President Obama's NALEO Annual Conference Speech

President Obama Speaks at the NALEO Annual Conference

Quote of the Day

"What this man did yesterday is something new, to me wrong and unusual. I think it is probably the result of the growing incivility of the times, the competition among reporters and news organizations to be noticed not only for the work product but for the theatrics of the gathering…and there is one more factor, let’s face it: Many on the political right believe this president ought not to be there – they oppose him not for his polices and political view but for who he is, an African American! These people and perhaps even certain news organizations (certainly the right wing talkers like Limbaugh) encourage disrespect for this president. That is both regrettable and adds, in this case, to the general dislike of the press on the part of the general public."

~Sam Donaldson on The Daily Caller's Neil Munro's interuption (some call it heckling) during President Obama's prepared remarks on immigration policy in the Rose Garden.

For those unfamiliar with this reporter's debacle on behalf of Tucker Carlson's hack website, here's some edited video.



Of course, to save what little face he has left, Munro said he mistimed the question, thinking the President was finishing his remarks. The video obviously shows his disrespect and disdain for the Commander in Chief. Had he mistimed his question, it would make sense that he wouldn't continue the interruption after being corrected by President Obama.

How many times are we going to witness the unbelievable disrespect on the part of the right wing and GOP, not only in an attempt to delegitimize President Obama in the eyes of their lemmings, but a continual insolence to the office of the presidency itself? From birthers to tea party troglodytes, it just never stops.

This Quote of the Day was followed up by the Tweet of the Day:



And for those who aren't familiar with that story, I suppose 65 year old Mitt Romney is still in high school prank mode.

Joe Arpaio Under Investigation for Racial Profiling

From the "No Shit Sherlock" news desk, here comes a shocker!

Sheriff Joe Arpaio's boundary-pushing foray into Arizona's immigration enforcement over the last six years met its most bruising criticism when the U.S. Justice Department said the lawman's office carried out a blatant pattern of discrimination against Latinos and held a "systematic disregard" for the Constitution...

"We found discriminatory policing that was deeply rooted in the culture of the department, a culture that breeds a systematic disregard for basic constitutional protections," said Thomas Perez, who heads the Justice Department's civil rights division.

My only question: What the fuck took you so long to figure that one out?

Behold the Republican Party

The party of Lincoln, the party of Teddy Roosevelt, even the party of Ronald Reagan just doesn't exist anymore. When anyone argues an old Republican talking point, remind them that that party no longer exists. Ronald Reagan would not even be considered for the 2012 nomination in the new, current batshit GOP. The inmates now run the asylum.

When the merry-go-round of who leads in the polls every six weeks has completely done a 360° turn and landed on Newt Gingrich once again, bypassing the only real shot the GOP has in making the 2012 election a competitive race in Mitt Romney, perennially polling second, you know they have a problem.

How else would you describe it when a candidate says something that's actually logical but the analysis afterwards says that it'll sink him in the polls? Here's what Newt said on his immigration stance at last night's 437th GOP debate that is going to ruin him:

"I do not believe that the people of the United States are going to take people who have been here a quarter century, who have children and grandchildren, who are members of the community, who may have done something 25 years ago, separate them from their families, and expel them," he said.

After the debate, Gingrich defended his position, telling CNN, "I can't imagine any serious person who will walk down the street, see someone they know for 20 years and say, 'You're leaving your family, you're leaving your church, you're leaving the community... and we are kicking you out forcibly.'"

Apparently, that sentiment is just too sane for today's Republican Party. He was immediately attacked by Mitt "What's My Stance Today?" Romney's campaign. Yet, when questioned if Romney is in favor of deportation of 11 million or so undocumented immigrants, Romney's advisor would not answer the question directly.

Romney has done the same thing in regards to his stance on a payroll tax cut, something you'd think the entire cadre of GOP candidates would agree to except for that nagging little fact that they'd then be in agreement with evil socialist, Marxist, Communist, Kenyan-born President Obama. They twist themselves in knots trying not to get caught on video agreeing with the President even on things with which they fundamentally agree.

And don't get me wrong, I'm not defending Newt in any way; he's just as fucked up as the rest of these nitwits. I'm just pointing out the fact that when any of them have a moderate stance on any issue, when it's not the furthest far right stance, they are exposed to criticism and they lose the nutjob vote. The same thing happened with Rick Perry when he was asked about his bill making in-state tuition available to undocumented students in Texas.

