Thursday, July 31, 2008

Soap Opera Politics Vol 1 Issue 19: McCain´s Desperate Ad Comparing Obama to Spears Makes Him Look Like a Grumpy Old Cryptkeeper

The McCain campaign, extremely jealous of Obama´s popularity domestically and around the world, is beyond desperate. Their most recent ad compares Barack Obama to two people who are famous for being airheaded and infamous: Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. McCain is wearing his jealousy on his sleeve. Now, he just appears to be a Grumpy Old Cryptkeeper. Why doesn´t he focus his ads on ending the War in Iraq, the Economy or Domestic Issues!! As Barack said to McCain, "Is THAT the Best You Can Come Up With??"
Advice to OBAMA Campaign: Now, the Cryptkeeper´s team is counter attacking with the "Race" issue. My suggestion: Dont FALL for it!! Dont even discuss it. McCain started this whole argument with a comparison to Spears and Hilton. Stick to the Topic. DO NOT LET THEM Divert from the true topic!!! (Typical Dirty Tricks on the part of the Cryptkeeper!!)

New E Verify Bill Due for Vote! What Do YOU Think?

A new e-Verify bill is due for a Vote in Congress. The bill is HR6633. The Employee Verification Amendment Act of 2008. (Go to Thomas to review it).
Congress Daily Reports: House Lawmakers Reach Deal On Bill To Renew E-Verify
Thu. Jul 31, 2008by
Chris Strohm
House lawmakers have reached an agreement on legislation that would renew a program that allows employers to verify the legal status of their workers, breaking a stalemate between two committees over concerns about funding for the Social Security Administration. The bill emerged from behind-the-scenes negotiations among lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee and the Ways and Means Committee. The two sides had been at odds over writing language that would both reauthorize the Homeland Security Department's E-Verify program and preserve Social Security's ability to meet its core mission of providing services to seniors and the disabled. The bill would reauthorize for five years the E-Verify program, which is an online tool that employers can use to confirm a worker's information against Homeland Security and Social Security databases. The Senate still must come to an agreement on companion legislation. Without congressional action, the program will expire in November. The House bill would maintain E-Verify as a voluntary program, even though some states have mandated its use....The bill, which was discussed briefly on the floor Wednesday night, might come up for a vote as early as today. "I think that this bipartisan bill is necessary to pass," said House Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee Chairman Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Calif., chairman of the House Immigration Reform Caucus, said E-Verify has proven to be an effective tool in stopping illegal immigrants from getting jobs.
I am hearing there is bi-partisan (Rep, Dem, ANTI and PRO) support for this bill and that some in the Business Community support it as well. I am very curious as to why. I am going to leave my opinion out of it and let you, the viewers, tell me why it should or should not be supported.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

EPITOME OF EVIL: Agriprocessors Continues to Pursue Latino Workers (Legal or illegal) Rather than Improve Working Conditions and Pay Livable Wages

Agriprocessors the most egregious corporation in US History is continuing to seek Latino Workers, legal or illegal, rather than improve their deplorable, unsafe working conditions or pay livable wages to Local Workers. The Rubashkins have a history rife with crime. From abusing workers, violating Child Labor Laws, illegally working children 11 hours a day with no overtime pay to providing illegal workers False Green Cards, this Company and all like them must be stopped and the owners responsible imprisoned. They have destroyed a nice town, exploited countless workers and stood as a model of unpunished corruption for others to follow. When will the Government and Law Enforcement finally put these heinous employers behind bars? Or do those GOP donations really afford them the opportunity to avoid prosecution for their crimes?
Ryan Regenold, a spokesman for Des Moines-based Jacobson Companies, said his staffing company was relying on two Texas agencies, one in Amarillo and another in McAllen, for recruiting in that state. “I represent Jacobson Staffing, and we were brought here on June 2 to basically bring in an entire new community — at least that’s how it seems,” Regenold said. “There are two outside-sourced agencies that Agri is using that were bringing the people from Texas. As I’m sure most have already heard, they are coming in from Amarillo and McAllen (TX-MX border town). To shore up that, we are screening those people a little bit better, we will be starting to have them drug-screened and background-checked prior to their coming to Postville. The wave of people that you might have seen in the past, those causing the police chief to do a little bit of extra paperwork on his weekends, hopefully will begin to stop.”...One of the firms being utilized by Jacobson is Bravo Labor Agency in McAllen, Texas. Although the company’s Web site has been taken off-line, a May 30 cached version of the page indicates that the firm began in 1987. One of the specialties highlighted by the firm is its ability to “lower overhead, with inexpensive labor from South Texas and Mexico.” ...
The “bad apples” aren’t the first to come to Postville for work at Agriprocessors only to seek exit shortly after their arrival. Labor Ready, a multinational staffing firm with a branch in Waterloo, Iowa cited health and safety concerns as the reason it pulled roughly 150 workers out of the Agriprocessors plant 10 days after they started employment there. Another group of workers from the company’s Nebraska plant opted to return west, claiming the working conditions in Postville to be far inferior to their original location.
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Agriprocessors and the Rubashkins make me angry! Why is it that rather than improve their working conditions and pay livable wages, they seek Latino workers in Texas, legal or illegal? The answers are clear. 1. GREED, 2. they have no regard for the workers they deem inferior and 3. they know their GOP Cronies will allow their crimes to go unpunished. These employers are the epitome of EVIL!

Saturday, July 26, 2008

FINAL KICK IN THE HEAD: Teens charged in beating that killed Mexican National in Race Hate Crime!

Officials charged the high school jock football player murderers in the Mexican National Hate Crime in Pennsylvania case. As we said, the final "kick in the head" murdered him.
OFFICIAL TIMELINE OF EVENTS:
Officials say taunts preceded killing
Court documents give this account of the July 12 fatal beating of Luis Ramirez, 25, of Shenandoah:
Ramirez had been traveling in a vehicle with friends Arielle Garcia of Shenandoah and her husband, Victor Garcia-Cruz, about 11:15 p.m.
Ramirez requested to be dropped off at Vine Street Park so he could walk home.
They also dropped off a 15-year-old female relative of Crystal Dillman, 24, of Shenandoah. Dillman is Ramirez’ fiancee.
The 15-year-old walked to her home on nearby Lloyd Street while Ramirez waited at the park.
As she was heading back to the park, a group of six male teens, some of whom had been drinking, began yelling at her and Ramirez.
The comments included, "You should get out of this neighborhood," and "Get your Mexican boyfriend out of here."
Among the teens were Derrick Donchak, 18, Brandon Piekarsky, 16, and Colin Walsh, 17, all of Shenandoah, and a 17-year-old Shenandoah male whose name was not released.
Ramirez walked away on Lloyd Street and called Arielle Garcia on his cell phone to say he was being harassed.
The teens followed him and one of them called Ramirez a "spic."
Ramirez asked him what his problem was.
Piekarsky, Walsh and the 17-year old then ran toward Ramirez and a fight broke out.
Donchak joined the fight.
Ramirez fell to the street and the teens punched and kicked him repeatedly.
Ramirez got back on his feet and the fight moved west down Lloyd Street.
Arielle Garcia and Victor Garcia-Cruz arrived. Garcia-Cruz tried to break up the fight but was punched from behind.
Walsh punched Ramirez in the face, causing Ramirez to fall back and hit his head on the macadam street.
As Ramirez lay unconscious, Piekarsky kicked him in the left side of his head.
The teens ran away.
Ramirez was taken to St. Catherine Medical Center in Ashland, then flown to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, where he underwent surgery for head injuries.
His condition worsened and he died July 14 at 6:38 a.m.
On July 13, the youths involved in the beating had met to plan how to conceal or limit their involvement in Ramirez’s beating.

