Rant of the Day

Obama, Attorney, No-Show in Georgia

2012-01-27T17:21:00.000-08:00

OBAMA ELIGIBILITY COURT CASE
By Craig Andresen on January 26, 2012 at 9:25 am

Given the testimony from today’s court case in Georgia, Obama has a lot of explaining to do. His attorney, Jablonski, was a NO SHOW as of course, was Obama.

The following is a nutshell account of the proceedings.

Promptly at 9am EST, all attorneys involved in the Obama Georgia eligibility case were called to the Judge’s chambers. This was indeed a very interesting beginning to this long awaited and important case.

The case revolved around the Natural Born clause of the Constitution and whether or not Obama qualifies under it to serve. More to the point, if found ineligible, Obama’s name would not appear on the 2012 ballot in Georgia.

With the small courtroom crowded, several in attendance could be seen fanning themselves with pamphlets as they waited for the return of the attorneys and the appearance of the judge.

Obama himself, who had been subpoenaed to appear, of course was nowhere near Georgia. Instead, Obama was on a campaign swing appearing in Las Vegas and in Colorado ignoring the court in Georgia.

Over the last several weeks, Obama’s attorney, Michael Jablonski, had attempted several tactics to keep this case from moving forward. He first tried to have it dismissed, then argued that it was irrelevant to Obama. After that, Jablonski argued that a state could not, under the law, determine who would or would not be on a ballot and later, that Obama was simply too busy with the duties of office to appear.

After all these arguments were dispatched by the Georgia Court, Jablonski, in desperation, wrote to the Georgia Secretary of State attempting to place Obama above the law and declared that the case was not to he heard and neither he nor his client would participate.

Secretary of State, Brian Kemp, fired back a letter hours later telling Jablonski he was free to abandon the case and not participate but that he would do so at his and his clients peril.

Game on.

5 minutes.

10 minutes.

15 minutes with the attorneys in the judge’s chambers.

20 minutes.

It appears Jablonski is not in attendance as the attorneys return, all go to the plaintiff table 24 minutes after meeting in the judge’s chambers.

Has Obama’s attorney made good on his stated threat not to participate? Is he directly ignoring the court’s subpoena? Is he placing Obama above the law? It seems so. Were you or I subpoenaed to appear in court, would we or our attorney be allowed such action or, non action?

Certainly not.

Court is called to order.

Obama’s birth certificate is entered into evidence.

Obama’s father’s place of birth, Kenya East Africa is entered into evidence.

Pages 214 and 215 from Obama’s book, “Dreams from My Father” entered into evidence. Highlighted. This is where Obama indicates that, in 1966 or 1967 that his father’s history is mentioned. It states that his father’s passport had been revoked and he was unable to leave Kenya.

Immigration Services documents entered into evidence regarding Obama Sr.

June 27th, 1962, is the date on those documents. Obama’s father’s status shown as a non citizen of the United States. Documents were gotten through the Freedom of Information Act.

Testimony regarding the definition of Natural Born Citizen is given citing Minor vs Happersett opinion from a Supreme Court written opinion from 1875. The attorney points out the difference between “citizen” and “Natural Born Citizen” using charts and copies of the Minor vs Happersett opinion.

It is also pointed out that the 14th Amendment does not alter the definition or supersede the meaning of Natural Born. It is pointed out that lower court rulings do not conflict with the Supreme Court opinion nor do they over rule the Supreme Court Minor vs Happersett opinion.

The point is, to be a natural born citizen, one must have 2 parents who, at the time of the birth in question, be citizens of the United States. As Obama’s father was not a citizen, the argument is that Obama, constitutionally, is ineligible to serve as President.

Judge notes that as Obama nor his attorney is present, action will be taken accordingly.

Carl Swinson takes the stand.

Testimony is presented that the SOS has agreed to hear this case, laws applicable, and that the DNC of Georgia will be on the ballot and the challenge to it by Swinson.

2nd witness, a Mr. Powell, takes the stand and presents testimony regarding documents of challenge to Obama’s appearance on the Georgia ballot and his candidacy.

Court records of Obama’s mother and father entered into evidence.

Official certificate of nomination of Obama entered into evidence.

RNC certificate of nomination entered into evidence.

DNC language does NOT include language stating Obama is Qualified while the RNC document DOES. This shows a direct difference trying to establish that the DNC MAY possibly have known that Obama was not qualified.

Jablonski letter to Kemp yesterday entered into evidence showing their desire that these proceedings not take place and that they would not participate.

Dreams From My Father entered.

Mr. Allen from Tuscon AZ sworn in.

Disc received from Immigration and Naturalization Service entered into evidence. This disc contains information regarding the status of Obama’s father received through the Freedom of Information Act.

This information states clearly that Obama’s father was NEVER a U.S. Citizen.

At this point, the judge takes a recess.

The judge returns.

David Farrar takes the stand.

Evidence showing Obama’s book of records listing his nationality as Indoneasan. Deemed not relevant by the judge.

Orly Taitz calls 2nd witness. Mr. Strump.

Enters into evidence a portion of letter received from attorney showing a renewal form from Obama’s mother for her passport listing Obama’s last name something other than Obama.

State Licensed PI takes the stand.

She was hired to look into Obama’s background and found a Social Security number for him from 1979. Professional opinion given that this number was fraudulent. The number used or attached to Obama in 1979, shows that Obama was born in the 1890. This shows that the number was originally assigned to someone else who was indeed born in 1890 and should never have been used by Obama.

Same SS number came up with addresses in IL, D.C. and MA.

Next witness takes the stand.

This witness is an expert in information technology and photo shop. He testifies that the birth certificate Obama provided to the public is layered, multiple layered. This, he testifies, indicates that different parts of the certificate have been lifted from more than one original document.

Linda Jordan takes the stand.

Document entered regarding SS number assigned to Obama. SS number is not verified under E Verify. It comes back as suspected fraudulent. This is the system by which the Government verifies ones citizenship.

Next witness.

Mr. Gogt.

Expert in document imaging and scanners for 18 years.

Mr. Gogt testifies that the birth certificate, posted online by Obama, is suspicious. States white lines around all the type face is caused by “unsharp mask” in Photoshop. Testifies that any document showing this, is considered to be a fraud.

States this is a product of layering.

Mr. Gogt testifies that a straight scan of an original document would not show such layering.

Also testifies that the date stamps shown on Obama documents should not be in exact same place on various documents as they are hand stamped. Obama’s documents are all even, straight and exactly the same indicating they were NOT hand stamped by layered into the document by computer.

Next witness, Mr. Sampson a former police officer and former immigration officer specializing in immigration fraud.

Ran Obama’s SS number through database and found that the number was issued to Obama in 1977 in the state of MA. Obama never resided in MA. At the time of issue, Obama was living in Hawaii.

Serial number on birth certificate is out of sequence with others issued at that hospital. Also certification is different than others and different than twins born 24 hours ahead of Obama.

Mr. Sampson also states that portion of documents regarding Mr. Sotoroe, who adopted Obama have been redacted which is highly unusual with regards to immigration records.

Suggests all records from Social Security, Immigration, Hawaii birth records be made available to see if there are criminal charges to be filed or not. Without them, nothing can be ruled out.

Mr. Sampson indicates if Obama is shown not to be a citizen, he should be arrested and deported and until all records are released nobody can know for sure if he is or is not a U.S. Citizen.

