NYC Quagmire: Remove Troops

From the great Scott Ott at Scrappleface:

As the number of murders in New York City reached a 40-year low, Democrats in Congress introduced a measure calling for an immediate and total pull-out of law enforcement personnel citing the high cost of fighting crime, the risk to those in uniform and “lack of political progress” in the city.

In a typical Congressional maneuver, Democrats attached the redeployment measure as an amendment to an unrelated bill, sponsored by Republicans, which would provide senior citizens with a taxpayer-funded MediCare prescription golf benefit.

Official statistics show the Big Apple’s murder rate is now less than a quarter of what it was in 1990, but Democrats in Congress say the reduction has nothing to do with the actions of the New York City Police Department or the policies of the last two Republican mayors.

“The dip in the murder rate is certainly temporary,” said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, “and it presents us with a window of opportunity to safely extract our brave men and women in uniform before the slaughter returns to normal levels.”

Hahahahahaa. Great. True example of using their beliefs against them. Just does not work.

Who Are We As A Nation?

Who Do We Really Honor On Veteran's Day??
America's Priorities Are Upside Down.

From D.A. King's column in Athen Banner Herald:

Another Veterans Day has come and gone, and the far-too-sparsely attended parades and ceremonies are over until next year. As a former Marine and someone who studies illegal immigration and the fact that the president of the United States has refused to secure American borders more than six years after the horror of 9/11, Veterans Day always brings to mind the puzzling system of priorities we have as a nation.

One example: Since 2003, the Veterans Administration has had a medical care eligibility means test for American military veterans. The American Journal of Public Health reported last month that more than one million vets have no insurance or access to VA medical care.

But, because of a federal mandate, American taxpayers - including veterans - routinely pay for no-cost medical care for people who reside in the United States illegally.

At age 55, like most vets my age I can clearly remember the promise of “free medical care for the rest of your life” from my government as a 17-year-old recruit.

As it has on the promise to secure American borders, the Bush administration has gone back on the promise to many vets.

On Jan. 17, 2003, the Veterans Administration changed its enrollment guidelines and began to ask detailed questions of the U.S. military veterans who apply for their promised medical benefits after that date. Questions like, “What was your income last year?”, “How many dependents do you have?” and “Is your need for treatment related to your past military service?”

Vets who earn more than about $34,000 a year without a military-related medical problem are put into “Category 8g” … and denied the promised free routine health care.

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, emergency medical care for those formerly in the service of their nation in Category 8g is granted “on a humanitarian emergency basis and (they) are charged the applicable tortuously liable billing rate for services provided.”

The illegal aliens who are demanding immunity from the equal application of American border, immigration and employment laws have no problem qualifying for free medical treatment.

No means test, no questions asked. No bills.

In 1986, the year the federal government rewarded about three million illegal aliens with a “one-time” amnesty, it also passed into law the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, which guarantees no-cost medical treatment in American emergency rooms to anyone, regardless of ability to pay or immigration status. Or both.

The fact that the 1986 amnesty was a miserable failure at its promised goal - stopping illegal immigration and illegal employment - is undeniable. EMTALA, however, is enforced and works quite well. Millions of illegal aliens receive taxpayer-funded health care - emergency or not - in America’s emergency rooms at the lowest possible charge: Zero.

There are about 25 million living vets in today’s America. Most who study illegal immigration understand that we have at least the same number of illegal aliens, notwithstanding the ridiculous estimates from the federal government.

As someone who has thought a lot about the “why” in this sad but true conflict in priorities, the answer is shamefully clear.

The illegal aliens and their employers have a far more well-funded and effective lobby in Congress than the American veterans.

We should all be asking a lot of questions here. This cannot be who we are as a nation. Can it?

• D.A. King is a former U.S. Marine and president of the Dustin Inman Society, a Marietta-based nonprofit coalition dedicated to educating the public on the consequences of illegal immigration. In 2004, he applied for VA medical benefits and was assigned to Category 8g.

From the blog, A certain slant of light:

As near as I can tell, the estimate of the cost for health care services for veterans (made by the Congressional Budget Office) was $28 billion in 2005. NumbersUSA reports costs of $22 billion annually for Medicare, Medicaid, and federally-mandated health care for illegal aliens.

Illegal aliens have translators, advocates, and middlemen supplied by immigrants civil rights groups or by Medicaid.

