Immigration

This comment was on a FB friend's wall. She may want to do some research, outside of Paris many people spoke to me in broken English and I answered in ridiculous French

Patricia Collins O'Reilly Please don't tell me that President Obama didn't have an ego. He was Mr. Slick. If you go back in American history, people that immigrated in the late 1800's or early 1900's had to pass a lot more than what President Trump is asking for. If people want to immigrate here, then follow the rules. Why do people that have lived here for 20 years still speak only Spanish - because we accept it - we have special education for people with English as a Second Language. When you live in a country, you should conform to their ways. Go to Germany or France and see how they refuse to speak English to visitors - they know it but won't. All we ask is that people are not wards of the state. That was the phrase that was on my mother and father's immigration permission letter in 1925 when they came to this country.


 This caught my eye and reminded me of my childhood growing up in the North End of Wilkes-Barre.


 Why do people that have lived here for 20 years still speak only Spanish 

From an earlier post:




 I grew up the north end of Wilkes-Barre. In the 1960's people spoke language's I didn't understand. There were stores I had had a hard time buying things because I didn't know Russian or Slovak. I miss that. Yes Grandma didn't speak English but her kids did. And their kids were fluent in the English language but couldn't speak the the native tongue. What a loss. My father encouraged me to learn a different language and after 4 years of taking French I went to France. I wish I had paid attention because I had no idea what they were talking about.

My point is that the immigrants of today will assimilate just like our grandparents did. Even if the first generation doesn't grasp the language the next will.
 

What if Trump wins the GOP nomination?

Photo from here


I've been watching Presidential politics a very long time and I have never seen anything like this. The more outrageous things he says that would sink the usual presidential bid makes him even more popular.If he is caught out saying something dumb or lacking knowledge he just insults his opponents or the inquisitor. They are losers and stupid.


He is top of the polls nationally and leading in 3 of the early voting states. Whether he can build a turnout operation remains to be seen but that may not even matter if the people he is connecting with show up on their own. Many people I talk to both Democrat and Republican tell me 2 things they like about him. Kicking out illegal immigrants and the system has been been corrupted by money and since he is rich he can't be bought.

He may win a few of the early primary and caucus states but the SEC Primary happens on March 1st. Trump may have the momentum to win some of them but not all . This is also Hillary's firewall. My prediction is that he will many of the southern states and clear the field. Then what?

At that point he will have to start kissing the ass of the big donors since he probably doesn't have $1 Billion to finance a general election campaign on his own. Then the much vaulted "Republican Establishment" will have a choice to make.

Much has been made about the loyalty oath that the Donald signed pledging to back the Republican nominee. But if the Trump is the nominee I can see a 3rd party/independent bid by an establishment Republican. It may be one of the candidates running now because the loyalty oath isn't worth the paper it's written on or it could be someone waiting in the wings like Paul Ryan or Mitt Romney

Another knee jerk reaction from Lou Barletta

Well he got his Sanctuary Cities bill through the House .  Now he wants to micromanage the armed services about the rules that govern when some one can carry a firearm on base.

 

Barletta Urges SecDef to Allow Weapons for Service Members 

I was in the military for 8 years and there were very strict rules about when someone could carry a weapon and where. FOR GOOD REASONS!

You almost never   hear of some " gun accident"  happening on a military base. 

Ask any base commander who is probably a Colonel in his 40's if he want's a bunch of his 18-20 year old troops running around with loaded guns on post. Think about it, what could possibly go wrong?

End the Tea Party Shutdown

Washington DC (October 9, 2013) – Now nine days into the Tea Party government shutdown, hasn’t the middle class suffered enough?   Not enough for Tea Party Republicans in Congress who continue to throw out absurd ransom demands in exchange for doing their job and keeping the government functioning. Brad Woodhouse, President, Americans United for Change: “Make no mistake: refusing to support clean legislation to keep the government open at the 11^th hour was the act of extortionist Tea Party Republicans plain and simple.  Some Republicans even openly cheered it on.  The anti-government Tea Partiers who are calling the shots in the House demanded a ransom they knew they would never get: killing the Affordable Care Act.

This spot is airing in Harrisburg and I will tune into the local news later today to see if it's on the air in our market. I never really associated Lou with the teabaggers because his claim to fame is the immigration issue. But then again that is a natural fit.

PoliticsPA: “The House passed several bills to keep the government open. The Senate rejected each of them, shutting down the government,” said Barletta campaign spokesman Lance Stange. “Rep. Barletta remains committed to discussing how we can re -open the government and pay our bills whenever the Senate decides to have that conversation.”

Tom Marino needs to read the Constitution

via Think Progress:  Congressman Tom Marino wants to impeach Harry Reid because he is mad about the budget or something.

MARINO: I’ve made a suggestion that we should at least start talking about impeachment. I had my office staff do it. But we cannot find anything that permits the House to bring impeachment proceedings against Harry Reid. There’s nothing in the legislation we can find at this point to force him to vote or come up with a budget or anything like that. His membership in the Senate can call for a vote of “no confidence,” but we can’t even get a Republican senator to do that.

The reason his staff can't find anything is because it doesn't exist. The House can't remove a member of the Senate.  Article I Section 5 of the Constitution says each house makes it own rules:

Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two thirds, expel a member.

Also there is nothing in the Constitution about a "no confidence vote." That can happen in the British Parliament but not the US Congress.

A few months ago 11th CD Congressman Lou Barletta stated that the President could veto a Constitutional amendment. Article V of the US Constitution says that an amendment must be passed by two thirds of the House and Senate then ratified by three fourths of the State Legislatures.

