Friday, May 28, 2010
IRS asked to monitor unions' election giving
Subject: txt crpt 2010 -
A public-interest law firm has asked the Internal Revenue Service to make sure three large national labor unions comply with tax and disclosure laws in their planned spending of nearly $100 million to save Democrats in the 2010 congressional elections.
The Virginia-based Landmark Legal Foundation sent a letter on Tuesday to Lois G. Lerner, director of the IRS' tax exempt organizations division, asking that the agency monitor ''this unprecedented political activity.''
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) plans to spend in excess of $50 million during the 2010 campaign...
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A MASSIVE INCUMBENT PROTECTION PROGRAM
Subject: txt crpt 2010 -
Unions will spend a minimum of $100 million on the 2010 election, with most of the funds going to protect incumbents...
READ MORE
Spitting on New York: Union outrages at the MTA and beyond
Subject: txt crpt -
Two months of paid leave for MTA bus drivers to recover from "assault" by spit?
News that this is routine, thanks to a contract clause, has outraged New Yorkers. But MTA Chairman Jay Walder's drive against such wasteful practices has the unions spitting mad. One of the nicer things transit workers recently called Walder in an online forum is a "tightwad micromanager . . . who manages through fear rather than respect."
Others wish the union had "taken action months ago with rule book slowdowns, mass protests at Walder's house"...
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NY judges consider joining teachers' union
Subject: txt lgl edu crpt - Which side are you on?
In a remarkable display of self-degradation, some New York State judges are considering joining the United Federation of Teachers, a highly politicized, big bucks political donor, in an effort to raise their pay. The New York Post reports:
State judges are trying to join forces with the state's largest teachers union in a campaign to get raises, The Post has learned.When judges become self-interested members of a politicized labor union, America is well along the road to banana republic status.
Maverick Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Arthur Schack is leading a faction of angry jurists talking to the United Federation of Teachers about putting judges under the umbrella of the local union or its Albany County-based parent, New York State United Teachers.
"One option is having judges affiliate with a union for political clout," Schack told The Post. "We're exploring our options."
Schack -- a card-carrying member of the UFT who was once a teacher -- has been joined by another Brooklyn judge, Wayne Saitta, in recruiting colleagues to unionize in recent weeks, court sources said.
This is absolutely the wrong approach to take.
It is one thing for labor unions to destroy General Motors. It is quite another for judges to put self interest above the obligation to remain nonpolitical.
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The End of Our Legal System: Judges Joining Unions?
Subject: txt lgl crpt bdd -
Unions are meant for one thing and one thing only: to “get” for its members. They have one purpose and that is to take as much from an employer as they can take, to get as much money and benefits as they can get away with.
Unions are not interested in assuring quality workmanship, they are not interested in offering quality to customers, and they most certainly aren’t interested in efficiency and modernization. Unions have but one purpose, to extort as many goodies as possible from an employer regardless of what it does to a business or a profession. 
Unfortunately, in the State of New York, judges are looking to “get” from the Empire State’s taxpayers regardless of what it might do to our legal system...
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POLL: Plurality Now Hold Unfovorable View of Kagan - THINK WILL BE CONFIRMED ANYWAY
Obama: oil spill is a ‘wake up call’ for CLIMATE legislation?
Subject: txt grn engry crpt libs bdd hots -
[No, it was an unfortunate accident - caused in large part by the government's having forced US exploration more than a mile underwater instead of accessing our vast reserves on land.
But 'never let a crisis go to waste'...]
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Spanish paper: Obama driving off ‘green energy’ cliff
Subject: txt hots - grn engry -
Chris Horner has been all over the story of Spain’s unimpressive experience with green energy. Spanish newspapers have finally called out the U.S. President for choosing a failed model for a “Green Economy.” From the other day:
On eight separate occasions, President Barack Obama has referred to the “green economy” policies enacted by Spain as being the model for what he envisioned for America.
