Detained Illegal Aliens Counted in Census

Your tax dollars at work. Counting people who shouldn't even be in this country in the census. Ironically enough, by the time final numbers are sorted out chances are these illegals won't even be in the country.

What kind of idiocy is this?

Paulo Sergio Alfaro-Sanchez, an illegal immigrant being held at a detention center in Washington state, had no idea that the federal government would count him in the census.

No one gave him a census form. No one told him his information would be culled from the center's records.

But counted he was, along with other illegal immigrants facing deportation in detention centers across the country - about 30,000 people on any given day, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement.

By the time the census delivers the total tallies to the state and federal government, most of the immigrants will be long gone. But because the population snapshot determines the allocation of federal dollars, those in custody could help bring money to the towns, cities and counties in Texas, Arizona, Washington and Georgia where the country's biggest and newest facilities are located.

"I think the irony, if there's any irony, is that the locality is what's going to benefit, because you have a detention center in a particular city where people have been brought from different parts of the region, and that community will benefit," said Arturo Vargas, executive director of National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, an organization that has pushed Latinos to participate in the census.

This census brings a twist, though. For the first time, states have the option of counting people in detention centers and prisons as residents of their last address before they're detained, worrying some local lawmakers who say cities and counties that host detention centers could lose money.

"Detention centers and prisons should probably count where they are located, that's where resources would be required," Rep. Sanford D. Bishop, D-Georgia wrote in a May letter to the chairman of the subcommittee that oversees the census. Bishop represents Stewart County, Georgia, population 4,600, where the nation's largest detention center housed a total of 14,000 people between April 2007 and March 2008.

A Giant Hero

While you are all probably aware of the story of Pat Tillman, who gave up an NFL career and his life fighting for his country, there were others who did the same back in World War II.

Here's the story of a guy named Jack Lummus, who most probably have never heard about.

Make that 1st Lt. Jack Lummus, an American hero.

This weekend, let’s think of Jack Lummus. A star athlete at Baylor, Lummus might have made a living — and a name to remember — as an offensive end for the New York Giants. He played nine games for the Giants in 1941, his rookie year. But then, World War II.

Lummus enlisted in the Marines. As an athlete, a college man and an older man — he was 25 — he soon became 1st Lt. Lummus.

On Feb. 19, 1945, he was among the first wave to hit the black volcanic sand of Iwo Jima. For days, that first wave of men dug in, fought, advanced, dug in, advanced, dug in again — and died. Although it’s reasonable to believe that on that day when the American flag was raised on Mt. Suribachi — Feb. 23 — the battle for Iwo Jima had ended, it had barely begun.

On March 8, Lummus, commanding a rifle platoon, had already been wounded in a shoulder and twice been knocked flat by grenade concussions when he rose to lead three successful assaults on entrenched positions. Pressing a fourth assault, a land mine blew off his legs; He was mortally wounded. Yet he continued to command his men.

Jack Lummus was 29.

And Iwo Jima was still 18 days from won.

Iwo Jima produced 27 Medal of Honor recipients, 14 posthumously. Lummus’ mother accepted her son’s Medal of Honor on May 30, 1946 — 64 years ago this Sunday.

Jack Lummus is buried near his boyhood home in Ennis, Texas. His tombstone simply reads, “Jack Lummus, Medal of Honor, 1st Lt., US Marine Corps, World War II, Oct. 23, 1915, Mar. 8, 1945.” Not much, but plenty.

Lummus’ commanding officer wrote this to his mother: “Jack suffered very little for he didn’t live long. I saw Jack soon after he was hit. With calmness, serenity and complacency, Jack said, ‘The New York Giants have lost a good man.’ We all lost a good man.”

Perhaps we now know about a man we’d never heard of, thus this weekend, if only for a minute, he’s a man we might think about, a man we might remember to remember on Memorial Day weekend.

Last week, I turned 58. Lummus was 29. I’ve lived twice as long as Jack Lummus.

Honoring Heroes

'It Was All His Fault'

Honestly, I'm surprised Obama and his media lackeys haven't blamed Joseph Hazelwood for the BP oil disaster.

The man held responsible for the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil-tanker crash -- which had long been dubbed the nation's worst environmental disaster -- feels no relief that the gushing BP spill could soon make his fiasco pale in comparison.

"What's mine is mine," Capt. Joseph Hazelwood told The Post, recalling the crash in Alaska's Prince William Sound that happened under his watch 21 years ago.

The wreck, in which the tanker struck a reef, pumped 11 million gallons of oil into the ecosystem.

"I had to deal with it the best I could," said Hazelwood, now 64 and living on Long Island.

He was convicted of a misdemeanor charge of negligent discharge of oil and fined $50,000.

Watching BP execs blame one another for the toxic mess, Hazelwood was reminded of how he was singled out as the sole culprit in 1989.

"Exxon could point at me, the state of Alaska could point at me, the government could point and me and say, 'It was all his fault,' " he said.

Now it appears the leak could spew throughout the summer. This is really bad news for Obama. The NBA season will be over in a couple of weeks. What will he be able to talk about then?

Memorial Day 2010

Being the resident veteran posting here I feel some sort of obligation to write something to commemorate this Memorial Day. It is something that for a variety of reasons I have been resisting. You see Memorial Day has a far deeper meaning for me, and for all of those who have served, then those that haven't. That isn't meant as a criticism. It is the same feeling an Olympic athlete would have for those who nod their heads and try to convey that they understand the sacrifices required to become a world class athlete and represent your country on an international stage.

For those who have not shared the experience there is no way to adequately convey the trials and tribulations of the journey.

I live daily with the memories of those who have served and paid the ultimate sacrifice. Not in the daily brooding, maudlin way, but often I am reminded of those whom I served with who are no longer with us. I spent my youth and early middle age firmly ensconced in the military lifestyle, and as such I was surrounded by the symbols and stories of those who served. Whether it was from the various facilities on military installations named in honor of those who gave the last full measure or it was the daily interaction with those who had "been there, done that".

I am glad that Americans are given a day to reflect on the sacrifice of those who have fallen in the service to their country, but I am also reminded that for most the deeper meaning of this day can not be fully appreciated.

And I am alright with that. That is why these men and women served and we honor their memory.

Forgive a little detour here, but please indulge me. Something that has been bothering me since yesterday.

Yesterday there was a little car race in Indianapolis, IN. They billed it has the great American race and they made the obligatory acknowledgment of those who died in defense of the country. There was Taps, the military color guard and the roaring fly by. There was no national anthem. At a venue deep in the heart of America, at an event billed as the "Great American Race" and filled with all of the symbolism of what makes this country great there was no 'Star Spangled Banner' to be heard.

And that made me sad.

The NASCAR race later in the day made up for all of that, but I was left with the realization that I had never noticed before whether they play the national anthem for the Indianapolis 500 before or if it simply wasn't shown on television.

So anyway, people much more eloquent then me will say wonderful things over this Memorial Day, some of those things too may wind up be memorable, but for me the memories are there always. Not always in the forefront, because I force them to the back, but there none the less. Sometimes waiting to pop out at the most unexpected moment.

Finally for those that gave their lives, continue to rest in peace. You have done your duty and helped to preserve this republic. I know it looks ugly at times, and sometimes it appears ready to burst apart, but by your sacrifice you have bought this country the time it needs to work out this whole democracy thing. Today's fallen are doing the same thing for foreign lands. Their sacrifice is not in vain and that is what we should convey on this Memorial Day.

LAPD Mugshots Now Covering Up Moobs

It's come to this in politically-correct law enforcement circles. Saving criminals from public humiliation by covering up their man boobs. Now they might want to consdier working on their math skills.

You would think that the Los Angeles Police Department had seen it all before.