The President can not veto a Constitutional Amendment!

Barletta also wants to deny birthright citizenship guaranteed by the 14th amendment.

Keystone Politics:
H.R.140, the “Birthright Citizenship Act of 2013,” seeks to bar children of non-citizens born in the United States from gaining citizenship rights.

If this was applied retroactively I would not be an an American citizen as my grandparents were not American citizens when they came to the the USA . My Mother and Father would not be American citizens even they were born in this country to foreign born parents.

Lou Barletta is worried

By all the metrics of a political campaign Lou Barletta (R) is a lock. He is the incumbent that has a million dollar campaign warchest with  a winning issue on immigration that appeals to the fears of people. Gene Stilp (D)  has no money or party support but has an army of supporters and has run an unconventional campaign.

 Like many people I dismissed Gene Stilp's chances in the Democratic primary against Bill Vinsko. He is known as the guy with the big pig and other stunts and I didn't take him seriously. He proved me wrong.

Lou Barletta has noticed. In his 2 TV ads he repeats the lie that Stilp wants to cut Medicare by $716 Billion. Lou's first ad  and second. If he wasn't worried he would be running warm fuzzies instead of attack ads.

Another sign of panic from the Barletta camp is trying to drum up controversy about Tim Holden endorsing Stilp or not.  Like anyone gives a shit about what Tim Holden thinks. Most endorsements are good for a press release and not much else.

This may be the  surprise of the night.

The WVIA debate

Watch 2012 PA 11th Congressional District Debate on PBS. See more from WVIA Special Presentations.

PA 11th Congressional District Poll

I still say this may be the big surprise on election night.

Vote in the poll on the sidebar. Remember the question is who do you think will win not who you are voting for.

Like many people I dismissed Gene Stilp's chances in the Democratic primary against Bill Vinsko. He is known as the guy with the big pig and other stunts and I didn't take him seriously. Then I talked to him for an hour at the Spring Blogfest and found out that he came close to winning a state house seat in the very Republican year of 2010.

From Waynestock:

The conventional wisdom holds that Gene doesn’t have a prayer against Republican incumbent, Lou Barletta, but conventional wisdom may not apply to Gene Stilp.
Gene will be running in the 11th Congressional district, newly configured to ensure Barletta’s reelection. The Republican power brokers who drew that map certainly anticipated that Barletta would be running against a conventional Democrat, but Gene is anything but a conventional Democrat.
Gene appeals to voters across party lines. He has established a solid reputation as a reformer bent on improving government, holding officeholder accountable for their actions and fearlessly exposing corruption....Barletta is practically unknown in the Dauphin/Cumberland/Perry part of the 11th, and many people question his understanding of the politics, the culture or the needs of their communities...
Incidentally, the registered voters in the new 11th are 44% GOP, 43% DEM and 12% IND.
Gene has HUGE appeal with the IND voters, and GOP voters below Luzerne County.

In an interview  Barletta  didn't sound like he likes his new job.


Among the many criticisms leveled by citizens at Congress is that bipartisanship has caused stalemate in the House and Senate. The popular opinion is that much is said and discussed by the legislators but little comes of it.
"I'm just as frustrated as the average citizen with the gridlock," Barletta said.
The first-term congressman said he's sought for and found opportunities to find common ground among both Republicans and Democrats, even bucking party leadership on at least one occasion.
He found a Democrat to co-sponsor transportation legislation and sought Democrats' support to revamp relief funding in the wake of a presidentially declared natural disaster...."For me, that's dysfunctional. It doesn't matter if you're a Democrat or Republican, we still have a responsibility to do the business of the American people," he says. "You can have disagreements with these bills, but I believe all the Senate should have the opportunity to vote on it, debate it, send it back to the House and maybe we could amend it. We could see where there's common ground."

There is more to being a Congressman than yelling about immigration.

Columbus Day

Coup d'état tentée en Forty Fort

Forty Fort official hurls accusations at council president

 Chacke remains Forty Fort head

People who live there tell me that Forty Fort is a nice place to live but like most small towns it has financial pressures. It is still waiting for Wilkinson to forward the half million dollars it collected in the borough's name that has resulted in curtailing overtime and the council will forgo their paychecks until they get the money. Former councilman  Andy Tuzinski raised a stink over $50 and Mayor Boyd Hoats broke a tie to keep Chacke as council president then again cast the tie breaking vote to eliminate the short sighted idea of cancelling the agreement with Kingston to provide joint fire and ambulance services. Then Tuzinski attacked what Chacke does for a living. 

Joe has impressed me over the years as a common sense Republican. A rare commodity these days. He ran for State Rep in 2006 in 2006 but came up short. When the  Barletta immigrant fervor was sweeping the area he was a cooler head when some idiot proposed a similar law and an English only ordinance.

A solution in search of a problem

I make the argument all the time, what are we here for? We're not elected to Council to debate illegal immigration, we're here to address the real local issues like police & fire protection, road paving, snow plowing, zoning, etc

PA 17th CD: Cartwright vs. Cummings

Andrew Seder had 2 articles in yesterday's TL contrasting the views of Democrat Matt Cartwright and Republican Laureen Cummings.

 Cartwright gets ready for fight

 Cummings seeks funds, recognition

Some choice quotes.

 On the Affordable Care  Act

Cartwright

“It’s a great day in America.” He said while he has been in favor of the overall law and what it does, he did not feel it went far enough. He said if elected, he will “work to strengthen” the act.