Later came the revelation that Obama administration senior Energy Department official Cathy Zoi — someone with serious publicized conflict of interest issues — demanded an urgent U.S. response to the damaging report from the non-governmental Spanish experts so as to protect the Obama administration’s plans…But today’s leaked document reveals that even the socialist Spanish government now acknowledges the ruinous effects of green economic policy.
Now the Spanish press is on to the story. Buried on page 34 of today’s Gaceta is this headline:
Spain admits that the “green economy” it sold to Obama is a bust
Spanish government leaks a report acknowledging the grave economic consequences of betting on renewable energy
The first few lines:
The president of the United States, Barack Obama, does not appear to have chosen well in basing his “green economy” on Spain’s. After the government of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero demonized a study by various experts on the economic downsides of renewable energies, it just leaked an internal document from the Spanish cabinet which is even more negative...
Among the findings, paraphrased from the right sidebar:
- Green energy is 120 percent more expensive, simply due to the extra costs of solar and wind, and the evolution of the market is not going to bring down those costs any time soon.
- The clean energy sector is slated to receive 126 billion euros in the next 25 years, but no one knows where the money is going to come from . In 2009, the subsidies were worth 5 billion euros.
- Photovoltaic solar power accounts for 53 percent of the extra cost of renewables, whereas it produces only 11 percent of Spain’s renewable energy.
- Each “green job” comes at the expense of 2.2 traditional jobs.
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FLASHBACKs >
I Have A Challenge For Every Liberal Politician In America
Subject: txt hots 2010 libs -
I Have A Challenge For Every Liberal Politician In America
Whatever else you want to say about the Democrats during this cycle, you can't say they haven't gotten a lot done. Moreover, Barack Obama may be a pathological liar, but he wasn't lying about the change. That promise, ambiguous though it may be, he kept.
Yet, what do we hear? The Democrats seem to want to campaign on everything BUT what they've actually done. They're talking about Bush, attacking Republicans, and running from the policies they've implemented.
So, here's my challenge: run on your record...
Run on the stimulus bill, cash for clunkers, higher taxes, and cap and trade (which has passed the House). Run on the job Obama has done on the oil spill. Look people in the eye and tell the truth: You think Democrats have done a good job of cleaning up corruption, of creating jobs, getting the deficit under control, handling the bailouts, and running the war on terror. Don't forget to advocate closing Gitmo either. Of course, most importantly, talk non-stop about how wonderful Obamacare is for America.
So, don't vote with Nancy Pelosi all year long and then campaign like you're a moderate Republican when election time comes around. Have the guts to be honest: tell people that you agree with Nancy Pelosi, you think Barack Obama is another FDR, and you're looking forward to voting for cap and trade, comprehensive immigration reform, and more bailouts if you're reelected.
The Democratic Party has a record this time around, an extremely liberal record: You liberals should pretend like you have a pair and run on it.
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POLL: California Governor: Brown 43%, Poizner 42%
Subject: txt hots cali 2010 -
Democratic State Attorney General Jerry Brown's post-convention bounce appears to be over, and he now posts narrow leads over both his Republican challengers in California's gubernatorial race.
The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Voters shows Brown picking up 43% support, while Steve Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner earns 42%. Seven percent (7%) would vote for some other candidate, and eight percent (8%) are undecided.
A month ago, just after the California Democratic Convention, Brown led Poizner 50% to 32%. Poizner earned just 27% support in March. Brown's support now matches findings in February and March. Brown now earns 45% support over Whitman's 41%. Eight percent (8%) would vote for some other candidate, and seven percent (7%) are undecided.
READ MORE
Plus:
Is Steve Poizner pulling off the improbable? - Press-Telegram
May 18, 2010 ... Steve Poizner, the guy who was supposed to get chopped into tiny pieces, has shredded billionaire Meg Whitman ...
The turnaround seemed all but impossible back on March 24 when the Public Policy Institute of California issued a poll showing that Whitman led Poizner by 50 percentage points....
Poizner has all but closed the gap between himself and the one-time front-runner, and Californians are still forming their opinion, with three weeks before the June 8 primary...
