Perry says will deport all detained illegal immigrants | Reuters

Perry says will deport all detained illegal immigrants | Reuters

The Texas governor has faced criticism from Republican rivals like Mitt Romney for being "soft" on illegal immigrants, because those who live in Texas can attend state universities at the same cost as other Texas residents.

Perry, who made the remarks while campaigning in New Hampshire with a controversial Arizona sheriff, said that if elected he would immediately order the deportation of any illegal immigrant detained in the United States.

"My policy will be to detain and deport every illegal alien who is apprehended in this country," Perry said. "And we'll do it with an expedited hearing process so that millions of illegal aliens are not released into the general population with some hearing date down the road."

Russell Pearce: Anatomy of a Recall (video) - Tucson Progressive

Russell Pearce: Anatomy of a Recall (video) - Tucson Progressive

Debate over obese children vs. parental rights - CBS News

Debate over obese children vs. parental rights - CBS News

The case of an 8-year-old Cleveland Heights boy taken from his family because he weighs more than 200 pounds has renewed a debate on whether parents should lose custody if a child is severely obese.

The boy was removed from his family and was placed in foster care in October after county case workers said his mother wasn't doing enough to control his weight. The boy, at his weight, is considered at risk for developing such diseases as diabetes and high blood pressure. Government growth charts say most boys his age weigh about 60 pounds.

Roughly 2 million U.S. children are extremely obese — weighing significantly more than what's considered healthy.

Cuyahoga County removed the boy because case workers considered the mother's inability to get his weight down a form of medical neglect. The county's Children and Family Services agency said Monday it stood by its custody move, which was approved by a judge.

The New Yorker Thanksgiving Cover Takes On Immigration

The New Yorker Thanksgiving Cover Takes On Immigration

No stranger to controversial cover art, The New Yorker Thanksgiving issue depicts a gaggle of pilgrims scampering under a starry sky.

A woman crawls under a barbed-wire fence that could be the U.S.-Mexico border. Two men, sweat dripping from their hats, sprint across the barren landscape.

The illustration is entitled "Promised Land."

Cash-Strapped Americans Largely Swallow Price Hikes During Holidays

Cash-Strapped Americans Largely Swallow Price Hikes During Holidays

McDonald's, Nike, Starbucks and other companies initially worried that customers would run the other way when they started raising prices to offset their higher costs for ingredients, fuel and packaging. But so far, cash-strapped Americans largely have swallowed the price spikes. And they're continuing to do so during this holiday shopping season.

The prices Americans pay for food, travel and other things have steadily risen this year, according to government data.

Brazil suspends Chevron's drilling rights | Reuters

Brazil suspends Chevron's drilling rights | Reuters

The Brazilian government on Wednesday suspended Chevron Corp's drilling rights in Brazil until it clarifies the causes of an offshore oil spill, the latest twist in a political firestorm threatening the U.S. company's role in Brazil's oil bonanza.

The decision was announced as the chief executive of Chevron's Brazilian unit was testifying before the Brazilian Congress, where he publicly apologized for the November 8 spill that leaked about 2,400 barrels of oil into the ocean off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.

Newt Gingrich won't appear on Missouri ballot - latimes.com

Newt Gingrich won't appear on Missouri ballot - latimes.com

Newt Gingrich may be a top-tier contender in the latest polls, but he won't be contending at all in Missouri's Republican presidential primary in February.

The former House speaker, who is putting a campaign organization together on the fly, failed to qualify for the contest in the Show Me State.

According to the Missouri Secretary of State's office, Gingrich did not file the necessary papers as of Tuesday's 5 p.m. deadline. That means his name will not be on the Feb. 7 ballot.

"One of Alabama's Worst Times Since Jim Crow." - YouTube#at=39#!

"One of Alabama's Worst Times Since Jim Crow." - YouTube#at=39#!