Cummings

“Not only are taxes enormous, but unemployment is above 8 percent,” Cummings said.

“This decision will reawaken the electorate and those Americans who not only want government out of their lives, but also, who refuse to give the IRS even more power than it already has,” she added. “This decision is a rallying cry to elect those of us who will repeal this law and reform our Byzantine tax code."

The President's  executive order on immigration and deportation

Cartwright

He said he’s not for granting amnesty, but he’s also not for rounding up illegals and deporting them.

“This is America. We don’t put 12 million human beings in boxcars and ship them to the coast to be put on freighters. We don’t do that in this country,” Cartwright said.

Cartwright called the president’s order “a stop-gap measure. I’m not thrilled with it” but it moves the issue ahead until Congress can come together to do the same.

Cummings

“It’s unbelievable that he did it. It can’t stand … It’s appalling that he does the things that he does but it’s not surprising.”

Laureen has set a goal of raising $400, 000 by September and has about $5500 in the bank. Her last FEC report said she raised $300. Matt will not have a problem raising money. Matt said he is not ready to support marriage equality yet but we expect him to get there and suggested using a mobile office to offer constituent services.

I would like to hear what the candidates think of Food Stamps. Andrew may have asked but it didn't make the column inch cut by the editors. 

On June 27th Laureen Cummings posted this to her Facebook wall:

 I know people re-post all sorts of things on Facebook. I know I do it but when I do I agree with the idea. This thing is flying around all the right wing sites including our own Pittston Politics. So does Laureen think that a mother looking for a way to feed her kids in hard times is akin to a wild animal looking for a handout?

I know people who have to use food stamps to feed their families and they are not buying prime rib and lobsters. Most of them work in low paying jobs and are not proud of having to rely on a government a program just to eat, but you got to feed the kids. Sure there are some bad actors who will abuse the system but most of them don't.

When I was growing up my family had to use food stamps from time to time because my father went from one shit job to another and was always being laid off. I cringed when my mother pulled out the food stamp book at the Ack-a-me to pay for the groceries and hoped that none of my classmates spotted us. I skipped the free lunch at school because of the stigma attached and the razzing that would ensue. It really sucks to be poor in this country, then and now.


This guy has never been hungry.

Talk to Lou

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, PA-11, will hold a telephone town hall meeting to discuss issues important to senior citizens between 10:45 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. Wednesday, June 20.

Anyone who is interested in participating in the call can by dialing (877) 229-8493, then enter the code 19175.

This is the third telephone town hall meeting Rep. Barletta will have held since he took office in January 2011.

I'm not sure when Barletta had an actual in person town hall meeting which is rich because he blasted Paul Kanjorski  in 2010 for not having them. Kanjo famously explained

“We will do everything we can to meet with people, but I’m not going to set myself up for, you know, nuts to hit me with a camera.”

This is billed as a seniors issues event but I will bet that the President's recent decision to stop deporting people that were brought to the US as children might come up. Maybe a few people will call in objecting to having their grandchildren forceably removed from the only country they have ever known.

 

I'll give some props to Barletta for sticking to his guns on his signature issue.

 

The rest of the Republican Party is not sure how to react

 

 TP:   

Romney won’t say whether he would undo Obama’s decision to end deportations of DREAM-eligible immigrants. Romney and his campaign passed up numerous opportunities over the weekend to say whether he agreed with the substance of the Obama administration’s order to stop deporting some young undocumented immigrants and whether a President Romney would rescind the order, saying only, “We’ll look at that — we’ll look at that setting as we– as we reach that.”

WaPo:  

McConnell said he would wait — until presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney had taken a position first.

“I think we’re going to wait and see what governor Romney has to say, and we’re going to be discussing his views on this,” McConnell told reporters at the Capitol Tuesday. “I think many of us may have similar views. Others may not.”

McConnell said he was deferring to Romney because the former Massachusetts governor is “the leader of our party from now until November — and, we hope, beyond.”

But McConnell’s reticence also reflects broader confusion and division within the GOP over how to react to Obama’s move

POTUS picks a fight with Dream Act Lite

The DREAM Act  is a common sense proposal to give kids that were brought into the United States by their illegal immigrant parents  a path to legal status by going to college or serving in the military. Before the the Republican Party went all Tea Party Nutso it was supported by many GOP lawmakers including Senators Orin Hatch, John McCain and Richard Lugar.

Today President Obama announced that  the U.S. will stop deporting some illegal immigrants who came here as children. 

The usual suspects are howling including some jerk that heckled the President when he was speaking in the Rose Garden. He will probably become a hero to the right wing bloggers and Fox News  like the asshole who yelled "you lie" during the State of the Union a few years ago.   Imagine if that had happened to the last occupant of the White House.

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT

ON IMMIGRATION

 

Rose Garden

  

2:09 P.M. EDT

 

THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everybody.  This morning, Secretary Napolitano announced new actions my administration will take to mend our nation’s immigration policy, to make it more fair, more efficient, and more just -- specifically for certain young people sometimes called “Dreamers.”

 

These are young people who study in our schools, they play in our neighborhoods, they’re friends with our kids, they pledge allegiance to our flag.  They are Americans in their heart, in their minds, in every single way but one:  on paper.  They were brought to this country by their parents -- sometimes even as infants -- and often have no idea that they’re undocumented until they apply for a job or a driver’s license, or a college scholarship. 

 

Put yourself in their shoes.  Imagine you’ve done everything right your entire life -- studied hard, worked hard, maybe even graduated at the top of your class -- only to suddenly face the threat of deportation to a country that you know nothing about, with a language that you may not even speak.

