12,000 illegals granted amnesty in New Haven’s sanctuary.

Now this a  great example of a world gone mad. The story originates from the UK. So it’s not a big stretch for them. But let’s just take a look at a few of the things in this piece. Then try to get your head around how we got from the country you grew up in to this place. Bring the aspirin bottle, you’ll need it.

BBC Online

US city issues immigrant ID card

Opponents say the ID cards will open the floodgates to immigrants

A city in Connecticut has become the first in the United States to issue identity cards to illegal immigrants.<Connecticut-surprise,surprise!>

New Haven – best known as the home of Yale University – is offering the cards to all its residents, including to some 12,000 undocumented immigrants. <Note-these folks are just ‘undocumented’. No mention of 12,ooo people who have committed a crime.>

City leaders say the plan will enable immigrants to open bank accounts and make them less vulnerable to crime. <Why are we making on effort to make criminals less vulnerable to crime?>

But the ID card scheme, which comes as some other cities get tough on illegal immigrants, has also prompted protests.

New Haven Mayor John DeStefano said the cards, which were approved last month, would make immigrants more willing to report crime.

“The simple straightforward purpose here is to build a stronger community,” he said.

“You can’t police a community of people who won’t talk to our cops.” <No John, you can’t police a community where roughly 12% of it’s population disobey it’s laws. Then you give them a pass and a head of the line chit. It’s called respect, John. You can’t earn the respect of the citizenry when you don’t enforce the laws upon them equally. And you don’t earn the trust of the citizenry when you can’t/don’t /won’t perform the duties for which said citizenry elected you.>

‘Welcome mat’

But opponents said the move would encourage illegal immigration.

Bill Farrel, of Southern Connecticut Citizens for Immigration Reform, said: “It’s going to be a welcome mat for illegal aliens to come to the region, flood the labour market and dry up working-class and middle-class jobs.” <Sorry Bill, red herring. Jobs aren’t the point. I wish you and yours would stop trotting that out. It makes pro-immigration enforcement look small and petty.>

BBC Americas editor Will Grant says the controversial move stands in stark contrast to the approach towards illegal immigrants adopted in other parts of the US.

New laws and proposals in more than 90 cities or counties across the country include prohibiting landlords from renting to illegal immigrants and penalising firms that employ them. <Wrong. Those laws are already on the books. Passing a new proposal for the cameras re-iterating the enforcement of already existing law is no more than grandstanding.>

Last month, US President George W Bush’s plans for immigration reform collapsed in the Senate amid strong opposition.

You’ll notice that amid the heated debate over ‘comprehensive immigration reform’, the big buzzword was border security. All the Libs and RINOs trotted out their canned speeches about how ‘this bill will allow us to move forward on achieving true border security….blah,blah,blah.” You don’t hear that so much anymore, now that Amnesty got shot down. I guess that sense of urgency wasn’t so urgent after all.

Hey fellas, the money is still in the bank. The fence is still enacted into law. How about not wheeling Michael Chertoff out for sound bites and instead start moving some dirt on the Rio Grande?

W

Taken to the cleaners UPDATE

Man! What a sad sack this guy seems to be.  This entire story is just one big fiasco.  Crying in court over some pants?  Come on dude, get a life! 

WASHINGTON (June 12) – A judge had to leave the courtroom with tears running down his face Tuesday after recalling the lost pair of trousers that led to his $54 million lawsuit against a dry cleaner.
Administrative law judge Roy L. Pearson had argued earlier in his opening statement that he is acting in the interest of all city residents against poor business practices. Defense attorneys called his claim “outlandish.”

He originally sued Custom Cleaners for about $65 million under the District of Columbia consumer protection act and almost $2 million in common law claims. He is no longer seeking damages related to the pants, instead focusing his claims on two signs in the shop that have since been removed.

He alleges that Jin Chung, Soo Chung and Ki Chung, owners of the mom-and-pop business, committed fraud and misled consumers with signs that claimed “Satisfaction Guaranteed” and “Same Day Service.”

Pearson, representing himself, said in opening that he wanted to examine the culture that allowed “a group of defendants to engage in bad business practices for five years.”

An attorney for the Chungs portrayed Pearson as a bitter man with financial troubles stemming from a recent divorce who is taking out his anger on a hardworking family.

Full Story.

