2013
Congresswoman Clarke and Cuban Espionage
Maybe you’ve heard of the Cuban Five. If you haven’t, the Cuban Five are a group of five Cuban prisoners (from whence they get their catchy name), serving time in federal prison. With the support of Castro’s government, the Cuban Five operated as an espionage group in Florida’s Cuban community, and information they provided to Cuba enabled Cuban MIGs to shoot down a Brothers to the Rescue plane operating in international airspace. Brothers to the Rescue is an aid organization that conducts aerial patrols keeping an eye out for folks fleeing the Cuban regime via raft, so that they can be rescued. Three U.S. citizens and one permanent U.S. resident died in the attack. After a lengthy trial, in 2001 the Cuban Five were convicted on 26 separate counts related to espionage. They have since engaged in numerous appeals, including a request that the Supreme Court review the case (that request was denied). The Cuban Five are now really the Cuban Four, with one of the men having served his sentence and been released.
A few weeks ago the Cuban Interest Section (Cuba’s de facto embassy in the United States) organized a protest demanding release of the Cuban Five/Four, and protesters marched in front of the White House with signs reading “Defend the Revolution” and sporting Che Guevara t-shirts. None of which would be worth much attention, although a cynical observer might note the irony of protesters engaging in pro-Cuban activity that would get them jailed in Havana were it pro-American activity. Other than that it would be worth a collective yawn…except for the fact that the protesters were invited to a reception hosted by Yvette Clarke, Brooklyn’s own representative (pictured below), and her Chicago counterpart Bobby Rush. As one would expect, the Cuban government celebrated the reception.
What is one to make of this? Our (speaking of NYC as a whole) representative hosts a reception for pro-Castro protestors sponsored by the Cuban government. The same Cuban government that is one of four nations on the Department of State’s list of nations who are State Sponsors of Terrorism, along with Iran, Syria and Sudan. The same Cuban government that allows only 3% of its citizenry to have access to the internet; that regularly jails teenagers for “pre-criminal social dangerousness;” and that ignores basic tenets of human rights, jailing and torturing opponents to the regime, whom they term gusanos.
Gusanos such as Calixto Ramon Martinez Arias, arrested and beaten for exposing that cholera medication provided by the World Health Organization was not being distributed to the Cuban people because the regime sought to downplay the seriousness of a 2012 outbreak; Ariel Sigler Amaya, who spent a decade behind bars for protests against the government, and emerged a broken and emaciated wreck; rapper Angel Yunier Remon, imprisoned for composing lyrics against the regime; blogger Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo who has suffered beatings for blog posts critical of the Cuba’s leadership; and at least 6,000 other perceived dissidents in the last year alone, according to the Directorio Democratico Cubana.
This is what I make of it; I’m disgusted and embarrassed. Disgusted that my Congresswoman (I live in her district) would enhance the legitimacy of the Castro regime, and embarrassed that my Congresswoman would see fit to host an event in support of spies who were found guilty of espionage against the United States.
Shame on you Congresswoman Clarke.
2013
Free Trade Between EU and US
At the recent G8 summit President Obama and PM Cameron discussed starting talks about establishing a free trade agreement between the European Union and the United States. The first negotiations would start on July 8th of this year and they hope by 2014 to have an agreement. “America and Europe have done extraordinary things before and I believe we can forge an economic alliance as strong as our diplomatic and security alliances, which of course are the most powerful in history,” said Obama.
France, which blocked the idea in the 1990s, is threatening to block the agreement again. They are afraid of the cultural competition from Hollywood and online entertainment. Nice to know the French haven’t changed.
The agreement is excepted to create 2 million jobs for the two sides of the Atlantic. Trade between EU and the US already makes up one third of global trade and is worth just shy of $3 billion a day. The German non-profit Bertelsmann Foundation study shows the trade agreement would help the US more than the EU. For the US the free trade would create a 13% increase in GDP per capita compared to the 5% for the EU. The study also suggested that the UK would benefit.
2013
Marco Rubio – Gusano o Milciano?
I received this submission from a friend who grew up in Cuba before the “revolution,” and whose family was placed under house arrest by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. In short, he believes Marco Rubio is a phony.