[Ignore the polls. Don't game the system. Vote your conscious by voting for the person who most closely matches your positions on issues, period.]
Bloggers Beware – They’re Coming After You
Subject: txt hots lbrty 2010 sclm bbro bdd libs -
Just when you thought it was safe to start expressing your right to free speech, Democrats in Congress are gearing up for a vote on a new piece of legislation to blatantly undermine the First Amendment.
Known as the DISCLOSE Act (HR 5175), this bill – written by the head of the Democrats’ congressional campaign committee – is their response to the recent Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. In short, the Supreme Court found that the government could not restrict the free speech rights of individuals or other entities wishing to participate in the political dialogue.
It is hard to see how establishing a level playing field for free speech – as our Founding Fathers did by making it a right under the Constitution and which the Supreme Court upheld – is a threat to our democracy.
Nevertheless, the White House and their allies on Capitol Hill see honest criticism as a threat to forcing their big government, liberal agenda through Congress. So, there is no time like the present – namely five months before an election – to start putting the muzzle on those individuals and organizations not sticking to the Democrats’ talking points.
Under the DISCLOSE Act, certain incorporated entities would be restricted in how they can exercise their free speech rights. There is an exemption for some in the media sphere like newspapers, TV news, and the like. However, there is one driving force in today’s public debate that is NOT exempt.
Bloggers will not have the same exemption provided to other media sources. Never mind that the Supreme Court’s opinion in the Citizens United case stated, “Differential treatment of media corporations and other corporations cannot be squared with the First Amendment.”
Democrats should not be allowed to give themselves carte blanche to shut down the ability of those in the blogosphere or elsewhere to participate in our nation’s collective dialogue. That flies in the face of our most sacred rights as American citizens.
READ MORE
"OPPOSE DISCLOSE Act (HR 5175)"
YOUR Congressman: https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml
or: Speed Message them with your personal distribution list...
and as always, pass it on...
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Chiefs of Navy, Army, Air Force, and Marines Oppose DADT Repeal Before Study Finished
Subject: txt nsec -
The heads of the Army, Marines, Air Force, and Navy oppose the current amendment to repeal "don't ask, don't tell."
"Our military is currently engaged in two wars and we need to have a true assessment of the impact of repealing ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ on battlefield effectiveness prior to taking any legislative action."
Senator John McCain's office just released letters from the chiefs of the armed services, as well as a statement from the senator urging Congress to let the military complete its study before taking legislative action...
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Majority of Americans Believe Future of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Should be Left Up to Military Commanders, Zogby Poll Finds
Subject: txt nsec bdd vals -
Fifty-nine (59) percent of Americans think military leaders, rather than Congress, should be making the decision about the military policy on homosexuality, according to a poll released Tuesday by the Family Research Center. The Zogby International telephone survey, which was conducted May 17, asked 2,063 people:
"As pertains to homosexuals openly serving in the military, do you believe this decision is best made by military leaders or Congress?"
Only 21 percent said Congress should make the decision --
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U.S. must stop effort to force Israel into nuclear talks
Subject: txt israel -
The governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency next month are to discuss nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, the target perversely being the one country in the region whose atomic threat is zero.
That is, of course, not Iran, which has been defiantly enriching weapons-grade uranium.
It's Israel, which may or may not possess the bomb as a last-ditch deterrent against being overrun by a ring of [routinely threatening] enemies.
For almost half a century, the U.S. has backed Israel in cloaking its nuclear capabilities in doubt. This strategic ambiguity has enhanced its defensive posture.
Now, though, in one more break with the principles that have undergirded American-Israeli relations, the Obama administration has fed momentum at the IAEA and at the United Nations for pressuring Israel to reveal its nuclear secrets on the way to forced disarmament...
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The Enemies Within
Subject: txt gwot islm -
It is not entirely clear what possessed New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to disclose his peculiar suspicions that a yet-to-be-apprehended terrorist could very well turn out to be a right-wing enthusiast driven to violence because of his strong disagreement with President Obama's health care plan. What the consequences would have been had his suspicions proved accurate we cannot now predict, since said miscreant has already confessed.