Taitz shows records for Barry Sotoro aka Barack Obama, showing he resides in Hawaii and in Indonesia at the same time.

Taitz takes the stand herself.

Testifies that records indicate Obama records have been altered and he is hiding his identity and citizenship.

Taitz leave the stand to make her closing arguments.

Taitz states that Obama should be found, because of the evidence presented, ineligible to serve as President.

And with that, the judge closes the hearing.

What can we take away from this?

It’s interesting.

Now, all of this has finally been entered OFFICIALLY into court records.

One huge question is now more than ever before, unanswered.

WHO THE HELL IS THIS GUY?

Without his attorney present, Obama’s identity, his Social Security number, his citizenship status, and his past are all OFFICIALLY in question.

One thing to which there seems no doubt. He does NOT qualify, under the definition of Natural Born Citizen” provided by SCOTUS opinions, to be eligible to serve as President.

What will the judge decide? That is yet to be known, but it seems nearly impossible to believe, without counter testimony or evidence, because Obama and his attorney chose not to participate, that Obama will be allowed on the Georgia ballot.

It also opens the door for such cases pending or to be brought in other states as well.

Obama is in it deep and the DNC has some…a LOT…of explaining to do unless they start looking for a new candidate for 2012.

Ted Cruz On Agenda 21

2012-01-27T09:11:00.000-08:00

Ted Cruz, Solicitor General State Of Texas

Obama Propped Up By Congress

2012-01-27T05:59:00.000-08:00

Documenting Several Attempts By Congress to Amend Constitution
To allow non-citizens to hold office of President of the United States.

Immigration News

2012-01-26T08:22:00.000-08:00

Today's Illegal Immigration News
Thursday, January 26, 2012

OBAMA, BREWER HAVE TENSE EXCHANGE IN AZ

Barack Obama and AZ Gov. Jan Brewer had an intense encounter on the tarmac as the campaigner-in-chief stepped off Air Force One. Brewer greeted the president as he deplaned, as governors often do, handing him a “welcome” note to the state, and an invitation to talk about a comeback in AZ. However, Obama was still nursing a wounded ego and in no mood for pleasantries with Gov. Brewer after she wrote in her book, ‘Scorpions for Breakfast’ that the president was patronizing in a one-on-one meeting about border security. In media interviews following the 2011 meeting described in her book, Brewer said that the two had simply agreed to disagree.

The White House says the president is willing to meet with her again and looks forward to discussion about improving Arizona’s economy. Whether or not Obama was willing to meet with Brewer again to discuss securing the U.S.-Mexico border was not mentioned by White House officials.

GINGRICH OPENS DOOR FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

In the run-up to the Florida primary, Newt Gingrich is fighting for the large pool of the state’s Hispanic voters – he’s even calling for a guest-worker program for most illegal immigrants though his campaign refused to say whether those individuals would then be on a path to citizenship. The former House Speaker did say during an interview with Univision’s political host, Jorge Ramos, he would grant quick citizenship rights to illegal immigrants who join the military or to those who have been in the U.S. between 20 and 25 years. He also said that the rest of the 11 million should be given access to a guest-worker program.

The Gingrich Who Stole South Carolina

2012-01-25T14:54:00.000-08:00

The Gingrich Who Stole South Carolina

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Rubio's SOTU reaction: Locker room speeches are great, but then you've got to play the game

2012-01-25T08:27:00.000-08:00

Rubio's SOTU reaction: Locker room speeches are great, but then you've got to play the game

FACT CHECK: Obama's 2012 State of the Union

2012-01-25T07:55:00.000-08:00

FACT CHECK: Obama's 2012 State of the Union
Published January 24, 2012

WASHINGTON – It was a wish list, not a to-do list.

President Obama's array of plans in his State of the Union speech was light on a key piece of context -- namely, that his hands are so tied until after the election that it is doubtful many if any of them can be done in the remainder of his term. There can be little more than wishful thinking behind his call to end oil industry subsidies -- something he could not get through a Democratic Congress, much less today's divided Congress, much less in this election year.

A look at Obama's rhetoric Tuesday night and how it fits with the facts and political realities of the day:
OBAMA: "We have subsidized oil companies for a century. That's long enough. It's time to end the taxpayer giveaways to an industry that's rarely been more profitable, and double-down on a clean energy industry that's never been more promising."

THE FACTS: This is at least Obama's third run at stripping subsidies from the oil industry. Back when fellow Democrats formed the House and Senate majorities, he sought $36.5 billion in tax increases on oil and gas companies over the next decade, but Congress largely ignored the request. He called again to end such tax breaks in last year's State of the Union speech. And he's now doing it again, despite facing a wall of opposition from Republicans who want to spur domestic oil and gas production and oppose tax increases generally.
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OBAMA: "Our health care law relies on a reformed private market, not a government program."

THE FACTS: That's only half true. About half of the more than 30 million uninsured Americans expected to gain coverage through the health care law will be enrolled in a government program. Medicaid, the federal-state program for low-income people, will be expanded starting in 2014 to cover childless adults living near the poverty line.

The other half will be enrolled in private health plans through new state-based insurance markets. But many of them will be receiving federal subsidies to make their premiums more affordable. And that's a government program, too.

Starting in 2014 most Americans will be required to carry health coverage, either through an employer, by buying their own plan, or through a government program.
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OBAMA: "Tonight, I want to speak about how we move forward, and lay out a blueprint for an economy that's built to last - an economy built on American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers, and a renewal of American values."

THE FACTS: Economists do see manufacturing growth as a necessary component of any U.S. recovery. U.S. manufacturing output climbed 0.9 percent in December, the biggest gain since December 2010. Yet Obama's apparent vision of a nation once again propelled by manufacturing -- a vision shared by many Republicans -- may already have slipped into the past.

Over generations, the economy has become ever more driven by services; not since 1975 has the U.S. had a surplus in merchandise trade, which covers trade in goods, including manufactured and farm goods. About 90 percent of American workers are employed in the service sector, a profound shift in the nature of the workforce over many decades.

The overall trade deficit through the first 11 months of 2011 ran at an annual rate of nearly $600 billion, up almost 12 percent from the year before.
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OBAMA: "The Taliban's momentum has been broken, and some troops in Afghanistan have begun to come home."

THE FACTS: Obama is more sanguine about progress in Afghanistan than his own intelligence apparatus. The latest National Intelligence Estimate on Afghanistan warns that the Taliban will grow stronger, using fledgling talks with the U.S. to gain credibility and stall until U.S. troops leave, while continuing to fight for more territory. The classified assessment, described to The Associated Press by officials who have seen it, says the Afghan government hasn't been able to establish credibility with its people, and predicts the Taliban and warlords will largely control the countryside.
------
OBAMA: "On the day I took office, our auto industry was on the verge of collapse. Some even said we should let it die. With a million jobs at stake, I refused to let that happen. In exchange for help, we demanded responsibility. We got workers and automakers to settle their differences. We got the industry to retool and restructure. Today, General Motors is back on top as the world's number one automaker. Chrysler has grown faster in the U.S. than any major car company. Ford is investing billions in U.S. plants and factories. And together, the entire industry added nearly 160,000 jobs."