Marco Rubio was never a conservative in the true sense of the word; he’s the product that came from the liberal education he received. He’s the typical Cuban-American after-the-fact, and believed the “history” of Cuba as told by revisionist Castro worshipers. He has become another pawn of the Karl Rove “directorate,” that actively works to destroy the Republican Party. The GOP, as has been proven over the years, and now Paul Ryan has joined the circus of deceptive political pandering, in view of the proposed immigration bill.
It is painfully obvious that neither of these clowns have any real life experience, let alone a connection to the Hispanic population, not to mention the real danger of the looming economic collapse. The implication that blanket amnesty will stabilize the economy is a fantasy worthy of a hallucinogenic. How can you justify that such a policy will help the country? What the truth is, and what you think can be insinuated, are two extremes that will never meet. In essence, this proposed bill, will, by numbers, bloat an already abysmal job market. The only reasoning that can be analyzed from this travesty is the desire to change the racial balance, and culture of the country, while providing a cheap source of borderline slave labor. This is justified by the collectivist totalitarianism of “social populism,” reinforced by the self-censoring qualities of political correctness. It will ultimately draw the sides of a “pseudo-anarchist” movement that will have implications/ results beyond the imagination.
On the surface, it appears the goal of this racist bill is to establish an income source to support the massive bureaucracy it will create, and the “fine, application fee,” is no more than legal, state sponsored blackmail. The laws to address the illegal population currently exist in the books, if only enforced – just as they exist for gun ownership. This elitist, academia-fueled deception, makes Rubio a person who should rethink his choice of party, or country of allegiance. His complete disregard for the legal immigrant “in country” is inexcusable. Ask any nationality legally working, living in this country, and it is obvious that their reaction to this proposed “bill of goods,” is disgust and fear. The dynamics of this action would lower wages… Supply and Demand 101.
This tactic of the totalitarian socialist state, using words like “tolerance,” “diversity,” “social responsibility,” words that over the years have become redefined to tow the Marxist line of a politically correct, “social conscience collectivism.” Most importantly, the notion that a Cuba- clueless poser, is very similar to Hussein-Obama’s claim to office from that 2004 speech of deception to the present. But since “diversity,” such affirmative action “group speech” comes under the heading of “clueless acceptance,” and is the reason why the United States has become synonymous with the very disturbing concept of a “captive nation,” which is not recognized as such until after the fact.
Born in Cuba, the reality of the Rubio game is too familiar to me. At a time when this immigration bill is merely another way to destroy the economic, social balance, and the stability of the country, can Marco “Che” Rubio tell me what happened in Benghazi, why weapons are being supplied to al Qaeda, how the “Arab-spring” got started? Last but not least, does he know anything about Cuba that would explain its present destitution? Or is that not relevant to the story? It is interesting to observe: Rubio talks a good game for “families looking for a better way of life,” as being the catalyst that brought his family here. When my family came it was freedom exclusively, and the hope that Castro would get played out. But with the Clinton administration that came to an abrupt end. Our anti-Castro operations became a hobby for Janet Reno. What, if anything, does Rubio know of Elian Gonzales? Why does he stay away from the Marxist-Leninist Communist regime, 90 miles off Key West? Did Rubio ever hear of the Bay of Pigs invasion, or Brigada 2506? Does he have any opinion on JFK’s betrayal of the Cuban people he claims to be part of? Oh, wait, immigration is the party line: Karl Rove, has appointed to him, since after all he’s Cuban-American. Or was he chosen for the job because his last name Rubio translates to “blonde”? Maybe Karl likes that.
Marco, oye chico, gusano, miliciano? Which one? Do you have a clue?
2013
UK Independent: Obama Arming al Qaeda
From The Independent:
“Washington’s decision to arm Syria’s Sunni Muslim rebels has plunged America into the great Sunni-Shia conflict of the Islamic Middle East, entering a struggle that now dwarfs the Arab revolutions which overthrew dictatorships across the region.
For the first time, all of America’s ‘friends’ in the region are Sunni Muslims and all of its enemies are Shiites. Breaking all President Barack Obama’s rules of disengagement, the US is now fully engaged on the side of armed groups which include the most extreme Sunni Islamist movements in the Middle East.”
The President’s foreign policy appears identical to Muslim Brotherhood radical super-cleric Yusuf Qardawi, who called for total war against the Shia and Hezbollah, which he called the “Party of Satan.” (Note: Hezbollah translates into Party of God.)