Congressman Gutierrez: Postville, a Political Ploy by the Bush Administration!

Now that the PRO Blogosphere has made Postville front page news, Congressman Luis Gutierrez says the Bush Administration used Postville and Agriprocessors as a political ploy.
The DesMoines Register reports:
Postville raid a political ploy
By TONY LEYS • tleys@dmreg.com • July 26, 2008
Postville, Ia. – The Bush administration tried to score political points by ordering unusually harsh penalties for hundreds of undocumented workers swept up in an immigration raid here, Illinois congressman said Saturday.“I think they’re kowtowing to the most xenophobic, anti-immigrant heart and base of the Republican Party because there’s an election coming up,” Rep. Luis Gutierrez said.The Chicago Democrat made the allegation in an interview after an emotional meeting with about 100 people at St. Bridget’s Catholic Church. He said top White House officials actually favor reforming immigration laws to make it easier for workers to come here, but they ordered the May raid so it would look like they were cracking down.

Soap Opera Politics Vol 1 Issue 18: SuperObama Around the World!

Countries across the world are in a Love Fest! They Love Obama. They realize the US Bushtator will soon be out of office and they are welcoming Obama as their Savior-Superhero, soon to bring Truth, Justice, Peace, Diplomacy and Solidarity around the world. This hero-worship is scaring the US GOP Power-Driven Nativists to Death.
Associated Press Reports:Analysis: Obama treated like a president on tour
By DAVID ESPO – 54 minutes ago
LONDON (AP) — Maybe the foreign leaders Barack Obama met with on his mid-campaign overseas trip were merely hedging their bets and don't believe he will win the White House this fall. But that's not how many of them acted. Jordan's King Abdullah flew back early from Aspen, Colo., to host dinner at his palace, then personally took the wheel of the royal Mercedes to drive his guest to the airport. "God bless you," Israeli President Shimon Peres greeted Obama the next morning in Jerusalem. French President Nicolas Sarkozy virtually endorsed the man he called "my dear Barack Obama." He observed puckishly he wasn't meddling in the U.S. election when he suggested Obama follow his own lead by winning the top political office in the United States. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, himself an aspirant for higher office, rarely strayed from Obama's side during a photo opportunity-rich trip to the village of Sderot near the Gaza Strip targeted by Hamas rockets. And Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced — twice — in the days surrounding Obama's visit to his country that he favors a timeline for the withdrawal of American combat troops that is remarkably similar to the one the Democratic presidential contender favors. In London, David Cameron, head of the opposition Conservative Party, made sure British as well as American television cameras recorded him with his guest in three separate locations in less than an hour. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was something of an exception. No welcoming remarks for the cameras, no photos of the two meeting in her office. She did issue a statement calling Obama's speech before 200,000 people citing a need for a renewed U.S.-European alliance "a positive signal." But that was after she had embarrassed the presidential hopeful by making it known she did not think the historic Brandenburg Gate was a suitable venue for a political event by a traveling American.
She prevailed on that point — the speech was delivered from a different war memorial, the Victory Column. But Obama's campaign went to lengths to insist that the trip, little more than 100 days before the election, was not political.
(Meanwhile)..Republicans fumed at the extensive coverage.
And The Independent Reports:
The reviews for Mr Obama were mostly favourable and his critics could not point to single misstep. Despite that the Bush Administration did what it could to make life difficult for him. On the eve of his trip, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice instructed US embassies to give the candidate minimal support. "If the campaign staff wants to rent a bus for press, tell them where they can rent a bus,'' she ordered. No such instructions were issued prior to John McCain trips to Canada and Columbia. By contrast when Mr McCain, in a flak-jacket, walked through a Baghdad market last year to declare it safe, helicopter gun ships hovered overhead and 100 security men stood guard.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Do Not Blame the Crimes of the One on the Many!

All felonious criminals should be prosecuted. Any felonious criminals who are illegal immigrants should be deported after their punishment is served. That said, we all must be clear, the ethnicity, age, race, status of the criminal does not indict all people within that group. To do so would be like saying since John Gacy and BTK were middle aged white males, therefore all middle aged white males are guilty of their crimes. Of course this is ludicrous, as it is ludicrous to indict all minorities or all illegal immigrants for the crimes of the few.
Over the last few weeks two horrendous crimes occurred, one in Pennsylvania (the Hate Crime I reported) and one in San Francisco (on June 22). Fox News and many of the ANTI websites are reporting on the San Francisco crime.
Edwin Ramos, now 21, is being held on three counts of murder in the June 22 deaths of Tony Bologna, 48, and his sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16. They were shot near their home in the Excelsior district when Tony Bologna, driving home from a family picnic, briefly blocked the gunman's car from completing a left turn down a narrow street, police say.
Though an investigation was still ongoing, police have stated the shooting occurred after a traffic altercation involving Bologna's car and as many as three people in another car.
The victims´ wife and mother was understandably upset. My sympathies go out to her and to the remaining members of her family. I cannot imagine her devastation right now and her drive to see that justice prevails.
When she appeared on Fox News this morning, she demanded justice and is upset that San Francisco does not pursue the Death Penalty. I agree to the extent that if Ramos is found guilty of the crime he should be punished, serve his time, then deported.
The Fox News commentator and the ANTI sites however are focused on San Francisco being a "sanctuary city." Fox and the ANTIs are saying Ramos is in illegal status. They are using this as an excuse to indict ALL illegal immigrants for these crimes and to indict San Francisco for being a Sanctuary City. They are wrong on several counts. First, they should not indict All for the crimes of the One. Second, Ramos is currently in "Pending" status. Third, the San Franciscos sanctuary policies have recently changed:
Ramos came to the United States at age 13 from El Salvador, where he had been raised by his grandmother.
Authorities familiar with his background said Ramos wanted to be near his mother, who had abandoned him when he was 4 months old; she was living with two of her other children in San Francisco...

