Seems it came from ...
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-24764.html
Or ...
Regards
Posted on 05/10/2006 10:22:29 AM PDT by NapkinUser
There is no more explosive issue on the political landscape than illegal immigration. Not only has it sharply divided the American people, who want it stopped and reversed, from the political classes, which want to legitimize and, perforce, encourage more of it. It may be singularly responsible for President Bush’s alarmingly low approval ratings.
Those, after all, are not being driven by the Left and the media. They’ve never been fans. The numbers are tanking thanks to flight by the Republican base and Reagan Democrats, who are apoplectic over the administration’s stubborn insouciance in the face of unabashed lawlessness that acutely threatens public safety.
It was inevitable that this would come to a head, and now it may have.
Michelle Malkin, who has been a stalwart on immigration, reports that the United States government has been providing Mexico with intelligence about the lawful activities of American citizens, specifically, the locations and tactics of Minuteman patrols.
The Minutemen have been maligned by pro-illegal-alien lobbyists, swaths of the mainstream media, and—infuriatingly—President Bush himself as a “vigilante” group. In fact, they are a vigilance group.
The project is a lawful association of citizens, multi-ethnic and multi-racial in background, who assiduously monitor the way government performs one of its most basic enforcement missions. That is to say, it does pretty much what CAIR and the ACLU do—except its efforts inure to the benefit of American national security rather than death-row inmates, terrorists, privacy extremists and self-styled dissidents … and thus it is frowned on by our high-minded clerisy.
The Minutemen are doing what the government refuses to do: closely watching the southern border and very publicly reporting to the under-resourced Border Patrol the tide of illegals pouring across. This sometimes shames our reluctant government into enforcing the immigration laws.
Obviously, the feds don’t like to be shamed. The reflexively pro-immigration administration thus despises the project—although, where the rubber meets the road, many Border Patrol agents are quietly thrilled that someone actually thinks their mission is important. There have thus been occasional reports, denied by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), that border agents have been ordered not to make arrests in response to Minuteman reports.
Now, however, comes a much more serious charge. As Malkin notes, Sara Carter of California’s Inland Valley Daily Bulletin has reported that DHS’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency (CPB), which runs the Border Patrol, has been providing the Mexican government with the locations of Minuteman watch groups, as well as other details about Minuteman participation in detentions of illegal aliens.
According to the report, a website maintained by the Mexican secretary of foreign relations explains that U.S. agents, as a matter of routine, notify the Mexican government regarding the locations of civilian border-patrol groups.
As night follows day, this information undermines the effectiveness of the patrols, channeling immigrant smuggling away from them. As Minuteman founder Chris Simcox told Carter, “Now we know why it seemed like Mexican officials knew where we were all the time.” Chagrined, Simcox added, “It’s unbelievable that our own government agency is sending intelligence to another country. They are sending intelligence to a nation where corruption runs rampant, and that could be getting into the hands of criminal cartels.”
Apparently aware that this is a powder keg, DHS is scrambling to justify itself. Initially, a CPB spokesman confirmed the assertions of the Mexican government website. Now, however, a back-peddling DHS is labeling the Daily Bulletin story “inaccurate.”
As Malkin reports today, DHS categorically asserts that the “Border Patrol does not report activity by civilian, non-law enforcement groups to the Government of Mexico.” Rather, “During a detention of a legal or illegal immigrant that produces an allegation of improper treatment, Border Patrol reports the allegation and allows the appropriate consulate to interview the individual in custody.”
The DHS statement is noteworthy in two respects. First, while attempting to discredit the report about providing Mexico with intelligence, it does not clearly deny transmitting information about Minuteman patrols—something the CPB spokesman previously conceded quite matter-of-factly (saying, “It’s not a secret where the Minuteman volunteers are going to be”).
DHS instead says it “reports the allegation” if “improper treatment” is alleged. But we are not told what DHS considers “improper treatment” (e.g., does it consider patrols by the Minutemen—whom the President has labeled as “vigilantes”—to be improper?). Nor are we told how comprehensively DHS “reports” the matter to Mexico (e.g., does it simply notify Mexico that an arrest has been made, or does it convey an expansive summary of the case?).
Second, DHS seems to be saying that it was compelled to disclose whatever information it may have given to Mexico by the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, which President Nixon ratified in 1969.