 

That’s what gave rise to the DREAM Act.  It says that if your parents brought you here as a child, if you’ve been here for five years, and you’re willing to go to college or serve in our military, you can one day earn your citizenship.  And I have said time and time and time again to Congress that, send me the DREAM Act, put it on my desk, and I will sign it right away. 

 

Now, both parties wrote this legislation.  And a year and a half ago, Democrats passed the DREAM Act in the House, but Republicans walked away from it.  It got 55 votes in the Senate, but Republicans blocked it.  The bill hasn’t really changed.  The need hasn’t changed.  It’s still the right thing to do.  The only thing that has changed, apparently, was the politics. 

As I said in my speech on the economy yesterday, it makes no sense to expel talented young people, who, for all intents and purposes, are Americans -- they’ve been raised as Americans; understand themselves to be part of this country -- to expel these young people who want to staff our labs, or start new businesses, or defend our country simply because of the actions of their parents -- or because of the inaction of politicians. 

 

In the absence of any immigration action from Congress to fix our broken immigration system, what we’ve tried to do is focus our immigration enforcement resources in the right places.  So we prioritized border security, putting more boots on the southern border than at any time in our history -- today, there are fewer illegal crossings than at any time in the past 40 years.  We focused and used discretion about whom to prosecute, focusing on criminals who endanger our communities rather than students who are earning their education.  And today, deportation of criminals is up 80 percent.  We've improved on that discretion carefully and thoughtfully.  Well, today, we're improving it again. 

 

Effective immediately, the Department of Homeland Security is taking steps to lift the shadow of deportation from these young people.  Over the next few months, eligible individuals who do not present a risk to national security or public safety will be able to request temporary relief from deportation proceedings and apply for work authorization.

 

Now, let's be clear -- this is not amnesty, this is not immunity.  This is not a path to citizenship.  It's not a permanent fix.  This is a temporary stopgap measure that lets us focus our resources wisely while giving a degree of relief and hope to talented, driven, patriotic young people.  It is --

 

Q    (Inaudible.)

 

THE PRESIDENT:  -- the right thing to do. 

 

Q    -- foreigners over American workers.

 

THE PRESIDENT:  Excuse me, sir.  It's not time for questions, sir.

 

Q    No, you have to take questions.

 

THE PRESIDENT:  Not while I'm speaking. 

 

Precisely because this is temporary, Congress needs to act.  There is still time for Congress to pass the DREAM Act this year, because these kids deserve to plan their lives in more than two-year increments.  And we still need to pass comprehensive immigration reform that addresses our 21st century economic and security needs -- reform that gives our farmers and ranchers certainty about the workers that they'll have.  Reform that gives our science and technology sectors certainty that the young people who come here to earn their PhDs won't be forced to leave and start new businesses in other countries.  Reform that continues to improve our border security, and lives up to our heritage as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.

 

Just six years ago, the unlikely trio of John McCain, Ted Kennedy and President Bush came together to champion this kind of reform.  And I was proud to join 23 Republicans in voting for it.  So there’s no reason that we can’t come together and get this done.

 

And as long as I’m President, I will not give up on this issue, not only because it’s the right thing to do for our economy -- and CEOs agree with me -- not just because it’s the right thing to do for our security, but because it’s the right thing to do, period.  And I believe that, eventually, enough Republicans in Congress will come around to that view as well.

 

And I believe that it’s the right thing to do because I’ve been with groups of young people who work so hard and speak with so much heart about what’s best in America, even though I knew some of them must have lived under the fear of deportation.  I know some have come forward, at great risks to themselves and their futures, in hopes it would spur the rest of us to live up to our own most cherished values.  And I’ve seen the stories of Americans in schools and churches and communities across the country who stood up for them and rallied behind them, and pushed us to give them a better path and freedom from fear --because we are a better nation than one that expels innocent young kids. 

 

And the answer to your question, sir -- and the next time I’d prefer you let me finish my statements before you ask that question -- is this is the right thing to do for the American people --

 

Q    (Inaudible.)

 

THE PRESIDENT:  I didn’t ask for an argument.  I’m answering your question. 

 

Q    I'd like to --

 

THE PRESIDENT:  It is the right thing to do -- 

 

Q    (Inaudible.)

 

THE PRESIDENT:  -- for the American people.  And here’s why --

 

Q    -- unemployment --

 

THE PRESIDENT:  Here’s the reason:  because these young people are going to make extraordinary contributions, and are already making contributions to our society. 

 

I’ve got a young person who is serving in our military, protecting us and our freedom.  The notion that in some ways we would treat them as expendable makes no sense.  If there is a young person here who has grown up here and wants to contribute to this society, wants to maybe start a business that will create jobs for other folks who are looking for work, that’s the right thing to do.  Giving certainty to our farmers and our ranchers; making sure that in addition to border security, we’re creating a comprehensive framework for legal immigration -- these are all the right things to do. 

 

We have always drawn strength from being a nation of immigrants, as well as a nation of laws, and that’s going to continue.  And my hope is that Congress recognizes that and gets behind this effort. 

 

All right.  Thank you very much.

 

Q    What about American workers who are unemployed while you import foreigners?