Judge takes little guy to the cleaners.

This ought to show you how badly we need tort reform in this country.  Jeez!! Now even the judges are filing frivolous suits (pun intended). 

This morning in the nation’s capital, a local judge will go to civil court to claim that he is owed $54 million from a local dry cleaner who he says lost his pants.

The case gained national attention soon after the lawsuit was filed. The pants are expected to be introduced into evidence, although the judge says the pants are not his, and the correct pants are still missing.

The sartorial loss caused Washington, D.C., administrative law judge Roy Pearson to suffer what he calls severe “mental suffering, inconvenience and discomfort.”

The defendants, who own Custom Cleaners in the Fort Lincoln section of the district, told ABC News last month that they, too, are feeling inconvenience and discomfort.

The trouble began over a $10 dry cleaning bill for a pair of prized pants, Pearson said. That figure ballooned to $67 million dollars, but in recently amended court filings, Pearson now said he is only seeking $54 million. Last week, his term on the bench reportedly expired. It’s unclear whether it will be renewed.

The lawsuit is based in large part on Pearson’s contention that he was taken in by the “Satisfaction Guaranteed” sign hanging on the store’s wall. Pearson said at one point in court papers that he planned to call 63 witnesses. Pearson is expected to testify in the civil trial..

Defending themselves against the suit — for two years running — are Korean immigrants Jin and Soo Chung and their son, who own Custom Cleaners and two other local dry cleaning shops.

Pearson said this is not the first pair of his pants Custom Cleaners has lost. In court papers Pearson said that he took a pair of pants into Custom Cleaners in 2002 and the pants were lost.

So the Chungs gave Pearson a $150 check for a new pair of pants. Three years later, Pearson said he returned to Custom Cleaners and, like some real-life “Groundhog Day” nightmare, another pair of trousers went missing. Again.

It was May 2005 and Pearson was about to begin his new job as an administrative judge. He said in court filings he wanted to wear a nice outfit to his first day of work. He said that he tried on five Hickey Freeman suits from his closet, but found them all to be “too tight,” according to the Washington Post, which first reported the story. Pearson said he brought one pair in for alterations and they went missing — gray trousers with what Pearson described in court papers as blue and red stripes on them.

Seperation of Church and State repealed in NY

What the heck is going on in NY?  I should know better than to ask.  I could go over all the basic points here.  But they are glaringly obvious.  I won’t wait for the ACLU to show up.   Cowards.  

  

By Melanie Pritchard

Watch the story

In December, 1992, parents and students in the Williamsville School District protested the elimination of religious music and symbols in schools. A letter sent Monday to parents of sixth graders at Mill Middle school about a class trip is stirring up the controversy again. “We don’t have Christmas in school, we don’t have Easter, we don’t have Halloween. All that stuff’s been taken out.”
On Wednesday, the students will visit the Universal School and Islamic Community Center on Heim Road and the Hindu Cultural Center on French Road. The letter says the trip is meant to “develop a broader understanding of these religions’ beliefs and worship practices.”
A dad who wants to remain anonymous says his son won’t be going on the trip. He wonders why parents were given just two days notice, when they typically get at least a week. He also questions the destinations. “You just happened to pick two of them that everybody wants to be politically correct with. You didn’t pick a church, you didn’t go to the Jewish center.”
“In the Williamsville School District, there are so many different religions,” said Heather Neuss, Co-President of the Mill Middle School Parent Teacher Student Association. “So I think they’re just learning about what some of their friends believe.” Neuss says no one raised any objections last Fall when the PTSA discussed and approved a request to help fund this field trip. “As far as the PTSA goes, it’s the bridge from the community to the school. So it was fine as far as we were concerned.”
The letter to parents also says girls must wear a scarf while visiting the Islamic Community Center. School officials call a sign of respect, but this dad says it’s going too far. “To me this is more of an indoctrination into a religion than teaching.”
The school district did not want to comment on the issue.

The punchline to the Nifong joke.

What a joke Mike Nifong has become.  And check out the quote from his attorney.  That’s just laughable. 

The North Carolina State Bar has charged Nifong, the district attorney in Durham County, with several violations of the state’s rules of professional conduct, all tied to his handling of the lacrosse case.