Among the organizations directing illegal aliens into America’s medical systems are the Ford Foundation-funded Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund; the National Immigration Center; the American Immigration’s Lawyers Association; the American Bar Association’s Commission on Immigration Policy, Practice, and Pro Bono; the Immigrant Legal Resource Center; the National Council of La Raza; George Soros’s Open Society Institute; the Migration Policy Institute; the National Network for Immigration and Refugee Rights; and the Southern Poverty Law Center. And there are more.

The National Immigration Law Center (NILC) proudly announced that it garnered for immigrants expensive cancer treatments, prenatal care, and critical health services by means of its litigation. Sometimes NILC worked in collaboration with lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

San Fran Proves Once Again Why It Shouldn't Exist

From SFGate:

The Board of Supervisors voted today to make San Francisco the largest U.S. city to issue municipal identification cards to its residents, regardless of whether or not they are in the country legally.

Why you ask? Good question. Let's see how these freaks reason this out....

Supervisor Tom Ammiano, the legislation's author, said the availability of identification cards is a smart public safety measure because it would make residents living on the social margins of San Francisco more likely to seek the help of police and could give them more access to banking services.

"People are afraid to report crimes," Ammiano said, referring to illegal immigrants who avoid local law enforcement authorities over fear of being arrested or deported by federal immigration officials.

See, with an official ID card illegal people will feel safe talking to the cops. They will automatically be safe and conduct their lives in a safe and open manner. Makes sense to me. All these people need is recognition. They are only breaking our nation's laws because they are not officially recognized with an ID card.

OH, and here is another reason....

The legislation would require companies doing business with San Francisco to accept the municipal card as a legitimate form of identification ...

Under San Francisco's sanctuary ordinance, it already is city policy that no municipal government personnel or resources may be used to assist federal immigration officials in the arrest and deportation of illegal immigrants.

So, basically, this new ordinance will force employers to hire anyone carrying this ID card. Excuse me? Isn't that the point of a sanctuary city? So that anyone living there can't be refused work or service based on their residency status? Then what is the point of the ID card really?

Ammiano said banking institutions in San Francisco have signaled their willingness to accept the municipal ID card for the purpose of setting up accounts. He noted that people without bank accounts are frequently more vulnerable to theft and robbery.

Ummm. Exactly how many people are mugged while standing at the ATM's? How many people have their checks stolen from their mail? Now, how many people, when mugged, get their cash stolen from their wallets? Most you say? Now, do you really thinks it matters to the robber if their victim has a bank account or not when they are demanding their victim's cash?

It is easy to see why the banking firms are behind this. It just means more money for them.

The legislation, which was approved 10-1 on the first of two readings, has the support of Mayor Gavin Newsom.

No surprise there as he is as liberal and pro-illegals as they come.

I Won The Book: Lincoln: The Presidential Archives

WOW.
I just received an email notifying me that I had won a prize that I had signed up for earlier.

I visit the site www.diggersrealm.com on a regular basis. The site follows our country's willingness to prevent the entry of people into our nation illegally. For the most part, our country's willingness leans toward actually willing to allow illegal entries without repercussion. What is worse, as Digger notes in his site, many in political power want to reward them for entering our country illegally.

I visited his site a while back and saw that he had a contest going for the book, "Lincoln: The Presidential Archives". I just received an email from Digger telling me that I had won this book in his online contest.

You should really go to his website and check out his review of this wonderful book.

From Digger:

Have you ever wanted to hold the hand of a president and walk through his life with him? Well that is just how I felt as I was reading Lincoln: The Presidential Archives by Chuck Wills from DK Publishing. In this highly illustrated and very well written book you get the sense that you are actually walking side by side with President Abraham Lincoln as he faces the trials and tribulations of his youth, his first hesitant steps into politics and his triumphs and tragedies. I really did feel a certain kinship with Lincoln that I have never felt in the past.
...
Now what makes this book truly astounding is that it includes actual replicas of items throughout Lincoln's life. As author Chuck Wills calls it in a Question and Answer session, "It’s not just a book; it’s a museum in a book". Things like a page from his childhood arithmetic notebook and his marriage certificate. These things are included in wax paper pockets and can be taken out and examined. This isn't just a "read it" kind of book, but a "live it" kind of book.

