Senators Try One More Time
June 23, 2007
The Senate next week will consider tougher immigration enforcement measures — including mandatory jail time for foreigners who overstay their visas — to gain more conservative support for a major immigration overhaul.
The enforcement package, endorsed by architects of the bipartisan compromise on immigration policy, is part of a sweeping immigration bill that faces an uncertain future when it returns to the Senate floor Tuesday.
Crafted by Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Jon Kyl of Arizona, the new crackdown proposal also would require that foreigners who visit relatives in the U.S. post $2,500 bonds that they would forfeit if they don’t leave on time.
It also would bar foreigners who pose health or safety risks from being admitted as temporary workers; add 10,000 immigration investigators and eliminate a proposal that the government grant illegal immigrants a probationary visa if criminal background checks on them are not completed within 24 hours.
Incorporating a concept advanced by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, the Graham-Kyl amendment also would require illegal immigrants to return home temporarily within two years of receiving a probationary work visa if they are the head of the household.
The Senate also will vote on a Hutchison amendment requiring all work-eligible adults — not just heads of household — to return home first.
Cornyn participated in many of the bargainers’ early sessions but withdrew, he said, after “it was clear the enforcement concerns I had were not being taken seriously.”
New York Cold Shoulders?
June 23, 2007
They were once friends. Friends when only one was running for president. And as of today only one is still an announced candidate but one has changed his affiliation from Republican to Independent.
You can figure this one out right?
The race for president has been jolted by Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s flirtation with an independent run for the White House next year. But no one has been jolted as much as Bloomberg’s predecessor, Rudy Giuliani.
Privately, aides to both mayors say they were never very close to begin with.
Former Mayor Ed Koch endorsed both men, but has since had a falling out with Giuliani. “I didn’t believe they were close friends before and don’t think they’re close friends now, but they observe all the social amenities,” Koch said.
They may be crossing paths a lot more as the election grows closer. Despite the growing rivalry, some political observers believe it could be the Democratic candidate who suffers more in a race against Bloomberg. They cite Bloomberg’s liberal views on social issues.
An interesting one to watch.
The BIG California Bust!
June 22, 2007
Scores of illegal immigrants, including a man wanted for murder and a convicted child molester, were arrested in Southern California raids this week, U.S. authorities said on Friday.
The sweeps in Orange County, south of Los Angeles, were part of an operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement targeting “criminal aliens” — defined as people in the country illegally who have also committed other crimes.
Of the 175 people arrested, 27 are criminal aliens and another 26 are “immigration fugitives” who had ignored deportation orders by a judge.
The raids were part of larger crackdown on immigration fugitives, which this year has resulted in the first ever decline in their number, to 632,189, according to an agency spokeswoman.
Interesting to say the least!
You Coward You!
June 22, 2007
In what could be a looming nightmare for Democrats, Ralph Nader said he is seriously considering running for president again in 2008 – calling front-runner Hillary Clinton a “political coward.”
Roger Simon of Politico.com said, “What third parties can do is bring young people in, set standards on how to run a presidential election and keep the progressive agenda in front of the people. And maybe tweak a candidate here and there in the major parties.”
Nader offered praise for two very dark horses in the 2008 race, Republican Ron Paul and Democrat Nader offered praise for two very dark horses in the 2008 race, Republican Ron Paul and Democrat Mike Gravel, but he strongly criticized Hillary.
“She is a political coward,” he said. “She goes around pandering to powerful interest groups on the one hand and flattering general audiences on the other.
“She doesn’t even have the minimal political fortitude of her husband.”, but he strongly criticized Hillary.
“She is a political coward,” he said. “She goes around pandering to powerful interest groups on the one hand and flattering general audiences on the other.
“She doesn’t even have the minimal political fortitude of her husband.”
The Texas Gal & Guy Say No!
June 21, 2007
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, who has been under intense pressure from the White House and Republican leadership to support a sweeping immigration overhaul, nevertheless announced today that she will vote against reviving the legislation when it returns to the Senate floor next week.