"If you say that we should not educate children who have come into our state for no reason than they've been brought there, by no fault of their own, I don't think you have a heart," he said. "I still support it greatly."

For this statement, he was jeered.

If this presidential race is even close with this collection of loons, American society is a lot worse off than I thought.

The American People Have Spoken

How many times have we heard House Speaker John Boehner say, "The American people want..." or "The American people sent us here to..."? How often do you think he'll use that phrase after yesterday's election results?

Well, I'll use it. If yesterday's election results have shown us anything, it's that the American people don't like hypocrites. They American people have spoken in their rejection of Ohio's collective bargaining/anti-union law. The American people have spoken in their rejection of an attempt by Mississippi Republicans to redefine "personhood" as the point of which an egg becomes fertilized. The American people have spoken in their re-election of Kentucky's Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear with 56% of the vote. The American people have spoken in their recall of Republican Arizona Senate President Russell Pierce, the author of the harsh immigration law that had been adopted in Grand Canyon state. The American people have spoken in their addition of a New Jersey Democratic Assembly member as they've cooled off of a Chris Christie love affair. The American people have spoken against voter suppression by repealing Maine's two day voting registration law and restoring same day registration.

The American people have spoken. And if the Congressional members of the Republican party refuse to listen and continue on the path of "Just Say No" to President Obama's every attempt to get the country's employment situation and GDP jump started, they're in for a rude awakening in November of 2012.

Herman Cain? Seriously?

Is this what passes for a serious politician in the eyes of the Tea Party, or whoever is actually donating money to Herman Cain?

At the beginning, he seemed like just another in a long line of wannabe candidates committing silly gaffes like confusing the Declaration of Independence with the Constitution while touting Constitutional tenets. But here we are, further on down the line from his initial foray into the world of American politics for his humble pizza mogul beginnings, and it would seem the more we know about Herman Cain's positions, the more we can categorize them, and him, as troubling to say the least.

White-knuckling the Constitution while agreeing with religious discrimination is disturbing.

Presidential hopeful Herman Cain on Sunday sided with communities that want to ban mosques, saying Americans have a right to oppose the construction of places of Islamic worship.

..."Our Constitution guarantees separation of church and state. Islam combines church and state," Cain said Sunday. "They're objecting to the fact that Islam is both a religion and a set of laws," Cain said of the opponents.

When asked if his beliefs constitute discrimination, Cain disagreed, saying: "I am willing to take a harder look at people that might be terrorists. That's what I'm saying."

Well, the Constitution doesn't literally guarantee separation, but as we can obviously tell, Cain is by far not a Constitutional scholar. And sure, he's just looking out for terrorists because you know, they're all Muslim. (Please omit Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, Ted Kaczynski, Britian's Robert Cottage and David Jackson, need I go on?)

Still, separation of church and state hasn't been what Cain's advocated in the past.

Repeatedly over the last several years, Cain has spoken out in support of letting local, state and federal government be used to promote Christianity. At a recent Tea Party rally, Cain angrily declared, “It was during the Fifties that the United States Congress voted to add ‘one nation under God’ with liberty and justice for all, because we are a God-fearing Christian nation!”

Well, what is it? Are we a Christian nation or do we believe in religious separation when it comes to politics? And this is after Cain has stated he wouldn't appoint Muslims to his Cabinet posts or federal judgeships should he become President. I suppose he'll need to reread his precious Constitution to refresh his memory on the No Religious Test clause.

Oh, and should we mention Cain thinks it's a good idea to have a Great Wall of Chine type of fence, complete with an alligator-filled moat as a deterrent to border immigration? Or that President Obama isn't a real black man? The more Harman Cain opens his mouth, the more he amazing us with jaw-dropping quips. And the more he reveals himself to be an unserious candidate despite Tea Party support.

If Gilbert Gottfried Got Fired...

...for tweeting distasteful and obviously inappropriate jokes about the Japanese earthquake and subsequent tsunami, then what should happen to Republican Kansas State Rep. Virgil Peck?

The state's House Appropriations Committee was debating financing for controlling the feral swine problem, the Lawrence Journal World reports, when one legislator suggested the problem could be handled by shooting them from helicopters. Peck offered: "It looks like to me if shooting these immigrating feral hogs works maybe we have found a [solution] to our illegal immigration problem."

Asked about his comment, Peck was unapologetic. "I was just speaking like a southeast Kansas person,"...

...He said he didn't expect any further controversy over his comment. "I think it's over," he said.

Over? ...We'll see.