THE FACTS: He left out some key details. The bailout of General Motors and Chrysler began under Republican President George W. Bush. Obama picked up the ball, earmarked more money, and finished the job. But Ford, which Obama mentions as well, never asked for a federal bailout and never got one. It's managed to get along on its own. Also, as part of its restructuring, Chrysler is not really a U.S. automaker anymore. Italian automaker Fiat now owns a 30 percent share, and it will eventually go to 51 percent under terms of the U.S. bailout and its bankruptcy restructuring.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/24/fact-check-obamas-2012-state-union/#ixzz1kUBuHg27

Immigration News

2012-01-24T09:18:00.000-08:00

PREVIOUSLY DEPORTED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHARGED WITH MURDER

Jose Luis Discua-Bados, 29, allegedly beat and stabbed his estranged wife, Dayana Bados, to death at her grandmother’s home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on January 3. According to court documents, Discua-Bados attacked Dayana as she was leaving for work, repeatedly beating her in the head with a board before he went inside the home, retrieved a knife, and stabbed her multiple times in the back of the head and neck as she lie on the ground. Her 2-year-old son was inside the home at the time of the attack.

Discua-Bados reportedly had been deported to Honduras but recently re-entered the country. He has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide and the use of a dangerous weapon.

U.S. BORDER AGENT AND JAIL OFFICER ARRESTED IN DRUG CONSPIRACY CASE

Border Patrol agent Ivhan Herrera-Chiang, 29, and corrections officer Michael Lopez-Garcia, 28, an employee of the AZ state prison in Yuma, were arrested last week and charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana after attempting to buy drugs from undercover agents. The pair allegedly provided smugglers with border sensor locations, combinations to border gates and the identities of confidential informants. Lopez-Garcia was also charged with personally smuggling two pounds of methamphetamine through a border checkpoint.

According to figures released by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), between 2003 and 2009, 129 Customs and Border Protection officers and Border Patrol agents were arrested on corruption charges.

Immigration News

2012-01-19T08:17:00.000-08:00

Today's Illegal Immigration News
Thursday, January 19, 2012

BEHEADINGS IN U.S. LIKELY EVIDENCE OF CARTEL ACTIVITY

Cartels are getting bolder in carrying out their beheadings on our side of the border, according to former DEA supervisor Phil Jordan. Three beheadings in two different states – Arizona and Oklahoma – “have cartel written all over them,” says Jordan.

Tucson, Arizona, County workers found a headless man lying on the side of the road Jan. 6, leading experts to believe that the person(s) responsible wanted to send a message, as this is commonly done in Mexico, Columbia, and other places.

A second headless victim, 19-year-old human trafficking victim Carina Saunders, was found beheaded and stuffed into a bag left in a grocery store parking lot in Oklahoma, more than 600 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. The police chief in the Saunders case says two men in the area running the trafficking ring killed the young woman to send a message to other victims.

The third beheaded body was found in Chandler, Ariz., after cartel operatives came from Mexico to kill 38-year-old Martin Alejandro Cota Monroy.

All three killings occurred in the past 12 months and have federal agents scrambling to develop more informants to get to the cartels before they can commit the gruesome crimes.

ONE MEXICAN STATE ON U.S. BORDER DEADLIER THAN AFGHANISTAN

From January through September 2011, 2,276 deaths were recorded in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, which borders Texas and New Mexico. A Nov. 2011 Congressional Research Service (CRS) report states that over nearly the same period – January through October 2011 – 2,177 civilians were killed in Afghanistan though it did not breakdown responsibility for those deaths between American troops and the Taliban. However, a 2010 report attributed 75 percent of civil deaths to the Taliban and other “anti-government elements.”

There were more drug-related killings in Chihuahua than in any other Mexican states, according to the government report. Ciudad Juarez, located in the Mexican state of Chihuahua just across the border from El Paso, Texas, accounted for 1,206 (roughly 53 percent) of the 2,276 drug cartel-related murders in the state for the entire reporting period.

Relocate DC Rats To Virginia?

2012-01-18T16:33:00.001-08:00

Cuccinelli Fears D.C. Rats Will Occupy Virginia
JANUARY 18, 2012 5:16 PM BY: FAIRFAX NEWS

Forget about illegal immigrants for a minute. Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says he’s worried that D.C. is exporting its rats to Virginia.

Cuccinelli says a new District of Columbia law that governs how pest control operators must handle rats may result in entire rodent “families” being relocated across the Potomac River into Virginia. Adding to Cuccinelli’s concern are reports of growing rat infestations around the Occupy DC protests at Freedom Plaza and McPherson Square.

Cuccinelli said D.C.’s new rat law requires that rats and other vermin may not be killed but must be captured, preferably with their families, and relocated. Experts tell Cuccinelli that rats must be moved at least 25 miles or they will find their way back to their old haunts. The easiest way to solve that problem is to relocate the rats to Virginia, as Cuccinelli sees it.

“So we have real concerns about this ridiculous–ridiculous!–law and we’ve been pretty genial about dealing with D.C. on it,” said Cuccinelli, according to CNSNews.com. “But when you see an article like the ‘Rats Occupy Occupy DC,’ it points up the problem that we’re going to have in Virginia because of that–and because D.C’s really outrageous–outrageous!–treatment of these varmints who, for those who don’t remember their history, carried things like bubonic plague. I mean, these are true vermin.”

Cuccinelli says the new law also applies to raccoons, squirrels, skunks, and other animals that can carry rabies and other diseases.

The new law, it should be noted, applies only in D.C. Virginians are still free, presumably, to blast away at the dread varmints.

Outraged

2012-01-18T15:48:00.001-08:00

If you agree, feel free to pass this on.

I’m outraged...that the Keystone Pipeline’s again held hostage by fanatic environmentalists when thousands are out of work. That we have a friend in Canada who’s willing and able to send their oil to our refineries, giving us quite a bit of help with energy sources that will keep our costs down, and help with buying petroleum from countries that hate us or want us dead.

I’m outraged...that our so-called President is stupid enough to beg for our drone back, and Iran is making him a pretty pink plastic drone toy to replace it. I’m outraged that these Iranian prehistoric-mindset humans are treated with kid gloves as they power up nukes to destroy Israel, then the USA. Face it folks, they’ve been saying they want everyone in Israel and the USA dead—believe them. Or not—at your own peril. Yet we do nothing.

I’m outraged...that environmentalists won a victory to relocate...not kill...relocate thousands of rats to Virginia (Virginians should be outraged at that). Considering a pair of rats can produce slightly less than 1 million offspring during their lifetimes, this is absurdity at it’s best. Being an animal lover, I have to draw the line at this idiocy.

I’m outraged...at the over-the-top-bend-over-backwards bullcorn from the administration to punish Marines who peed on a dead killer. Sorry, but per Colonel Alan West—“If you haven’t been shot at, shut the hell up”—I agree. I hope the Marines have the good sense to give those men a good talking to and leave it at that. Sorry, but screw the taliban—they are murderers.

I’m outraged...every time I see a product I would like to buy, and note it’s from China. The Chinese are quite tender toward pandas, but if you think they’re tender about much of anything else, you’re wrong.

I’m outraged...at Americans that don’t stand up and shout because we now fear our government.

There’s a lot more to be outraged about. Feel free to add to the list before passing it along.