(Recently) Ramos had married a woman who is a U.S. citizen and applied again to immigration officials to stay in the United States, this time as a permanent resident. That request was pending at the time Tony Bologna and his sons were shot to death.
Apparently Ramos was not "wanted" by his mother, joined a gang and committed several crimes as a juvenile. Prior to his "pending" status, he was convicted and served time in a juvenile facility. Since he was in a "sanctuary city", the authorities did not notify ICE and deport him.
My view is, all felonious criminals should be punished, serve their time and, if an illegal immigrant, should be deported. Mayor Gavin Newsom rescinded the old sanctuary policy regarding notifying ICE of illegal immigrant status for those committing felonious crime earlier this month. I am in agreement with the Mayor´s actions.
As for Ramos, if he is found guilty, he should be punished, serve his time and be deported since obviously, if guilty, he will no longer be in Pending status and instead be denied permanent residency.
But let me make one thing clear. If Ramos is guilty, he alone is responsible and accountable for his crimes. The Scales of Justice in our Country do not allow indicting an Entire Group for the crimes of the One.
UPDATE: The Sheriff and ICE are in dispute regarding the March arrest and release. The San Francisco Sheriff’s Department is going toe-to-toe with federal immigration officials over the release of a suspected gang member who is accused of killing a San Francisco father and his two sons last month in a road rage incident. As the suspect appeared in court Monday, the question that lingered was how he fell through the cracks. Immigration officials say Edwin Ramos was mistakenly released by San Francisco Sheriff’s Department, last spring and quite possibly could have been in custody instead of on the streets during last month’s triple homicide. Immigration, Customs and Enforcement officials in Los Angeles say they have an electronic log between their office and the sheriff’s office in San Francisco that shows deputies released Ramos from custody before they were contacted. But San Francisco Sheriff Mike Hennesy disputes ICE’s claims and says the federal agency is trying to deflect blame. “They’re saying this because they’re feeling some heat,” says Hennessey. “For example, in the past 18 months I’ve turned over 1100 people to ICE, so it’s not like we have a system that doesn’t work.” Ramos was arrested last march on weapons charges. Those charges were later dropped.
ICE officials say their log shows Ramos was released at 1:49 a.m. on April 2nd. Almost two hours later, San Francisco Sheriff’s officials sent an electronic query to Los Angeles ICE officials concerning Ramos’s immigration status. At 5:12 a.m., ICE responded Ramos was in deportation proceedings. Later that morning, ICE says it placed a “detainer hold” on Ramos, but by then he was already back on the streets. Sheriff Hennessey doesn’t buy ICE’s version of events.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Nickelbag Joe Arpaio, Media Hound, Racist or Nut, Part 2

Sheriff Joe took his hounds out in search of another celebrity. This time he arrested rapper DMX in a crowded Mall on a Saturday afternoon for an unpaid hospital bill from March. He called the media in advance to alert them to the arrest. Joe responded to his AP interviewer, "“He’s (DMX) back in jail again. I don’t know why judges keep letting this guy out. Every time he goes in there, he gets out on bond. I’m hoping this is the one time he’s going to pay the penalty for his offense.” The sheriff went on to say that DMX is to be jailed in isolation from the other inmates for his own safety. He told AP, “They may not like his music.”

What gives? Last month he held a media circus to take away a toy badge from Shaq just because he didn´t like a rap song Shaq sang, now this. Apparently Nickelbag needs daily attention!

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Breaking News: Soap Opera Politics Vol 1 Issue 17: McCain adviser on Iraqi PM's Obama endorsement: 'We're f**ked'

Breaking News! This is being reported by several sources including AP, Reuters and we hear the White House also "accidently" sent it out to reporters.
My mother always told me everything happens for a reason. Should we believe the White House "accidently" sent this out? Is there more to this story than we are being led to believe? I know one thing. Obama supporters are rejoicing. All I can say is, "Hmmmm. All very curious."
The Atlantic reports:Senator John McCain ridiculed Senator Obama's timetable for Iraq withdrawal as a tactic aimed only at getting votes. For the Iraqi Prime minister, it apparently worked. The clear endorsement of Senator Barack Obama by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki Saturday morning came as a strong blow to the McCain campaign.
McCain has claimed a superiority to Obama in matters of foreign policy as a major selling point to his candidacy for president, but that position is more difficult in the wake of al-Maliki's statement.
After hearing of the announcement, a sometime adviser to the McCain campaign said in an email, "We're f**ked," according to
Mark Ambinder of The Atlantic. A senior McCain campaign official responded to Ambinder about the development. "His domestic politics require him to be for us getting out," he said on the condition of anonymity. "The military says 'conditions based' and Maliki said 'conditions based' yesterday in the joint statement with Bush. Regardless, voters care about [the] military, not about Iraqi leaders." But it will be difficult for McCain to deny his own statement in 2004 that the United States would have to leave Iraq if the nation's leaders requested it.

MUST SEE: Bordertown Tells True Story of NAFTA´s Maquiladores and Deaths in Juarez!

Anyone interested in the Immigration Debate should visit Blockbuster and rent the movie "Bordertown." This movie tells the powerful true story of life in the border town of Juarez, MX. It is based on the book written by Diana Washington Valdez, an El Paso journalist.
Ms. Valdez spent years investigating and documenting the deaths of thousands of women murdered in Juarez since 1993. These murders are called femicides, or gender murders. Hundreds of women working in American-owned factories (maquiladoras) were brutally raped and murdered in Juarez, a city gripped by fear. The attacks have been covered up by the local authorities, and still continue today.
This movie details the inner work processes of the Maquiladores and their link to NAFTA (and CAFTA). It explains the working conditions, low pay and exploitation of workers all so Big Business in Mexico and the USA can reap larger profits. It also details the corruptness of both the Mexican and the American government, the greed of Global Corporations and the role/reason for the cover ups of these murders which are still going on today.
I ask that all commenters who see this movie provide us your feedback and share your thoughts with us.
Caution: You may feel guilty watching TV, using your monitor or PC after you see this film!
Note: User Reviews gave this film very, very high ratings, yet it was not widely distributed. I believe Corporate America and Mexico did not want you to see this movie.

Associated Press Outs FAIR and Alipac as Racists?