But murder suspect Eduardo Ibarra Perez stands out from the rest on their 'Most Wanted List' - quite literally.

His bare-chested mugshot was considered so offensive that the authorities decided to cover his saggy man boobs with a flesh-coloured bar.

The police department's website states Perez had a history of domestic violence and that, during an argument, he threatened to kill his wife.

The suspect then shot his victim in the head.

Why they photographed him naked, however, remains a mystery.

An LAPD spokesman told Mail Online they would provide an explanation at a later date.

His profile lists him as having 'no tatoos or oddities' - and that he was born in 1965, making him a very old 29-year-old indeed - which only adds to his mystique.

When is a Defense Appropriations Bill Not Defense Appropriations Bill?

Why when the Democrats craft it, of course.

Last week Congress passed an emergency defense appropriations bill to fund the ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Well, at least that is what the title of the bill said.

In reality, the majority of the bill was spending on domestic issues and handouts to the Democrat voters. The message is clear. Vote Democrat or suffer.

In the House, Obama's $63 billion request for war funding, disaster relief and aid to nations like earthquake-ravaged Haiti and war-torn Afghanistan has swelled to $84 billion under a draft measure being readied for a key panel vote on Thursday.

Democrats such as House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wis., are pushing $23 billion to help school districts avoid teacher layoffs, along with $6 billion to make up for a funding shortfall in Pell grants for low-income college students and lesser amounts to hire border patrol agents and help Mexico fight drug cartels.

So, Mr. Obey, how do you feel about Arizona's immigration law? Oh wait, Arizona bad, Congress good.

Okay, let's start doing some math. I know, it makes my head hurt, too.

Dems added $11 billion to the original. Of the $84 billion we have $29 billion so far for teachers salaries and Pell grants. 84 minus 29 equals 55.

$5 billion to replenish disaster aid accounts, as well as funding for Haitian earthquake relief, and a downpayment on aid to flood-drenched Tennessee and Rhode Island.

$55 billion minus another $5 billion equals $50 billion.

The bill includes $1 billion for summer jobs programs, $1.5 billion in aid to farmers who had crops damaged by natural disasters and $4.6 billion to settle two long-running lawsuits against the government, one by black farmers claiming discrimination and one by American Indians over the government's management of their land.

So let me see here, another $7 billion for some feel-good projects bringing the total for defense to $43 billion.

So, how much is actually going to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?

The Senate measure, currently being debated on the floor, blends about $30 billion for President Barack Obama's 30,000-troop surge in Afghanistan...

You read that right. Slightly more then 1/3 of the money approved will actually go to the ongoing military operations. But hey, don't worry, the gubmint gots plenty of money and it is an election year after all.

In all, the bill would add $134 billion to the federal budget deficit, drawing opposition from Republicans and some Democrats. House leaders said Tuesday they were determined to pass the bill this week to avoid allowing jobless benefits to expire for thousands of people.

Wait, I thought this was a Defense Appropriations Bill? Last time I checked, the service members deployed overseas were not receiving unemployment payments.

The Republicans are not without fault either. While proposing a total appropriations less then the Democrat version they also want money for other things besides defense.

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas is just on of several Republicans seeking to add money for border security. He's offered a $2 billion amendment to award grants to state and local law enforcement agencies, provide new unmanned surveillance aircraft, and hire hundreds of immigration and border agents, among other steps.

So in the end, money to pay teachers and fund Pell grants is getting as much money as will actually go to defense.

Obviously, there was far more non defense spending in the bill then the paper had room or time to list but it shows the cowardice of our elected officials. They were on the one hand afraid to vote against legislation because it did contain money to fund our military operations but on the other hand went ahead on piled on the pet projects.

You can vote no on funds for the military when there is stuff not designed to benefit the military. Really, you can. If you are adamant about giving the defense department the money they need to operate you pass a simple bill doing just that and leave out all the junk.

Try it. You might like it, and in so doing might just set a precedent.

Democrat Infighting May Make Them Lose Even More Seats Then Predicted

The Democrats are quickly becoming what they accuse the Republicans of. Ever since the election of the Nancy Pelosi-led Democrat Congress in 2006 and the subsequent election of Barack Obama we have been assailed with stories of how the Republican party is in disarray and filled with infighting, while they ignored stories like how the most liberal elements in the Democrats worked to unseat Joseph Lieberman and promoted the most socialist and liberal among their ranks. The Democrat party is also making it abundantly clear that they are not about listening to the average American and instead insist on pandering to about three demographics. Unions, minorities (gay, black, Hispanic), and teachers. A gay, black, illegal alien teacher is their dream candidate.

Well. it is going on in Georgia also. A conservative Democrat incumbent--an oxymoron in itself--is under fire for voting against ObamaCare. Notice how the reporter once again works from the assumption that since a large portion of the district is African-American, that the more liberal Democrat that the Democrat establishment endorse should be able to win this seat.

Still, Center and other party officials in the southern Georgia district say core Democrats, particularly blacks who make up nearly 40 percent of the district's voters, have grown increasingly unhappy with Barrow's conservative tilt.

So how does it feel to be taken for granted? It seems the Dems are all against independent thinkers and just take it for granted that their political plantation dwellers in the black community will remain loyal to their new slave masters in the Democrat party and do what the masters decree. After all the leaders of the Democrat party believe the African-Americans owe them their vote, and they do pass a lot of legislation and do a lot of pandering to the community to buy their votes.

What really has the Democrat political machine upset with Representative Barrow however is his voting against the Democrat Socialist agenda.

However, Barrow's opponent in the July 20 primary, who says the incumbent has betrayed the party by voting too often against its agenda, says she'll be attending the Augusta event Tuesday with campaign materials in-hand.

All of this is prompted by an upcoming visit to this district by Jim Clyburn (Looney Toons-S.C.) who of course is coming to not only support the more liberal candidate but make an obvious pandering visit to the African-American community in the hopes of getting them out to vote in the upcoming primary and to do what the entrenched powers that be in the Beltway political noise machine want.

Barrow will probably win since this district is pretty much Democrat and the Republicans can't seem to mount a credible challenge for this seat, but the fact that Barrow is drawing the heat of the Progressive wing of the Democrat party is about all you can hope for sometimes. The Democrats, however, are approaching this upcoming election cycle apparently with the philosophy that since they are going to lose seats--a lot of seats--they need to make sure that the ones they do hold on to are filled with the most radical leftists they can find. In races which are deemed safe for the Dems they are promoting the most liberal candidate they can find. And by liberal, I mean socialist, communist, anti-capitalism candidate they can.

I will wait patiently for the stories about how infighting in the Democrat party threatens to cause them to lose seats along with the denials that it is their policies that the Americans are upset about. The Democrats, of course, feel it is simply a matter of doing a bad sales job.

More like a snow job.

All Republicans should be running ads showing the Democrats giving a standing ovation to the president of the failed drug state to our south just to remind the people of who the Democrats admire and respect, and Mr. Barrow, even though you are called a conservative Democrat by our left-wing news reporters, you are still a member of the party that engaged in that despicable act.

If they manage to get some of these Grayson clones elected I look forward to nightly newscasts filled with the insane rantings of the soon-to-be minority party. Oh, they are going to lose seats, but they can't lose the crazy.

Stupidity on Steroids

Well, you figured some idiot had to buy Obama's fantasy tale about his daughter asking when he was going to plug the hole. Maybe if he stuck his head in it that would do the trick. Nothing bigger than that. Anyway, leave it to a clown from the New York Time to actually believe the story, let alone expound on it and suggest she's presidential material herself.

It's Tom Friedman, so naturally there's the obligatory reference to China added for good measure. Must be in his contract that China has to be mentioned in every column.

This oil leak is not President Obama’s fault. Stopping the spill is BP’s responsibility; it both caused it and it has the best access to the best technology to plug it. Of course, as the nation’s C.E.O., Mr. Obama has to oversee the cleanup, and he has been on top of that.

