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1/30/2006 9:13:00 AM  Birth rules degrade U.S. immigrationGuest Opinion by Rep. Tom Tancredo After years of lip service and outright neglect, immigration reform is finally front and center on Washington’s agenda. The issue has such resonance it seems every congressman has introduced a bill on the subject. At least in the House, a consensus is emerging to secure our borders, increase worksite enforcement and, now, revoke birthright citizenship. Currently, the U.S. grants citizenship automatically to every person born in our country, except children of foreign diplomats. That includes legal permanent residents, temporary visitors, nonimmigrants and illegal aliens. Obviously this...

ALBANY, N.Y. — A prosecutor dropped all charges Tuesday against a small town mayor who could have faced up to a year in jail for marrying gay couples on the steps of the village hall. New Paltz Mayor Jason West (search), then 26, was among the first public officials in the nation to marry same-sex couples, following San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (search) in February 2004. He had been charged with 24 misdemeanor counts of violating the state's domestic relations law after marrying about two dozen gay couples in ceremonies that drew national attention to the village of about 13,000...

Article Published: Friday, June 03, 2005 - 5:47:29 PM PST Attorney general not interested in prosecuting 'Deep Throat' NEW YORK (AP) The former FBI man unmasked as "Deep Throat' probably won't be prosecuted for sharing information with reporters during the Watergate scandal, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales indicated Friday. "It happened a long time ago,' Gonzales said of W. Mark Felt's conduct 30 years ago, when he was the No. 2 man at the FBI. "The department has a lot of other priorities.' Gonzales declined to characterize Felt as either hero or villain. "I will leave it to history to make...

"Deep Throat" has at last come forward. Arguably the most notorious informant in recent history is former FBI official W. Mark Felt, and it's been confirmed by The Washington Post. Mr. Felt was second-in-command at the FBI during Watergate, and is now 91 years of age. In stepping forward, he not only destroys his reputation, but he takes a chunk out of the reputation of the agency that supported him and his family in a comfortable lifestyle for so many years. Had Mr. Felt used the lawful route to voice his concerns about the Nixon administration he might be remembered...

NEW YORK - The former FBI man unmasked as "Deep Throat" probably won't be prosecuted for sharing information with reporters during the Watergate scandal, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales indicated Friday. "It happened a long time ago," Gonzales said of W. Mark Felt's conduct 30 years ago, when he was the No. 2 man at the FBI. "The department has a lot of other priorities." Gonzales declined to characterize Felt as either hero or villain. "I will leave it to history to make that determination," he said, echoing comments by President Bush, who has also refrained from saying what he thinks...

Several of my recent threads / comments have related to a DUI arrest I recently had. I will not defend that. One of the more interesting subjects which came up when I was in jail was whether you can be arrested for "drunk in public" when you are on your own property. My position is that this should not be possible. I like to sit out on my front porch, have a drink or three, and study my shubbery. I am not driving or doing anything else which I consider to be wrong. The overwhelming consensus among my cell-mates is...

ALBANY, N.Y. -- The village mayor who challenged New York law by attempting to marry gay couples will face trial, the state's highest court ruled Friday. New Paltz Village Mayor Jason West faces 24 misdemeanor counts of violating the state's domestic relations law by marrying couples without marriage licenses last year. West's defiance of a law that state officials say forbids gay marriage made the little Hudson Valley village a flashpoint in the national gay marriage debate. The state Court of Appeals on Friday refused West's request to hear the case first, avoiding the usual process of hearing cases in...

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - The village mayor who challenged New York law by attempting to marry gay couples will face trial, the state's highest court ruled Friday. New Paltz Mayor Jason West faces 24 misdemeanor counts of violating the state's domestic relations law by marrying couples without marriage licenses last year. West's gesture, which state officials say defied state law, came amid a flurry of efforts in various states to enact gay weddings after San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom allowed gay couples there to wed in February 2004. Those efforts have largely been put on hold by the courts. The...

A judge in New York state reinstated criminal charges against New Paltz Mayor Jason West for solemnizing same-sex "marriages." Mayor Jason West (Photo: Times Herald-Record, Middletown, N.Y.) Shortly after San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom defied California law to become the first official in the country to authorize marriage licenses for same-sex couples, West presided over about two dozen ceremonies in the small New York town last February. West, 27, was assessed 24 misdemeanor counts, but a town court judge dropped the charges, citing constitutional problems in banning same-sex marriages.

