• The Kentucky Post has reported on the status of the case where the federal government prosecuted a landlord for renting apartments to illegal immigrants. The jury found in favor of the defendant, whom the Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund represented, and agreed with his argument that he did not intentionally harbor undocumented immigrants. Immigration News Daily also reported on the case and claimed:
For those of you unfamiliar with Jared Taylor he represents the new face of white supremacy. He is the mainstream voice of a movement that has a large following among academic and financial circles.
Joe Horn a 62-year-old man from Pasadena, TX who shot two men in the back, killing both, has been cleared of all charges by a Harris County grand jury. Horn called 911 when he noticed his neighbor's house being robbed. While on the phone with 911 he indicated several times that he was going to go out and kill these two men. The 911 dispatcher tried several times to talk Horn out of going outside. Eventually Horn went outside, he can be heard on the 911 call shouting "Boom. You're dead." which is followed by several shotgun blasts. Horn then tells the 911 dispatcher that he "had no choice" and that the guy was coming at him. The autopsy reveals, however, that both men were shot in the back.
Back in 2000, Democratic strategist and political writer Cliff Schecter contributed $20 to the presidential campaign of Arizona Republican Senator John McCain. An admirer of McCain's independent streak then in opposing Republican orthodoxy on supply-side tax cuts and overturning Roe v Wade, Schecter admitted, "I trusted him." Eight years and seemingly endless McCain flip-flops later, Cliff Schecter wants his money back.
Tom Brokaw took over the broadcast today on what is sure to be an interim basis. I suppose instead of knocking him I will just say he will take some getting used to and as I'm sure he needs a little time to get comfortable in the job. It's funny that on my last blog (pyeger) made a comment about a robotic voice that delivers the news with little or no inflection to de emotionalize the spin and just give the facts. I'd say Tom Brokaw is about as close to that as a human can get and I must say that well, it doesn't work for me. Anyway did anything happen on MTP today?
Not really, the two Western Governors from Colorado and Wyoming were on script and frankly uninteresting. The one snippet that showed a little conviction was when Gov. Ritter of Colorado said his state needed a reasonable immigration policy to keep his economy going. Brokaw did not follow up on that issue with Gov. Ritter so I will.
• Last week, The Opportunity Agenda's Immigration Blog Roundup linked to an Of América posting about the Guantanamo-like treatment of individuals held at ICE detention facilities. The latest Breakthrough video titled "Death by Detention" documents individuals’ stories of their horrific experiences at these facilities. The video has been posted on numerous pro-migrant blogs, including Standing FIRM.
A California judge blocked a lawsuit that sought to enlist Los Angeles police officers in weeding out illegal immigrants on the ground that such a policy conflicted with Federal and State law.
Yes this is a horrible idea. Perhaps just make customs and immigration a bit more pleasant instead?
As a US Citizen, Duncan gets to see the best parts of US Customs and Immigration. I'm not, and while I got to experience some of that VIP treatment during the nine years I was a permanent resident alien, I've also seen the other side.
I love my friends, but what really bugs me is when they get sent something ridiculous. Something every fiber of their being is telling them is wrong, but they still somehow think there's a possibility of truth. So they forward it to me, when a simple google search would have put all their worries to rest.
So tonight I received such an email from a good friend. She sent me this...
REALLY?!... you gotta watch this. It sounds like V for Vendetta II. I know it's sensationalism at its finest, but have you heard of any of this?
:) Sleep well.
So clearly she reads it as sensationalism, but it's been forwarded to her from family and friends and she's curious. So, I wrote her back, a couple of paragraphs of what I knew from the subject matter after watching the ten minutes of trash that is included in the youtube link. sigh It was surely more than she was asking, but I had to at least let her know 1)What I knew about the subjects, because well its just polite since she asked and 2)It's always okay to ask, though forgive me if I seem frustrated...
A round up of stories today about opportunity in America, pulled from a variety of nonprofits, race and immigration blogs, and mainstream media outlets. Cross posted at The State of Opportunity, a blog about human rights and the American Dream.
Today Andrew Sullivan talked about the melancholy anniversary of his HIV diagnosis. While his health is in good shape, his legal status in the U.S. -- because of his HIV status -- is most definitely not in good shape.
Without property rights, the government effectively has the power to kill you, to throw you and your family out in the snow.
So-called conservatives, who really don't want to conserve anything except the preponderance of Caucasian DNA, have spent centuries yelling themselves blue in the face over property rights, taking the idea to its logical extreme. Indiana Republicans commonly argue that the military ought to be privatized (are they talking about Blackwater or Timothy McVeigh?) and that property taxes should be referred to as "takings" and abolished.
Let's see how property rights are doing in northern Alabama.
The photo above is of my now 92 year old Tata, Luciano Cervantes Eusebio at Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City. He has had the pleasure of being married to my grandmother, Natalia Cervantes Llamas, for over 50 years now. They have 10 kids and 17 grandkids, all living in the United States. We're a mixed bunch of brown and white, but we love our grandparents and we're grateful for everything they've ever done for us.
To quote Indiana Jones, " I'm just making this up as I go along", it seems that I am in a quandary with the skuttle butt going on regarding the FISA compromise. As "defenders" of the constitution, I agree that the FISA bill is a real bad idea. Anything that distorts the laws of the land to accommodate illegal actions of the past in order to protect a particular group is not acceptable. So with this said, why is it, that the Progressive community is then all gung ho in support of Immigration "Reform". Isn't this another accommodation, distortion and retroactive act on the constitution? Why is it that one is an unforgivable offense, and the other is laudable?
In the wake of numerous press reports detailing the deaths of 83 people in ICE custody since its inception five years ago, countless cases of sick or mentally ill immigration detainees denied even the most basic care they require, the illegal detention of legal residents and citizens, expedited criminal hearings of those apprehended in immigration raids without providing basic legal representation or judicial review, and the illegal drugging of both detainees and deportees, there have been growing calls for the reform of the immigration detention system.
A round up of stories today about opportunity in America, pulled from a variety of nonprofits, race and immigration blogs, and mainstream media outlets. Cross posted at The State of Opportunity, a blog about human rights and the American Dream.
There are some items up on News Unfiltered that may interest the community.
McCain refuses to reimburse for use of corporate jet:
Despite his campaign promise to set a "new standard for transparency and accountability," the Wall Street Journal today reports that John McCain is refusing to pay for his campaign's use of a corporate jet. Despite his previous efforts to restrict the use of corporate jets, McCain's campaign failed to reimburse the cost of "several trips last year that included campaign-related activity." The story quotes two Republican campaign lawyers saying McCain should have paid for the flights.