 

                     END                                               2:17 P.M. EDT

  Congressman Lou Barletta had this response:

WASHINGTON - EE.UU. congresista Lou Barletta, PA-11, emitió la siguiente declaración sobre el presidente Obama la concesión de la amnistía a los inmigrantes ilegales el viernes:

"Este anuncio no es nada más que una amnistía de puerta trasera por lo menos 800.000 inmigrantes ilegales. Es aterrador que el presidente de los Estados Unidos está eludiendo la ley de inmigración estadounidense. Más que eso, él está pasando por alto al Congreso, la reescritura de la ley de inmigración, y sobrepasando su autoridad constitucional.

"Mientras que nuestra tasa de desempleo ha sido superior al 8 por ciento en 40 meses, el presidente Obama ahora va a repartir permisos de trabajo a los extranjeros ilegales. Millones de estadounidenses no pueden encontrar trabajo, pero el presidente aboga por dar dos años de permiso de trabajo - con un número ilimitado de renovaciones - a los extranjeros ilegales. El presidente Obama tiene que explicar su decisión a los ciudadanos estadounidenses y los del país de manera legal que no puede encontrar un buen empleo, mantener la familia.

"Esto es una traición a los trabajadores estadounidenses y los inmigrantes legales en Estados Unidos.

"Descarada maniobra política del presidente Obama se produce días antes de los EE.UU. Corte Suprema de Justicia es probable que mantener la SB 1070 de Arizona, que trabaja en armonía con la ley federal para detener la inmigración ilegal. Así que no sólo es decisión del presidente de eludir al Congreso, pero también está pasando por alto el más alto tribunal del país.

"Yo diría que me sorprendió por este flagrante abuso de la presidencia, pero eso no sería verdad. El presidente Obama usará cualquiera y todos los trucos políticos para ser reelegidos. Me pregunto hasta qué punto el presidente Obama irá antes de noviembre. "

Minuteman Project founder endorses Lou Barletta

This dropped into my inbox last week but it took me a few days to check it out.

Minuteman Founder Endorses Lou Barletta for re-election in PA 11

“True leader on ending illegal immigration and enforcing border security”

Aliso Viejo, CA – The Founder and President of the nation's leading grassroots activist organization on the issue of immigration reform and border security, Jim Gilchrist of the Minuteman Project, announced today that he is endorsing Congressman Lou Barletta for re-election to the US House in PA-11. 

Gilchrist cited Barletta ’s strong record on securing our borders, denying illegals any form of amnesty, and cracking down on taxpayer funded benefits that attract illegals to the United States .  Polls show that immigration reform and border security remains one of the top issues facing voters of the state of Pennsylvania in the upcoming May 8 Republican Primary.

Gilchrist stated, “There are few leaders in Washington , DC that have demonstrated real courage in the face of overwhelming media bias and distortion when it comes to the issues of illegal immigration and border security.  Congressman Barletta is a champion to those us who followed his courageous battle to have America ’s laws enforced in our communities.  That is why I am proud to stand next to Lou Barletta and give my total support for the Congressman to be re-elected.”

Gilchrist further commented on the record of Lou Barletta, “Congressman Barletta will ensure that Congress actually enforces current immigration laws to protect the jobs of Americans and the dollars of taxpayers.  Whether it is Washington’s failure to reduce illegal immigration at our borders, stop enticements that lure illegal aliens to America, or even penalizing employers who hire illegal aliens at the expense of Americans looking for jobs all across our nation – Lou Barletta is a true leader on ending illegal immigration and enforcing border security.”

Jim Gilchrist founded the multi-ethnic Minuteman Project on Oct. 1, 2004, after years of frustrated efforts trying to get a neglectful U.S. government to simply enforce existing immigration laws.  Called “the world’s largest neighborhood watch”, their volunteer members aid efforts of the US Border Patrol by watching for illegal activity along the US-Mexican border.

I asked the Barletta camp for a comment:

“Like many Americans, they agree that illegal immigration is a problem in the U.S. and recognize Lou Barletta as a national leader on the issue.

“Washington’s unwillingness to deal with the problem of illegal immigration has allowed millions of illegal workers to simultaneously take American jobs while depressing the wages of legal workers.  The failure of the federal government to fully address border, airport, and seaport security continues to put our nation at risk.

“These problems are important issues to Rep. Barletta and he will continue to lead the charge to take reasonable steps to secure our borders and secure jobs for legal American workers.”

Lance Stange

Campaign Manager

Lou Barletta for Congress

The Minuteman Project has collapsed amid infighting and accusations of financial misconduct.

SPLC:

The Minuteman Project, one of the country's largest, richest and most influential nativist extremist groups, is in a state of crisis.

Its founder, Jim Gilchrist, was fired in February by members of the group's board of directors amidst swirling allegations of embezzlement, gross mismanagement and fraud.

Gilchrist initially responded by filing a lawsuit against the board members and waging a public relations battle in which he claimed the Minuteman Project had been "hijacked." Then, in April, he suddenly dropped the lawsuit and incorporated a new competing organization: "Jim Gilchrist's Minuteman Project." 

This has been a messy fight.

 RWW:

Gilchrist, 58, a national figure in the fight against illegal immigration, was removed as president of the Minuteman Project this month by its board of directors, which accused him of abusing his power and leaving more than $400,000 of the organization's money unaccounted for.

…

Deborah Courtney, the group's recently appointed treasurer, said in an interview that a direct mail company helped raise $750,000 for the group in 2006, but that she believes the Minuteman campaign received only $311,000. Courtney said she and others had been unable to trace the rest of the money.

To get his endorsement other campaigns have been shaken down.

 A price tag for Minuteman support?