Los Angeles -- Sen. Dianne Feinstein stood in front of the gospel-charged congregation in South Central Los Angeles on Sunday to be proudly introduced as "the only member of the United States Senate to be a member'' of the First African Methodist church. And the Democratic senator from California delivered a sermon on values: The Bush Social Security plan, she said, is a threat to the well-being and families of African American seniors. "It is the wrong thing to do at the wrong time,'' she said as the seniors in the audience nodded their heads in agreement. "Will you help...

The coming economic crisis. Unemployment. Health care for the poor. The almost 1,500 dead soldiers. The almost 100,000 dead Iraqis. Armstrong Williams and Maggie Gallagher. The Christian Conservative takeover of our nation. The missing 9 billion. The missing weapons of mass destruction. The impending invasion of Iran, and Syria. The total failure to protect us on 9-11.

When is it “OK” for an innocent bystander to be brutalized at the whim of a common thug? Amid the collection of worldviews we endeavor to rationalize in our pluralistic cultural, brutalizing ones neighbor and stranger alike is still repugnant to most. Who among us, whether atheist, Christian, or secular humanist will praise and commend the actions of a judge who in the name of love and understanding does not penalize the lawbreaking thief, rapist, and murderer. Why is it so difficult for the average person to apply this simple example of reality to God? If the Creator God...

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. (AP) -- The mayor of the town of New Paltz has been charged with 19 criminal counts for marrying same-sex couples. New Paltz Mayor Jason West said last Thursday it was his moral duty to marry homosexual couples. He issued marriage certificates to 25 gay couples. On Tuesday, Ulster County District Attorney Donald Williams lodged 19 counts of ``solemnizing a marriage without a license'' against West.

Conservatives Launch Effort to Recall California Attorney General (CNSNews.com) - Foes of same-sex "marriage"are launching an effort to recall California Attorney General Bill Lockyer. U.S. Senate candidate Howard Kaloogian - who previously served as chairman of the Recall Gray Davis Committee - said that he will serve Lockyer with a "Notice of Intent to Recall" on Monday. "Californians deserve to have an attorney general who will fight to uphold their laws and respect the will of the people," Kaloogian said in a press release. "Based on his history on this issue and his tepid response so far to the...

They refused the Attorney General's request that they issue an injunction preventing further gay marriages to be conducted in San Francisco.

<p>Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- The mayor of New Paltz, New York, performed weddings for 21 gay couples, prompting the New York State Health Department to ask Attorney General Eliot Spitzer to seek an injunction blocking ``further illegal conduct,'' the Associated Press reported.</p>

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — With partisanship becoming more commonplace in Annapolis, even religion can be a contentious topic in the state legislature. Some Republican lawmakers are asking the General Assembly to pass a resolution supporting Roy Moore, the former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, who was ousted for refusing to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial building. Two of Moore's supporters — Sen. Alex Mooney of Frederick County and Delegate Don Dwyer of Anne Arundel County — invited Moore to Annapolis to speak to lawmakers today and address a public rally outside the State House. "This...

The decision was unanimous and harsh. Nine members of Alabama's judicial ethics court found Roy Moore guilty and immediately threw him off the bench. The panel said Moore put himself above the law by refusing to obey a court order to move the Ten Commandments from the courthouse rotunda. Presiding Judge William Thompson read from the ruling, "In defying that court's order, the Chief Justice placed himself above the law. No man in this country is so high that he is above the law." Moore remained as defiant as ever. Soon after the court's ruling, he said he had no...

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Bredesen snubs law, kicks in $1 million Democrats say Hilleary broke liquor-money vow By Tom Humphrey, News-Sentinel Nashville bureau October 18, 2002 NASHVILLE - Democrat Phil Bredesen said Thursday he has provided $1 million to his gubernatorial campaign and stands ready to spend more to counter negative ads against him. Republicans denounced Bredesen's move as a violation of law that limits gubernatorial candidates to $250,000 in self-financing per election. Bredesen spokesmen said the law is patently unconstitutional and is not being enforced by state officials. Republican nominee Van Hilleary, meanwhile, was criticized by Democrats for collecting contributions from liquor- and...