Moonhowlings

The much disputed Arizona SB 1070 goes back to court today on appeal.  Federal Judge Bolton shot down several aspects of the law several months ago.  The major component of the law that was blocked deals with police officers being allowed to question anyone they had have reasonable suspicious about being in the country illegally.  According to the Washington Post:

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit will hear Arizona’s appeal of a lower-court ruling that blocked the most-contested provisions of the law from taking effect. The law, signed in April by Gov. Jan Brewer (R), empowers police to question people whom they have a “reasonable suspicion” of being in the country illegally.

Amid a fierce debate over the measure, the Justice Department sought to overturn the law by taking the rare step of suing Arizona. Government attorneys won the first round in July when U.S. District Judge Susan R. Bolton, seated in Phoenix, put on hold provisions that would require police to check immigration status if they stop someone while enforcing other laws, allow for warrantless arrests of suspected illegal immigrants and criminalize the failure of legal immigrants to carry their registration papers.

The case will be heard by a 3 judge panel.  2 judges were appointed bya Republican and 1 by a Democrat.  Either Arizona or the U.S. government can appeal the panel’s decision.  Should that happen the case will go to the full  9th Circuit Court.  The WaPo further adds:

Brewer, whose outspoken criticism of the federal lawsuit has helped her popularity at home, has vowed to take her appeal of the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. The 9th Circuit hearing in San Francisco is the next step, and legal experts say the case likely will wind up before the high court within several years.

The lawsuit ratcheted up the political and legal debate over the nation’s estimated 12 million illegal immigrants, with Republicans condemning the administration and civil rights groups praising it for fighting a law that they contend targets Hispanics.

Talk of immigration has receded somewhat in the runup to the elections, especially compared to the economy, but it has been a key factor in a number of races. Monday’s argument, which Brewer plans to attend, will shine an even brighter light on the issue.

Perhaps all will become quiet once this election is over.  Arizona has problems for sure.  So does California, New Mexico and Texas.  The drug violence along the border towns in Mexico continues to rage on.  Our border states must be vigilant that the violence doesn’t creep or stampede into our country.  However, SB 1070 isn’t the way to stop the drug violence and that is what Arizona should be worried about.

Probable cause as a police tool is always rife with problems.  There are other ways, such as PWC recently found out, that are far better.  And like PWC, Arizona probably doesn’t have the money to waste on endless lawsuits.

There are many reasons why I am not a nun.  The main reason is that forgiveness is not my strong suit. 

In the tragic wake of Sunday’s accident on Bristow Road, where 1 sister was killed and 2 more lie in a hospital bed, barely clinging to life, the sisters of the Benedictine Order magnanimously have requested that their tragedy be viewed in terms of alcoholism and drunk driving rather than used as a platform to rail against illegal immigration. 

Politicians and news stations have flagrantly disregarded the sisters’ request.  Sister Denise and the driver of the other car, Carlos Martinelly, have been plastered all over every TV screen and newspaper since the accident occurred early Sunday morning, as the 3 sisters were driving to Mass. 

The Washington Post has attempted to honor the Order’s request in their front page story today.  They have attached faces to this tragedy.  It is impossible to discuss this accident without the illegal immigrant issue creeping in.

Nuns at Virginia monastery find room to forgive while mourning sister’s death

About 8:30 Monday night, the doorbell rang at St. Benedict Monastery in Prince William County, and Sister Andrea Verchuck, the sub-prioress, rose from her desk to see who was there. On the slate front porch stood a man and a woman

They looked contrite,” said Verchuck, 81, who has lived with other nuns in the wooded monastery for 66 years. The visitors’ hands were at their sides, their eyes cast down, as Verchuck greeted them.

“They said, ‘We’d like to talk with someone about the sister who was killed,’ ” she recalled.

Read more…

Ever wonder how e-verify works? Greta Van Susteren featured this video with a good question and answer follow up:

Hopefully this video will address some of the points brought out by Need to Know and Wolverine.

Greg Letiecq interviews with ‘Sarge’ on the Jeff Fargas Show. Sarge is out in Arizona.

The show takes callers and Elena calls to throw in the other side of the story.