 To win the endorsement of the Minuteman Project and its founder, Jim Gilchrist, you need to believe in federal troop deployments to stop illegal immigrants from entering the U.S. and stepped-up deportations of those who do.

You may also need to pay several thousand dollars, according to documents from three Republican campaigns that sought Gilchrist’s endorsement....

Democrat-turned-Republican Alabama Rep. Parker Griffith have been among those accepting his support.

But Republicans in Griffith’s Huntsville district and in one other state say support for a border fence and stepped-up deportation aren’t enough to win Gilchrist’s endorsement: They also were told bluntly that they would need to hire a consulting firm closely linked to the Minuteman founder and run by the project’s political director, Mississippi political consultant Howie Morgan.

When they didn’t hire Morgan, the endorsements didn’t materialize.

Do we really want vigilantes enforcing the law as they see it? That worked out well in Florida recently.

 

Border militia: patriots or vigilantes?

 The proposed Special Missions Unit would allow armed volunteers to pursue and arrest people they suspect to be smugglers or undocumented immigrants....

Minutemen founder, Jim Gilchrist spearheaded the movement many accused of vigilantism.

“You’ve had a couple of ranchers and several law enforcement officers murdered by illegal aliens,” said Gilchrist.

He admits that his call to guard the border attracted extremist elements but still hopes other states will follow Arizona’s militia proposal.

 It looks like this movement has burned out.

Yahoo News:

 But today, the once-thriving Minutemen anti-illegal immigration fraternity has all but died out. No one knows exactly why the groups fizzled so quickly, but researchers and former border-watching leaders say infighting and bad press have taken a toll. At the same time, the tea party movement started to rise, which usurped members and stole the groups' thunder....Still, the movement's message and popularity have left an indelible mark on the Republican Party, whose leaders underestimated the anger in their base over illegal immigration. The GOP, which at the time was considering legislation to legalize undocumented immigrants in a version of Ronald Reagan's 1986 immigration reform law, rejected the popular movement at first. President George W. Bush dismissed the Minutemen as "vigilantes,"

 

            

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You Tube weekend Lady Liberty 125

Notice that she has her back to New Jersey

Statue of Liberty at 125

Statue of Liberty birthday celebrations

It began with a naturalization ceremony for 125 immigrants from more than 40 countries, who would leave the island as U.S. citizens.


The statue's proper name is 'Liberty Enlightening the World.' La Liberté éclairant le monde

The people of France gave the Statue to the people of the United States 125 years ago in recognition of the friendship established during the American Revolution. Over the years, the Statue of Liberty's symbolism has grown to include freedom and democracy as well as this international friendship.

I'm a grandchild of immigrants as are most of you and this recent hating on recent immigrants disgusts me. This country was built on immigration and I don't mind pressing 1 for English. When I was growing up in the North End of Wilkes-Barre in the 1960's there were mom and pop grocery stores with signs in the window written in Russian and Slovak. But that was OK because they were white. Today there is a place on George Ave in Wilkes-Barre that sells hummas, felafel and other Arabic foods. There are plenty of other places in the area that you can get real Mexican food instead of the junk that Taco Bell sells. As Homer Simpson once observed "if we didn't have immigrants who would play short stop or kick our extra points?"

The New York Times has this great Civil War series DISUNION that I have been reading. I'm struck by how many recent immigrants went to war to defend the Union. Back then there were not many rules to come to America. We welcomed everyone. Today, some want to build a wall with an electrified fence and a moat filled with alligators to keep people out which is better than building one to keep people in like the Soviet's did in Berlin. God Bless America and viva la France.

The original Coming to America video by Neil Diamond that I wanted to use after writing all this is no longer available.

Neil performs the song live:

My country tis of thee

sweet land of liberty







Casablanca La Marseillaise

Aux armes, citoyens...

Hazleton on the hook for big bucks

Hazleton is facing $2.4M legal bill

My friend McGruff points out that this a misleading headline because no court has yet to rule on the attorney fee petitions. In fact it could be much higher.

The total bill the city could be forced to pay will be much higher, however, as that petition dealt only with legal work that was performed in the first round of the battle.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys will also be entitled to payment for work performed on the city’s appeal of Munley’s ruling, which was upheld by the Third Circuit on Sept. 9 this year, and its anticipated appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Payment of all fees was stayed pending final resolution of the case.

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the city's insurance company doesn't have to pay for the reckless actions of Mayor Lou Barletta and then Senator Rick Santorum (R-VA). In September it upheld Judge Munley's decision that local governments can't make immigration law citing the supremacy clause of the Constitution. Mayor Lou said said back in September he will appeal the decision to the Supreme Court and incur even more legal fees. As far as I know that has not happened.

What the hell, it''s somebody else's problem now with Lou heading to Congress and Ricky running for President.

Columbus Day

DINOs endorse Barletta

Most endorsements are good for a press release and not much more so I'll play along.

Lou Barletta held a press conference yesterday at Genetti's in Wilkes-Barre to unveil a new Web site-www.DemocratsForBarletta.com. Unfortunately he didn't bring along any Democrats to bolster his argument. The two people who appeared with him were Scranton City Councilman Pat Rogan and primary candidate Brian Kelly and that was it. These guys may be registered Democrats but it is hard to take them seriously as they both had previously endorsed Barletta.

According to NEPArtisan Rogan supported Barletta actively in 2002 and 2006 against Kanjorski. He ran for city council as a Republican in 2007 and lost so he switched his registration but still campaigned on an illegal immigration platform. Tom thinks he won his seat because he was part of the Janet Evans slate.

