according to news reports, they are only reversing one of the rules changes, and doing so unilaterally -- not in consultation with the minority committee members.
So this probably will not revive the Ethics Committee.
Posted by walden at April 27, 2005 07:33 AMThe "everybody does it" defense is already being put into the GOP Media Machine. DeLay will stonewall. His accusers will be slandered and linked to Libruls. Time will pass. He might get an admonishment, but unless he becomes a problem that Rove can't solve, he'll stay. I,for one, thought Rove was ready to shove him out the door..that may still be the case..but it will be a political decision, not an ethical, one that eliminates DeLay.
Posted by T2 at April 27, 2005 07:34 AMI foresee a large swing in party politics within the next two years. This border patrol issue is going to be front and center very soon. I know it's a main topic on FOX and a few other cable news stations but it's been largely ignored by the big three. I foresee an opening for a third party unless BOTH parties get their shit together and take our safety as a priority instead of catering to the special interest.
There is a way to make our politicians listen to us and signing petitions won't do it. Why not hit them where it hurts the most, the pocket book.
Find out what companies are supporting an open border and don't buy their product. These are the companies that are buying our politicians.
When another terrorist attack happens and if it turns out they walked right across our border, I would fully support an impeachment of Bush and an immediate removal of any Senator and Congressman that did nothing to stop it.
On a related issue, you on the left here have been on a rant about bias in the media. It's not only what is printed but what is not printed that equates to a bias. Very little has been made of the border issue with the mainstream press because these liberals want an open border. Sure it was front page a month ago when the Minuteman Project started. But where is it now? When they did talk about it they labeled them as law breakers and vigilantes. Which it turns out none of it is true. This "Liberal" press wants these poor Mexicans to come and get a piece of the American dream and hey if a few terrorist cross with them...oh well.
I wonder how many Americans will have to die before we take this issue seriously.
This is a perfect example of how our priorities are so messed up. The ACLU is more worried about a possible abuse of an ILLEGAL ALIENS civil rights than the protection of our current citizens.
God this country is fucked up!
Border Patrol Has Issues with ACLU Operatives in Monitored Sector - The Minuteman Project - article
By Chad Groening, Agape Press, April 26, 2005
The union representing Border Patrol agents in the Tucson sector says its members have had no complaints about the volunteers taking part in the Minuteman Project, which is wrapping up this week in the Arizona desert. But apparently the Border Patrol has had some problems with the ACLU.
Since the first of April, volunteers with the Minuteman Project have been conducting what it refers to as a "citizens' Neighborhood Watch" along the Arizona-Mexico border, looking for illegal immigrants crossing over into the U.S. and reporting those sightings to the Border Patrol. The group reports that as of April 24, 315 Border Patrol apprehensions have been "directly facilitated" by Minuteman volunteers.
Mike Albon is a spokesman for U.S. Border Patrol Local 2544, which represents the agents patrolling the 27-mile sector where the Minuteman volunteers have camped out this month. Albon says there have been no complaints from his rank-and-file about the volunteers' work.
"The Minutemen have not caused any problems for the agents in the field," Albon states. "We have not received any complaints [about] any of their activities being out of line. They have been real supportive of the [Border Patrol] agents in the field."
But the union spokesman says activities in the area by American Civil Liberties Union representatives have been counterproductive. "Apparently trying to catch the Minutemen doing something wrong, [someone] has been going out there and setting off [ground] sensors," he explains. Those actions, he says, have caused extra work for Border Patrol agents in the field. "They're counterproductive in [doing] things like that," he says.
Albon says his union is against any organization that opposes enforcement of American immigration laws. "We are against anything that is anti-enforcement," he remarks. "The union wants the immigration laws enforced -- and if the ACLU is supporting things that are not related to the enforcement of the law and are supporting people who are breaking the law, we do not condone that."
