley increased by about 12% this past year. We have budgeted a similar increase for 2008.
Because of the actions of "CodePink" and the Berkeley City Council we find that we must now exercise our 'freedom to act' and not do business within the City of Berkeley any longer. Over the next five years, the City of Berkeley will lose just from our organization from
$1.4 to $1.7 million in business.
We will still grow our business successfully but we will fulfill our service needs, including meals and meeting expenses, at locations OTHER THAN BERKELEY. We are also encouraging our colleagues and business associates to do the same. Many will not be as direct as we are in communicating to you our actions.
While we regret that this action will hurt many worthy individuals and businesses in Berkeley, we are sure to gain a more friendly business environment elsewhere as our business continues to thrive. Gee, ain't freedom and free markets great?
You've made your decisions ... we have made ours.
Karl G.
copies to:
Berkeley City Council
SF Chronicle reporters Rubenstein & Fagan
Melanie Morgan, KSFO Radio
CEO of Berkeley Downtown Business Association
Code Pink Corps
Neil Cavuto, Your World, Fox News Channel
Grass Roots Activist Takes On Tim Bee over Senate Temporary Visa Bill
from Tim Richardson
Senator Tim Bee, President Arizona Senate
In my prior letter I stated that I was confused.
I was wrong as I did not grasp the full meaning of the word.
NOW I am confused and somewhat piqued.
I am not familiar with all of the intricacies of the operations of the Arizona Senate. I have just read SB1482 Arizona temporary worker program and I do not understand there being sponsors from the Arizona House of Representatives.
But regardless, I do have some comments, suggestions and questions regarding this bill.
I think it is confusing reading with names such as industrial commission in all lower case, a person cannot tell if it refers to THE Industrial Commission of Arizona or some informal, undefined group.
According to what is printed on Mexican money it is the United States of Mexico.
I believe it is a stretch to create a definition of foreign worker that includes only one country, Mexico. Unless the purpose of that definition was to gloss over that fact in an individual’s mind as they read the body of the document. I believe that anywhere in the document that the phrase foreign worker is printed it should be replaced with phrase Mexican worker
I would think Guatemala and other Central American countries would feel slighted. Why not individuals from other under-employed countries in the world?
And considering that definition of the bill, it would seem to me to be a conflict of interest on the part of one of the sponsors who holds dual U.S. and Mexican citizenship. That would make her eligible for the program and personal gain.
I think that the title of the bill should be the Mexican Full Employment Act.
There is no indication that the employer of a “business” industry has to be licensed in the State of Arizona or potentially in the county and city where the business conducts their operations.
In paragraph D someone who commits a misdemeanor in Mexico would be eligible, yet someone who commits a misdemeanor in the U.S. would not be eligible.
There is nothing indicating what documents are required to be presented by the interested worker, at the U.S. Consulate, let alone who and how the documents are to be validated. Just take their word for who they are?
There is nothing to indicate the purposes that the Temporary Worker Identification Card can and cannot be used for. Could it be used for a driver’s license? Could it be used for a bank account? Could it be used to apply for unemployment insurance? Could it be used for applying for welfare/food stamp benefits? Could it be used to register children in school?
Why is the DES Job Service, Employer Services Unit, not involved? They could validate that there are not individuals, nationwide, who are available and that the wages offered are the prevailing rate for the positions?
More confused than ever.
Tim Richardson
McNeal, AZ 85617 tmrich@vtc.net
Senator Tim Bee, President Arizona Senate
In my prior letter I stated that I was confused.
I was wrong as I did not grasp the full meaning of the word.
NOW I am confused and somewhat piqued.
I am not familiar with all of the intricacies of the operations of the Arizona Senate. I have just read SB1482 Arizona temporary worker program and I do not understand there being sponsors from the Arizona House of Representatives.
But regardless, I do have some comments, suggestions and questions regarding this bill.
I think it is confusing reading with names such as industrial commission in all lower case, a person cannot tell if it refers to THE Industrial Commission of Arizona or some informal, undefined group.
According to what is printed on Mexican money it is the United States of Mexico.
I believe it is a stretch to create a definition of foreign worker that includes only one country, Mexico. Unless the purpose of that definition was to gloss over that fact in an individual’s mind as they read the body of the document. I believe that anywhere in the document that the phrase foreign worker is printed it should be replaced with phrase Mexican worker
I would think Guatemala and other Central American countries would feel slighted. Why not individuals from other under-employed countries in the world?
And considering that definition of the bill, it would seem to me to be a conflict of interest on the part of one of the sponsors who holds dual U.S. and Mexican citizenship. That would make her eligible for the program and personal gain.
I think that the title of the bill should be the Mexican Full Employment Act.
There is no indication that the employer of a “business” industry has to be licensed in the State of Arizona or potentially in the county and city where the business conducts their operations.
In paragraph D someone who commits a misdemeanor in Mexico would be eligible, yet someone who commits a misdemeanor in the U.S. would not be eligible.
There is nothing indicating what documents are required to be presented by the interested worker, at the U.S. Consulate, let alone who and how the documents are to be validated. Just take their word for who they are?
There is nothing to indicate the purposes that the Temporary Worker Identification Card can and cannot be used for. Could it be used for a driver’s license? Could it be used for a bank account? Could it be used to apply for unemployment insurance? Could it be used for applying for welfare/food stamp benefits? Could it be used to register children in school?
Why is the DES Job Service, Employer Services Unit, not involved? They could validate that there are not individuals, nationwide, who are available and that the wages offered are the prevailing rate for the positions?
More confused than ever.
Tim Richardson
McNeal, AZ 85617 tmrich@vtc.net
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
McCain wants to fortify his lead
from JohnMcCain.com
Dear James,
What a night! We are still tallying up the delegates but the votes are in and it looks to be a very big night for John McCain. From New York in the east to California on the west coast, we won some of the biggest states in the country. We over-performed, beat expectations among most groups, and saw a record number of the voters come out to support John McCain. We won big in both states with lots of delegates and in historic battleground states, defying pundits and reasserting the views of those that really pick presidents - voters. All across the country, we saw Americans come out and vote for leadership. And they voted for John McCain.
Because of your hard work over the past year, we won New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Delaware, Connecticut, Oklahoma and Arizona. We won the historic bellwether state of Missouri, where voters have picked the winning candidate in all but one presidential election over the last one hundred years. We swept Republican votes in the delegate-rich state of California, defying the polls and cementing John McCain as the national front-runner. There is a lot to celebrate today, and we are much closer to the coveted 1,191 delegates needed to secure the Republican nomination for president, but we still have work to do.
The battle does not end here. We have many more states to win and committed opponents who are not giving up any time soon, despite John McCain's significant lead. We can't afford to rest for one second and must compete to win, and fast. The faster John McCain secures victory, the more time we'll have to prepare to take on the Democrats in November.
We need your help to keep the momentum going. Please make an immediate online contribution today to make sure we have the resources necessary to secure the nomination, fast.
In the next few days there are contests in Kansas and Washington State. Next Tuesday we have the 'Chesapeake Primary' with Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. all holding their primaries on the same day. These are critical contests that we need to win. And we need your help.
Please make a contribution today and then forward this message on to at least 10 people you know and encourage them to do the same. We know that John McCain is the only candidate who is prepared to lead on day one and is the only Republican that has a chance of beating Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama in November. We are counting on your support at this critical time to help make sure we have the resources and support necessary to win.
Thank you again for all your support over this past year. It has been a long journey and now that we are getting close to the finish line, it is not the time to slow down - we have to sprint to the finish.
Many thanks,
The McCain Campaign
P.S. Donate now to help keep this momentum going. And just as importantly, you can help build our growing team by sending this letter to ten of your friends and family to tell them why you are supporting the next President of the United States, John McCain!
Dear James,
What a night! We are still tallying up the delegates but the votes are in and it looks to be a very big night for John McCain. From New York in the east to California on the west coast, we won some of the biggest states in the country. We over-performed, beat expectations among most groups, and saw a record number of the voters come out to support John McCain. We won big in both states with lots of delegates and in historic battleground states, defying pundits and reasserting the views of those that really pick presidents - voters. All across the country, we saw Americans come out and vote for leadership. And they voted for John McCain.
