Immigrant Called "Racist" For Supporting Legal Immigration

It looks like the Governator has chimed in on the Minuteman Project, praising its effectiveness in slowing illegal immigration from Mexico, and adding that the federal government isn't doing its job. "It's a shame that the private citizen has to go in there and start patrolling our borders," Schwarzenegger said.

Other, more clueless folks saw it differently. From the Los Angeles (California) Times:

The leader of a Mexican American group called the governor's comments "shameful" and "nothing short of base racism."

"I think we're seeing the real Arnold Schwarzenegger. The mask has now fallen," said Nativo V. Lopez, state national [ed: "state national"? glad to see those editors are up to the task at the Times] president of the Mexican American Political Assn. "Those of immigrant stock should have no illusions about what his real sentiments and feelings are toward them."

Yes Mr. Lopez, Gov. Schwarzenegger, himself an immigrant, made his point perfectly clear. He wants people to follow the law and immigrate legally, and for the federal government to provide adequate border security.

It is too bad, Mr. Lopez, that your organization and others like it are apparently more for breaking the law, against co-operating with law enforcement, and against hiring police officers, than you are interested in coming up with intelligent solutions to a problem that costs legal citizens of this country, including Hispanic-Americans, billions each year.

Update: Outside the Beltway is all over this as well.

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Breaking The Code

"Duty, honor, country: Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying point to build courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, to create hope when hope becomes forlorn."

So said General Douglas MacArthur in his unforgettable farewell speech to the cadets of the U.S Military Academy at West Point on May 12, 1962.

Duty. Honor. Country.

The Code. These are the words the Long Gray Line has lived by in blue and grey, khaki, and camoflage, for over two hundred years. That code is in jeopardy now, as the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, never defeated in battle, is poised to surrender the Code to the selfish desires of men playing children's games.

Cadets join the academy for an excellent education, and in return commit to serve five years in uniform for their country, though many stay far longer. The USMA now would cheapen that commitment by making a rule change for athletic recruiting purposes, cutting short a cadet's commitment to his country if he commits instead to the self-aggrandizing world of professional sports. The selfish individualism of this proposal is against the core beliefs the cadets at West Point are taught to believe in.

Cadets join--or should join-- the U.S. Military Academy to serve their country and become leaders of men. There are literally dozens if not hundreds of universities that serve the more puerile needs of sports fanatics; few of them have national service as their heart, nor duty part of their soul. Yet, the Army seems willing to compromise Duty for the base edification of the selfish individual desires of boys who want to play games for money.

The tearing away of West Point's core ideology of "Duty. Honor. Country." would service the greed of a few vainglorious individuals at the expense of the selfless Corps.

A few athletes each decade might succeed for several meager seasons as a pro athlete after betraying the core values of West Point, while thousands of real cadets who joined the Corps for the right reasons graduate, live and die honorably serving out their commitments, sacrificing themselves for our freedoms on distant hostile shores.

Some say this betrayal of values is a winner for the Black Knights of West Point. They see this as a "groundbreaking rule to improve Black Knights football." They are wrong to trample on the soul of West Point in hopes of recruiting a few athletes to add a few victories to meaningless win columns. We need more people like Pat Tillman, people willing to serve their country instead of themselves. We don't need to tear these values away from one of the few institutions that still hold them in their proper place.

There are much more important victories to be gained that require far more sacrifice. West Point used to know this. It is not too late to remind them.

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Rumor-mongering

Some are speculating that Bush's impromptu prime-time address tonight might be more than about Social Security.

Actually, I have sources that tell me that "he" was actually captured. Alive.

My guess is that they'll reveal that he snuck over an unguarded U.S./Mexican border (you know, before the vigilantes shut part of it down) and has been "in country" for three years picking cucumbers in California, plotting the destruction of the Clinton Library as revenge for the cigar jockey blowing up his favorite asprin factory in Sudan.

He was only picked up when a Wendy's employee reflectively swung a butcher's knife at him as he swiped a Junior Bacon Cheeseburger, severing a finger that curiously, was never recovered.

Cops followed the blood trail to Tim Robbin's house, where "he" was arrested.

The ACLU is now suing Wendy's.

Or at least that's how I heard it.

Update: False alarm. No OBL, dead or alive,was mentioned. That aside, Bush was as good tonight as I have ever seen him. He was articulate, laid out his cases on Social Security and other policies well, and handled the White House Press Corps with grace.