The article continues,
“The Independent on Sunday has learned that a military decision has been taken in Iran – even before last week’s presidential election – to send a first contingent of 4,000 Iranian Revolutionary Guards to Syria to support President Bashar al-Assad’s forces against the largely Sunni rebellion that has cost almost 100,000 lives in just over two years. Iran is now fully committed to preserving Assad’s regime, according to pro-Iranian sources which have been deeply involved in the Islamic Republic’s security, even to the extent of proposing to open up a new ‘Syrian’ front on the Golan Heights against Israel.”
Meanwhile in Iran, Holocaust denier Ahmadinejad will step down as President, and Hassan Rouhani will assume office. Rouhani is notable because of his extensive service in Iran’s national defense establishment. Given that both the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood and now the United States are fully backing terrorist insurgents in Syria, it’s little wonder that the Ayatollahs saw fit to replace the old Mahmoud with someone more capable of directing military operations.
The article continues,
“In the Middle East, there is cynical disbelief at the American contention that it can distribute arms – almost certainly including anti-aircraft missiles – only to secular Sunni rebel forces in Syria represented by the so-called Free Syria Army. The more powerful al-Nusrah Front, allied to al-Qaeda, dominates the battlefield on the rebel side and has been blamed for atrocities including the execution of Syrian government prisoners of war and the murder of a 14-year old boy for blasphemy. They will be able to take new American weapons from their Free Syria Army comrades with little effort.”
It’s now common knowledge, at least in the UK, that the the Obama administration is arming al Qaeda. Not yet 12 years distance from 9/11, and the President is sending anti-aircraft missiles to the same group of people who wantonly slaughtered civilians en masse using commercial aircraft as weapons of mass destruction.
What is the meaning of this war in the broader context of global affairs? The article puts it this way:
“For the Russians, of course, the ‘Middle East’ is not in the ‘east’ at all, but to the south of Moscow; and statistics are all-important. The Chechen capital of Grozny is scarcely 500 miles from the Syrian frontier. Fifteen per cent of Russians are Muslim. Six of the Soviet Union’s communist republics had a Muslim majority, 90 per cent of whom were Sunni. And Sunnis around the world make up perhaps 85 per cent of all Muslims. For a Russia intent on repositioning itself across a land mass that includes most of the former Soviet Union, Sunni Islamists of the kind now fighting the Assad regime are its principal antagonists.
Iranian sources say they liaise constantly with Moscow, and that while Hizballah’s overall withdrawal from Syria is likely to be completed soon – with the maintenance of the militia’s ‘intelligence’ teams inside Syria – Iran’s support for Damascus will grow rather than wither. They point out that the Taliban recently sent a formal delegation for talks in Tehran and that America will need Iran’s help in withdrawing from Afghanistan. The US, the Iranians say, will not be able to take its armour and equipment out of the country during its continuing war against the Taliban without Iran’s active assistance. One of the sources claimed – not without some mirth — that the French were forced to leave 50 tanks behind when they left because they did not have Tehran’s help.”
The United States and Russia have for centuries been the two primary poles around which the world revolves. Europe, sandwiched between them, has vacillated over the years, with several notable wars in the Eastern Europe and across Asia. In the 19th century, Russia and the British Empire struggled in what was known as The Great Game, that is, control of central Asia. Following World War II, the Eisenhower administration sought alliances with Muslim populations in Central Asia as a natural front against Communist (read: atheist) Russia. Working with several former Nazi collaborators, building on the work of Gerhard von Mende, the Eisenhower and subsequent administrations found themselves ensnared by the Muslim Brotherhood, an underground Sunni organization bent on reestablishing the Caliphate. Early in the engagement, whose goal was to build a mosque in Munich (see book with same name), a young Said Ramadan came to dominate the organization. Ramadan was the son-in-law of Muslim Brotherhood founder, Hassan al-Banna. It is fair to say that since the 1950s, the CIA has been working with the Muslim Brotherhood as a hedge against Russia, Soviet or otherwise.
