Baldwin: Three Peas In A Pod

Three Peas In A Pod
by Chuck Baldwin
May 16, 2008

I realize that is extremely difficult for some people to think outside the box. The vast majority of people are prone to be followers, to “go with the flow,” to follow the path of least resistance. This appears to be the nature of human nature.

Therefore, I think I understand the reasoning of many who are so reluctant to step outside the two major parties and vote for a third party candidate. I seem to recall that I, too, was just as hesitant (though not for nearly as long as some people) as they are.

We have all heard it before: He doesn’t stand a chance; it’s a wasted vote; we must work within the party to make it better, etc., ad infinitum, ad nauseam.

Now, I will be the first to admit that the deck is stacked against an independent candidate succeeding at any political level. The two dominant parties do not like competition. And they have made it EXTREMELY DIFFICULT for third parties to have a fighting chance to prevail. My brief experience in third parties convinces me that the old state parties of Eastern Europe had nothing on America’s two major parties, when it comes to dominating and controlling elections.

The media, too, is a co-opted and controlled environment. They refuse to cover minor parties and then attempt to justify their manipulation by saying something along the lines of, “We won’t let you participate until you reach ‘X’ percentage points.” But, of course, their refusal to give an independent candidate any time to present his or her views directly contributes to the lack of percentage points.

I believe that any candidate who has obtained ballot access in enough states to theoretically obtain sufficient electoral votes to win the election (an arduous and expensive process all by itself) should automatically be included in any and all debates and should be given an equal opportunity to present his or her views to the public. Anything less than this is deliberate manipulation of the election. And that is exactly what the two major parties and their collaborators in the mainstream media are doing.

That aside, one would think that sooner or later the American people would wake up to what is happening right in front of their eyes. One would think that they would realize that no matter which party wins the White House or wins control of Congress, most things stay pretty much the same.

All this talk of “conservatism” or “liberalism” is–for the most part–nothing more than campaign rhetoric. It means absolutely nothing. No matter which party wins, the federal government continues to get bigger and more intrusive. American manufacturing jobs and industries continue to be outsourced overseas. Our military personnel continue to be used as the personal militia for the United Nations. Our borders remain open to illegal immigration. The creation of a North American Union marches forward. Construction for the NAFTA superhighway continues unabated. The tactics of the IRS get more and more egregious. Americans continue to work harder and longer for less return, while politicians and CEOs of multinational corporations get richer and more powerful.

It just does not matter one whit which major party “wins.” The American people, freedom, limited government, and the U.S. Constitution lose! One would think that at some point the American people would say “That’s enough” and stop drinking the Kool-Aid from these two major parties. And if there was ever a year when the time appears right for such a revolution, one would think this would be the year.

Look at the three leading candidates: they are three peas in a pod. There is no substantive difference between them. Neither Obama, Clinton, nor McCain have any desire to stop illegal immigration. On this issue, there is no difference between McCain and the Democrats. None. John McCain even voted to grant Social Security benefits to illegal aliens. He joined with Senator Ted Kennedy to provide amnesty to illegal aliens.

Take the war in Iraq. The only candidate among the top three who even hints at bringing our troops home is Obama. And if anyone believes that he is serious about it, I have a bridge I would like to sell you. Neither of the two major parties has any interest in bringing our troops home. No matter which party wins the White House, our troops will continue to be used for U.N. missions all over the world. We will continue to stick our nose wherever it does not belong. We will continue our utopian plans of nation-building, empire-building and international meddling.

No matter which of the two major parties captures the White House, the C.F.R. will dominate the President’s cabinet appointees. Good grief! John McCain, himself, is a member of the C.F.R. Even in the area of federal judges, John McCain was one of the original “Gang of 14″ Republicans who joined liberal Democrats in opposing the selection of strict constructionist judges to the federal bench. Anyone who believes that McCain will appoint someone such as Clarence Thomas or Antonin Scalia is living in a fantasy world.

Regarding the Second Amendment, Gun Owners of America rates John McCain with an F-. It doesn’t get any worse than that, folks. On gun issues, John McCain is not the “lesser of two evils.” Not in any manner, shape, or form.