A very strong showing. Tigerhawk live-blogged it, and is well worth the read.

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Make Money, Screw Your Friends

We get letters,
we get letters,
we get lots and lots of...

Well, we don't actually gets lots of letters, but we do get more than you'd expect for a "B" list blog, including this gem on behalf of the California GOP.

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is [name withheld] and I work for a company called Mohre Communications [sic] we have been hired by the Republican Party to get out there new rewards Credit Card. You can read more about the program at www.cagop.org <http://www.cagop.org>. The GOP needs the help of conservative bloggers to place advertisements on their sites. You can read more information and get link to sign people up at <http://posse.mohre.com/>.

Thank you,

[name withheld]

Isn't it delicious?

Republicans just pushed through a pro-shareholder bill which strips away bankruptcy protection from most Americans in favor of a predatory industry, and then asks bloggers such as myself to shill for them to apply for more credit card debit.

Yes, nothing says lovin' like putting you in a hole and pulling away the ladder.... at least according to Buffalo Bill.

What's next, the National Right to Life Committee selling RU-486 as a fundraiser?

Sorry, California GOP, but I'm not buying (or selling) this one.

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A Parent's Right to Know

You've got to give it to the NY Times and the Associated Press; they don't waste any time going for spin in an early version of the lede of this story:

The House passed a bill Wednesday that would make it illegal to dodge parental-consent laws by taking minors across state lines for abortions, the latest effort to chip away at abortion rights (emphasis added) after Republican gains in the November elections.

Perhaps this is just the reaction of a father, but I viewed this bill (and apparently so did the House by a 270-157 vote) as an issue of parental rights, not so much a strike against Roe v. Wade. It really is that simple: if my minor child is having surgery, any surgery, it is my right as a parent to know about it.

Period.

Perhaps what we should be asking is why 145 Democrats, 11 Republicans and 1 Independent feel that it should be acceptable for strangers to smuggle our minor children over state lines to perform elective surgical procedures.

Update: The NY Times changed their original story and lede on this subject from an AP piece (lede above, full story used here) to this one:

The House passed a bill on Wednesday making it a federal crime for any adult to transport an under-age girl across state lines to have an abortion without the consent of her parents. A vote on a similar bill is expected in the Senate later this spring or early this summer, and backers says its chances are good.

Perhaps they were concerned they were exposing their bias a bit too early?

Update 2: The AP has followed the NY Times in dumping the original lede. Apparently, AP writer Laurie Kellman's original lede was too biased for both the AP and the NY Times. I wonder how often that happens?

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Gun Nuts

Liberal calls for violence against the President never seem to end. This excerpt of an audio clip directed at President Bush is from The Randi Rhodes Show on Air America, and has the Secret Service investigating:

The announcer: "A spoiled child is telling us our Social Security isn't safe anymore, so he is going to fix it for us. Well, here's your answer, you ungrateful whelp: [audio sound of 4 gunshots being fired.] Just try it, you little bastard. [audio of gun being cocked]."

The audio production at the center of the controversy aired during opening minutes of The Randi Rhodes Show.

"What is with all the killing?" Rhodes said, laughing, after the clip aired.

I wonder if Rhodes would be laughing if someone had made threats against Ted Kennedy, Barbara Boxer, or other liberal politicians. I doubt it. If a conservative uttered such sentiments against John Kerry, Randi Rhodes would be screaming bloodly murder.

Instead of screaming bloody murder, Rhodes seems to be promoting it, and this is not the first time (h/t: Michelle Malkin). Rhoes is just part of a liberal cycle of violence. The liberals keep upping their hate-filled rhetoric and soon enough, they'll spur another liberal assassin like they have so many times in the past.

This isn't an issue of freedom of speech, this is an issue of incitement to murder, one that prosecutors and courts should take seriously.

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Maurice Hinchey: The New Tom Delay?

Sometimes, it is simply better to point out those who said it best rather than trying to say it yourself, though GOP and the City has a great take on it as well. According to the Post:

U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey is New York's king of comped travel — racking up a stunning $161,393 tab footed by special-interest groups, the fifth most of any federal lawmaker.

The Ulster County Democrat has taken 25 trips during the past five years to such far-flung, chic locales as Prague, Rome, Moscow, Shanghai and Morocco — courtesy of private groups intent on influencing the congressman.