Former Duke Lacrosse Prosecutor Faces Trial

By AARON BEARD

AP

RALEIGH, N.C. (June 12) – More than a year after shocking allegations emerged about Duke University’s lacrosse team, prosecutor Mike Nifong  is heading to trial – as a defendant

Among those expected to watch from the gallery of a packed North Carolina Court of Appeals courtroom are Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty, two of the once-charged and now cleared players. Several defense attorneys and family members of the three players are also expected to attend.

Nifong is expected to testify at the trial.

Nifong’s attorney, David Freedman, did not return calls seeking comment Monday. But last week, he insisted his client had no plans to heed calls from his critics to resign.

“Public opinion is not going to weigh in on how the proceeding develops and will not weigh in on the ultimate decision by the bar,” Freedman said. “Our purpose is not to sway public opinion but to present his case to the State Bar.”

Full Story.

Iraq War Vet Blasts Marine Corps at Disciplinary Hearing

Note the headline.  The press is overly desirous of anyone connected to the military who will speak disparagingly about it or the war.  This young man violated a regulation then cursed, in writing, to a Brig. General.  What did he honestly expect the Corps would do?  But that isn’t what is important here.  It’s only important that the big, bad Marine Corps is picking on the little guy! <insert sarcasm wherever you like>. 

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (June 5) – A military panel has recommended a general discharge for an Iraq  war veteran who wore his uniform during a war protest and later responded with an obscenity to a superior who told him he might have violated military rules.

Marine Cpl. Adam Kokesh participated in the protest in March, clad in a uniform that had his name tag and other insignia removed. After he was identified in a photo caption in The Washington Post, a superior officer sent him a letter saying he might have violated a rule prohibiting troops from wearing uniforms without authorization.

After a hearing Monday before an administrative separation board at the Marine Corps Mobilization Command, the panel decided not to recommend an other-than-honorable discharge , choosing instead the general discharge.

“This is a nonpunitive discharge,” said Col. Patrick McCarthy, chief of staff for the mobilization command. “The most stringent discharge that could have been received is other than honorable, and the board chose to raise that up to a general discharge.”

Kokesh is a member of the Individual Ready Reserve, which consists mainly of those who have left active duty but still have time remaining on their eight-year military obligations. His service is due to end June 18, but the Marine Corps is seeking to let him go two weeks early with a less-than-honorable discharge.

That could cut some of his health benefits and force him to repay about $10,800 he received to obtain his undergraduate degree on the GI Bill.

His attorneys said Kokesh was not subject to military rules during the protest because he was not on active duty. They said the protest was a theatrical performance, which meant wearing a uniform was a not a violation of military rules.

The military considered it a political event, at which personnel are not allowed to wear their uniforms without authorization.

Kokesh said he might appeal the board’s ruling on principle.

“Frankly, I’m very disappointed with this decision and I’m very disappointed with the board members who made it,” he said. “I do not think it was in the Marine Corps spirit to take the easy road or to not take a stand. In the words of Dante, the hottest layers of hell are reserved for those who in times of moral crisis maintain their neutrality, and I think that’s what happened here today.”

Marine Capt. Jeremy Sibert said in closing arguments that military personnel can be punished if their civilian behavior “directly affects the performance of military duties and is service-related.” He said Kokesh’s actions could affect how people view the Marine Corps and discourage recruits.

“A lot of us believe in this uniform. At some point, Cpl. Kokesh decided he was above that,” he said.

Full Story

Why did they get Laptops in the first place?

LIVERPOOL, N.Y. — The students at Liverpool High have used their school-issued laptops to exchange answers on tests, download pornography and hack into local businesses. When the school tightened its network security, a 10th grader not only found a way around it but also posted step-by-step instructions on the Web for others to follow (which they did).

Chris Barry, 16, carrying his laptop at Liverpool High School in Liverpool, N.Y., where they are being phased out.

Scores of the leased laptops break down each month, and every other morning, when the entire school has study hall, the network inevitably freezes because of the sheer number of students roaming the Internet instead of getting help from teachers.

So the Liverpool Central School District, just outside Syracuse, has decided to phase out laptops starting this fall, joining a handful of other schools around the country that adopted one-to-one computing programs and are now abandoning them as educationally empty — and worse.

Many of these districts had sought to prepare their students for a technology-driven world and close the so-called digital divide between students who had computers at home and those who did not.

