In-State Tuition for DREAMers in Texas is under fire again

A Halloween treat from State Representative Leo Berman.  

Mr. Berman is well known as a reactionary anti-immigrationist.  He has proposed a move to repeal Texas' In-State Tuition for DREAMers.

see link to law professors letter below Chronicle article
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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6087279.html

Texas lawmaker challenges in-state tuition law
By SUSAN CARROLL

Houston Chronicle

October 31, 2008

A state lawmaker has requested an attorney general's opinion on the constitutionality of a Texas law that allows illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates in light of a recent California court ruling.

State Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, formally requested the opinion from Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott on Sept. 18 -- three days after a California appellate court allowed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of California's in-state tuition law to move forward.

"We are not giving in-state tuition to everybody in Texas ... so we're in direct violation of U.S. law," Berman said. "We have a lot of students from around the world going to school here in Texas on student visas who are here legally. They either pay out of-state tuition or international tuition, while if you're here illegally, you pay in-state tuition. We're rewarding people who are violating our laws, and we're penalizing people who are here legally."

Legal experts said the Texas opinion request is premature. Supporters of the state law, passed in 2001, said Berman is playing politics with a case that may never affect Texas.

The California lawsuit was filed in 2005 by a group of out-of-state parents and students who alleged they were being charged higher tuition and fees than illegal immigrants. A lower court dismissed the lawsuit,but an appeals court in Sacramento ruled Sept. 15 that the case could move forward. The state's Supreme Court will now decide whether to hearthe case.


Professors respond

Michael Olivas, a University of Houston law professor who specializes in higher education and immigration law, filed a letter on Thursday with Abbott's office in response to Berman's request. The letter, signed by Olivas and six immigration lawyers and law professors, said the case is still being litigated in California and any opinion would be premature.

The letter also argued that the Texas statute is constitutional under state and federal law.

"I think Representative Berman is simply making mischief," Olivas said. "Texas would never be bound by anything a state court in California did. They're different statutes. They're different states. They have different residency statutes. And in our system, one state is not bound by what another state does in the state court system..." more


susan.carroll@chron.com

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Olivas Letter for DREAMers - Upload a Document to Scribd

Piolin is voting

Piolin is the guy who helped organize the gigantic march in Los Angeles in Spring 2006.  The size of his audience is astounding, he has 28 million listeners in 23 states! .....He is now an American citizen and plans to vote-  see this interview by the Washington Post.  AP photo by Damian Dovarganes.

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Washington Post - Interactive

October 31, 2008

video haiku:  the campaign in moments

Candidates love to court, and all voters are potential lovers.  Why not some Latino love?  Barack Obama to Latinos:  "You hold this election in your hands."  Sarah Palin to Latinos:  Meet the new Jose the Plumber, Tito el constructor.  John McCain and Obama to Laitnos:  Live interviews with Tweety Bird.

Not the Oscar-winning cartoon character, Tweety Bird.  The Spanish-Language morning radio sensation, Eddie "Piolin" Sotelo.  That Tweety Bird...

See Video and Interactive

The Other Piolin (Piolin means Tweety Bird in Spanish):



link to cartoon image

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/10/30/national/a093118D16.DTL&type=printable

Former manager at Iowa slaughterhouse arrested

By NIGEL DUARA, Associated Press Writer
Thursday, October 30, 2008
(10-30) 15:15 PDT Cedar Rapids, Iowa (AP) --

San Francisco Chronicle

A former manager of a kosher slaughterhouse that was found to have employed hundreds of illegal immigrants was arrested Thursday by authorities who allege he helped many of the workers get fake documents.

Prosecutors said Sholom Rubashkin, 49-year-old son of Agriprocessors owner Abraham Aaron Rubashkin, is charged with conspiracy to harbor undocumented immigrants for financial gain, aiding and abetting document fraud, and aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft.

Immigration agents said in a federal affidavit that one witness said Sholom Rubashkin gave him $4,500 to buy identification documents for illegal-immigrant workers. Another allegedly said Rubashkin saw nothing wrong with hiring a group of workers who had new-looking resident alien cards and might have been fired from the Agriprocessors plant in Postville just two days earlier... more

POISON! High Fructose Corn Syrup

"people who drank two or more sugary sodas a day were at 40 percent higher risk for kidney damage, while the risk for women soda drinkers nearly doubled."  NYT


http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/30/still-spooked-by-high-fructose-corn-syrup/?hp

Just this month, researchers from Loyola University’s Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago took a look at the link between kidney disease and high-fructose corn syrup. Using data from nearly 9,400 adults in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1999 to 2004, they tracked consumption of sugary soft drinks, a major source of high-fructose corn syrup in the United States, and protein in the urine, a sensitive marker for kidney disease. They found that overall, people who drank two or more sugary sodas a day were at 40 percent higher risk for kidney damage, while the risk for women soda drinkers nearly doubled.

In June, the Journal of Hepatology suggested a link between consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in sodas and fatty liver disease.

And this summer, a small study published in The Journal of Nutrition suggested that fructose may make people fatter by bypassing the body’s regulation of sugars, which means it gets more quickly converted to fat than do other sugars.

Many scientists hypothesize that high-fructose corn syrup has contributed to rising obesity rates, although others say there is no solid evidence to support the theory. The corn refiners agree, dedicating a Web site to the “sweet surprise” of high-fructose corn syrup. more

 click here to order the tee-shirt  

Just because you aren't a citizen doesn't mean you don't care about who wins

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/30/AR2008103002876_pf.html

Unable to vote, noncitizen immigrants volunteer

By JULIANA BARBASSA
The Associated Press
Thursday, October 30, 2008; 3:06 PM

-- From Florida to California, they're working hard on the upcoming election _ knocking on doors in ethnic neighborhoods, manning the phones in myriad languages and distributing political flyers. But come Tuesday, they won't vote. They can't: They're not citizens.

The excitement that has made American voter registration numbers soar has trickled deep into the country's immigrant population. But almost two-thirds of the 37.5 million foreign-born people in the United States have not taken the oath of allegiance, and are shut out from casting a ballot.

Non-citizen immigrants, legal or not, are putting their time and their effort where their vote would be.

"There are a lot of people who want to be voters one day, but it can take a lot of time," said Kishan Putta, national director of Indians for McCain. "They do want to get involved. They're calling, wanting to participate."

more

Voting Machine Problems in 8 Texas Counties

Be careful when you vote straight ticket...

Problems with electronic voting machines in these Texas Counties
Collin, Brazoria, Dallas, El Paso, Galveston, Harris, Jefferson, and Palo Pinto.

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/10/straight-party.html

Texas Voters Urged to Avoid Straight-Party Option, After Vote-Flip Complaints
By Kim Zetter October 29, 2008 | 3:21:43 PMCategories: E-Voting, Election '08
A number of voters in several Texas counties have been complaining that voting machines they used to cast early votes flipped their votes from Democratic choices to Republican ones.

Voters have reported that when they tried to vote a straight-party Democratic ticket, the machine flipped their choices to Republican candidates instead. In some cases, voters reported a problem only with the presidential race; in other cases voters reported the entire ballot being marked Republican by the machine.
The counties where the problems were reported use different kinds of voting machines from three of the top voting machine companies -- Election Systems & Software, Diebold Election Systems (now Premier Election Solutions) and Hart InterCivic...

more

The Question of Media Bias

Media bias is something that could be written about forever and ever.  For one thing, being that reporters are human, nothing they say, no matter how hard they try could be totally objective.  Even so...  sometimes they could make more effort... like in letting people know that Obama is a Christian, and that it's not a bad thing to be Muslim...

See Why McCain is getting hosed in the press

Politico.com October 29, 2008

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/15081.html

Reader Responses Overflow After Story

When Politico editors John F. Harris and Jim VandeHei tackled the subject of media bias Tuesday, they knew they were venturing into controversial territory.

Still, they hadn't predicted the most intense reader response Politico has ever received, with hundreds of e-mails pouring into their inboxes within hours of the story hitting the web.

Some of the messages were downright hostile.

"Keep up the crappy work and your rationalization for it," one reader wrote.

"John," another commenter wrote to Harris, "I bet you['re] glad that the Wellstone Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 passed as it assures you and your associates proper treatment for the delusional state [you] are in regarding media bias and the Obama campaign."

Some readers were more articulate in challenging the article's contention that much of the rough treatment Sen. John McCain's campaign has received has stemmed from his campaign's unsteady performance, rather than ideological bias.

For some readers, that explanation misses the point. It's not just that reporters are relaying McCain's missteps, they say. It's that they're scrutinizing his tactics and policies more carefully than Obama's.

"Politico devotes zero serious investigative reporting or analysis of Obama's relationships with Ayers, Rezko, Wright, et al.; produces half a dozen stories on the personal life of Joe the Plumber," one reader charged, "obsesses over the cost of Palin's wardrobe yet buries Biden's numerous controversial statements including his prediction that Obama's election will produce foreign crises."

Politico has in fact devoted substantial coverage to Obama's controversial associations, and managing editor Bill Nichols just produced an extended analysis of Biden's lack of discipline. Still, this reader wasn't alone in his complaint that the press in general, and Politico in particular, has been more inclined to turn a skeptical eye to the GOP than to the Dems.

"Sometimes not saying something is just as damning as what you do say," one reader wrote. "I am disturbed by the fact that one part[y]'s VP has had more backgrou[n]d reported on them than the opposite party's lead candidate."

"McCain's campaign, especially Palin, has gotten a lot more criticism from the media on these investigative pieces, where they dig into Palin's past," another said. "Despite there being glaring gaps in the biography of Obama regarding his upbringing, his state senate activity, his academic writings and lectures, his legal clients, his tactics, associations, and advocacies as a community organizer, none of this seems to have been investigated by the mainstream media."

This reader added: "I personally think that one of the reasons these fringe, right-wing conspiracies about Obama being a Muslim, socialist, foreigner, etc. are flourishing because the media has not documented Obama's history well enough to disprove the crazy theories."
more

Harris County Sheriff's Office Moves Ahead and Moves Behind

Turns out that the Harris County Sheriff's Office was using jailers as immigration officers without the permission of the Commissioners Court.  So they stopped, but it was announced that the program could resume within once it is approved.

Most significantly, the Sheriff's office is now the first in the country to be using a state of the art fingerprint system that will give jailers information regarding the suspects citizenship or residency status.  What an honor - or insult.  Lets hope the computer doesn't make mistakes.

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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6083834.html

The Harris County Sheriff's Office has suspended a program that allowed local jailers to perform the duties of an immigration officer because Commissioners Court never authorized its implementation, a county official said today.

Commissioner Steve Radack said the Sheriff's Office plans to put the matter on the agenda for Tuesday's court meeting and could resume the program immediately after an affirmative vote...

On Monday, ICE announced that the Sheriff's Office had become the first local law enforcement agency in the nation to test an automated fingerprint check system that gives jailers full access to suspects' immigration history.

The new program provides a seamless and simultaneous check of immigration and criminal history by linking the FBI's database with DHS's database, known as IDENT (the Automated Biometric Identification System), officials said Monday.

Commissioners Court did not have to sign off on the implementation of that program, and it will continue, Martin said.

liz.peterson@chron.com

complete article

Senator Cornyn and the Arab Invasion

These days I'm working on an essay about U.S. Bill 4437, the very nasty anti-immigration bill that was passed in the Congress in late 2005.  

As the Republicans were preparing for their fight on the floor - they were holding press conferences and secret meetings.  One of the more interesting events was a press conference held by Senator Cornyn on November 21, 2005.  He told Human Events Online that he had found evidence of Al Qaeda's presence near Laredo, Texas.  

Must have been an exciting day for him.

--

Human Events Online

November 21, 2005 Monday 5:09 PM EST

Exclusive Tex. Senator Shown Evidence of Arab Personal Effects at Mexican Border

Sen. John Cornyn (R.-Tex.), chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizen-ship, told HUMAN EVENTS he has seen anecdotal evidence of Arabic belongings--including juice boxes with Arabic writing and an image of a plane hitting a building--that were discovered in Larado, Tex., near the Mexican bor-der.Cornyn, one of the key players in the ongoing debate over immigration reform, said he learned of the discoveries when he was shown pictures of them by a government official.When asked why the White House wouldn't make such information publicly available--particularly in light of the threat of al Qaeda--Cornyn said it's a matter of intelligence...

link to photo

About Voting Problems

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For Immediate Release
October 28, 2008
Contact: Jonathan Godfrey
Lillian German

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), House Administration Committee Chairman Robert Brady, and respective Subcommittee Chairs Jerrold Nadler and Zoe Lofgren today sent correspondence to each state’s secretary of state regarding voting issues. Below is an exerpt. Entire text of the letter is linked by a Scribd file.


"Several voting issues have surfaced across the country ranging from schemes to challenge voters based on their home foreclosure status to allegations of illegal purges of tens of thousands of eligible voters based on undeliverable mail and conflicting database information." House Judiciary Committee, October 28, 2008

click arrow pointing down for options such as enlarging text

Conyers Brady Nadler Lofgren081028 - Upload a Document to Scribd

The men on the cruise ships fell in love with Sarah Palin

The New Yorker has a great article on how Sarah Palin met some real insider Washington pundits long before she was nominated for Vice President. The names are familiar....Dick Morris, Bill Kristol, Michael Gerson.

Two cruise ships brought these journalists to Alaska... They met Palin, and fell in love with her! Interesting that there seemed to be no women journalists on the trip.


Below are excerpts from the article...

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/10/27/081027fa_fact_mayer?currentPage=1

...Fred Barnes [magazine’s executive editor and the co-host of “The Beltway Boys,” a political talk show on Fox News] recalled being “struck by how smart Palin was, and how unusually confident. Maybe because she had been a beauty queen, and a star athlete, and succeeded at almost everything she had done.” It didn’t escape his notice, too, that she was “exceptionally pretty.”

...Jay Nordlinger, a senior editor at National Review, had a more elemental response. In an online column, he described Palin as “a former beauty-pageant contestant, and a real honey, too. Am I allowed to say that? Probably not, but too bad.”

...[Dick] Morris wrote, “I will always remember taking her aside and telling her that she might one day be tapped to be Vice-President, given her record and the shortage of female political talent in the Republican Party. She will make one hell of a candidate, and hats off to McCain for picking her.”Fred Barnes recalled being “struck by how smart Palin was, and how unusually confident. Maybe because she had been a beauty queen, and a star athlete, and succeeded at almost everything she had done.”Michael Gerson called her “a mix between Annie Oakley and Joan of Arc.”

...[Bill] Kristol predicted on “Fox News Sunday” that “McCain’s going to put Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, on the ticket.” He described her as “fantastic,” saying that she could go one-on-one against Obama in basketball, and possibly siphon off Hillary Clinton’s supporters. He pointed out that she was a “mother of five” and a reformer. “Go for the gold here with Sarah Palin,” he said...

...On July 22nd, ...on Fox, Kristol referred to Palin as “my heartthrob.” He declared, “I don’t know if I can make it through the next three months without her on the ticket.”As Jack Fowler, National Review’s publisher... said, “This lady is something special. She connects. She’s genuine... more

link to photo

U.S. says attack on Syria was to kill Syrian Smuggler

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/us-admits-raiding-syria-to-kill-terrorist-leader-975443.html

US admits raiding Syria to kill terrorist leader

By Patrick Cockburn
Tuesday, 28 October 2008

London Independent

Senior US officials claimed last night that the head of a Syrian network responsible for smuggling foreign fighters, weapons and cash into Iraq had been killed in Syria during a raid by US special forces that sparked strong condemnation from Damascus.