Really? He's been on top of it? Maybe I'm confused but six weeks into this mess and they guy has devoted more time to watching and talking about basketball that he's devoted to the oil spill. Two photo-ops in Louisiana doesn't translate into be "on top of it" in my book.

His most important job, though, is one he has yet to take on: shaping the long-term public reaction to the spill so that we can use it to generate the political will to break our addiction to oil. In that job, the most important thing Mr. Obama can do is react to this spill as a child would — because it is precisely that simple gut reaction, repeated over and over, speech after speech, that could change our national conversation on energy.

Well, the man-child president has reacted like a child. None of it's his fault, blame the bad guys and go about playing games (can't possible miss his precious golfing).

This is what passes for wisdom at the Times. Let's run national policy based on the thoughts--real or imaged--of children. Hey, there's a plan!

Answering those questions is the president’s great opportunity here, but he has to think like a kid. Kids get it. They ask: Why would we want to stay dependent on an energy source that could destroy so many birds, fish, beaches and ecosystems before the next generation has a chance to enjoy them? Why aren’t we doing more to create clean power and energy efficiency when so many others, even China, are doing so? And, Daddy, why can’t you even mention the words “carbon tax,” when the carbon we spill into the atmosphere every day is just as dangerous to our future as the crude oil that has been spilling into the gulf?

Unless they've been indoctrinated in the classroom, and there's a 505/50 chance they already have, what kid out there spends even a second thinking about a carbon tax? Can't we let kids be kids and maybe have some adult leadership in Washington?

Obama's been acting like a kid for his 17 months in office, bullying people and having his thugs do things the Chicago Way. Acting like a child has brought us this mess. Maybe if he actually acted like an adult and took matters seriously he'd be viewed more credibly.

Instead the only thing I'm expecting from him this week is a breakdown of the NBA Finals between the Lakers and Celtics, not any coherent plan for the Gulf crisis.

A Very Special House Floor Tribute

You tax dollars at work, folks. Marvel as the insipid Democrat Diane Watson pays tribute on the House floor to ... Gary Coleman.

I especially like the part where she tells us of his small statue.

Me, I'm waiting for the day when they pay tribute to the death of the Obama presidency. That should come any day now. It'll be carried out covered in oil.

H/T Thomas.

How Many Sestaks Are Out There?

Considering Joe Sestak was supposedly offered a job he apparently wasn't eligible for, it makes you wonder how many others are out there who've also been approached in The Chicago Way? Considering how beatable Chuckie Schumer's puppet Kirsten Gillibrand, the New York Post wonders aloud.

So the White House tried to bulldoze Pennsylvania Rep. Joe Sestak out of a primary challenge to GOP-turned-Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter?

Big deal.

The White House has been taking aspiring opponents of rookie New York Sen. Kirstin Gillibrand and squashing them like bugs for months now -- and nobody's made a federal case out of it.

Sure, it's moderately interesting that the designated bulldozer in the attempted Sestak disappearance turns out to have been Bill Clinton.

And it's also possible that offering Sestak a job to keep him out of the Senate race -- if that happened -- was a crime.

The line of potential challengers was long, yet they all just happened to find other things to do. Curious, isn't it?

She did little in her first year in office but reverse course on most positions she held during her single full term in the House -- while transforming herself into Chuck Schumer's shadow.

Potential opponents arose, only to be swept aside, including:

* Rep. Steve Israel (D-Long Island), whom Obama personally called and asked to drop out.

* Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan), a principled liberal who nonetheless found it impossible to raise money with the White House blocking her.

* Ex-Rep. Harold Ford (D-Tenn.), with a strong pro-Wall Street message, could have overcome his out-of-state roots -- as Bobby Kennedy and Hillary Clinton did before him. But, as Ford acknowledged, the "heavy-handed tactics" of Obama's "party bosses" carried the day.

But not in Pennsylvania.

Sestak withstood the pressure -- and beat Specter. Too bad he didn't live here.

Nothing will happen in the Sestak case but they best justice will be seeing all of Obama's handpicked candidates being defeated.

Pathetic: BP Buses in Temps for Obama Photo Op

Shouldn't the media be waving these pom-poms?

Maybe the alternate photo caption should read something like "I can see the end of my presidency from here." Well, we all figured this would be a carefully choreographed photo op for the current occupant of the White House, but little did we know having their boot firmly on the neck of BP meant the folks at BP were obliged to send in some stooges for the visuals. I guess the goons from SEIU were off harassing some bank workers or getting an early start on the holiday weekend and weren't available. Or maybe Organizing for America didn't factor stuff like this into their budget. I saw a report earlier from Grand Isle and the place was a virtual ghost town. Seems they have to pay the folks to show up.

Perhaps you saw news footage of President Obama in Grand Isle, La., on Friday and thought things didn't look all that bad. Well, there may have been a reason for that: The town was evidently swarmed by an army of temp workers to spruce it up for the president and the national news crews following him.

Jefferson Parish Councilman Chris Roberts, whose district encompasses Grand Isle, told Yahoo! News that BP bused in "hundreds" of temporary workers to clean up local beaches. And as soon as the president was en route back to Washington, the workers were clearing out of Grand Isle too, Roberts said.

"The level of cleanup and cooperation we've gotten from BP in the past is in no way consistent to the effort shown on the island today," Roberts said by telephone. "As soon as the president left, they were immediately put back on the buses and sent home."

Roberts says the overnight contingent of workers was there mainly to furnish a Potemkin-style backdrop for the event — while also making it appear that BP was firmly in command of spill cleanup efforts.

New Orleans NBC affiliate WDSU reports that the workers were paid $12 an hour and came mostly from neighboring Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.

News of 11th-hour spruce-up brigade spread rapidly Friday afternoon and infuriated locals. One popular radio host, WWL's Spud McConnell, suggested that the Coast Guard and the White House may have been involved in setting up the "perfect photo op."

Thanks to Ace, Allahpundit and Instapundit for the links.

Special added bonus: The bused-in workers making things pristine for The One.

And yes, it gets better.

Palin's Douchebag Stalker Suddenly Concerned About His Privacy

You can't make this stuff up. A deranged stalker is now so worried about his own privacy he threatens to call the police on a reporter.

Chris Christie at the Manhattan Institute

This is the first of four parts. The remainder of his speech can be found here. I recommend you take the time to watch them all, about 33 minutes total.

A nice synopsis here.

NO ONE could mistake the Grand Ballroom of the Plaza Hotel for one of the cavernous banquet halls of the Garden State. If there is a staircase at the Plaza, it actually leads to a second floor. Standing front and center Tuesday morning in the Gatsbyesque halls was one of the least subtle of politicians, a born-and-bred Jersey guy who has made his reputation by saying what he thinks regardless of consequences. Move over Eloise, Governor Christie was at the Plaza.

The governor was delivering a speech at a breakfast sponsored by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. Christie was preaching to the choir. But what a good preacher he has become.

The governor may continue to deny that he has any interest in running for higher office. With less than a half-year on the job, it is too early to see a national campaign as more than the pipe dreams of Republicans looking for a savior instead of another Captain Ahab with a political death wish.

If there is a Gospel According to Christie, it is that big government can shrink, can act responsibly and provide the tools needed to reduce the bloated costs of municipal governments. Maybe it was all talk. Maybe the coffee served was laced with Kool-Aid. But it was impossible not to be impressed by the governor’s confidence.

Chris Christie is not a bully. He’s the governor of New Jersey and he knows it and intends to make sure that you know it as well. If that is startling in New Jersey, it is revelatory in New York, a state sorely lacking strong leadership at the top. New Yorkers are as hungry as New Jerseyans for someone with a plan and the bluster to implement it.