To Digger (and his website).... Thank You!!

I will post my own meager review of the book after I had a chance to read through it with my son. I will provide his and my reactions as well.

MASSIVE Subsidies Still Not Helping Price Of Flex Fuel

From AJC:

Media Hates Crackdown On Illegals

From my local college paper, the O'Colly and their "unbiased" "journalistic" take on how the new Oklahoma House Bill 1804 will affect all of Oklahoma as a whole. In case you don't know, H.B. 1804 makes it a felony to shelter or give aid to anyone who is here illegally. It also prevents illegals from getting government assistance and allows local law enforcement greater power to enforce federal immigration laws as well as holding illegals for ICE prior to deportation.

My venerable alma-mater paper took it on themselves to dive deep into the affect this new bill will have on ALL of Oklahoma. Well, at least they should have:

Many Hispanic students are fearful that an anti-illegal immigration law that goes into effect today will lead to racial profiling and increased hatred toward minorities, said the Hispanic Student Association president.

"many" ?!!?? How many feel this way? How many students did this reporter talk to and get this feeling from them? ..........

2 !!!

This article only cites the statements of two "hispanics". The article did not even tell us if these two people are here illegally and thus WOULD be affected by this new law. How many could they have asked?

A total of 525 Hispanic students attend OSU-Stillwater and OSU-Tulsa, 433 undergraduate students, 85 graduate students and 7 professional students, according to the Fall 2007 student profile.

So, they asked 2 out of 525 people. And one is not even a student of the university....

Brenda Moralez, Hispanic Student adviser, said students have voiced concerns about facing racial profiling when a police officer pulls them over.

Hmmm, sounds like the same arguments that blacks have cited over the many decades. Except, most blacks are LEGAL and the racial profiling was indeed racial profiling by whites who have issues with the black race. There is no "brown" racial profiling. There has not been one case where "COPS" have been shown to be racist against browns. And what is funny about this (actually it is reverse racism) that these people feel that all personnel of law enforcement harbor these deep seated hatreds toward brown people. While white people do hold the majority of positions within law enforcement, people of varied color also hold positions. Are these people saying that when a brown or black officer pulls over a brown driver that it will lead to RACIAL profiling?

THIS IS NOT ABOUT RACE, YOU IDIOTS!!! This is about legality. If you are here illegally then we will come after you no matter your color, creed, or religion.

“If that’s starts happening, what happens to our rights?” Angela Vivar said. “What happens to people that just look different? They’re going to have to answer for the people who have broken laws. And I don’t care if they have broken laws or not — they still deserve to treated like human beings.”

How will arresting an illegal person be treating them inhumanely? Please describe the exact process that is inhumane? If you can only cite the fact that they are being arrested and deported, then you have nothing at all as even LEGAL people get deported to their home countries when they are arrested for deportable offenses. IDIOT!!!

Brenda Moralez, Hispanic Student adviser, said students have voiced concerns about facing racial profiling when a police officer pulls them over. Vivar said one of the Hispanic Student Association members was recently pulled over for speeding in an Oklahoma town near Stillwater.

The police officer asked to see the member’s “papers,” Vivar said.

“She said, ‘I don’t have my papers — I don’t have a reason to have papers,” Vivar said. “He was like, ‘We’re just taking precautions with Hispanic-sounding last names,’ which is called racial profiling.”

Do you think she has something to gain by saying these things? Who was it? What was this person's name? If you state that it was the person's name that got the police officer's goat then tell us the name. And, no officer asks, "Let me zee your paperz!" If the person did not have a driver's license then the next thing to ask is the person is here legally. In Oklahoma, illegals can not get a driver's license. So, this story is full of holes. To me, it sounds like the officer was asking for "papers" associated with driving a vehicle like driver's license and insurance documentation. Sounds like another story made up to push an agenda.

Out of a town of 40,000, what are the odds that 1 of the 525 Hispanic students gets pulled over and asked this kind of question?

What does the police force have to say about this statement?

Stillwater Police Chief Norman McNickle said a police officer can not ask for a person’s naturalization documents if Immigrations and Customs Enforcement has not trained the officer to do so. “A complaint should be filed after the fact.”

DUH!!!!

An office finding out a person is an illegal immigrant through “an independent reliable third party” is the same as an officer being told someone has narcotics.