Because of your hard work over the past year, we won New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Delaware, Connecticut, Oklahoma and Arizona. We won the historic bellwether state of Missouri, where voters have picked the winning candidate in all but one presidential election over the last one hundred years. We swept Republican votes in the delegate-rich state of California, defying the polls and cementing John McCain as the national front-runner. There is a lot to celebrate today, and we are much closer to the coveted 1,191 delegates needed to secure the Republican nomination for president, but we still have work to do.
The battle does not end here. We have many more states to win and committed opponents who are not giving up any time soon, despite John McCain's significant lead. We can't afford to rest for one second and must compete to win, and fast. The faster John McCain secures victory, the more time we'll have to prepare to take on the Democrats in November.
We need your help to keep the momentum going. Please make an immediate online contribution today to make sure we have the resources necessary to secure the nomination, fast.
In the next few days there are contests in Kansas and Washington State. Next Tuesday we have the 'Chesapeake Primary' with Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. all holding their primaries on the same day. These are critical contests that we need to win. And we need your help.
Please make a contribution today and then forward this message on to at least 10 people you know and encourage them to do the same. We know that John McCain is the only candidate who is prepared to lead on day one and is the only Republican that has a chance of beating Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama in November. We are counting on your support at this critical time to help make sure we have the resources and support necessary to win.
Thank you again for all your support over this past year. It has been a long journey and now that we are getting close to the finish line, it is not the time to slow down - we have to sprint to the finish.
Many thanks,
The McCain Campaign
P.S. Donate now to help keep this momentum going. And just as importantly, you can help build our growing team by sending this letter to ten of your friends and family to tell them why you are supporting the next President of the United States, John McCain!
Cochise County Election Results
By James A. Bretney
According to the SV Herald, of the 46,332 registered voters, 19,532 or 42.16% voted. Of that figure 9,417 (48.21%) democrats voted and 10,115 (51.79%) Republicans voted. 698 more Republicans than democrats voted. The ratio of democrats to republican voting was 1.07. 82.17% or 16,050 voted in person with 17.83% or 3,482 early ballots.
Cochise County tended to vote more for Romney, Huckabee, and Paul than they did for McCain. Democrats tended to vote more for Hillary than Obama.
Unofficial election results
(County results incomplete as of midnight Tuesday, with 12 of 18 precincts and early ballots tallied.)
COCHISE COUNTY
Republican primary
McCain: 40.73%, 4,228
Romney: 39.79%, 4,131
Huckabee: 12.77%, 1,326
Paul: 4.14%, 430
Democratic primary
Clinton: 51.96%, 4,719
Obama: 40.27%, 3,657
Total registered voters: 46,332
Voter turn out: 42.16%
Ballots cast: 19,532
(16,050 by voting in person; 3,482 by early ballots)
ARIZONA
(72.3% of precincts reporting)
Republican primary
McCain: 47.2%, 187,921
Romney: 33.7%, 134,293
Huckabee: 9.0%, 35,806
Paul: 4.3%, 17,140
Democratic primary
Clinton: 50.1%, 156,988
Obama: 41.6%, 130,392
Registered eligible Democrats: 904,741
Registered eligible Republicans: 1,042,294
State early ballots
Requested: 551,037 (72% of eligible primary voters)
Early ballots returned by Monday's mail deadline: 398,210 (20% of the combined eligible voters in the state)
According to the SV Herald, of the 46,332 registered voters, 19,532 or 42.16% voted. Of that figure 9,417 (48.21%) democrats voted and 10,115 (51.79%) Republicans voted. 698 more Republicans than democrats voted. The ratio of democrats to republican voting was 1.07. 82.17% or 16,050 voted in person with 17.83% or 3,482 early ballots.
Cochise County tended to vote more for Romney, Huckabee, and Paul than they did for McCain. Democrats tended to vote more for Hillary than Obama.
Unofficial election results
(County results incomplete as of midnight Tuesday, with 12 of 18 precincts and early ballots tallied.)
COCHISE COUNTY
Republican primary
McCain: 40.73%, 4,228
Romney: 39.79%, 4,131
Huckabee: 12.77%, 1,326
Paul: 4.14%, 430
Democratic primary
Clinton: 51.96%, 4,719
Obama: 40.27%, 3,657
Total registered voters: 46,332
Voter turn out: 42.16%
Ballots cast: 19,532
(16,050 by voting in person; 3,482 by early ballots)
ARIZONA
(72.3% of precincts reporting)
Republican primary
McCain: 47.2%, 187,921
Romney: 33.7%, 134,293
Huckabee: 9.0%, 35,806
Paul: 4.3%, 17,140
Democratic primary
Clinton: 50.1%, 156,988
Obama: 41.6%, 130,392
Registered eligible Democrats: 904,741
Registered eligible Republicans: 1,042,294
State early ballots
Requested: 551,037 (72% of eligible primary voters)
Early ballots returned by Monday's mail deadline: 398,210 (20% of the combined eligible voters in the state)
The Clintons Get Desperate
Friend --
I was writing a note to you about the state of the race after Super Tuesday when we got some startling news.
The Clinton campaign just announced that Hillary and Bill Clinton injected $5 million of their personal fortune into her campaign a few days ago.
This is a dramatic move, and a clear acknowledgement that our campaign has the momentum. We saw undeniable evidence of that last night as the results came in.
Barack Obama won the most states and the most delegates on February 5th.
We have gotten to this point thanks to an unprecedented outpouring of support from ordinary Americans.
To date, more than 650,000 people like you have taken ownership of this campaign, giving whatever they can afford.
The Clinton infusion of $5 million -- and there are reports it could end up being as much as $20 million -- will give them huge resources for the next set of primaries and caucuses.
Thanks to you, we have raised more than $3 million since the polls closed on February 5th. But we have no choice -- we must match their $5 million right now.
We're going to do it the right way, with small donations from people like you. It's never been more urgent that you make a donation of $25 right now:
https://donate.barackobama.com/results
Just two weeks ago we were behind by double-digits in many of the states that voted yesterday, but Barack won 13 states to 8 states for Hillary Clinton, with one state (New Mexico) still counting votes.
This is an enormous victory, and it's all thanks to you.
We won yesterday because thousands upon thousands of individual supporters canvassed their neighborhoods, talked to their neighbors and friends, and made phone calls to remind their fellow supporters to get out the vote.
And we accomplished all of this with a campaign funded by ordinary people giving only what they can afford.
Yesterday was proof that America is ready for change -- and that you are the force to make that change happen.
But there's still a long way to go before Barack becomes the Democratic nominee. In the next week alone, six more states will hold their primaries and caucuses.
We need to match this $5 million personal contribution from the Clintons immediately and put these resources to work in the states that will vote next.
Please make a donation of $25 now:
https://donate.barackobama.com/results
Here are some details about yesterday's historic victory. According to official results and exit polls:
*
Barack won 2-to-1 in traditionally conservative states where Democrats are hungry for a nominee who can change the map and help Democrats up and down the ticket win in November
*
Our winning coalition included Americans of every race, background, and gender -- including 64% of women in Georgia
*
We scored wins in every region of the country -- New England, the Mid-Atlantic, the South, the Midwest, the Rocky Mountain states, and the West
Americans had a clear choice to make yesterday, and they chose Barack Obama.
Now let's match this $5 million and take this campaign into the next stage.
Thank you,
David
David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America
I was writing a note to you about the state of the race after Super Tuesday when we got some startling news.
The Clinton campaign just announced that Hillary and Bill Clinton injected $5 million of their personal fortune into her campaign a few days ago.
This is a dramatic move, and a clear acknowledgement that our campaign has the momentum. We saw undeniable evidence of that last night as the results came in.
Barack Obama won the most states and the most delegates on February 5th.
We have gotten to this point thanks to an unprecedented outpouring of support from ordinary Americans.
To date, more than 650,000 people like you have taken ownership of this campaign, giving whatever they can afford.
The Clinton infusion of $5 million -- and there are reports it could end up being as much as $20 million -- will give them huge resources for the next set of primaries and caucuses.
Thanks to you, we have raised more than $3 million since the polls closed on February 5th. But we have no choice -- we must match their $5 million right now.