Just recently, McCain committed himself to supporting the U.N.-sponsored global warming treaty. As with so many of McCain’s policies, this one is right out of the Democratic playbook.

Regarding the loss of America’s sovereignty and the merger of the U.S. into a regional or hemispheric government entity, noted columnist Cliff Kincaid writes, “McCain’s strange rhetoric about ‘North, Central, and South American life’ reflects a view that nation-states are disappearing and being replaced by regional alliances and institutions. He referred to ‘the powerful collective voice of the European Union,’ as if the U.S. response would have to be submersion of our voice in a larger hemispheric entity. But McCain seems to be calling for something beyond even a North American Union (NAU) of the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. He talked about ‘creating the new international institutions necessary to advance the peace and freedoms we cherish,’ as if they would be built on top of the EU and the NAU.

“Earlier, McCain had declared, ‘With globalization, our hemisphere has grown closer, more integrated, and more interdependent. Latin America today is increasingly vital to the fortunes of the United States. Americans north and south share a common geography and a common destiny.’ But why should trade with America’s neighbors necessarily lead to a ‘common destiny?’ This implies a political merger of the U.S. with other countries.”

Does that sound like John McCain is the “lesser of two evils” to you? Have you heard Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama talk like this? Again, in regard to the loss of America’s sovereignty and independence, there is no “lesser of two evils” between the major parties.

Can conservatives, Christians, and constitutionalists really go to the polls this November and vote for someone such as John McCain? Do they really not see what John McCain would do to this country? Do they really believe that Clinton or Obama would be any worse? If they do, they are living in a fantasy world.

Take the issue of abortion. John McCain has made a career out of opposing pro-life candidates and causes. Just recently, Jill Stanek wrote a revealing column regarding the duplicity of John McCain’s position on the life issue.

Stanek’s Column

McCain has steadfastly opposed the Republican Party’s pro-life plank. He has even stated his opposition to overturning Roe v. Wade. He said, “But certainly in the short term, or even the long term, I would not support the repeal of Roe v. Wade . . . .”

How long will conservatives, Christians, and lovers of liberty continue to blindly follow these two parties? Can they not see that our constitutional republic and our liberty is hanging by a thread? Do they not realize that Democrats and Republicans alike are willful participants in the destruction of our way of life?

Ladies and gentlemen, please wake up! Get your heads out of the sand! Our country is imploding and we keep electing and re-electing the same scoundrels who are culpable. The media provides them cover. Many of our pastors and Christian leaders provide them cover as well. But it is the people of this country–you and me–who have the power to actually do something about it.

How about this year–just this once–let’s think for ourselves? Let’s vote our principles. Let’s forget what the pundits and experts say. Let’s quit allowing the radio and TV talking heads to tell us who to vote for. And let’s not be afraid to vote outside the two major parties. No, check that. Let’s make a commitment to vote outside the two major parties.

The two major parties have had 150 years to improve our country, to make our country a better place in which to live. What have they done with all this power and opportunity? They have brought us to the edge of destruction.

I believe it was Albert Einstein who said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Americans have been electing Republicans and Democrats over and over again, and we have been getting the same result. Let’s try something different this year. What do you say?

© Chuck Baldwin

Chuck Baldwin is the 2008 Presidential Candidate for the Constitution Party. Visit his election website at http://www.baldwin2008.com

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THE US SENATE CONSIDERS ANOTHER COVERT ILLEGAL ALIEN AMNESTY BILL

THE US SENATE CONSIDERS ANOTHER COVERT ILLEGAL ALIEN AMNESTY BILL

On May 15, 2008, the Senate Appropriations Committee pushed another illegal alien amnesty bill by attaching it to an Iraq War supplemental funding bill. Sen. Feinstein has sponsored this rider to give a 5-year amnesty for up to 3 million illegal aliens and their families. Attaching unpopular programs and riders to “must pass” legislation is a typical underhanded tactic used by members of both houses of congress to circumvent the will of the people.

Knowing that the war funding bill is desperately needed to support our troops in battle overseas, the outrageous amnesty plan was covertly attached by Senator Feinstein hoping that no one would notice. If it passes the full Senate next week, this would open the door for even larger waves of illegal immigration in the future!