Daily Kos: Backsliding into Jim Crow in Alabama

Daily Kos: Backsliding into Jim Crow in Alabama

When I see the words "Jim Crow," I think of the south, of segregation, of black codes, of a minstrel show song.

When I think of Alabama and segregation those images run the gamut of violence—little girls in a bombed church in Birmingham, Bull Connor, marchers being hosed.

They are stark images, in black and white.

The people are black and white as well.

It seems that we have slid backwards to those days in Alabama—except perhaps we should reference "Juan Crow" now, instead of Jim.

When I think of Alabama's racial history, and those who tilled its soil in the past, first as enslaved people and then after emancipation as sharecroppers, it is yet another study in black and white: (Click on link for full story)

Survey finds ethnic divide among voters on DREAM Act - latimes.com

Survey finds ethnic divide among voters on DREAM Act - latimes.com

Many Californians worry that they are being priced out of the state's public university systems, and they object to allowing illegal immigrants the same financial aid that U.S. citizens can receive at the campuses, a new poll has found.

COMMENTS:

MayIseeyourID: They are foreign national, just the same as their illegal parents. Anchor babies are stealing from Americans just as fast, if not faster, than the average illegal alien, because we let them, by pretending they are American citizens simply because they were birthed here.

1Summerstar: Illegal aliens continue to keep having kids although they can't afford them. Why because they receive welfare either directly or indirectly.

Marlena53: Many others will use this aid but eventually drop out once they are knocked up and produce anchors that will support them. This is just dead wrong giving these people any type of taxpayer assistance.

Lawsuit: Alabama immigration law stops home permits | GadsdenTimes.com

Lawsuit: Alabama immigration law stops home permits | GadsdenTimes.com

MONTGOMERY — A new federal lawsuit was filed Friday challenging a section of Alabama’s immigration law that civil rights groups say makes it impossible for those who can’t prove U.S. citizenship or lawful immigration status to legally keep their manufactured homes.

The lawsuit was filed Friday in federal court in Montgomery by two immigrants in Elmore County named in the lawsuit only as “John Doe No. 1” and “John Doe No. 2.” They are challenging a section of the law that prohibits most contracts where one party is an illegal immigrant.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs say that provision is being used by state revenue officials to keep illegal immigrants from paying an annual registration fee and obtaining a decal that by law must be displayed on manufactured homes. State law requires the registration to be renewed by Nov. 30.

One of the attorneys for the plaintiffs, Mary Bauer, legal director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, said that without the permit some people may be forced to abandon their homes and left homeless.

“It’s a flagrant violation of the Fair Housing Act and the United States Constitution,” Bauer said.

Alabama House Majority Leader Micky Hammon credits new immigration law with lowering state unemployment | al.com

Alabama House Majority Leader Micky Hammon credits new immigration law with lowering state unemployment | al.com

A sponsor of Alabama's tough new immigration law on Friday credited the law with the steep drop in the state's jobless rate.

"Despite how desperately illegal immigrant sympathizers have tried to portray this law as somehow harmful to our state's economy, the truth is more Alabamians are working today thanks in part to our decision to crack down on illegal immigration," Alabama House Majority Leader Micky Hammon, R-Decatur, said in a statement.

Hammon pointed to Marshall County, which he called "a known hotbed for illegal immigrant labor." He said the rate there was 8.1 percent for October, down from 8.8 percent in September and 10 percent in June, when the immigration law was signed.

Deportation Cases of Illegal Immigrants to Be Reviewed - NYTimes.com

Deportation Cases of Illegal Immigrants to Be Reviewed - NYTimes.com

The accelerated triage of the court docket — about 300,000 cases — is intended to allow severely overburdened immigration judges to focus on deporting foreigners who committed serious crimes or pose national security risks, Homeland Security officials said. Taken together, the review and the training, which will instruct immigration agents on closing deportations that fall outside the department’s priorities, are designed to bring sweeping changes to the immigration courts and to enforcement strategies of field agents nationwide.