We're going to do it the right way, with small donations from people like you. It's never been more urgent that you make a donation of $25 right now:
https://donate.barackobama.com/results
Just two weeks ago we were behind by double-digits in many of the states that voted yesterday, but Barack won 13 states to 8 states for Hillary Clinton, with one state (New Mexico) still counting votes.
This is an enormous victory, and it's all thanks to you.
We won yesterday because thousands upon thousands of individual supporters canvassed their neighborhoods, talked to their neighbors and friends, and made phone calls to remind their fellow supporters to get out the vote.
And we accomplished all of this with a campaign funded by ordinary people giving only what they can afford.
Yesterday was proof that America is ready for change -- and that you are the force to make that change happen.
But there's still a long way to go before Barack becomes the Democratic nominee. In the next week alone, six more states will hold their primaries and caucuses.
We need to match this $5 million personal contribution from the Clintons immediately and put these resources to work in the states that will vote next.
Please make a donation of $25 now:
https://donate.barackobama.com/results
Here are some details about yesterday's historic victory. According to official results and exit polls:
*
Barack won 2-to-1 in traditionally conservative states where Democrats are hungry for a nominee who can change the map and help Democrats up and down the ticket win in November
*
Our winning coalition included Americans of every race, background, and gender -- including 64% of women in Georgia
*
We scored wins in every region of the country -- New England, the Mid-Atlantic, the South, the Midwest, the Rocky Mountain states, and the West
Americans had a clear choice to make yesterday, and they chose Barack Obama.
Now let's match this $5 million and take this campaign into the next stage.
Thank you,
David
David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America
Monday, February 04, 2008
Mutiny In the Ranks: Arizona's Own Robespierre in His Own Words
from Jim Ehl
Strider wrote:
I am a retired 'carrier pilot'. I can tell you that you don't stop an aircraft carrier in it's tracks. The same goes for the state Republican party. It has been controlled so long by the congressional delegation (CD) that it will take time to change the party to represent the members. Even before Joh Kyl selected Bob Fannin to replace Minnaugh the CDs kept center stage. In reading where Jon Kyl said the purpose of the party is to elect Republicans shows that the CDs see the party as their secondary campaign committee.
There are about 30 responses so far, pro and con, to Rob's position. Go to the links below to read them.
----- Original Message -----
From: Rob Haney
To: ROB HANEY
Sent: Saturday, February 02, 2008 1:16 AM
Subject: Arizona Political Articles in Blogs activists should read
I believe I was elected by precinct committeemen to give voice to the Republican conservative activists who felt disenfranchised by the elites who controlled the party. This is but the latest attempt to silence those who feel the Party has been hijacked by McCain. Dr Kyl's Rx is that "the Party should not take a position on issues." It is a cinch that the Democrats are not going to object to McCain's liberal policies. Dr Kyl says Party leaders cannot. Well, who does that leave? That leaves precinct committeemen without a voice. What a perfect "catch 22". Thank you Dr Kyl for your Rx for disaster.
Several points of clairification to be aware of while reading the posts and comments:
.It is highly suspicious that our National Committeemen waited until a few hours after the State Meeting to announce their endorsement for McCain. Were they afraid their endorsement would not be received with universal delight? If they maintain their endorsement was just personal and had not one iota of effect, then why would they both do it at the same time and before super Tuesday? The point being that here again, with similarities to the McCain's Amnesty Bill, the elites are building a steam roller effect and are going to shove McCain down the throats of conservatives no matter what we think. And we are not permitted to object or we are branded as bigots and racists and filled with hate and vitriol.
.The last time a resolution was brought forward to the County Board, a great fuss was raised that notice should have been given before hand so all would have time to study it. That is what I did.
.As far as bringing the resolution up after the vote on Super Tuesday, the Board only meets on the first Thursday of every month. Hence, the first opportunity for us to represent our constituency, in response to our National Committeemens' endorsement, would be two days after Super Tuesday.
.If McCain wins enough delegates on Super Tuesday, I would obviously not bring the resolution forward. But all the reports I have heard suggest that no candidate will win enough delegates on Super Tuesday to win the nomination.
.The PCs I represent are not alone in their belief that Senator McCain, by his liberal record on key issues, represents a grave danger to the Party and the Country. His candidacy represents a turning point in American history. If he prevails, the Republican Party will be but a reflection of the Democrat Party. If he prevails, it matters not what happens in the War on Terror for we will have lost the war with Mexico without a shot being fired. He indeed represents the "Manchurian Candidate" and "Trojan Horse" brought in under the "Big Tent" that will ultimately destroyed the Party.
.Conservative talk show hosts have every right to be concerned and oppose McCain. As an extension of McCain's attack on our freedom of speech through McCain Campaign Finance Reform, how far is it to the institution of the "so called" Fairness Doctrine which would end talk radio?
.The ultimate irony here is that whenever we voice our objections to McCain's liberal policies, we are called too divisive and polarizing. It seems none of our detractors will acknowledge that just the opposite is the truth. We stand for the Constitution and Party Platform; McCain clearly does not, but we are branded as being divisive.
.To hear from our detractors, we have no right to object to McCain in the manner we choose. Think about it; the adoring MSM can tout McCain endlessly, the liberal newspapers endorse him in glowing terms, the elites trip over themselves endorsing him, but we can only object in the manner our detractors allow, and that is defined very narrowly. I beg to differ.
And that, "my friends", has been, "Straight Talk."
Click on these links for the story.
Trouble in Maricopa
Unruly GOP activists break ranks
Strider
I am a retired 'carrier pilot'. I can tell you that you don't stop an aircraft carrier in it's tracks. The same goes for the state Republican party. It has been controlled so long by the congressional delegation (CD) that it will take time to change the party to represent the members. Even before Joh Kyl selected Bob Fannin to replace Minnaugh the CDs kept center stage. In reading where Jon Kyl said the purpose of the party is to elect Republicans shows that the CDs see the party as their secondary campaign committee.
There are about 30 responses so far, pro and con, to Rob's position. Go to the links below to read them.
----- Original Message -----
From: Rob Haney
To: ROB HANEY
Sent: Saturday, February 02, 2008 1:16 AM
Subject: Arizona Political Articles in Blogs activists should read
I believe I was elected by precinct committeemen to give voice to the Republican conservative activists who felt disenfranchised by the elites who controlled the party. This is but the latest attempt to silence those who feel the Party has been hijacked by McCain. Dr Kyl's Rx is that "the Party should not take a position on issues." It is a cinch that the Democrats are not going to object to McCain's liberal policies. Dr Kyl says Party leaders cannot. Well, who does that leave? That leaves precinct committeemen without a voice. What a perfect "catch 22". Thank you Dr Kyl for your Rx for disaster.
Several points of clairification to be aware of while reading the posts and comments:
.It is highly suspicious that our National Committeemen waited until a few hours after the State Meeting to announce their endorsement for McCain. Were they afraid their endorsement would not be received with universal delight? If they maintain their endorsement was just personal and had not one iota of effect, then why would they both do it at the same time and before super Tuesday? The point being that here again, with similarities to the McCain's Amnesty Bill, the elites are building a steam roller effect and are going to shove McCain down the throats of conservatives no matter what we think. And we are not permitted to object or we are branded as bigots and racists and filled with hate and vitriol.
.The last time a resolution was brought forward to the County Board, a great fuss was raised that notice should have been given before hand so all would have time to study it. That is what I did.
.As far as bringing the resolution up after the vote on Super Tuesday, the Board only meets on the first Thursday of every month. Hence, the first opportunity for us to represent our constituency, in response to our National Committeemens' endorsement, would be two days after Super Tuesday.
.If McCain wins enough delegates on Super Tuesday, I would obviously not bring the resolution forward. But all the reports I have heard suggest that no candidate will win enough delegates on Super Tuesday to win the nomination.
.The PCs I represent are not alone in their belief that Senator McCain, by his liberal record on key issues, represents a grave danger to the Party and the Country. His candidacy represents a turning point in American history. If he prevails, the Republican Party will be but a reflection of the Democrat Party. If he prevails, it matters not what happens in the War on Terror for we will have lost the war with Mexico without a shot being fired. He indeed represents the "Manchurian Candidate" and "Trojan Horse" brought in under the "Big Tent" that will ultimately destroyed the Party.