Here’s what the rider calls for:

1. Granting a 3-year work visa to illegal aliens followed by a permanent green card for those who have been working as shepherds, goat and dairy herders.

2. Grant a 5-year work visa to the estimated 1.3 million illegal aliens working in other agricultural jobs – plus all of their family members. The legislation doesn’t state what happens after 5 years.

3. Grant a tripling of the maximum number of H-2B Visas for lower skilled, non-agricultural seasonal workers.

4. Grant industries an extra 218,000 additional green cards for skilled foreign workers.

There is no reason to grant illegal farm workers amnesty! There is an H-2A program for temporary seasonal workers that honest farmers use to get extra help. There are no rotting crops and America will not starve if illegal workers are sent home — farmers using illegal aliens will just be forced to pay Americans or legal seasonal farm workers an honest wage to do the work.

It is a well know fact that Budget Bills, especially emergency funding bills, collect riders like rotting fruit collects flies. If a member of congress can manage to underhandedly stick a special project or rider onto a “must pass” Budget Bill, it is almost certain to be approved, because the funding must be passed!

The best way to solve this problem is to pass legislation that requires all bills and legislation to be single purposed. An individual bill should address one specific issue and only that issue. Any amendments must directly address that specific issue. No pork, no side issues, and especially, no riders.

If Senator Feinstein and her pro-illegal alien amnesty cohorts want to pass legislation giving amnesty to illegal aliens, then let her have the guts and honesty to publicly introduce legislation so that it can be openly debated on its own merits and voted on.

Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives should not be allowed to continue to hide these types of unpopular anti-American riders in unrelated “must pass” legislation and appropriations bills. It is just an attempt to circumvent the will of the vast majority of the American people.

by: John Wallace
Candidate for Congress
NY’s 20th Congressional District
http://www.FreedomCandidate.com

Wooldridge: SHIFT HAPPENS: A NEW PARADIGM TO CONSIDER

SHIFT HAPPENS: A NEW PARADIGM TO CONSIDER
By Frosty Wooldridge
May 15, 2008

In the 21st century, old paradigms fail us in our new technological age. You’re invited to stop reading and watch a five-minute video on YouTube.

“Did You Know; Shift Happens” Globalization; Information Age

Karl Fisch created the video and Scott McLeod modified it. As you watch the video, take notes. You may find that you want to watch the video a second time to complete your notes.

As with each section of this four-part series, you may jot down the ingredients of your personal plans. Part-1 covers your personal long-range and near-term planning.

As a country, our military posture, guided by political decisions in the U S Congress, shifts from so-called “Imperialistic Attacks” overseas to focus upon the active defense of the 50-states. Nellis Air Force Base, next-door to Las Vegas, Nevada features our best-and-brightest in the first-line fighter aircraft. Here’s what the Global Security website teaches us.

Nellis Air Force Base, NV.

“Home of the Fighter Pilot” – is a member of the United States Air Force’s Air Combat Command. It is home to the largest and most demanding advanced air combat training in the world. Nellis provides training for composite strike forces, which include every type of aircraft in the U S Air Force inventory. Training is also conducted in conjunction with air and ground units of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps as well as air forces from allied nations.

Nellis Air Force Base grew from a rural, war-time base to the biggest, busiest, and best base in the United States Air Force. Its roots lay in a time of approaching conflagration, in which the United States prepared its defenses against world-wide aggressors. It continues to train air combat warriors to fly, fight, and win in the national interest.

To do that job – these young leaders must know what is happening today, world-wide.

The Nellis training helps our tactical aircraft pilots to prepare for the world situations that might provoke an attack on the United States. A reader alerted me to the existence of a sobering, high-quality video life lesson. Our environment changes at an exponentially increasing rate. In the “good old days,” we enjoyed many years to think about changes before they happened. No more!

As you discover–all growth is not helpful, or appropriate. For example, rapid increases in human population in certain areas cannot be accommodated. With this in mind, in Part-1 – I asked you to tell me which nations experience the most population.

Human beings prove predictable creatures with predictable behavior patterns. When our “quality-of-life” becomes less desirable, our attitudes change and we become grouchy. Unrest occurs when people crowd together as food and potable water become scarce, and the onset of natural lethal diseases increases.