Brian Kelly got votes in the primary because his name wasn't Kanjorski or O'Brien but if you look at his platform (his site won't load) he is no Democrat. From a previous post:


He says he has been influenced by the writings of Allan Keyes saying that they think alike.
Abortion is "prohibited" in Declaration of Independence , Public display of the Ten Commandments is a state’s right, This is a Christian Nation, Sex education if it exists at all, should be abstinence-based, Drill here, Drill now, No U.S. citizenship for “anchor babies” of non-citizens, Repeal the Sixteenth Amendment, Constitution does not require separation of church and state

He also had imaginary conversations with the ghost of Dan Flood.

Both of them are frauds and I expect better from Lou.

I also expect better from the Times-Leader after seeing this headline



2 leading Dems jump ship, back Barletta

Bill O'Boyle's reporting was solid as always and I'm sure an editor wrote the headline. Leading Dems my ass.

PA-11th CD update

Congresman Paul Kanjorski's just put out a new TV ad that has a great message; Say Yes to Kanjorski

Kanjo is trying to pull jobs to the area like he has always done and Lou Barletta resisted this project from the beginning citing the noise it might create. Boom.




A few days ago I confessed to helping out a Republican primary state house candidate a few years ago with my advice for whatever it was worth. A GOP hopeful in another race figured out I was helping his primary opponent and called me out about it. It was easy, I had access to your opponent and your press guy kept jerking me around.

Now I will give advice to GOP 11th CD candidate Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta. Maybe not, because the only advice I can give him would be in the past tense. Skip the immigration ordinance although it is your claim to fame. Don't reject Kanjo's latest big idea out of hand. Welcome the initiative and point out that most of his previous big ideas have not panned out, people movers,dams on the river, monorails, Wall Street West, high speed trains, etc... the list is endless.

Barletta loses again

Mayor says city won’t give up

Hazleton loses appeal in immigration law case


“Our fight is not yet over. The city of Hazleton fully intends to appeal this incorrect decision and take the case all the way to the United States Supreme Court, if necessary,” Barletta said.

He said no city funds have been used for the city’s defense. The approximately $500,000 in legal costs have come from donations to the city’s now nearly depleted legal defense fund.

Great, the Hazleton ordinance has already been shot done twice in court and the donations have stopped coming in but he promises to press on. This decision is anti-climatic as just about anyone who has been following this case knew that the 3rd circuit would affirm Judge Muley's decision that it violates the supremacy clause of the constitution.

You can read the opinion here.

Hazleton is like many towns in PA that are making unpleasant choices to cut services and raise taxes and the city is on the hook for the legal fees of the defendants which may be in the millions. The prudent thing to do at this point is to cut your losses and drop the whole thing but this is Lou Barletta's claim to fame so that is not going to happen. His one trick pony approach to the campaign continues.

Congressman Paul Kanjorski's campaign has been silent on this issue today. I understand that, if your opponent is self destructing just sit back and watch.

Lou Barletta released this statement after his news conference yesterday:



El alcalde de Hazleton Lou Barletta publicó la siguiente declaración sobre el fallo de hoy por el tribunal federal de apelaciones en Filadelfia:
La decisión de hoy del Tribunal del Tercer Circuito, no es inesperado. No estoy desilusionado por esta decisión. Sabíamos que no sería la última parada de este viaje.
El Tribunal del Tercer Circuito opinión difería de un dictamen del Tribunal del Noveno Circuito en un caso similar en 2009. Ese caso se refería a una ley estatal de Arizona que exigía a los empleadores a utilizar el sistema de E-Verify.
Incluso el noveno circuito ha tomado una posición de Hazleton sobre esta cuestión, por lo que la decisión de hoy hace que el Tercer Circuito de la corte más liberal en los Estados Unidos en temas de inmigración.
Esta decisión constituye una pérdida para Hazleton y sus residentes legales. Es también un golpe a los derechos de los inmigrantes legales que decide llamar a su casa Hazleton. Estos inmigrantes jurídicos han seguido las reglas, y la decisión de hoy se pone en peligro sus puestos de trabajo.
La inmigración ilegal genera una mano de obra subterránea que reduce las posibilidades de empleo para todos los ciudadanos legales. La inmigración ilegal drena nuestro presupuesto y nos impide ofrecer una gama más amplia de servicios de la ciudad para los residentes legales, que pagan impuestos y sus hijos.
He dicho en repetidas ocasiones durante los años que la principal línea de defensa contra la inmigración ilegal es la eliminación de la disponibilidad de puestos de trabajo a extranjeros ilegales. Si los extranjeros ilegales no tienen lugar para trabajar, que se auto-deportar. De hecho, como la economía estadounidense empeoró recientemente, hemos visto que suceda. Nosotros, como nación debe adoptar medidas para detener extranjeros ilegales obtengan puestos de trabajo, especialmente ahora, una época en que los ciudadanos americanos y los que en este país legalmente no pueden darse el lujo de perder sus empleos.
Pero nuestra lucha no ha terminado todavía.
La ciudad de Hazleton toda la intención de apelar esta decisión incorrecta y llevar el caso hasta el final a los Estados Unidos la Corte Suprema, si es necesario.
Antes de hacerlo, me gustaría agradecer personalmente a los miembros del Concejo Municipal de Hazleton, que han apoyado esta ordenanza a través de los años.
También me gustaría agradecer a los residentes de Hazleton, que han apoyado consejo de la ciudad y yo en nuestra larga lucha.
Me gustaría dar las gracias a nuestro equipo jurídico, incluyendo Kris Kobach y Mahoney Hank. Han pasado muchas horas en este caso.
También me gustaría agradecer personalmente a los miles de personas a través de los Estados Unidos de América que han contribuido al fondo de la ciudad de defensa jurídica. Hasta la fecha, la ciudad no ha pasado un dólar de los fondos de los contribuyentes para pelear esta batalla legal - a pesar de que nos hemos enfrentado a numerosos fuerte, los opositores bien financiados que han amenazado con la quiebra de Hazleton como hemos tratado de mantener el Estado de Derecho. Animo a cualquiera que quiera unirse a esta batalla - y los que quieren renovar su apoyo - a visitar www.smalltowndefenders.com y contribuir a nuestro fondo de defensa legal. Una vez más, ese sitio Web es, www.smalltowndefenders.com.
Hace cuatro años, Hazleton se convirtió en la primera comunidad en la nación para defender por sí mismo. Debido a que nuestra población fue creciendo y nuestra base de impuestos fue disminuyendo, la inmigración ilegal constituye una pérdida grave y sustancial sobre nuestro presupuesto. Y si nos fijamos en nuestros números de desempleo local, se puede ver cómo esta mano de obra subterránea se llevó puestos de trabajo de los ciudadanos estadounidenses y los que están legalmente en este país.
Más importante aún, la calidad de un pequeño pueblo de la vida que había venido a disfrutar estaba siendo destruido por los delincuentes extranjeros que estaban haciendo subir el índice de delitos.
En lugar de sentarse, Hazleton decidió actuar.
Hazleton fue la primera - y Hazleton convirtió en el símbolo de esperanza para muchos en todo el país.
Desde que esta ley propuesta hace más de cuatro años, hemos visto la creciente frustración de todo el país. Lo hemos visto en lugares como Arizona y Valley Park, Missouri, y Farmers Branch, Texas.
Esta frustración no va a desaparecer - y no se irán hasta que el gobierno federal finalmente asegure nuestras fronteras y duras medidas contra la inmigración ilegal. Durante décadas, el Congreso nos ha fallado. Este problema necesita desesperadamente que se fijará en Washington, y voy a luchar para asegurar que las ciudades y los estados pueden protegerse contra los costos fiscales y penales de la inmigración ilegal.
La ciudad de Hazleton continuará con este caso, no sólo porque tenemos la razón, sino también por otras comunidades cuentan con nosotros.