.Conservative talk show hosts have every right to be concerned and oppose McCain. As an extension of McCain's attack on our freedom of speech through McCain Campaign Finance Reform, how far is it to the institution of the "so called" Fairness Doctrine which would end talk radio?
.The ultimate irony here is that whenever we voice our objections to McCain's liberal policies, we are called too divisive and polarizing. It seems none of our detractors will acknowledge that just the opposite is the truth. We stand for the Constitution and Party Platform; McCain clearly does not, but we are branded as being divisive.
.To hear from our detractors, we have no right to object to McCain in the manner we choose. Think about it; the adoring MSM can tout McCain endlessly, the liberal newspapers endorse him in glowing terms, the elites trip over themselves endorsing him, but we can only object in the manner our detractors allow, and that is defined very narrowly. I beg to differ.
And that, "my friends", has been, "Straight Talk."
Click on these links for the story.
Trouble in Maricopa
Unruly GOP activists break ranks
Ron Pauls Polling is at 6% but all sorts of people like him
from Jim Ehl
There are numerous email inputs from numerous sources, all of them condemning John McCain for one thing or another. There are also numerous inputs concerning Ron Paul and none negative. They why is McCain high on the poll and Paul on the bottom. Answer; most everyone knows just how liberal is the media. So, the media hypes McCain and John Q. Public falls for it. With nothing else to rely on but campaign information, and with members of the Republican party already caressing McCain, just what is John Q. Public suppose to believe.
In the closing days before the presidential preference vote, it's time to search your core beliefs and stand up for them. If you feel as liberal and John McCain and don't feel betrayed by some of his actions and words, then he's you man. But this 362,000 member organization noted below has some information for you. Please read the link.
Of all the Republican and Democratic candidates for president, only one is proposing to actually cut government spending.
That one is Ron Paul.
The rest – Republicans and Democrats alike – are proposing to *increase* government spending by anywhere from several billion to hundreds of billions of dollars.
That´s the startling conclusion of a comprehensive new study from the National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF).
NTUF is the research arm of the 362,000-member National Taxpayers Union, a nonpartisan citizen group founded in 1969 that works for lower taxes and tax reform.
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/50846
There are numerous email inputs from numerous sources, all of them condemning John McCain for one thing or another. There are also numerous inputs concerning Ron Paul and none negative. They why is McCain high on the poll and Paul on the bottom. Answer; most everyone knows just how liberal is the media. So, the media hypes McCain and John Q. Public falls for it. With nothing else to rely on but campaign information, and with members of the Republican party already caressing McCain, just what is John Q. Public suppose to believe.
In the closing days before the presidential preference vote, it's time to search your core beliefs and stand up for them. If you feel as liberal and John McCain and don't feel betrayed by some of his actions and words, then he's you man. But this 362,000 member organization noted below has some information for you. Please read the link.
Of all the Republican and Democratic candidates for president, only one is proposing to actually cut government spending.
That one is Ron Paul.
The rest – Republicans and Democrats alike – are proposing to *increase* government spending by anywhere from several billion to hundreds of billions of dollars.
That´s the startling conclusion of a comprehensive new study from the National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF).
NTUF is the research arm of the 362,000-member National Taxpayers Union, a nonpartisan citizen group founded in 1969 that works for lower taxes and tax reform.
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/50846
Mack Attack: Objective SCOTUS
JohnMcCain.com
Wall Street Journal: McCain And The Supreme Court
By Steven G. Calabresi and John O. McGinnis
The conservative movement has made enormous gains over the past three decades in restoring constitutional government. The Roberts Supreme Court shows every sign of building on these gains.
Yet the gulf between Democratic and Republican approaches to constitutional law and the role of the federal courts is greater than at any time since the New Deal. With a Democratic Senate, Democratic presidents would be able to confirm adherents of the theory of the "Living Constitution" -- in essence empowering judges to update the Constitution to advance their own conception of a better world. This would threaten the jurisprudential gains of the past three decades, and provide new impetus to judicial activism of a kind not seen since the 1960s.
We believe that the nomination of John McCain is the best option to preserve the ongoing restoration of constitutional government. He is by far the most electable Republican candidate remaining in the race, and based on his record is as likely to appoint judges committed to constitutionalism as Mitt Romney, a candidate for whom we also have great respect.
We make no apology for suggesting that electability must be a prime consideration. The expected value of any presidential candidate for the future of the American judiciary must be discounted by the probability that the candidate will not prevail in the election. For other kinds of issues, it may be argued that it is better to lose with the perfect candidate than to win with an imperfect one. The party lives to fight another day and can reverse the bad policies of an intervening presidency.
The judiciary is different. On Jan. 20, 2009, six of the nine Supreme Court justices will be over 70. Most of them could be replaced by the next president, particularly if he or she is re-elected. Given the prospect of accelerating gains in modern medical technology, some of the new justices may serve for half a century. Even if a more perfect candidate were somehow elected in 2012, he would not be able to undo the damage, especially to the Supreme Court.
Accordingly, for judicial conservatives electability must be a paramount consideration. By all accounts, Mr. McCain is more electable than Mr. Romney. He runs ahead or even with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in the national polls, and actually leads the Democratic candidates in key swing states like Wisconsin. Mr. Romney trails well behind both Democratic candidates by double digits. The fundamental dynamic of this race points in Mr. McCain's way as well. He appeals to independents, while Mr. Romney's support is largely confined to Republicans.
With many more Republican senators up for re-election than Democrats, the nomination of Mr. Romney could easily lead to a Goldwater-like debacle, in which the GOP loses not only the White House but also its ability in practice to filibuster in the Senate. Thus, even if we believed that Mr. Romney's judicial appointments were likely to be better than Mr. McCain's -- and we are not persuaded of that -- we would find ourselves hard-pressed to support his candidacy, given that he is so much less likely to make any appointments at all.
In fact, there is no reason to believe that Mr. McCain will not make excellent appointments to the court. On judicial nominations, he has voted soundly in the past from Robert Bork in 1987 to Samuel Alito in 2006. His pro-life record also provides a surety that he will not appoint judicial activists.
We recognize that there are two plausible sources of disquiet. Mr. McCain is perhaps the foremost champion of campaign-finance regulation, regulation that is hard to square with the First Amendment. Still, a President McCain would inevitably have a broader focus. Securing the party's base of judicial conservatives is a necessary formula for governance, as President Bush himself showed when he swiftly dropped the ill-conceived nomination of Harriet Miers.
Perhaps more important, because of the success of constitutionalist jurisprudence, a McCain administration would be enveloped by conservative thinking in this area. The strand of jurisprudential thought that produced Sen. Warren Rudman and Justice David Souter is no longer vibrant in the Republican Party.
Others are concerned that Mr. McCain was a member of the "Gang of 14," opposing the attempt to end filibusters of judicial nominations. We believe that Mr. McCain's views about the institutional dynamics of the Senate are a poor guide to his performance as president. In any event, the agreement of the Gang of 14 had its costs, but it played an important role in ensuring that Samuel Alito faced no Senate filibuster. It also led to the confirmation of Priscilla Owens, Janice Rogers Brown and Bill Pryor, three of President George W. Bush's best judicial appointees to the lower federal courts.
Conservative complaints about Mr. McCain's role as a member of the Gang of 14 seem to encapsulate all that is wrong in general with conservative carping over his candidacy. It makes the perfect the enemy of the very good results that have been achieved, thanks in no small part to Mr. McCain, and to the very likely prospect of further good results that might come from his election as president.
For more information,
Wall Street Journal: McCain And The Supreme Court
By Steven G. Calabresi and John O. McGinnis
The conservative movement has made enormous gains over the past three decades in restoring constitutional government. The Roberts Supreme Court shows every sign of building on these gains.
Yet the gulf between Democratic and Republican approaches to constitutional law and the role of the federal courts is greater than at any time since the New Deal. With a Democratic Senate, Democratic presidents would be able to confirm adherents of the theory of the "Living Constitution" -- in essence empowering judges to update the Constitution to advance their own conception of a better world. This would threaten the jurisprudential gains of the past three decades, and provide new impetus to judicial activism of a kind not seen since the 1960s.