I came across this article about the 2008 Olympics and the changing ethnicities of our USA Champions. Our country is evolving and the 2008 Team represents the evolving "Melting Pot" in our country.
This AP article included comments from several of the Olympic supporters who celebrate the evolving ethnicities.
They also interviewed Ira Mehlmann from F.A.I.R. and William Gheen from Alipac. Both of their comments seem somewhat radical and some may consider them racist. While Ira´s comments are milder, Gheen´s comment is a rather raunchy, racist joke. I am somewhat curious, wondering if Ira or William approved these quotes attributed to them. IF they did approve them, they certainly did not represent their organizations very well and they in fact, add fuel to the ADL reports of their racism.
Foreign-born athletes take Olympic stage for US By DAVID CRARY – 32 minutes agoNEW YORK (AP) — As the U.S. struggles with immigration policy, Americans will get a chance next month to see their melting-pot nation through the prism of foreign-born athletes competing in USA uniforms at the Beijing Olympics. There are at least 32 of them, compared to 27 at the 2004 Summer Games, according to the U.S. Olympic Committee, which didn't track the statistic before then. They include four Chinese-born table tennis players, a kayaker from Britain, Russian-born world champion gymnast Nastia Liukin and seven members of the track-and-field team. For those seeking symbolism, it's hard to top the men's 1,500-meter squad — Kenya native Bernard Lagat; Lopez Lomong, one of the "lost boys" of Sudan's civil war who spent a decade in a refugee camp; and Leo Manzano, a Mexican laborer's son who moved to the U.S. when he was 4 but didn't gain citizenship until 2004. "It's a magical time," said U.S. men's track coach, Bubba Thornton. "I'm glad that these young men found their way here. It may just remind us all of where we came from, and how hard the struggle may have been, and how big the dream was to be here." Within their sport, the three 1,500-meter runners have been warmly embraced, as have other immigrants among the 596 U.S. Olympic athletes. "I don't think of any of our foreign-born athletes as foreign," said Jill Geer, USA Track & Field's communications director. "In USATF, no one considers them anything but American, and I'm not saying that just because it's the right thing to say."Beyond the realm of sports, the rancorous national debate over immigration has focused on foreigners here illegally and whether they should be offered some sort of pathway to citizenship. Ira Mehlman of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which favors stricter immigration enforcement, said foreign-born Olympians merit public support — but should be viewed as exceptions in a system fraught with flaws and unfairness. "Not everybody coming into the U.S. is an Olympic athlete or a Nobel prize winner," Mehlman said. "Maybe this ought to be a wake-up call that we ought to design an immigration policy that seeks out exceptional people. Now, most of it is based on extended families. ... you don't have a policy designed to bring in people who fit the needs of this country."
William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration (Alipac), said the achievements of naturalized citizens like Lagat and Lomong should be celebrated, but not used as an argument for a more lenient immigration policy. Gheen passed along a joke circulating on the Internet that alludes to illegal Mexico-to-U.S. border-crossing — over fences, deserts and the Rio Grande. The gist of it: Mexico will do poorly in the Olympics "because all their best runners, jumpers and swimmers are in the United States." "The American public is starting to sour on all immigration in reaction to rampant illegal immigration," Gheen said. "The danger is if people say, 'Look at these immigrants who are in the Olympics — therefore you should provide a path to citizenship for all the illegal immigrants in the country.'"
Randy Capps, a demographer with the nonpartisan Urban Institute who studies immigrant families, sees the U.S. as keeping pace with global competition in its acceptance of foreign-born athletes. "Would you rather have them competing for someone else? Would you rather the U.S. be more competitive or less competitive?" he asked. "You wouldn't want an immigration policy that would exclude people who could potentially be the best at what they do." Many other countries welcome foreign-born athletes to their own teams. Canada, with a relatively open immigration policy, expects to have more than 50 on its team in Beijing.
Generally, foreign countries don't complain when their citizens relocate to compete for the U.S. However, some Kenyan officials were displeased when they learned that Lagat — who attended Washington State University but won two Olympic medals for Kenya — had quietly gained U.S. citizenship in 2004 prior to the Athens Games.Indeed, the U.S. has scored relatively few major triumphs internationally in distance running in recent years — fueling a perception that the U.S. lacks its own world-class talent and that foreign-born runners are the best hope for Olympic medals in distance events.Yet Jill Geer said native-born runners in the past two years have started to alter that outlook. The Olympic marathon trials were a particularly big confidence boost: in a field that included several African-born stars, all three qualifiers were American-born. In any case, she said, U.S. track officials were happy to welcome world-class athletes immigrating from abroad, but did not actively recruit them."Obviously you've had people fleeing difficult circumstances and/or political persecution," Geer said. "These aren't people trying to find an easy way into the Olympic Games. These are families seeking a better life for themselves."The family of Eritrean-born distance runner Meb Keflezighi is a prime example. While Meb — the son of a political refugee — won a silver medal for the United States at the 2004 Olympics, his 10 siblings have thus far amassed six undergraduate college degrees, an MBA, a medical degree and a law degree. Leo Manzano's story is similarly striking. His father, Jesus Manzano, slipped across the U.S. border from Mexico numerous times as a young man, seeking jobs to support his family. He was granted legal residency in the U.S. in 1987. The father initially scoffed at Leo's interest in running, but relented. The son won nine Texas state high school championships, earned a scholarship at the University of Texas, and has won five NCCA titles. "He represents everything that you're taught growing up in this great country," said Bubba Thornton, his coach at Texas and on the Olympic team. "You show up every day, you work hard, your treat people like you want to be treated and if you do all those things, good things can come to you."
Manzano himself says he's honored by his Olympic berth and eager to have a chance to show his gratitude to America. If there are fans out there who'd prefer to see a native-born American in his place, he hasn't noticed."I haven't felt any negative energy — it's all been very positive," he said. "In my home town, the people have been awesome. They've taken me to heart." He also embraces the message conveyed by having Lagat and Lomong as his teammates. "It shows how diverse our country is. It's a melting pot," Manzano said. "I'm really excited and I'm sure those guys want to give back as much I do."

Race Crime in the Heartland! Murdered Due to WWB! (Walking While Brown)

Last Saturday, a young Latino father received a ride home from friends. His fiance and three children anxiously awaited his return. Being considerate of his friends, he asked them to drop him off at the park close to his house saying he could walk the rest of the way. He wanted them to save gas. A few minutes after he was dropped off, his friends received an urgent cell phone call from their friend. He was being chased and harassed by teenage athletes who were drinking and horseplaying at the park. They were members of the local football squad. His friends heard the cat calls by the muscle bound jocks, "Go Back to Mexico!" "Tell all your Mexican friends to get out of town." By the time his friends arrived back at the park, the muscle bound jocks were stomping on his chest. Just before they got to him, the biggest football player wanted to make sure the lesson was drilled in to him. He kicked him his in head, like his head was a football.
Eileen Burke, a retired Philadelphia police officer who lives near the scene, said about the time of the beating she heard someone shouting “You tell all your Mexican friends to get out of town.” “With the park across the street, I hear screaming all the time, but I turned down the air conditioning so I could hear what was going on and I could see kids going back and forth and a girl was screaming ‘Please stop hitting him,’ ” Burke said. “I called 911 to get an ambulance. There seemed to be too many kids around and I thought I’d better be safe than sorry. When I got out the front door, there was one kid running down the pavement. I heard a thud and the kid ran past again.”
The young man, Luis Ramirez, died two days later. The imprint of his crucifix stomped into his chest by the jocks still embedded deeply into his skin. His fiance and three children were left crying, their father gone!
Today, seven days later, the police have identified the young football players but have not made an arrest. Instead, they are angry at the local newspaper for breaking the news.
It is time the FBI was called in to investigate this Racist HATE CRIME!!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon Calls Joe "Shakiest Gun in the West!"