Adding to the general impression of a religious and diplomatic train wreck of epic proportions is the Muslim Brotherhood’s embrace of racial politics. Going back to Ibn Tamiyyah, who declared that jihad against the Mongols was obligatory for Arab Muslims, the Brotherhood’s generally low opinion of darker skinned comes from the revival of Tamiyyah by Ibn Wahhab. Wahhabis, of course, consider themselves the “true Sunnis.” During World War II, this racialism was reinforced by Nazi ideology. The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Amin al-Husseini, was a personal friend of Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler. The SS infamously recruited Turkic people to fight Russia.
For what it’s worth, to the conspiracy theorists, there is no evidence that the CIA has been competent in this endeavor. Dwight Eisenhower is about the least likely target for 9/11 Truthers, but where they would have to start (once they got past the Nazis). This is so preposterous that it’s not worth explaining. Still, today the CIA is arming the descendents of those post-war Ikhwanis to overthrow Russian puppet Assad.
Recent events in Turkey suggest that the Caliphate is nearing completion. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) is being protested by secularists and religious minorities, who wish to preserve the modern Turkish state as founded by Kemal Ataturk. But the AKP, a Brotherhood front, continues to pass and ruthlessly enforce Sharia law, including a drastic measures against alcohol. Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan returned triumphantly from a trip to Morocco, a country whose King claims to be the true heir to the defunct caliphate.
A further source of confusion in this imbroglio is Israel. The Independent puts it this way:
“It is a sign of the changing historical template in the Middle East that within the framework of old Cold War rivalries between Washington and Moscow, Israel’s security has taken second place to the conflict in Syria. Indeed, Israel’s policies in the region have been knocked askew by the Arab revolutions, leaving its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, hopelessly adrift amid the historic changes.
Only once over the past two years has Israel fully condemned atrocities committed by the Assad regime, and while it has given medical help to wounded rebels on the Israeli-Syrian border, it fears an Islamist caliphate in Damascus far more than a continuation of Assad’s rule. One former Israel intelligence commander recently described Assad as “Israel’s man in Damascus”. Only days before President Mubarak was overthrown, both Netanyahu and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia called Washington to ask Obama to save the Egyptian dictator. In vain.”
This is misleading. Israel is not lost in the desert. They have all but come out and said that they do not support the overthrow of Assad. Sure, Israel’s problems with Syria go back to their founding, and Syria has been a thorn constant in their side. But to think that Netanyahu welcomes the Muslim Brotherhood and al Qaeda as neighbors is absolutely ludicrous. What has happened, and what will become clear in the months and years to come, is that Israel has defected to the Russian sphere of influence. This is not unprecedented, as we recall that Israel and the United States were at odds during the Suez Crisis. Moreover, Israel’s foreign minister is Soviet-born Avigdor Lieberman.
Complicating matters further is the fact that North Korea has been providing arms to Syria for decades, including North Korean made T-34 tanks. Assad’s chemical weapons are likely North Korean. The friendship between the Assads and the Kims is renowned. Even Breitbart, whose grasp on the news lately is tenuous, reported it.
The final dimension is non-ideological, non-religious, and non-racial: it is unbridled capitalism… in other words organized crime. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the same gangsters who attacked the American compound in Benghazi, is a drug trafficking cartel. They move South American cocaine, as well other narcotics, across Northern Africa into the Middle East and Europe. AQIM is very active in Syria, as Syria has always been a transit point for narcotics and illicit business. In January, AQIM seemingly orchestrated the demise of their Kurdish competition in the PKK, when in less than one week the leaders of the PKK and a Kurdish-Russian mob boss were assassinated. Simultaneously Turkey and AQIM had consolidated their position(s): Turkey, having finally neutralized an insurgent terrorist organization, and AQIM, disrupting a business competitor.
There is further explanation of the criminal dimension here: http://misterchambers.com/2013/01/28/obamas-syrian-debacle/
Having explained the politics, the religion, and the business, the only missing piece is the propaganda organ. Look no further than Al Gore’s friends at al Jazeera. Based out of Qatar, who has bankrolled much of the Arab Spring and fielded troops in Libya, this mendacious news outlet and its host country set the tone for American interpretation of Middle Eastern and Islamic politics.
