Free Republic

Progressive Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said Wednesday that immigrants are needed in America because they, among other things, "pick the food we eat," "clean our homes," and "rebuild our communities after climate disasters." Jayapal's comments – which some GOP colleagues and others criticized as stereotyping immigrants — came during a House Judiciary Committee markup of legislation pertaining to the immigration crisis, known as the Border Security and Enforcement Act of 2023. "Trump's policies, combined with his anti-immigrant rhetoric, made us less safe, less competitive in attracting the best and the brightest, and undermined our most basic human values of compassion...

ZEPHYR COVE, Nev. (CBS13) – He congratulated the graduating class of 2011, but one but one principal’s commencement speech actually offended some in the crowd. The graduating class at Whittell High School has only 30 students. Just a few weeks ago during graduation their principal gave an encouraging speech congratulating his students and their parents. “Class of 2011, I want to congratulate you for all your accomplishments this year,” said Principal Crespin Esquivel. He then said the same thing in Spanish, making sure his commencement speech could also be understood by his Spanish speaking parents and students who make up...

Three California unions are accusing a rival labor coalition of using "shameful" tactics to win exclusive contracts for building renewable power plants — tactics they said delay new jobs and add to each project's costs. Unions representing carpenters, laborers and operating engineers criticized California Unions for Reliable Energy for challenging construction projects on environmental grounds — then dropping objections after its main affiliate, the State Building & Construction Trades Council of California, wins lucrative contracts to supply workers. Since 2000, CURE has participated in environmental hearings for all 12 renewable energy projects proposed for the Southern California desert, filing more...

Washington - The makeover of the Oval Office has been widely panned in press reports and on the blogosphere for being too casual and for its bland color palate but White House press secretary Robert Gibbs doesn't expect President Obama to weigh in anytime soon. (Snip) In an apparent effort to head off criticism, the White House pointed out that all of the materials and furniture came from U.S.-based companies, and that taxpayers won't foot the bill. These kinds of projects have always been funded by the White House Historical Association, with money from the Presidential Inaugural Committee.

A dire government report on cancer risks from chemicals and other hazards in the environment has drawn criticism from the American Cancer Society, which says government experts are overstating their case. Related The government’s 240-page report, published online Thursday by the President’s Cancer Panel, says the proportion of cancer cases caused by environmental exposures has been “grossly underestimated.” It warns of “grievous harm” from chemicals and other hazards, and cites “a growing body of evidence linking environmental exposures to cancer.”

As the Border Patrol's ranks have increased in the San Diego area, so have reports of immigration-related traffic stops well away from the border. Since late last year, there have been at least four reports of motorists stopped by immigration officials and questioned in the interior of the county and beyond. The agency has not emphasized interior patrols for several years. Those who favor intensive enforcement of immigration laws long have pushed the federal government to do more, but the patrols are reigniting debate over what criteria agents use when deciding to make a stop. People who are in the...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has expressed “deep concern” about the state stem cell institute's plans to set the salaries for the chairman and vice chairman of its board, two positions for which no one has accepted pay in three years. With the state facing a possible $28 billion deficit, Schwarzenegger sent a letter Thursday to the stem cell institute's board urging it “to ensure that compensation for these positions is offered only if and to the extent absolutely necessary to implement its mission.” Setting a salary for the chairman of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is on the agenda for...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The federal government will open up nearly 46,000 square miles off Alaska's northwest coast to petroleum leases next month, a decision condemned by enviromental groups that contend the industrial activity will harm northern marine mammals. The Minerals Management Agency planned the sale in the Chukchi Sea without taking into account changes in the Arctic brought on by global warming and proposed insufficient protections for polar bears, walrus, whales and other species that could be harmed by drilling rigs or spills, according to the groups. The lease sale in an area slightly smaller than the state of Pennsylvania...

A police plan to map out Muslim communities that was sharply criticized and called racial and religious profiling by civil rights groups has been at least temporarily halted, a police spokeswoman said Wednesday. "There was a clear message from the Muslim community that they were not comfortable with it. So we listened," Mary Grady, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department, told The Associated Press. Grady said the program hadn't been dropped, but rather had been indefinitely postponed. She couldn't immediately say when it might be resumed. Grady said the police initiative to strengthen ties with Muslim communities would go...

Russia criticised for planting Arctic flag Last Updated: 1:42am BST 03/08/2007 Russia has been condemned for planting its flag on the seabed at the North Pole in a symbolic bid to stake a claim to the vast mineral wealth of the Arctic. Explorers from the country descended 14,000ft in a mini-submarine to place the titanium flag in an area that is home to a quarter of the world's untapped energy reserves. Russia also used the expedition, disclosed in The Daily Telegraph , to gather samples to substantiate its claim that the Lomonosov Ridge, a shelf that runs through the Arctic,...