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon has laid down the gauntlet! He said, "I think with law enforcement, the last thing anybody wants is somebody with a gun, both that is angry and shaking... Arpaio is increasingly engaging in bizarre behavior, erratic ramblings and misstatements, contradicting himself within the same statement." This is quite a statement from the honorable Mayor. Will Joe take this sitting down or is he bent on revenge. We will see (and I will report) in the days and weeks ahead!
KPHO News Reports:Gordon-Arpaio Feud Escalates, Debate Swirls Over Enforcement Of Immigration LawsPOSTED: 1:05 pm MST July 15, 2008
PHOENIX -- Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio squared off again Tuesday in their ongoing battle over enforcement of immigration laws. Gordon said the sheriff has lost his focus and is not helping the county at all with reducing crime. "The continuing bizarre behavior of the sheriff, including last night's demonstration of anger and sarcasm, is continuing evidence that the stress and criticism of the office is affecting the sheriff's judgment," Gordon said. Arpaio said Gordon is not an expert on law enforcement and represents only one vote on the City Council. He also said Gordon lies and misrepresents statistics.
Asked whether he would have Arpaio working for him if he were the sheriff's boss, Gordon said no. "I think with law enforcement, the last thing anybody wants is somebody with a gun, both that is angry and shaking," the mayor said. "You'll see Arpaio is increasingly engaging in bizarre behavior, erratic ramblings and misstatements, contradicting himself within the same statement."
Arpaio said Gordon has no business criticizing him for doing his job and that he has overwhelming public support compared with the mayor. "He constantly criticizes me with my 48 years of law enforcement," Arpaio said. "A poll came out today. It said 86 percent support me, 14 percent support the mayor. He better look at what the people think. We are politicians. We serve the people." "I don't know when he became an expert on law enforcement," Arpaio said. "He's just a mayor with one vote."
Gordon said Arpaio, who continued another one of his controversial crime suppression efforts in Mesa on Tuesday, is putting too much emphasis on immigration issues. "You see rising crime rates in the county. You see the response times that have gone sky high where he's responsible. And you see the arrest rates going down," Gordon said. "Any other chief wouldn't be there."
Arpaio said his deputies have made thousands of felony arrests and conducted thousands of investigations and that 3,000 members of the Phoenix police union have endorsed him for re-election in November.
He said Gordon has attacked him with "petty statistics." "I'm not going to debate this guy," Arpaio said. "I'm going to keep doing my job. The people support me. I'm the elected sheriff and I back up my officers."

Monday, July 14, 2008

Soap Opera Politics Vol 1 Issue 16: New Yorker Cartoon This Month and Next Month

The New Yorker published this rather outlandish Cartoon this week of Senator Obama titled "The Politics of Fear." The New Yorker says it: "satirizes the use of scare tactics and misinformation in the Presidential election to derail Barack Obama's campaign." Critics are complaining it "combines every smeary right-wing stereotype imaginable: An image of Obama in a turban and robes fist-bumping his be-afro'd wife, dressed in the military fatigues of a revolutionary and packing a machine gun and some serious ammo. Oh yes, this quaint little scene takes place in the Oval Office, under a picture of Osama bin Laden above a roaring fireplace, in which burns an American flag. All that's missing is a token sprig of arugula."
In the spirit of Fairness, I provided the following recommended covers for their next month´s edition. They too "satirize the use of scare tactics and misinformation in the Presidential election to derail, this time, McCain´s campaign." Fair is Fair and Equal Time for All!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Who is Who in the Immigration Debate! Who has Hidden Agendas?

click on picture for larger view:Who is Who in the Immigration Debate? It can be confusing! The American Public believes there are only two sides to this discussion with both sides pointing fingers and making outlandish accusations against each other. Once you study this issue and peel back that old onion, behold, you see what is really happening! In addition to PRO and ANTI, the Administration and Business each have agendas. Some also have hidden agendas! The American Public is being fooled. They are being manipulated. Here is a peek into the Business perspective. (Note: All italic Fonts are my added comments into this article.)
The New York Times reports:
Employers Fight Tough Measures on Immigration
Under pressure from the toughest crackdown on illegal immigration in two decades, employers across the country are fighting back in state legislatures, the federal courts and city halls. Business groups have resisted measures that would revoke the licenses of employers of illegal immigrants. They are proposing alternatives that would revise federal rules for verifying the identity documents of new hires and would expand programs to bring legal immigrant laborers. Though the pushback is coming from both Democrats and Republicans, in many places it is reopening the rift over immigration that troubled the Republican Party last year. Businesses, generally Republican stalwarts, are standing up to others within the party who accuse them of undercutting border enforcement and jeopardizing American jobs by hiring illegal immigrants as cheap labor. Employers in Arizona were stung by a law passed last year by the Republican-controlled Legislature that revokes the licenses of businesses caught twice with illegal immigrants. They won approval in this year’s session of a narrowing of that law making clear that it did not apply to workers hired before this year. Last week, an Arizona employers’ group submitted more than 284,000 signatures — far more than needed — for a November ballot initiative that would make the 2007 law even friendlier to employers...After years of laissez-faire enforcement, federal immigration agents have been conducting raids at a brisk pace, with 4,940 arrests in workplaces last year.
Although immigration has long been a federal issue, more than 175 bills were introduced in states this year concerning the employment of immigrants, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. State lawmakers said they had acted against businesses, often in response to fervent demands from voters, to curb job incentives that were attracting shadow populations of illegal immigrants. “Illegal immigration is a threat to the safety of Missouri families and the security of their jobs,” Gov. Matt Blunt (up for re election, panderer of the panderers), a Republican, said after the Missouri Legislature passed a crackdown law in May. “I am pleased that lawmakers heeded my call to continue the fight where Washington has failed to act.”
But because of the mobilization of businesses, the state proposals this year have increasingly reflected their concerns. State lawmakers “are starting to be more responsive to the employer community because of its engagement in the issue,” said Ann Morse, who monitors immigration for the national legislature conference.
The offensive by businesses has been spurred by the federal enforcement crackdown, by inaction in Congress on immigration legislation and by a rush of punitive state measures last year that created a checkerboard of conflicting requirements. Many employers found themselves on the political defensive as they grappled, even in an economic downturn, with shortages of low-wage labor.
Mike Gilsdorf, the owner of a 37-year-old landscaping nursery in Littleton, Colo., saw the need for action by businesses last winter when he advertised with the Labor Department, as he does every year, for 40 seasonal workers at market-rate wages to plant, prune and carry his shrubs in the summer heat. Only one local worker responded to the notice, he said, and then did not show up for the job. Mr. Gilsdorf was able to fill his labor force with legal immigrants from Mexico through a federal guest worker program. But that program has a tight annual cap, and Mr. Gilsdorf realized that he might not be so lucky next year. His business could fail, he said, and then even his American workers would lose their jobs. “We’re not hiring illegals, we’re not paying under the table,” Mr. Gilsdorf said. “But if we don’t get in under the cap and nobody is answering our ads, we don’t have employees.”(Liquid, need your analysis here) His group, Colorado Employers for Immigration Reform, is pressing Congress for a much larger and more flexible guest worker program.
THE TRUTH:
“The silent masses of businesses out there should have been on the phone with their Congressional representatives calling for rational reform,” said Hobey Bauhan, president of the Virginia Poultry Federation (the truth from one of the worst offenders), whose members include some of the biggest low-wage employers in the state. Virginia lawmakers ultimately adopted verification rules aimed at employers who systematically hire illegal immigrants. In this legislative session, Arizona businesses rallied behind a bill to create what would have been the first state guest worker program in the country. Their advertising campaign used the slogan “What part of legal don’t you understand?” — a tweak of the battle cry of their opponents, who use the same phrase with the word “illegal.” Arizona employers said they knew that passage would be difficult for the bill, because only the federal government can issue visas to immigrant workers. Although the bill never came to a vote, (FAKE!!!) employers said the debate helped make their views known in Washington. (Political pandering by politicians up for re-election)
“It’s a message to the federal government,” said Joe Sigg, director of government relations for the Arizona Farm Bureau, “that we need a legal and reliable means to recruit workers.” Employers’ groups have not succeeded everywhere. Under a bill passed this year, Mississippi is the first state to make it a felony for an illegal immigrant to work. The measure also allows terminated employees to sue their employer if they were replaced by an illegal immigrant.
President Bush on June 9 ordered all federal contractors to check new workers with E-Verify. The administration is pressing forward with a rule that would pressure employers to fire within 90 days any worker whose identity information does not match the records of the Social Security Administration, as frequently happens with illegal immigrants. The first version of the rule was held up last year by a federal court injunction. While many businesses have come forward, they say they speak for many others with immigrant workers that are lying low after finding that the crackdown has left them in a perilous legal bind. While raids and sanctions are increasing, employers with low-wage immigrant workers are barred by antidiscrimination rules from examining identity documents of new hires too closely or checking the immigration status of employees after they have been hired. “The problem for business is that despite their complete compliance with the law, it is inevitable for employers with large numbers of immigrant workers that a certain percentage will be unauthorized workers using false documents,” said Peter Schey, a lawyer who represents two California companies facing scrutiny by federal immigration agents. “The system is just as broken for employers as it is for immigrants.” (Excuse or Reality?)
One employer facing this problem is the chief executive of a $20 million company on the outskirts of Los Angeles that assembles electronic parts. She said she had come to fear that her company — including its legal workers — is at risk of being crippled by an immigration raid. The executive spoke on the condition that neither she nor her company be identified by name, for fear of attracting immigration authorities. A human resources manager who worked for the company a decade ago hired a number of workers without conducting an extra check of their documents with the Social Security Administration, the executive said. Now she has received notices from the agency of mismatches in the identity documents of 20 workers who were hired 10 years ago, out of 90 workers on the assembly floor today. Because of the antidiscrimination rules, the executive cannot check to be certain that the 20 workers, mainly Hispanic women, are illegal. Moreover, they have advanced through training, she said, and excel at their jobs, which require the repetitive assembly of tiny parts by hand, often under microscopes. “I can’t replace those people,” the executive said. She said that despite offering competitive wages from $9 to $17 an hour, the company had failed over the years in repeated efforts to attract nonimmigrant workers because of the state’s tight technology labor market and because of the nature of the work, exacting and tedious. If the workers were fired or arrested, she said, she could fail to meet her contracts. “If we have to terminate 20 people, that’s going to jeopardize 100 other jobs of people who are legal, Americans, people who are making a good living,” she said. (Liquid, your analysis?)
Angelo Paparelli, an immigration lawyer who represents the company, said: “This is not an employer who wants to turn a blind eye to lawbreaking. She is facing a tightening of the enforcement vise that does not take into account Congress’s failure to create a workable system.”
California employers were shocked by the raid earlier this year at Micro Solutions Enterprises, an established manufacturer of printer cartridges that is based in Los Angeles and has more than 800 workers. Officials said 138 workers were arrested. In a message to his customers, Avi Wazana, the Micro Solutions owner, said the company had been verifying the legal status of all new hires through federal programs for nearly a year.
Bush administration officials said the crackdown was the price employers must pay to persuade voters to agree to open the gates to immigrant workers. In an interview, Mr. Chertoff, the homeland security secretary, said, “We are not going to be able to satisfy the American people on a legal temporary worker program until they are convinced that we will have a stick as well as a carrot.”