The Syrian foreign minister, Walid al-Moualem said the raid had killed eight civilians and was an act of "criminal and terrorist aggression." Speaking at a news conference in London, he warned that Damascus would defend itself against any such future attack...

more

Immigration is a secret in the presidential election

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/10/27/why_dont_barack_obama_and_john

Why don't McCain and Obama Talk about the Working Class

link to mp3

excerpt of transcript:

JUAN GONZALEZ: I’d like to ask you about another part of the working class, the other part of the working class that’s gotten no attention: immigrants, the undocumented immigrants in the country. It seems that there’s been almost an unwritten agreement among both candidates and the media not to ask Obama or McCain about their immigration policies since the primaries. Once the primaries were over, the debate is over, in terms of the national debate. Your sense?

MICHAEL ZWEIG: It’s really quite interesting that that’s true. I didn’t expect that. I thought that the immigration question would be really a much larger one. Of course, McCain has a fairly liberal view towards immigration in the sense that he doesn’t want to just expel everybody and lock them all up.

AMY GOODMAN: So much so that Lou Dobbs of Fox, they were calling him “Juan McCain.”

MICHAEL ZWEIG: Is that right? Well, you know, you have a situation there where maybe there’s not that big of a difference, and these candidates have decided and their campaigns have decided that that’s just too much of a third rail, and it’s too emotional, and it’s too crazy, and they’re just not going to get into it.

JUAN GONZALEZ: For both campaigns.

MICHAEL ZWEIG: Yeah. They don’t need to get into it. And each has enough in them in their backgrounds and in their programs that Lou Dobbs and that whole militant anti-immigrant crowd is going to be dissatisfied with both of them, so why get into it?

JUAN GONZALEZ: But there is the issue of, will they continue to build a wall? Will they continue to prosecute, to have the raids that they’re—the massive raids that are going on?

MICHAEL ZWEIG: Yeah, but you can’t get into those questions with them without opening the whole question of immigration. I think what they’ve done is they’ve decided they’re just not going to talk about the whole question of immigration, and then we can only be left to guess what will they actually do.

You know, I will say that in the immigration situation, whatever happens, we want to make sure that there isn’t a two-tier labor force that we have in this country, where the immigrants, in whatever form they’re here, as guest workers or in whatever guise we sort of allow them to come into America, that they are some second-class labor citizen. That, I think we really have to be very careful about.

And I will say, about the Employee Free Choice Act that Steve Early was talking about before, it’s a very, very important thing. On the other hand, I’m concerned that a Democratic administration in Congress is going to give the labor movement an Employee Free Choice Act—

AMY GOODMAN: Which means…?

MICHAEL ZWEIG: Which means that the principal legislative agenda item for the labor movement, to make it easier to organize unions, will be enacted, probably quite early. And then, the labor movement is going to be told, “You go organize your workers, and don’t bother us anymore with any other questions, because now we have serious business to attend to and all the rest of the agenda of the government.” And labor is going to be cut out in issues of the war in Iraq or in Afghanistan, in issues of the reconstruction of the banking regulations, in issues of housing and all the other items that are so very important to working people in this country. The labor movement is going to get its piece in the Employee Free Choice Act, and in much the same way that the Clinton administration gave labor the employee Family Leave Act—unpaid, but still a Family Leave Act in 1993. It was a very important thing. But that was pretty much the end of labor’s agenda in the Clinton years. And the rest of it was devoted to deregulating the financial industry and ending welfare as we know it. And so, I’m a little concerned that we are going to be in a situation where we put so much weight on the Employee Free Choice Act that we are going to be left aside in the other deliberations.

STEVEN GREENHOUSE: I see something—

AMY GOODMAN: Steve Greenhouse?

STEVEN GREENHOUSE: —things somewhat differently from Mike. I think the unions are playing their hand pretty well this election. They are going all out to help Obama, and clearly, you know, if Obama is elected, they’re going to expect him to implement some of the things they’re pushing for. And they’re pushing for three things at once. One is this Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier for workers to unionize. Second, they’re pushing very, very, very hard for economic stimulus, which dovetails with what a lot of liberal Democrats want anyway. And third, they’re pushing very, very hard for universal health coverage, and that’s something Obama has promised. So I think they’ll feel very, very angry if Obama says, “We gave you Employee Free Choice Act, and we’re going to ignore you on other things.” The other things they’re pushing for are the very things that many, many Democrats are pushing for.

AMY GOODMAN: Last word. You have thirty seconds, Steve Early.

STEVE EARLY: I think it’s overly optimistic to assume that the Employee Free Choice Act, expanding the right to organize in this country, is going to sail through the new Congress. You look back at the history of labor law reform efforts over the last thirty years, under Clinton and Carter, a lot of disappointment and a record of failure. It’s going to take a tremendous grassroots movement, now and then, by organized workers to keep the pressure on Obama and the Democrats to make this long overdue change so that workers can organize more freely without management interference. It’s not a done deal. And I think Obama would prefer to avoid a knockdown, drag-out fight with corporate America over this issue right out of the box.

AMY GOODMAN: Steve Early, I want to thank you for being with us. Steve Early, Boston-based labor journalist. Steven Greenhouse with the New York Times, his book, The Big Squeeze. And Michael Zweig, joining us from State University of New York, Stony Brook, he is the head of the Center for the Study of Working Class Life at SUNY, Stony Brook, his book, What’s Class Got to Do with It?

more

A personal report on early voting

Those machines....

It sort of reminds me of using an ATM, but much more confusing.  When I saw all I the buttons I had to push, I became rather uncomfortable.  All I could remember was those stories of switched votes, I thought for a minute I would just vote straight ticket.  I decided against that because I don't like to blanket vote for people I never heard of.  But I found out later that my husband chose the easy route when he voted later in the day, I certainly don't blame him.

I voted in a Latino neighborhood that is heavily immigrant.  There were no lines, but then I went at 10 am.  The people were friendly and helpful.  There weren't any campaign workers outside to bother me.

It is very bothersome that there is no paper trail on my vote.  I can't imagine why it would be so difficult for the designer of the machines to have added that on.  After all, ATMs give receipts, those new digital parking meters, and cash registers...  I held on to my number, 6001, but then, what good will it do, the number doesn't say who I voted for, just in case my vote gets lost.

For those who have attention deficit, are dyslexic, and are not technologically minded, these little machines could be a nightmare.   

Plot uncovered in Tennessee - had planned to kill Obama

Just a reminder that some white people do hate black people.

US election: Youths' plot to kill 102 black people and Obama uncovered

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/27/uselections2008-barackobama-neo-nazi-plot

* Elana Schor in Washington
* guardian.co.uk,
* Monday October 27 2008 21.25 GMT


Law enforcement officers have foiled a plot by two neo-Nazis who aimed to assassinate Barack Obama before killing 102 other black people, according to court records unsealed today.

The disrupted plot involved robbing a gun store to obtain weapons that the two skinheads would use against Obama and black students in the state of Tennessee, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), a US law enforcement agency.

ATF agents confiscated five guns from the two perpetrators, 20-year-old Daniel Cowart of Bells, Tennessee, and 18-year-old Paul Schlesselman of West Helena, Arkansas. Both are being held without bail by authorities.

"They said that would be their last, final act, that they would attempt to kill Senator Obama," Jim Cavanaugh, the special agent in charge of the ATF's Nashville office, told the Associated Press.

"They didn't believe they would be able to do it, but that they would get killed trying."

Although the perpetrators were doubtful of their ability to carry out their grisly plans, the plot risks stoking the simmering cauldron of racial uncertainty that Obama has faced in rural areas of the US.

Even as polls show his support among white voters reaching a record high for a Democratic candidate, workers for the Obama campaign have confronted the legacy of prejudice in the south and Appalachian areas.

Obama campaign offices in several states have been defaced with racist graffiti, and door-to-door canvassers have shared reports of voters making prejudiced remarks about the candidate.

Three men were detained two months ago during the Democratic convention in Denver after discussing a plot to kill Obama, but prosecutors did not deem that incident a credible threat.

The two neo-Nazis chose 102 as the number of victims for their plot based on numerology that is significant to white supremacists. They are facing charges of unregistered firearm possession, conspiracy to steal firearms from a licensed gun dealer, and making threats to a candidate for president.

Do Not Eat A Cheeseburger to Have Healthy Hair

This article from CNN states that cheeseburgers have ingredients that are good for your hair. I wonder if they were paid by McDonalds.  Eating cheeseburgers is one reason so many Americans now have diabetes (or will have it in their lifetime) and why so many of us are obese.  Find another way to make your hair healthy.

Calories in Big Mac Cheeseburger
from Calorie Count

Serving Size 1 sandwich (258.0 g)
Amount Per Serving
Calories  704
Calories from Fat 393

Total Fat 43.7g

based on a 2000 calorie per day diet

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/homestyle/10/24/is.gorgeous.hair/index.html

among other tips, CNN gives this one!

Grab a cheeseburger

Here's a reason to enjoy eating a burger even more: your hair! This cheeseburger is loaded with just-right nutrients: iron, zinc, B vitamins (in the meat), calcium (the cheese), the antioxidant lycopene (the tomato), biotin (the lettuce), and niacin (the bun)

On Wasted Talent

It is like the more that some of us do not want to question our motivation, midterm times and late night papers pushes one to question that motivation. We have all been there... where does all this study time go to? What am I going to do with it?

Well, it is going somewhere I tell you, and so will many other DREAMers.

Until the US Government truly acknowledges that by not passing the DREAM Act, there is a high number of WASTED TALENT, the Migration Policy Institute published a Great Report on Brain Waste. This reports gives statistics on educated immigrants living in the United States currently performing unskilled jobs; that is, wasted talent.

In the meantime, a few words of encouragement from Jeff Duncan Andrade on the definite dozen: BE RELENTLESS, never, ever give up!

More on the definite dozen, a twelve step encouragement program from Duncan Andrade:

1. Be responsible (To yourself, to your family, to your community, to our world)
2. Be respected, be respectful (Respect yourself, Demand that others respect you. Respect others.)
3. Be honest (Leaders don't make excuses, they make improvements)
4. Be loyal (Stand alongside those who have the least)
To discipline your Revolutionary State of Mind:
5. Work (Everyday, everywhere)
6. Study (To study is a revolutionary duty)
7. Character over reputation (Character is who you are when no one else is looking. Reputation is who other people say you are)
8. Believe (Doubters never win, revolutionaries never doubt)
To build a successful revolution:
9. Be self-critical (No revolution is complete without a culture of self-improvement. There is no culture of self-improvement without a culture of self-reflection)
10. Acknowledge the knowledge (Teach and be teachable)
11. Build with allies, Influence the enemy (Execute the 5 phases: identify, analyze, plan, implement, evaluate)
12. Be relentless (Never, ever give up)

U.S. attack in Syria

link to video

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/10/27/headlines#1

Democracy Now
October 27, 2008

US Troops Carry Out Deadly Attack in Syria

US forces attacked a farm in eastern Syria near the Iraqi border on Sunday, reportedly killing eight civilians. Syria’s official news agency said four US helicopters crossed into Syria carrying the US troops. The Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned what it described as as act of aggression. The attack is believed to mark the first time that US troops have launched an attack inside Syria since the start of the Iraq war. The Bush administration has accused Syria of not doing enough to stop anti-American forces from crossing the border into Iraq.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/27/syria-usa1

London Guardian

October 27, 2008

Eight killed in US raid on Syria

Damascus reacts with fury to what it says was a helicopter and special forces strike on its territory
The Syrian foreign minister today condemned the killing of eight civilians in a US raid as an act of "criminal and terrorist aggression".

Speaking at a press conference during a visit to London, Walid al-Moallem demanded a US investigation into the attack, which was launched from Iraq.

Moualem said eight unarmed civilians including three children were killed. But at the funerals of the victims today, an Associated Press photographer saw the bodies of seven men.

Moualem warned of military retaliation if there were future cross-border raids, saying: "If they do it again, we will defend our territory."

Washington has said it targeted foreign fighters in the raid.

Moualem said: "They [the US] know we stand against al-Qaida. We condemn their attacks against the Iraqi people."

"The Americans do it in the daylight … this means it is not a mistake, it's by blunt determination. For that, we consider this criminal and terrorist aggression."

for complete Guardian article click here

Too much salt= High Blood Pressure= Stroke= People die

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-salt27-2008oct27,0,5717753.story

Salt and high blood pressure: New concerns raised
Los Angeles Times

For years, Americans have heard, and largely ignored, urgings to cut salt intake to lower blood pressure. Some experts say it's time to get tough.
By Emily Sohn
October 27, 2008


Ah, salt. It gives personality to chips, balance to bread and flavor to scrambled eggs, guacamole, tomato sauce and just about everything else that comes in a can, jar or squeeze bottle. Salt is such a mealtime staple it can be hard to imagine life without a shaker on the table.

But as far back as the 1960s, physicians linked salt to high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Today, more than 65 million Americans have hypertension -- repeatedly high blood pressure -- according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and 59 million more have pre-hypertension, a level higher than normal that can also lead to health problems...more

link to photo

Take your video camera to the polls

In response to the ongoing reports of "vote switching" where our very reliable voting machines switch to McCain after many people have pressed Obama...

Take your video camera to the polls, and film yourself voting...

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http://machinist.salon.com/?last_updated=/tech/machinist/blog/2008/10/27/early_voting

Salon.com
Machinist
October 28, 2008

008.10.27 • 06:00 EDT
Early e-voting results in vote flipping in three states so far
I noted in passing last week that West Virginia has had the distinct honor of being the first state in the union to report problems (surprise! surprise!) with its electronic voting systems. There are now also reports that similar problems have been happening in Tennessee and Texas as well. No doubt these won't be the last.

So what exactly has happened? Largely, the problem has been what's been dubbed "vote flipping" or "vote switching" -- which is exactly what it sounds like. According to a report by my buddy Scott Finn over at West Virginia Public Broadcasting from late last week:

Voters in at least two West Virginia counties -- Jackson and Putnam -- say electronic voting machines are switching their votes from Democrats to Republicans.

The two county clerks, both Republicans, say they don't think there's a problem. But these voting problems have gotten the attention of everyone from CNN to liberal website The Huffington Post.

So far, eight voters from Jackson and Putnam counties have come forward to say their electronic voting machines kept changing their votes from Democrats to Republicans -- usually, from Obama to McCain....

more

link to photo

White People Don't All Look Alike

In today's NYT's Frank Rich published an interesting piece about how not all white people are racists.  He believes the McCain campaign has been promoting this idea (along with the media).  Well there are lots of folks that believe white people wouldn't vote for a Black man- my Dad told me that early on.  But now he has an Obama sign in his front yard... so I guess he worked things out and thinks his white friends have too.

While many of us say that America is still very racist (which in many ways is true) - there are actually white people out there who really try not to be that way.  Of course we all have our prejudices - none of us are Mother Teresa.  But things are in no way similar to how they were 30 years ago.  Of course there are still lots of white people who mistrust Black people (or any group of color for that matter)- if that wasn't true, the KKK wouldn't exist anymore.

But believe it or not there are some white people that at least make an effort.  Over the years I have learned that many times people say things out of ignorance.  They simply have the wrong information - we can thank the media for that.

And then there are all sorts of gradations of prejudice.  Some white people get along great with Black people, but couldn't imagine their kids marrying anyone of color.  Some white people don't think they have any prejudice in their bones but still say that "Mexicans are sneaking across the border" or use the term "illegal alien" -  (news flash--  the term is highly offensive).

These same people may be the ones who are lobbying Congress to stop the ICE raids.  

Its a confusing and complex world when it comes to race and ethnicity.  But Frank Rich has a point.  Not everybody is the same, and not everyone has the same prejudices.

--

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/opinion/26rich.html?hp

In Defense of White Americans

New York Times

Opinion

October 27, 2008

by Frank Rich

the... less noticed lesson of the year has to do with the white people the McCain campaign has been pandering to. As we saw first in the Democratic primary results and see now in the widespread revulsion at the McCain-Palin tactics, white Americans are not remotely the bigots the G.O.P. would have us believe. Just because a campaign trades in racism doesn’t mean that the country is racist. It’s past time to come to the unfairly maligned white America’s defense.

for complete NYT article

U.S. helicopters attack a Syrian village

The LA Times is saying that the U.S. did not deny the raid occurred.  What a time for this to happen,  nine days before the presidential election.