We believe that the nomination of John McCain is the best option to preserve the ongoing restoration of constitutional government. He is by far the most electable Republican candidate remaining in the race, and based on his record is as likely to appoint judges committed to constitutionalism as Mitt Romney, a candidate for whom we also have great respect.
We make no apology for suggesting that electability must be a prime consideration. The expected value of any presidential candidate for the future of the American judiciary must be discounted by the probability that the candidate will not prevail in the election. For other kinds of issues, it may be argued that it is better to lose with the perfect candidate than to win with an imperfect one. The party lives to fight another day and can reverse the bad policies of an intervening presidency.
The judiciary is different. On Jan. 20, 2009, six of the nine Supreme Court justices will be over 70. Most of them could be replaced by the next president, particularly if he or she is re-elected. Given the prospect of accelerating gains in modern medical technology, some of the new justices may serve for half a century. Even if a more perfect candidate were somehow elected in 2012, he would not be able to undo the damage, especially to the Supreme Court.
Accordingly, for judicial conservatives electability must be a paramount consideration. By all accounts, Mr. McCain is more electable than Mr. Romney. He runs ahead or even with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in the national polls, and actually leads the Democratic candidates in key swing states like Wisconsin. Mr. Romney trails well behind both Democratic candidates by double digits. The fundamental dynamic of this race points in Mr. McCain's way as well. He appeals to independents, while Mr. Romney's support is largely confined to Republicans.
With many more Republican senators up for re-election than Democrats, the nomination of Mr. Romney could easily lead to a Goldwater-like debacle, in which the GOP loses not only the White House but also its ability in practice to filibuster in the Senate. Thus, even if we believed that Mr. Romney's judicial appointments were likely to be better than Mr. McCain's -- and we are not persuaded of that -- we would find ourselves hard-pressed to support his candidacy, given that he is so much less likely to make any appointments at all.
In fact, there is no reason to believe that Mr. McCain will not make excellent appointments to the court. On judicial nominations, he has voted soundly in the past from Robert Bork in 1987 to Samuel Alito in 2006. His pro-life record also provides a surety that he will not appoint judicial activists.
We recognize that there are two plausible sources of disquiet. Mr. McCain is perhaps the foremost champion of campaign-finance regulation, regulation that is hard to square with the First Amendment. Still, a President McCain would inevitably have a broader focus. Securing the party's base of judicial conservatives is a necessary formula for governance, as President Bush himself showed when he swiftly dropped the ill-conceived nomination of Harriet Miers.
Perhaps more important, because of the success of constitutionalist jurisprudence, a McCain administration would be enveloped by conservative thinking in this area. The strand of jurisprudential thought that produced Sen. Warren Rudman and Justice David Souter is no longer vibrant in the Republican Party.
Others are concerned that Mr. McCain was a member of the "Gang of 14," opposing the attempt to end filibusters of judicial nominations. We believe that Mr. McCain's views about the institutional dynamics of the Senate are a poor guide to his performance as president. In any event, the agreement of the Gang of 14 had its costs, but it played an important role in ensuring that Samuel Alito faced no Senate filibuster. It also led to the confirmation of Priscilla Owens, Janice Rogers Brown and Bill Pryor, three of President George W. Bush's best judicial appointees to the lower federal courts.
Conservative complaints about Mr. McCain's role as a member of the Gang of 14 seem to encapsulate all that is wrong in general with conservative carping over his candidacy. It makes the perfect the enemy of the very good results that have been achieved, thanks in no small part to Mr. McCain, and to the very likely prospect of further good results that might come from his election as president.
For more information,
Free Money
I got this from Gabby. I am not sure that this free money package cooked up by the do nothing Congress and our President is such a good thing.
February 4, 2008
Dear Mr. Bretney,
Last week the House passed the Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act of 2008 (H.R. 5140) with strong bipartisan support in a vote of 385 to 35.
This legislation provides broad-based tax relief for individual taxpayers and fulfills the three goals for effective economic stimulus-it is timely, targeted and temporary.
This tax relief is targeted at middle and low-income taxpayers including 2.3 million individuals and families in Arizona .
This legislation is being revised by the Senate to add benefits targeted at senior citizens who have no earned income. Under the House-passed bill, seniors with $3,000 in earned income or even $1 in tax liability would be eligible for the tax rebates as outlined below. The Senate's revision would count social security or pension income as "earned income" for the purpose of the rebate. The Senate is also working to address concerns about rebates going to illegal immigrants. They are planning to add a provision that would deny the basic credit and the qualifying child credit to anyone with who does not have a valid social security number.
Below are examples of the tax rebate under H.R. 5140, the House-passed plan. Please note that these rebates have not been signed into law and the amounts may change by the time President Bush signs the final economic stimulus package.
oA married couple with two children and earned income above $3,000 would receive a rebate of $1,200-that's $600 as a couple and $300 per child.
oA married couple with two children and earned income above $36,000 would receive the maximum rebate of $1,800-the higher income results in a higher rebate.
oA married couple with no children and earned income above $3,000 would receive $600.
oA married couple with no children and earned income above $28,500 would receive the maximum rebate of $1,200 for married couples.
oA single individual with no children and earned income above $3,000 would receive $300.
oA single individual with no children and earned income above $14,500 would receive the maximum rebate of $600 of individuals.
I support providing Americans-young and old-the relief they and our economy need and will continue to monitor this legislation as it moves through Congress.
To receive a rebate, you must file a 2007 tax return with the IRS by the April 15, 2008 deadline. I encourage you file your taxes early to get your refund and tax rebate checks as soon as possible. If you have earned income during 2007, you should file a tax return regardless of whether you think you may owe taxes or not.
You can also get free tax assistance. If your adjusted gross income was $54,000 or less in 2007, you can use the IRS's Free File service to prepare and e-file your taxes online-click here for more information on the IRS website: http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=118986,00.html. You can also get free tax assistance through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program at locations through Southern Arizona . For more information, please visit the " Tax Resource Center " on my website: www.giffords.house.gov. If you have questions, please call my Tucson 520-881-3588 or Sierra Vista 520-459-3115 offices and if you would like to continue to receive updates on this issue, please visit my website to sign up for my eNewsletters.
Sincerely Yours,
Gabrielle Giffords
Member of Congress
Washington DC
Office
502 Cannon House Office
Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone:(202) 225-2542
Fax: (202) 225-0378
Tucson
Congressional Office
1661 North Swan
Suite 112
Tucson, AZ 85712
Phone:(520) 881-3588
February 4, 2008
Dear Mr. Bretney,
Last week the House passed the Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act of 2008 (H.R. 5140) with strong bipartisan support in a vote of 385 to 35.
This legislation provides broad-based tax relief for individual taxpayers and fulfills the three goals for effective economic stimulus-it is timely, targeted and temporary.
This tax relief is targeted at middle and low-income taxpayers including 2.3 million individuals and families in Arizona .
This legislation is being revised by the Senate to add benefits targeted at senior citizens who have no earned income. Under the House-passed bill, seniors with $3,000 in earned income or even $1 in tax liability would be eligible for the tax rebates as outlined below. The Senate's revision would count social security or pension income as "earned income" for the purpose of the rebate. The Senate is also working to address concerns about rebates going to illegal immigrants. They are planning to add a provision that would deny the basic credit and the qualifying child credit to anyone with who does not have a valid social security number.
Below are examples of the tax rebate under H.R. 5140, the House-passed plan. Please note that these rebates have not been signed into law and the amounts may change by the time President Bush signs the final economic stimulus package.
oA married couple with two children and earned income above $3,000 would receive a rebate of $1,200-that's $600 as a couple and $300 per child.
oA married couple with two children and earned income above $36,000 would receive the maximum rebate of $1,800-the higher income results in a higher rebate.
oA married couple with no children and earned income above $3,000 would receive $600.
oA married couple with no children and earned income above $28,500 would receive the maximum rebate of $1,200 for married couples.
oA single individual with no children and earned income above $3,000 would receive $300.
oA single individual with no children and earned income above $14,500 would receive the maximum rebate of $600 of individuals.
I support providing Americans-young and old-the relief they and our economy need and will continue to monitor this legislation as it moves through Congress.