Although some may argue, most of the U S electorate senses changes that ’cause concern’;

* More competition for jobs

* Wages stagnant, or reduced

* Personal home foreclosure rates worse than ever

* Public (K-12) schools crowded

* K-12 student performance waning

* Hospitals crowded, sicknesses occur more often

* Highways crowded and deteriorating, grid-lock compounding

* Staples (food, gasoline, and more) much more expensive

* Taxes increasing

* Growing ethnic incompatibilities and antagonisms per 600 student riot in Los Angeles last week between blacks and Mexicans

Our recent population increase set records. At the same time, we lack national strategic (20-year) plans, and national tactical (5-year) plans – a most unfortunate “coincidence.” And, the average educational level of our workforce spirals downward. Example: Detroit, MI suffers 76 percent high school drop out/flunk out rate. (Source: Brian Williams, NBC Nightly News) Why?

Can you think of root causes to that horrible academic failure rate?

Notice the immigrant population increases in the USA and worldwide to see results and why.

In this process, prepare a list of the top-ten personal irritations that face you today, but did not exist twenty years ago. As you do that, please jot down your guesstimates regarding cost – to you, to your town, to your state and to your nation.

Note aspects in dollars, time, wellness, personal safety, quality of work-life, quality of home-life, etc.

We’re connecting the dots as to the loss of quality of life in America and how it affects our daily, weekly and longer term prospects as citizens of this civilization. We must act before we become the next global statistic such as Lebanon, Israel or France.

© 2008 Frosty Wooldridge

To take action:
www.numbersusa.com
www.fairus.org
www.proenglish.org
www.capsweb.org
www.vdare.com

Frosty Wooldridge possesses a unique view of the world, cultures and families that he obtained bicycling 100,000 miles around the globe and across six continents in the past 25 years. He has written hundreds of articles on a regular basis for 16 national and 2 international magazines. He has had hundreds of editorials published in top national newspapers including the Rocky Mountain News, Denver Post, the Albany Herald and Christian Science Monitor.

You can purchase Mr. Wooldridge’s latest book, “Immigration’s Unarmed Invasion”.

You can also listen to Frosty Wooldridge on Tuesdays and Thursdays as he interviews top national leaders on his radio show “Connecting the Dots” at www.republicbroadcasting.org at 6:00 PM Mountain Time. Adjust tuning in to your time zone.

Immigration Legislation:

This Border Bill the Best Border Bill
Set it Up Now for Incoming Congress

THE BEST AND STRONGEST border-protection bill is pending before eight (count ’em) House committees and, while there is virtually no chance of final action this year, it is important to push hard now for “momentum” in the new Congress to be seated in January.

Some Democrats got elected to the House in 2006 by acting like Republicans, opposing gun laws and supporting immigration reform without amnesty for illegal aliens already here. Among these are Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), author of the present bill. It will be tough.

The new Congress may have more of a leftward tilt and the current Congress has accomplished nothing. But immigration reform is urgent, and action is critical to the future of the United States. According to new Census Bureau estimates, Latinos are taking over the country, not only by entering illegally, but by having children in numbers above the present reproduction rate of white Americans. Taxpayers provide free medical care for pregnant illegals.

Hispanics are the largest-growing minority group, and account for one in five children younger than 5. “Hispanics have both a larger proportion of people in their child-bearing years and tend to have slightly more children,” said Jeffrey Passel of the Pew Hispanic Center and co-author of a study predicting that the Hispanic population will double from 15 percent today to 30 percent by 2050.

“So this means that in five years, a quarter of the 5- to 9-year-olds will be Hispanic, and in 10 years a quarter of the 10- to 14-year-olds will be Hispanic,” he said. “It’s just going to move up through the age distribution with each successive cohort being slightly more Hispanic.” (This presumes no more Hispanics cross the border illegally, which is obviously not going to happen.)

Researchers warn that the high poverty rate of U.S.-born Latino students and the fact that many are reared by immigrant parents poses challenges to their education and integration into U.S. society.

“Based on what we know, many in this population may not be growing up speaking English in their homes,” said Margie McHugh of the Migration Policy Institute in Washington. In a recent study, she found that 75 percent of students in Los Angeles with limited English proficiency were born in this country.