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

BREAKING NEWS!!! Soap Opera Politics Vol 1 Issue 15: Jesse Jackson Bad Mouths Obama!

According to CNN, Jesse Jackson (JJ) said something despicable about Obama while not knowing he was on Live Mike. (JJs live broadcast is over) FOX is staying MUM! Jackson feigns Amnesia of his exact words.
In a nutshell, JJ was angry because Obama said, "If Black Americans were more responsible for their actions, they would not suffer so negatively in Jobs, Health Care, Economy." JJ responded (apparently with bad words on a live FOX mike) "Barack does not know or understand the Black experience in America."
I am sure Hannity and his heinous Fox cohorts are drooling, absolutely drooling over this live mike video and are waiting for just the right moment to release it. Personally, I can understand both perspectives. From Obama´s perspective, we DO all need to take personal responsibility and be resilient, regardless of how many times we are knocked down. From JJs perspective, I can understand that the younger generation has not walked the walk and doe sn´t understand the barriers that have been overcome.
In either case, I think this is a WIN for Obama! After all, He is the candidate of Change!
Here is what AP is reporting about this story:
Jackson apologizes for his comments about Obama
CHICAGO (AP) — The Rev. Jesse Jackson apologized Wednesday for comments he made about Barack Obama's speeches in black churches during what he thought was a private conversation with a reporter.
Jackson told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday that his comments made Sunday were in response to a question from a Fox News reporter about speeches on morality the Democratic presidential candidate has given at black churches. The civil rights leader said Wednesday he felt there were other important issues to be addressed in the black community, such as unemployment, the mortgage crisis and the number of blacks in prison. He was being interviewed about health care by a Fox News reporter on Sunday when he was asked his opinion about Obama speaking in black churches. Jackson said Wednesday he was not aware that his microphone was still on. Jackson told The Associated Press he doesn't remember exactly what he said Sunday but that he was "very sorry" for his comments about Obama. He called his comments "a side light in a broader conversation about urban disparities." "My appeal was for the moral content of his message to not only deal with the personal and moral responsibility of black males, but to deal with the collective moral responsibility of government and the public policy which would be a corrective action for the lack of good choices that often led to their irresponsibility," Jackson said in a written statement. Jackson said he has called Obama's campaign to apologize and that he supports the candidate unequivocally. Messages seeking from Obama's campaign and a Fox News spokeswoman were not immediately returned.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Soap Opera Politics Vol 1 Issue 14: Immigration Issues Coming to A Head in the Political Debate! Sleeping Giant Awakens!