PROTECT IP / SOPA Act Breaks the Internet

2012-01-17T12:46:00.000-08:00

PROTECT IP / SOPA Act Breaks the Internet

Immigration News

2012-01-17T12:42:00.000-08:00

Today's Illegal Immigration News
Tuesday, January 17, 2012

SHERIFF JOE TO APPEAL DOJ DECISION

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio filed this past Friday to appeal the Dec. 23 ruling by a judge that alleged the sheriff’s deputies racially profiled Latinos in immigration patrols. Sheriff Joe, known for his crackdown on illegal immigration, is up for re-election this fall despite the Obama administration’s relentless attacks and attempts to diminish his accomplishments in curbing illegal immigration in Maricopa County, America’s most popular thoroughfare for human-, drug- and weapons-trafficking. Lawyers pushing the lawsuit also won class-action status which allows other Hispanics to join the fight against Sheriff Joe if they have been detained or questioned by Apraio’s deputies since January 2007.

U.S. BORDER PATROL TO OVERHAUL ITS REVOLVING-DOOR POLICY

In a move to staunch the negative press, the U.S. Border Patrol will begin overhauling its method of ‘punishing’ illegal immigrants caught in the act of crossing the border, which up until this month simply involved sending illegal immigrants back to Mexico without any punishment – free to try and cross again within the next few hours if so inclined.

The agency claims that its enormous growth, in terms of staff and technology, has made it capable of slowing down illegal immigration at the border and able to better handle those still attempting to cross. As part of its new campaign to stop the revolving-door policy, the agency will implement the “Consequence Delivery System” which divides border crossers into five categories, ranging from first-time offenders to people with criminal records.

Punishments vary by region and which category a person lands in with the common goal of cutting the illegal immigrants off from the coyote who helped them cross the border making it harder to simply meet up and cross again in the very near future, buying more time for federal agents. Children and the medically ill will still get a free pass by being turned around at the nearest border crossing.

Cook County, IL Sanctuary Policy "May Be Illegal"

2012-01-16T08:16:00.000-08:00

Cook County, IL Sanctuary Policy "May Be Illegal"

Common sense is all it takes to figure out that sanctuary policies in the United States violate federal immigration law and is therefore illegal, but the federal immigration chief is still teetering on making a decision after Cook County, Illinois’ sanctuary policy paved the way for a suspect in a deadly drunken driving crash to bond out and disappear. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton wrote in a Jan. 4 letter to County Board President Toni Preckwinkle that the sanctuary ordinance preventing law enforcement officers from participating in the mandatory Secure Communities federal program “may also violate federal law,” in addition to, “undermining local public safety.”

Cook County, Illinois, became the focus of national media after Saul Chavez, 36, was charged with a deadly hit-and-run and fled after his family scraped together the $25,000 of the $250,000 bond necessary for his release. Chavez hasn’t been seen since even though immigration officials issued a “detainer” for him asking that the county jail notify the agency when the suspect posted bond, so that agents could pick him up for possible deportation proceedings.

YET ANOTHER ‘FAST AND FURIOUS’-STYLE GUN-RUNNING OPERATION…

Members of Congress are investigating yet another ‘Fast and Furious’-style gun-running operation that began at roughly the same time, was led by the same officials, and also put high-powered weapons into the hands of Mexico’s most violent drug cartels. Officials from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives declined to comment on whether any guns were lost in this operation, and are defending White Gun as a “well-managed investigation that produced three arrests and convictions.”

According to ATF documents, purchasers for the Sinaloa cartel wanted “the biggest and most extravagant firearms available” saying that if the undercover agent would bring them a tank, they would by it as they were working with a $15 million budget to spend on firearms. In a second incident in February 2010 at a Phoenix, AZ, warehouse, an undercover agent showed cartel members shoulder-launched missiles, rocket launchers and grenades for the small trade price of 11 pounds of crystal methamphetamine before other ATF agents moved in to arrest the cartel members.

Georgia Judge Subpoenas Obama

2012-01-13T16:57:00.000-08:00

Georgia Judge Subpoenas Obama, Demands ALL Vital Records

In less than two weeks, Barack Hussein Obama will be held accountable to the American people after nearly four years of dodging our demands for his long-form birth certificate.

At stake: His citizenship eligibility to be President of the United States…

YOU READ THAT RIGHT. A Georgia Judge has issued what appears to be a subpoena demanding that our beloved Campaigner-in-Chief Barack Obama appear in court January 26 AND finally provide the American people with proper documentation proving his citizenship eligibility to be President of the United States…

Thanks to the continued support from you and your fellow American Patriots, we’ll FINALLY know the truth about the smoke-and-mirrors surrounding Obama’s birth, and, ultimately, his citizenship.

In an order written January 3, 2012, Malihi ruled that Georgia state law is very clear – any candidate for federal or state office must meet the qualifications of that office and that Georgia electors have the right to challenge those qualifications in court. As a result, Malihi flatly denied Obama's motion to dismiss and scheduled a hearing for January 26.

Now, FINALLY, we can expose Barack Hussein Obama as a fraud forced upon America by the leftist fundraising lobby in order to shove Amnesty down our throats and throw our borders wide open.

In previous cases, only certain documents were requested or discussed. But Judge Malihi requests that the President bring every document that serious eligibility experts have been discussing from the beginning so we can one day very soon put this issue to rest.

Judge Malihi’s list requires Obama to produce each of the following:
Any and all certified birth records including a long form birth certificate.
Certified school/university registration records. Certified immigration/naturalization records.
Certified passport records.
Redacted certified Social Security card applications for each of the aliases and other legal names used by Barack Obama, including but not limited to his legal surname when adopted by step-father Lolo Soetoro.
Reportedly, Judge Malihi has also subpoenaed Hawaii Health Department officials and commanded them to produce an original certified copy of Obama's long form birth certificate… a document which the White House has failed to produce time and time again despite the demands of concerned American Citizens.

Barack Hussein Obama’s million-dollar attorney’s, despite all of their hard-work, are at a loss of how to help him weasel his way out of this one.

The American people have caught him, and ALL of Washington knows it.

But this issue doesn’t rest with just proving without a doubt that Barack Obama is a liar and a socialist imposter. Oh no, this case will open the largest can of worms Washington has ever seen, because whether he was born in Hawaii or not, it can be compellingly argued under law that according to binding precedents laid out by the Supreme Court, Barack Hussein Obama II does not qualify as a natural born Citizen.

We know. It sounds too good to be true. But it is nothing but the truth, unlike the hogwash and all the talking points tossed out by the White House to try and pacify restless Citizens sick-and-tired of Washington’s manipulation with our borders and our economy.

A closer look at the U.S. Constitution shows a very clear requirement, in a unique usage and application of the term, that the president must be a "natural born Citizen" to be eligible for the nation's highest office. And according to the Founding Fathers, a "Natural born Citizen" is distinct and different than "Citizen" and even "native born Citizen."

By his own admission that his father was a Kenyan native and British subject, Barack Hussein Obama already does NOT meet the Constitutional standard of "natural born citizen" that was established by the 1875 unanimous Supreme Court ruling Minor v. Happersett.WHY? Because the Court decided very clearly in this case and in others that a "natural born Citizen" is one who is born on U.S. soil to U.S. citizen parents.

And as a Constitutional lawyer, Barack Hussein Obama knows he pulled a fast one on America in 2008, but WE THE PEOPLE will not let him get away with it this time around.