At this rate, your children will not recognize the country in which you were born. Whites will soon become the minority. Hispanics, blacks and Asians will make up the majority. Since much higher percentages of Latinos and blacks are uneducated, poor and more likely to engage in criminal activities, government expenses will skyrocket.

Hearings are now under way on the Shuler bill, and Republicans have filed a discharge petition to force a House vote. While the bill is bipartisan, more Republicans than Democrats are backing it, notable among them Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Col.). Tancredo, the son of legal immigrants, is the most vocal lawmaker calling for strong border protection.

To force a floor vote, 218 House members must sign the discharge petition. Thirty-two more signatures are needed—grab your phone.

The above article was provided by:
American Free Press
645 Pennsylvania Avenue SE
Suite 100
Washington, D.C. 20003

IMPEACHMENT DRIVE REVS UP

From American Free Press

IMPEACHMENT DRIVE REVS UP
New Hampshire state rep says we need to send a message: Impeach Bush, Cheney Now!
By Mark Anderson

BROOKLINE, N.H.—Betty Hall, 87, a New Hampshire state representative, shows an unwavering “can-do” attitude toward her House Resolution 24, which is intended to prod the U.S. Congress into investigating (and implementing the impeachment of) President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

Backers charge that the Bush-Cheney regime dragged the nation into an undeclared, preemptive, never-ending war under false pretenses. Rep. Hall said that some backers have as their “tipping point” a strong concern about the Bush administration doing away with prohibitions against torture.

“What is Congress’s tipping point?” she asks. AFP has reported on the administration’s wartime eagerness to snoop on the public and its use of “signing statements” and executive orders to bypass proper legislative input and, in effect, legislate for itself.

Although some fellow state legislators say the timing is wrong, Rep. Hall is not worried about how close the next election is, as she believes the moral imperative of impeachment is too great to ignore. With the blood of America’s youth staining the sands of distant lands, underwritten by obscene public expenditures that fatten privileged contractors and drain the national treasury to the breaking point, Rep. Hall wants the 400-member New Hampshire House—said to be the world’s third most populous English-speaking legislative body behind the Congress itself and the British House of Commons—to pass HR 24 and tell Congress that, for God’s sake, it’s time to consider some actual checks and balances and get on with impeachment. It boils down to this: An imperial presidency has no place in a free nation.

A visit to New England shows that the spirit of the American revolution does not easily die. The famed Old North Bridge at Concord, Mass., for example, where the colonists won a decisive fire fight and sent a contingent of Redcoats fleeing back to Boston, features Ralph Waldo Emerson’s stirring words on “the shot heard round the world” that heralded the War of Independence.

Well, HR 24 backers want the legislative action on this issue to be “the vote heard round the world” to drive back tyranny from within our shores, just as the historic battle drove back tyranny that came from afar.

“It actually did go to the floor for a vote on the 16th of April,” Rep. Hall said during an interview with AFP. She explained HR 24 in the wake of a local April 14 impeachment rally that featured, among others, former Pentagon official-turned-whistle blower Daniel Ellsberg; and retired Air Force pilot Dr. Robert Bowman, a Vietnam veteran who is known as an eloquent speaker on the fallacies of the government’s 9-11 story and the distant conflicts which this story “justified.”

HR 24, which resembles an earlier joint resolution in Vermont that only passed the state Senate and stopped there, was introduced in early 2007 but was not approved that year, after considerable debate. Drafted again in January 2008, it differs from the Vermont measure in that it is not a joint document, so only the New Hampshire House needs to deal with it; the state Senate need not be involved, which simplifies the process. This year, HR 24 has endured a series of standard public hearings and committee actions.

The April 16 floor vote failed to pass, 95-227, with around 75 not showing up to vote (most were unexcused absences; only five called in as “excused”). But in New Hampshire, such a vote does not kill the resolution; it merely tables it. It was last declared “inexpedient to legislate,”
but a simple majority vote would get it off the table so it could be voted on again to remove the “inexpedient” tag and proceed from there.

The N.H. legislative session ends in early June and resumes in January. There are various committee meetings in the interim.