---

From the London Guardian

October 27, 2008

American military helicopters have tonight attacked an area along Syria's border with Iraq, causing casualties, according to reports on Syrian state TV and from witnesses.

The Syrian foreign ministry has tonight summoned the US charge d'affaires in Damascus to protest at the raid, which took place near the Syrian border town of Abu Kamal.

Local residents told the Associated Press by telephone that two helicopters carrying US soldiers raided a farm in Hwijeh village, 10 miles (17km) inside Syria's border.

An official Syrian spokesman confirmed eight people were killed in the attack.

Witnesses said five others were wounded; one of the witnesses said five of the dead were from a single family.

The residents refused to allow their names to be given because they feared they would be harassed by authorities.

The US military in Baghdad had no immediate comment...

more

Obama: the guy for the conservatives?

from the London Independent:

Andrew Keen: Conservative thoughts about Obama

October 27, 2008

Conservatives like the New York Times' David Brooks are thinking about Obama. And their thoughts are both very revealing and reassuringly confused. What Brooks - an authority on bourgeois bohemianism and a skilled archeologist of the human soul - isn't able to unearth is the slightest weakness, not even a chink in Obama's mental armor...

read more

More on violence during San Francisco ICE Raid

reports on violence during ICE raids has not made it to the media.  Reports of ICE raids in an effort to arrest gang members has made it to the papers, but no one else has mentioned that ICE officers destroyed a family's home.

see dreamacttexas post

"San Francisco ICE Raids - please distribute," October 24, 2008

http://www.fogcityjournal.com/wordpress/2008/10/22/quezada-community-leaders-blast-ice-raids/

Quezada, Community Leaders, Blast ICE Raids

From the campaign to elect Eric Quezada to District 9 Supervisor

October 22, 2008

A San Francisco immigrant family, reportedly all U.S. citizens, was raided and harassed at gunpoint Wednesday by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE).

By day’s end, as many as 17 Bay Area residences had been raided. Several people have been detained.

At 4:30 a.m., ICE officials broke down doors, tossed around family belongings, pointed their pistol at Julio Cesar Hernandez from just a meter away, and handcuffed the adults. Hernandez’ two children, aged 4 years and 7 months old, were traumatized by the raid.

In response, District 9 Supervisorial candidate Eric Quezada is teaming up with immigrant community leaders to mobilize legal and social resources for families victimized by the raids.

“Everybody has rights, whether they’re documented or not,” said Quezada, who has helped immigrant families with housing, legal, and employment assistance for years. “This harassment of families is shameful and must be strongly condemned by local leaders.”

Quezada called for swift implementation of a Municipal ID program to protect immigrants from violence and harassment and greater funding for legal and education services to help stabilize families.

“We need to strengthen the sanctuary ordinance,” Quezada said, “and we need to see some political courage from the mayor in these moments, to stand up for what’s right.”

“We need leaders who aren’t afraid of political fallout, to stand up for immigrant communities. We need city leaders who have consistently stood by immigrant communities, which are a lifeblood of our city’s culture and economy,” Quezada added.

“I have trembling in my heart,” Hernandez told immigrant rights attorney Mark Silverman. “I told them that I am a U.S. citizen. There were about 20 law enforcement people in the house. When I talked about my civil rights, one of them laughed.”

San Francisco Raids, Please Distribute

DREAM Act Texas received this message today and we felt the great need to translate part of it and make a stand that we are not going to tolerate this anymore!

On October 22nd of 2008, ICE raided 17 cities of San Francisco; in Bay View city, Tenderloin, and Mission.

The same day, El Movimiento por Una Ammistía Incondicional (MUA) and
ALDI, launched a meeting for a Rally for the next day, Octber 23rd, @ 430 PM.

This is the recording of Mr. Miguel Pérez de MUA

According to the preliminary reports, ICE agents acted in a brutal manner destroying at least a home and taking electronics from the family that lived in this house. Several of these homeowners are US citizens.

There are many questions that need answers as Mr. Perez mentioned. Details at the moment are not clear.

Miguel también habla de como esta clase de operativos, dan paso a
cobertura en los medios, especialmente las personas que tienen una
agenda preconcebida y que parece que se les pegó la aguja, como es
Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writer, este 'señor', parece que
se quiere especializar en cubrir noticias que de una forma ú otra
tienen que ver con imigrantes y los encabezados de sus reportes
siempre tienden a ser políticamente inflamatorios, como este ultimo
"MS-13 gang suspects arrested in Bay Area raids", en el mismo
artículo, reporta que también hubo redadas en Richmond y South San
Francisco, además de que Oficiales de la Policía de Richmond
asistieron a los agentes de ICE, la policía de South San Francisco
confirmaron que también hicieron lo mismo y de acuerdo con el vocero
del Alcalde Gavin Newson de SF, Nate Ballard, dijo que el SFPD a
trabajado con las autoridades Federales por años en el caso y que
"Están orgullosos del trabajo investigativo en el que nuestro
departamento de policía ha estado envuelto" (Mi única fuente sobre las
redadas en Richmond y SSF es este artículo - Espero confirmación)

Cabe mencionar, que este 'señor', no hace mencion alguna de los
métodos abusivos usados por Agentes de ICE, que se han descrito como
brutales.

Estaremos pendientes de los pormenores de este caso, reportandolos en
cuanto sean de nuestro conocimiento, es de nuestra incumbencia y
responsabilidad, el reportar 'el otro lado de la moneda'

For more information please visit our friend at El Rinconcito de Aurora

More on LOST Vietnam POWs

Democracy Now
link to mp3

October 23, 2008

Report: McCain Suppressed Info on Fellow Vietnam POWs Left Behind

We speak to Pulitzer-winning journalist Sydney Schanberg about how the “war hero” candidate Sen. John McCain buried information about POWs left behind in Vietnam. Writing for The Nation magazine, Schanberg reveals that McCain “worked very hard to hide from the public stunning information about American prisoners in Vietnam who, unlike him, didn’t return home.”

John McCain’s time as a POW during the Vietnam war is back at the center of attention with the release of a 1967 interview of him while he is bedridden and imprisoned in Vietnam. The interview by reporter Francois Chalais originally aired on French television in 1968. The French national audiovisual archive posted the interview on its website Wednesday and some of the footage was also picked up by the McCain campaign. The interview shows an emotional McCain describing how his aircraft was shot down while bombing Hanoi in 1967.

John McCain interview from 1967.

McCain’s years as a prisoner of war and his return home as a war hero have been a central part of his political image. But there"s another part of the story thats rarely been told. And that has to do with the POWs who were left behind in Vietnam and never released back to the United States.

An investigation by veteran journalist Sydney Schanberg reveals that McCain “worked very hard to hide from the public stunning information about American prisoners in Vietnam who, unlike him, didn”t return home." Schanberg’s report was published in the October 6th issue of the Nation magazine. Its called “Why Has John McCain Blocked Info on MIAs?”

Sydney Schanberg, Veteran journalist who has written extensively on foreign affairs. He has won several awards, including a Pulitzer Prize in 1976 for reporting on the rise of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. His latest article appeared in the October 6 issue of The Nation magazine. It’s about John McCain and the American prisoners of war left behind in Vietnam. It’s called Why Has John McCain Blocked Info on MIAs? . An expanded version is online at the Nation Institute website.

Serious Danger with new "Constitution free Zone" at US. Border

This is a serious development. Everyone needs to take note.

http://aclu.org/privacy/gen/37306prs20081022.html

Expanding Border Powers Creating ‘Constitution-Free Zone’ That Covers Two-Thirds of Americans (10/22/2008)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (202) 675-2312; media@dcaclu.org

WASHINGTON – The extraordinary powers of customs and border agents to invade the privacy of individuals at the U.S. border are spreading inland and creating what amounts to a “Constitution-free Zone” that covers fully two-thirds of the American population, the American Civil Liberties Union said today in a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.

“The authorities can do things at the border that they could never do to citizens and residents inside our country under the Constitution,” said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. “Yet the government is asserting that some of these powers extend as far as 100 miles inside the actual border. It is a classic example of law enforcement powers expanding far beyond their proper boundaries – in this case, literally.”

At the press conference, the ACLU released a map showing the 100-mile “border region” claimed by the government, and cities and states that fall within it. The map, which was created using the latest census data, shows that fully two-thirds of the U.S. population, including 9 of the nation’s top 10 largest metro areas, is within the border zone.

“Americans and Washington policymakers may believe that this is a problem confined to the dusty sands of Arizona or Texas, or the San Diego-Tijuana border, but it stretches far inland across the United States,” said Barry Steinhardt, director of the ACLU’s Technology and Liberty Program. “If allowed to stand, sooner or later a factory worker in southern New Hampshire, a farmer in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, or Joe the plumber outside Toledo, Ohio will find themselves trapped in a Constitution-free Zone.”

Also appearing at the press conference were two individuals who spoke about their personal experience with these overextended powers: San Diego music professor Craig Johnson, and Vince Peppard, a San Diego retiree who with his wife was stopped by the authorities on a road east of San Diego, at least 15 miles from the U.S. border. Peppard and his wife proved they were U.S. citizens but still found themselves subject to demands that they allow a search, interrogated, threatened and harassed.

“Now I’m actually feeling nervous when I’m going to work. . . that I might get pulled over by Border Patrol and asked, ‘where’s your passport?’” said Peppard, who appeared at the event via videotape. “And now – do I have to carry my passport with me when I go to Home Depot or something?”

“In the United States, citizens are not supposed to need an internal passport,” said Steinhardt. “This is our country and we are free to go where we please, without being stopped and interrogated by the authorities, as long as we are not behaving illegally or in a way that is clearly suspicious.”

“Police action is not the only way to fight for freedom,” said Fredrickson. “This is a classic case where Americans need to push back against their government to preserve the core freedoms that we have always enjoyed.”

An interactive version of the “Constitution-free Zone” map, a video of Vince Peppard, and other materials are available at:

www.aclu.org/constitutionfreezone

# # #

$5,000 hairdo and make up for Palin- paid by the GOP!

There are so many more serious things to write about. And I have other things to do, like read the assignment I've given my students for tomorrow...

However, I couldn't resist this one on Palin... after I saw the $5,000....


--
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/alltherage/2008/10/palins-economic.html

Sarah Palin's $150,000 Wardrobe Malfunction?

Sarah Palin, small-town hockey mom and everywoman? More like Sarah Palin, pampered princess. Jeanne Cummings at Politico reports that the RNC’s monthly financial disclosure reports reveal that the Republican National Committee has spent tens of thousands of dollars on the vice presidential candidate's wardrobe and accessories since she was nominated, including $150,000 in September alone.

So it seems you can take the girl out of the beauty pageant, but you can’t take the beauty pageant out of the girl.

Palin's clothes came from retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy’s, Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus and Barneys New York, and expenses included nearly $5,000 for hair and makeup. Maybe this is actually her one-woman economic stimulus plan. Lord knows the retail sector needs it.

Still, voters must find it unfathomable for Palin, who has been presented as a woman “like us,” to spend that kind of money on clothes in these difficult financial times, to see her speaking so passionately about Joe the Plumber while plumbing campaign coffers for Valentino jackets and pencil skirts. And yet, they’ve eaten it up, tittering on chat sites about Palin’s Kawasaki eyeglass frames and her Naughty Monkey red peep-toe pumps. (See our earlier take on Gov. Palin's style here.)

Palin’s spokewoman is saying this is much ado about nothing, that we should be talking about more important issues. But can you imagine the outcry if it were revealed that Hilary Clinton’s rainbow of pantsuits was paid for by campaign contributions? Or if college kids’ $50 checks to the Biden/Obama campaign were putting those men in $5,000 custom suits? (Obama’s suits are by Hart Schaffner Marx out of Chicago, and cost in the $1,500 range.)

In Palin’s defense, being a woman in the public eye has its own kind of pressures. And it’s unlikely she has been stepping off the campaign trail to join the ladies who lunch for shopping sprees at Neimans. Instead, she is probably working with a wardrobe stylist, who brings her things to try on and choose from. But the issue of clothing and hair expenses has always been a land mine for politicians (John Edwards' $400 haircuts), and someone should have been sensitive to that.

You also have to wonder how it feels, as a woman, to have everyone know that you really have been dressed up and trotted out like a beauty queen for the American public to wag their tongues at. Caribou Barbie indeed.

-- Booth Moore, Los Angeles Times Fashion Critic

Non-European College Educated Immigrants Have a Harder Time

The Washington Post is saying that college educated immigrants (from non-European countries) are having trouble finding work... and the paper is not mentioning all the DREAMers who have degrees that cannot work in their fields.  If you add the DREAMers to the equation, the numbers are really high.

--
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/22/AR2008102201209.html?hpid=topnews

College-Educated Immigrants Struggle to Find Work



By N.C. Aizenman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 22, 2008; 10:36 AM

One out of every five college-educated immigrants in the United States is either unemployed or working in an unskilled job such as a dishwasher, fast food restaurant cashier or security guard, depriving the U.S. economy of the full potential of more than 1.3 million foreign-born workers, according to a study released today.

The plight of such immigrants is familiar to anyone who has gotten a ride from a Washington taxi driver with an engineering degree from Ethiopia or had their car parked by a garage attendant who used to practice law in El Salvador. However, the report by the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute is the first to quantify the extent of the problem.

"This shows that immigrant brain waste is a reality -- that the challenge of integration is not restricted to unskilled workers, who have been the focus until now, and that a very high share of highly skilled immigrants are not progressing rapidly in the economy," said researcher Michael Fix, who co-authored the study with Jeanne Batalova.

Of particular concern, added Fix, was the finding that highly educated Latin American and African immigrants fare far worse than Europeans or Asians. Nearly half of recently arrived college-educated Latin Americans hold unskilled jobs. So do more than one-third of those who have been in the country for more than 10 years and have presumably had more time to learn English, make professional contacts and pass U.S. professional certification exams. And the lag persists even when only immigrants who are in the country legally are considered.
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By contrast, well-educated European immigrants' employment patterns are virtually indistinguishable from their U.S.-born counterparts regardless of how long they have lived in the United States. Asian immigrants educated abroad do only slightly worse.

Though African immigrants are more likely to hold highly skilled jobs than Latin Americans, they have the highest unemployment rates of all foreign-born groups. During the 2005-2006 period, 6 percent of recently arrived, college-educated Africans and 4.1 percent of Africans with a U.S. degree were unemployed, compared with 2.6 percent of U.S.-born college graduates.

Fix said it's possible that discrimination against Latinos and Africans is a factor but that much of the gap can be explained by the differing language skills and immigration circumstances common to immigrants from each region.

For instance, highly skilled immigrants who can speak only limited English are twice as likely to work in an unskilled job as those who are proficient in English. And 44 percent of Latin Americans educated at foreign colleges speak English poorly or not at all compared with 32 percent of Europeans and 23 percent of Asians.

College-educated Africans have the best language skills of any group: Only 15 percent speak English poorly or not at all. But it appears that this benefit is swamped by a different disadvantage: Only 10 percent of the Africans are sponsored for entry by employers. Instead 42 percent are sponsored by family members and nearly a third come in through a government lottery program. And immigrants entering on such visas often lack the professional networks needed to find a job in their field.

This is also a challenge for college-educated Latin Americans, who are the least likely to be sponsored by employers -- with only 6 percent receiving such visas compared with 16 percent of Europeans and 35 percent of Asians.

"Studies show that up to 80 percent of Americans found their current job through networks formed during their university years or previous jobs," said Jane Leu, executive director of Upwardly Global, a nonprofit organization with offices in New York, San Francisco and Chicago that helps highly educated immigrants find work. "These immigrants just don't have that network -- they can't get introduced to companies."

Cultural barriers also play a role, said Leu, whose group links applicants with mentors in their field and offers interview training and help with resume preparation. Foreign-born job seekers often have difficulty engaging in the "self-promotion" and personal revelation required in many American job interviews, said Leu.