That sounds every bit as suspect as the charges Democrats are leveling at Tom Delay, who has been blasted by Democrats on a string of supposed ethics violations, incuding some that were legitimately questionable (Hinchey-like junkets) and some that are plainly assinine, such as using family members for political work.

Uh, Bobby Kennedy working for JFK, anyone?

One of these days politicians are going to learn that pigs shouldn't squeal, especially if they happen to be the pigs deepest in the slop.

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The Contract On America

Via Just One Minute (h/t Instapundit) we see that the Democrats have finally decided that they must attempt to stand for something, which would seem to be a welcome relief from their previous "Bushitlerjoooos!" platform. Harry Reid's Promise of America offers a platform based on nine bills the Democrats have introduced to the Senate. Let's take a quick look at the Democrats Contract on America, shall we?

1. Women's Health Care. “The Prevention First Act of 2005” will reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions by increasing funding for family planning and ending health insurance discrimination against women.

The key words of this plan to watch are "increasing funding" which means increasing taxes. If Democrats really wanted to reduce unintended pregnancies and abortions, perhaps they should quit supporting recreational abortions: those abortions due to those too lazy, too stoned, or too stupid to use birth control knowing that they can easily get an abortion later. Of course, this would require personal responsibility, so don't look for any Democratic support.

2. Veterans' Benefits. “The Retired Pay Restoration Act of 2005” will assist disabled veterans who, under current law, must choose to either receive their retirement pay or disability compensation.

Sounds great, the concept of taking care of our disabled troops. Of course, if the Democrats haven't consistently fought against military spending for decades on end, then some of these veterans may not have been disabled to begin with. Again, this plan would almost certainly involve a raise in taxes.

3. Fiscal Responsibility. Democrats will move to restore fiscal discipline to government spending and extend the pay-as-you-go requirement.

Reid forgets to mention that a Democrat's idea of "fiscal discipline" is to raise your taxes as much as it takes to pay for all their new proposed entitlement programs.

4. Relief at the Pump. Democrats plan to halt the diversion of oil from the markets to the strategic petroleum reserve. By releasing oil from the reserve through a swap program, the plan will bring down prices at the pump.

This will not bring down prices at the pump. What will reduce prices at the pump it to build new refineries and allow more exploration and drilling at sites where exploration has paid off, both of which the Democrats are against.

5. Education. Democrats have a bill that will: strengthen head start and child care programs, improve elementary and secondary education, provide a roadmap for first generation and low-income college students, provide college tuition relief for students and their families, address the need for math, science and special education teachers, and make college affordable for all students.

Making college affordable for all students, including those of illegal aliens, Mr. Reid forgets to mention, which is what Democrats are pushing in several states as we speak. If the Democrats want to improve the quality of education, they should push to an end of teacher's unions and tenure. This plan, as you may guess, involves throwing more of your federal tax dollars down a hole.

6. Jobs. Democrats will work in support of legislation that guarantees overtime pay for workers and sets a fair minimum wage.

When an artificial minimum wage goes up, inflation goes up to match it. Democrats have never been very good at economics.

7. Energy Markets. Democrats work to prevent Enron-style market manipulation of electricity.

Democrats are for more bloated, non-functional bureaucracy in the Department of Energy.

8. Corporate Taxation. Democrats make sure companies pay their fair share of taxes to the U.S. government instead of keeping profits overseas.

Democrats will force even more companies completely offshore, further hindering economic growth and therefore increasing the current deficit.

9. Standing with our troops. Democrats believe that putting America's security first means standing up for our troops and their families.

Since when?

Under Harry Reid's plan, the Democrats plan to raise taxes, increase bureaucracy, and throw more money at already failing Democratic initiatives from previous sessions of congress. The Democrats aren't providing us with an new ideas.

At least they are consistent.

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Northern Culture on the Skids

As the Census Bureau notes and Kathleen Parker laments, the South is an increasingly better proposition for most folks. The reasons are simple: better job opportunities, better schools, lower taxes, and much lower real estate costs among other factors.

My wife's family is planning its own southern flight, and offers several case studies for example.