Holiday Weekend News Dump: White House Claims It Was Bill Clinton Who Talked to Sestak About a Job

It took them three months to come up with this tale? No doubt their lapdog media sycophants will now say they've been forthcoming and let's move on.

The White House asked former President Bill Clinton to talk to Rep. Joe Sestak about the possibility of obtaining a senior position in the Obama administration if he would drop out of the Democratic primary race against establishment-backed Sen. Arlen Specter, the Obama administration will say in a report to be released Friday morning, Fox News has confirmed.

The report, by the White House Counsel's office, will describe the Clinton conversations as informal and unhinged from any precise job offer since, as a former president, Clinton could not guarantee Sestak anything.

The conversations with Sestak were initiated by Clinton at the behest of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Emanuel was Clinton's political director when he was president. Clinton promoted Sestak to vice admiral and made his director of defense policy. Sestak was a loyal and tireless supporter of Hillary Clinton's run for the presidency in 2008.

The report will be released one day after President Obama said the White House would issue a formal explanation that should answer questions about Sestak's allegation and insisted "nothing improper" happened. On the same day, Clinton had lunch with Obama.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has also said nothing improper happened, but refused to elaborate when asked repeatedly about the charge at Thursday's briefing.

Let's see if Sestak parrots the party line now.

Even better, let's get everyone under oath on this and see they all have to say.

Hillary Clinton: Rich Not Paying Enough Taxes, So Let's Become Brazil or Something

I know this much about economics

It's not enough we have to live with her disastrous foreign policy, but now the hapless Hillary Clinton has decided to take it upon herself to lecture the "rich" and tell them they're not paying enough in taxes. This from a woman so greedy she wrote off her husband's soiled underwear on her taxes and between her and Slick are worth over $100 million.

The rich are not being taxed enough and the economy is suffering for it, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday.

The former first lady broached the subject during a national security discussion at the Brookings Institution. She lamented that the United States has lowered taxes on the wealthy and said nations around the world need to "increase their public revenue collections" to spur investment.

"The rich are not paying their fair share in any nation that is facing the kind of employment issues (the United States is), whether it's individual, corporate, whatever the taxation forms are," she said.

Clinton pointed to Brazil's high taxation as an example that other countries should strive toward.

"Brazil has the highest tax-to-GDP rate in the Western Hemisphere and guess what -- it's growing like crazy. And the rich are getting richer, but they're pulling people out of poverty," she said. "There is a certain formula there that used to work for us until we abandoned it, to our regret in my opinion."

Clinton cautioned that she was not speaking for the Obama administration as a whole.

These people just can't get enough of our money.

Shhh: GDP Revised Down

Pssst.

Hey, buddy.

Over here.

Let you in on a little secret, pal, something the Obama-worshiping MSM does not want you to know.

Corporate profits grew at a slower pace in the first quarter and overall economic growth was less than originally thought, as the U.S. continues to slog through a bumpy recovery.

U.S. corporations saw profits before tax and with inventory and capital adjustments rise 5.5% in the first quarter, slower than the 8% growth notched in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. First-quarter earnings grew 31% from the same period a year ago, the agency said.

The quarter-on-quarter profit slowdown was mainly due to slower sales growth in the first quarter and the fact that companies' profit margins didn't grow as much as they did in the fourth quarter.

The Commerce Department report also showed that gross domestic product, the sum of goods and services produced in the U.S., expanded at a 3% annual rate in the first quarter, lower than the government's earlier 3.2% estimate. Consumer and business spending were lower than previously estimated, while imports, which subtract from growth, were greater.

At this point we should be seeing growth in the 8% to 10% range if the economy were truly bouncing back in a similar fashion to past recessions.

Instead we are slogging along at 3%. Now, while that is better than no growth or even contraction, it sure is not the healthy growth that we should be seeing at this time, coming out of a deep and sustained recession.

So the next time Obama's eager whores in the MSM try to con you that the economy is growing in a healthy manner, you will know that they are lying to you yet again. The out-of-control spending pattern by the Democrats and their outright socialist agenda is turning the formerly magnificent U.S. economy into a basket case.

And every step of the way, the MSM is cheering them on.

Thanks to Glenn Reynolds for the link.

My Kid Is Honor Stupid

How bad is the government school system in this country?

This bad.

Hemphill is an honors student at the city's Benjamin E. Mays High School, but she was a few points short of passing the English/language arts portion of the Georgia High School Graduation Test. The state may grant waivers on a case-by-case basis but otherwise requires Georgia graduates to pass all portions of the test. Most school systems -- Atlanta included -- require students to meet all requirements before they can take part in graduation ceremonies.

Folks I can testify that the graduation exam in Georgia is not that tough. My daughter took it while a junior in high school and passed with flying colors. She was not an honors student, or a member of any academic elite society, she just learned early on that it would cut down on the bullying so she flew under the radar.

I have seen two different types of school systems. The DoD (Department of Defense) schools, which she attended while I was serving and the civilian version which she attended the last few years after I got out. She went from a 'A' and 'B' student to a 'C' and 'D' one really quick. Never had trouble at test time which proved she was learning the material, she just got tired of getting threatened and beat up for not doing other peoples homework or helping them cheat on tests. The other thing she learned real quick. Don't let the teachers know daddy had been in the Army. I have nothing but great things to day about DoD schools, and to anybody who has school age kids it actually is just one more reason for considering joining the military.

Least you think this was just a fluke or the student had a bad day, this was her fifth attempt!

In Hemphill's case, she took the test for the fifth time in early March. She got her results back May 11,...

Yeah I am real impressed with your "My kid is an honor student" bumper sticker. That and a four year college degree will get you a job at the drive thru window of Mickey D's in Obama's wonderful economic world of unicorns and golf courses.

Daddy, Why Are They Calling You President Hazelwood?

Now that he's presided over the worst spill in American history and done nothing for over five week, that could be the next question Obama pretends his daughter asked him. Today he interrupts his basketball viewing to go down to the Gulf to pretend he's doing something. But it's all just a photo op before he traipses off on vacation.

He's way too late to get into the game.

It's now Day 40 in the BP oil spill. An estimated 18 million-39 million barrels of oil have spewed into the Gulf, poisoning fish and birds, destroying lives and businesses, ruining fragile marshlands and eocsystems for generations, the worst spill in U.S. history. With a fix uncertain, scientists estimate that the oil already spilled now covers 30,000 square miles, the size of South Carolina. Which means that the oil spill is now larger than 10 states.

Politically, the fallout could be even worse. Like George W. Bush, whose lethargy in responding to Hurricane Katrina made him a political lame duck, President Obama is now being battered by critics on both sides who think he still does not seem engaged in unleashing the huge powers of the federal government to cap the spill and try to wall off the muck that's heading for the shores. Exhibit A among critics: Obama didn't know if Minerals Management Service head Elizabeth Birnbaum was fired or resigned.

Thursday he managed to take responsibility for being so gosh-darned awesome.

It was yet another perform ance of the "full responsibility" flimflam.

In a rare appearance before his adoring fans in the press corps yesterday, President Obama repeatedly took "full responsibility" for the blundering efforts to clog up the geyser of crude oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico coating everything in sight.

At the same time, Obama repeatedly denied that his administration was complicit in allowing the catastrophe to happen in the first place, slow to realize the devastating nature of it, or ham-handed in the five-week effort to try to stem the toxic tide.

In other words, Obama -- as he often does -- took "full responsibility" for being awesome.

He took "full responsibility" for being, well, nearly perfect.

From the first day, Obama said it has been his "highest priority" and that his administration has been "singularly focused" on the leak.

"Those who think that we were either slow on our response or lacked urgency don't know the facts," he sniffed.

Again and again, Obama disputed charges made by people on the ground that his administration has bollixed things up pretty badly.