The policy, described in a June 17 memorandum by John Morton, the director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, suggested that the Obama administration would scale back deportations of illegal immigrants who were young students, military service members, elderly people or close family of American citizens, among others. While the announcement raised excited expectations in Latino and other immigrant communities, until now the policy has been applied spottily, deepening disillusionment with President Obama in those communities.

Administration officials have flexibility to transform immigration court procedures because those courts are part of the Justice Department in the executive branch, not part of the federal judiciary. Central to the plan is giving more power to immigration agency lawyers — the equivalent of prosecutors in the federal court system — to decide which deportation cases to press.

GOP leaders weigh changes to Alabama immigration law | TuscaloosaNews.com

GOP leaders weigh changes to Alabama immigration law | TuscaloosaNews.com


MONTGOMERY | Legislative leaders may be at odds with some rank-and-file senators over changing the state’s controversial illegal immigration law.

The Republican-controlled Legislature passed the law this spring. The law took effect in September amid protests from civil rights groups that contend the new law is unconstitutional and unduly harsh on Hispanic residents. But the law has also elicited complaints from businesses, law enforcement and government officials and other citizens because of its burdensome regulatory requirements, and that has some GOP senators contemplating changes.

Sen. Gerald Dial, R-Lineville, said he is working with a few other senators to modify the law without weakening it.

Beason’s fall from power » Editorials » CullmanTimes.com - Cullman, Alabama

Beason’s fall from power » Editorials » CullmanTimes.com - Cullman, Alabama

Scott Beason’s fall from power in the Alabama Senate was overdue after his degrading comments about black citizens.

As the powerful chairman of the Rules Committee in the Senate, Beason had every reason to conduct business with the highest respect toward all citizens. But he didn’t, and that’s why his own party chose to strip him of his duties as the head of the agenda-setting committee.

Many Alabama leaders, in both political parties, has worked hard to overcome the state’s segregation-era reputation. The open racism that once dominated life in Alabama was swept away in the Civil Rights movement. Avoiding even a hint of a return to the prevailing politics of that time would be disastrous for the state, which has made tremendous strides in creating a new image and recruiting overseas investors.

Interestingly, Beason was also one of the leaders in passing the state’s maligned immigration law. The negative glare of national and international scorn for the tone and impact of the bill has been relentless.

Skype desktop app now makes Facebook video calls | The Download Blog - Download.com

Skype desktop app now makes Facebook video calls | The Download Blog - Download.com

With the just announced Skype 5.4 Beta for Mac and Skype 5.7 Beta for Windows, you can initiate a Facebook video call without having to open up your browser and log in to the social networking site. Just connect your Facebook account to Skype, select a Facebook friend and hit the Skype video call button. Your friend picks up the call directly from within Facebook. While the feature isn't exactly a game-changer, we do think it's super convenient. Since you can already see your Facebook Wall, update your status, and make comments from within the Skype interface, it only makes sense to be able to initiate Facebook video calls from there as well.

But Skype's news for today doesn't end there. The company claims to have improved its video rendering, giving all users a smoother video experience. Also, Windows users with a Premium subscription now get the Group Screen Sharing feature, which was previously only available to Mac users.

Buffett: I beg you to raise my taxes - Politico Staff - POLITICO.com

Buffett: I beg you to raise my taxes - Politico Staff - POLITICO.com

Warren Buffett, the third wealthiest man in the world with a net worth of about $80 billion, is demanding the U.S. government make the rich like him pay higher taxes and says they should no longer be protected like endangered “spotted owls.”

“While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks,” he wrote.

“These and other blessings are showered upon us by legislators in Washington who feel compelled to protect us, much as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species. It’s nice to have friends in high places.”

"Stop Cuddling The Rich"....http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/opinion/stop-coddling-the-super-rich.html

BofA, Others Quietly Boosting Fees In Wake Of Debit Fee Debacle

BofA, Others Quietly Boosting Fees In Wake Of Debit Fee Debacle

Most banks may have backed away from the debit fee idea, but they're still nickle and diming customers in other ways.