We'll therefore be spared the ceaseless media 'investigations', as it turns out that he is, after all, merely another SUV-driving, stand-by Islamic jihadist commissioned to bring the war on terror to our shores...
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Islamists torch summer camp in Gaza
Subject: txt israel islm -
Masked gunmen from an Islamist group torched a UN-run summer camp for [their] children and teens in Gaza on Sunday, Army Radio reported, the top UN aid official in Gaza said.John Ging says the assailants tied up the guard early Sunday, burned tents and vandalized bathrooms. UN officials say the attackers left behind three bullets and a note threatening to kill Ging and others unless the UN cancels its activities for some 250,000 Gaza children. ..
[Israel's 'partner in peace'.]
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‘Yours is a peaceful faith’
Subject: txt islm -
Governor Deval Patrick told more than 1,100 Muslims at a Roxbury mosque yesterday that he knew many have encountered discrimination and racial profiling since Sept. 11 and that he would do everything in his power to combat those problems.
The audience, which comprised Muslims from across the state, including many women who wore hijab head coverings and men who wore kufi caps, frequently interrupted Patrick with cheers and chants of “Allahu Akbar!’’ which means “God is great!’’
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Why state pension funds may need a $1 trillion bailout
CALIFORNIA
By 2030, as many as 31 states may not have the money to pay the pensions of retired teachers, university employees, state workers, judges and politicians...
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Latino Los Angeles gets a place at the table
CALIFORNIA
The stories coming out of last week's White House state dinner honoring Mexican President Felipe Calderon focused chiefly on who wasn't there. The guest list signaled not only that Los Angeles continues to be the de facto capital of the Latino United States, but also that the city's labor-Latino alliance remains a dominant force (if not the dominant force) in L.A. and California politics...
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Legislators push for higher taxes
CALIFORNIA
“They are afflicted with the nation’s highest sales and gasoline taxes, and a particularly punishing income tax. And still “progressives” both inside the state claim that California’s budget crisis — a looming deficit of $18 billion — is the result of too little tax revenue.
(This deficit figure doesn’t include the state’s pension liabilities totaling a stunning half-trillion dollars.) 
As if devoid of economic rationality, state legislators have introduced more than a dozen proposals this year to hike taxes even higher — on top of the $12.5 billion tax increase imposed last year...”
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Calif. Congressman Blasts Calderon's Ariz. Comments and Dems for Applauding
A California Congressman on Thursday strongly criticized Mexican President Felipe Calderon for his comments about Arizona's new anti-illegal immigration law while also excoriating "the left wing of the White House" and "many Democrats in this Congress" who cheered his remarks.
This elicited a standing ovation from many Democrats present including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Attorney General Eric Holder, and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano (video right).
Just a few hours later, Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) took to the House floor to express his view of this disgraceful day in American history (video follows with full transcript):
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Tom McClintock: a good man too few of us voted for instead of the hollywood-rino we were stuck with, and current endorser of Chuck DeVore for US Senate against Boxer...
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FLASHBACK >
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Thursday, May 27, 2010
Vote Endorses Ground Zero Mosque
Subject: txt hots islm gwot -
After a raucous hearing, a Manhattan community board backed a proposal on Tuesday evening to build a 'Muslim community center' near the World Trade Center.
The 29-to-1 vote, with 10 abstentions, followed a four-hour back-and-forth between those who said the community center would be a monument to tolerance and those who believed it would be an affront to victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks.
C. Lee Hanson, 77, whose son Peter was killed in the attacks, said he opposed the center not because he was intolerant, but because he believed that building a tribute to Islam so close to the World Trade Center would be insensitive.
“The pain never goes away,” ... “When I look over there and I see a mosque, it’s going to hurt. Build it someplace else.”