Realizing that even his biggest, hand-picked fan club couldn't swallow what he was peddling, Obama came up with a question of his own that he was a little more comfortable answering.

"If the question is, are we doing everything perfectly out there, then the answer is 'No.' We could always do better," he said, bearing his trademark modesty.

Ouch.

Too Good to Check: 'Kenneth Starr' Busted in Ponzi Scheme

I noticed this story about a celebrity investment advisor turned Ponzi schemer named Kenneth Starr yesterday and was bright enough to realize that it's not the same Kenneth Starr who was the special prosecutor in the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal back in the late 1990s. I figured nobody would be stupid enough to not see it was that Ken Starr.

But no, some people are just too stupid. Back before there was Bush Derangement Syndrome and many other derangement syndromes to follow (Rove, Fox News, etc.) that the kook left obsess on, the lawyer Ken Starr was the object of unhinged hatred by the left that was all-consuming.

SO naturally, some chump took it and ran.

Is this a belated April Fools’ joke at the Atlantic? Layers and layers of fact checkers and editors getting an early jump on the holiday weekend? In any case, Daniel Indiviglio, a blogger and staff editor at the Atlantic and former investment banker runs this shock headline:

Kenneth Starr Charged With Running $30 Million Ponzi Scheme

It’s followed by this striked-out text:

Somewhere, Bill Clinton is smiling. One-time special prosecutor who uncovered the dirty details of the former President’s affair with intern Monica Lewinsky has been engaged in some bad behavior of his own, according to the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission.

Correction: Apparently there are two famous Kenneth Starrs. The one charged is an investment advisor to the stars, but not the former special prosecutor. Apologies to Bill Clinton if we got his hopes up — and to the other Kenneth Starr.

And the morong apologizes to Clinton first.

Good grief.

Call it defamation by stupidity.

Crackdown on Illegals in ... Massachusetts?

Remind me again how cracking down on illegal aliens is supposed to be political suicide for Republicans? If we've got the State Senate in Massachusetts voting overwhelmingly to tackle the issue, you know the Democrats are waking up to reality. Of course this could merely be some sneaky political cover as this now has to be negotiated with the House, and who knows what the slippery Governor Deval Patrick would do, but remember he is up for re-election this year, so could he possible cave?

With one lawmaker citing President Lincoln's respect for the rule of law, the Massachusetts Senate passed a far-reaching crackdown this afternoon on illegal immigrants and those who would hire them, going further, senators said, than any immigration bill proposed over the past five years.

In a surprising turn of events, the legislation replaced a narrower bill that was passed Wednesday over the objections of Republicans.

The measure, which passed on a 28-10 vote as an amendment to the budget, would bar the state from doing business with any company found to break federal laws barring illegal immigrant hiring. It would also toughen penalties for creating or using fake identification documents, and explicitly deny in-state college tuition for illegal immigrants.

The amendment would also require the state’s public health insurance program to verify residency through the Department of Homeland Security, and would require the state to give legal residents priority for subsidized housing.

The amendment will now be part of negotiations with the House as part of the entire state budget.

Supporters, especially Republicans, struck patriotic notes and spoke of the sanctity of the law as they spoke on the Senate floor.

“It was President Lincoln -- and I’m going to paraphrase here -- who suggested that respect for the law should be preached from every pulpit taught by every mother to every child,” said Senator Bruce Tarr, a Gloucester Republican.

But one supporter said that the measure was being passed for practical purposes and would hurt people.

Now even if a law like this is actually enacted, don't forget the esteemed Attorney General recently said it's not illegal to be an illegal in Massachusetts, so don't expect any robust enforcement, if any. And to be sure you could expect and army of ACLU types to descend like locusts filing asylum claims considering some rather recent precedent of a certain famous illegal alien. Then there's some formidable obstacles in the House to overcome, and if the attitude of certain Massholes is any indication, there's absolutely nothing that will change any minds.

Then again, even the dimmest of hacks can read polls, and this surely is an eye-opener.

Democrats had resisted such a sweeping proposal, but spent last evening negotiating today’s measure, shortly after a new polled showed 84 percent of the liberal-leaning state’s voters supported tough immigration rules barring state services to illegal immigrants.

Plus, for a relatively small state it's not as if we're talking puny numbers.

Most immigrants in Massachusetts are here legally, but an estimated 190,000, or 20 percent, are here illegally, according to the census.

Exit questions: How long until Patches Kennedy calls Massachusetts a slave state and when does Boston announce a boycott of Massachusetts?

Instapundit links. Thanks!

'Go Away, Terrorist!'

Doesn't seem like the Peruvians are exactly thrilled to have convicted terrorist Lori Berenson out living among them. Of course according to the Associated Press this poor misguided naif isn't a terrorist.

She's an activist. The alternate reality of the media really is something to behold. Mainstream Americans of right-of-center persuasion are typically maligned as frothing "extremists" while actual terrorists are known as activists. And they wonder why people hold them in such contempt. At least the Peruvian people know a terrorist when they see one.

Activist Lori Berenson walked out of prison smiling Thursday but got a chilly reception from her new neighbors after serving three-quarters of a 20-year sentence for aiding leftist rebels.

Now 40, the New Yorker spent more than a third of her life behind bars — getting married, giving birth, undergoing back surgery — but never denouncing the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement she was convicted of abetting.

When she was arrested in November 1995 with the wife of the group's leader, prosecutors said Berenson was helping it plot a takeover of Peru's Congress that never happened. The following month, police found a forged ID card bearing her photo in a raid on a rebel safe house.

But Berenson apparently became less strident over the years, many of them spent in frigid prisons in the high Andes. Documents her defense team provided to the judge who granted her parole Tuesday said Berenson had "recognized she committed errors" getting involved with the rebels.

If she's recognized her errors, then why is she going to work for a far-left, America-hating group?

A year after Berenson's arrest, the Tupac Amaru gained notoriety when 13 of its members stormed the Japanese ambassador's residents and seized hostages. Among their demands was Berenson's release. The standoff ended 126 days later with all the rebels killed.

Berenson's release Thursday from Santa Monica women's prison was a tempest in itself. She squeezed through a horde of reporters into a car driven by her husband and attorney, Anibal Apari, to be driven to the Lima apartment where she is to reside.

Two Peruvian reporters jumped into the car, which had a minor collision a block away with a TV channel's vehicle.

Their couple's son, Salvador, who has been living with his mother since his birth a year ago, was taken to the apartment separately by Berenson's parents, who flew in from New York City on Wednesday.

The judge who granted Berenson parole said she must stay in Lima until her sentence ends in November 2015. But Peru's justice minister, Victor Garcia, told the Radioprogramas network Thursday that the Cabinet could decide to commute the sentence and expel Berenson.

"This is a really nasty situation for Peruvians," Garcia said, suggesting the government was not necessarily pleased Berenson had been paroled. President Alan Garcia said Tuesday that it was not his place to comment on whether he considered the judge's decision appropriate.

It was unclear whether any other legal problems could complicate Berenson's eventual return to the United States. U.S. Embassy spokesman James Fennell said he could not comment on the case due to privacy laws.

Many Peruvians were unhappy with Berenson's release.

"Go away, terrorist!" shouted 42-year-old Carol Philips as Berenson and Apari pushed their way through a throng of journalists to get into the apartment building in the upscale Miraflores neighborhood where Berenson is to live.

Her parents told The Associated Press they came not just for the joy of their daughter's release but also to help childproof the apartment.

"I don't know whose idea it was to put this terrorist here as a neighbor," said another neighbor, Rene Vela.

Berenson appeared calm, almost bemused, as she sat for some five minutes in the Apari's car outside the apartment. She wore dangling bead earrings, a khaki green button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up and carried a black bag with blue straps.