She was joined today by the state’s other senator, Republican John Cornyn, who had been expected by the bill’s supporters to take such a stance. They had aggressively lobbied Hutchison in hopes of adding her vote to the 60 necessary to revive the stalled legislation.
“I could not support (bringing the bill to a vote) in its present position,” Hutchison, criticizing the legislation as amnesty for illegal immigrants, said today.
Cornyn added, “Passage of a comprehensive immigration reform bill has been, and remains, one of my top priorities in the Senate. It has become clear however, that I and many others will not be able to introduce amendments to fix key areas of this very complex bill.”
Hillary’s “General” Hill
June 21, 2007
Is there anyone who thinks Hillary Clinton is NOT going to win her party’s primary?
In his latest Chrystal Ball newsletter Sabato, the director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics and a widely respected expert on the American political scene, sees Hillary Clinton as a probable winner in the primaries and a probable loser in the general election.
Noting that Hillary could easily survive a loss in the Iowa caucuses, Sabato warns that the road ahead for her is still full of ruts and potholes.
That being said, her fate lies in whether the Democrats – and the country – consider the big picture prior to voting in January and then November. “It’s anybody’s guess,” he writes “whether they will.”
One of the reasons that Sabato came to this conclusions was, as he says, “There is something about Hillary – the person, not the politician – that upsets and repels tens of millions of Americans. Fairly or not, she is seen as cold, calculating, and ruthless, an off-putting combination of characteristics … Almost every voter now has heard something about her leading role in covering up for her husband’s serial infidelities over the decades. This is an unusual role for a spouse, even in the twisted world of politics. Most normal people cannot fathom it, except in the context of a supposed ‘corrupt bargain’ between two power-hungry individuals.”
But, first things first, as Stephen Covey says.
Chasing The Superdelegates
June 20, 2007
The Democratic and Republican parties are vastly different in the way they select their delegates who select their candidate for president. The Democrats have what are called Superdelegates.
Back in the early 1980s, the Democratic Party changed its primary rules, allowing key Democratic elected officials to vote as delegates at their party’s nominating convention.
Today, these superdelegates comprise the 235 Democratic House members and non-voting representatives, 49 senators, two District of Columbia “shadow senators,” and 28 governors.
All told, it’s a group of 314 people carrying about 14 percent of the 2,182 delegates needed to secure the nomination at next year’s national convention in Denver. In raw terms, this is larger than the vote from any primary state except California, which will have 441 delegates.
As I write this 92 of the 314 have gone on record as backing a specific candidate. And who are they?
Hillary 44
Obama 22
Edwards 14
It will be interesting to see how long these exalted politicians can hold out before having to commit to someone.
The Public Be Damned!
June 20, 2007
“I’ll see you at the signing“. That’s what Bush said from Europe last week when he heard that the Immigration bill had stalled. If 99% of the people didn’t wnt the immigration bill, Bush would do what he wanted anyway. I’m afraid he has become so obsessed with “being the man” or maybe trying to find something that might be viewed positive as a legacy, that he’s hell bent to do whatever it takes to get this deal done. But, he’s not the only one taking the heat! Continue Reading »
Here Comes Bloomberg!
June 19, 2007
I’ve been mentioning it for almost a year now, but let me be as clear as I can. My money is on Mayor Bloomberg! My bet is that before the end of 2007 that Bloomberg will announce that he is running for President on a third party ticket. The perfect scenario (storm) is setting him up for it. The Republicans are moving RIGHT and the Democrts are moing LEFT, leaving him the vast center. Here’s my assessment of the current political landscape. Continue Reading »
Here Comes Bloomberg!
June 19, 2007
I’v been mentioning it for almost a year now, but let me be as clear as I can. My money is on Mayor Bloomberg! My bet is that before the end of 2007 that Bloomberg will announce that he is running for President on a third party ticket. The perfect scenario (storm) is setting him up for it. The Republicans are moving RIGHT and the Democrts are moing LEFT, leaving him the vast center. Here’s my assessment of the current political landscape.