But Mr. Williams was not the only critic. Many families of Sept. 11 victims fervently opposed the proposal, saying they were offended by the idea of building a prayer space so near the site.
“That should be a serene site,” Bill Doyle, a leader of a group of 9/11 families, said in a telephone interview. “Now you’re going to see protests and demonstrations there all the time.”
City officials, including Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg; the City Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn; and the Manhattan borough president, Scott M. Stringer, have rallied behind the proposal... Ms. Quinn pledged on Tuesday to help shepherd the center to completion.
“I’m very confident we could find a way for both the landmark concept and the development of the mosque to move forward,”
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U.S. looks at ways to head off home-grown extremism
Subject: txt hots gwot islm -
After more than a dozen home-grown terrorist plots involving American Muslims since President Obama took office, the administration is moving to step up its scattershot efforts to counter domestic radicalism, prompting a debate over the proper role of government in addressing ideological threats.
Unlike Britain and other countries in Europe, the U.S. government does not have a national strategy to combat Islamic extremism, and no agency in the vast American national security and intelligence bureaucracy is in charge of understanding and addressing the home-grown threat...
[Gee - where to start? Maybe our >2300 mosques, {some} proven centers of radicalization?]
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Wisconsin Veteran Must Remove Flag After Memorial Day, Wife Says
Subject: txt hots bdd vals libs lbrty -
An Army veteran in Wisconsin will be allowed to display an American flag until Memorial Day, but the symbol honoring his service in Iraq and Kosovo must come down next Tuesday, his wife told FoxNews.com.
The couple had previously been told they had to remove the flag by Saturday or face eviction...
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Senate Judiciary Committee Asks AG Holder to Appoint Special Prosecutor to Look Into Alleged Sestak Job Offer
Subject: txt hots - 2010 crpt -
In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder today, all seven Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee
"urge the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate Congressman Joe Sestak's claim that a White House official offered him a job to induce him to exit the Pennsylvania Senate primary race against Senator Arlen Specter."
The seven – Sens. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, Orrin Hatch of Utah, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Jon Kyl or Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, John Cornyn of Texas and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma – allege that the offer would appear to violate federal criminal laws...
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A Lie or a Felony?
Subject: txt hots 2010 msm bias -
There are one of two things going on here:] Either Joe Sestak is a liar and he's not telling the truth about this, or somebody inside the White House committed a felony. [Federal law] 18Usc211 says that a government official cannot receive anything of value in return for a promise of government employment. That is to say, you can't offer somebody a government job in return for receiving anything that could be considered a benefit.
Well, you know, a clear path to the nomination for your political ally is clearly something of benefit...
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Justice Department Sued Over Black Panther Documents
Subject: txt hots -
The Justice Department has been stonewalling individual members of Congress and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in their efforts to get to the bottom of the Obama-Holder Justice Department’s decision to abandon a default judgment against the New Black Panther Party and multiple individual defendants in a case of blatant voter intimidation.
Now the conservative legal watchdog Judicial Watch is going to court to pry the documents loose: Judicial Watch filed its original FOIA request on May 29, 2009. The Justice Department acknowledged receiving the request on June 18, 2009, but refused to take action...
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FLASHBACKs >
Walpin-gate reopens
Subject: txt hots -
Senators ought to place an open and immediate hold upon the nomination of Jon A. Hatfield as inspector general of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). The legislative hold is necessary not to question Mr. Hatfield's fitness for the job, but to insist that the job itself should not yet be deemed open.
The former inspector general (IG), the improperly dismissed Gerald Walpin, filed a motion in court May 20 to force a judge to stop ignoring his lawsuit for reinstatement. Until he receives his day in court, no replacement should be confirmed...
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FLASHBACKs >
The FCC's Covert Mission to 'Balance' Broadcast Media Ownership
Subject: txt hots lbrty - bbro -
Should Americans be concerned about a Federal Communications Commission official having once suggested that if government doesn't help minorities reduce white ownership of broadcast media, then only violence would assure the protection of minorities' civil rights [1]? 