This latter claim bears scrutiny. The consular-notification convention, and in particular its Article 36, comes into play whenever an alien—legal or illegal—is arrested in the United States. It absolutely does not require U.S. authorities to provide any investigative information or other intelligence to foreign governments. Indeed, it does not necessarily require our government to give a foreign government any information whatsoever.
On the contrary, it provides that when a foreign national is detained, he has a right to have his nation’s consulate in the United States informed of the fact of the arrest. If he does not want his nation so advised, the U.S. is under no obligation to provide notice.
If the detainee does assert his consular-notification rights, the U.S. must advise the consulate of the fact of the arrest, pass along any communications the detainee addresses to his consulate, and allow representatives of the consulate to visit with the detainee.
That’s it. If the foreign government is determined to educate itself about the case, it must do so by interviewing the arrestee (just like a defense lawyer) or by open source information (just like a reporter or any person curious enough to check the public record). It has no claim on investigative or intelligence information maintained by the United States government. Of course, our government may decide to share more information with the foreign government; but if it does, that is a function of choice, not a requirement of law.
The reasons for all this should be obvious. Americans themselves are not entitled to intelligence and investigative information from their own government, so foreigners clearly have no legal basis to demand it.
More to the point, though, let’s say the U.S. arrests a terrorist from a rogue nation that happens to be a Geneva signatory. Would anyone seriously contend that our government should provide, say, Iran with background intelligence about the case? Of course not. We want to comply with our obligations to notify foreign governments about the arrests—after all, that is our best assurance that foreign governments will reciprocally comply and notify our government when Americans are arrested in their jurisdictions. We do not, however, owe them more than that.
This situation calls for close attention. The American people should be told exactly what DHS’s component agencies have been telling Mexico. If, as DHS maintains, it is merely honoring U.S. treaty obligations, that is laudable and to be encouraged.
If, however, our government is gratuitously providing a suspect regime with information about the First Amendment-protected activities of American citizens, the immigration issue is headed for a whole new dimension of controversy.
I suggested this as well. They achieved their best results through publicizing where they were to be why would that change?
Why would one bother with such hits.
The facts are as I laid out.
I suspect this is a "clintonian" denial from the WH.
The Minutment report illegals, the border patrol then "informs" the mexican gov they are picking up mexican citizens caught at the border (as per some kind of treaty) and then border patrol gives a FYI it was the minutment reporting the crime.
This is incidious.
LOL you are one funny guy!
susie
There are two paramount reasons to continue to support the GOP: National Security and Judicial Appointments. Nothing else comes even close in importance.
btw spending is not "out of control" and nothing can be done about that until the Treason Media is made even less creditable. ANY cut (other than military) is met with howls which frightens the GOP. The border issue does not make the top six issues and its emotional impact is used against the GOP when EVERYONE knows that the Party of Treason would only increase the problem by leaps and bounds.
Easily amused Ladies have always been favorites. :^)
Lmme tell ya bout ma sester.
I love that guy.
Huh, how does YOUR problem become the Number one problem of the Nation?
Where did you get the idea I spoke for YOU? Not from me.
This problem was not created by Bush and cannot be solved by Bush. Cities all across the Nation won't even cooperate with immigration authorities and you attack the GOP?
Only an easily-manipulated conformist would think that a GOP that refuses to secure the border and end the massive invasion of illiterate, non-English speaking people is worthy of support.
You are delusional if you believe increasing RAT power is going to help you with ANYTHING much less Illegals.
My statement of facts did not speak for you. But remains no less true. Illegals are FAR from the #1 problem.
Executive Orders cannot affect anything outside the Executive branch and would not change anything about the refusal of local authorites (almost ALL RATS if not all) to cooperate with immigration authorities.
As long as the GOP takes care of the principle issues facing the American people: National Security, Judicial reform, lowering taxes, protecting marriage and stopping the gay agenda, reforming social security it is worthy of support.
No problem comes close to National Security in importance. It is surprising you don't understand that.
"You are delusional if you believe increasing RAT power is going to help you with ANYTHING much less Illegals."
Hoss, you're nuts. Please find anywhere in my posts where I've said anything remotely close to your statement above.
Try to stay on topic too.
Your understanding on how government works is at about the 4th grade level.
Hi G. Mason,
Been a while since I spoke with you. We had talked once about me coming to your area to fish. With gas prices what they are it don't look likely anytime soon.