The podcast will appear. It takes about a minute. You will want to chose the May 8 if it isn’t chosen for you.

Sorry folks, it isn’t pretty but I got it here…sort of.

CLICK HERE FOR THE SHORT VERSION

Jon Stewart tries to educate himself on just what is going on in Arizona. He postulates that Arizona is the meth lab of democracy. Social commentary gets into Jon’s space.

Nativist Republican Operative Greg Letiecq Continues His Witch-Hunt in a Desperate Attempt to Distract the Public from the Reality of the Immigration Resolution’s Disastrous Failure.

As national economic news worsens, Prince William County residents are coping with the an $11 Million Dollar “Immigration” policy that is hampering our local economy at a time when we can least afford it. Add to this the fact that last Tuesday’s highly anticipated Immigration Report from Chief Deane revealed some shocking indicators of how poorly our local “Immigration” policy is serving us. Trust and confidence in our county government and our police force are at all time lows according to our Citizen Satisfaction Survey. And, only 1.6% of the crime committed in Prince William County is committed by undocumented individuals. And, as shown in an earlier thread, in return for our $11 Million Dollar “Immigration” policy, we are seeing many of those we do apprehend return to the county after a brief trip through our federal system.

Perhaps this is the reason Greg Letiecq is pretending to be outraged about Liz Barnes and Craig Gerhart receiving a salary, and Eric Byler, an award-winning filmmaker, not receiving a salary as a VOLUNTEER for the Obama campaign (one among millions of Obama volunteers across the country).

His whining about Byler’s weekend volunteer activities is truly laughable.  Long before he earned himself a place in the halls of nativist fame, Greg was known in the county as a conservative Republican operative.  On his blog, he is trying to create a faux scandal over the entirely appropriate actions of some of the best civil servants in our county to try to distract us from the real scandal.

Here’s the real scandal: an extremist, nativist, hate group — led by Republican operatives — posing as a grassroots “issue advocacy” organization used insidious tactics to ram through our county an economically disastrous and racist policy with “help” from FAIR, a national organization classified as a hate group by Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center.  Surveys and reports about the Prince William experiment — more are forthcoming from think tanks and universities — are confronting us with that reality.  And Greg is waving his arms in desperation “don’t look there…look over here!” It’s a pitiful sight.

U.S. Army Sgt. Emmanuel Woko, a member of the Army’s 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division who faces his third tour in Iraq, is extremely concerned that his wife and children could be sent back to Nigeria.

According to Woko:

My heart is bleeding on the thought that my wife could be deported back to Nigeria while I am deployed in Iraq,” he said. “I am extremely distressed and distracted by the thought.

According to the Washington Post, there was an immigration raid yesterday morning at a local concrete company with 34 people arrested. The article stated that workplace raids are rare but this one appears to be one of the largest performed in the last two years.  In terms of satisfying our labor demands, there has been a discrepancy between the number of jobs that we have created and the number of immigrants admitted annually.  If the labor force hadn’t come then businesses would have petitioned the government for more workers which is what we are actually witnessing now.  Of course, the bureaucracy that accompanies it is the hindrance.  And, unfortunately, it has the potential to further stagnate the economy.  For proof of this, here are two other interesting articles about changing the system because of the lack of workers to fill positions:
1. Businesses Say New York’s Clout Is Emigrating, With Visa Policies to Blame
2. Major Grower Ends Crop, Lacking Workers

According to the DC Examiner Prince William County jails are overcrowded with more than 300 inmates being housed in other localities some 4 hours away.  But BVBL surmises that this ‘piece of the puzzle doesn’t really belong.’

Let me get this straight.  ‘Illegals’ are removing their kids from County Schools and moving to surrounding jurisdictions so that’s a cost savings to schools; but the foreclosures and the plummeting real estate market are unrelated?  Now, after touting about hundreds of immigration violators being detained, reports about jail overcrowding suggest only a ’tangential relationship’?  Do they believe we’re that gullible?

There has been no cost benefit analysis performed to prove whether or not this resolution would even save us money.  And, now the initial costs have doubled with no confirmed savings.  Plus, guaranteed either Clinton, Obama or McCain will be the next President which bodes well for a national response that incorporates some form of legalization; yet we continue to flush millions down the commode.  But that no additional monies are allotted for zoning enforcements which seemed to be one of the primary concerns expressed by residents during Citizens Time runs counter to logic.  In hindsight, this whole thing is going to look like a major SNAFU which won’t help any long-term political aspirations for either Stewart or Stirrup.