Barack Huseein Obama II is NOT a natural born citizen – and MUST be removed from the 2012 Presidential ballots in ALL FIFTY STATES.
And that’s where YOU AND I come in.

We cannot lose momentum with Georgia. We need tens of thousands of messages overwhelming the offices of every single Secretary of State, since THEY are the ones who are ultimately responsible for determining who qualifies to be on the ballot – and, of course, who doesn’t!

Right now, your fellow U.S. citizens are suing in courts across the country, demanding that their Secretaries of State REMOVE Obama’s name from the presidential ballot, thus preventing the Campaigner-in-Chief from running for re-election. But, right now we need to make our voices heard loud and clear across the entire United States – REMOVE BARACK OBAMA’S NAME FROM OUR BALLOTS!

FAILURE TO APPEAR ON THE GEORGIA BALLOT WOULD COST OBAMA DEVASTATING MEDIA, AND 15 ELECTORAL VOTES! BUT WHAT IF HE LOST THEM ALL…

It’s possible, but we need YOUR help.

As our Founding Fathers intended, it is the States which protect us from all out tyranny. The federal election in 2012 and the constitutional eligibility of the candidates is no different. In the end, OUR STATES are responsible for ensuring the eligibility of candidates and OUR STATES will protect us from the tyranny of a Presidential usurper.

OUR STATES MUST HEAR FROM US. THERE IS NOT A SECOND TO WASTE IN MAKING YOUR VOICE HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR.

With primary season in full swing, time is running short. We MUST compel more states to follow Georgia's lead and DEMAND PROOF OF ELIGIBILITY for ANY candidate placed on election ballots.

America cannot survive further trampling of our right to constitutionally eligible leadership. WE MUST ACT NOW!

For America,

Minuteman PAC

Allen West On Marines

2012-01-13T16:53:00.000-08:00

UNLESS YOU‘VE BEEN SHOT AT BY THE TALIBAN ’SHUT YOUR MOUTH, WAR IS HELL’: ALLEN WEST WEIGHS IN ON URINATING MARINE SCANDAL
January 13, 2012
Becket Adams

Rep. Allen West (R-FL), a former Army lieutenant colonel, sent The Weekly Standard an email commenting on a recent video depicting what appears to be four U.S. Marines urinating on the corpses of Taliban terrorists. The email reads as follows [emphases added]:

I have sat back and assessed the incident with the video of our Marines urinating on Taliban corpses. I do not recall any self-righteous indignation when our Delta snipers Shugart and Gordon had their bodies dragged through Mogadishu. Neither do I recall media outrage and condemnation of our Blackwater security contractors being killed, their bodies burned, and hung from a bridge in Fallujah.

All these over-emotional pundits and armchair quarterbacks need to chill. Does anyone remember the two Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division who were beheaded and gutted in Iraq?

The Marines were wrong. Give them a maximum punishment under field grade level Article 15 (non-judicial punishment), place a General Officer level letter of reprimand in their personnel file, and have them in full dress uniform stand before their Battalion, each personally apologize to God, Country, and Corps videotaped and conclude by singing the full US Marine Corps Hymn without a teleprompter.

As for everyone else, unless you have been shot at by the Taliban, shut your mouth, war is hell.

Rep. West, who served in both Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom, wrote the email in response to how some U.S. politicians and media pundits have reacted to the Marines’ video. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for example, has strongly condemned the actions depicted in the video.

“Anyone, anyone found to have participated or know about it, having engaged in such conduct, must be held fully accountable,” Hillary Clinton said yesterday, calling the incident a “potential war crime.”

The four men in the video were members of a sniper team in a unit that lost seven members in action last summer in Afghanistan, according to Newser.

You Tube Videos Hijacked For Ad Dollars

2012-01-12T19:55:00.000-08:00

After one of my videos, on which I worked long and hard, was hijacked by APM Music I protested to You Tube's deaf ears. A short time later ads were placed on my video against my wishes. Apparently You Tube's whims overrule my intellectual rights as an artist.

YouTube videos hijacked for ad dollars

Samuel
By Samuel Okocha
Nov 22, 2011

Big companies are reportedly exploiting what appears to be loopholes in YouTube's copyright-control filters to hijack videos uploaded by video makers and earning substantial amounts of revenue in the process

An Emory University physics doctoral student uploaded an 83-second Pepper video which has attracted over 149,000 hits. She became a victim after a Russian company known as Netcom Partners reportedly hijacked her homemade clip in order to steal the ad revenue.

"YouTube has developed some system that allows these companies to hijack videos for revenue for content that is not their own without any legal oversight,'' WIRED quoted an Emory University physics doctoral student who produced the Pepper video told the wired in a telephone.

Content ID

Following concerns over copyright violations, YouTube, owned by Google, had launched a filtering system known as Content ID to help rights holders to upload music and videos they own to a “fingerprinting” database.

“Our Content ID system works by checking user-uploaded videos against reference files provided by rights owners prior to publication on YouTube,” Wired quoted spokeswoman Annie Baxter as saying in a statement.

Baxter said "if the system finds a match, the rights holder determines the policy applied to that video-block, track, or make money from the video using ads.”

Faulty system

A Regent University School of Law student in Virginia Patrick McKay who has been a victim of the filters says the system is faulty and killing makers of original content.

“More and more, I’m seeing issues with people making original content, and it gets claimed by some random obscure company, using Content ID, and saying they own the copyright,” McKay said.

TorrentFreak, a blog that gives latest scoops on file sharing, admits there are indeed loopholes in Content ID after Google’s filters falsely assigned its Dutch game-review site Gamer.nl ownership to as many as 10,000 user-generated videos.

“It appears that the Content-ID filter is automatically assigning these videos to Gamer.nl, because the clips produced by the review site also include snippets of trailers and in-game play. In other words, the Content-ID filter is set so broad that official game trailers are assigned to Gamer.nl because Gamer.nl uses footage from the trailers in its reviews,” TorrentFreak wrote.

YouTube’s Annie Baxter has said partners found to be abusing or attempting to abuse Content ID would face disciplinary action, including the possibility of account termination.

But what would YouTube say of the issue raised by TorrentFreak and other victims?

MORE:
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/11/youtube-filter-profiting/

Cat videos are all the rage on YouTube, so much so that a Russian company hijacked a recent cute clip of a feline named “Pepper” in order to steal the ad revenue.

Kidnapping YouTube videos, which anecdotal evidence suggests has happened thousands of times, is as easy as it gets.

A Russian company called Netcom Partners and others are taking advantage of YouTube’s copyright-control filters, known as Content ID. It’s not clear how much money the scammers are stealing from YouTube videomakers. But if you judge by the volume of complaints about the hijacking on Google’s forums, it’s likely Netcom and others are doing pretty well making money for nothing.

“YouTube has developed some system that allows these companies to hijack videos for revenue for content that is not their own without any legal oversight,” Justin Pye, an Emory University physics doctoral student who produced the Pepper video, said in a telephone interview. The 83-second homemade spot has attracted more than 149,000 hits.

Matt Metford, a 27-year-old Vancouver, B.C. high school teacher, said he has been victimized about 20 times since March. His uploaded videos show snippets of video gameplay overlaid with Metford dictating a fake story about the game’s action in a monotone voice.

“This is a form of cyberbullying,” he said in a telephone interview.

Here’s how it happens.