"A typical interview question is, 'Tell me about a time you made a mistake and how you learned from it,' " she said. "That's not a question asked in other countries. You don't talk about mistakes."

Well-educated refugees often face the highest hurdles because they lack even the cushion of family support and have little time to prepare for their move to the United States or look for work once they're arrived.

Vu Dang, director of the International Rescue Committee's Washington area refugee resettlement office, said this obstacle has proved particularly vexing to Iraqi refugees arriving in the region over the last several months. The refugees -- who include physicians, dentists, architects and accountants and who have often risked their lives to work with the U.S. military -- receive a three-month stipend from the U.S. government, at best. Many are given enough to cover expenses for one month.

"They come from successful backgrounds overseas and they have very high expectations about finding a similar job in the United States," said Dang. "So I and my staff members are the ones who have to acclimatize them to the reality that whatever they were in their home country is irrelevant -- they need to find a job right away just to pay their rent and those kind of jobs are going to be jobs in hotels and restaurants that pay a little bit over minimum wage."

While some of the difficulties faced by highly educated immigrants are inevitable, Fix and others suggest that the federal and state governments could do more to ease the way by providing more assistance with English classes, offering loans to offset the cost of studying for professional certification exams, and working to harmonize assessment systems so that foreigners' academic and professional credentials can be more easily recognized when appropriate.

"Unlike many issues in public policy this is a fairly easy problem to remedy," he said. And the benefits to the United States could be enormous. "We're essentially trying to take advantage of the human capacity financed by other countries."

Police getting ready for Election Day

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92.5 WESC

Greenville, SC

http://www.wescfm.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=104668&article=4451742

Police Preparing For Election Day Unrest

"Are we anticipating it will be a riot situation? No. But will we be prepared if it goes awry? Yes," said Oakland Police Department spokesman Jeff Thomason.
Wednesday October 22, 2008

Campaign 2008: Get the latest news, video, and polls!

(UPI)  Police departments across the United States are beefing up plans to prepare for possible Election Day unrest after the historic presidential contest.

A stronger police presence will be necessary after voting ends with either the first black president -- Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama -- or the first female vice president -- Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin -- being elected, some police officials told The Hill.

Oakland, Calif., police plan to deploy extra traffic officers and riot-control units, as well as have SWAT teams on standby, the Washington political publication said Wednesday.

"Are we anticipating it will be a riot situation? No. But will we be prepared if it goes awry? Yes," said Oakland Police Department spokesman Jeff Thomason.

Democratic strategists and advocates for black voters say they understand the need for maintaining the peace, but warned that an excessive police presence could intimidate voters.

Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP's Washington bureau, said a predicted record voter turnout could tax polling places and raise tensions.

"What are local election officials doing to prepare for what people think will be record turnout at the polls?" Shelton asked, adding that police must maintain order at polling stations without frightening voters.

thanks to D.B-S. for sending this along

Voter Suppression?

--

Democracy Now
October 22, 2008

link to mp3

Early Voting Sees Reports of Voter Intimidation, Machine Malfunctions

Early voting has begun, and problems are already emerging at the polls. In West Virginia, voters using touchscreen machines have claimed their votes were switched from Democrat to Republican. In North Carolina, a group of McCain supporters heckled a group of mostly black supporters of Barack Obama. In Ohio, Republicans are being accused of trying to scare newly registered voters by filing lawsuits that question their eligibility. We speak to NYU professor Mark Crispin Miller, author of Loser Take All: Election Fraud and the Subversion of Democracy. [includes rush transcript–partial]


Guest:

Mark Crispin Miller, professor of media culture and communication at New York University. He is the author of several books, most recently Loser Take All: Election Fraud and the Subversion of Democracy, 2000-2008. His previous book is called Fooled Again: How the Right Stole the 2004 Election and Why They’ll Steal the Next One Too.
Rush Transcript
This transcript is available free of charge. However, donations help us provide closed captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing on our TV broadcast. Thank you for your generous contribution.
Donate - $25, $50, $100, More...

AMY GOODMAN: Just days after reports that six early voters in at least two West Virginia counties claimed their votes were switched from Democrat to Republican, a couple in Nashville, Tennessee reported similar problems with paperless voting machines. In West Virginia, one voter said, "I hit Obama, and it switched to McCain. I am really concerned about that. If McCain wins, there was something wrong with the machines.”

In Tennessee, a filmmaker couple also had difficulties casting their vote for the Democratic candidate, the Brad Blog reports. They had to hit the Obama button several times before it actually registered, and in one case it momentarily flipped from Obama to Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney. Patricia Earnhardt said, “The McKinney button was located five rows below the Obama button.” The couple in Nashville were using machines made by the same company as those in the counties in West Virginia—by Election Systems and Software.

Meanwhile, there are reports of long lines at early voting sites in several other states, including some counties in Texas, Florida, Nevada and New Mexico.

Mark Crispin Miller is a media critic who’s been focused on voter problems and election fraud in this country. He’s a professor at New York University, author of several books. Most recently he edited Loser Take All: Election Fraud and the Subversion of Democracy, 2000-2008. His previous book, Fooled Again: How the Right Stole the 2004 Election and Why They’ll Steal the Next One Too.

Mark Crispin Miller now joins us in the firehouse studio. Welcome to Democracy Now!

MARK CRISPIN MILLER: Great to be here.

AMY GOODMAN: What are your concerns right now, Mark?

MARK CRISPIN MILLER: Well, you’ve referred to a couple of them already. We now see a burst of vote flipping by machines, electronic voting machines in a couple of states. This is something that we saw in at least eleven states in the 2004 election, hundreds and hundreds of people coming forward to say, “I pushed the button for Kerry, and the button for Bush lit up.” So, clearly, this was a systematic programming decision by the people in charge of the machines, which in that case and this one is the Republican Party. We’re also seeing systematic shortages of working voting machines in Democratic precincts only. This is also something that did not happen only in Ohio in 2004, but happened nationwide. That election was, in fact, stolen.

AMY GOODMAN: How do you know that?

MARK CRISPIN MILLER: Well, I know because there’s been an audit of the vote in eighteen counties of Ohio by a researcher named Richard Hayes Phillips, who had his team literally scrutinize every single ballot that was warehoused in eighteen Ohio counties. They took over 30,000 digital photographs. This is not speculation, Amy. This is a meticulous, careful, specific and conclusive demonstration that John Kerry actually won some 200,000 votes in those eighteen counties only that were taken away from him. Bush’s official victory margin, you may recall, was about 118,000. So there is no question about it. Ohio was stolen.

AMY GOODMAN: When they—OK, so they have the pictures of all these—

MARK CRISPIN MILLER: Pictures, there’s a CD with this book that you can—

AMY GOODMAN: But they have the pictures of the ballots.

MARK CRISPIN MILLER: Of the variously altered, mutilated ballots, yes. Ballots with stickers placed over the square that people had blacked in for Kerry/Edwards; somebody else blacks in Bush/Cheney. Thousands and thousands of ballots that were pre-marked before they were distributed, so that people would mark different boxes on them, and then they would be invalidated.

Even more chilling is the fact that after Phillips did his research, the boards of elections in fifty-five Ohio counties destroyed all or some of their ballots in defiance of a court order. So we have criminal behavior here of a kind of grand and systematic kind. But the point is—not to engage in what Sarah Palin calls finger-pointing backwards, the point here is to note that we’re dealing with a consistent pattern of subversive behavior by the Republican Party since 2000 and extending all the way up to the present. What we’re seeing now is an especially brazen and diverse range of dirty tricks and tactics that are being used both to suppress the vote and also to enable election fraud.

AMY GOODMAN: Ohio has been very much in the news this past week, not around the issue of voter suppression, but around the issue of fraudulent registration forms, the concern about them being handed in by the organization ACORN.

MARK CRISPIN MILLER: Yeah, the whole ACORN thing is a first-class propaganda drive. ACORN has done nothing wrong. ACORN has, however, been guilty of trying to register low-income citizens to vote. Because they’ve been in the sights of the Republican Party for several years now, they’ve always been extremely scrupulous about checking the registration forms that they garner from their volunteers.

You know, they pay people, basically, to register other voters. So, naturally, from time to time, some volunteer who wants the money will fill out a registration form, you know, with Mickey Mouse or the names of the Dallas Cowboys, something like that. Precisely because that is an ever-present possibility, the people at ACORN have always scrupulously checked the forms before submitting them.

And ten days ago, what they did was, in Las Vegas, their office in Las Vegas, they found a number of these suspicious forms, handed them over directly to the Secretary of State in Nevada, and his response was to turn around and say, “Aha! Here is evidence that you’re conspiring to commit voter fraud.” Now, that effort, that drive went from Nevada to Missouri to Ohio, and now we hear that the FBI is investigating ACORN.

The important point here, Amy, is that voter fraud is practically nonexistent. Several studies have taken a close look at this and found that there really is no voter fraud of this kind.

AMY GOODMAN: Robert Greenwald of Brave New Films has put out a new short film about ACORN and the attacks against them. Let me play an excerpt.

SEN. JOHN McCAIN: We need to know the full extent of Senator Obama’s relationship with ACORN, who is now on the verge of maybe perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history in this country, maybe destroying the fabric of democracy.

GOV. SARAH PALIN: John and I are calling on the Obama campaign to release communications it has had with this group and to do so immediately.

CARMEN ARIAS: These attacks on ACORN are part of a pattern of voter suppression that the GOP has been carrying on for a long time.

PAUL WEYRICH: They want everybody to vote. I don’t want everybody to vote. Elections are not won by a majority of people. They never have been, from the beginning of our country, and they are not now. As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections, quite candidly, goes up as the voting populace goes down.

ANDREW SULLIVAN: The McCain campaign has now two camps. And one of them is already assuming that he’s lost, and he’s aiming for the post-election warfare in the Republican Party, and part of that is the ACORN strategy, which is trying to delegitimize the result in advance, if Obama were to win, by saying it was rigged by minority voters. That’s what this is about.

SEN. JOHN McCAIN: Someone here keeps yelling “ACORN, ACORN.” Now, let me just say to you, there are serious allegations of voter fraud in the battleground states across America. They must be investigated.

NATHAN HENDERSON-JAMES: Let’s look at North Carolina. We turned in 28,000 applications in North Carolina, and there are investigations into four of them right now. Over 95 percent of the cards we turned in were error-free. So we’re talking about an extremely small percentage of the overall 1.3 million cards collected. To suggest that this is some kind of widespread criminal conspiracy is just absurd.

MONTAGE OF NEWSCASTERS: ACORN. ACORN. ACORN—is a left-wing—radical—extremist community group.

CARMEN ARIAS: This is hardly the first time that these Rove-style tactics have been used to suppress low-income minorities.

NATHAN HENDERSON-JAMES: They did it in 2000.

GREG PALAST: Voters were being removed from the registries by the Secretary of State, Katherine Harris.

NATHAN HENDERSON-JAMES: They did it in 2004.

UNIDENTIFIED: Evidence has emerged that in the last presidential election the Republican Party organized efforts to suppress the votes of active-duty military, low-income and minority voters by challenging their registrations. The Republicans put in motion a plan to hold down the Democratic vote in key battleground states. Many are convinced that Republican officials broke the law.

NATHAN HENDERSON-JAMES: And they’re doing it again right now.

CARMEN ARIAS: Suppressing the low-income minority voters can swing an entire election. A handful of improperly filled-out voter registration cards cannot.


AMY GOODMAN: That, an excerpt of a piece by Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films. Professor Mark Crispin Miller?

MARK CRISPIN MILLER: Yeah, well, I think he hit the nail right on the head. The important point to get here is that the party that is itself engaging in disenfranchisement on a massive scale, the deliberate, systematic disenfranchisement of arguably millions of Americans, is clouding the issue by accusing—essentially accusing its victims of doing the same thing. OK?

Voter fraud—I want to repeat this—is virtually nonexistent. There have been several academic studies of this notion of whether individuals actually stuffed ballot boxes or show up at polling places pretending to be somebody else. There’s actually not a single known case of any such type of voter fraud being prosecuted by the Department of Justice. And yet, that notion of voter fraud is used as the pretext for taking steps that do demonstrably result in tens of thousands of people being unable to vote, you see? It’s a really masterful strategy. And I only wish that the Democratic Party had all this time been aggressive in pointing out that the Republicans are the party engaged in disenfranchisement.

AMY GOODMAN: Mark Crispin Miller, we have to break. When we come back, I want to ask you about a man named Stephen Spoonamore—

MARK CRISPIN MILLER: Right.

AMY GOODMAN: —a prominent expert, supposedly, on computer fraud, and what he has to say. Stay with us.

Are You a REAL American?

Sarah Palin really has a lot of us wondering about who we really are. Come to think of it, what is a REAL American? According to the Constitution (which we don't pay much attention to anymore) it is anyone born in United States boundaries... That makes them a U.S. citizen. The things is, in the days of globalization, boundaries can come to mean many different things.

For one, if you are a citizen, but you don't look like Barbie with blonde hair, does that still make you an American? If you are blonde but wear a veil - are you still an American?

How about that murky area of those who arrived here right after they were born, but don't have the official title of "U.S. Citizen?" If you got here before you could walk, only speak English, watch football on TV every week and (unfortunately) buy food at McDonalds - maybe even attend a U.S. public college, does that make you an American?

I think about the Terminator Governor in California.... he wasn't born here, he has a heavy accent. But he's a guy! and he is a movie star! I guess that made it much easier for him to become a REAL American. He probably didn't have to depend on his grandmother to sponsor his green card.

If he was dark skinned and wore a turban, I don't think he would have passed the line to be considered an American as easily.



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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/21/AR2008102102449.html?nav=hcmodule

Palin Apologizes for 'Real America' Comments
Two Congressmen Face Backlash After Their Own Remarks Questioning Others' Patriotism

By Lyndsey Layton
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 22, 2008; A04

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin apologized yesterday for implying that some parts of the country are more American than others, even as similar comments by two Republican congressmen were causing a backlash that threatened their chances for reelection.

In an interview on CNN, Palin said comments she made last week in North Carolina praising small towns as "the real America" and the "pro-America areas of this great nation" were not intended to suggest that other parts of the country are less patriotic or less American.

"If that's the way it has come across, I apologize," she told CNN's Drew Griffin.

In Minnesota, little-known Democrat Elwyn Tinklenberg announced yesterday that he has raised $1 million over the past four days for his House campaign, after Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann questioned Sen. Barack Obama's patriotism and recommended that the news media investigate whether other members of Congress are "pro-America" or "anti-America."

The money began flooding in from across the country after Bachmann made the comments in a seven-minute appearance on MSNBC's "Hardball" on Friday. "I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out: Are they pro-America or anti-America?" she told host Chris Matthews.

The backlash from Bachmann's remarks gave Tinklenberg enough donations to quadruple his television advertising, prompted the nonpartisan Cook Political Report to flip its take on the race from "likely Republican" to "tossup" and inspired a Republican who lost to Bachmann in the party's primary to launch a write-in campaign.

Republican Rep. Robin Hayes, who is locked in a closely contested House race in North Carolina, has also been criticized after telling a crowd Saturday that "liberals hate real Americans that work and accomplish and achieve and believe in God." Hayes initially denied making the remarks, but he was forced to acknowledge them after an audiotape of the speech surfaced.

"I genuinely did not recall making the statement and, after reading it, there is no doubt that it came out completely the wrong way," Hayes said in a statement released by his campaign. "I actually was trying to work to keep the crowd as respectful as possible, so this is definitely not what I intended."

Hayes had spoken at a campaign rally in Concord, N.C., where Sen. John McCain appeared. The 10-year congressman told the crowd he wanted to "make sure we don't say something stupid, make sure we don't say something we don't mean."

He then went on to praise Palin. "Folks, there's a great American," Hayes said. "Liberals hate real Americans that work and accomplish and achieve and believe in God."

