Arizona

Why Arizona and Not Rhode Island?

Published by Papa Giorgio

From BigGov:

…if enforcing immigration law is a bad thing for local cops to do, as Holder claims, why pick on Arizona? If he’s really upset that the same laws he has taken an oath to enforce might actually get (gulp!) enforced, why isn’t he suing Providence instead of Phoenix? They’ve been doing local immigration enforcement for years now.

As The Boston Globe-Democrat reported yesterday, “From Woonsocket to Westerly, the troopers patrolling the nation’s smallest state are reporting all illegal immigrants they encounter, even on routine stops such as speeding, to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”

Even liberal Providence, where politicians long opposed any local enforcement efforts, changed its policy in 2008 after the infamous Marco Riz case.

Riz was the illegal immigrant arrested by Providence cops twice while under a federal deportation order but released both times. He was then charged with carjacking a woman in Warwick and raping her in Providence.

Rhode Island cops now routinely contact ICE when they suspect they’ve come across an illegal immigrant. Since 2006, the number of contacts they’ve made to ICE’s Law Enforcement Support Center in Vermont has nearly doubled, the Globe reported. How is this significantly different than Arizona’s proposed law?

…(read more)…

Arizona Needs to Get Tough Like Rhode Island!

(language warning)

UPDATE – from HotAir:

According to the Obama administration’s lawsuit against the state of Arizona, their new law requiring police officers to investigate immigration status for those already in some form of detention violates their jurisdiction, which is what the argument of pre-emption means.  Barack Obama and Eric Holder want the courts to rule that only the federal writ runs in Arizona on immigration-law enforcement.  Apparently, though, the federal writ doesn’t run in Rhode Island, where law enforcement has been doing for years exactly what the Arizona law Obama opposes mandates — without a peep from the DoJ:

But in Rhode Island, illegal immigrants face a far greater penalty: deportation.

“There are police chiefs throughout New England who hide from the issue . . . and I’m not hiding from it,’’ said Colonel Brendan P. Doherty, the towering commander of the Rhode Island State Police. “I would feel that I’m derelict in my duties to look the other way.’’

From Woonsocket to Westerly, the troopers patrolling the nation’s smallest state are reporting all illegal immigrants they encounter, even on routine stops such as speeding, to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE.

Well, that’s different from what Arizona is doing because, well, um … Arizona’s racist, or something.  In fact, Rhode Island does exactly what Arizona belatedly decided to do, which is to get serious about immigration control and enforcing the law.  The only difference is that Rhode Island began doing it before Barack Obama needed a distraction from a hugely unpopular ObamaCare bill and thought a fight over immigration would bolster Democrats in the midterms.

In fact, Rhode Island didn’t bother passing a law, but instead relied on an executive order:

In 2008, Governor Donald L. Carcieri, a Republican, issued an executive order mandating immigration checks on all new state workers and ordering State Police to assist federal immigration officials.

Sitting in his office in an old farmhouse off a country highway, Doherty said the State Police had collaborated with federal immigration officials before, but the relationship has become more formal in recent years. In 2007, he said, he trained all state troopers in how to deal with noncitizens because of widespread confusion and because Congress did not resolve the issue of illegal immigration. Troopers learned to notify consulates when noncitizens are arrested, how to recognize different forms of identification, and how to deal with different cultures.

In 2009, Doherty took it a step further and enrolled in the 287(g) program, which designated four troopers as immigration task force agents to assist in investigating drug and human trafficking and other crimes.

They also help regular troopers report illegal immigrants to ICE. Troopers say the issue typically comes up during criminal investigations or when motorists don’t have driver’s licenses, and police need to verify their identities with the center in Vermont.

Heck, an executive order seems even more susceptible to a legal challenge than a law passed by the legislature.  Why isn’t the DoJ suing Rhode Island to stop doing what Arizona proposes to do?

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer Discusses Obama’s Push To Protect Arizona… with Signs!?

Published by Papa Giorgio

Earlier this month, Governor Jan Brewer sat in the Oval Office with President Barack Obama to discuss the critical issue of border security. The Governor personally related to the President the concerns of millions of Arizonans over the lack of security on Arizona’s southern border. During their visit, President Obama committed to present details, within two weeks of their meeting, regarding his plans to commit National Guard troops to the Arizona border and commit to spend $500 million in additional funds on border security.

Governor Brewer remains eager to receive the specific details of President Obama’s border security plans. She continues to extend an invitation to the President to visit with families living along the southwestern border and see the situation firsthand.

Recent News Stories Put To Artistic Prose (Immigration, Oil, Sovereignty)

Published by Papa Giorgio

(These are old stories I decided to keep in my “repairing” old posts)

This rash politicization of education is being met with resistance, but here’s what supporters of the proposed curriculum had to say:

According to its press release, “The Los Angeles Board of Education also requested that Superintendent Ramon Cortines ensure that civics and history classes discuss the recent laws with students in the context of the American values of unity, diversity and equal protection for all people.”

“America must stand for tolerance, inclusiveness and equality,” said Board President Monica García, according to the release. “In our civics classes and in our hallways, we must give life to these values by teaching our students to value themselves; to respect others; and to demand fairness and justice for all who live within our borders. Any law which violates civil rights is un-American.”