To receive a rebate, you must file a 2007 tax return with the IRS by the April 15, 2008 deadline. I encourage you file your taxes early to get your refund and tax rebate checks as soon as possible. If you have earned income during 2007, you should file a tax return regardless of whether you think you may owe taxes or not.
You can also get free tax assistance. If your adjusted gross income was $54,000 or less in 2007, you can use the IRS's Free File service to prepare and e-file your taxes online-click here for more information on the IRS website: http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=118986,00.html. You can also get free tax assistance through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program at locations through Southern Arizona . For more information, please visit the " Tax Resource Center " on my website: www.giffords.house.gov. If you have questions, please call my Tucson 520-881-3588 or Sierra Vista 520-459-3115 offices and if you would like to continue to receive updates on this issue, please visit my website to sign up for my eNewsletters.
Sincerely Yours,
Gabrielle Giffords
Member of Congress
Washington DC
Office
502 Cannon House Office
Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone:(202) 225-2542
Fax: (202) 225-0378
Tucson
Congressional Office
1661 North Swan
Suite 112
Tucson, AZ 85712
Phone:(520) 881-3588
Friday, February 01, 2008
Please Let Me Pay You While You Steal from Me: AZ Senate Bill 1009
Jim Ehl
It boggles the mind why the tax payer must pay for lobbyist.
----- Original Message -----
From: Tom Jenney, Arizona Federation of Taxpayers
To: Jim Ehl
Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2008 12:02 PM
Subject: Alert: No $$ for Lobbyists, Property Tax Reform Hearing
January 30, 2008 -- Action Alert
Hearing on Property Tax Reform Initiatives
This Monday, Feb. 4 th, in House Hearing Room 1, beginning at 8:30 a.m., the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee will hold a special joint hearing on property tax reform measures, including the Arizona Tax Revolt and Prop 13 Arizona initiatives. The Joint Legislative Budget Committee will make a presentation on the fiscal impact of the various initiatives on all levels of Arizona government—and the potential savings to taxpayers. The hearing could last until noon.
The Arizona Federation of Taxpayers and Americans for Prosperity need you to support our grassroots activism on behalf of Arizona taxpayers. Individual memberships are $10, family memberships are $15. Please make your year-end donations now.
To donate by credit card, click here.
To donate via PayPal, click here.
For a printable mail-in membership form, click here.
Americans for Prosperity Foundation is a section 501(c)(3) organization under the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions to AFP Foundation are tax deductible. AFP Foundation’s focus is to educate the general public about public policy issues, not to support or oppose specific legislation.
Americans for Prosperity is a section 501(c)(4) organization under the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions or gifts to AFP are not tax deductible. AFP can advocate for and against specific legislation at the state and federal levels.
Contact: Tom Jenney, (602) 478-0146 or by e-mail, vc@aztaxpayers.org
Monday at the Legislature:
No Taxpayer Money for Lobbyists goes to Senate Government Committee
This Monday, February 4 th, the No Taxpayer Money for Lobbyists bill, SCR 1009, is the top item on the agenda of the Senate Government Committee, which is scheduled to meet at 1:30 p.m. in Senate Hearing Room 3.
If passed by the Legislature during the current session, SCR 1009 would allow voters in November to prohibit the use of public funds (taxpayer money) for lobbying, while safeguarding the ability of public agencies, departments, boards, commissions, and political subdivisions to provide expert testimony and information to members of the Legislature.
URL for SCR 1009 bill language: http://www.azleg.gov/DocumentsForBill.asp?Bill_Number=SCR1009
If you can make it down to the Legislature, the hearing should be quite a spectacle. There will likely be dozens, if not hundreds, of lobbyists there, most of them using your tax dollars to argue against losing access to your tax dollars—which they use to ask the Legislature for even more tax dollars!
If you cannot make it on Monday, please send a quick email to the Committee members to encourage them to allow SCR 1009 to move forward. We want to see a floor vote on the bill, so we can find out where our state Senators stand.
Senate Government Committee members:
Sen. Robert Blendu (R-12), rblendu@azleg.gov
Sen. Meg Burton Cahill (D-17), mburtoncahill@azleg.gov
Sen. Jake Flake (R-5), jflake@azleg.gov
Sen. Jorge Luis Garcia (D-27), jgarcia@azleg.gov
Sen. Linda Gray (R-10), lgray@azleg.gov (Thanks to Sen. Gray—this is her bill!)
Sen. Jack W. Harper (R-4), jharper@azleg.gov (He is the Committee Chairman)
Sen. Charlene Pesquiera (D-26), cpesquiera@azleg.gov
At the Arizona Republican Party’s mandatory meeting on Saturday, state committeemen voted overwhelmingly to support SCR 1009.
URL for resolution language in support of SCR 1009:
http://www.americansforprosperity.org/index.php?id=4794&state=az
Contact: Tom Jenney, Arizona state director, Americans for Prosperity
tjenney@afphq.org (602) 478-0146
It boggles the mind why the tax payer must pay for lobbyist.
----- Original Message -----
From: Tom Jenney, Arizona Federation of Taxpayers
To: Jim Ehl
Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2008 12:02 PM
Subject: Alert: No $$ for Lobbyists, Property Tax Reform Hearing
January 30, 2008 -- Action Alert
Hearing on Property Tax Reform Initiatives
This Monday, Feb. 4 th, in House Hearing Room 1, beginning at 8:30 a.m., the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee will hold a special joint hearing on property tax reform measures, including the Arizona Tax Revolt and Prop 13 Arizona initiatives. The Joint Legislative Budget Committee will make a presentation on the fiscal impact of the various initiatives on all levels of Arizona government—and the potential savings to taxpayers. The hearing could last until noon.
The Arizona Federation of Taxpayers and Americans for Prosperity need you to support our grassroots activism on behalf of Arizona taxpayers. Individual memberships are $10, family memberships are $15. Please make your year-end donations now.
To donate by credit card, click here.
To donate via PayPal, click here.
For a printable mail-in membership form, click here.
Americans for Prosperity Foundation is a section 501(c)(3) organization under the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions to AFP Foundation are tax deductible. AFP Foundation’s focus is to educate the general public about public policy issues, not to support or oppose specific legislation.
Americans for Prosperity is a section 501(c)(4) organization under the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions or gifts to AFP are not tax deductible. AFP can advocate for and against specific legislation at the state and federal levels.
Contact: Tom Jenney, (602) 478-0146 or by e-mail, vc@aztaxpayers.org
Monday at the Legislature:
No Taxpayer Money for Lobbyists goes to Senate Government Committee
This Monday, February 4 th, the No Taxpayer Money for Lobbyists bill, SCR 1009, is the top item on the agenda of the Senate Government Committee, which is scheduled to meet at 1:30 p.m. in Senate Hearing Room 3.
If passed by the Legislature during the current session, SCR 1009 would allow voters in November to prohibit the use of public funds (taxpayer money) for lobbying, while safeguarding the ability of public agencies, departments, boards, commissions, and political subdivisions to provide expert testimony and information to members of the Legislature.
URL for SCR 1009 bill language: http://www.azleg.gov/DocumentsForBill.asp?Bill_Number=SCR1009
If you can make it down to the Legislature, the hearing should be quite a spectacle. There will likely be dozens, if not hundreds, of lobbyists there, most of them using your tax dollars to argue against losing access to your tax dollars—which they use to ask the Legislature for even more tax dollars!
If you cannot make it on Monday, please send a quick email to the Committee members to encourage them to allow SCR 1009 to move forward. We want to see a floor vote on the bill, so we can find out where our state Senators stand.
Senate Government Committee members:
Sen. Robert Blendu (R-12), rblendu@azleg.gov
Sen. Meg Burton Cahill (D-17), mburtoncahill@azleg.gov
Sen. Jake Flake (R-5), jflake@azleg.gov
Sen. Jorge Luis Garcia (D-27), jgarcia@azleg.gov
Sen. Linda Gray (R-10), lgray@azleg.gov (Thanks to Sen. Gray—this is her bill!)
Sen. Jack W. Harper (R-4), jharper@azleg.gov (He is the Committee Chairman)
Sen. Charlene Pesquiera (D-26), cpesquiera@azleg.gov
At the Arizona Republican Party’s mandatory meeting on Saturday, state committeemen voted overwhelmingly to support SCR 1009.