The Immigration issues are coming to a head. Various politicians are taking sides, PRO vs ANTI, pandering to either side of the political debate. Some States are instituting restrictionist laws. The supporting politicians are backing these unenforceable laws purely for political gain.
Case in Point: Matt Blunt, the unpopular and defamed boy Governor of Missouri. Severely unpopular, he desperately
signed a bill promoting sanctions against “community leaders” while providing employers relief, pandering to the ANTI racist extremists. His political opponents (Talboy) publicly chastising him for the error of his ways. (and rightly so) Meanwhile, the Presidential candidates are staying amazingly neutral. Then, in Oklahoma, home of Randy Terrill´s HB:1804, Workers and Businesses are leaving in droves. Litigation is blocking any future immigration restrictions. This is due to the Latino groups being energized into action. No More Racial Profiling! No more demonizing of ALL Latinos!
As AOLNews reports:
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Vowing to become more politically active, Latino groups Monday praised a federal judge's decision to block enforcement of parts of a state law that targets illegal immigrants and promised to support state lawmakers who have opposed the measure. A coalition of Hispanic organizations said momentum against the law, House Bill 1804, is building seven months after parts of it went into effect. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Robin J. Cauthron issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting enforcement of other provisions scheduled to go into effect on July 1."Countless thousands of families have been separated, torn apart," said the Rev. Victor Orta of the Coalition of Latin American Ministers. He said the anti-immigrant law and its harsh penalties sends a message that immigrants are not wanted in the state.

"This must stop. Enough is enough," Orta said.
Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore, author of HB1804, has said he was disappointed but not surprised by Cauthron's ruling, which he labels "a blatant act of judicial activism" and predicted an appeal if the ruling is made permanent.
Franco Cevallos of the Hispanic Action Coalition said the law's effect on Oklahoma's economy "has been catastrophic.""Hundreds of stores have closed their doors permanently. Houses have been abandoned," Cevallos said. He said Latino workers are skilled and hardworking and "are the energy behind the motor that sustains the economy.""Their presence in the state has proven to be good for the economy," Cevallos said.Coalition members said Latino organizations are conducting citizenship and English courses for Hispanic immigrants and have registered as many as 17,000 Hispanic citizens to vote.
"There will be more Hispanics going to the polls in November than ever in the history of Oklahoma," Orta said. "And thousands of us can influence non-Hispanics to vote."We will see a difference. There will be a change in Oklahoma (and the US)," Orta said.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Postville Update: Severed Limbs Common at Agriprocessor´s Medieval Plant!

Medieval! The Des Moines Register, the warrant and the OSHA reports tell us the Conditions at the Agriprocessors plant have been medieval for some time! They have a long history of amputations including severed hands, feet, crushed body parts. Workers were made to work long hours (up to and over 80 hours in a week with no overtime) in unsafe conditions and no safety equipment.
Plant has long history of safety violations
Three months ago, state officials cited Agriprocessors for 39 workplace safety violations - an unusually large number.Federal and state records give conflicting information on fines against the company, but for the past few years Agriprocessors appears to have compiled one of the worst safety records of any meatpacking plant in Iowa. Although detailed worker-injury reports since 2006 are not publicly available, the Register has reviewed Agriprocessors' reports for the three previous years.
In 2003, the company reported 83 employee injuries, including smashed ankles, lacerated tendons in hands, smashed arms, and amputated fingers.
In 2004, the number of injuries jumped 45 percent, to 120, with workers being treated for chemical burns to their eyes and feet, third-degree burns, hand lacerations and broken ribs.
In 2005, the number of injuries dropped to 103. They included hearing losses, smashed fingers and severed fingers. The 2005 reports include the three amputations that began with Carlos Torrez's loss of a finger.
State records indicate that four weeks after that accident, Adolfo Lopez, 26, was working on a machine called "the foot masher."Witnesses said they heard Lopez screaming about 5:30 a.m. He had been clearing debris from inside the machine when a supervisor unwittingly turned on the device, crushing Lopez's left hand."I saw (Lopez) caught up in the gears, the teeth of the foot masher," maintenance worker Deon Branish told officials. "His left hand was stuck all the way to the wrist." Ten days after that incident, plant sanitation manager Jeff Bohr was at home when a co-worker called to tell him Eduardo Santos, 25, was in the laundry room with a severe hand injury. Bohr went to the plant, examined Santos' right hand, and called an ambulance. Then he looked into the machine Santos had been working on and saw pieces of two work gloves."There were also pieces of skin and bone," Bohr wrote in his report.Company records indicate Santos lost two fingers and a thumb. The remainder of his hand was crushed.
Workers must pay for safety equipment:
Company records indicate that workers had long been forced to either do without the protective gear or purchase it themselves from the company. And because some workers allegedly had no lockers at the plant, they often took their chemical-soaked rain suits home with them at the end of their shift. Company Vice President Sholom Rubashkin, in a September 2000 memo to all employees, included an "equipment price list" that identifies rain pants and jackets, as well as "wrist wraps" and "back support," as "personal clothing-type equipment," rather than mandatory, company-issued safety equipment. For at least six years, workers were being charged $30 for the pants and $30 for the jackets. Boots were $20.85. At those prices, 100 rain suits would have generated $8,000 in revenue for the company. By comparison, the state fine for this serious safety violation was $1,000.
In December 2006, a commission appointed by the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism found significant health and safety concerns at the Postville plant, including unsafe chemical use and "inadequate or nonexistent safety training."OSHA cited the company for more violations, and federal investigators launched a wide-ranging investigation into allegations of people in the United States illegally who were hired there, of child-labor law violations and of workplace safety issues.
Court records show that in January 2008, federal authorities equipped an informant with a hidden device to record a safety briefing for new employees. During the briefing, employees were allegedly told that their pay would be docked $2 per week to pay for gowns and gloves that they were required to wear. That informant, and another, made broader allegations, too. One told authorities a plant supervisor had put duct tape over the eyes of a Guatemalan worker and then beat the worker with a meat hook. Another told authorities that some workers were paid less than minimum wage and were paid in cash. Several informants alleged that the Postville work force was rife with illegal immigrants.
Cronyism:
In April, Eric Frumin of the Change To Win labor organization testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee that was investigating workplace safety. He told senators that Agriprocessors had just been cited for 39 additional violations of health and safety regulations that carried potential fines totaling $182,000. "For perspective," he testified, "in 2007, Iowa OSHA issued 19 violations for all meatpacking plants in Iowa, with fines totaling over $120,000."What Frumin didn't realize was that the Iowa OSHA office had already agreed to cut Agriprocessors' fines. The agreement would not be made public for several weeks, but when it was, it showed the state had cut the proposed $182,000 fine to $42,750.
The company has had annual revenue of $250 million.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Postville Latest Update: Low Level Hispanic Supervisors Arrested, Warrant Out for Jewish Manager who Fled to Israel! Feds said Plant "Medieval!"