Forget about Guiliani, McCain, and Romney. Fred Thompson is about to announce his candidacy and take the Republican party to the RIGHT- further! Bring back the Reagan era. In fact, even without his announcing his candidacy, there’s change at the top in the race for the Republican Presidential nomination.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson earning support from 28% of Likely Republican Primary Voters. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani attracts support from 27%.
At the same time, the Democrats are so anti-war that they keep moving more and more left of reason!
As the Democratic presidential candidates gather in Washington to make their pitch to party activists this week, “liberal” is suddenly no longer a dirty word. In recent months, virtually the entire Democratic field has tacked left – not just on the Iraq War, but on health care, taxes, energy issues and gay rights. In each of those areas, much of the field is standing to the left of where Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., stood in 2004, when President Bush lampooned Kerry as a “Massachusetts liberal.”
And we’ve yet to hear from Al Gore! 
Enter Mayor Bloomberg, stage center!
He is decrying the state of the 2008 presidential race, faulting the major party candidates for offering shallow, simplistic prescriptions, and scolding the press for failing to demand more from those seeking the White House. During an appearance at Google’s headquarters in Silicon Valley yesterday, Mr. Bloomberg said the televised debates among the presidential candidates have been, in essence, a waste of time.
Get the picture(s)?
The Other Macho Man
June 18, 2007
My previous post was about the macho American named Jorge Bush- the immigrant demanding “I’ll see you at the signing” el presidente of America north of Mexico. But, let’s go a little further South and pick up on an an even wilder macho maniac that I’ve talked about often in the past. That would be Hugo Chavez of course! The dictator of Venezuela and wanna be Castor replacement as well as South America’s hero. Maybe even leader of the Chavez world that he dreams. Continue Reading »
$700 Gold- But When?
June 17, 2007
For the optimists, $700 is just a stone’s throw away. To the pessimists, however, it would require quite a powerful throwing arm.
The August contract for gold futures climbed past $700 nearly nine weeks ago, and, while that prompted renewed calls among some observers for $800 and beyond, gold has failed at every attempt since to return to that level.
“Right now, the time window has shifted for the price to move past the $700 barrier,” said Peter Spina, an analyst at GoldSeek.com. “I would not feel comfortable betting against gold at these levels, although it does appear the rally will take a summer vacation.”
Gold sales from central banks, a seasonal decline in demand, strengthening in the U.S. dollar and a rise in Treasury yields are some of the factors that have come into play, putting pressure on gold prices, analysts said.
“The seasonal influences alongside a bout of heavy gold selling from the Spanish central bank capped gold at a high point in the annual pattern of demand for physical gold,” said Julian Phillips, an analyst at GoldForecaster.com, a sister site to GoldSeek.com.
When you look at the bigger picture, “the man in the street has not witnessed Armageddon over the past year, stock markets did not implode, the dollar did not collapse unto itself, the invasion of Iran did not materialize, … $100 per barrel oil did not come about … [and] the U.S. economy shows conflicting signs for investors not to flock into one corner (cash) or another (equities, gold etc.),” according to Nadler.
Given gold’s moves lately, some would also make an argument accusing blaming market manipulation. Absolutely! But we’ve always known that now haven’t we?
Macho Madness
June 16, 2007
It seems Bush can’t quite get over the fact that he grew up in Texas, works a ranch between his day job as prsident, and wears cowboy boots. Oh yes, and throws out phrases like “Bring It On“, “Mission Accomplished“, “Dead or Alive“, and his most recent bravado- “See you at the signing” (meaning the immigration bill). Really? Continue Reading »
Corrupter Of The World?
June 14, 2007
America is many things; however, when you take a look at what we are looking at, you have to wonder just how long we can keep doing it beforewe like the Roman Empire implodes. America is the number one sales agent of sex, violence, and just plain ole good for nothing crap! Porn is rampant, commercials can’t sell a product without some sexual visual, and even our cartoons are laden with sexual inuendo. And? Continue Reading »
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