In the little-noticed 2007 publication "The Erosion of Civil Rights," Mark Lloyd attempted to make a case for Washington controlling media ownership. At the time, Lloyd -- now FCC Chief Diversity Officer -- was a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. Lloyd's contribution, "Civil Rights and Communications Policy-2006," is saturated with straw man arguments...
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Cancer patient forced by judge to have surgery
Subject: txt hots - lgl hcare lbrty -
A cancer patient is to be forced to undergo life-saving treatment against her wishes after a landmark ruling by a judge. Doctors will be allowed forcibly to sedate the 55-year-old woman in her home and take her to hospital for surgery. She could be forced to remain on a ward afterwards. The case has sparked an intense ethical and legal debate.
Experts questioned [?!?] whether lawyers and doctors should be able to override the wishes of patients and whether force was ever justified in providing medical care....
READ MORE
Apple Passes Microsoft as No. 1 in Tech
Subject: txt hots othr gdd -
Wall Street has called the end of an era and the beginning of the next one: The most important technology product no longer sits on your desk but rather fits in your hand. The moment came Wednesday when Apple, the maker of iPods, iPhones and iPads, shot past Microsoft, the computer software giant, to become the world’s most valuable technology company...
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Americans Fleeing Border Invasion
Subject: txt hots immig -
They spent ten winters hunting quail in the sun. But those halcyon days ended last week for Terrie and Glen Stoller. Smugglers -- armed, numerous, and brazen -- have frightened them off their southeast Arizona property.
The couple is selling their home, 45 miles north of the Mexican border in the notorious Chiricahua Corridor.
At the precise moment Americans citizens were saying a wrenching farewell to their friends and property, President Obama stood on the White House lawn and listened as Mexican President Felipe Calderón criticized SB 1070, Arizona's own effort to deal with a state under siege...
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What Bias? Re: Today Show Features Family Divided by Immigration Laws
Subject: txt
[Yet to feature family divided by illegal alien murder and kidnapping across our uncontrolled border.]
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Raising Arizona
Subject: txt immig -
When Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed her state’s new immigration law on April 23, reaction from the political Left was swift and furious. They predicted jack-booted rogue cops staging midnight raids on the homes of everyone.
But after over a month of national debate and media coverage – including criticism from both the American and Mexican presidents, and a host of newly minted experts, a curious thing is happening.
The state’s new law has not led to massive deportation or racial cleansing in the desert, and it’s growing in popularity both in Arizona and nationally...
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POLL: Public's Attitude Hardens on Illegal Immigrants
Subject: txt immig
Three-quarters of Americans want to see the number of illegal immigrants decreased and a substantial majority put more priority on stopping illegal immigration than they do in finding a path for immigrants to become legal residents, according to a CNN/Opinion Research poll conducted May 21-23.
The 76 percent who say they want the population of illegals decreased is the highest figure in CNN polls dating back to June 2006 when those holding this view numbered 67 percent.
Sixty percent want the emphasis of the government to be on stopping illegals from entering the country...
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Dems hope to use war funding bill for domestic spending
Subject: txt gwot nsec - sclm -
As senators prepare to vote on a $58.8 billion supplemental war-spending bill, a fight is looming over whether to pay for it or simply add the cost to the nation's soaring deficit. President Obama and Democratic leaders are hoping to use the war funding bill as a vehicle for passing billions of dollars in additional domestic spending, including $23 billion to avert teacher layoffs....
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Senate GOP to oppose 'blatantly reckless' extenders package
Subject: txt 2010 mny sclm libs -
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) signaled that Republicans would oppose a new tax relief and unemployment aid package that will come to the floor this week, calling the bill “blatantly reckless.” The so-called extenders package would extend tax measures such as research and development tax credit as well as unemployment benefits through the end of the year. “This extenders bill would add another $130 billion on top of that — more debt in one vote than the administration claimed their health care bill would save over 10 years,” McConnell said on the floor. “This is fiscal recklessness,” he added.
[I.e., through the election.]
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