Very telling that “rule of law” was not one of the “American values” mentioned.

Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann was quoted in Politico hammering the administration for pulling away from Israel.

From Politico:

“We have to ask if the Obama administration remains committed to the state of Israel and the right of Israel to exist and defend herself. The Obama administration, through its word and its actions, has been sending the world mixed signals at best.”

She continued:

“It appears that from the time the Obama administration came into office they have been stepping away from Israel…”

(Michele Bachmann strong words for Obama over lack of support for Israel)

The Dutch government is condemning Israel’s defensive action against the Hamas/Al Qaeda terrorist vessel that entered its waters. However, one Dutch politician is standing against the tide.

From the Dutch News, June 1:

MPs from across the political spectrum, even those traditionally supportive of Israel, have said they were shocked by Israel’s actions.

However, PVV MP Geert Wilders said it is ‘cheap’ to attack Israel. ‘I am certainly not going to make a cheap attack on Israel by howling in the woods with the rest of the wolves,’ he told tv show Nova.

Israel was fully justified in entering the ships to see if they were also carrying weapons, he said.

(In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders stands virtually alone in defense of Israel flotilla attacks)

President Barack Obama Wednesday sought to break the political siege imposed by the US oil disaster, lacerating Republicans for gutting corporate regulation and exploding deficits.

The GOP immediately blasted back, accusing the president of trying to distract attention from the ongoing catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico.

“Good speeches can’t improve failing policies,” said House Republic Whip Eric Cantor. “America needs more than speeches and words — we need action to begin to erase our deficits and free our children from our debt.”….

(GOP Blasts Obama for Attack Speech as Spill Worsens in Gulf)

Many reasons, but this one goes unmentioned: Environmental chic has driven us out there. As production from the shallower Gulf of Mexico wells declines, we go deep (1,000 feet and more) and ultra deep (5,000 feet and more), in part because environmentalists have succeeded in rendering the Pacific and nearly all the Atlantic coast off-limits to oil production. (President Obama’s tentative, selective opening of some Atlantic and offshore Alaska sites is now dead.) And of course, in the safest of all places, on land, we’ve had a 30-year ban on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

So we go deep, ultra deep — to such a technological frontier that no precedent exists for the April 20 blowout in the Gulf of Mexico.

There will always be catastrophic oil spills. You make them as rare as humanly possible, but where would you rather have one: in the Gulf of Mexico, upon which thousands depend for their livelihood, or in the Arctic, where there are practically no people? All spills seriously damage wildlife. That’s a given. But why have we pushed the drilling from the barren to the populated, from the remote wilderness to a center of fishing, shipping, tourism and recreation?

Not that the environmentalists are the only ones to blame. Not by far. But it is odd that they’ve escaped any mention at all.

The other culprits are pretty obvious. It starts with BP, which seems not only to have had an amazing string of perfect-storm engineering lapses but no contingencies to deal with a catastrophic system failure.

However, the railing against BP for its performance since the accident is harder to understand. I attribute no virtue to BP, just self-interest. What possible interest can it have to do anything but cap the well as quickly as possible? Every day that oil is spilled means millions more in losses, cleanup and restitution….

….Well, when you anoint yourself King Canute, you mustn’t be surprised when your subjects expect you to command the tides.

(A disaster with many fathers)

Jay Beeber Discusses L.A. City Councilman’s “Foot In Mouth Disease”

Published by Papa Giorgio

(FLASHBACK: MAY 2010) Jay Beeber of FREEDOM MINUTE and SAFER STREETS LA does a bang-up job once-again on the seemingly hypocritical stance of L.A. Cit Councilman Paul Koretz’s “flip-flop” on what constitutes a “blood-curling analogy.” This audio is via JOHN & KEN’s radio show. At any rate, you will find some great stuff over at Jay’s sites, enjoy his funny interview above… reality is always more comical that fiction! (Jay Beeber’s TWITTER)

Arizona Teacher Boooed for Railing Against & Mischaracterizing the Arizona Law (Plus: “Freedoms Color-Blind”)

Published by Papa Giorgio

Via GATEWAY PUNDIT:

Professor Soto gives a political speech at the May 2010 Commencement Ceremony for the University of Arizona College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

What a shock – Sandra Soto Ph. D. is an associate professor of gender and women’s studies. She just couldn’t put her own selfish agenda on the back burner for just one day. She had to spoil the day for these graduates.

71% of Arizona voters now support the immigration law.

Sam Donaldson Defends Mexican President Felipe Calderon

Published by Papa Giorgio

Sam Donaldson compared Calderon’s speech against Arizona to Reagan’s speech against the wall separating East and West Germany! As well as comparing it to Clinton speaking out against Tienanmen Square! These progressive Democrats are all about making disproportionate actions and moral stances on freedom and protection all equal on the world stage. Reagan speaking truth to the tyranny of communism and Gorbachev is equal to Arizona trying to protect its citizens. CRAZY!