After 9/11, property prices skyrocketed in our community an hour north of NYC as people fled the city for the suburbs, a migration that still continues. Houses appraised at $150,000 in 2001 are appraised at $300,000 or more in 2005. This is great for sellers, but those already in these homes and hoping to stay are challenged with excessive (and rising) property and schools taxes they could not have expected when they budgeted for their homes just a few short years ago.

My wife's brother (We'll call him John) and sister (we'll call her Sue) each have families of their own with children not yet old enough for school. Her parents (We'll call them Bill and Helen) are closing in on retirement. We make four families altogether, living with five miles of one another. These are our stories as they are, and as they may be.

John
John is in a mid-level white collar career, commutes an hour or more each way, every day, and has seen the price of condos in his neighborhood almost double in approximately two years. His taxes have gone up as well. His wife stays home with my infant nephew during the day and works part-time at night. They are getting by, but just barely. There is a distinct chance that if they stay in the area, that both of them will have to work fulltime jobs just to make ends meet, and they will rarely see each other or their new son, who will suddenly add significant childcare costs into the equation (because of necessary fulltime employment), almost negating the second income. It will become increasingly difficult to keep up with the pace of taxes if they stay here, and all but impossible for them to move into a house or afford another child.

If John moves his family to either Charlotte or the Triangle (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill) in North Carolina as he has discussed, he could get a comparable job at the same or only slightly less pay, and afford not just a condo, but a much larger home of his own with a nice yard in a good school district while paying far less in taxes, and cutting an hour or more off his total commute every day, while enabling his wife to be a full-time stay-at-home mom for their exsting child and any they may have in the future.

Sue
Sue is a stay-at-home mom with a three-year-old and an infant. Her husband bought a small but nice house several years ago and put a lot of time into making it a wonderful home. He manages a body shop, a recession-proof job that is secure, but one that doesn't have lots of room for rapid vertical growth to keep up with NY taxes. He works six, sometimes seven days a week so that Sue can stay home with their kids, and they are just scraping by.

At the moment, they are looking to move to Florida. His pay won't change much, but he has family there, will make a killing on the sale of his home, and the cost of living is much more affordable if they can learn to adapt to the climate and the possibility of hurricanes. By moving south, he thinks he can continue to provide for his family at the same level of comfort (or better) that they presently enjoy, while cutting back on his hours.

Bill and Helen
Bill is an extraordinary salesman in his field, and Helen was mostly a stay-at-home mom over their bulk of their marriage. They are able to retire, though Bill will probably continue to work for several more years because he truly enjoys what he does. Like their children John and Sue, they own a home that has doubled in value in just a few years, which has made their tax burden oppressive.

They are also tired of New York winters, and have expressed an interest in retiring to North Carolina for years, ever since Bill's parent retired to Pinehurst several decades ago on their own. They could make a handsome profit on their current four-bedroom home in New York, and afford a custom home built for their new retirement lifestyle with plenty left over for a substantial nest egg in a Carolina golf community. Another huge draw would be being nearer their children and grandchildren, and their favorite son-in-law, of course.

Me and the Missus
I'm a North Carolina native, and while I came to really love a lot about New York while I've been here, I can't afford to stay. We were new to the area and renting before 9/11/01, and the rise of housing costs afterward made the possibility of getting a decent home increasingly more remote. Add the fact that my tech-sector focused employment required the bare minimum of an hour commute to Westchester or New York City each way, each day. Compound that with now-sluggish prospects in my field up here in New York, and the Research Triangle Park starts looking really good. I've worked there before and know my commuting times will be halved while my prospects for a nice home in our price range go up astronomically. And pork barbeque. Real BBQ. Enough said.

We are Not Alone
I don't think our cases are out of the ordinary. My daughter's school administrator confirmed she is losing a substantial amount of kids to southern relocation each semester, and mostly for reasons like those cited above.

Increasingly, the middle class is bugging out of tax-hungry northern states for more favorable southern and western climes, and the middle class that remains seems to be coming under increasing stresses from above and below. The truly wealthy know how to shelter their earnings and are more resistant to ever-encroaching tax demands, while the poor tend to contribute very little, if anything at all. That is an untenable long-term situation.

Add to these tax burdens the demands of growing illegal immigrant populations in many of these northern (and western) states with their more liberal public assistance programs, and we see the almost unavoidable possibility of a northern culture in decline, while the best and brightest of the formerly northern middle class head to Atlanta, Charlotte, Birmingham, and Dallas.