WorldNetDaily reported in March that the Arizona chapter of the ACLU planned to monitor the activities of the Minuteman Project volunteers to "make sure they're not abusing anybody's rights." A spokesman for the ACLU told a local newspaper that a team of attorneys would be ready to file civil cases against project participants should any abuses occur.
RC - "I wonder how many Americans will have to die before we take this issue seriously." maybe you'd like to apply that to the Iraq War also.
Posted by T2 at April 27, 2005 08:39 AMHow did I know you would bring that up T2? Man your predictable.....I'm sure the same can be said about me! :-)
Posted by Right Coaster at April 27, 2005 08:44 AMYes it can, Wrong Coaster!
Especially when you refuse to answer the question you were asked, and bring quotes from WorldNutDaily to this site as if they were representations of the truth.
Very little has been made of the stolen 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, the protection of corpo-weasels by the junta currently usurping power, the lies and hypocrisy of BabyDoc Bush (particularly the ones that have led to Americans killing almost as many Iraqis as Saddam did - while sacrificing some American soldiers in the process), the raping of the Treasury, the tax giveaways to the rich, the Paris Hilton Tax Cut, and so many more things that we should be looking at. Maybe you could focus a small part of your attention on these problems instead of some foreigners coming into this country in order to do jobs that you would never consider doing yourself (never mind about what the media whores or the Illegally Installed Usurper or any of his 'base' would think).
Posted by (: Tom :) at April 27, 2005 10:15 AMyes, I continue to be concerned/outraged at the loss of life of American GI's fighting a war that over half of the American people feel they were deceived into supporting by the president of the US, G.W.Bush.
Posted by T2 at April 27, 2005 11:44 AMYea, T2- you predictable, backwards-thinking person you! What's the matter with you anyway?!?! Thinking critically about current, pertinent events and all that hooey- jeeze man, stop drinking kool aid.
Hey, at least Wrong Coaster would support the impeachment of Bu$hCo...
Posted by Marty at April 27, 2005 12:04 PMTom,
I was not going to get into a pissing contest about Iraq. I've been down that road with him before on that subject. You guys were wrong and we were right, end of that topic. If T2 or anyone else here can't debate why there is one good reason to not guard our borders, I will just assume I and the majority of Americans are right in that we should put and end to ILLEGAL immigration.
Tom, Tom, Tom, Oh ye of little mind. It's your narrow minded thinking and others like your ilk that will bring this Country to it's knees if we let you have your way. You offer no solutions to this problem and instead offer rambling babble that we can get daily from an ACLU press release. (I assume your in the ACLU). These so called foreigners doing the jobs no body wants is not my issue. If they come into American LEGALLY I have no problems with it. I also assume you have no problems with these immigrants being taken advantage of since you condone the pay these immigrants are getting.
It's the unguarded border we have that I have issue with. Before 9/11 this was a non issue. Since we are prime target #1 I think it's about time we do something about it. This open border allows terrorists and drug runners to freely cross into the USA! Your narrow mined thinking does not take this into account does it? You're more concerned about ILLEGAL immigrants finding a job than you are about drugs and terrorisms. So excuse me if my priorities do not include what DeLay did or said 10 years ago, tax cuts or the current budget. It's people like you that need to get your priorities straight. Or maybe you get a kick out of seeing 5000 dead Americans on TV. Is that it? You just can't wait for the next attack because it will help your political cause?
How ironic is it that Congress & the President are wasting all this time talking about S.S. reform, but they don't even care if our kids are safe from the next wacko with a bomb. WTF!
I won't even bother getting into the other crap you spew about Americans killing almost as many Iraqis as Saddam AND stolen 2000 and 2004 presidential elections?!! You're a poor confused fool. I pity you.
Posted by Right Coaster at April 27, 2005 12:11 PMLet me clarify one thing about Iraq before you guys freak out...
We were right on how the out come of the war would progress....Elections, Government being established, Terrorist coming to fight us over there instead of over here (knock on wood), etc.