Lance Cpl. José Gutiérrez was one of the first American killed in action in Iraq. Gutierrez, who was raised in Guatemala came to America as a boy–illegally! At the age of 18 he was allowed to adjust his status and became a legal green card holder. He was one of the first Marines killed in action in Iraq. His family told reporters, this young immigrant enlisted with the Marine Corps because he wanted to “give back” to America.

When the anti-illegal crowd holds up a drunk driver, murder or rapist as an example to suggest that all ‘illegals’ should be removed from this country it’s insulting to the millions of previous ‘illegals’ and their families who are successful, productive Americans today. They work in a multitude of fields and are not a drain on our society.  They and their children are serving in our Armed Forces and are risking their lives for our collective country.  It would serve us all well to remember that immigration status alone does not define a human being.

Rest in Peace Lance Cpl. José Gutiérrez.

Now here’s something we can agree upon – enforcement works.  Just answer me this question…  why haven’t we had enforcement for 20 years?  Who’s benefited from non-enforcement?  Who’s to blame for not enforcing these laws that have been on the books for decades or more?  And, for all those nay-sayers about it not being a criminal offense, pay close attention to Mr. Chertoff statement about these crimes being MISDEMEANORS!

According to the Washington Times article, ‘U.S. boosts deportation of illegals’ -

Mr. Chertoff noted that between October and December, the Justice Department prosecuted 1,200 cases under the new program and, as a consequence, apprehension rates dropped nearly 70 percent in those areas.

“When people who cross the border illegally are brought to face the reality that they are committing a crime, even if it is just a misdemeanor, that has a huge impact on their willingness to try again and on the willingness of others to break the law coming across the border,” he said.

From the comments section of the Washington Post -

Patriot12 wrote:
asmith1 wrote: “Illegal aliens dehumanize their anchors at conception, and will abandon them here as quickly as the ones they left back home when they no longer serve any useful purpose.”

ASmith1 is correct. Council LaRaza conducted that study less than 4 months ago whoich was reported in the WAPO and, more accurately, in the Wash Times.

Council LaRaza found that more than half of the illegal alien (a US Federal legal term) population, if deported, would abandon their US born anchor babies and require the US government to spend hundreds of billions on welfare and child care support for the abandoned anchor babies.

That speaks volumes about the “high moral character” of the illegal alien parents (high moral character being a prerequisted for citizenship) – “let’s jump a fence 30 minutes prior to delivery, have an anchor baby for nada, then dump the kid on the taxpayers because the gringos are stupid enough to pay for it.” That’s the level of fidelity this nation gets from the illegals.

The 14th Amendment says “subject to jurisdiction of” which does not inlcude illegals. The 14th Amendment also excludes “diplomats and their children” as well as “foreign nationals” who show their loyalties to a Foreign Government…like all the Mexies W/o Borders and the salvadorans who protest in our streets under their nation’s flag. They and their anchor babies are exempt from birth right citizenship.

This shouldn’t really need an explanation but obviously it does. ‘Illegal immigrants’ came to the United States for various reasons but one common reason was out of necessity. There were no jobs in their countries. When there’s no work, there’s no pay, when there’s no money, there’s no food, clothing, lodging etc… Now, faced with deportation would it be logical to bring their children into that environment?  These are US Citizens who are entitled to an education, lodging, clothes, food etc… So the stupidity to suggest that these children are being ‘abandoned’ by their parents is insulting to rational people.  Let me explain – these children are being left here because it’s in the child’s best interest and not because they “no longer serve any useful purpose.”

The notion that the ‘illegal invasion’ is starting in Northern Virginia is absurd especially when coupled with the assertion that ‘they are not here to work.’  Interestingly, a study has been conducted by UVa’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service entitled -‘Hispanic Immigrants and Citizens in Virginia.’ in which ‘the hypotheses of a strong labor migration’ is confirmed.