A spokesman for Hayes's challenger, Democrat Larry Kissell, said the Republican's remarks revealed how he truly feels. "Mr. Hayes often talks about being able to reach across the aisle and not be limited by party loyalty," said Thomas Thacker, Kissell's spokesman. "This indicates his hypocrisy knows no bounds."

Kissell is making his second run at Hayes after coming within 329 votes of unseating the veteran lawmaker in 2006. This time, Kissell is better funded, as the national Democratic Party is putting more than $1 million into his race.

The party is also spending heavily to help Tinklenberg unseat Bachmann, who was expected to cruise to victory before her comments.

"This is quite phenomenal," said John Wodele, a spokesman for Tinklenberg. "We were doing fine, we had a good campaign going. But this has got us in a position we never thought we'd be in."

More than 17,000 individual donors sent money to Tinklenberg in the days after Bachmann's television appearance.

"Almost instantly, the first contributions came in, before I could get on the phone and talk to the campaign manager and the candidate to think about what our reaction was going to be," Wodele said. "Then I just realized we didn't need to discuss it because it was going on its own. It was happening, and it was coming in from around the country."

Michelle Marston, Bachmann's spokeswoman, said the campaign has benefited from the controversy surrounding the congresswoman's "Hardball" appearance and it too has received additional contributions, though she would not say how much.

In fact, Mike Gula and Associates, a Capitol Hill fundraising and consulting firm, has sent an e-mail seeking donations to her campaign with the subject line "Bachmann HELP -- Under Fire."

link to photo

2nd Edition: Why can't a Muslim kid become president when he grows up?

The New York Times: Maureen Dowd's column has a phrase half way down the paper edition that says "Why can't a Muslim kid become president?" What an honor it is to be imitated.

See dreamacttexas post:

"Why can't a Muslim kid become president when he grows up?" October 19, 2008

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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/22/opinion/22dowd.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin

October 22, 2008

New York Times
Op-Ed Columnist
Moved by a Crescent
By MAUREEN DOWD

Colin Powell had been bugged by many things in his party’s campaign this fall: the insidious merging of rumors that Barack Obama was Muslim with intimations that he was a terrorist sympathizer; the assertion that Sarah Palin was ready to be president; the uniformed sheriff who introduced Governor Palin by sneering about Barack Hussein Obama; the scorn with which Republicans spit out the words “community organizer”; the Republicans’ argument that using taxes to “spread the wealth” was socialist when the purpose of taxes is to spread the wealth; Palin’s insidious notion that small towns in states that went for W. were “the real America.”

But what sent him over the edge and made him realize he had to speak out was when he opened his New Yorker three weeks ago and saw a picture of a mother pressing her head against the gravestone of her son, a 20-year-old soldier who had been killed in Iraq. On the headstone were engraved his name, Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, his awards — the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star — and a crescent and a star to denote his Islamic faith.

“I stared at it for an hour,” he told me. “Who could debate that this kid lying in Arlington with Christian and Jewish and nondenominational buddies was not a fine American?”

Khan was an all-American kid. A 2005 graduate of Southern Regional High School in Manahawkin, N.J., he loved the Dallas Cowboys and playing video games with his 12-year-old stepsister, Aliya.

His obituary in The Star-Ledger of Newark said that he had sent his family back pictures of himself playing soccer with Iraqi children and hugging a smiling young Iraqi boy.

His father said Kareem had been eager to enlist since he was 14 and was outraged by the 9/11 attacks. “His Muslim faith did not make him not want to go,” Feroze Khan, told The Gannett News Service after his son died. “He looked at it that he’s American and he has a job to do.”

In a gratifying “have you no sense of decency, Sir and Madam?” moment, Colin Powell went on “Meet the Press” on Sunday and talked about Khan, and the unseemly ways John McCain and Palin have been polarizing the country to try to get elected. It was a tonic to hear someone push back so clearly on ugly innuendo.

Even the Obama campaign has shied away from Muslims. The candidate has gone to synagogues but no mosques, and the campaign was embarrassed when it turned out that two young women in headscarves had not been allowed to stand behind Obama during a speech in Detroit because aides did not want them in the TV shot.

The former secretary of state has dealt with prejudice in his life, in and out of the Army, and he is keenly aware of how many millions of Muslims around the world are being offended by the slimy tenor of the race against Obama.

He told Tom Brokaw that he was troubled by what other Republicans, not McCain, had said: “ ‘Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim.’ Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim. He’s a Christian. He’s always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer’s no. That’s not America. Is something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president?”

Powell got a note from Feroze Khan this week thanking him for telling the world that Muslim-Americans are as good as any others. But he also received more e-mails insisting that Obama is a Muslim and one calling him “unconstitutional and unbiblical” for daring to support a socialist. He got a mass e-mail from a man wanting to spread the word that Obama was reading a book about the end of America written by a fellow Muslim.

“Holy cow!” Powell thought. Upon checking Amazon.com, he saw that it was a reference to Fareed Zakaria, a Muslim who writes a Newsweek column and hosts a CNN foreign affairs show. His latest book is “The Post-American World.”

Powell is dismissive of those, like Rush Limbaugh, who say he made his endorsement based on race. And he’s offended by those who suggest that his appearance Sunday was an expiation for Iraq, speaking up strongly now about what he thinks the world needs because he failed to do so then.

Even though he watched W. in 2000 make the argument that his lack of foreign policy experience would be offset by the fact that he was surrounded by pros — Powell himself was one of the regents brought in to guide the bumptious Texas dauphin — Powell makes that same argument now for Obama.

“Experience is helpful,” he says, “but it is judgment that matters.”

Noriega's Senate Race

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/6069380.html

AUSTIN — Those who know Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Rick Noriega say he is the kind of guy who rarely quits thinking seriously about politics, good government and his commitment to duty — even when deer hunting.

"He's always on the move, always talking politics," said state Rep. John Davis, R-Houston, one of Noriega's closest friends, his deskmate in the Texas House and deer-hunting partner. "Whenever he comes over to the house to visit, I like to shut it down, but Rick's more intense than I am."

That same intensity is what drove Noriega to enter the uphill battle to unseat Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, his friends and colleagues said. Noriega himself once described the Senate race as "serious business"....

Tuition debate

The most notable piece of Noriega legislation was a 2001 measure he passed along with Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, to give in-state tuition rates to the children of undocumented immigrants.

Because federal law requires Texas to give a secondary education to all children living in the state regardless of status, Noriega argued it makes financial sense for the Texas economy to make certain these children also have the opportunity to attend college. Conservatives have been trying to overturn this law since 2007.

State Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, said members of the military temporarily stationed in Texas have to pay out-of-state tuition to go to college here, as do foreign students in the country on a visa. He said it is unfair to give an advantage to youths who are in the country illegally.

"I'm very conservative, and Rick is very liberal," Berman said.

Noriega's family has lived in the United States for generations. He grew up in Houston in a home where English was his first language. Noriega learned Spanish later in life through relatives and school.Noriega joined the Army Reserves after the Iran hostage crisis of 1979. He attended the University of Houston on an ROTC scholarship and transferred to the National Guard after graduating. Noriega has two sons: Ricky, 11, is from his marriage to Melissa, and Alex, 24, is from a previous marriage.
Early in his political career, Noriega was an aide to state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, before becoming a lobbyist with Houston Industries Inc., which later divided to become Reliant Energy and CenterPoint. He moved from lobbying to economic development after winning his House seat in 1998...

Renewed sense of purpose

House colleagues describe Noriega as honest and honorable and say he pursues causes because they are heartfelt.  "He wants to be somewhere where he can make a difference in people's lives," said Coleman.  Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, said Noriega returned from his service in Afghanistan far more driven and with a greater sense that he wanted to be a legislative leader "as opposed to a grunt or a foot soldier."  Noriega said two things affected him. He said his service in Afghanistan and the death of state Rep. Joe Moreno, D-Houston, in an auto crash made him realize how "fragile" everyone is. "I realized I had in the neighborhood of 10,000 days left," Noriega said. "With the time you've got left, you've got to make something of it."

House Republican Caucus Chairman Frank Corte Jr. of San Antonio said Noriega has done a good job of representing his district, but he said the values of Texans statewide are more conservative and favor lower taxes and fewer government programs.

"To represent the whole state (as senator), you don't have to be a Republican or a Democrat, but you should at least represent the values of the whole state," Corte said.
But Melissa Noriega said she and her husband try to do that in their public service. She said they believe in public schools and higher education, health care access and a strong military. She said they support responsible business. And they want to help "when folks need a hand up, not a handout," stressing there is a difference.
"We see public service as a ministry, like a calling for a minister, and we believe we are doing what God put us on Earth to do, being public servants," Melissa Noriega said.
r.g.ratcliffe@chron.com

Undocumented workers and SS numbers: They are not crooks

Whenever the Congress decided to work on Comprehensive Immigration Reform, you often heard laws coming up about undocumented people not being able to regularize if they used false social security numbers. This is something that was considered when the DREAM ACT came up in the Senate in October 2006.

The truth is that just about anyone that is not documented has to use a false Social Security number if they want to work. The underground economy might be there, but usually those jobs are not steady enough to support anyone. Workers need to be employed by companies, and that means needing someone's S.S. number.

Before you begin panicking that everyone's number has been stolen or you will lose your benefits, consider that most of the numbers are either made up or taken from deceased persons. Immigrant workers don't want to steal your social security benefits. They just want to work. In fact, you have little reason to worry. Even if they put money into the S.S. system, it is highly unlikely they will ever get any benefits that U.S. residents and citizens get from Social Security. In other words, their money goes down the drain - at least for them. The money, however, is a great kitty for the rest of us to make use of when S.S. begins to run dry...


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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/20/AR2008102001075.html?hpid=topnews

Supreme Court to Hear Case on Illegal Immigrants' Use of Fake IDs

By Jerry Markon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 20, 2008; 1:53 PM

The Supreme Court today accepted a case with significant implications for the government's crackdown on illegal immigration, agreeing to review whether prosecutors have to prove that defendants in aggravated identity theft cases knew they were victimizing a real person.

The justices will hear the appeal of Ignacio Flores-Figueroa, a Mexican illegal immigrant who used false identification to get a job at a steel plant in Illinois. He was convicted of aggravated identity theft and other counts and sentenced to more than six years in prison.

Flores-Figueroa argued that the government failed to prove that he knew the fraudulent documents belonged to a real person as opposed to being fabricated. Lower courts ruled that the government did not have to prove that, accepting the Justice Department's position in this and other aggravated identify theft cases. Three appellate courts have rendered decisions backing the government.

But three other appellate courts have ruled otherwise, and the Supreme Court is expected to resolve the dispute.

The importance of the case to prosecutors was shown during a raid on a kosher meatpacking plant in rural Iowa in May. As hundreds of immigration agents descended on the plant, prosecutors summoned defense lawyers to the federal courthouse in Cedar Rapids.

Their message was blunt: The illegal immigrants arrested must plead guilty to lesser counts or face indictment on charges of aggravated identity theft and possible mandatory two-year prison terms.

"It was a hammer over everyone's head," said Dan Vondra, a lawyer who represented several of the 302 detainees who quickly took the deal. "For these people, two years in federal prison was unbearable."

The raid highlighted the Bush administration's increasing use of the tough new charge in its crackdown on illegal immigrants at work sites, part of the escalating campaign against undocumented immigrants nationwide. But the tactic is under attack from critics, and the split among appellate courts over the government's burden of proof in aggravated identity theft cases has now prompted the Supreme Court review.

An adverse Supreme Court ruling probably would not affect the government's ability to charge aggravation in non-immigration identity theft cases. A criminal who, for example, steals someone's Social Security number and empties his or her bank account clearly knows he is victimizing a real person.

But experts said a loss for the Justice Department in the Flores-Figueroa case would devastate its ability to bring aggravated identity theft cases against illegal immigrants because most of them do not know whether their fake IDs belong to someone else.

"It would effectively gut a provision clearly designed to crack down on immigration-related identity theft," said Dan Stein, president of Federation for American Immigration Reform, which favors tough immigration enforcement.

Critics of the administration's approach say that the charge is not needed and that deporting illegal immigrants should be enough. "They're just piling on," said Jeanne Butterfield, executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

But federal officials say the charge is a key part of their arsenal because its penalties are substantially tougher than those of other immigration counts. Officials point out that terrorists use false identities, a sensitive issue since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "Post 9/11, we also recognize that identity theft poses a security risk to all of us," Deborah J. Rhodes, senior associate deputy attorney general, said in July at a congressional hearing on the Iowa raid on an Agriprocessors plant in Postville. The raid was the largest criminal work-site enforcement operation in U.S. history.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which led the raid, declined to comment on the pending Supreme Court case. Pat A. Reilly, an ICE spokeswoman, said the agency "is going to seek the highest-level charges it can get on anyone it encounters in a work-site operation or any other kind of illegal activity."

Congress created the aggravated identity theft charge as part of a 2004 law targeting identity theft broadly. The felony charge is defined as knowingly transferring, possessing or using "without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person."

The conviction of Flores-Figueroa in federal court in Iowa was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit.

"Someone who intends to steal another's identity is worthy of greater punishment than one who unintentionally picks an identification number out of thin air that happens to match one already issued to someone else," attorneys for Flores-Figueroa argued in a brief to the Supreme Court.

The Justice Department's solicitor general's office contends that the conviction should be upheld but asked the court to take up the matter because "there is now a clear and entrenched conflict among the courts of appeals."

Prosecutors also defend their actions in the Postville raid, in which 389 illegal immigrants were detained. About two-thirds of them were initially charged by criminal complaint with aggravated identity theft, but those charges were dropped. Most of the 302 defendants who pleaded guilty to lesser felony immigration charges were sentenced to five months in prison.

"We had evidence that supported the more severe charge," said Bob Teig, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Cedar Rapids. "I suppose it depends on what side you're on whether that's a carrot or a stick."

Not ‘A Mexican Thing’: Undocumented Asian students face stigma and lack of financial aid, job experience

Not ‘A Mexican Thing’: Undocumented Asian students face stigma and lack of financial aid, job experience

Asian Week
The Voice of Asian America
Beleza Chan, Oct 13, 2008

Picture an undocumented student, and the first image to pop up is unlikely to be an Asian one.

Yet a recent report by the University of California Office of the President revealed that 40 to 44 percent of undocumented students in the UC system are Asian. This is definitely not “a Mexican thing,” which is how one undocumented student characterized the Asian community’s dismissive views towards undocumented immigration.

“People will ask you: ‘Are you AB 540? Because obviously you are not Latina,’” explains Tam, a 24-year-old of Vietnamese descent who recently graduated from UCLA (the last names of the undocumented students in this article have been withheld to protect their identities).

The 2001 state law AB 540 lowers the cost of tuition at California public universities for students who attended a high school in the state for at least three years. According to the UC Office of the President, over 1,639 students have benefited from AB 540; out of those, 1,200 were legal residents or citizens.

Out-of-state students attending California colleges filed a suit in 2005 challenging the law, objecting to the state’s practice of allowing illegal immigrants to pay significantly lower tuition than they pay. The suit was dismissed by the Yolo County Superior Court in 2006.

But on September 15, the Court of Appeal in Sacramento issued a ruling that challenges AB 540 on the grounds that it contradicts federal law, which holds that states cannot grant educational benefits based on residency.

But life continues for those who have made it to college. Faced with financial burdens and legal concerns in addition to the normal college student worries about classes and career, today’s unexpected and overlooked Asian undocumented students are screaming for help.

Tam came to the U.S. when she was six years old, and like many Americans, she wanted to go to college. Although undocumented students come from low-income families, they are not eligible for any kind of state or federal financial aid. Tam needed her parents’ help to pay for school, but she refused to ask.

“My major was English and I did not want to deal with ‘We’re paying for your education, so you will have to study what we want,’” explained Tam, who paid for school with money from work and private scholarships.