She did not speak to reporters.

The Miraflores district mayor, Manuel Macias, told reporters Berenson should find a home elsewhere.

"The way out of this perhaps is for her expulsion from the country," he said.

The judge who paroled Berenson said she had "completed re-education, rehabilitation and re-socialization" and demonstrated "positive behavior."

Berenson has long maintained she was a political prisoner and not a terrorist. She shouted to reporters in her first public appearance after her November 1995 arrest: "There are no criminal terrorists in the MRTA. It is a revolutionary movement."

No doubt when this maggot returns to America she'll be feted on the talk-show and lecture circuits and will be eagerly courted by publishers.

They should have executed her 15 years ago.

New Black Panthers Prepare for War With Tea Partiers

I wonder how quickly this will fall down the memory hole?

Conference Convener Attorney Malik Zulu Shabazz anf Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney will deliver the Convention Keynote Speeches on Saturday Night May 29th

On Monday May 31st A Major Youth Power Rally will take place with popular artists Erykah Badu, Andre 3000 and other Major National Entertainers.

New Black Panther Party, Chairman Malik Zulu Shabazz, persists despite controversy.

The New Black Panther Party has been embroiled in a battle between Republican Congressmen and the U.S. Department Of Justice battle over a ”voter intimidation” scandal for the last 18 months. During these 18 months right wing and Republican Newspaper and Electronic media have gone to exhaustive lengths to discredit and slander the New Black Panther Party and its Chairman and Attorney Malik Zulu Shabazz.

Despite the controversy the New Black Panther Party continues to grow and expand. The National Black Power Conventions impressive lineup of guests and organizations is a testimony that the New Black Panthers Leadership has support in wide circles in the Black Community, particularly amongst grassroots organizers and entertainers.

“With the rise of the Tea Party, the white-right and other racist forces. With gun sales nationwide at an all time high amongst whites, with a mood that is more anti-Black than any time recent, it is imperative that we organize our forces, pool our resources and prepare for war!” Chairman Malik Zulu Shabazz, Esq. Convention Convener and Party Chairman.

H/T David Freddoso.

Eric Holder and Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center were unavailable for comment. I'm surprised they're not speaking at this event.

Yes, Malia, Daddy Plugged the Hole

Of all the whoppers this chump has told, this nonsense about his kid asking when he's going to plug the hole has got to be the biggest one ever.

In tough situations, Mr. Obama sometimes turns personal, and he has done so here. (During the health care debate he spoke often of his mother, who died of cancer.)

Now he invokes his upbringing and his daughter to talk about how the oil spill is consuming him.

“When I woke up this morning and I’m shaving, and Malia knocks on my bathroom door and she says — did you plug the hole yet Daddy?” he said, recounting how often he thinks of the spill, adding, “I grew up in Hawaii, where the ocean is sacred."

I grew up near the Atlantic Ocean. It's also sacred here, too, champ.

Thanks to Mr. Right for the image.

Confirmed: Gaydar Really Exists

Needless to say if you have half a clue as to your surroundings, it shouldn't be hard to tell these things. Maybe it's my background as a New Yorker and having been around gays my entire life, but I think the gaydar isn't just limited to the other team, so to speak, as this study suggests.

Gay people really do have an inbuilt radar that helps them seek out like-minded souls, scientists have shown.

This sixth sense, or 'gaydar', ensures they pay more attention to detail, allowing them to pluck potential partners out of a crowd.

The Dutch researchers looked at whether straight and gay people focus their attention differently when faced with a problem.

A total of 42 men and women were shown pictures of outlines of large squares and rectangles, each of which was packed with smaller shapes.

Our brains are wired to take in the bigger picture, meaning that if we are shown a square filled with rectangles and asked what is inside, we can easily be fooled into saying 'squares'.

When the men and women were asked similar questions, the heterosexuals replied more quickly but were less accurate, the journal Frontiers in Cognition reports.

The homosexuals took longer but got more answers right, particularly when asked about the smaller shapes, suggesting they were able to see the small details as well as the bigger picture.

Or they were able to see the trees as well as the wood.

In everyday life, this attention to detail could help them work out people's sexuality.

Researcher Dr Lorenza Colzato, of Leiden University in the Netherlands, said: 'This is the first time that scientific proof has been found for the existence of a gaydar mechanism amongst homosexuals.

‘This perceptual skill allows homosexuals to recognise other gay people faster and we think it's because they are much more analytic than heterosexuals.'

Teacher of the Year Another Pedophile

This is just yet another story in the ongoing saga of teachers behaving badly with their students. Can you imagine any other business or profession, which if they had the number of cases of sex with underage children that Congress wouldn't be calling for a complete and thorough investigation?

The Teacher of the Year at Shiloh High School has resigned after admitting to having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student, according to records obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Keenon Aampay Hall, 29, left a promising career as an English teacher at the Gwinnett County school amid allegations that she seduced a senior who came to her for homework help. An investigative file on the case compiled by the school system’s human resources division contains the student’s accounts of sexual trysts at a hotel, a friend’s home and in the teacher’s classroom during school hours. The report also says that pornography was found on Hall’s Gwinnett County schools laptop.

Of course the story is also another example of the double standards that exist when it comes to cases of pedophilia. If the roles were reversed, arrests would have already been made and a male suspect would be cooling his heels in the lock up explaining to Bubba why he might want to keep his distance because of some sort of funky infection. Nowhere in this story do you see any reference to law enforcement taking action, or if they were even contacted.

I have a great idea. Since states are being forced to cut teachers to meet budget demands, how about running a few background checks? Ought to make the decision on who to keep and who to let go pretty easy. If school administrators monitored their teachers as closely as they do their student's Facebook accounts they might be able to nip some of this crap in the bud.

I guess zero tolerance only works one way. Notice that the school district was "investigating" the incident but had taken no action. The teacher quit after admitting to the affair.

Sid Camp, executive director of Gwinnett’s Division of Human Resources, told the state that Hall “admitted to having a sexual relationship with the student.” Hall wrote a brief statement to the school district saying that it was a “consenual relationship,” misspelling the word. She said at least one other teacher knew about the romance.

About par for the course. An English teacher who can't spell.

More crooks in academia: Ex Principal Indicted for Embezzling

Terror Plots Against USA at All-Time High

I'm thinking maybe it's time for a worldwide basketball summit. It seems to be the only thing Obama is focused on and since his outreach to the Muslim world people who hate us has been such a miserable failure we may as well have a crack at it.

Jihadists are looking to attack this country like never before.

Over the past nine months, the number of terror plots in this country have "surpassed the number of attempts during any other previous one-year period," according to federal documents made public today.

The grim assessment is contained in an unclassified Department of Homeland Security intelligence memo prepared for various law enforcement groups across the country, CNN reported.

The memo says terror groups are expected to try attacks inside this country with "increased frequency."

CNN obtained a copy of the document, dated May 21, which goes on to warn that law enforcement has to "operate under the premise that other operatives are in the country and could advance plotting with little or no warning."

The document specifically mentions the cases of Afghan national Najibullah Zazi, who pleaded guilty last February to plotting attacks on the city's subways, and Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-American who loaded a parked car with explosives earlier this month.

The document claims Zazi and Shahzad received training overseas "compared to lengthier training cycles for earlier operations, reducing our ability to detect their activities."

The report warns that the feds and other authorities may not be prepared for such attacks.

It says that US officials "lack insights in specific details, timing and intended targets" -- although trends indicate terrorists are looking for "smaller, more achievable attacks against easily accessible targets."

This comes as President Obama will make the threat from homegrown extremists radicalized while in this country a top priority of his new national security strategy, a top advisor said on Wednesday.

"We've seen an increasing number of individuals here in the United States become captivated by extremist activities or causes," said Obama's top counter-terrorism advisor John Brennan.