Rep. Hall also planned to take HR 24 to the Democratic State Convention in New Hampshire on May 17, where well-known party figure Howard Dean is expected to expose the “Bush/McCain agenda,” according to a promotional flyer. At the 2006 state Democratic convention, Rep. Hall said a measure similar to HR 24 was unanimously approved by the state party leadership.

“On May 17, I will try again without hesitation,” she said. She also noted that N.H. independent voters are banding together to support impeachment. Many Republicans, however, see HR 24 as revenge for the impeachment of former President Bill Clinton. Several are hostile toward it.

“Some of them walked out of the chambers on April 16,” Hall said, noting that of the 95 who voted for it, only four were Republicans in a House that is about two-thirds Democratic and one- third Republican. Until fairly recently, it was the other way around.

On the national level, she said that the task is far from easy. A Michigan congressman, John Conyers (D), once favored impeachment.

“Rep. Conyers is on the hot seat, and he’s wavering,” Rep. Hall said, referring to his chairmanship on the House Judiciary Committee—the panel that would start the impeachment process. To impeach only means to indict; removal from office would only come after trial and conviction by the Senate). Conyers, said Rep. Hall, “was in favor of impeachment when he was a ranking member on the committee. He even wrote a book about it.”

However, Republicans are not the only barrier. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and other Democratic leaders are pressuring Conyers to stay away from the impeachment issue, she said..

But Rep. Hall will have none of the jibber-jabber about impeachment being misguided, too late or whatever.

“It’s not just about Bush and Cheney, it’s about our Constitution,” she said. “It’s about finding the truth, justice, and restoration of the rule of law. You can’t have a state legislature without a relationship with the federal
government.”

She said that even starting the impeachment “late” is beneficial because the impeachment process itself would send a strong signal about the need for accountability. And, as she sees it, the process and the required fact-finding about the current administration’s misdeeds also would have a beneficial chilling effect on whoever sits in the Oval Office after Bush.

“Setting precedents is important,” she said, especially considering that Sen. John McCain has talked about continuing the Bush policies in Iraq and Afghanistan if he is elected president. Having served 28 years in the New Hampshire Legislature, first as a Republican and then as a Democrat, Rep. Hall knows the procedures well. So if anybody can make this happen, she can. Earning just $100 a year to serve, she is no careerist like those overpaid “servants” found in legislatures in Michigan, California, New York and elsewhere.

What is known as a “vote of no confidence” in foreign governments to recall defective leaders assumed the more stable form of impeachment in America. Rep. Hall said this action must be taken because, as she put it, “Our checks and balances are out of whack.”

NOTE: Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont and Washington are among the other states taking similar actions to pass resolutions calling on the U.S. Congress to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney. There also are websites put together by other people and coalitions, such as that of the Northeast Impeachment Coalition (neimpeach.org) as well as impeachthem.com. Rep. Hall’s website is Hall4impeachment.com, or write her at: P.O. Box 309, Brookline, N.H. 03033. Or call 603-672-8712.

The above article was provided by:
American Free Press
645 Pennsylvania Avenue SE
Suite 100
Washington, D.C. 20003

Brad Miller voted “No” on Tancredo’s Bill to Block Foreign Aid Under the Merida Initiative

Brad Miller (D - NC, 13th District) voted “No” on Tancredo’s Bill in the House Foreign Affairs Committee to block foreign aid under the Merida Initiative to Mexico. The bill would have made the Mexican government meet a list of requirements before receiving such aid. I guess Miller wasn’t too concerned about corrupt governments receiving America’s hard earned money.

The Amendment would have been a tremendious step in the right direction on how America provided foreign aid to these countries:

• Required a determination that the armed forces and / or law enforcement agencies of Mexico (or any other recipient nation seeking aid) are not involved or complicit in the trafficking of drugs, weapons or people.

• Require the President to certify that the U.S.-Mexico border is secure before aid could be provided to Mexico.

• Require, as a condition of receiving any U.S. aid, that a foreign government cooperate with all U.S. extradition requests and efforts to deport or repatriate nationals of that foreign country. The foreign government must also not assist or encourage its nationals to illegally immigrate to the U.S.

• Require a congressional vote on the President’s certifications before aid could flow.