This transcript is from NEWSBUSTERS (I will recommend a book that I still think is fitting even after all these years):

JAKE TAPPER: There was one other item in the news that I want to touch on before we have to go to a break and that is the President of Mexico, Felipe Calderon, came to the White House and he came to Congress. And in both places he criticized the Arizona immigration law. Here’s President Calderon:

FELIPE CALDERON, HOUSE CHAMBER, ON THURSDAY: I strongly disagree with the recently adopted law in Arizona. It is a law that not only ignores the reality that cannot be erased by decree, but also introduces a terrible idea using racial profiling as the basis for law enforcement.

TAPPER: Now I’m the spring chicken at the table, but I cannot remember a head of state from another country coming to the Congress and criticizing American laws.

GEORGE WILL: While he was lecturing America on moral governance, he was doing so against the backdrop of an Amnesty International report saying that migrants, illegals crossing through Mexico “are facing a major human rights crisis leaving them with virtually no access to justice, fearing reprisals and deportation if they complain of abuses, of persistent failures by the authorities,” that would be Mr. Calderon’s government, I believe, “to tackle abuses carried out against irregular migrants who’ve made their journey through Mexico one of the most dangerous in the world.”

So he gets up and lectures us on moral governance and gets a standing ovation from Donna’s party. The fact is, Mexico has two big exports: Oil, and their second biggest export is poverty to the United States – from which, in remittances sent back to Mexico, they get $21 billion a year. Mr. Calderon has a stake in illegal immigration to our country.

SAM DONALDSON: President Bill Clinton went to the Great Hall of the People and when Jiang Zemin was President of China. I heard President Clinton say, “what you did in Tiananmen Square was wrong.” He lectured. We all said, that’s terrific because it was the ox being gored on the other side. President Calderon represents Mexico. And he said what a lot of Americans are also saying, that that Arizona law is discriminatory and it ought not to have been on the books.

TAPPER: That law is actually supported by a majority of Americans, according to polling. And I can’t believe that you’re actually comparing it to Tiananmen Square, right? I mean, you’re not?

DONALDSON: Well, I’m not comparing a massacre in Tiananmen Square to what’s happening in Arizona. But you raised the subject of having someone come to another country and lecture them.

TAPPER: And you think it’s okay?

COKIE ROBERTS: Our Presidents certainly do it. Israel about settlements. You know, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” you know.

GEORGE WILL: He didn’t say that in Russia.

TAPPER: A final word Donna.

DONNA BRAZILE: The Democrats basically were, they applauded the fact that we have to fix this problem. Our borders is broken. George, we have a broken, we have a disfunctional-

WILL: They applauded the President of Mexico.

Reading Helps (LOL)

Published by Papa Giorgio

Two weeks ago, Governor Jan Brewer took President Obama to task for making Arizonas unsecured borders and illegal immigration crisis a laughing matter. However, since then, Washingtons comedy of errors has grown far worse, with top cabinet officials admitting that they havent even read Arizonas new immigration law. Broken borders are not a laughing matter, but the failure by Obamas trusted officials to read Arizonas law before commenting and condemning it is laughable. Read the law for yourself at: www.SecuretheBorder.org.

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin today launched an effort aimed at educating the country on the federal governments failure to secure our nations southern border and its failure to address the human tragedy that is occurring as a result.

Paul Koretz Likened Arizona Law To NAZI’s

Published by Papa Giorgio

FREEDOMMINUTE’S, Jay Beeber, was interviewed on KFI’s The John & Ken Show. Here is that interview after a short commentary from the blog at Freedomminute:

Last week, the Los Angeles City Council voted to boycott the State of Arizona in protest of their recently passed immigration law, SB 1070, which targets illegal immigrants. Regardless of what one might think of the law, I was particularly troubled by the public statements of Council Members Janice Hahn and Paul Koretz in which they equated Arizona with Nazi Germany. Perhaps I’m a bit sensitive on this subject since some members of my family were victims of the Nazi regime and died in the concentration camps.

My objection to the use of this type of hyperbole is that when public officials (and private citizens) begin equating everything they might object to with the atrocities of the Holocaust, it minimizes the slaughter of 12 million people. Paul Koretz, who also lost family members in the Holocaust, should be particularly conscious of the dangers of this type of grandstanding.  However, during last week’s council meeting, this is what he said in regard to Arizona’s new laws (including two measures relating to public education):

“If this was being proposed at the Federal level, I would think we were absolutely at the beginning of what went on in Nazi Germany.  It’s not much different.  Fortunately it’s a State, but this State needs to be stung in every possible way until they stop this behavior.  We can’t let this advance any further, this is absolutely dangerous.”

…(read more)…


Democrats Clap at Mexican President Misstating the Arizona Law

Published by Papa Giorgio

Here is video of Democrats in the House Chamber, including VP Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others standing to applaud the President of Mexico’s attack on the new anti-illegal immigration law passed by Arizona. In particular, notice Attorney General Eric Holder who was one of the last to stand. He admitted earlier this week he has never read the law, even though he has been criticizing it. Calderon’s contention that the Arizona law is based on “racial profiling’ is not true. In fact, the law forbids “racial profiling.”