To assuage copyright concerns, Google-owned YouTube has engineered a filtering system enabling rights holders to upload music and videos they own to a “fingerprinting” database. When YouTube account holders upload their videos, Content ID scans new uploads against the copyright database for matches.

If a full or partial match is found, the alleged rights holder can have the video automatically removed, or it can place advertising on the video and make money every time somebody clicks on the video.

The idea was to solve the problem of large copyright holders constantly complaining about copyright violations. The compromise lets people submit homemade videos set to one of their favorite musicians’ songs or a snippet from a movie and allow the original creator to benefit from the exposure and ad dollars if they so choose.

But if Content ID overmatches or a rogue manages to feed the filter content it doesn’t own, a YouTube user could see her video hijacked through a false copyright claim.

That’s what Metford, Pye and countless others say has happened to them. Out of nowhere, different ads started appearing on their videos, and the revenue wasn’t going into their accounts.

Content ID largely works on auto-pilot.

When Content ID finds a match between videos, the uploaders receive an e-mail from YouTube informing them only of the name of the company claiming a copyright breach. Unless the uploader files a counter-notice disputing the copyright violation charge, the claimer gets control of the video. The scammers seem to be hoping that a copyright claim from an official-sounding company sounds scary enough that users won’t protest.

In most every case, when a victim files a counter-notice, Netcom and others abandon their claims, and the original video maker wins back complete control of their work.

Netcom’s website http://netcompartner.com (cache) alternately placed its base of operations in Malaysia and Switzerland, though it is registered in Cyprus.

The site has been emptied of content and taken down. Netcom did not respond to a request for comment. A now-vanished older cache of the site showed the company signed up YouTube users, promising to create a network that would boost all of their page views. Though the website identified the company as Netcom Partners, the infringement notices to YouTube users simply use the generic name Netcom.

Google only allows large media companies and video networks to join the Content ID program, which has about 2,000 registered participants. Netcom has been claiming copyright to material it does not own.

Google says its filters have six million reference files. Following its 2007 deployment, it has matched against 120 million videos.

“Our Content ID system works by checking user-uploaded videos against reference files provided by rights owners prior to publication on YouTube,” spokeswoman Annie Baxter said in a statement. “If the system finds a match, the rights holder determines the policy applied to that video — either block, track, or make money from the video using ads. Partners found to be abusing or attempting to abuse Content ID will be subject to disciplinary action, including the possibility of account termination.”

YouTube forums are with complaints by disgruntled YouTube account holders.

Google declined further comment. The search giant said company policy prohibited it from saying whether YouTube was even aware of the situation, and whether it has ever taken action against any company for abusing Content ID policy.

For Google, inaction has little consequence. The ad giant gets its cut of ad revenues from YouTube videos before the content producers do. From a bottom-line perspective, it doesn’t matter who gets the other — the maker of the cat video or some fly-by-night hijacker.

Sometimes, however, there are honest mistakes because of the way the filters work on auto-pilot.

TorrentFreak, for example, points out the situation of Dutch game-review site Gamer.nl, which says Google’s filters have falsely assigned it ownership to as many as 10,000 user-generated videos.

“It appears that the Content-ID filter is automatically assigning these videos to Gamer.nl, because the clips produced by the review site also include snippets of trailers and in-game play. In other words, the Content-ID filter is set so broad that official game trailers are assigned to Gamer.nl because Gamer.nl uses footage from the trailers in its reviews,” TorrentFreak wrote.

Under U.S. copyright law, Google is not required to deploy copyright filters. But rights holders are embracing it as a way to make money online. Even Viacom, which is suing YouTube for $1 billion for copyright violations, uses Content ID and its lawsuit only covers alleged copyright violations before the filter’s deployment.

But regular YouTube users — the ones who make what’s often called user-generated content — aren’t quite so happy with the system.

Patrick McKay, a Regent University School of Law student in Virginia, said he has been victimized by the filters. He even started his own website about it called FairUseTube.org to inform YouTube users how to fight the claims.

“More and more,” he said in a telephone interview, “I’m seeing issues with people making original content, and it gets claimed by some random obscure company, using Content ID, and saying they own the copyright.”
Read more: http://digitaljournal.com/article/314866#ixzz1jJ6Sd5X1

Why Obama Will Be Re-elected

2012-01-11T08:52:00.000-08:00

Obama's reelection is really a very, very simple math problem. Consider the following:

1) Blacks will vote for Obama blindly. Period. Doesn't matter what he does. It's a race thing. He's one of us,

2) College educated women will vote for Obama. Though they will be offended by this, they swoon at his oratory. It's really not more complex than that,

3) Liberals will vote for Obama. He is their great hope,

4) Democrats will vote for Obama. He is the leader of their party and his coat tails will carry them to victory nationwide,

5) Hispanics will vote for Obama. He is the path to citizenship for those who are illegal and Hispanic leaders recognize the political clout they carry in the Democratic Party,

6) Union members will vote overwhelmingly for Obama. He is their key to money and power in business, state and local politics,

7) Big Business will support Obama. They already have. He has almost $1 Billion dollars in his reelection purse gained largely from his connections with Big Business and is gaining more every day. Big Business loves Obama because he gives them access to taxpayer money so long as they support his social and political agenda,

8) The media love him. They may attack the people who work for him, but they love him. After all, to not love him would be racist,

9) Most other minorities and special interest groups will vote for him. Oddly, the overwhelming majority of Jews and Muslims will support him because they won't vote Republican. American Indians will support him. Obviously homosexuals tend to vote Democratic. And lastly,

10) Approximately half of independents will vote for Obama. And he doesn't need anywhere near that number because he has all of the groups previously mentioned. The President will win an overwhelming victory in 2012.

Arpaio's Officers Turn In Credentials

2011-12-23T11:05:00.000-08:00

Arizona's Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Officers Turn in Credentials

Jail officers working for Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio handed in their federal credentials during a news conference in Phoenix Wednesday, a day before civil rights attorneys will be in federal court to seek a ruling in a lawsuit that alleges Arpaio systematically discriminated against Latino residents in conducting traffic patrols and so-called "crime suppression sweeps.".

Arpaio's office organized the public turning-in of the badges after ICE rescinded their authority to run immigration checks on inmates. Speaking at the news conference, Arpaio said he was holding the federal government to its promise to send 50 federal agents to do such screening in his jail, but predicted that there will be undocumented immigrants in jail who won't be deported and will be put back on streets.

"I want to see how many agents are going to be coming to our jail," the sheriff said. "I want to see how long it will take for 50 agents from across the country to work in our jails."

The Department of Homeland Security announced Dec. 15 that more than 90 of Arpaio's Maricopa County jail officers could no longer check whether inmates were undocumented immigrants.

The decision followed the release of a scathing Department of Justice report that said Arpaio's office has a pattern of racially profiling Latinos, basing immigration enforcement on racially charged citizen complaints and punishing Latino jail inmates for speaking Spanish. The sheriff has denied the allegations.

Homeland Security officials had no immediate comment on Arpaio's comments on Wednesday, but later pointed to a Dec. 21 letter that Immigration and Customs Enforcement sent to a county official, saying federal agents will staff the county's jails on a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week basis and that immigrants who pose public safety threats will be taken into federal custody and won't be released, Morton said in the letter.

On Monday, the agency said in a letter to U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl that it would send immigration agents to screen jail inmates in Arizona's most populous county. Arpaio's aides say only one Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer has worked at the county jails since last week.