What this all mean for Republicans, except that it’s all-too-apparent that they have no idea what is going on around them in the world? It means there is a golden opportunity to expose what Obama is going in the world. Just as he has destroyed the American economy, he is burning down the Middle East and starting a war with not only Russia, but also North Korea. It means that the President who so many believe is Muslim, is, regardless of his true faith, is arming Islamist fanatics who murder not only Christians and Jews, but also Shia. It means that the “extremist” Sunni organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, which birthed al Qaeda, is now on American payroll post-9/11. It also means that in addition to religious bigotry, all the racialist baggage of ibn Taymiyyah and the Third Reich now how “legitimate” governments from which to promulgate their hate, in Egypt, in Libya, in Turkey, and potentially Syria.
Perhaps John Boehner, if he would stop crying, or Mitch McConnell, if he could stop trying to play Neville Chamberlain of the Senate, can take notice and start explaining this catastrophe to the American people. At the end of the Obama second term, it is now likely we will have a narc0 caliphate stretching across three continents, which uses terrorism in lieu of diplomacy. God does work in mysterious ways, but I don’t see how any good can come of this.
2013
Young Republican Talking Points – June 2013
Economy
There is no longer a middle class in America, where once upon a time you were supposed to get ahead, not just get by. In this Obama-orchestrated depression, young people are losing hope of even beginning a career.
- 90 million Americans have stopped looking for work, and youth unemployment remains in the double digits.
- How did we get here? Obamacare and Dodd Frank. It’s more expensive now to hire someone than it’s ever been, because health care premiums and compliance costs are the highest they’ve ever been.
- Labor participation is the lowest it has been in since Carter, less than 64%.
Foreign Policy
Hey media: What is a Benghazi, anyway, and what does it have to do with the bombings in Boston? The Obama administration continues to downplay the threat of Islamic terrorism because he’s supporting those same terrorists in Syria. Obama’s “victory” over al Qaeda? To quote Hillary, “What does it matter?”
- The Obama administration provides material aid to the same Syrian rebels who swear allegiance to bin Laden’s spiritual leader, Ayman al Zawahiri. The former Iraqi “freedom fighters,” aka al Qaeda terrorists, are now posing as the Free Syrian Army.
- Benghazi. The Boston bombings. The machete attack in London. Fort Hood. According to the Heritage Foundation, there have been well over 50 foiled terror plots, not to mention the ones that were carried out, in the last 12 years since 9/11.
- The obvious, that the West is under attack by Islamists, is simply not politically correct in Obama’s fantasy land. It took him several days to label the Boston attacks “terror,” he called the machete attack mere “senseless violence,” and tried to pawn off Benghazi on a video nobody had ever heard of. Lest we forget, the massacre at Fort Hood was not Islamic terrorism but “workplace violence.”
Corrupt Redistribution
Talk about redistribution of wealth. Obama is laundering tax dollars to rich Democrats, and now billionaire Carlos Slim. The administration is buying “Obama phones” from a company based out of Mexico.
- A House subcommittee is investigating the Lifeline program, a quarter of whose payments have gone to the company TracFone owned by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim. TracFone (think “BurnFone”) remains a favorite of Mexican drug cartels, who apparently entrust Señor Slim with their secrets. Wonder what he knows about Operation Fast and Furious?
- The TracFone debacle is just the latest in series tax laundering scandals. His administration handed over of billions of dollars to phony green energy companies like Democrat-owned Solyndra, and Fisker, which employs a whopping 53 people.
2013
The “I” Word
Benghazi. IRS targeting conservatives. Spying on the AP. And now the NSA admits that it is spying on everybody through Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Microsoft, and other popular software.
From The Guardian:
The National Security Agency has obtained direct access to the systems of Google, Facebook, Apple and other US internet giants, according to a top secret document obtained by the Guardian.
The NSA access is part of a previously undisclosed program called PRISM, which allows officials to collect material including search history, the content of emails, file transfers and live chats, the document says.
The Obama administration cannot catch a break these days. From leaving Americans to die in Libya, to political intimidation, to police state tactics, it’s like the roof caved in since the election.
Why is this?
Sure, the economy remains in the gutter. Stores are closing, businesses aren’t hiring, and people are depressed. A new generation of college-educated, bright-eyed optimists is facing a harsh reality of little opportunity and living with their parents. People are reaching their breaking points. Common sense tells us that politics will get more desperate as does the populace.