According to the study, Hispanics represent six percent of the population in the state of Virginia, compared to 15% in the United States.  However, what’s interesting is the concentration of Hispanics in Northern Virginia.  According to the report, Hispanics in Manassas Park comprise 30% of the population, Manassas City – 27%, Prince William – 9%, Arlington – 16%, Fairfax City – 13%, Alexandria 13%, and Fairfax County – 13%. Outside of Northern Virginia, three other spots in Virginia appear to have greater than 10% concentration of Hispanics, those areas being: Harrsisonburg, Winchester and Galax City which is in the south western part of the state.

The study analyzes United States Census Bureau data to ‘describe growth trends, characteristics and life in Virginia for resident Hispanics.’ 

Several points can be drawn from this study.

First, the majority of Hispanics present in Virginia are U.S. citizens. Forty percent are immigrants, including both authorized and unauthorized.

Second, when compared to the population overall, Hispanic immigrants are less educated, poorer, more likely to lack health insurance, and live in larger households. Their lower socio-economic status, however, does not necessarily make them heavy recipients of welfare and subsidies. Other than WIC, job training, and rent and school lunch subsidies, Hispanic immigrants receive very little or none of most other welfare programs. They tend to pool and share resources (such as housing and vehicles) with family and non-family members to reduce costs and risks. Hispanic immigrants are young and make up a significant portion of low-skilled, yet fast-growing, occupational sectors.

Third, adult Hispanic citizens do better than the overall population in terms of educational attainment and household income. They are well represented in all occupational sectors, and over-represented in Virginia’s military.
Fourth, cultural and socio-economic assimilation takes place over generations among Hispanic citizens and immigrants, with citizens doing especially well. While 60 percent of Hispanic citizens have at least one parent foreign-born, they speak English well. And while nearly 30 percent of adult citizens are first-generation (having both parents foreign-born), they share many characteristics with the overall population – they speak, educate, work and transport like typical Virginians. English proficiency among Hispanic immigrants improves as their years in the U.S. increase.

Finally, cultural values and traditions continue to influence Hispanics’ way of life. Households headed by Hispanic citizens, for example, tend to be bigger and are more likely to have co-residing relatives and non-relatives than Virginia’s households overall. The extent, however, is not as great as that for immigrants.
Virginia’s Hispanic population is complex, varied, and deeply engaged in significant sectors of the Virginia economy. Its presence in the overall population is likely to increase in the future years. According to the Virginia Employment Commission’s projections, Virginia’s Hispanic population will double between 2006 and 2030 as a result of both natural increase (births minus deaths) and migration to the Commonwealth. A thorough understanding of this population’s composition and characteristics provides a factual framework for policy deliberations.

Watch Greg stammer when explaining the ‘$50 million supposedly, reasonably’ shortfall of the hospital which is ‘attributed’ to ‘illegal’ immigrants. Why all the stammering and disclaimers of supposedly or reasonably well it’s because it’s not PROVEN! It’s a feeling. I personally spoke with a representative from the hospital who I asked for proof that undocumented individuals and not just the poor were the ‘self-pay’ ie ‘no-pay’ problem to which she replied – ‘it sure feels that way.’ Sorry folks, I’m not buying this ‘feeling’. Show me the numbers or give me the best numbers you have. The hospital is a non-profit and files 1099′s online, so I looked there without any luck. Otherwise, they don’t release their annual report to the public but I’d really like to look at those numbers. Otherwise, I get the feeling that it’s just scapegoating the undocumented community.

From HSM’s March Frontline Report,

Tips for Illegal Aliens:  Remember, just because you are smart enough to sneak across the border, doesn’t mean you’re a brain surgeon.

Well, that’s not entirely true – meet Dr. Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa, in his case he came across the border ILLEGALLY AND became a brain surgeon.  Now known as Dr. Q a neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins University but not long ago he was an illegal immigrant from Mexico picking crops in the California crop fields. He crossed with just the shirt on his back on $5 in his pocket but worked his way up to becoming a neuro-surgeon working on the cure for cancer.

According to Dr. Q, -

“It’s human nature to try to find ways to survive,” he says. “It’s human nature, it’s not rocket science.”

If you’re interested in watching a video about Dr. Q -
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=2827344n