At the very least, there should be calls for Peck's resignation. If Gottfried got fired for "joking" about Japan's tragedy, and Haley Barbour's aide resigns amid controversy after sending tsunami (and Janet Reno) "jokes" via email, then Peck's "joke" about shooting illegal immigrants from helicopters like feral hogs are grounds for his dismissal.

Tancredo AGAINST Repealing 14th Amendment?!

Tom Tancredo is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma surrounded by a douchebag.

Via TPM:
It turns out that Tom Tancredo... actually opposes changing the Constitution in order to end birthright citizenship.

...Instead of changing the Constitution to put a stop to so-called "anchor babies," Tancredo says he would instigate a good old-fashioned court battle.

Reports CNN:

Tancredo also said he would force the issue "through the mechanism we use to fund education. We could say for instance that we are not going to provide support for people, the children of people who are here illegally."*

Snapping his fingers for emphasis, he explained, "That would immediately start a lawsuit just like that and hopefully it would get to the Supreme Court right away."

* That's the douchebag part.

Cartoon of the Day

Judge Blocks Parts of AZ Immigration Law

“Preserving the status quo through a preliminary injunction is less harmful than allowing state laws that are likely pre-empted by federal law to be enforced,” [Judge Susan Bolton of Federal District Court] said.

“There is a substantial likelihood that officers will wrongfully arrest legal resident aliens,” she wrote. “By enforcing this statute, Arizona would impose a ‘distinct, unusual and extraordinary’ burden on legal resident aliens that only the federal government has the authority to impose.”

Exactly. And it's already happened in Phoenix, even before the law existed.

Batshit Brewer's Beheading Bull

How do these people actually make it to elected office?

Arizona Governor and Immigration fear monger Jan Brewer has gone so far off the deep end, I suppose it doesn't matter to her that anything that she says, like law enforcement finding decapitated bodies in the desert, or that most illegal immigrants who cross the border are drug mules, or Phoenix having the 2nd highest kidnapping rate in the world, or the majority of law enforcement officers are killed by illegal immigrants, can be researched and found to be entirely false.

Two months ago, the Arizona Republic published an exhaustive report that found that, according to statistics from the FBI and Arizona police agencies, crime in Arizona border towns has been "essentially flat for the past decade.

...FBI statistics show violent crime rates in all of the border states are lower than they were a decade ago -- yet Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) reports that the violence is "the worst I have ever seen."

Leave it to the Maverick to get in on the act.

Quote of the Day

Frank Rich: "So how does that profiling work without race or ethnicity, exactly? Brian Bilbray, a Republican Congressman from California and another supporter of the [Arizona "Paper's Please"] law, rode to the rescue by suggesting 'they will look at the kind of dress you wear.' Wise Latinas better start shopping at Talbots!"

Quote of the Day

Eugene Robinson: Isn't the whole premise of the Tea Party movement that overreaching government poses a grave threat to individual freedom? It seems to me that a law allowing individuals to be detained and interrogated on a whim -- and requiring legal residents to carry identification documents, as in a police state -- would send the Tea Partyers into apoplexy. Or is there some kind of exception if the people whose freedoms are being taken away happen to have brown skin and might speak Spanish?

Hey Arizona: How About Having An Illegal EMPLOYER Law?

More than half of the Arizona businesses that had their workforces audited by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents since last July have been found to have illegal workers on their payrolls.

If there were stiff penalties for hiring illegal workers, maybe we wouldn't be seeing unconstitutional laws signed by governors for political advantage. Theoretically, I could be on vacation in Arizona and be stopped and arrested by law enforcement officials because I'm not carrying my birth certificate. Show of hands: how many people carry their birth certificates with them?

Stop hiring them and they'll stop coming.

Lou Dobbs: Public Office?

Political Wire: Now that he's left CNN, Lou Dobbs said he is considering career options including possible runs for the White House or U.S. Senate, Reuters reports.

Said Dobbs: "I am ruling nothing out... I have come to no conclusions and no decisions. Do I seek to have some influence on public policy? Absolutely. Do I seek to represent and champion the middle class in this country and those who aspire to it? Absolutely. And I will."

Maybe he's bucking for head of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement? Which is very possible judging by President Obama's latest choice. He's taking this "team of rivals" thing way too seriously.

But It's Not About Racism (One of the Most Racist E-Mails Ever Edition)

A friend was appalled at an e-mail he received from a family member living in the southwest. He forwarded it to me for my take. Here is the email, undoctored except for the size and compilation of the photos for space reasons:

Subject: READ THIS AND WEEP!!!!!!!