Banks such as Bank of America, U.S. Bancorp and TD bank are quietly quietly upping various fees on mobile deposits, lost debit cards and other services, The New York Times reports. The banks' focus on fees is an effort to recoup an estimated $12 billion a year that disappeared as result of financial reform legislation curbing overdraft charges and swipe fees, according to the NYT.

MALDEF's misstep - latimes.com

MALDEF's misstep - latimes.com

On Tuesday, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, or MALDEF, will hold its annual awards gala and fundraiser in downtown Los Angeles. The awardees include such indisputable worthies as Linda Ronstadt and former MALDEF leader Antonia Hernandez. The real awardee, though, should be MALDEF itself, whose decades of civil rights litigation have yielded significant gains for Latinos. I haven't always agreed with all of its actions, but I generally find myself cheering it on (as I do its current campaign to create a second Latino-majority district on the L.A. County Board of Supervisors).

There's just one problem with this gala. Front and center on the invitation are the words: "Gala Chair: Wal-Mart."

Wal-Mart may be giving money to MALDEF, but it isn't a friend to Latinos, and most definitely not here in Southern California.

No more free lunch for California state senators - latimes.com

No more free lunch for California state senators - latimes.com

Reporting from Sacramento— Under fire for spending $111,316 in taxpayer funds to feed themselves this year, state senators have decided to end the practice.

All members of the upper house will be billed $2,000 a year to pay for stocking the coffee room and to cover their meal expenses when sessions extend into the lunch or dinner hour, said Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento).

This year's expenditures were 10% more than last year's, even as lawmakers approved a 6% cut in the budget for services to Californians.

Lew Uhler, head of the California-based National Tax Limitation Committee, had criticized the meals spending as double dipping, because senators also get $143 per day, tax free, for expenses such as meals and lodging while they are in Sacramento.

Former porn star's role in school's reading program upsets parents - latimes.com

Former porn star's role in school's reading program upsets parents - latimes.com

 

Arizona's victory against hate - CNN.com

Arizona's victory against hate - CNN.com

After all the bad laws and bad publicity, Arizona got some good news this week when Senate President Russell Pearce was toppled in a special election.

Citizens for a Better Arizona, a group led by community organizer Randy Parraz, needed 7,756 signatures to put on the ballot the question of whether Pearce should be recalled. It submitted about 17,000.

Arguably the most powerful politician in the state and certainly the most divisive, Pearce was handily defeated in his suburban Phoenix district by fellow Republican Jerry Lewis -- 53% to 46%. According to the Arizona Republic, this marks the first time a state lawmaker has been recalled in Arizona and the first time a state Senate president has been recalled anywhere in the United States.

Foreclosed Homeowners Could Receive Small Checks Under Big Bank Settlement

Foreclosed Homeowners Could Receive Small Checks Under Big Bank Settlement

Foreclosed borrowers abused by their lenders won't get their homes back, but they could get a little cash from a settlement under negotiation between state officials, the Obama administration, and the nation's biggest banks.

A coalition of attorneys general led by Iowa AG Tom Miller and federal housing chief Shaun Donovan is currently pushing for a $25 billion settlement with Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citibank, and Ally Financial (formerly known as GMAC). At issue is bad mortgage servicing and fraudulent foreclosure paperwork.

DU: No water or power for illegal immigrants - Decaturdaily.com

DU: No water or power for illegal immigrants - Decaturdaily.com

Decatur Utilities now prohibits illegal immigrants from obtaining electric, gas, water or sewer service, an official said Friday.

Stephen Pirkle, DU business manager and chief financial officer, said DU previously required residents seeking utilities to provide identification, but their immigration status was not relevant.

“We did not document or confirm whether or not they were citizens or aliens here legally,” Pirkle said. “Because of the new law, we are now going through the process to confirm that they are either a citizen or an alien here legally.