“Congress should not provide this administration with a blank check once the State Department makes a handful of claims to this committee that may or may not be supported by evidence,” said Tancredo. “If the administration wants this money, they should have to convince Congress to give it to them.”

“We have to insist that governments like the one in Mexico tackle their internal corruption and get their houses in order before we start handing out tax dollars,” concluded Tancredo. “Without these safeguards, money sent to Mexico is as likely to end up in the pockets of the drug cartels as it is the reformers.”

I guess Miller doesn’t seem to mind were our tax dollars go.

Tancredo Attempts to Block Foreign Aid to Mexico and Central America

Press Release: Tancredo Attempts to Block Foreign Aid to Mexico and Central America
Made available by: Tom Tancredo
May 14, 2008

Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Littleton) today put forth an amendment in the House Foreign Affairs Committee attempting to block foreign aid under the Merida Initiative to Mexico. The amendment would block all funding until the President of the has certified that the Mexican government has met a list of requirements.

“The maintenance of elementary law and order in the face of organized violence against law enforcement and legal institutions, infiltration of the armed services and local police by the drug cartels, and endemic corruption at all levels of government – these are the primary threats to Mexico’ s people and democratic institutions today,” said Tancredo.

Among other things, the amendment would have required a determination that the armed forces and / or law enforcement agencies of Mexico (or any other recipient nation seeking aid) are not involved or complicit in the trafficking of drugs, weapons or people.

The original leaders of the notorious “Zetas,” the violent enforcers of the Gulf Cartel who have brought murder and mayhem to the Rio Grande Valley , were former Mexican military personnel with special forces training who deserted the army.

“We know that some of these ‘guns for hire’ had U.S. military training. We must insist that our dollars never again train soldiers who then take that training and expertise and use it to serve organized crime,” said Tancredo. “Mexico must be required to clean up its act before we send truckloads of our tax dollars south – or we run the risk of American aid being siphoned off by the very drug cartels we are trying to defeat.”

The amendment would also require the President to certify that the U.S.-Mexico border is secure before aid could be provided to Mexico.

“The cartels only exist to smuggle drugs and people across our southwest border. If that border is made secure against all such smuggling, the cartels will be deprived of most of their profits – profits that feed corruption,” said Tancredo.

Tancredo’s amendment would also require, as a condition of receiving any U.S. aid, that a foreign government cooperate with all U.S. extradition requests and efforts to deport or repatriate nationals of that foreign country. The foreign government must also not assist or encourage its nationals to illegally immigrate to the U.S.

The amendment would also require a congressional vote on the President’s certifications before aid could flow.

“Congress should not provide this administration with a blank check once the State Department makes a handful of claims to this committee that may or may not be supported by evidence,” said Tancredo. “If the administration wants this money, they should have to convince Congress to give it to them.”

“We have to insist that governments like the one in Mexico tackle their internal corruption and get their houses in order before we start handing out tax dollars,” concluded Tancredo. “Without these safeguards, money sent to Mexico is as likely to end up in the pockets of the drug cartels as it is the reformers.”

The amendment failed 23 votes to 10.

Those opposing the amendment were Howard Berman (D-CA), Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Eni Faleomavaega (D-AS), Donald Payne (D-NJ), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Robert Wexler (D-FL), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Diane Watson (D-CA), Adam Smith (D-WA), Russ Carnahan (D-MO), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX), David Wu (D-OR), Brad Miller (D-NC), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Albio Sires (D-NJ), Ron Klein (D-FL), Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Luis Fortuno (R-PR).

Those in favor were Tom Tancredo (R-CO), Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), Dan Burton (R-IN), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Ed Royce (R-CA), Joe Wilson (R-SC), Gresham Barrett (R-SC), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Ted Poe (R-TX) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL).