In an unreleated issue the Kanjo camp responded to an ad by a group that missrepresents itself




Wilkes-Barre, PA - Dziś konserwatywne grupy przodu, że chce zniszczyć Ubezpieczeń Społecznych rozpoczął nadawanie reklam TV kłamie rekord Paul Kanjorski w celu ułatwienia wyboru Lou Barletta. Kampania Kanjorski jest wezwanie Lou Barletta wypowiedzieć te reklamy i popytu, że należy zdjąć z powietrza.

Grupy odpowiedzialnej za reklamy, 60 Plus Stowarzyszenie, jest konserwatywna grupa przodu, że od dawna w walce o prywatyzacji ubezpieczeń społecznych. Tego cyklu wyborów, grupa wydatków na ponad milion dolarów okłamać wyborców w Pensylwanii i wybiera członków Kongresu, które pomogą ich program pro-prywatyzacji.

"Lou Barletta twierdzi, że przeciwko prywatyzacji ubezpieczeń społecznych, to jego szanse to udowodnić. Grupie pro-prywatyzacji leżącego na Pennsylvanians pomóc Lou Barletta wygrać. Jeśli Lou naprawdę sprzeciwia się prywatyzacji, powinien wypowiedzieć te reklamy i wymagać, aby ich natychmiast przerwać ", powiedział Ed Mitchell, rzecznik kampanii Kanjorski.

60 plus Stowarzyszenie ma długą historię walki z prywatyzacji ubezpieczeń społecznych. W grudniu 2001 r., 60 Plus Stowarzyszenia uczestniczyli w konferencji prasowej sponsorowanej przez Amerykanów do reformy podatkowej, która poparła plan Busha zabezpieczenia społecznego do prywatyzacji Komisji Ubezpieczeń Społecznych (Amerykanie dla reformy podatku dochodowego od doradztwa prasy, 12/11/01). Jim Martin, szef 60-Plus Stowarzyszenie, napisał op-eds dla "Washington Times", w którym wzywa Social Security "przestarzały relikt minionej epoki" i "ciężar" dla młodych pracowników, promując system emerytalny, który młodych pracowników pozwala inwestować część swojego podatku. (Washington Times, 3/14/01, Washington Times, 8/1/01)

60 plus Stowarzyszenia, która nazywa się "bezstronne", wydała komunikat prasowy, w 2001 r., który wzywał pierwszych 100 Busha dni w urzędzie "złota era dla seniorów", a ukazał się w Filadelfii, podczas Republican National Convention w poparcie w 2000 r. bilet GOP. (Palm Beach Post, 6/17/01, National Journal Kongres Daily, 8/3/01)

"To jest obrzydliwe próby na zewnątrz grupy, aby okłamać wyborców w ich dążeniu do zniszczenia zabezpieczenia społecznego", powiedział Mitchell. "Czy Lou Barletta dopuszczę do wyborców z 11 Congressional District być okłamani przez grupę, która chce zniszczyć zabezpieczenia społecznego, czy będzie wstać i powiedzieć im, że już nie chce ich pomocy?

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I promissed Shawn I would be fair and balanced. Sorry Nicole but bloggers must have their fun.