“If not, we will deny them service.”

Same in Huntsville

Huntsville Utilities also has instituted a policy of denying service to illegal immigrants, said Bill Yell, its communications director.

COMMENTS


PEGGY wrote:
There's no room for anyone that would break the laws of this country.

tbone from wrote:
why did,nt we do this all the time ? sure have made our neighborhood a lot quieter and less crowded and less crime

SVIVAR9087 wrote:
Hate is never the solution !

TGIF: This is is for all the vets out there =D

Veterans Day 2011 - YouTube

Civil rights monitors sent to five states for elections - CNN.com

Civil rights monitors sent to five states for elections - CNN.com

Federal civil rights officials announced Monday they have sent election observers to locations in five states to keep an eye out for potential trouble at the polls Tuesday.

The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division dispatched 11 staff attorneys along with 85 trained election observers from the Office of Personnel Management to watch activities at the polls and report any irregularities.

The Justice Department sent election monitors to 11 Mississippi counties for the primary elections in August.

The Justice Department has also assigned monitors to Lorain County, Ohio, to protect the rights of Spanish-speaking voters.

In Alameda County, California, the U.S. will monitor voting following an agreement between federal officials and the county in July. The agreement requires Alameda County to provide election materials and information in Spanish and Chinese.

In Jasper, Texas, racial tensions have run high over the recall election for three African-American city council members responsible for the hiring of the city's first black police chief.

In Springfield, Massachusetts, activists claim minorities were turned away at the polls in the September primary, and said there was no Spanish-language assistance for voters.

Cain must confront sex harassment issue - CNN.com

Cain must confront sex harassment issue - CNN.com

Herman Cain and his campaign chief of staff, Mark Block, cannot go on as they have. There has been a pattern now that is both unhealthy for our politics and unhealthy for our polity.

Four women are not an insignificant number. One or two anonymous charges, perhaps. Three anonymous charges (where, as I understand the story, Cain knows of at least two of the women) plus one woman who went very public and opened herself up to all manner of investigation are a lot. It is no longer insignificant. Neither is it insignificant that the Cain campaign discounted the charges in the initial stories, saying they were based on anonymous sources, only to make a mockery by blaming other campaigns with less substantiation than the original stories.

If Herman Cain wants to be taken seriously as a public advocate for anything, never mind running for the chief executive and commander in chief of the most powerful and important and blessed country in the world, he needs to give a full press conference dedicated exclusively to this issue and these allegations.

RIP Joe Frazier /News from The Associated Press

News from The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Joe Frazier, the former heavyweight champion who handed Muhammad Ali his first defeat yet had to live forever in his shadow, died Monday night after a brief final fight with liver cancer. He was 67.

Highland Park, Michigan Tearing Out Its Streetlights To Cut Costs

Highland Park, Michigan Tearing Out Its Streetlights To Cut Costs

Highland Park, Michigan, a city in the greater Detroit area, is the latest town to implement dramatic austerity measures, according to the Associated Press.

With $58 million in municipal debt and a $60,000 monthly electric bill that it can't pay, Highland Park has elected to remove 1,000 of its 1,500 streetlights -- not just turning the power off, but tearing the poles themselves out of the ground.

It's a strategy that's unlikely to fix most of Highland Park's economic woes. The town's unemployment rate is 22 percent -- more than twice the national rate -- and 42 percent of residents live below the poverty line.

Mississippi 'Personhood' Law Could Cause Legal Mayhem, Experts Warn

Mississippi 'Personhood' Law Could Cause Legal Mayhem, Experts Warn

If Mississippians vote to pass an unprecedented initiative on Tuesday that would declare a fertilized egg a legal person under the state Constitution, nobody -- including the authors of the initiative -- knows exactly how that law would be interpreted and enforced. But legal and medical experts are concerned that the "personhood" amendment could spur a litany of expensive court battles, bogus lawsuits and moral and political conundrums beyond the scope of women's choice.