Rest of article

Free Copy of Michael Moore's "SLACKER"

Michael Moore is giving away downloads of his movie "Slacker." He is doing this, hoping that it will help bring out the vote on Nov. 4.  

link to complete film

Movie Trailer to SLACKER:

thanks again to A. for sending this along.

Why can't a Muslim kid become president when he grows up?

Although it was very disappointing to see General Powell go along with the Bush Administration on that fateful day when Powell told untruths to the United Nations about the supposed (and fairy taled) Weapons of Mass Destruction - Powell has made a great attempt to redeem himself by not only endorsing Obama, a Democrat (since Powell is a Republican) he also deeply criticized Republicans (and Americans in general) regarding the party's ongoing demonization of Muslims (see video below).

Scapegoats during economic crisis?

It has already started in the UK.  Phil Woolas, Immigration Minister in the UK has said that immigration is a "thorny" issue in times of financial crisis and that he will do what he can to make it more difficult for people to immigrate to the UK.  

As the pie gets smaller, who will be left out?  Certainly not the executives from AIG (see Financial Times post below Independent article).

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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/welfare-groups-condemn-ministers-pledge-on-migrants-966240.html

Welfare groups condemn minister's pledge on migrants

Phil Woolas's promise to make it harder for foreign workers to settle in Britain sparks fury

Brian Brady, Whitehall Editor
Sunday, 19 October 2008
Phil Woolas said that immigration becomes 'an extremely thorny issue' at times of economic woe



Phil Woolas said that immigration becomes 'an extremely thorny issue' at times of economic woe

Britain's new immigration minister was accused yesterday of leading a "baying pack" after he suggested the growing economic crisis could force a reduction in the number of migrants allowed into the UK.

In his first public statement in his new position, Phil Woolas conceded that immigration became an "extremely thorny" issue during an economic downturn when people already living in this country were losing their jobs. He also pledged the Government would respond by making it even harder for non-European Union nationals to come to Britain to work and live.

His warning was condemned by immigrant welfare organisations, who claimed the move towards quotas conflicted with the Government's settled policy on migration, which included the recently introduced "points-based" entry system. Keith Best, chief executive of the Immigration Advisory Service, said: "Whenever we face a recession, poor old migrants get the blame, but I don't think I was expecting a newly appointed minister to lead the baying pack."

Keith Vaz, Labour chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said he would be astonished at a Labour immigration minister "in effect, changing the policy". "His predecessor and the Home Secretary have made it clear they do not support a quota," he said.

Immigration has consistently been a politically sensitive issue for New Labour for the past decade. Although a series of immigration reviews reduced numbers of new citizens settling in the UK every year, official figures show that the population grew by nearly two million – to almost 61 million people – between 2001 and 2007.

Mr Woolas has made it clear the Government will not allow it to continue rising without restraint, particularly with the economy in difficulties. "It's been too easy to get into this country in the past and it's going to get harder," he told The Times. "If people are being made unemployed, the question of immigration becomes extremely thorny. This Government isn't going to allow the population to go up to 70 million. There has to be a balance between the number of people coming in and the number of people leaving."

His warning that the Government planned to "break the link" between people coming to work and subsequently gaining citizenship was welcomed by pressure groups and MPs who have been demanding action to limit the number of people allowed to settle in the UK.

The Labour MP Frank Field claimed Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, had signalled a plan for fresh limits at a meeting earlier this month. "It is long overdue, but it is clear the Government is moving towards a new position on immigration and it will be the first government whose views on immigration reflect the views of the overwhelming majority of the British public," Mr Field said. "What matters now is delivery. If our population is to be stabilised, immigration must be substantially reduced. For a start, we need to end the virtually automatic right of those who come on work permits to settle permanently in Britain."

Sir Andrew Green, chairman of the pressure group Migrationwatch, said the minister's intervention "could be a significant turning point". "I think the economic crisis has shown up the weakness of uncontrolled immigration. This is the very first time that a government minister has recognised the link between immigration and population. The Government has been in denial about that for years," he said.

The shadow Home Secretary, Dominic Grieve, said: "We have been calling for immigration limits for years but the Government has repeatedly poured scorn on this. It appears it now realises just how out of touch it is."

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AIG acts amid probe by attorney general
Financial Times
By Joanna Chung in New York

Published: October 17 2008 03:00 | Last updated: October 17 2008 03:00

AIG yesterday agreed to help recover any illegal compensation payments made to Martin Sullivan, former chief executive, and other senior management as part of an investigation by Andrew Cuomo, the New York attorney general.

The company, which was rescued by the government last month with an $85bn loan, is also withholding an estimated $10m payment from Steven Bensinger, who served as chief financial officer until May, and is immediately cancelling all junkets or perks.

The announcements came a day after Mr Cuomo threatened legal action unless AIG stopped "outrageous" expenditures and helped recover past ones, including certain executive compensation. He said such expenditures could have violated a New York law...

for complete Financial Times article click here

I The secrets of the Crown Prince

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http://www.nationinstitute.org/p/schanberg09182008pt1

McCain and the POW Cover-up
The "war hero" candidate buried information about POWs left behind in Vietnam
Research support provided by the Investigative Fund of The Nation Institute.

By Sydney H. Schanberg
September 18, 2008

John McCain, who has risen to political prominence on his image as a Vietnam POW war hero, has, inexplicably, worked very hard to hide from the public stunning information about American prisoners in Vietnam who, unlike him, didn't return home. Throughout his Senate career, McCain has quietly sponsored and pushed into federal law a set of prohibitions that keep the most revealing information about these men buried as classified documents. Thus the war hero who people would logically imagine as a determined crusader for the interests of POWs and their families became instead the strange champion of hiding the evidence and closing the books.

Almost as striking is the manner in which the mainstream press has shied from reporting the POW story and McCain's role in it, even as the Republican Party has made McCain's military service the focus of his presidential campaign. Reporters who had covered the Vietnam War turned their heads and walked in other directions. McCain doesn't talk about the missing men, and the press never asks him about them.

The sum of the secrets McCain has sought to hide is not small. There exists a telling mass of official documents, radio intercepts, witness depositions, satellite photos of rescue symbols that pilots were trained to use, electronic messages from the ground containing the individual code numbers given to airmen, a rescue mission by a special forces unit that was aborted twice by Washington—and even sworn testimony by two Defense secretaries that "men were left behind." This imposing body of evidence suggests that a large number—the documents indicate probably hundreds—of the US prisoners held by Vietnam were not returned when the peace treaty was signed in January 1973 and Hanoi released 591 men, among them Navy combat pilot John S. McCain.

Mass of Evidence

The Pentagon had been withholding significant information from POW families for years. What's more, the Pentagon's POW/MIA operation had been publicly shamed by internal whistleblowers and POW families for holding back documents as part of a policy of "debunking" POW intelligence even when the information was obviously credible.

The pressure from the families and Vietnam veterans finally forced the creation, in late 1991, of a Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs. The chairman was John Kerry. McCain, as a former POW, was its most pivotal member. In the end, the committee became part of the debunking machine.

One of the sharpest critics of the Pentagon's performance was an insider, Air Force Lieut. Gen. Eugene Tighe, who headed the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) during the 1970s. He openly challenged the Pentagon's position that no live prisoners existed, saying that the evidence proved otherwise. McCain was a bitter opponent of Tighe, who was eventually pushed into retirement.

Included in the evidence that McCain and his government allies suppressed or sought to discredit is a transcript of a senior North Vietnamese general's briefing of the Hanoi politburo, discovered in Soviet archives by an American scholar in 1993. The briefing took place only four months before the 1973 peace accords. The general, Tran Van Quang, told the politburo members that Hanoi was holding 1,205 American prisoners but would keep many of them at war's end as leverage to ensure getting war reparations from Washington.

Throughout the Paris negotiations, the North Vietnamese tied the prisoner issue tightly to the issue of reparations. They were adamant in refusing to deal with them separately. Finally, in a February 2, 1973, formal letter to Hanoi's premier, Pham Van Dong, Nixon pledged $3.25 billion in "postwar reconstruction" aid "without any political conditions." But he also attached to the letter a codicil that said the aid would be implemented by each party "in accordance with its own constitutional provisions." That meant Congress would have to approve the appropriation, and Nixon and Kissinger knew well that Congress was in no mood to do so. The North Vietnamese, whether or not they immediately understood the double-talk in the letter, remained skeptical about the reparations promise being honored - and it never was. Hanoi thus appears to have held back prisoners—just as it had done when the French were defeated at Dien Bien Phu in 1954 and withdrew their forces from Vietnam. In that case, France paid ransoms for prisoners and brought them home.

In a private briefing in 1992, high-level CIA officials told me that as the years passed and the ransom never came, it became more and more difficult for either government to admit that it knew from the start about the unacknowledged prisoners. Those prisoners had not only become useless as bargaining chips but also posed a risk to Hanoi's desire to be accepted into the international community. The CIA officials said their intelligence indicated strongly that the remaining men—those who had not died from illness or hard labor or torture—were eventually executed.

My own research, detailed below, has convinced me that it is not likely that more than a few—if any—are alive in captivity today. (That CIA briefing at the agency's Langley, Virginia, headquarters was conducted "off the record," but because the evidence from my own reporting since then has brought me to the same conclusion, I felt there was no longer any point in not writing about the meeting.)

For many reasons, including the absence of a political constituency for the missing men other than their families and some veterans' groups, very few Americans are aware of the POW story and of McCain's role in keeping it out of public view and denying the existence of abandoned POWs. That is because McCain has hardly been alone in his campaign to hide the scandal.

The Arizona Senator, now the Republican candidate for President, has actually been following the lead of every White House since Richard Nixon's and thus of every CIA director, Pentagon chief and national security advisor, not to mention Dick Cheney, who was George H. W. Bush's defense secretary. Their biggest accomplice has been an indolent press, particularly in Washington...

II The secrets of the Crown Prince

--
McCain and the POW's
The Nation Institute, September 18, 2008
continued

McCain's Role


The Truth Bill

An early and critical McCain secrecy move involved 1990 legislation that started in the House of Representatives. A brief and simple document, it was called "the Truth Bill" and would have compelled complete transparency about prisoners and missing men. Its core sentence reads: "[The] head of each department or agency which holds or receives any records and information, including live-sighting reports, which have been correlated or possibly correlated to United States personnel listed as prisoner of war or missing in action from World War II, the Korean conflict and the Vietnam conflict, shall make available to the public all such records held or received by that department or agency."


The McCain Bill


DOD cites the McCain Bill in denying a FOIA request


Bitterly opposed by the Pentagon (and thus McCain), the bill went nowhere. Reintroduced the following year, it again disappeared. But a few months later, a new measure, known as "the McCain Bill," suddenly appeared. By creating a bureaucratic maze from which only a fraction of the documents could emerge—only records that revealed no POW secrets—it turned the Truth Bill on its head. (See one example, at left, when the Pentagon cited McCain's bill in rejecting a FOIA request.) The McCain bill became law in 1991 and remains so today. So crushing to transparency are its provisions that it actually spells out for the Pentagon and other agencies several rationales, scenarios and justifications for not releasing any information at all—even about prisoners discovered alive in captivity. Later that year, the Senate Select Committee was created, where Kerry and McCain ultimately worked together to bury evidence.

McCain was also instrumental in amending the Missing Service Personnel Act, which had been strengthened in 1995 by POW advocates to include criminal penalties, saying: "Any government official who knowingly and willfully withholds from the file of a missing person any information relating to the disappearance or whereabouts and status of a missing person shall be fined as provided in Title 18 or imprisoned not more than one year or both." A year later, in a closed House-Senate conference on an unrelated military bill, McCain, at the behest of the Pentagon, attached a crippling amendment to the act, stripping out its only enforcement teeth, the criminal penalties, and reducing the obligations of commanders in the field to speedily search for missing men and to report the incidents to the Pentagon.

About the relaxation of POW/MIA obligations on commanders in the field, a public McCain memo said: "This transfers the bureaucracy involved out of the [battle] field to Washington." He wrote that the original legislation, if left intact, "would accomplish nothing but create new jobs for lawyers and turn military commanders into clerks."

McCain argued that keeping the criminal penalties would have made it impossible for the Pentagon to find staffers willing to work on POW/MIA matters. That's an odd argument to make. Were staffers only "willing to work" if they were allowed to conceal POW records? By eviscerating the law, McCain gave his stamp of approval to the government policy of debunking the existence of live POWs.

McCain has insisted again and again that all the evidence—documents, witnesses, satellite photos, two Pentagon chiefs' sworn testimony, aborted rescue missions, ransom offers apparently scorned—has been woven together by unscrupulous deceivers to create an insidious and unpatriotic myth. He calls it the "bizarre rantings of the MIA hobbyists." He has regularly vilified those who keep trying to pry out classified documents as "hoaxers," charlatans," "conspiracy theorists" and "dime-store Rambos."

Some of McCain's fellow captives at Hoa Lo prison in Hanoi didn't share his views about prisoners left behind. Before he died of leukemia in 1999, retired Col. Ted Guy, a highly admired POW and one of the most dogged resisters in the camps, wrote an angry open letter to the senator in an MIA newsletter—a response to McCain's stream of insults hurled at MIA activists. Guy wrote: "John, does this [the insults] include Senator Bob Smith [a New Hampshire Republican and activist on POW issues] and other concerned elected officials? Does this include the families of the missing where there is overwhelming evidence that their loved ones were 'last known alive'? Does this include some of your fellow POWs?"


DOD denies access to McCain's 1973 debriefing


It's not clear whether the taped confession McCain gave to his captors to avoid further torture has played a role in his post-war behavior in the Senate. That confession was played endlessly over the prison loudspeaker system at Hoa Lo—to try to break down other prisoners—and was broadcast over Hanoi's state radio. Reportedly, he confessed to being a war criminal who had bombed civilian targets. The Pentagon has a copy of the confession but will not release it. Also, no outsider I know of has ever seen a non-redacted copy of the debriefing of McCain when he returned from captivity, which is classified but could be made public by McCain. (See the Pentagon's rejection of my attempt to obtain records of this debriefing, at left.)

All humans have breaking points. Many men undergoing torture give confessions, often telling huge lies so their fakery will be understood by their comrades and their country. Few will fault them. But it was McCain who apparently felt he had disgraced himself and his military family. His father, John S. McCain II, was a highly regarded rear admiral then serving as commander of all US forces in the Pacific. His grandfather was also a rear admiral.

In his bestselling 1999 autobiography, Faith of My Fathers, McCain says he felt bad throughout his captivity because he knew he was being treated more leniently than his fellow POWs, owing to his high-ranking father and thus his propaganda value. Other prisoners at Hoa Lo say his captors considered him a prize catch and called him the "Crown Prince," something McCain acknowledges in the book.

Also in this memoir, McCain expresses guilt at having broken under torture and given the confession. "I felt faithless and couldn't control my despair," he writes, revealing that he made two "feeble" attempts at suicide. (In later years, he said he tried to hang himself with his shirt and guards intervened.) Tellingly, he says he lived in "dread" that his father would find out about the confession. "I still wince," he writes, "when I recall wondering if my father had heard of my disgrace."

He says that when he returned home, he told his father about the confession, but "never discussed it at length"—and the Admiral, who died in 1981, didn't indicate he had heard anything about it before. But he had. In the 1999 memoir, the senator writes: "I only recently learned that the tape...had been broadcast outside the prison and had come to the attention of my father."

Is McCain haunted by these memories? Does he suppress POW information because its surfacing would rekindle his feelings of shame? On this subject, all I have are questions.

Many stories have been written about McCain's explosive temper, so volcanic that colleagues are loathe to speak openly about it. One veteran congressman who has observed him over the years asked for confidentiality and made this brief comment: "This is a man not at peace with himself."

He was certainly far from calm on the Senate POW committee. He browbeat expert witnesses who came with information about unreturned POWs. Family members who have personally faced McCain and pressed him to end the secrecy also have been treated to his legendary temper. He has screamed at them, insulted them, brought women to tears. Mostly his responses to them have been versions of: How dare you question my patriotism? In 1996, he roughly pushed aside a group of POW family members who had waited outside a hearing room to appeal to him, including a mother in a wheelchair.