Bush Denied by King Abdullah

Does Bush and co. Not see this as a slap in the face. This is the second time Bush has brought this up to King Abdullah, and it’s the second time he was rejected. Well it’s time to stop providing a “golden age” to Saudi Arabia and start taking care of our own. Bush is their celebrating 75 years of “friendship”, this doesn’t seem very friendly to me. I understand it’s business, for the Saudis, their living it up, meanwhile we as Americans are getting fed up. I’d say any aid to Saudi Arabia stops immediately and drilling in Alaska, North Dakota, the Gulf all begins as we work on our nuclear technology and alternative fuel technologies. But I’m sure he’ll just come back and say “oh well” That’s what he’s done for 8 years, why should we expect anything different now.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia’s leaders made clear Friday they see no reason to increase oil production until customers demand it, apparently rebuffing President Bush amid soaring U.S. gasoline prices.
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It was Bush’s second personal appeal this year to King Abdullah, head of the monarchy that rules this desert kingdom that is a longtime prime U.S. ally and home to the world’s largest oil reserves. But Saudi officials stuck to their position that they will only pump more oil into the system when asked to by buyers, something they say is not happening now, the president’s national security adviser told reporters.

“Saudi Arabia does not have customers that are making requests for oil that they are not able to satisfy,” Stephen Hadley said on a day when oil prices topped $127 a barrel, continuing to set records. “What the Saudis wanted to tell us was we’re doing everything we can do … to meet this problem, but it’s a complicated problem.”

Continue Reading by JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press

Michelle Obama hating on “Whitey”

The Patriot Room is become a favorite stop. He has a link to info that places Michelle Obama hating on “whitey” at Trinity Church. Looks like the GOP will have a shot after all. Explains her earlier statements to wanting to rip out Bill Clinton’s Eyes.

According to Jim Geraghty at The Campaign Spot, Larry Johnson is a Hillary supporter. So the following from Johnson’s blog, No Quarter USA is, happily, blue on blue fire.

I now have it from two three sources close to senior Republicans that they have video dynamite–Michelle Obama railing against “whitey” at Jeremiah Wright’s church. Republicans may have a lousy record when it comes to the economy and the management of the war in Iraq, but they are hell on wheels when it comes to opposition research. Someone took the chance and started reviewing the recordings from services at Jeremiah Wright’s United Church of Christ. Holy smoke!! I am told there is a clip that is being held for the fall to drop at the appropriate time. The last thing Barack and Michelle need is a new clip that raises further questions about her judgment and temperament.

From “Michelle Obama Rails Against “Whitey” - Game Over.” at The Patriot Room

Republicans Dying?

I don’t agree with Noonan on most things I have read of hers, but I agree with this statement; “The Republicans? Busy dying.”

What she failed to say though is that the OLD Republicans are dying. Ron Paul has made an effort to restore the Republic, remember that’s what we are, and has enlighten and educated many of us young Republicans.

Basically what Noon has alluded to is the fact that for some reason the GOP has become stagnant once they have reached their power seat, that while their intent might have been good, they have been consumed by the power and in turn have become out of touch with their constituents. And I agree, but I would also add that opposed to becoming stagnant per say, they have actually abandoned their party, and in other words, many have reversed and have become Democrats (McCain) or NeoCons who want One World Global Domination (Bush) Both are unacceptable!

What happened to a humble foreign policy, no nation building, states rights, small federal government, etc.. That’s no more. But a sleeping giant has awoken and neither the Democrats or Republicans like it, for it means the destruction of their world.

That giant is the young Americans that want our country back.

The Republicans? Busy dying. The brightest of them see no immediate light. They’re frozen, not like a deer in the headlights but a deer in the darkness, his ears stiff at the sound. Crunch. Twig. Hunting party.

The headline Wednesday on Drudge, from Politico, said, “Republicans Stunned by Loss in Mississippi.” It was about the eight-point drubbing the Democrat gave the Republican in the special House election. My first thought was: You have to be stupid to be stunned by that. Second thought: Most party leaders in Washington are stupid – detached, played out, stuck in the wisdom they learned when they were coming up, in ‘78 or ‘82 or ‘94. Whatever they learned then, they think pertains now. In politics especially, the first lesson sticks. For Richard Nixon, everything came back to Alger Hiss.

They are also – Hill leaders, lobbyists, party speakers – successful, well-connected, busy and rich. They never guessed, back in ‘86, how government would pay off! They didn’t know they’d stay! They came to make a difference and wound up with their butts in the butter. But affluence detaches, and in time skews thinking. It gives you the illusion you’re safe, and that everyone else is. A party can lose its gut this way.

Continue reading article at Peggy Noonan at the WSJ