The somewhat vague question facing Mississippi voters at the ballots is: Should an undeveloped embryo have the same legal rights as a person? If the people answer yes, then state lawmakers will be faced with the challenge of figuring out what Proposition 26 means for practical purposes and how to implement it.

Alcalde de Los Angeles dice que 'estos son los peores tiempos para un inmigrante en EU' - Univision Noticias

Alcalde de Los Angeles dice que 'estos son los peores tiempos para un inmigrante en EU' - Univision Noticias

El alcalde de la ciudad de Los Ángeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, consideró que el antagonismo contra los inmigrantes hispanos en Estados Unidos ha alcanzado un nivel que nunca antes había atestiguado.

“Estos son los tiempos peores para un inmigrante que he visto en mi vida”, dijo el político demócrata nieto de inmigrantes mexicanos y para quien la situación ha alcanzado ya niveles inaceptables.

Fourth Woman Accuses Herman Cain of Sexual Harassment - ABC News

Fourth Woman Accuses Herman Cain of Sexual Harassment - ABC News

Foreclosure-Mocking Law Firm Apologizes For Inappropriate Halloween Party

Foreclosure-Mocking Law Firm Apologizes For Inappropriate Halloween Party

Buy Here Pay Here alternatives - latimes.com

Buy Here Pay Here alternatives - latimes.com

About 160 charitable groups in the U.S., from Maine to Hawaii, help needy people get affordable cars. Programs vary—some sell cars at cost, others provide cars for free, and still others arrange low-interest loans. California has four, all in the Bay Area. Read more: Is there a better way for the working poor to find wheels?

(click on link to access interactive map with non-profit organizations)

Alabama's attorney general balks at giving feds school data - CNN.com

Alabama's attorney general balks at giving feds school data - CNN.com

Montgomery, Alabama (CNN) -- Alabama's attorney general questioned Wednesday whether the federal government has the legal right to ask for data from school districts in the state, which has recently passed controversial legislation intended to reduce illegal immigration.

In a letter sent Wednesday, Attorney General Luther Strange said he was "perplexed and troubled" about a request from the Justice Department for information about Alabama's schools.

The Justice Department issued the letter Tuesday to Alabama school districts to ensure they are complying with federal law, which declares that a child may not be denied equal access to schools based on his or her immigration status.

Strange's letter noted that the law was still being litigated.

Strange set a Friday noon deadline for Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for DOJ's civil rights division, to provide the legal authority for his request.

Foreclosure; robo-signing; mortgage servicers; settlement; banks - latimes.com

Foreclosure; robo-signing; mortgage servicers; settlement; banks - latimes.com

Aggrieved homeowners ensnared by a foreclosure system riddled with misconduct and error are set to get their first shot at winning some cash back from the banks.

Under orders from federal regulators, 14 mortgage servicers on Tuesday began mailing out 4.3 million letters to potential victims of wrongful foreclosure practices. The letters will invite borrowers to submit their cases for a free review by independent consultants that are funded by the lenders but vetted by regulators.

Borrowers may be compensated if the reviewers and regulators find that the homeowners were harmed financially.

"These requirements help ensure that the servicers provide appropriate compensation to borrowers who suffered financial harm as a result of improper practices," said John Walsh, acting comptroller of the currency, whose agency regulates the nation's largest banks. The Federal Reserve has also issued the enforcement orders.

L.A. votes to impose fines for excessive dog barking - latimes.com

L.A. votes to impose fines for excessive dog barking - latimes.com

The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to amend the city's barking law, imposing fines on the owners of dogs that bark excessively — even if the canines are not licensed by the city.

Under the changes, dog owners would face fines starting at $250 for a first offense, $500 for a second and $1,000 for a third if a hearing conducted by the Department of Animal Services determines that a dog barks too much.

But exactly how much barking is too much?