But even without answers to what may be hidden in the recesses of McCain's mind, one thing about the POW story is clear: If American prisoners were dishonored by being written off and left to die, that's something the American public ought to know about...

III The Secrets of the Crown Prince

--

McCain and the POW's
The Nation Institute, September 18, 2008
continued

10 Key Pieces of Evidence That Men Were Left Behind


New York Times, Feb. 2, 1973

1. In Paris, where the Vietnam peace treaty was negotiated, the United States asked Hanoi for the list of American prisoners to be returned, fearing that Hanoi would hold some prisoners back. The North Vietnamese refused, saying they would produce the list only after the treaty was signed. Nixon agreed with Kissinger that they had no leverage left, and Kissinger signed the accord on January 27, 1973, without the prisoner list. When Hanoi produced its list of 591 prisoners the next day, US intelligence agencies expressed shock at the low number. Their number was hundreds higher. The New York Times published a long, page-one story on February 2, 1973, about the discrepancy, especially raising questions about the number of prisoners held in Laos, only nine of whom were being returned. The headline read, in part: "Laos POW List Shows 9 from US —Document Disappointing to Washington as 311 Were Believed Missing." And the story, by John Finney, said that other Washington officials "believe the number of prisoners [in Laos] is probably substantially higher." The paper never followed up with any serious investigative reporting—nor did any other mainstream news organization.

2. Two defense secretaries who served during the Vietnam War testified to the Senate POW committee in September 1992 that prisoners were not returned. James Schlesinger and Melvin Laird, both speaking at a public session and under oath, said they based their conclusions on strong intelligence data—letters, eyewitness reports, even direct radio contacts. Under questioning, Schlesinger chose his words carefully, understanding clearly the volatility of the issue: "I think that as of now that I can come to no other conclusion...some were left behind." This ran counter to what President Nixon told the public in a nationally televised speech on March 29, 1973, when the repatriation of the 591 was in motion: "Tonight," Nixon said, "the day we have all worked and prayed for has finally come. For the first time in twelve years, no American military forces are in Vietnam. All our American POWs are on their way home." Documents unearthed since then show that aides had already briefed Nixon about the contrary evidence.

Schlesinger was asked by the Senate committee for his explanation of why President Nixon would have made such a statement when he knew Hanoi was still holding prisoners. He replied: "One must assume that we had concluded that the bargaining position of the United States...was quite weak. We were anxious to get our troops out and we were not going to roil the waters..." This testimony struck me as a bombshell. The New York Times appropriately reported it on page one but again there was no sustained follow-up by the Times or any other major paper or national news outlet.

3. Over the years, the DIA received more than 1,600 first-hand sightings of live American prisoners and nearly 14,000 second-hand reports. Many witnesses interrogated by CIA or Pentagon intelligence agents were deemed "credible" in the agents' reports. Some of the witnesses were given lie-detector tests and passed. Sources provided me with copies of these witness reports, which are impressive in their detail. A lot of the sightings described a secondary tier of prison camps many miles from Hanoi. Yet the DIA, after reviewing all these reports, concluded that they "do not constitute evidence" that men were alive.

4. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, listening stations picked up messages in which Laotian military personnel spoke about moving American prisoners from one labor camp to another. These listening posts were manned by Thai communications officers trained by the National Security Agency (NSA), which monitors signals worldwide. The NSA teams had moved out after the fall of Saigon in 1975 and passed the job to the Thai allies. But when the Thais turned these messages over to Washington, the intelligence community ruled that since the intercepts were made by a "third party"—namely Thailand—they could not be regarded as authentic. That's some Catch-22: The US trained a third party to take over its role in monitoring signals about POWs, but because that third party did the monitoring, the messages weren't valid.

Here, from CIA files, is an example that clearly exposes the farce. On December 27, 1980, a Thai military signal team picked up a message saying that prisoners were being moved out of Attopeu (in southern Laos) by aircraft "at 1230 hours." Three days later a message was sent from the CIA station in Bangkok to the CIA director's office in Langley. It read, in part: "The prisoners...are now in the valley in permanent location (a prison camp at Nhommarath in Central Laos). They were transferred from Attopeu to work in various places...POWs were formerly kept in caves and are very thin, dark and starving." Apparently the prisoners were real. But the transmission was declared "invalid" by Washington because the information came from a "third party" and thus could not be deemed credible.

5. A series of what appeared to be distress signals from Vietnam and Laos were captured by the government's satellite system in the late 1980s and early '90s. (Before that period, no search for such signals had been put in place.) Not a single one of these markings was ever deemed credible. To the layman's eye, the satellite photos, some of which I've seen, show markings on the ground that are identical to the signals that American pilots had been specifically trained to use in their survival courses—such as certain letters, like X or K, drawn in a special way. Other markings were the secret four-digit authenticator numbers given to individual pilots. But time and again, the Pentagon, backed by the CIA, insisted that humans had not made these markings. What were they, then? "Shadows and vegetation," the government said, insisting that the markings were merely normal topographical contours like saw-grass or rice-paddy divider walls. It was the automatic response—shadows and vegetation. On one occasion, a Pentagon photo expert refused to go along. It was a missing man's name gouged into a field, he said, not trampled grass or paddy berms. His bosses responded by bringing in an outside contractor who found instead, yes, shadows and vegetation. This refrain led Bob Taylor, a highly regarded investigator on the Senate committee staff who had examined the photographic evidence, to comment to me: "If grass can spell out people's names and a secret digit codes, then I have a newfound respect for grass."

6. On November 11, 1992, Dolores Alfond, the sister of missing airman Capt. Victor Apodaca and chair of the National Alliance of Families, an organization of relatives of POW/MIAs, testified at one of the Senate committee's public hearings. She asked for information about data the government had gathered from electronic devices used in a classified program known as PAVE SPIKE.

The devices were motion sensors, dropped by air, designed to pick up enemy troop movements. Shaped on one end like a spike with an electronic pod and antenna on top, they were designed to stick in the ground as they fell. Air Force planes would drop them along the Ho Chi Minh trail and other supply routes. The devices, though primarily sensors, also had rescue capabilities. Someone on the ground—a downed airman or a prisoner on a labor gang —could manually enter data into the sensor. All data were regularly collected electronically by US planes flying overhead. Alfond stated, without any challenge or contradiction by the committee, that in 1974, a year after the supposedly complete return of prisoners, the gathered data showed that a person or people had manually entered into the sensors—as US pilots had been trained to do—"no less than 20 authenticator numbers that corresponded exactly to the classified authenticator numbers of 20 US POWs who were lost in Laos." Alfond added, according to the transcript: "This PAVE SPIKE intelligence is seamless, but the committee has not discussed it or released what it knows about PAVE SPIKE."

McCain attended that committee hearing specifically to confront Alfond because of her criticism of the panel's work. He bellowed and berated her for quite a while. His face turning anger-pink, he accused her of "denigrating" his "patriotism." The bullying had its effect—she began to cry.

After a pause Alfond recovered and tried to respond to his scorching tirade, but McCain simply turned away and stormed out of the room. The PAVE SPIKE file has never been declassified. We still don't know anything about those twenty POWs.

7. As previously mentioned, in April 1993, in a Moscow archive, a researcher from Harvard, Stephen Morris, unearthed and made public the transcript of a briefing that General Tran Van Quang gave to the Hanoi politburo four months before the signing of the Paris peace accords in 1973.

In the transcript, General Quang told the Hanoi politburo that 1,205 US prisoners were being held. Quang said that many of the prisoners would be held back from Washington after the accords as bargaining chips for war reparations. General Quang's report added: "This is a big number. Officially, until now, we published a list of only 368 prisoners of war. The rest we have not revealed. The government of the USA knows this well, but it does not know the exact number...and can only make guesses based on its losses. That is why we are keeping the number of prisoners of war secret, in accordance with the politburo's instructions." The report then went on to explain in clear and specific language that a large number would be kept back to ensure reparations.

The reaction to the document was immediate. After two decades of denying it had kept any prisoners, Hanoi responded to the revelation by calling the transcript a fabrication.

Similarly, Washington—which had over the same two decades refused to recant Nixon's declaration that all the prisoners had been returned—also shifted into denial mode. The Pentagon issued a statement saying the document "is replete with errors, omissions and propaganda that seriously damage its credibility," and that the numbers were "inconsistent with our own accounting."

Neither American nor Vietnamese officials offered any rationale for who would plant a forged document in the Soviet archives and why they would do so. Certainly neither Washington nor Moscow—closely allied with Hanoi—would have any motive, since the contents were embarrassing to all parties, and since both the United States and Vietnam had consistently denied the existence of unreturned prisoners. The Russian archivists simply said the document was "authentic."

8. In his 2002 book, Inside Delta Force, Retired Command Sgt. Major Eric Haney described how in 1981 his special forces unit, after rigorous training for a POW rescue mission, had the mission suddenly aborted, revived a year later and again abruptly aborted. Haney writes that this abandonment of captured soldiers ate at him for years and left him disillusioned about his government's vows to leave no men behind.

"Years later, I spoke at length with a former highly placed member of the North Vietnamese diplomatic corps, and this person asked me point-blank: 'Why did the Americans never attempt to recover their remaining POWs after the conclusion of the war?'" Haney writes. He continued, saying that he came to believe senior government officials had called off those missions in 1981 and 1982. (His account is on pages 314 to 321 of my paperback copy of the book.)

9. There is also evidence that in the first months of Ronald Reagan's presidency in 1981, the White House received a ransom proposal for a number of POWs being held by Hanoi in Indochina. The offer, which was passed to Washington from an official of a third country, was apparently discussed at a meeting in the Roosevelt Room attended by Reagan, Vice-President Bush, CIA director William Casey and National Security Advisor Richard Allen. Allen confirmed the offer in sworn testimony to the Senate POW committee on June 23, 1992.

Allen was allowed to testify behind closed doors and no information was released. But a San Diego Union-Tribune reporter, Robert Caldwell, obtained the portion relating to the ransom offer and reported on it. The ransom request was for $4 billion, Allen testified. He said he told Reagan that "it would be worth the president's going along and let's have the negotiation." When his testimony appeared in the Union Tribune, Allen quickly wrote a letter to the panel, this time not under oath, recanting the ransom story and claiming his memory had played tricks on him. His new version was that some POW activists had asked him about such an offer in a meeting that took place in 1986, when he was no longer in government. "It appears," he said in the letter, "that there never was a 1981 meeting about the return of POW/MIAs for $4 billion."

But the episode didn't end there. A Treasury agent on Secret Service duty in the White House, John Syphrit, came forward to say he had overheard part of the ransom conversation in the Roosevelt Room in 1981, when the offer was discussed by Reagan, Bush, Casey, Allen and other cabinet officials.

Syphrit, a veteran of the Vietnam War, told the committee he was willing to testify but they would have to subpoena him. Treasury opposed his appearance, arguing that voluntary testimony would violate the trust between the Secret Service and those it protects. It was clear that coming in on his own could cost Syphrit his career. The committee voted 7 to 4 not to subpoena him.

In the committee's final report, dated January 13, 1993 (on page 284), the panel not only chastised Syphrit for his failure to testify without a subpoena ("The committee regrets that the Secret Service agent was unwilling..."), but noted that since Allen had recanted his testimony about the Roosevelt Room briefing, Syphrit's testimony would have been "at best, uncorroborated by the testimony of any other witness." The committee omitted any mention that it had made a decision not to ask the other two surviving witnesses, Bush and Reagan, to give testimony under oath. (Casey had died.)

10. In 1990, Colonel Millard Peck, a decorated infantry veteran of Vietnam then working at the DIA as chief of the Asia Division for Current Intelligence, asked for the job of chief of the DIA's Special Office for Prisoners of War and Missing in Action. His reason for seeking the transfer, which was not a promotion, was that he had heard from officials throughout the Pentagon that the POW/MIA office had been turned into a waste-disposal unit for getting rid of unwanted evidence about live prisoners—a "black hole," these officials called it.


Millard A. Peck's Feb. 12, 1991, letter of resignation


Peck explained all this in his telling resignation letter of February 12, 1991, eight months after he had taken the job. He said he viewed it as "sort of a holy crusade" to restore the integrity of the office but was defeated by the Pentagon machine. The four-page, single-spaced letter was scathing, describing the putative search for missing men as "a cover-up."

Peck charged that, at its top echelons, the Pentagon had embraced a "mind-set to debunk" all evidence of prisoners left behind. "That national leaders continue to address the prisoner of war and missing in action issue as the 'highest national priority,' is a travesty," he wrote. "The entire charade does not appear to be an honest effort, and may never have been....Practically all analysis is directed to finding fault with the source. Rarely has there been any effective, active follow through on any of the sightings, nor is there a responsive 'action arm' to routinely and aggressively pursue leads."

"I became painfully aware," his letter continued, "that I was not really in charge of my own office, but was merely a figurehead or whipping boy for a larger and totally Machiavellian group of players outside of DIA...I feel strongly that this issue is being manipulated and controlled at a higher level, not with the goal of resolving it, but more to obfuscate the question of live prisoners and give the illusion of progress through hyperactivity." He named no names but said these players are "unscrupulous people in the Government or associated with the Government" who "have maintained their distance and remained hidden in the shadows, while using the [POW] Office as a 'toxic waste dump' to bury the whole 'mess' out of sight." Peck added that "military officers...who in some manner have 'rocked the boat' [have] quickly come to grief."

Peck concluded: "From what I have witnessed, it appears that any soldier left in Vietnam, even inadvertently, was, in fact, abandoned years ago, and that the farce that is being played is no more than political legerdemain done with 'smoke and mirrors' to stall the issue until it dies a natural death."

The disillusioned Colonel not only resigned but asked to be retired immediately from active military service. The press never followed up...

for complete article click here

Youth Vote Numbers are STAGGERING

Will there be an avalanche of under 25s on November 4? Let's hope someone doesn't find a way to slow down the lines. If this is your first time voting and something goes wrong and you have to wait for hours, PLEASE PLEASE hang in there. Your vote is important... don't leave the line!

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20081103/currier

Will the Youth Vote Swing This Election?
By Cora Currier

October 17, 2008

As state deadlines pass, voter registration numbers are reaching record highs. The Associated Press estimated last week that nationwide there have been more than 9 million new registrations in the past six months, with Democrats outnumbering Republicans four to one. Get-out-the-vote groups that target young people are reporting unprecedented numbers of young voters added to the rolls. This week Rock the Vote, one of the largest nonpartisan GOTV organizations, surpassed 2.3 million registrations this election cycle.


"The numbers are staggering," said Andy Karsch, director of Rock the Vote's bus project, which has been touring around the country since September. Through its bus tour, Rock the Vote has secured more than 1 million new registrants in the past month alone. The Obama campaign would not give out specifics on the number of voters it had registered through its outreach effort, Vote for Change, but Chris Hughes, the campaign's director of online organizing, said that the website had been "hugely successful; it surpassed all our expectations. Almost everyone who came to the website followed through with the whole registration process." On a local level, a group called New Era Colorado has registered more than 11,000 voters, according to executive director Steve Fenberg. "The registration levels are enormous in Colorado," he said. "There's an excitement on the ground I've never seen before."

The number of newly registered Democrats eclipses Bush's margins of victory in swing states like Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada. In North Carolina Democrats have registered twice as many voters as Republicans, helping to put the state in play. A big reason is the number of new young voters, 18- to 29-year-olds who favor Obama by upwards of twenty points.

In Virginia, once a Republican bastion, the State Board of Elections had received 306,000 new voter registration applications by the end of September: 42 percent of them were from people younger than 25. In Pennsylvania the number of registered Democrats has increased by about 13 percent, thanks in part to heavy targeting of the state's large college population. Since many states' deadlines still haven't passed, the exact percentage of new registrants nationally who are under 30 won't be clear until after the election. Historically, new registrants tend to be younger, and both campaigns and nonpartisan efforts have overwhelmingly targeted the demographic.