Bush Vetoes Troop Withdrawal Bill

Partisan politics at the expense of our troops really tend to piss me off.  Shame on all of you. 

Bush Vetoes Troop Withdrawal Bill

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Bush vetoed legislation to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq Tuesday night in a historic showdown with Congress over whether the unpopular and costly war should end or escalate. In only the second veto of his presidency, Bush rejected legislation pushed by Democratic leaders that would require the first U.S. combat troops to be withdrawn from Iraq by Oct. 1 with a goal of a complete pullout six months later.

“This is a prescription for chaos and confusion and we must not impose it on our troops,” Bush said in a nationally broadcast statement from the White House. He said the bill would “mandate a rigid and artificial deadline” for troop pullouts, and “it makes no sense to tell the enemy when you plan to start withdrawing.”

Democrats accused Bush of ignoring American’s desire to stop the war, which has claimed the lives of more than 3,350 members of the military.

“The president wants a blank check,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., moments after Bush’s appearance. “The Congress is not going to give it to him.” She said Congress would work with him to find common ground but added that there was “great distance” between them on Iraq.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Bush has an obligation to explain his plan for responsibly ending the war.

“If the president thinks by vetoing this bill, he’ll stop us from working to change the direction of the war in Iraq, he is mistaken,” Reid said.

Lacking the votes to override the president, Democratic leaders quietly considered what might be included or kept out of their next version of the $124 billion spending bill. Bush will meet with congressional leaders—Democrats and Republicans alike—on Wednesday to discuss a new bill.

Bush said Democrats had made a political statement by passing anti-war legislation. “They’ve sent their message, and now it’s time to put politics behind us and support our troops with the funds,” the president said.

He said the need to act is urgent because without a war-funding bill, the armed forces will have to consider cutting back on buying or repairing equipment.

“Our troops and their families deserve better, and their elected leaders can do better,” Bush said.

“Whatever our differences, surely we can agree that our troops are worthy of this funding and that we have a responsibility to get it to them without further delay,” the president said.

Happy…”Day”.

I just thought I’d relate a funny exchange I had this morning on my way into the office.  I was raising the flags (my daily routine) and an uber liberal co-worker saunters up quite full of himself and says “Happy Anniversary”.  This was an obvious reference to “Mission Accomplished”.

So I turned to him and said “Happy Birthday to Communism”.  He walked away, a surly look on his face.  It worked quite effectively at preventing an inane “Bush lied,  people died” conversation.

Just thought I’d offer it as a pest repellent for today.

-Chin

Hunter asks Reid to quit Senate post – Nation/Politics – The Washington Times, America’s Newspaper

Duncan Hunter is the man!! It’s about time someone on the right side of the aisle started calling a spade a spade. I find it pretty ironic that after dismissing Hunter as a ‘wannabee’, Reid’s spokesman has the nerve to characterize the letter as ‘lashing out’.

Hunter asks Reid to quit Senate post – Nation/Politics – The Washington Times, America’s Newspaper

The ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee has called for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to resign his leadership post for saying the U.S. has lost the war in Iraq. “This unfortunate statement is both inaccurate and damaging … [and] can have no effect but to demoralize the brave men and women who are honorably fulfilling their mission in Iraq,” said Rep. Duncan Hunter of California in a letter to Mr. Reid. Mr. Hunter, an Army Ranger in the Vietnam War whose son, a Marine, is returning to Iraq for his third combat tour, wrote that his friendship with Mr. Reid is secondary to his obligation to the nation’s wartime military forces. “In light of the fact that this statement has both been used by our adversaries and has exhibited a marked lack of leadership to U.S. troops, I call on you to resign your leadership position,” said Mr. Hunter, who is running for president. Mr. Hunter added that Mr. Reid’s comments “will undoubtedly be used by terrorist leaders to rally their followers — inevitably leading to increased attacks on U.S. and coalition forces.” A spokesman for Mr. Reid declined to respond directly about the letter. “I’m not going to dignify that comment from a presidential wannabe,” Reid spokesman Jim Manley said yesterday. Mr. Manley added that if Mr. Hunter is so concerned about winning the war in Iraq he should work with his own party to draft a workable solution instead of “lashing out” at the opposition.

Exit Question: Why are antiwar legislators lauded as ‘providing responsible government oversight’, while those who support our mission are ‘lashing out’? Read responses and discuss in our forum.