Maybe Republicans have realized the seriousness of the situation, and got tired of playing politics with kid gloves? It’s obvious that Rove exercises immense control, and is responsible almost exclusively for Romney’s defeat. Still, it’s possible that even Rove has reached a truce with conservatives, and determined to leaking damning stories to the press. Some individuals in Republicans circles must have been aware of each of these scandals – maybe Boehner, McConnell, and Rove finally gave the OK? Then again, given Rove’s disdain for the Tea Party and the remnants of the Reagan administration, it is just as likely that he put the IRS up to it.
It could be leaks from the Democrats. Hillary’s treatment post-Benghazi has been abysmal, and most consider her a sacrificial lamb to shield the President from serious ramifications. Bill, it was recently reported, called Obama “incompetent,” and an “amateur,” and said he did not understand how the world worked. The Clintons are known to destroy their enemies – could this be Bill, Hill, and their crew? Means? Motive? Opportunity? Check, check, check.
Still, the cataclysmic PR of the last two months could be something else entirely. Obama has stepped his rhetoric on Iran of late, who has been known to use cyber attacks on American banks. Who is to say they don’t have an entire hacking team dedicated to the administration’s dirty little secrets? Obama, as his political prospects turn dim, may turn to Republicans for support on a strike on Iran. A war against Iran would stem criticism of his administration, and galvanize the public against what is perceived as a major international threat – Iranian WMD programs.
Of course, there’s always the CIA, who has been dragged through the mud following Benghazi. It’s been reported by several sites that Ambassador Stevens was an Agency asset. And then there was this article shortly before the election, claiming a “revolt over the spooks” over an intelligence cover up of Iranian and al Qaeda forces in Egypt and Libya.
Finally, there’s the debacle in Syria, so underreported and underappreciated its effects on domestic politics. There, the administration continues to tacitly support terrorist rebels, much to the chagrin of not only Assad, but Tehran and Moscow. It was only a month ago that Putin kept John Kerry waiting for three hours, before they finally sat down to discuss Syria. From Russia, with Love?
The distinct smell of impeachment is in the air. With so many axes to grind, who’s to say it’s just one group? Wonder which foes will emerge from the ashes as friends.
2013
Bungalow Bill’s Bungle
I’ve written on mayoral candidate “Bungalow” Bill de Blasio’s inanity before (Bungalow Bill) and on Thursday afternoon his latest suggestion hit our email inbox. De Blasio, who is currently using his public office’s mailing list as little more than an information dissemination vehicle for his mayoral campaign, provided an email outlining an effort to make New York City “A Safe, Open City for Immigrants.”De Blasio has a five part plan, the most troublesome aspect of which is part three, where he promises to “End City Collaboration with the Abusive Federal Detention and Deportation Process.”
De Blasio’s proposes ending the City’s co-operation with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) division of the Department of Homeland Security. To quote de Blasio “Federal officials regularly submit ‘detainer requests’ (also known as ‘ICE holds’ or ‘immigration holds’) to local law enforcement and Department of Corrections officials. These requests ask local officials to detain an arrested immigrant for up to 48 beyond when he or she would otherwise be entitled to be released, based solely on immigration status…This policy forcibly deputizes local officials and devotes scarce local police resources to enforcing federal immigration law.”
De Blasio’s hortatory on ICE co-operation, which becomes more tedious and less grammatical the further one reads, finishes with a suggestion that New York City enact legislation to “End cooperation with all federal detainers, except those pertaining to arrestees who have been convicted of violent and serious felonies, including drug and human trafficking. Detainers for those with previous misdemeanor convictions will not be honored. Under this proposal, the City will continue to honor ICE detainers for individuals suspected of terrorism and gang activity.”
Although De Blasio’s entire proposal presents all sorts of problems, I’ll confine myself to two. First, you may remember the Arizona immigration case that recently came before the Supreme Court. In the case, Arizona passed a law that, among other things, required police officers to determine immigration status when making a lawful stop. De Blasio called the law “un-American” and claimed it did “nothing to address the pressing problems of our broken immigration system,” and favored the Supreme Court striking down the immigration law. Much as de Blasio hoped, the Court ruled that Federal authority over immigration law was pre-eminent, that Congress “has specified which aliens may be removed from the United States and the procedures for doing so.”