Congratulations to the Union and to the Blogosphere for keeping the pressure on the Justice Department. They arrested two Agriprocessor Supervisors.
Special Kudos to FailedMessiah.com and to the Latino PRO Blogosphere for keeping this topic HOT!
The bad news is, only two low level Latino supervisors have been indicted so far. Juan Carlos Guerrero-Espinoza was a supervisor in the Beef Kill dept. Officials are saying he was an American citizen. They are keeping mum on the citizenship status of Martin De La Rosa-Loera, the supervisor of the Poultry kill department. There is an arrest warrant out for Jewish Plant Manager Amara, however as we previously reported, Agriprocessors quickly whisked him off to Israel one step ahead of the authorities. Rubashkin also replaced his son Sholom as Chief Executive attempting to save him from being charged. News reports indicate, however, that due to the continued pressure from the Unions and the Blogosphere, the Grand Jury investigation of Agriprocessors is continuing, especially since they found Fake Green Cards in Agriprocessors HR Office and Feds investigating said the Plant Conditions were medieval!
The Cedar Rapids Gazette is reporting:
..The supervisors were indicted by a federal grand jury after a former human resources employee and illegal immigrants at Agriprocessors testified last month, according to court records. They told investigators of an effort by the men to update employee documents in the weeks before the raid. The week before the raid, Guerrero-Espinoza told some of his employees to give him $200 for new documentation to continue working at the company, court records state. Some of the workers testified that he asked them for an extra $20 to cover the cost of gasoline or serve as his commission. On the day before the raid, the workers were provided new application packets complete with fake resident alien cards to sign and return...Both men face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the charges. Guerrero-Espinoza is facing an additional charge of aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft, which could get him another sentence of up to 15 years. ICE officials are seeking the public's help in locating Hosam Amara, 43, last known to live in Postville. The criminal complaint against him has been sealed until his arrest. Anyone with information is asked to call ICE at 1-(888) 347-2423.
The New York Times reported:
..Federal authorities called the raid the largest enforcement operation by immigration authorities at a single workplace. Unions and immigrant advocacy groups had criticized immigration officials for focusing arrests on workers while taking no action against top managers. The arrest warrant was issued for Hosam Amara, 43. In interviews after the raid, several workers said Mr. Amara was a floor manager with more authority than line supervisors. They said he was a link between workers on the slaughterhouse floors and meatpacking lines and more senior management. Agriprocessors, which before the raid was the country’s largest producer of kosher meat, is owned by Aaron Rubashkin. Two weeks after the raid, he removed his son Sholom as chief executive. Most of the illegal immigrants arrested at the plant were from rural Guatemala. In expedited proceedings (Cattle Barn justice), 270 workers were sent to federal prison on criminal charges, most for presenting false documents when they were hired...A former human resources employee cited in the complaint said Mr. Guerrero regularly brought in fake green cards for applicants.
A separate complaint says Mr. De la Rosa, a supervisor in Poultry Kill, also told illegal immigrant workers shortly before the raid that they needed new identity documents. The complaints make it clear that a grand jury investigation of Agriprocessors is continuing. Union officials said the new arrests did not go far enough. “The arrest of two low-level supervisors, while a start, barely scratches the surface of this company’s bad behavior,” said Scott Frotman, a spokesman for the
United Food and Commercial Workers Union, which has tried to organize the plant. “What about the allegations of worker abuse? Does anyone really believe that these low-level supervisors acted alone without the knowledge, or even the direction, of the Rubashkins and other senior management?”

UPDATE:
Wall St Journal reports:

..The complaint (warrant) also alleges that the May 12 raid resulted in the seizure of dozens of fraudulent permanent alien resident cards in the human-resources department at Agriprocessors. The raid exposed allegations that workers at the sprawling plant, which employed more than 900 people, were underpaid, physically abused, sexually harassed and extorted. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a U.S. government official who has visited the plant described the operation as "medieval." An investigation is still under way, and a court spokesman declined to disclose whether more arrests are likely.

Soap Opera Politics Vol 1, Issue 13: The McCains Pandering in Mexico Falls on Skeptical Ears!

It looks like the McCains´ political tour of Mexico and Columbia this week fell on deaf, skeptical ears. Do they believe him when he says their mutual perspectives include: security, Immigration and trade? Are they the same? If they are the same, why doesn´t he say this to the American people? Hmmmm. Maybe that´s why they are skeptical!
Mexico City; and BogotÁ, Colombia - On a three-day visit to Colombia and Mexico, Republican presidential hopeful John McCain is seeking to show that he cares about the same issues as Latin Americans: security, immigration, and trade. But the tour will likely do little to woo people in the region, analysts say. Even though Mr. McCain enjoys a better image than President Bush in Latin America, Democratic contestant Barack Obama has an edge simply because he is the fresher figure, says Michael Shifter, the vice president for policy at the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington. "[Senator] Obama is seen as someone who could understand a changing Latin America, one that rejects the 'you are on one side or the other' politics," says Mr. Shifter. Also, the fact that McCain has chosen to visit the region's most conservative leaders – Colombian President Álvaro Uribe and Mexican President Felipe Calderón – could underscore a more traditional mind set. "It reinforces the sense that he will stand with his friends," says Shifter. "But even the people in those countries say [US politicians] can't afford to look at the region that way."
McCain's visit to Colombia, where he met with Mr. Uribe on Tuesday, is an attempt to mark a difference with Obama on both trade issues and counterterrorism, says political commentator Andrés Peñate. A Colombian free trade deal negotiated between the Bush and Uribe governments is bogged down in the US Congress amid concerns from many Democrats about human rights, including a long history of violence against trade unionists in Colombia. McCain praised Colombia in its fight against drug production and leftist rebels. In doing so, Mr. Peñate says McCain seeks to showcase Colombia as a "success story" of Republican foreign policy. The United States supplies Colombia with about $600 million a year in mostly military aid.
Trade and security are expected to dominate meetings in Mexico, too. Both nominees support the Merida Initiative, a new package passed by Congress to help stem drug violence in Mexico and Central America. McCain's visit also allows him to emphasize support for the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Obama has said should be renegotiated to better address labor and environmental terms. Still, no matter what McCain says, many Mexicans say the visit does not instill faith that he will have any greater commitment to Latin America than Bush. Juan Pablo Hurle, a consultant in Mexico City, says that McCain is better than Bush, but he sides with Obama. "If Obama wins, things will change," he says. "McCain is not interested in Latinos in Latin America, only those Latinos in the US whose vote matters to him." Some Mexicans say they favor McCain, but a zeal for Obama, as a minority, is an undertone across Latin America. "Obama will change everything if he is elected... there will be true immigration reform and not a band-aid because he has African heritage and understands the plight of immigrants," says Marco Polo Herrera, a student in Mexico City. "McCain will be more of the same."

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Happy 4th! Let Freedom Ring!!

Founding Fathers´ Quotes:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." The Declaration of Independence
“This involves the great question as to the right of expatriation, upon which so much has been said in this cause. Perhaps it is not necessary it should be explicitly decided on this occasion; but I shall freely express my sentiments on the subject. That a man ought not to be a slave; that he should not be confined against his will to a particular spot, because he happened to draw his first breath upon it; that he should not be compelled to continue in a society to which he is accidentally attached, when he can better his situation elsewhere, much less when he must starve in one country, and may live comfortably in another: are positions which I hold as strongly as any man, and they are such as most nations in the world appear clearly to recognize.”
Supreme Court Justice James Iredell, Talbot v. Janson, 1795
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
Bill of Rights - Ammendment I
John F. Kennedy´s Inaugural Address:
"In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shank from this responsibility - I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavour will light our country and all who serve it -- and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own."
Martin Luther King´s "I Have a Dream":
"I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."….I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today…This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring." And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from every hill .. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, every color, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

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