URL for resolution language in support of SCR 1009:
http://www.americansforprosperity.org/index.php?id=4794&state=az
Contact: Tom Jenney, Arizona state director, Americans for Prosperity
tjenney@afphq.org (602) 478-0146
Federal Judge Rules That Local Governments Can Suspend Business Licenses for Hiring Illegal Aliens
tmr wrote:
The first one did not come out so good.
From Tim Richardson
Decision in Valley Park, Missouri, Case will have Far-Reaching Consequences Predicts the Immigration Reform Law Institute
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ – In an unambiguous 57-page decision handed down on January 31, U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber ruled that local governments have a right to take action against illegal immigration by suspending or denying business licenses to employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens. Judge Webber granted the City of Valley Park, Missouri’s, request for summary judgment in dismissing a case seeking to prevent the city from implementing local ordinances meant to crack down on businesses that employ illegal aliens. His ruling rejected every one of the arguments made by the plaintiffs in this suit.
The Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI), a Washington, D.C.-based public interest law firm representing citizens in immigration-related matters, worked closely with the City of Valley Park in drafting ordinances that were approved in February 2007, and provided legal representation to the city in defending the ordinances against the suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) on behalf of a few business owners and anonymous illegal immigrants.
“Judge Webber’s ruling represents an across-the-board victory for the people of Valley Park, and for the principle that local communities have a legal right to discourage illegal immigration by denying business licenses to companies that employ illegal workers,” stated Prof. Kris Kobach, lead counsel for Valley Park and of counsel with IRLI.
In his precedent setting decision, Judge Webber ruled that carefully crafted ordinances, such as the one enacted in Valley Park, a St. Louis suburb, are not preempted by the federal government’s exclusive right to regulate immigration. Rather such ordinances constitute the normal function of local governments to regulate the terms under which business may be conducted in their jurisdiction, and that federal laws prohibiting the employment of illegal aliens encourage local governments to act in this manner.
“The Valley Park decision is a clear green light for other cities and states to enact similar laws,” declared Michael Hethmon, general counsel for IRLI. “Point by point, Judge Webber’s decision deconstructs and dismisses each of the arguments that opponents of immigration enforcement have made in this and other cases around the country. As a result of this decision we expect to see many more communities enact common sense ordinances, confident that the law is on their side.”
SOURCE Immigration Reform Law Institute
The first one did not come out so good.
From Tim Richardson
Decision in Valley Park, Missouri, Case will have Far-Reaching Consequences Predicts the Immigration Reform Law Institute
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ – In an unambiguous 57-page decision handed down on January 31, U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber ruled that local governments have a right to take action against illegal immigration by suspending or denying business licenses to employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens. Judge Webber granted the City of Valley Park, Missouri’s, request for summary judgment in dismissing a case seeking to prevent the city from implementing local ordinances meant to crack down on businesses that employ illegal aliens. His ruling rejected every one of the arguments made by the plaintiffs in this suit.
The Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI), a Washington, D.C.-based public interest law firm representing citizens in immigration-related matters, worked closely with the City of Valley Park in drafting ordinances that were approved in February 2007, and provided legal representation to the city in defending the ordinances against the suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) on behalf of a few business owners and anonymous illegal immigrants.
“Judge Webber’s ruling represents an across-the-board victory for the people of Valley Park, and for the principle that local communities have a legal right to discourage illegal immigration by denying business licenses to companies that employ illegal workers,” stated Prof. Kris Kobach, lead counsel for Valley Park and of counsel with IRLI.
In his precedent setting decision, Judge Webber ruled that carefully crafted ordinances, such as the one enacted in Valley Park, a St. Louis suburb, are not preempted by the federal government’s exclusive right to regulate immigration. Rather such ordinances constitute the normal function of local governments to regulate the terms under which business may be conducted in their jurisdiction, and that federal laws prohibiting the employment of illegal aliens encourage local governments to act in this manner.
“The Valley Park decision is a clear green light for other cities and states to enact similar laws,” declared Michael Hethmon, general counsel for IRLI. “Point by point, Judge Webber’s decision deconstructs and dismisses each of the arguments that opponents of immigration enforcement have made in this and other cases around the country. As a result of this decision we expect to see many more communities enact common sense ordinances, confident that the law is on their side.”
SOURCE Immigration Reform Law Institute
Utah: Sanctuary State
Gene Cafarelli wrote:
I am a frequent visitor to Salt Lake City. Believe me, Utah is a sanctuary state.
Illegal Immigration Debate Rages in Utah
Friday , February 01, 2008
By Sara Bonisteel
FC1
SALT LAKE CITY —
The battle over illegal immigration is being waged on a surprising front — Utah, where some lawmakers are scrambling to drop perks that have lured tens of thousands of undocumented workers to the Beehive State.
Since the opening of the 2008 session on Jan. 21, Utah legislators have discussed around a dozen measures that would dramatically curb rights for illegal immigrants in this non-border state, which has become an unlikely battleground in the nation's immigration debate.
"It’s not a good situation," said Utah Rep. Glenn Donnelson, R.-North Ogden. "As other states take away the benefits, then we become a magnet, and I say that the best fence to build is not chain link and barbed wire, but is to take away the benefits — take away the perks of being an illegal immigrant."
The state legislature is considering bills that would eliminate driver-privilege cards and in-state tuition for undocumented workers, give local authorities expanded power to fight illegals, and add safeguards to combat identity theft.
Legislators are under pressure from citizen groups such as the Utah Minuteman Project, whose members have demanded an end to Utah's position as "a sanctuary state where illegal aliens and their children feel welcome to ignore any and all of our laws."
"There’s a vague sense of disquiet, discomfort and unease about the situation by virtually everyone in Utah that’s not a liberal or not a Democrat and doesn’t want these people here," said Eli Cawley, the chairman of the Utah Minuteman Project. "They want the law followed. The politicians have noticed that."
A poll conducted early last month by the Desert Morning News found that 60 percent of Utahns favor a local role in the enforcement of illegal immigration laws, with 85 percent desiring citizenship checks before immigrants can receive public benefits.
The firestorm surrounding the debate has frustrated Utah's Hispanic community, which makes up approximately 11 percent of the state's approximately 2.65 million population.
Margarita Rodriguez, the president of Centro Civico Mexicano, a community center in Salt Lake City, says the state's Hispanic residents are not unlike their neighbors. "They want the same things: for their children to be educated, for them to have enough food on the table and to pay the bills," she said. "Across the board, they want the same things."
Roughly 100,000 people are estimated to be living in Utah illegally. Migrants are attracted to the Beehive State by seasonal and manual labor, lower rents and a community that puts a strong emphasis on family and religion. Church charities also aid needy arrivals.
"Coyotes" — people who smuggle immigrants into the U.S. from Mexico — bring many undocumented workers to the state where a cottage industry peddling "la micas" — fake green cards — can help them get work, Rodriguez said.
The increase comes amid an overall population boom in Utah, which saw a 13.7 percent increase between 2000 and 2006, according to the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
Complicating the issue in this deeply religious state — the home of the Mormon church — are spiritual calls for compassion toward those who may be in Utah illegally.
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has taken no position regarding immigration legislation but simply expressed the need for compassion when dealing with any of God's children," said Michael Purdy, a church spokesman.
Mormon missionaries minister to new Utah arrivals, but "church leaders and missionaries do not necessarily know the legal status of those who might express an interest in joining the Church and do not seek to know," Purdy said.
The Latter-day Saints count around 4.7 million members in Central and South America — with 1.1 million in Mexico alone, he said.
The Catholic Church has been more vocal in the debate; the leader of the Catholic Diocese in Salt Lake called on Sunday for a path to citizenship for those immigrants currently in the U.S. illegally. Bishop John C. Wester said the church itself could be called "Immigrants 'R' Us," as he called on his parishioners to "welcome" the needy stranger, according to a report Monday in the Deseret Morning News.
Charitable arms of both churches — Catholic Community Services of Utah and Welfare Square — offer support to immigrants, Rodriguez said.