I also said a while ago that I would admit I was wrong about the WMD issue if it turned out they did not have any...so....I was wrong to give Bush the benifit of the doubt.
End of topic.
Lets see, standing in front of the American people and lying about evidence to go to war in Iraq. Sounds impeachable to me........wait, he wasn't under oath was he! so it was ok.
Posted by T2 at April 27, 2005 12:26 PMRight Coaster:
Despite being a liberal blogger, I do share your concerns over the open border that this country maintains in order to weaken any increases in wages. Securing our border doesn't require, however, that our border guards act like the Gestapo. I'm sure that if we on the laft and you on the right could agree to disagree on certain issues while we create a concensus on what to do about the most pressing problems, that of thousands of non-citizens crossing to take low-wage jobs in America, we just might find that we could agree on other issues and their solutions as well.
Just a point - the minimum wage in England right now is about $3/hour MORE than that in America. Think of how many jobs would be filled by American citizens if the jobs paid that much instead of the insult that is offered now.
Posted by pessimist at April 27, 2005 01:04 PMAnd think about it. If McDonalds charged 2 dollars more for a hamburger because they had to cover increased labor costs a whole lot of people who shouldn't be eating Big Mac's in the first place would stop eating them.
And I agree completely about the borders. We should all be paying what ever it takes to secure them and the ports. Not leaving it to some private vigilante group of yahoos.
Posted by anon at April 27, 2005 01:12 PMPessimist,
How true you are. The only catch with that is, you, me and the rest of us not working slave labor would be getting a huge chuck of our wages taken away by the massive price increase in goods and services that would ensue.
It's a problem yes, but this still is not the main issue at hand. The Mexican or (pick your minority) looking for work is not the main problem. It's the protection of our borders from terrorists, drug runners and other unsavory types that want to cause trouble. Why does everyone think it's about stopping people trying to find work. (beat head against wall). If it takes posting the National Guard or Border Patrol every 1/4 mile along our borders to accomplish that, then so be it. What's wrong with that? Heaven forbid we might put a hurt on the drug trade or stop the next terrorist attack! But I feel others would rather have a Mexican picking tomatoes than a have a well protected border. OH HELL SCREW IT! Let's talk about DeLay and what he pays his staff. He's so much more important to our future.
Posted by Right Coaster at April 27, 2005 01:41 PMThere you go, Anon. That'd put McDonald's out of business.
Maybe we should require all companies to provide full health and retirement benefits. Even though companies like Ford and GM are failing, and may end up going out of business trying to do just that.
If Walmart paid a living wage and provided health and retirement benefits, maybe they'd fail to compete and go out of business, too.
Who else should we put out of business? How about tech and biotech companies?
And if you're following the pension crisis issue, you'll see San Diego is $2 billion in the hole and the counties and cities around Sacramento are in such a state that they're going to have to cut services (parks, libraries, etc) to fund health care and pensions for current and former workers.
Posted by muckdog at April 27, 2005 01:44 PMRC - you are freakin out, dude. It's ugly to watch.
Posted by T2 at April 27, 2005 01:55 PMThere you go, Anon. That'd put McDonald's out of business.
There was the slightest hint of sarcasm in my comment.
The minimum wage is a catch-22 to some extent. We want cheap goods but we also want to make a living doing the most menial of jobs.
It seems to me that if we want cheap goods and don't want to burden business with the cost of healthcare that the wealthy will have to pony up a bit more to help out their less fortunate brethren. That way businesses don't fail. Middle income folks have money to spend. And we can focus a national healthcare system on preventative medicine to help cut down on preventable disease and reduce the costs and drag on the economy.
Posted by anon at April 27, 2005 02:08 PMRight Coaster, you watch Fox News way too much.
Posted by Judith at April 27, 2005 06:00 PMKos' site tanked today.
Posted by chris65203 at April 27, 2005 09:05 PM