Posted on 04/07/2006 12:40:50 PM PDT by Borax Queen
PHOENIX — Fearing traffic jams and concerned about their personal safety, legislative leaders have decided to shut down their Monday session early to let legislators and staff flee the Capitol before 100,000 marchers show up.
The decision to adjourn by noon came as lawmakers engaged in a war of words over the merits of the march, one of several around the nation pushing for Congress to enact immigration legislation that provides people here illegally a path to citizenship — and whether the event is a slap at this country.
Sen. Barbara Leff, R-Paradise Valley, said the march amounts to 100,000 people "admitting that they're here illegally … bragging that they're breaking the laws of this country."
Rep. Pam Gorman, R-Anthem, questioned whether federal authorities have been notified.
"At what point do we consider an invasion is going on when government is shut down due to foreign marching on our soil?" she asked.
House Speaker Jim Weiers said the decision to adjourn by noon Monday came after a closed-door briefing with officials from Phoenix police, the state Department of Public Safety and other agencies charged with providing security.
"We were told that they can't guarantee anything," Weiers said. "Why would I take the risk?" Weiers also accused a top state administrative official of encouraging state employees to take the day off to participate in the march.
Sen. Jorge Garcia, D-Tucson, reacted angrily to the accusation that marchers will all be people who entered this country illegally. Garcia said he will be in the march with his granddaughter to march for human rights — and against the kind of discrimination that Hispanics face.
"It's difficult to recognize and to accept the humiliation just because someone has brown skin, listens to Mexican music or speaks Spanish or reads a Spanish newspaper is illegal," he said.
Sen. Linda Aguirre, D-Phoenix, acknowledged some percentage of the marchers will be illegal immigrants. But she said they essentially were invited into this country by employers looking for inexpensive labor and offering them jobs.
"Give them a chance," she said. "They want to be citizens of our state, of our country. They want to contribute legally."
Sen. Linda Gray, R-Glendale, said she believes discrimination is wrong and all people should be treated equally. But Gray said that is predicated on every person "becoming in every facet an American."
Quoting from a 1907 speech by President Theodore Roosevelt, Gray said there can be no divided allegiance. "We have room but for one flag and that's the American flag," Gray said. "We have room but for one language here and that's the English language."
Weiers was particularly unhappy with Bill Bell, head of the state Department of Administration. He issued a memo to all agency directors telling them to urge employees to carpool, telecommute and use alternate work schedules.
The memo also spelled out that employees who want to participate in the march "may do so using annual leave with their supervisor's approval."
Weiers acknowledged that simply repeats what already is state personnel policy. But he said that "when put in writing, it is encouraging it," if for no other reason than that it makes reference to a specific event on a specific day.
Lawmakers were divided about the decision to come into session but only for a short time.
"I think we should shut government down and blame the people that are creating the problem where nobody's going to be able to do their work, no one's going to be able to get to their places of business, nobody's going to be able to go home and get their children." said Leff.
But Sen. Thayer Verschoor, R-Gilbert, said he is glad the Legislature will be in session at least part of the day.
"We absolutely should be here to show that we're not going to close down business," he said, saying shutting down government is probably part of the purpose of having people march to the Capitol.
Just love the way the media makes this out as if it were some type of holiday event or something. Everyone has to work around this crap. If Americans demonstrated this way would the city act like it was practically sponsoring it?
Now that the Senate has tabled the immigration issue, for now anyway, what do you want to bet that every march and demonstration around the country is going to be laced with violence? I figure they*re going to try to scare the spineless wimps in our government. They figure they can make them cave in and give them what they want. Btw, thanks for the ping! :o)
yw :)
I haven't heard or read anythng about them at all. If any rioting were to take place here in L.A., I expect the police to cut and run like they did when the Rodney King riots broke out.
What would J. Edgar Hoover have done?
Put on his best dress?
"We need a civilian militia."
Yes we do. I've been writing letters to the editor on that very subject, and leaving copies off at the county sheriff's office and local police departments.
I've approached elected officials about supporting a home based local militia. The governor and all the Republican state legislators have copies of my letters either in their files or they have put them into their circular files a long time ago.
Our political betters think I'm crazy.
I tell them that they, individually and collectively, are crazy if they think a home grown local militia doesn't form to protect the law abiding amongst us.
I realized long ago that the left and all their support is not interested in listening to the conservative plea. Their intransigent anger is shutting down dialogue. No dialogue means no communication until people start to "talk to the other side by hand."
The immigration question is more polarizing than the War On Terror where I live.
We're going to smell powder in our streets before long.
"Rep. Pam Gorman, R-Anthem,... "At what point do we consider an invasion is going on when government is shut down due to foreign marching on our soil?" she asked. "
These "protestors" have found out that they can do whatever they want and NO ONE will stop them. I wonder what their next step will be?
This is cowardice in it's purest form. I think this is the first time in U.S. history a state government fleed from a planned protest of unarmed forgein invaders.
Ping.
The "dress" business was nonsense cooked up by the Dems, and the Larry Flynts of the left, to trash the history books and deconstruct the Nixon presidency.
After having heard the rumor I never did check to see whether it was fact or fiction.
Hoover's track record would still be an improvement over that of the current director, Robert Mueller.
I don't know that much about Hoover's career except that he was there when I was a kid and by the time he died I had been an adult for a few years.
OMG, she earned a degree in Nursing and the US is suffering a nursing shortage and you want her to go back to Mexico.
BTW, I guess you would rather her be a crack whore or even worse she could be going to law school.
"At what point do we consider an invasion is going on when government is shut down due to foreign marching on our soil?" she asked. "
They (the invaders & their supporters) need to get their story straight. Because they also say this:
"They want to be citizens of our state, of our country. They want to contribute legally." (*Then... go to the end of the line, on the other side of the border, and wait your turn.)
Exactly!!
100,000 people
85° or hotter
what will these people do when they get thirsty?
what will these people do when they have to use the restroom?
Will there be riot police?
I heard on the news that the city if forking the bill to provide security for this bruhaha, but I wonder about what else they are providing?
That, perhaps, should be hammered out in bronze and mounted on the state capitol?
I can't imagine permits to assemble peacefully were issued for this many people.
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