I saw a comment scrawled in the dust on the back of an I-95 Southbound New Jersey-registered moving truck a few years ago, and it seemed to sum up the situation perfectly:

"Will the last person out of New York please remember to turn out the light."

I think I can promise you that the last person won't be me.

05/26/05 Update: Confederate Yankee has moved out of New York. Sue's husband has a standing job offer near Miami, and they're planning to move south at the end of the summer. John and his wife are staying put...for now. Bill and Helen are as well.

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Celebrate Earthday!

Personally, I'm going to celebrate by driving a couple hundred miles over smog-choked roads paved through woodlands, to interview for a job with a company that puts heavy metals into the environment.

Yay, earth!

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Heading South

I'm taking the wife and kid "down home" to North Carolina for a long weekend visiting with the famn damily, so posting may be sporadic until Tuesday or so.

Update: 4 potty stops, 10 hours, 600 miles, and 1300 "Are we there yet"s later, we have arrived.

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Dumbest. College. Major. Ever. Except for That One...

You thought underwater basketweaving was stupid? Try getting a Master's in Activism & Social Change, via a thread in The New Editor.

I'm thinking of turning my existing MA into a New College MFA in Creative Inquiry. That way, I can sit around with the Great Unwashed and say, "Dude, WTF?" as a professional.

I don't see "The Donald" picking these guys for The Apprentice, but a future with "The Ronald" seems all but certain.

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You Gotta Problem with Papa Ratzi?

I've had it up to here, with punks slamming the new Pope without having their facts straight, so I thought I'd provide a few much needed corrections.

The new Pope was never a Nazi. A Goodfella, but not a Nazi...
Some will tell you he was forced into the Hitler Youth against his will as a teen, but that simply isn't true. Contrary to inaccurate reports in the media, "Papa Ratzi" wasn't born until February 9, 1943, and therefore, was far too young to have served in any aspect in WWII, though I'm sure the Democratic Underground will consider his diapers as evidence of "fascist WMD production."

He is known as "God's Rottweiler."
An ugly, ugly slur, based upon some of his earlier work readjusting the faith of some of those who were having a few problems with their value systems.

You punks leave Papa Ratzi alone. He is not here to amuse you.

Now to help work on the image of Rick James, Hattiesburgh City Council candidate.

Update: Liberal Larry covered the Pesci angle as well, but he was actually funny... if you're into that sort of thing.

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Minutemen Open Second Front in War on Illegals

The great thing about the concept of the marketplace of ideas is that good ideas spread.

From the Minuteman Project to the Yuma Patriots to the Friends of the Border Patrol (and the Border Patrol does indeed count these groups as friends), citizens watch programs along the U.S. Mexican border are growing in popularity.

Building on that momentum, James Gilchrist, one of the founders of the Minuteman Project, is opening a second front in the battle against illegal immigration, taking the Minuteman name and some volunteers to California to protest businesses that employ illegal aliens.

This is very cagey timing and a quite intelligent move.

Make no mistake: the workplace is where the battle against illegal immigration will be won or lost. If citizens groups such as the Minuteman Project can use their current popularity to focus the ire of the underemployed American worker on the idea that their jobs are being outsourced in America, then there is a serious chance of creating an environment where hiring illegals (or doing business with companies htat hire illegals) is seen as an unsupportable position by most businesses.

I've got to hand it to the Minutemen; they came to play hardball, and by the time the opposition takes them seriously, supporters of illegal immigration may already be on the ropes.

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D.U. Response to Pope Benedict XVI: Maybe we'll get lucky he will "die in his sleep"

It is always fun (well, disturbing) to watch the Democratic Underground respond with paranoia to the world event de jour, and the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the new pope is no different. What follows is a selection of choice tidbits in two threads from the group voted "most likely to flatline an EEG."

he was head of the Inquisition. Enough said for me.

Kind of makes you wonder if cardinals vote on Diebold machines.

Wrote a document in 2000 that denounced other faiths... Great. Just what we need. Warns of the "EVILS" of liberalism. Rigid, intolerant...it just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it? The only plus here is that he is 78! Ed: You've got to love DU. Not pope for a day, and they already can't wait for Pope Benedict XVI to die.

Yeah, we got the John Ashcroft of new popes. Ed: Among liberals, being compared to John Ashcroft, a respectful, God-fearing man, is an insult of the highest magnitude.