Brennan said the plan is expected to be unveiled later today.

"As our enemy adapts and evolves their tactics, so must we constantly adapt and evolve ours -- not in a rush driven by fear -- but in a thoughtful and reasoned way that enhances our security and further delegitimizes the actions of our enemy," he said.

The intelligence document, meanwhile, also said terror groups, such as al Qaeda, increasingly are using Europeans and Americans as operatives or in leadership positions in which they make public statements calling for Muslims to strike the United States, CNN reported.

The document cites as examples Yemeni-American cleric Anwar al-Alawki and al Qaeda spokesman Adam Gadahn.

Of course according to those terror experts at the Southern Poverty Law Center the greatest threat to mankind are right-wing extremists and talk radio listeners. Now they have no idea what they're talking about but whenever they talk the media breathlessly reports any of the bilge they emit.

Meanwhile, since our borders are wide open and the Justice Department is making zero effort to enforce our immigration laws, it appears some Somali terrorists are sauntering in from Mexico. Probably just looking for better cable access for NBA playoff games.

The Department of Homeland Security is alerting Texas authorities to be on the lookout for a suspected member of the Somalia-based Al Shabaab terrorist group who might be attempting to travel to the U.S. through Mexico, a security expert who has seen the memo tells FOXNews.com.

The warning follows an indictment unsealed this month in Texas federal court that accuses a Somali man in Texas of running a “large-scale smuggling enterprise” responsible for bringing hundreds of Somalis from Brazil through South America and eventually across the Mexican border. Many of the illegal immigrants, who court records say were given fake IDs, are alleged to have ties to other now-defunct Somalian terror organizations that have merged with active organizations like Al Shabaab, al-Barakat and Al-Ittihad Al-Islami.

In 2008, the U.S. government designated Al Shabaab a terrorist organization. Al Shabaab has said its priority is to impose Sharia, or Islamic law, on Somalia; the group has aligned itself with Al Qaeda and has made statements about its intent to harm the United States.

I just hope the police don't stop any of them and ask for their papers, especially if they're spotted enjoying ice cream.

Eric Holder Announces Investigation of Brutal Mexico Immigration Laws

Actually, he's ready to challenge Arizona's SB 1070, but what he and the rest of the world should be doing is sending the human rights police down to Mexico.

Arizona's new law directing local police to take a greater role in enforcing immigration rules has brought a lot of criticism from Mexico, the largest source of illegal immigrants in the United States. But, in Mexico, undocumented immigrants say they suffer even worse treatment from corrupt authorities.

"There (in the United States), they'll deport you," Hector Vázquez, an undocumented immigrant from Honduras, said as he rested in a makeshift camp with other migrants under a highway bridge in Tultitlan. "In Mexico, they'll probably let you go, but they'll beat you up and steal everything you've got first."

Then their president will come and lecture Americans while sycophantic Democrats give him a standing ovation.

Mexican authorities have harshly criticized Arizona over Senate Bill 1070, which makes it a state crime to be in the country illegally. It states that an officer engaged in a lawful stop, detention or arrest shall, when practicable, ask about a person's legal status when reasonable suspicion exists that the person is in the U.S. illegally.

"(The law) violates inalienable human rights," the Mexican Foreign Ministry says.

Meanwhile, Mexican police freely engage in racial profiling, harassing Central American migrants while ignoring thousands of American retirees living illegally in Mexico, immigration experts say.

Mexico already has an Arizona-style statute requiring local police to check IDs. That clause has fed an epidemic of kidnappings, rapes and other atrocities against migrants because victims are afraid to talk to police, Mexico's National Human Rights Commission says. A bill eliminating the rule has been stalled in the Mexican Senate since March.

Mexican officials say they've been trying to improve treatment of immigrants by softening some of the most restrictive parts of Mexico's immigration law since 2008.

"We are trying to write a new story (regarding) immigrants, especially coming from Central American countries," Mexican President Felipe Calderón told CNN last week.

But human-rights activists say abuses have continued unabated.

"The Mexican government should probably clean up its own house before looking at someone else's," said Melissa Vertíz, spokeswoman for the Fray Matías de Córdova Human Rights Center in Tapachula, Mexico.

That would be akin to Democrats cleaning up their corrupt party instead of pretending to be honest and ethical.

I See White People

These Democrats really ought to try a little diversity in their party. So many pasty-faced white people may not help get the votes from people of color. Of course a little payola to Democratic Party leader Al Sharpton will soften any hurt feelings.

New York's lineup of all-white candidates on the Democratic ballot this fall is already raising red flags.

"The problem is going to be one of getting enthusiasm in the black community, so they will want to come out and be supportive," said City Councilman Al Vann (D-Brooklyn).

The Dems' gubernatorial hopeful Andrew Cuomo and his running mate Robert Duffy are white, as are the party's candidates for U.S. Senate, attorney general and controller.

As one minority operative quipped of the new Democratic ticket, "Cuomo, DiNapoli & Duffy - it sounds like a Long Island law firm," adding the name of newly nominated state controller candidate Thomas DiNapoli to the mix.

So it was no accident that Cuomo made a quick, unsolicited call yesterday to the Rev. Al Sharpton, during which he sought to assure the civil rights activist that his administration would be diverse.

"Having a diverse administration is very important to me. It will be a top priority for me," Cuomo told reporters.

"You want to have an administration that reflects the diversity of New York. We will."

Oh sure, it'll be diverse. Every single member of his adminsitration will be a Democrat hack, just with a little extra color sprinkled in here and there for diversity purposes.

Unreal: Idiot Massachusetts Pol Rear-Ended by Illegal Still Supports Illegal Aliens

Some people are just beyond help. I hope the folks who voted for this clown are proud of him.

A state lawmaker was rear-ended by a suspected illegal immigrant last Thursday.

Now, State Rep. Mike Moran, of Brighton, is talking about the crash involving Isaias Naranjo. Watch the video to the left.

The 27-year-old suspect was reportedly driving under the influence of alcohol and did not have a valid license.

Police say when Naranjo was told of the serious charges he would be facing, he just laughed.

State police were unable to notify immigration authorities that Naranjo might be illegal. due to a 2007 order that strips them of immigration enforcement powers.

Previously.

Police Nab Lingerie Model Turned Drug Lord

It's about time they found this fiend. We just can't have any more stick-thin models running cocaine around the globe.

A Colombian beauty queen has been arrested in Argentina on charges of leading a drug trafficking ring.

Angie Sanclemente Valencia, 31, is accused of persuading young women to smuggle cocaine from Argentina to Europe via Mexico.

Argentine police had been looking for her for more than five months before they found her in a youth hostel in Buenos Aires.

She has denied the charges. Her lawyer said she feared violence in jail.

Ms Sanclemente won the popular title of Coffee Queen in 2000, but had to return it when it was discovered she was married, in breach of the beauty pageant's rules.

Prosecutors say she recruited other young models to travel, often as first class passengers, from Argentina to the Mexican city of Cancun and on to Europe carrying cocaine.

The Argentine press, who have dubbed her "Narco Queen", say she moved to Mexico in 2005 where she became romantically involved with a well-known drug trafficker known as The Monster.

She is believed to have moved to Argentina in 2009.

An arrest warrant was issued for her after a 21-year-old model was found carrying 55kg of cocaine boarding a flight to Cancun, Mexico.

I think they may have to put this babe in protective custody.

'GDP Shrank in the First Quarter and the Bourgeoisie are Having a Party'

The insipid Venezuelan clown Hugo Chavez is living in deep, deep denial. Faced with an economy crumbling under the weight of his failed socialist polices, the nutcase has blamed his problems on ... capitalism.

I guess it's too late for him to get a clue.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Wednesday that a recession in his Latin American country marked the death of capitalism and had nothing to do with his government's socialist revolution.