I wonder how many other governmental type trucks they have been cloning?
Texas DOT Vehicle stopped by an alert DPS Trooper on I-10 between San Antonio
and Seguin , TX .



The Mexicans cloned a Texas DOT Truck and got busted smuggling drugs...
I wonder how long they got away with it before they got busted?
Let's give them more welfare money, more of our Social Security money, and raise your taxes to fund their free-ride... !

BELOW ARE PICTURES TAKEN AFTER A RAID ON A DRUG DEALER'S HOUSE IN MEXICO CITY...THIS HOUSE WAS IN A GATED AND WEALTHY SECTION OF MC. ARE YOU READY FOR THIS???



AREN'T WE GLAD THAT WE HAVE AN OPEN BORDER POLICY BETWEEN US?
JUST LOOK AT HOW WELL IT'S PAYING OFF........



I THINK ALLOWING MEXICAN TRUCKERS IN THE U.S. IS A GREAT IDEA!!! JUST TAKE A LOOK AT THE MILLIONS OF REASONS WHY.........



SEE HOW WELL THESE TRUCKERS ARE DOING? WHAT ARE WE THINKING???



Notice that nearly 100% of this money is U.S. currency!!! Do you now wonder why the cost of living has catapulted in our country??? I don't.

Some of the illegal aliens we're letting in can afford anything at any cost!!! And for the ones who cannot........ we'll give it to them anyway!!!



AND WE HAVE TWO BORDER PATROL AGENTS IN PRISON FOR SHOOTING AND WOUNDING A WELL DOCUMENTED MEXICAN DRUG DEALER

WHO, BY THE WAY, WAS ARMED AND ALSO HAPPENS TO BE A CONVICTED (BY MEXICO ) MURDERER.



MAKES A LOT OF SENSE, DOESN'T IT??? AUTOMATICS, SILENCERS...... THEY'RE ALL HAVING A NICE LAUGH ABOUT THIS STUFF AT OUR EXPENSE!!!



And our Government wants to give ILLEGAL ALIENS amnesty and not build the border fence because of funding!?!?!? SEND THIS TO EVERYONE, INCLUDING YOUR LOCAL CONGRESS REPRESENTATIVE. Our country is bleeding from the outside in!!! Don't you think it's time we take back what WE (NOT the Government) have sacrificed for over 140 years for??? I do. Build the fence higher and deeper, tighten border control, and send EVERY illegal alien home!!!

Nice touch, that patriotic eagle, huh?

So here's my take:

1 - This is one of the most racist emails I've ever seen.

2 – Drug smuggling has been going on forever. Just ask Oliver North. Things like this happen. That’s why it’s call DRUG SMUGGLING and not DRUG CARRYING OVERTLY ACROSS THE BORDER IN PLAIN SIGHT.

3 – ALL Mexican truckers are now to blame? That’s rich.

4 – Notice that it’s all US currency? NO SHIT! We have a horrible drug problem in this country, not only because of the "evil drug lords", but because of our DEMAND for it. (See Oliver North.) By the same token, we can be called ENABLERS of the drug trade.

5 – We no longer have don’t have an “open border” policy with Mexico & Canada. We must now show our passports to get across their borders. This happened under the OBAMA ADMINISTRATION. I don’t know if it’s a holdover from the Bush years, but if it was a real problem, you’d think the Bushies would have done something about it before they left office, or at least after 9/11.

6 - According to this douchebag, all illegal aliens are rich, drug trafficers who can buy anything at cost, driving the cost of living up for us poor, flag loving Americans. But it doesn't matter because if they're not smart enough to be drug dealers, they'll just get on the government teet with...

7 – Welfare? Don’t you have to have documents to receive welfare? And Social Security? Don’t you have to pay into Social Security if you actually have a legally obtained job? Just more racist immigration hyperbole.

8 - Guns: Gee, those look like American made guns to me. You can thank your National Rifle Association for their lobbying against stricter gun laws that make it much easier for US made firearms to fall into the hands of those evil drug smugglers, gang bangers and common criminals to use against our law enforcement officers.

9 - "Sacrificing for 140 years"... Hmmm... that would have been 1869. What were we recovering from back then? Oh yeah, The Civil War. This imbecile is citing the time around the end of the Civil War as the starting point of their "sacrifice." What happened back then? Oh, I remember. Slavery ended. Negroes were freed by that Rupublican bastard Abraham Lincoln. Sounds like subtle secessionist talk to me.