Long story short, the Federal Government gets to exercise authority over immigration, alien status, and removal, and it gets to tell local governments what to do. That includes 8 U.S.C. §1373“Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal, State, or local law, a Federal, State, or local government entity or official may not prohibit, or in any way restrict, any government entity or official from sending to, or receiving from, the Immigration and Naturalization Service information regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual.”
So while de Blasio can criticize the Arizona immigration law all he wants, the decision striking down that law, which he’s supported, requires him to obey Federal law. He’s suggested that New York City flout federal law instead.
On to my second point; de Blasio blithely ignores a federal program known as the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (“SCAAP”). To help local police departments, the federal government enacted SCAAP to provide grants to aid in ICE immigration detention. These funds can be used by local law enforcement for all sorts of things, ranging from hiring guards at the jail, to overtime costs, to developing disaster preparedness plans, medical treatment for those suspected of immigration violations, construction of correctional facilities, vehicle rentals and purchases, officer training, and a whole host of other activities. To receive SCAAP funds, local governments are expected to co-operate with ICE detention requests.
Since 2008, New York City has received $65 million in SCAAP funds. That’s a lot of SCAAP funds. Chicago only received $15 million. Of course, this $65 million not only triggers a moral obligation to assist ICE (since that’s what they’re paying you for), but more importantly that $65 million represents people’s salaries, medical care for immigrants, and officer training, and it hinges on co-operation with ICE.
Why does Mr. de Blasio believe he can break federal law, and why does he favor a plan which puts grant money flowing to New York City at risk?
Scandalmania!
Yesterday, on the radio program “The Capitol Pressroom with Susan Arbetter.” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said this:
“What I’m trying mightily to do is not allow the Scandalmania–’cuz you know how the press is with scandals and that becomes all-consuming–I don’t want that to eclipse the session and I don’t want it to derail the session because we have a lot of good work to do out there for New Yorkers who just want their government to function,”
This quote is pretty interesting. First, Cuomo has the audacity to complain that the press is covering Democratic legislators’ arrests. That’s what the press is supposed to do. The press isn’t making these Democrats break the law. And Second, Cuomo’s logic doesn’t make much sense. He wants the press to stop talking about the scandals because “New Yorkers just want their government to function,” but it is because of the scandals that the government is not functioning.
Here are some more about Scandalmania!
The ‘Complicated, but All Bad’ Scandal in New York’s State Legislature
New York corruption probe: Names released of 7 elected officials recorded by disgraced state Sen. Shirley Huntley
For Officials on Tape, Legislator’s Invitation Was Ruse
Officials Named in Huntley’s Wire List Proclaim Innocence at Varying Speeds
IRS Targets Conservative Groups
The revelation that the IRS “decided to target” conservative groups with “tea party” or “patriot” in their name is truly disturbing. One of the most troubling aspects to this breach of trust is that no one seems to know who is responsible.
The American colonists protested “taxation without representation”. Today we have taxation without accountability. Those involved with targeting specific groups may be fired, but the underlining issues won’t be fixed. Under the constitution, Congress has the power to levy taxes—yet the responsibility of enforcing those taxes have fallen to nameless bureaucrats–that cannot be held accountable by voters. Thus, the IRS department that oversees tax-exempt groups and has the ability to decide which of those groups are tax-exempt or not targeted for extra scrutiny and perhaps even harassment groups with tea-party or patriot in their name. Tomorrow it could be another group or criteria. The issue isn’t that they targeted conservative groups, but that the IRS is able to target political groups’ period. And this is yet another reminder that our tax code needs reform.
Reuters reports ““Exactly who at the IRS made the decisions to start applying extra scrutiny was not clear….” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) told NBC, “Somebody made the decision.” And on Sunday’s “Meet the Press” Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.) said, “There has to be accountability for the people who did it.”
How can we have “accountability” for that nameless, vague “somebody” who made and encouraged “the decision” to “target” specific political groups?
A Republican Plan
Peter Wehner has an interesting article today titled “The Republican Party’s Road Back to Victory” on RealClearPolitics. His ideal road is to be “the party of reform and modernization” and he gives five areas for Republicans to concentrate.
They are:
Entitlement reform
Tax code reform
Immigration
Education
Energy
I would add one other point. The Republican Party should focus their efforts on being the party of “reform and modernization” in the cities. New York City is a good place to start.