“There’s no discrimination or racial profiling,” Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore, the principal author of House Bill 1804 said. “The only thing this bill does is empower state and local law enforcement agencies to enforce federal immigration laws.” It does not target any nationality, race or ethnicity, he said.

Now get these last few statements from this reporter:

“The only people who have anything to be concerned with are those people who voluntarily made a decision to break the law by coming here and remaining here illegally,” he said.

However, for Vivar and other Hispanic students, the fear still remains they will become targets for discrimination.

DISCRIMINATION!?!??! Now, asking for a person's proof of citizenship is racial discrimination? And again, citing the untraceable "other" Hispanics.

Now get this. GET THIS!!!

“It’s going to affect my family,” she said. “It’s going to affect my cousin who has been here for 10 years. It’s going to affect his kids. I can’t really think of any student, maybe two I know, out of 100 that doesn’t have family or really close friends that are undocumented.”

So, this person's cousin is supposedly here illegally? And has been living here illegally for last 10 years and now has kids? Sounds like it is time to track down this lady and find out where this illegal is and ask her some tough questions about harboring and aiding a felon. She should be warned that doing so is a felony. And, if she can't think of anyone, other than two, who have a family member that is undocumented, then how will this affect so many people? If she can only think of 2 out of 100 people that are here illegally or know someone that is here illegally, then how will this bill's actions do untold inhuman harm?

So, how is this bill playing out across the country. Rep. Terrill states that 25-30 MORE states will submit similar bills in their legislative houses by the end of their sessions.

An article from al-Reuters cites an incident in Missouri:

By Carey Gillam

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - Minor traffic violations do not usually warrant a press release from a governor.

But when state police stopped a van on a Missouri road for "following too closely" and found it was carrying 10 presumed illegal immigrants, Gov. Matt Blunt was quick to tout the incident as part of a new state program to hunt down undocumented aliens.

"We will make every effort, implement every tool, and take every step to ensure the laws against illegal immigration are enforced," declared Blunt, announcing the arrests as he pursued tough new measures to push undocumented immigrants out of the state.

Missouri's efforts are among several now being seen around the nation as state and local officials race to make their territory as unappealing as possible for the nation's estimated 12 million undocumented individuals.

"You're starting to see this around the country. They're trying to scare people and they're saying 'We don't want you here,'" said William Sanchez, lead attorney for the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders, which has filed suit to stop a new Oklahoma law that became effective Thursday.

Scare people?!!? Hell NO. We are trying to scare people from COMING here illegally. We just want to deport those that have made it here illegally. This is no different from the aiding and abetting laws on the books for regular felons. How is this any different? These bills just now focus that effort on felons who are in the country ILLEGALLY. And, just because these people are associated with a religion should not give them more weight. There are religious people protesting the funerals of soldiers killed in this war on terror calling them homosexuals or damned sinners. There are religious organizations that are actively recruiting and giving transportation to illegals to make it easier for them to enter this country. Their grief and their complaints are inherently tied to their funding, in my opinion. If they are actively engaging in illegal behavior, then they should have no standing in courts to stop further laws against what they are doing.

Forty-three states enacted 182 immigration-related laws this year, "an unprecedented level of activity," according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

More than two dozen cities and counties have also introduced measures aimed at curbing illegal immigration, though many have been turned back by legal challenges.

Measures vary widely but many focus on penalizing employers of undocumented workers, restricting public benefits, and making it hard for illegals to find places to live.

And, here is the main reason for this bill...

"Illegal aliens will not come to Oklahoma or anywhere else if there are no jobs waiting for them. They will not stay here if there is no government subsidy," said the law's sponsor, Oklahoma Rep. Randy Terrill, a Republican who believes the measure will make illegal immigrants "self deport."

Both critics and supporters said the punitive measures could prompt thousands to flee the state, a factor that has lawmakers in other states eyeing similar measures.

"We are drafting our own legislation patterned after Oklahoma," said Utah Sen. Bill Hickman. "We're developing two different groups in society - those that have to obey the law and those that don't. Society can't function very well that way."

"This is how we're doing business henceforth," said Missouri director of public safety Mark James. "We have 1,000 highway patrol, 100 water patrol and 30 to 40 capital police officers to work on this. If we can help that cause, then we're doing something proactive."