But I really don’t get surprised by this type of stuff anymore. This email combined with the fact that the whole racism debate with Obama that is happening right now only goes to further prove the point that racism is not only a factor, but a significant one in this country. Electing a black man to the Presidency has only exacerbated it. It was hidden for a while now, just bubbling under the surface. The sleeping giant of Racism has now awakened – it didn’t go away because smart people actually voted for the smart guy.

Instead of being happy the Drug Enforcement Agency caught this particular crime and that our law enforcement is working, the racist who originated this email just decides to blame a WHOLE RACE of people. Because as we all know everyone else is evil if they don’t need sunblock. Did this same person blame the entire Caucasian race for Bernie Madoff? By their standard are all white people now thieves?... Or would it just be the Jews?

Pathetic.

ADDING... By the way, Texas racist email originator, this happened in your state. Stop your whining and start cleaning it up. Or better yet, just go ahead a secede already. Take your Governor's advice. We don't need you, we don't want you. Leave us Austin, and go away. Form your own banana republic and see how far that gets you when we sanction your ass.

Quote of the Day

If you saw a woman struck by a car, would you call an ambulance right away? Or would you first ask for her papers to make sure she was not an illegal immigrant? - E.J. Dionne on the prospect of Rep. Joe Wilson and other GOP members spreading the health care coverage for illegal aliens lie.

Puts things in perspective, doesn't it?

A Bullet In The Brain for the Empathy Argument

This is a death blow against the conservative argument that President Obama's choice for the Supreme Court can't be empathetic while respecting the rule of law simultaneously. Anyone who says differently is full of shit.

Daily Kos: ...a moment from Samuel Alito’s confirmation hearings that will either silence Sonia Sotomayor’s conservative critics or expose their hypocrisy for what it is.

In an exchange with Sen. Tom Coburn, who had asked Alito to discuss how his personal experiences shows that "he cared for the little guy," Alito said that his family’s experience as immigrants influenced his outlook on immigration cases.

Social Security Sabotage

Thirty-two sponsors of a crap-ass bill in the House of Representatives think it's a good idea that every hire, EVERY HIRE of the 55 million yearly in the U.S. be approved by the government. You're applying for an engineering position? Making ends meet with a part-time job at the local Home Depot? How about garbage collection or a job at McDonald's? We'll have to verify you are a U.S. citizen or legal immigrant. Isn't that what having a Social Security number is all about?

What's the problem with the New Employee Verification Act? Who in the hell is going to manage this colossal administrative nightmare? The Department of Social Security, the same department that is already understaffed and way behind on current issues. But we can trust the government with this one right? I mean, the No Fly List works so well now.

...Business groups opposed the idea of the state requiring companies to use E-Verify.
They worried that mistakes in the system could result in qualified legal workers being turned down for a job. This mirrors concerns nationwide, in addition to worries that the system is ripe for abuse and is a potential bureaucratic quagmire.

...Caroline Fredrickson, chief of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Washington office, said the legislation would create a “no-work list” in the Washington bureaucracy.
“Americans should not have to ask their federal government if they have permission to accept a new job,” she said.
Barbara Kennelly, president of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, said the new workload would overwhelm an understaffed administration. Already, she said, “disability cases are piling up and needy people are waiting years to receive their benefits.”

...There is no official cost estimate, but some think it could run as much as $10 billion over nine years for such things as additional workers, equipment and online capacity.

...the U.S. Government Accountability Office... said a mandatory system could be vulnerable to fraud and abuse and questioned whether the system could detect employees who present genuine but stolen Social Security numbers.

$10 billion cost to run, in an already understaffed department, spells doom for Social Security. Isn't that the ultimate goal? Who'll take over the system you ask? Ask Dubya. I'm sure Wall Street will be magnanamous and take that $8 trillion off our shoulders to invest for us... for a small fee.

El Vampiro,Seňor Nueve Once

As an hispanic, there's something disturbing about this:

...Mr. Giuliani was asked at an Elks Lodge here about what he would do to end illegal immigration, he ended with a familiar applause line: “The final end result about becoming a citizen – you should be able to have to read English, write English, and speak English if you want to become a citizen,’’ he said.

Now watch this Giuliani ad, one of three currently running in Miami, Florida.

Way to go, Rudy. Que hombre imbécil. ¡Sinvergüenza!