He is the Grand Inquisitor...No fooling. He heads the Office for Enforcement of the Doctrine of the Faithful, which is the direct successor office to the centuries-old Grand Inquisition. He is therefore the leading hardliner, enforcer and book-censor of the Church, and was JP2's right-hand man...

He used to be a hitler youth.. and practically endorsed GW in his statements on "catholic voting" during our elections... Ed: Hitler Youth = GW Bush support. Why didn't I get that?

Oh goody. Another neocon in power... Ed: Yep, Karl Rove rigged this election, too...

This is BS. Maybe we'll get lucky he will "die in his sleep" like our 33 day "Progressive Pope" John Paul 1st, did.

It's a sad day when the best aspect of a new pope is that he's likely to die soon.

This is very sad news, indeed, for the Catholic church. Once again, the forces of evil triumph...

Hopefully, they'll all die off soon. Ed: Who, Catholics?

Look on the bright side... this ensures that Bush** is not the most fascist leader in the known universe. Berlusconi (out-and-out fascist Fini in cabinet) might have had the edge, but this makes it official.

Whatever else may have been going on in there, I'm reasonably sure that God was not speaking to them, saying "Hey, guys, why not shake things up a little bit? Go for the Nazi!"

And the "Nurse, we need to up his meds" award goes to goclark for:

I knew he would be named. The rest of the names were just ROVE tricks to throw off everyone. He was placed there by the likes of BushCO. It sends a STRONG signal to the non white people of the world that "WHITE POWER" is the name of the game.

It was also a strong signal for WHITES to return to the church and be welcomed with open arms. They don't care about the Hispanics and Africans that are devoting themselves to the church.

It is a sad day for the world in my opinion.

Sad perhaps, but not for the reason you think...

Update: Thanks to Powerline for picking this thread up, and for showing me the Carpe Bonum bio of the new pope that is actually worth reading.

Update 2: More coverage of "Papa Ratzi" here with a bit more mirthful spin to take your mind off the bile of the D.U.

Update 3: WuzzaDem finds that the Kos kids have their own name for the new Pope.

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The Damned of the West (part 1)

Go read this interview with the family of American hostage Roy Hallums at the Jawa Report.

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Aiding and Abetting

While enjoying a nice case of insomnia last night, I flipped over to Scarborough Country on MSNBC and found paleocon Pat Buchanan interviewing the Lynyrd Skynyrd-looking founder of a Minuteman Project-type group called the Yuma Patriots and his son, and the smarmy founder of Border Angels, an illegal alien assistance group.

Flash Sharrar (I couldn't make up a better name) started the Patriots after his son was carjacked and robbed of $700 at gunpoint by a group of illegals when he returned home after eleven months of combat duty in Iraq.

Enrique Morones founded a nonprofit called Border Angels, a group that helps illegal cross dangerous stretchs of the U.S. Mexican border by providing assistance in the form of water stations (in the summer) and clothing drops (in the winter).

Morones was rather smug and self-righteous, and actually had the gall to insist that illegals had the right to cross the border as we wrongly took (I can't remember the exact phrasing) Mexico's land (meaning California, Arizona, etc). Buchanan was quick to call him on this ("Hey Buddy, Mexico invaded us," again not an exact quote).

While watching the segment I began to wonder; why do we provide tax-exempt status and other types of government assistance (through the form or permits) for groups that assist in committing crimes such as Border Angels?

The express goal of Border Angels is to help illegal aliens penetrate this country successfully by easing their illegal entry. We would certainly frown on groups that assist in other forms of human smuggling, so why does group such as Border Angels get a pass?

Border Angels exists to help facilitate a criminal practice, and in doing so assists in making it easier to carry out other illegal enterprises, such as drug and human smuggling. According to the dubious definition provided by the Wikis, this would appear to be racketeering.

It's time to shut them down.

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Michael Moore, Here's Your Country

USMC_Vet at The Blue State Conservatives gives us a wonderful example of the kind of law-abiding observers deployed by the ACLU to keep an eye on the very successful Minuteman Project.

And yes, there are pictures:

That isn't a Marlboro being lit and shared by this pair of ACLU-uniformed "Legal Observers" (which is what these shirts say in English and Spanish). The source for this and other pictures is available here. Note that these brilliant people are not not even smart enough to try to conceal their blatantly illegal activity; they are sitting on the side of the road getting high, presumably waiting for a snack truck.