Homeland Security's decision wasn't the first time Arpaio's federal immigration powers were cut.

In October 2009, Immigration and Customs Enforcement stripped Arpaio of his power to let 100 deputies make federal immigration arrests, but still allowed his jail officers to determine the immigration status of people in jail.

Based on reporting by the Associated Press and EFE.

Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2011/12/22/arizonas-sheriff-joe-arpaios-officers-turn-in-badges/#ixzz1hO0VO4NG

Made In America

2011-12-21T11:37:00.000-08:00

ONE LABEL AT A TIME

A physics teacher in high school, once told the students that while one grasshopper on the railroad tracks wouldn't slow a train very much, a billion of them would. With that thought in mind, read the following, obviously written by a good American . . .

This probably sounds crazy, but just yesterday I was in Wal Mart looking for a wastebasket. I found some made in China for $6.99. I didn't want to pay that much so I asked the lady if they had any others. She took me to another department and they had some at $2.50 made in USA . They are just as good.

Same as a kitchen rug I needed. I had to look, but I found some made in the USA and they were $3.00 cheaper. We are being brain washed that everything that comes from China and Mexico is cheaper. Not so. That is also why I don't buy cards at Hallmark anymore. They are made in China and are expensive. I buy them at Dollar Tree....50 cents each and made in USA .

Check this out. I can verify this because I was in Lowe's the other day for some reason and just for the heck of it I was looking at the hose attachments... They were all made in China . The next day I was in Ace Hardware and just for the heck of it I checked the hose attachments there. They were made in USA . Start looking...

In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy or do affects someone else - even their job. So, after reading this email, I think this lady is on the right track.. Let's get behind her!

My grandson likes Hershey's candy. I noticed, though, that it is marked made in Mexico now. I do not buy it any more.

My favorite toothpaste Colgate is made in Mexico . Now I have switched to Crest. You have to read the labels on everything.
Good idea . . . One label at a time . . .

This past weekend I was at Kroger. I needed 60W light bulbs and Bounce dryer sheets. I was in the light bulb aisle, and right next to the GE brand I normally buy was an off-brand labeled, " Everyday Value." I picked up both types of bulbs and compared the stats. They were the same except for the price. The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand but the thing that surprised me the most was the fact that GE was made in MEXICO and the Everyday Value brand was made in - get ready for this - the USA in a company in Cleveland , Ohio .

So throw out the myth that you cannot find products you use every day that are made right here.

So on to another aisle - Bounce Dryer Sheets. Yep, you guessed it, Bounce cost more money and is made in Canada . The Everyday Value brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA! I did laundry yesterday and the dryer sheets performed just like the Bounce Free I have been using for years and at almost half the price!

My challenge to you is to start reading the labels when you shop for everyday things and see what you can find that is made in the USA - the job you save may be your own or your neighbors!

If you accept the challenge, pass this on to others in your address book so we can all start buying American, one label at a time! Stop buying from overseas companies!

(We should have awakened a decade ago....)
Let's get with the program and help our fellow Americans keep their jobs and create more jobs here in the USA .

Dan Lungren Questions Paul Stackton

2011-12-19T08:47:00.000-08:00

Assistant Defense Secretary for Homeland Defense
Wednesday December 7, Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) and Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) opened a hearing to examine the emerging threat to the military from homegrown terrorists within the U.S. and named the armed services as the "most sought-after" target for radical Islamist extremist groups.
Rep. Dan Lungren (R.-Calif.) asked Paul Stockton, assistant defense secretary for homeland defense, whether "we are at war with violent Islamist extremism."

Mr. Stockton’s responses would be downright comedic if they didn’t tragically demonstrate the shocking denial of jihadism at our highest levels of our government.

Big Government Gone Wild

2011-12-17T04:38:00.000-08:00

Arpaio Attacked BY DHS

2011-12-15T15:35:00.000-08:00

Sheriff Arpaio has recently launched an investigation into whether Barack Obama's place on the 2008 Arizona Presidential Election Ballot was legal.

Feds Go After Arpaio For Civil Rights Violations

Thursday, 15 Dec 2011 12:06 PM

PHOENIX — The Department of Homeland Security is cutting ties with Joe Arpaio, the Arizona sheriff accused of a wide range of civil right violations, effectively stripping him of the ability to enforce immigration laws.

Secretary Janet Napolitano said Thursday the department is ending an agreement with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office that allowed trained deputies to enforce immigration laws.

It's also restricting the office's use of the Secure Communities program, which uses fingerprints collected in local jails to identify illegal immigrants.

Napolitano's announcement came shortly after the U.S. Justice Department released a scathing report accusing Arpaio and his office of committing a wide range of civil rights violations against Latinos. Justice Department investigators said the abuses included a pattern of racial profiling.

The Justice Department also accused Arpaio's office of a pattern of discrimination and carrying out heavy-handed immigration patrols based on racially charged citizen complaints.

The report is a result of the department's three-year investigation of Arpaio's office amid complaints of racial profiling and a culture of bias at the agency's top level.

The Justice Department's conclusions in the civil probe mark the federal government's harshest rebuke of a national political fixture who has risen to prominence for his immigration crackdowns and became a coveted endorsement among candidates in the GOP presidential field.

Apart from the civil rights probe, a federal grand jury also has been investigating Arpaio's office on criminal abuse-of-power allegations since at least December 2009 and is specifically examining the investigative work of the sheriff's anti-public-corruption squad.

The civil rights report said federal authorities will continue to investigate complaints of deputies using excessive force against Latinos, whether the sheriff's immigration efforts damage trust with the Hispanic community, and a large number of sex-crimes cases that were assigned to the agency but weren't followed up on or investigated at all.

The report took the Sheriff's Office to task for launching immigration patrols, known as "sweeps," based on complaints that Latinos were merely gathering near a business without committing crimes. Federal authorities single out Arpaio specifically and said his office, known as MCSO, has no clear policies to guard against the violations, even after he changed some top aides earlier this year.

"Arpaio's own actions have helped nurture MCSO's culture of bias," wrote Thomas Perez, who heads the Justice Department's civil rights division, adding that the sheriff frequently gave racially charged letters to some of his top aides and saved them in his own files.

The report will require Arpaio to set up effective policies against discrimination, improve training and make other changes that would be monitored for compliance by a judge. Arpaio faces a Jan. 4 deadline for saying whether he wants to work out an agreement. If not, the federal government will sue him.

Arpaio has long denied the racial profiling allegation, saying people are stopped if deputies have probable cause to believe they have committed crimes and that deputies later find many of them are illegal immigrants.

Arpaio has built his reputation on jailing inmates in tents and dressing them in pink underwear, endearing himself to voters as unceasingly tough on crime and pushing the bounds of how far local police can go to confront illegal immigration.

The report also said Arpaio and some top staffers tried to silence people who have spoken out against the Sheriff's Office by arresting people without cause, filing meritless lawsuits against opponents and starting investigations of critics.

One example cited by the Justice Department is former top Arpaio aide David Hendershott, who filed bar complaints against attorneys critical of the agency along with bringing judicial complaints against judges who were at odds with the sheriff. All complaints were dismissed.

The anti-corruption squad's cases against two county officials and a judge collapsed in court before going to trial and have been criticized as trumped up by politicians at odds with the sheriff. Arpaio has defended the investigations as a valid attempt at rooting out corruption in county government.