WASHINGTON - A blistering Justice Department report accuses the FBI of underreporting its use of the Patriot Act to force businesses to turn over customer information in terrorism cases, according to officials familiar with its findings. The report, to be released Friday, also says the FBI failed to send follow-up subpoenas to telecommunications firms that were told to expect them, according to several government officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the report by the Justice Department's inspector general had not yet been released. Overall, the FBI underreported the number of national security letters it issued by about 20...

In testimony to the House ethics committee investigating the Mark Foley page scandal, the House's former administrator described outgoing Rep. Jim Kolbe as a "nuisance" who "spent far too much time socially interacting with the pages," according to the committee's report released Friday. The comments from former Clerk of the House Jeff Trandahl, who oversaw the Congressional Page Program, were only part of an investigative report that found no evidence any current lawmakers or aides violated any rules, and recommended no sanctions. In its findings and recommendations, however, the panel went on to say there were a "significant number of...

PHOENIX - A relative of a couple critically injured in the Aug. 7 crash of a suspected smuggler's SUV that killed 11 other illegal immigrants blames the Border Patrol, not the suspected smuggler, for their injuries. Luis Olivos Gomez, 30, and his wife, Teresa Chavez, 21, of Zamora, Mexico, remain hospitalized in Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix, as does the couple's infant child, born prematurely by Caesarean section after the accident. Olivos remains in a coma; Chavez has taken a few fledgling steps as she recovers from her injuries, but still hasn't spoken and has no recollection of...

SACRAMENTO - For the first time since then-private citizen Arnold Schwarzenegger persuaded voters to pass Proposition 49 in 2002, the state will start spending more than $500 million on after-school programs next year. Under Schwarzenegger's proposed 2006-07 budget, the state will spend an additional $428 million on after-school programs under Proposition 49, bringing the total funding for those programs to $550 million. That is new spending required for the first time under Proposition 49 as triggered by an increase in state revenue, although it is not supported by new taxes or other revenue sources. But some critics say the measure...

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa faced criticism Monday for requesting the use of a jet owned by Ameriquest, a mortgage firm that has a City Hall lobbyist assigned to press its interests with the mayor. Villaraigosa, who once worked for the firm, flew last week on the private jet to Detroit with an aide and his security detail after receiving a last-minute invitation to speak at the funeral of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks. "Because of the short notice and the need to fulfill his official duties, the mayor needed the services of a private jet," spokeswoman Janelle Erickson said....

NEW YORK (AP) - One year after large-scale protests at the Republican National Convention, the New York Civil Liberties Union issued a report on Tuesday criticizing police for using heavy-handed tactics it says resulted in hundreds of illegal arrests. The report argues abuses were extreme enough to warrant the creation of an independent agency to negotiate and oversee future demonstrations - a job now handled by the New York Police Department. It suggests peaceful protests should be treated more like large outdoor concerts or street fairs. "Protests are not a criminal event," Christopher Dunn, the NYCLU's associate legal director, said...

SACRAMENTO - Islamic leaders and peace groups are criticizing the California National Guard for a flier posted in its headquarters suggesting the United States should execute Islamic terrorists with bullets dipped in pig's blood to deny them entry to heaven. The poster attributes the practice to World War I General John J. Pershing. "Maybe it is time for this segment of history to repeat itself, maybe in Iraq?" the flier stated. It was posted outside a cubicle in the Guard's Civil Support Division. A second flier showed the wings and tail of a bomber forming a peace sign with the...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - The attorney for three Pakistani citizens held on immigration complaints criticized federal agencies Monday for suggesting they are part of an investigation into a Lodi man suspected of training at an al-Qaida terrorist camp in Pakistan and planning attacks in the U.S. "There is not a single item of evidence that any of my three clients has ever been involved in, or in any way associated with, any terrorist activity whatsoever," Saad Ahmad said in a letter to news outlets. "Further, we dispute the government's charges that any visa violations occurred." Ahmad represents two Lodi religious leaders,...

GENEVA (AP) - The U.N. Human Rights Commission, widely accused of shielding some governments from criticism, concluded its yearly meeting Friday with a top U.N. official calling its performance "demonstrably deficient." During its six-week session, the 53-nation commission condemned human rights abuses in Cuba, North Korea, Belarus and Myanmar. But it did not consider potential abuses in Chechnya, China or Zimbabwe. Louise Arbour, the United Nations' high commissioner for human rights, complained that abuses on some areas of the world were not targeted during its six-week session. "There is something fundamentally wrong with a system in which the question of...

WEST SACRAMENTO – The state prison-guard union, under fire last year from those who believe it is too powerful, came up with a playful, in-your-face response. For two weeks, it flew a skull-and-crossbones pirate flag outside its two-story headquarters here. The California Correctional Peace Officers Association isn't known for having a light touch. The union's bare-knuckles approach to politics, along with its sizable bankroll, has helped make it one of the most effective and influential labor groups in the state capitol. But Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently said the union has too much control over the state's mammoth prison system. And...