Having these clueless stoners patrol the Mexican border is like having Sean Penn teach gun safety. Michael Moore once asked, "Dude, where's my country?"

Judging by these photos, it must be on the side of the road dreaming of an all-you-can-eat buffet.

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No Winners Here

A lot of media attention has been focused on The Minuteman Project, a volunteer neighborhood watch-type effort along the U.S. side of the Arizona/Mexico border. Most of the early MSM/DNC coverage was negative at first, but the coverage has shifted to begrudging respect as the Minutemen have peacefully and effectively shutdown illegal immigration and drug smuggling in the 23-mile zone. The Minuteman Project so far has been an overwhelming success.

Unfortunately, some of that success is being overshadowed by the actions of a Army Reservist almost 300 miles away, who pulled a handgun on seven illegal aliens at an Arizona Interstate rest stop. Sgt. Patrick Haab has been charged with seven felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

There are a lot of details in question in this case, many of which can be reviewed by reading the articles and op-eds here, but a few facts are beyond dispute.

The first fact is that you are not legally justified in pulling a firearm on another person unless that pose a credible threat to your life, or the life of someone else. In none of the descriptions of the situation provided by Haab or local authorities did the illegals pose what most people would consider a credible threat to Haab or to anyone else.

The second fact of justifiable self defense with a firearm (and exact laws vary from state to state) is that the use of the firearm should be defensive in nature, not offensive.

The second the illegals moved away from Haab and entered a nearby vehicle without any threat to Haab, he lost any legal right to use a firearm again them, in any way. The fact that Haab then used his vehicle to block the vehicle occupied by the illegals, and then forced the illegals out of the vehicle and onto the ground, were examples of unjustifiable force using a firearm.

He broke the law. Period.

Perhaps as disturbing as his illegal detention of these seven criminals (and yes, these men were just that, lest that fact be forgotten) is the fact that Haab was armed at all. Haab is apparantly not mentally stable at this time in his life, and is being treated for bouts of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a resulting depression. The very Maricopa County jail holding him had apparently turned him down when he applied for a job as a detention officer because he was "mentally disturbed."

I appreciate the fact that Sgt. Haab served his country in both Kosovo and Iraq, and that he was going to deploy on a volunteer tour of Afghanistan in just a few weeks. I thank him for his service, but if he is still suffering the effects of PTSD and depression, his mental health is compromised and he has no business carrying firearms, at home in defense of himself, or abroad in defense of his country.

A lot of people seem to think Sgt. Haab is a hero. Others, including Haab himself seem to feel he is a victim in a politically-charged case. There is enough room in this case for him to be both, and guilty as well.

In any event, Haab's actions as described were aggressive, illegal, and potentionally deadly, considering his questionable mental health. I'd like to know why our military hospital system thinks it is acceptable to send a soldier suffering from PTSD back to a combat zone when he apparently poses a threat to himself and others. It could be that this Arizona arrest ends up saving his life, or the lives of others.

There are no winners here, but at least there are survivors. Considering what could have happened considering Haab's military training, weaponry and alledged instability, I guess that will have to be enough.

Note: Added to Monday's Beltway Traffic Jam.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 02:00 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Only A Matter of Time: Gov't Goes After Minutemen

It took longer than many thought it might, but the government has finally found a way to inconvenience the overwhelmingly successful Minuteman Project.

USMC_Vet of Blue State Conservatives scoops darn near everyone with this breaking story. Read the whole thing, and be sure to make use of the contact numbers to ask what laws or ordinances are being violated.

Update: Curiouser and curiouser. Cochise County Planning Director James Vlahovich told Dr. Melvin E. Harter, President, Miracle Valley Bible College that he would not issue special use permits (in front of witnesses) before Harter filed for permits, and now Vlahovich is basing his fines on a lack of permits that he categorically rejected in advance of their submittal.

Read the official letter to Miracle Valley Bible College from Cochise County here.

Cochise County is well within their legal rights to levy a fine for non-compliance for zoning violations in most instances, but might be in a bit more dubious position in this particular case if they did, in fact, reject the application before it was even submitted as multiple witnesses alledge. A Catch 22, anyone?

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 10:39 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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