Anyway, here's something funny I picked up on another site:
The following is from an e-mail I received. No source for the story was given, and I doubt its validity, but thought some of you might find it amusing (or inspirational).
The Homeowner's Association, in a small community in Washington., were having a terrible problem with trash on the side of the roads around their neighborhood. The reason is the construction of six big new homes which are being built around their subdivision.
Wallace said the trash is being generated by the Mexican work crews at the construction sites. (McDonald bags, Coke Bottles, pizza boxes, Burger King bags, etc.). They have pleaded with the site supervisors and the general contractor to no avail; called the City, County and the Police and got no help. So guess what some people in his community did?
They organized about twenty folks, named themselves the Inner Neighborhood Services" (INS) and started going out at lunch time to "police" the area themselves. What they did while picking up the trash is HILARIOUS!
They got some navy blue baseball caps and had the initials "INS" in gold put on the caps. It doesn't take a rocket scientist, however, to understand what they hoped people would think it meant.
Well, the day after their first pick-up detail - with them wearing the INS caps and some carrying cameras - 46 out of 68 of the construction workers did not show up for work the next morning! And they haven't come back yet! It has been ten days.
Now I understand the general contractor is madder than **** , but can't say anything publicly, because he could be busted for hiring "illegal aliens."
Wallace and his bunch can't be accused of impersonating INS folks because their Homeowner Association allows them to vote to form new committees within the association. They also informed the INS about what they were doing in advance. According to Wallace, the INS basically said "Have at it."
Bush has in general done well with his judicial appointments. Beter than Reagan did. However, even though there is a Republican majority in the Senate, there really isn't majority support for confirming solid constitutional originalists to the courts, because there are way too many big government supporters among the Republican Senators, and a true originalist reading of the Constitution would drastically reduce the power of the federal government.
Bush has made good nominations, but if you really think he wants to put Judges in office that would restrain the federal government to what it's authorized under the constitution, you aren't paying much attention to the types of legislation he's supported.
Bush has made pretty good nominations, but when he's run up against opposition on the really good ones, he's unwilling to really press the issue and make the Senate go on record with a vote.
On National Security the Republicans are generally MUCH better than the Democrats, however on a variety of key issues they aren't getting the job done.
The CIA needs reformed so that it is reasonably effective.
Our border security needs drastically improved along our southern border.
We need to quit treating the Mexican government as an honest partner in our border security.
We need to quit funneling vast sums of money into international organizations that we don't hold accountable for how they spend the money, and in many cases the money gets used to undermine our interests.
I'll support the GOP on issues where it earns my support. I'll vote for them as the lesser of two evils when compared to the Democrats on almost everything. I live in Ohio. I voted against Senator Dewine in the primary because I think he's done a bad job in the past and has gone from bad to horrible more recently. However, he won the primary and he's still far better that his democratic opponent, Brown, so I'll be voting for Dewine in November.
btw spending is not "out of control"
Spending is out of control, and I'm talking about spending even if you exclude spending on the war. The size of the allocations to huge pork projects is unprecedented. Spending is way out of control.
nothing can be done about that until the Treason Media is made even less creditable.
That is complete B. S.
The pork projects don't get talked about in the mainstream media. They ignore them. The only time the pork projects are getting cut is when the outcry from the people and alternative media gets broad enough and loud enough that enough of the public finds out about the pork projects despite the media avoiding the topic.
If Congress is doing what it's doing to get favorable coverage from the media, why is Congress' approval rating usually polling even lower than Bush's?
A Republican majority is important because it gives the GOP considerable control over the legislative agenda and over the committees.
However when it comes to voting on legislation, it doesn't matter if the legislators have a D or R next to their name, it matters how they vote.
The majority of the house and the senate are voting for big government. There aren't enough votes in the senate to push through legislation to improve national security.
Blindly supporting a Republican Party that is shifting farther and farther left as a whole means shifting the country farther and farther left. We did it here in Ohio. We've gone from having somewhere around the 18th highest state tax burden to having the third highest in the last ten years with Republicans in most Statewide offices and in control of the legislature.
We can't stay on this path. Your country can't have political independence when it can't afford to alienate anyone else because our economy is too fragile. We could actually get to the point where our debt levels become high enough that other countries become hesitant to lend us more money, and it wouldn't take much for a country like China that opposes us to make a show of selling off a large chunk of our debt at a loss to crash our currency value. I don't think we are that close to that point yet, but it's very difficult to know what that point is, and our debt is skyrocketing.