The influx of new arrivals has changed the face of the state's capital, Salt Lake City. At the city's oldest Mexican store, Marisa's Fashion and Market, little more than a mile from the Mormons' Temple Square, owner Refugio Perez notes the change to his community, where Spanish-speaking immigrants have populated neighborhoods near downtown and on the city's westside.
Perez, a U.S. citizen who came here from Mexico illegally three decades ago, said the community knows who is here illegally, but most of the illegal immigrants work hard and don't cause trouble.
"They need us, but we need them too because there’s nobody going back to the fields and do the job," he said. "Nobody’s going to do the dirty job that they’re doing."
Arguments like that don't fly with Cawley and his group. They say that by entering the country illegally, immigrants have forfeited their shot at the American dream.
"All that we ask is that you respect our flag, you obey the law and you assimilate into our value and culture, that’s all," Cawley said.
At Rita Valencia's candy and candle shop in a new Latino shopping development on the city's westside, her merchandise includes spiritual candles that offer help finding jobs and legal aid. She said most of her customers are here illegally, and many have been here for years, establishing good credit, buying houses and finding good jobs.
"Here, they can still find a job without legal documents," she said.
While the percentage of undocumented workers is relatively small in relation to Utah's legal Hispanic population, the immigration debate dominates newspapers and airwaves, creating an atmosphere of intolerance toward those here legally, too.
"I hear people say, 'Mexicans are lazy. They come here and they take — they use up our money,' and then in the next sentence, 'We don’t like when you come because you take our jobs,'" Rodriguez said. "So which one is it? Are we lazy, or do we take your jobs? We can’t do both."
Every year it gets worse and worse, she said.
"A growing percentage of people have made up their mind that they are no longer going to give Hispanic-looking people the benefit of the doubt," Cawley said. Doing so, he contends, aids and abets illegal immigration in Utah.
"They don’t deserve to be met with this hostility and this anger and resentment by people like me. They don’t deserve it," Cawley said. "But I’m not going to take that risk anymore."
Representatives in the Utah House have already acted swiftly, pushing six bills through committee as of Thursday, including bills that repeal in-state tuition and driver-privilege cards.
"We need to obey the law," Donnelson said. "The federal government needs to do something about the law, and they are not, and it is left up to the states. And so we become between a rock and a hard spot because of that."
Copyright 2008 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved.
I am a frequent visitor to Salt Lake City. Believe me, Utah is a sanctuary state.
Illegal Immigration Debate Rages in Utah
Friday , February 01, 2008
By Sara Bonisteel
FC1
SALT LAKE CITY —
The battle over illegal immigration is being waged on a surprising front — Utah, where some lawmakers are scrambling to drop perks that have lured tens of thousands of undocumented workers to the Beehive State.
Since the opening of the 2008 session on Jan. 21, Utah legislators have discussed around a dozen measures that would dramatically curb rights for illegal immigrants in this non-border state, which has become an unlikely battleground in the nation's immigration debate.
"It’s not a good situation," said Utah Rep. Glenn Donnelson, R.-North Ogden. "As other states take away the benefits, then we become a magnet, and I say that the best fence to build is not chain link and barbed wire, but is to take away the benefits — take away the perks of being an illegal immigrant."
The state legislature is considering bills that would eliminate driver-privilege cards and in-state tuition for undocumented workers, give local authorities expanded power to fight illegals, and add safeguards to combat identity theft.
Legislators are under pressure from citizen groups such as the Utah Minuteman Project, whose members have demanded an end to Utah's position as "a sanctuary state where illegal aliens and their children feel welcome to ignore any and all of our laws."
"There’s a vague sense of disquiet, discomfort and unease about the situation by virtually everyone in Utah that’s not a liberal or not a Democrat and doesn’t want these people here," said Eli Cawley, the chairman of the Utah Minuteman Project. "They want the law followed. The politicians have noticed that."
A poll conducted early last month by the Desert Morning News found that 60 percent of Utahns favor a local role in the enforcement of illegal immigration laws, with 85 percent desiring citizenship checks before immigrants can receive public benefits.
The firestorm surrounding the debate has frustrated Utah's Hispanic community, which makes up approximately 11 percent of the state's approximately 2.65 million population.
Margarita Rodriguez, the president of Centro Civico Mexicano, a community center in Salt Lake City, says the state's Hispanic residents are not unlike their neighbors. "They want the same things: for their children to be educated, for them to have enough food on the table and to pay the bills," she said. "Across the board, they want the same things."
Roughly 100,000 people are estimated to be living in Utah illegally. Migrants are attracted to the Beehive State by seasonal and manual labor, lower rents and a community that puts a strong emphasis on family and religion. Church charities also aid needy arrivals.
"Coyotes" — people who smuggle immigrants into the U.S. from Mexico — bring many undocumented workers to the state where a cottage industry peddling "la micas" — fake green cards — can help them get work, Rodriguez said.
The increase comes amid an overall population boom in Utah, which saw a 13.7 percent increase between 2000 and 2006, according to the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
Complicating the issue in this deeply religious state — the home of the Mormon church — are spiritual calls for compassion toward those who may be in Utah illegally.
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has taken no position regarding immigration legislation but simply expressed the need for compassion when dealing with any of God's children," said Michael Purdy, a church spokesman.
Mormon missionaries minister to new Utah arrivals, but "church leaders and missionaries do not necessarily know the legal status of those who might express an interest in joining the Church and do not seek to know," Purdy said.
The Latter-day Saints count around 4.7 million members in Central and South America — with 1.1 million in Mexico alone, he said.
The Catholic Church has been more vocal in the debate; the leader of the Catholic Diocese in Salt Lake called on Sunday for a path to citizenship for those immigrants currently in the U.S. illegally. Bishop John C. Wester said the church itself could be called "Immigrants 'R' Us," as he called on his parishioners to "welcome" the needy stranger, according to a report Monday in the Deseret Morning News.
Charitable arms of both churches — Catholic Community Services of Utah and Welfare Square — offer support to immigrants, Rodriguez said.
The influx of new arrivals has changed the face of the state's capital, Salt Lake City. At the city's oldest Mexican store, Marisa's Fashion and Market, little more than a mile from the Mormons' Temple Square, owner Refugio Perez notes the change to his community, where Spanish-speaking immigrants have populated neighborhoods near downtown and on the city's westside.
Perez, a U.S. citizen who came here from Mexico illegally three decades ago, said the community knows who is here illegally, but most of the illegal immigrants work hard and don't cause trouble.
"They need us, but we need them too because there’s nobody going back to the fields and do the job," he said. "Nobody’s going to do the dirty job that they’re doing."
Arguments like that don't fly with Cawley and his group. They say that by entering the country illegally, immigrants have forfeited their shot at the American dream.
"All that we ask is that you respect our flag, you obey the law and you assimilate into our value and culture, that’s all," Cawley said.
At Rita Valencia's candy and candle shop in a new Latino shopping development on the city's westside, her merchandise includes spiritual candles that offer help finding jobs and legal aid. She said most of her customers are here illegally, and many have been here for years, establishing good credit, buying houses and finding good jobs.
"Here, they can still find a job without legal documents," she said.
While the percentage of undocumented workers is relatively small in relation to Utah's legal Hispanic population, the immigration debate dominates newspapers and airwaves, creating an atmosphere of intolerance toward those here legally, too.
"I hear people say, 'Mexicans are lazy. They come here and they take — they use up our money,' and then in the next sentence, 'We don’t like when you come because you take our jobs,'" Rodriguez said. "So which one is it? Are we lazy, or do we take your jobs? We can’t do both."
Every year it gets worse and worse, she said.
"A growing percentage of people have made up their mind that they are no longer going to give Hispanic-looking people the benefit of the doubt," Cawley said. Doing so, he contends, aids and abets illegal immigration in Utah.
"They don’t deserve to be met with this hostility and this anger and resentment by people like me. They don’t deserve it," Cawley said. "But I’m not going to take that risk anymore."
Representatives in the Utah House have already acted swiftly, pushing six bills through committee as of Thursday, including bills that repeal in-state tuition and driver-privilege cards.
"We need to obey the law," Donnelson said. "The federal government needs to do something about the law, and they are not, and it is left up to the states. And so we become between a rock and a hard spot because of that."
Copyright 2008 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