The civil rights report said Latinos are four to nine times more likely to be stopped in traffic stops in Maricopa County than non-Latinos and that the agency's immigration policies treat Latinos as if they are all in the country illegally. Deputies on the immigrant-smuggling squad stop and arrest Latino drivers without good cause, the investigation found.

A review done as part of the investigation found that 20 percent of traffic reports handled by Arpaio's immigrant-smuggling squad from March 2006 to March 2009 were stops — almost all involving Latino drivers — that were done without reasonable suspicion. The squad's stops rarely led to smuggling arrests.

Deputies are encouraged to make high-volume traffic stops in targeted locations. There were Latinos who were in the United States legally who were arrested or detained without cause during the sweeps, according to the report.

During the sweeps, deputies flood an area of a city — in some cases, heavily Latino areas — over several days to seek out traffic violators and arrest other offenders. Illegal immigrants accounted for 57 percent of the 1,500 people arrested in the 20 sweeps conducted by his office since January 2008, according to figures provided by Arpaio's office.

Police supervisors, including at least one smuggling-squad supervisor, often used county accounts to send emails that demeaned Latinos to fellow sheriff's managers, deputies and volunteers in the sheriff's posse. One such email had a photo of a mock driver's license for a fictional state called "Mexifornia."

The report said that the Sheriff's Office launched an immigration operation two weeks after the sheriff received a letter in August 2009 about a person's dismay over employees of a McDonald's in the Phoenix suburb of Sun City who didn't speak English. The tip laid out no criminal allegations. The sheriff wrote back to thank the writer "for the info," said he would look into it and forwarded it to a top aide with a note of "for our operation."

Federal investigators focused heavily on the language barriers in Arpaio's jails.

Latino inmates with limited English skills were punished for failing to understand commands in English by being put in solitary confinement for up to 23 hours a day, and prisoners were kept locked down in their jail pods for as long as 72 hours without a trip to the canteen area.

The report said some jail officers used racial slurs for Latinos when talking among themselves and speaking to inmates.

Detention officers refused to accept forms requesting basic daily services and reporting mistreatment when the documents were completed in Spanish, and pressured Latinos with limited English skills to sign forms that curb their legal rights, without language assistance.

The agency pressures Latinos with limited English skills to sign forms by yelling at them and keeping them in uncomfortably cold cells for long periods of time.

The Justice Department said it hadn't yet established a pattern of alleged wrongdoing by the Sheriff's Office in the three areas where they will continue to investigation: complaints of excessive force against Latinos, botched sex-crimes cases and immigration efforts that have hurt the agency's trust with the Hispanic community.

Federal authorities will continue to investigate whether the Sheriff's Office has limited the willingness of witnesses and victims to report crimes or talk to Arpaio's office.

"MCSO has done almost nothing to build such a relationship with Mariciopa County's Latino residents," Perez wrote.

Should Illegals Vote?

2011-12-15T07:29:00.000-08:00

CT MAYOR WANTS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS TO VOTE

New Haven Mayor John DeStefano will petition the Connecticut legislature to allow illegal immigrants to vote in municipal elections. According to local sources, about 10,000 foreign nationals live in the city. DeStefano claims that illegal aliens pay taxes through their rent payments and therefore should be able to vote.

New Haven has long been considered a ‘sanctuary city’ since it began issuing ID cards to illegal immigrants allowing them easier access to public services in 2007. If the measure should pass, New Haven will join Chicago and several towns in Maryland which allow foreign nationals to vote in municipal elections.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHARGED IN TX MIDDLE SCHOOL SHOOTING

Hidalgo County sheriff’s deputies arrested an illegal immigrant on Monday after a shooting at a local middle school left two students injured. According to Sheriff Lupe Trevino, stray bullets hit two teenage boys who were attending basketball tryouts. The suspect, who has only been identified as an illegal immigrant, was discovered in the woods just north of the school reportedly armed with an AR-15 assault rifle, which he was using to illegally hunt on private lands.

So far, the suspect has been charged with poaching, trespassing and illegal use of a firearm, but more charges could be forthcoming. The victims (ages 13 and 14) remain in stable condition.

Grey Brigade

2011-12-15T05:21:00.000-08:00

Grey-Haired Brigade

They like to refer to us as senior citizens, old fogies, geezers, and in some cases dinosaurs. Some of us are "Baby Boomers" getting ready to retire. Others have been retired for some time. We walk a little slower these days and our eyes and hearing are not what they once were.

We have worked hard, raised our children, worshiped our God and grown old together. Yes, we are the ones some refer to as being over the hill, and that is probably true. But before writing us off completely, there are a few things that need to be taken into consideration.

In school we studied English, history, math, and science which enabled us to lead America into the technological age. Most of us remember what outhouses were, many of us with firsthand experience. We remember the days of telephone party-lines, 25 cent gasoline, and milk and ice being delivered to our homes. For those of you who don't know what an icebox is, today they are electric and referred to as refrigerators. A few even remember when cars were started with a crank. Yes, we lived those days.

We are probably considered old fashioned and out-dated by many. But there are a few things you need to remember before completely writing us off. We won World War II, fought in Korea and Viet Nam . We can quote The Pledge of Allegiance, and know where to place our hand while doing so. We wore the uniform of our country with pride and lost many friends on the battlefield.

We didn't fight for the Socialist States of America , we fought for the "Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave." We wore different uniforms but carried the same flag. We know the words to the S tar Spangled Banner , America , and America the Beautiful by heart, and you may even see some tears running down our cheeks as we sing.

We have lived what many of you have only read about in history books and we feel no obligation to apologize to anyone for America . Yes, we are old and slow these days but rest assured, we have at least one good fight left in us. We have loved this country, fought for it, and died for it, and now we are going to save it It is our country and nobody is going to take it away from us. We took oaths to defend America against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and that is an oath we plan to keep. There are those who want to destroy this land we love but, like our founders, there is no way we are going to remain silent.

It was the young people of this nation who elected Obama and the Democratic Congress. You fell for the "Hope and Change" which in reality was nothing but "Hype and Lies." You have tasted socialism and seen evil face to face, and have found you don't like it after all. You make a lot of noise, but most are all too interested in their careers or "Climbing the Social Ladder" to be involved in such mundane things as patriotism and voting. Many of those who fell for the "Great Lie" in 2008 are now having buyer's remorse.

With all the education we gave you, you didn't have sense enough to see through the lies and instead drank the 'Kool-Aid.' Now you're paying the price and complaining about it. No jobs, lost mortgages, higher taxes, and less freedom. This is what you voted for and this is what you got. We entrusted you with the Torch of Liberty and you traded it for a paycheck and a fancy house.

Well, don't worry youngsters, the Grey Haired Brigade is here, and in 2012 we are going to take back our nation. We may drive a little slower than you would like but we get where we're going, and in 2012 we're going to the polls by the millions. This land does not belong to the man in the White House nor to the likes of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. It belongs to "We the People" and "We the People" plan to reclaim our land and our freedom. We hope this time you will do a better job of preserving it and passing it along to our grandchildren.

So the next time you have the chance to say the Pledge of Allegiance, Stand up, put your hand over your heart, honor our country, and thank God for the old geezers of the "Grey-Haired Brigade."

~Author, Anon. Grey-Haired Brigade Member