I'm not suggesting voting Democrat, or staying home on election day, or voting for a third party candidate that has no chance (and in general are no better than the other candidates, just bad in different ways).
However, we must change the path of the Republican Party.
The border issue does not make the top six issues and its emotional impact is used against the GOP when EVERYONE knows that the Party of Treason would only increase the problem by leaps and bounds.
Right now it looks like half the Republicans and all the Democrats are arguing about who gets credit for increasing the problem by leaps and bounds.
You seem to be reading something into approval ratings that those ratings can't tell you. A ratings of how the general population approves of two different candidates really can't tell you who will win, because you don't know of which of the two candidates each person polled approves of or disapproves of more.
Many, many elections are won because people vote for the candidate they disapprove of less, rather than them voting for someone they approve of.
I suspect what you believe the Constitution says would not pass muster if examined in any detail. Or that you would agree with the greatest exponents of the document: James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Marshall. The document was written to allow great flexibility in government operations with few restrictions on the Congress.
I also suspect you do not know WHY the government has grown. It is not a conspiracy but representatives responding to the demands of the People for more rights. As society becomes more complex particularly in a dangerous world the government grows by necessity. State governments which are closer to the people have grown even faster than the fed in recent decades.
Nor do I believe your understanding of the Constitution is superior to the President's or his advisors. And I have paid attention to the legislation.
Bush has no power to "make" the Senate do anything it is an independent branch of government and I do not believe he has refused to nominate anyone because of potential opposition. Particularly since it would only allow the Party of Treason to make an ass of itself yet again.
CIA is being reformed. It takes more than just waving a magic wand.
1.2 million Illegals are detained and deported every YEAR. There is little chance more can be done and EVERY chance LESS would be should the GOP be weakened.
Treating the Mexican government as an enemy will not aid our efforts at border control. That can be successful only if it is working with us.
Most of our financial dealings internationally are treaty obligations or designed to promote US interests. Foreign aid is quite small comparatively in any case.
I agree with your tactics in voting for the most conservative person in primaries if they have a chance to win and do this myself. And I also cannot vote for the Party of Treason in the general even if I don't like the Republican. And Illinois has plenty of Republicans to dislike maybe the worst in the Nation. Assuredly the dumbest.
Spending is a reflection of the demands of the electorate and cannot be slashed as long as 50% of the voters pay no income taxes. The deficit is also below the levels of the past in terms of percentage of the GNP which is the most appropriate comparative measure. But even the concept of "deficit" does not do justice to what is involved. It is precisely the Red states which most benefit from federal spending in any case and the Blue which provides most of the taxes.
Treason Media does not complain about pork (unless it thinks it can embarass the GOP) its power is used to PREVENT cuts in programs. When Reagan proposed some we had the Liars showing the poverty of the poor Blacks in Mississippi who would be "devastated" by them. When Welfare Reform was being forced by the Congress and Clinton was vetoing it the Liars would be showing the poor welfare mothers who would be "devasted" by it.
Approval ratings of Congress are completely misleading. It is only YOUR Congressman that a problem MINE is great. Thus, 59% say they support THEIR Congressman.
I have never suggested BLINDLY supporting any party or person merely urged people to put things in perspective. Much like JR wrote a couple of weeks ago urging people to get control of their anger at Illegals and not blow things so out of proportion that they damage everything they believe important. It sounds like you agree with that as well.
My strategy is to continue pushing the destruction of the Party of Treason then, if necessary, split the GOP into a conservative party and a MORE conservative party. But this may take another election cycle or two.
There is little reason to fear anyone crashing our debt market. Hamilton understood that the most important feature of public debt was to scrupulously pay its interest and redeem it when it came due. This is why US debt immediately became the highest rated in the world. China's strategy has been to accumulate US debt through its trade suplus so that it can keep inflation within China under control. Should it try and dump it it would cause an unwanted increase in the value of the yuan which would damage their exports. Since exports are the key to their modernization campaign it will do just about anything to keep the yuan value low.
I am not exaggerating the meaning of the polls and fully expect the Talking Heads to be sitting around wondering how the GOP did not take a massive defeat in Nov.
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