The OPEC member's economy is bucking the global recovery trend, with the central bank posting a 5.8 percent contraction for the first quarter of 2010 on Tuesday.

The increasingly grim macroeconomic environment -- which economists call "stagflation" because the slump has not cooled runaway inflation -- is now a major challenge for Chavez with a legislative election looming in September.

"GDP shrank in the first quarter and the bourgeoisie are having a party," Chavez said, referring to political opponents who blame his policies for the recession.

"They don't realise that the party they are attending is the wake of capitalism ... because the economy that is shrinking is the capitalist economy," he said in a televised speech.

Huh? If he were any more clueless he'd qualify an an Obama economic advisor.

"We are going to bury Venezuelan capitalism," Chavez said, adding that his administration would "take from the bourgeoisie control of the money which belongs to all Venezuelans."

After 11 years in power, he blames the economic woes on a global crisis in capitalism and the impact of a traditional elite who he says are determined to drive him from office.

Critics, however, say his socialist economic policies -- including widespread nationalizations, currency controls and pressure on the private sector -- are ruining what should be one of the continent's richest nations, given its oil wealth.

Meanwhile, apparently unhappy with controlling state media, he's now taken up blogging. Must be a great read.

The guy who locks up political enemies is also joining forces with the Obama administration, Mexico and a small number of American malcontents in attacking Arizona. He might want to clean up his own house before flapping his gums.

Meanwhile, in Venezuela, Chavez's human rights record has been criticized by watchdog groups in several areas, including political discrimination, lack of freedom of expression and freedom of association. The U.S. Department of State's 2009 Human Rights Report on Venezuela also identified other human rights problems in the country of roughly 27 million, including summary executions of criminal suspects, widespread criminal kidnappings for ransom, political prisoners and selective prosecution for political purposes, "considerable corruption" in all levels of government and many others.

The report also notes that Venezuelan law makes "insulting" the president a crime punishable by up to 30 months in prison without bail, with lesser penalties for insulting lower-ranking officials.
...
Jonah Goldberg, a visiting fellow at American Enterprise Institute, a Washington-based conservative think tank, said the recent comments are "standard operating procedure" for politicians in Cuba, as well as Chavez.

"The denunciation of the United States' human rights record comes from the people who have had the most brutal human rights record," he said. "It's the playbook they always go back to. Taking denunciations seriously from places like Cuba and Venezuela is just a colossal waste of time."

Carville: 'Political Stupidity is Unbelievable'

James Carville unloads on the incompetent boob in the White House who's more concerned with basketball than he is with the people living in the Gulf region.

The "political stupidity is unbelievable," Democratic strategist James Carville said on "Good Morning America" today. "The president doesn't get down here in the middle of this. ... I have no idea of why they didn't seize this thing. I have no idea of why their attitude was so hands off here."

On Thursday, Obama will announce new measures the federal government will take to try to prevent any future BP oil spills, administration officials said. And on Friday, the president will visit the Gulf coast, his second trip to the region since the environmental disaster happened last month.

But Carville said the Obama administration's response to the BP oil spill has been "lackadaisical," and that rather than place the blame on the previous administration, it should've done more to deal with BP and "inept bureaucrats," which would've in turn helped boost Obama's approval ratings.

"The president of the United States could've come down here, he could've been involved with the families of these 11 people" who died on the offshore rig, Carville said. "He could've demanded a plan in anticipation of this."

But he did none of that. He apparently doesn't care. In the weeks following Katrina George W. Bush visited at least seven times. Obama's been there once for a photo op.

"It just looks like he's not involved in this," an angry Carville said on "GMA." "Man, you got to get down here and take control of this, put somebody in charge of this thing and get this moving. We're about to die down here."

Carville added that the Obama administration needs to launch a federal investigation into the incident that has become a major environmental disaster and a headache for the federal government.

Karl Rove weighs in on Obama's Katrina.

Could this be Mr. Obama's Katrina? It could be even worse. The federal response to Katrina was governed by the 1988 Stafford Act, which says that in natural disasters on-shore states are in charge, not Washington. The federal obligation is to "support . . . State and local assistance efforts" by providing whatever resources a governor requests and then writing big checks for the cleanup. Mr. Bush had to deal with a Louisiana governor and a New Orleans mayor who were, by federal law, in charge.

But BP's well was drilled in federal waters. Washington, not Louisiana, is in charge. This is Mr. Obama's responsibility. He says his administration has been prepared for the worst from the start. Mr. Obama's failure to lead in cleaning up the spill could lead voters to echo his complaint in Katrina's aftermath: "I wish that the federal government had been up to the task."

Apparently, it's not.

It's time the people put their boot on the neck of this incompetent administration.

Suspect in Phoenix Cop Killing Identified, SPLC Unavailable for Comment

Well, that took long enough. A Phoenix police officer was murdered early this morning and just now the suspect has been identified.

Police have identified the man who allegedly shot a Phoenix police officer to death on Wednesday morning.

Danny Martinez, about 30 years old, is accused of killing 29-year-old Travis P. Murphy, who was searching for Martinez who was hiding in a Phoenix neighborhood.

The murdered officer, Travis Murphy, leaves a wife, a two-year-old and a two-week-old child behind.

Trent Crump with the Phoenix Police Department said police then received a call that someone was trying to cover, and possibly hide, a Ford Mustang at a home in the area and additional officers responded to the scene.

Crump said the first officers on scene split up to search for the suspect.

Murphy encountered the shooter and was shot, said Crump.

Police put Murphy, an officer from the Squaw Peak Precinct, in a police car to take him to the hospital instead of waiting for an ambulance.

Murphy was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital where he died from his injuries.

Phoenix Law Enforcement Association President Mark Spencer said Murphy has a wife, a 2-year-old daughter, and a 2-week-old son. Spencer also believes Murphy has a brother or sister on the Glendale Fire Department.

He was with the department for about five years.

Rich Rodriguez, a neighbor, said he saw the Mustang back into an abandoned house and the suspect trying to cover it. After police came, Rodriguez said he heard gunfire and saw an officer on the ground.

A search for the suspect was launched and homes in the area were evacuated.

The Hispanic suspect, who Crump said is in the country legally, was reportedly found hiding in a shed in a backyard and was taken into custody. A weapon was also recovered at the scene and a substantial amount of evidence has been recovered.

That suspect sustained injuries from a K9 bite and a rubber bullet, according to Crump.

They should have used real bullets on this mutant.

Curiously national media is ignoring this story. With Arizona in the news so much lately you'd think this story was newsworthy. Shepard Smith just had a report from Arizona, but no mention of a cop killing.

Last week those grifters at the Southern Poverty Law Center were all over the news after two Arkansas police officers were killed, jumping all over some alleged "extremist" beliefs of the suspects. I notice they and their blog stooges are silent today.

Update: More on this scumbag Martinez.

KGUN9 News dug into public records and found that has a criminal history record from the Tucson area. In November of 2005 Martinez was involved in an incident that led to him being charged with Felony Misconduct Involving Weapons. Martinez spent time in the Arizona Department of Corrections Lewis facility in western Maricopa County where he was released on September 30th of 2009. During his time in the prison Martinez was charged with a smuggling contraband charge. In 2003 Martinez was also found guilty of theft.

Seems he's a career criminal.

Phoenix Public Safety Manager Jack Harris confirmed Martinez has an extensive violent crimes record.

According to the Arizona Department of Corrections, Martinez has an extensive criminal record.

He has been in and out of prison as far back as 1997 for charges including misconduct involving weapons, criminal damage, criminal trespassing and also for drug violations.

While in prison, Martinez also faced additional charges for smuggling contraband

He probably faced a lot of "empathetic" judges like this guy over the years.