Of course, registration is only part of the puzzle--getting voters to the polls is the ultimate goal. Yet the registration numbers thus far bode well for November. According to the US Census Bureau, only 49 percent of people ages 18 to 29 voted in 2004, but 81 percent of those who were registered voted. Even among 18- to-21-year-olds, all new voters based on their age, roughly 80 percent of registrants voted. These rates of participation among registered young voters could spell a record high turnout in terms of raw numbers this election cycle.

What's more, organizers are pointing to a number of factors that may indicate that there's real substance behind all the talk of young voters this year. For one, youth turnout rose in the 2004 and 2006 elections, and it doubled and tripled in some states' primaries in 2008, compared with 2000.

There are also the technological advancements that have served as vital communication tools in getting people registered and to the polls. GOTV groups like Rock the Vote are finding that the number of people they reach has expanded exponentially thanks to peer-to-peer networking tools like Facebook and Twitter. The Nation's Ari Melber has reported extensively on the Obama campaign's effective use of new technology to reach voters, such as utilizing text messaging and their own networking site MyBO.

"All this targeting and talk is having an effect," Fenberg said of his experience on the ground in Colorado. "People are plugged in, and we're seeing more excitement than ever."

Karsch said Rock the Vote's staff has felt the same kind of excitement. "I'd be shocked if there wasn't an unprecedented turnout," he said. "This is a transitional election, and people want to be a part of it." If the registration numbers are any indication, new young voters could change the game come November.



About Cora Currier
Cora Currier, a contributor to the Campaign '08 blog and is a former Nation intern. more...

link to photo

Put water on the fire

With the global financial crisis going on, no one really knows how things will end up. On MSNBC last night one interviewee called this (in 2008) the Great Depression. Let's hope it doesn't get that bad.

The truth is, many people have already lost a lot. Especially those who had their retirement funds in the stock market.

If you add that to people losing their houses because of bad mortgages, families losing loved ones in Iraq and Afghanistan, thousands of disabled soldiers coming home, and a bunch of angry kids who haven't been prepared well by our failing public school system...we could be in big trouble.

At this point it is extremely important for the McCain campaign to clamp down on the violent threats being screamed out at their rallies. It is time for a long conversation, not a Saturday Night Live type presidential debate. McCain, Palin, and the GOP need to stop telling everyone to be afraid. They need to encourage their supporters to think of positive solutions instead of letting them scream about knocking off the opponent.

Suggestions to the McCain people

Tell your supporters to

1. be sure and vote.

2. not to join the crowd that is working towards suppressing the vote (suppression breeds anger)

3. volunteer in the neighborhood. (there is still lots of work to do in Houston cleaning up after Hurricane Ike)

4. volunteer at your local public school.

5. take a night class at the local college - one on politics!

6. pray.

7. read a book about globalization.

8. watch the U.S. Senate or House of Reps. on C-Span - so they can see some of how our gov't works.

9. read a book about the history of the Middle East (esp. the last 200 years)

Waiting for the Barbarians in The Nation, October 16, 2008

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/17/AR2008101702496.html?nav=hcmodule

A Rage No One Should Be Stoking

Washington Post

By Colbert I. King
Saturday, October 18, 2008; A15

"Kill him": the battle cry of a lynch mob and words yelled out by a man at a Sarah Palin rally in Clearwater, Fla., this month, according to my Post colleague Dana Milbank.

Some observers claim that the proposed killing was directed not toward Barack Obama but at Bill Ayers, the co-founder of the radical Weather Underground that bombed public buildings during the turbulent Vietnam era. Ayers, now a college professor who has served with Obama and other noted Chicagoans in civic enterprises -- and hosted a campaign event for Obama's initial run for the state legislature -- is being portrayed by John McCain's campaign as Barack's bosom buddy, the facts notwithstanding.

Whether the call for assassination was aimed at Obama or Ayers is immaterial. It represents a dangerous new low in American politics.

Tell a rabid audience that Barack Obama is "palling around with terrorists" (as Palin has done), imply that Obama is friendly with people out to destroy America (as she also has done) and what do you expect?

The ugliness is stunning.

Milbank also reported that in Clearwater, one of Palin's supporters shouted a racial epithet at a network soundman and told him, "Sit down, boy."

This month, an angry white man was arrested in Monroe, La., after allegedly threatening election officials who had not sent him a voter registration card. He badly wanted to cast his vote, he told police, so that he could "keep the nigger out of office."

Dangerous stuff. That's why Georgia Rep. John Lewis, the civil rights icon, spoke out.

It is no accident that the English-language operation of al-Jazeera, the Arab-language news network, tried to capture and broadcast to the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere a glimpse of America's more sinister side.

Al-Jazeera found it in St. Clairsville, Ohio, a white, working-class community that was the site of an Oct. 12 Palin rally.

Armed with a video camera and a hand-held mike, interviewer Casey Kauffman -- who by appearance could pass as a Buckeye State native -- recorded the following observations about Obama:

From an older white woman: "I'm afraid if he wins, the black [sic] will take over. He's not a Christian. This is a Christian nation! What is our country gonna end up like?"

An older white man: "When you got a Negro running for president, you need a first-stringer. He's definitely a second-stringer."

A young white man holding a child: "He seems like a sheep -- or a wolf in sheep's clothing to be honest with you. And I believe Palin -- she's filled with the Holy Spirit, and I believe she's gonna bring honesty and integrity to the White House."

An older white man: "He's related to a known terrorist, for one."

An older white man: "He is friends with a terrorist of this country!"

An older white man: "He must support terrorists! You know, uh, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck. And that to me is Obama."

A young white woman: "Just the whole, Muslim thing, and everything, and everybody's still kinda -- a lot of people have forgotten about 9/11, but . . . I dunno, it's just kinda . . . a little unnerving."

A white woman: "Obama and his wife, I'm concerned that they could be anti-white. That he might hide that."

An older white woman: "I don't like the fact that he thinks us white people are trash . . . because we're not!"

The video also shows an Obama supporter, identified only as Taylor, waving a placard on a roadside, greeting motorists as they traveled to the Palin rally.

Taylor told al-Jazeera that he's been shocked by his neighbors' reaction. "I've been called the N-word, I've been called a Muslim, I've been called un-American," he said.

"I'm worried that these people . . . the tension is getting thicker and thicker, when people like that . . . it's starting to scare me. . . . To be specific," Taylor said, "I'm afraid some of these people might try to hurt Obama."

With Palin's supporters chanting in the background, Kauffman tells viewers that the divisive nature of this year's presidential campaign has brought into the open what is usually discussed behind closed doors in America. "It's a reminder," intoned Kauffman, "that hate and fear are powerful forces in American society."

Was this fodder served up by al-Jazeera to feed anti-American sentiment overseas?

To be sure. But the camera didn't lie.

Did al-Jazeera, however, record the whole truth?

Do those Ohio residents, or the Florida Palin supporter who snapped "Sit down, boy," or that angry man in Louisiana who wants to "keep the nigger out of office" represent today's America?

Or are they part of a dwindling breed of die-hards who have seen their best days? I believe they are the latter.

But we, and the rest of the world, will know more on Nov. 4.

·

Last week, in writing about the stewardship of troubled youths by the D.C. Department of Youth and Rehabilitation Services, I reported a recent assault by juveniles on a correctional officer at the agency's Oak Hill facility.

Yesterday, I learned that another correctional officer at Oak Hill had been severely beaten and taken to a hospital in Laurel. Hours after I inquired, DYRS told me: "We can confirm that a physical altercation occurred this afternoon, at [Oak Hill], between a staff member and a youth. There are conflicting accounts as to who initiated the incident, staff or youth. Staff requested that we call an ambulance, which we did, and the staff member involved was transported to the hospital. The incident is currently under investigation."

As of last night, the officer's family was with him at the hospital.

DYRS continues to say that it cannot provide a count of youth assaults against staff this year or in 2007.

kingc@washpost.com

link to photo

For DREAMers: the power of secrets

It is amazing how many things we don't know.  Just as the Underground Railroad was a secret to many people, the "unofficial" list of private colleges to provide financial aide to DREAMers has been functioning well under the wire.

There really are people out there who want to help.  Lets hope each DREAMer can find one.

---

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/10/16/vassar

U.S: A Message to Prospective Undocumented Students
InsideHigherEd.com, October 16, 2008
By Elizabeth Redden

High school counselors keep lists - short lists based on unofficial, one-on-one conversations about which colleges, mostly private ones, admit and grant institutional aid to illegal immigrants, says David Hawkins, director of public policy and research for the National Association for College Admission Counseling.

"What I consistently hear from counselors is they're constantly trying to figure out what colleges they might have any chance to send an undocumented student to, realistically, with financial aid," Hawkins explains. "It seems that there's this underground information that is flowing. It's not well-known, and it's not coordinated in any way."

"There are a lot of private colleges that actually do give undocumented students financial aid. It's just that they don't advertise it."

With some states barring these students from public colleges, private colleges may soon be forced to consider advertising their own policies. In the meantime, if a pending recommendation becomes policy, high school counselors could confidently add Vassar College to their respective lists. In a recent recommendation to the president, Vassar's Committee on Inclusion and Excellence proposed that the private institution adopt and publicize a new policy clearly signaling that it "will give admission applications submitted by undocumented students the same consideration given to any other applications it might receive. Undocumented students who are admitted to Vassar will be offered financial assistance based on demonstrated need following the same procedures Vassar uses to grant aid to accepted international students." (Undocumented students aren't eligible for federal aid.)

Vassar now has no formal policy on undocumented student admissions and aid, says David Borus, dean of admission and financial aid at Vassar and a member of the 20-person committee of administrators, faculty and students that put forward the proposal.

"We wouldn't get many applications in a given year from undocumented students, and when we did, we would handle them on a case-by-case basis," Borus explains. "There are a number of schools that have quietly but consistently admitted and funded undocumented students over the years…. Vassar isn't looking necessarily to be a trend-setter here or make a statement. We're trying to clarify what our own procedures and policies should be."

"It is in everyone's best interest for colleges to be clear, or clearer, about what their policies are with regard to the admission and financial aid process," Borus says. "Currently there is no stated policy and we don't want to leave students and families and counselors and others wondering where they stand and what the possibilities are. We'd like to make it a bit clearer and more explicit."

In 2007, Vassar returned to a "need blind" admissions policy for domestic students, meaning that applicants' financial circumstances aren't considered in admissions decisions. In March, Vassar announced it would replace loans with grants for students with family incomes of up to $60,000. Vassar's president, Catharine Bond Hill, is an economist who has specialized in issues of higher education affordability and access.

Katherine Hite, an associate professor of political science and director of Vassar's Latin American and Latino Studies program, is co-chair of the committee that offered the policy recommendation on undocumented students. "It's much in keeping with the kind of broad-minded understanding and inclusive spirit of the college," she says. "I am proud that Vassar is willing to consider that they should publicly step up."

The committee submitted the recommendation to the president September 19; its fate is still pending. The Vassar Student Association Council subsequently endorsed it unanimously, and the student newspaper, The Miscellany News, this week published an editorial in support. "A lot of federal policy, it revolves around exclusion," says James Kelly, a senior and the Vassar Student Association president. "We're just making those students aware that Vassar is an option. Because without saying it [explicitly], given everything else that's going on, it just might be perceived as an exclusive place."

About "everything else that's going on," while Vassar's home state, New York, is one of 10 states that extends lower in-state tuition rates to undocumented students, a number of states have restricted illegal immigrants' access to public colleges in recent months. (While a 1982 Supreme Court decision, Plyler v. Doe, affirms the right of illegal immigrants to a K-12 education, it doesn't extend to higher education.)

Earlier this year, South Carolina barred illegal immigrants from attending public colleges as part of a sweeping new immigration law, and Alabama and North Carolina both prohibited them from entering community colleges. Meanwhile, in reinstating a dismissed lawsuit last month, a California appeals court found that in offering in-state tuition rates to illegal immigrants, the state was "thwarting" the intent of federal immigration law.

"Vassar College is very quick to forget that more than 40 percent of the country is on my side," says Jeremy Bright, a sophomore and president of the institution's Moderate, Independent and Conservative Alliance. Bright, who wrote an op-ed opposing the proposed admissions policy for undocumented students, says he opposes the recommendation "for both ideological and practical reasons."

"I can understand the logic of taking one or two, or selectively taking specific candidates, saying, 'Oh, this person's very qualified, and we need to bring him or her here,'" says Bright. "I may not agree with it personally, but at least I can understand the logic."

"But to publicly adopt a policy…basically endorsing illegal immigration, and saying that borders don't matter, citizenship doesn't matter, I'm completely against that."

"To me, it sends a message to other applicants about, 'This is the stated ideology of the school,'" Bright says.

Given the clashing ideologies characterizing the present political climate, a college is arguably brave these days for even attempting to enter into the immigration fray. Colleges typically have avoided formalizing their policies both because of the deep divisiveness of immigration issues, politically speaking, and, more practically speaking, the relatively low numbers of potential applicants any policies would impact, explains Hawkins, of the college admission counseling group.

But demographics are changing. Susan Klopman, vice president of admissions and financial planning at Elon University, in North Carolina - which, on the flip side of things, as a matter of practice but not formal policy does not admit undocumented students - says the issue of whether to admit or not to admit will likely attract greater attention at private colleges in the coming years. (Explaining Elon's own practice, Klopman cites a desire not to run afoul of the federal government, and its financial aid stream, and a desire to treat all non-U.S. applicants equally, in terms of visa requirements and such.)

"None of us quite understand how the changing demographics of this country are going to affect our institutions, and I think that will bring this question to the fore in a more pressing manner than we have had to deal with up to this point," Klopman says

.

links of interest

rollingstone.com - make believe maverick, the real john mccain "McCain's wife, Cindy, mussed his receding hair and needled him playfully that he was "getting a little thin up there." McCain reportedly blew his top, cutting his wife down with the kind of language that had gotten him hauled into court as a high schooler: "At least I don't plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you c*nt." Even though the incident was witnessed by three reporters, the McCain campaign denies it took place."

if david letterman is the first person in the mainstream media to mention the close tie between john mccain and g. gordon liddy, what does that say about the msm as a whole? its more than a little embarrassing, i'd think.

and lastly, here is something to easily scare the shit out of you. john mccain using dismissive air quotes for women's "health" while debating why he thinks roe vs. wade should be overturned and abortions should be completely banned even when the mothers health is in danger.

Lou Dobbs as consultant to the EU

--
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/sais/nexteurope/2008/10/has_the_eu_been_watching_lou_d.html

Has the EU Been Watching Lou Dobbs?

By Roberto Peña

Immigrants detained indefinitely, fingerprinting racially-profiled populations, mass deportations: this may sound like a typical European's justification for prosecuting President Bush at the International Criminal Court, but these disturbing developments are, in fact, part of a wave of anti-immigration policies taking hold in the European Union. The sentiment is likely a result of slowing economic growth and increased pressure on highly regulated labor markets, but such pressures are testing the limits of one of the EU's founding principles, the free movement of labor.

What began as a debate over undocumented immigration is turning into a debate over the merits of immigration, both legal and illegal, and leading to calls of preserving national identity

Recent anti-immigration sentiment contributed to the downfall of the proposed treaty to reform the EU in Ireland and the Netherlands. The 2004 murder of filmmaker Theo Van Gogh by Muslim radicals sparked a right-wing movement in the Netherlands, ultimately leading to the defeat of the treaty referendum. Polish immigration and a slowdown in the construction sector may have sealed the treaty's fate in Ireland.

From race riots in France to Mohammed cartoons in Denmark, every major European country is confronting rising levels of undocumented immigrants and the policy responses are startlingly un-European. Italy's immigration plan seeks to expel EU citizens who commit crimes, a possible violation of the EU's Community Law, which limits the expulsion of EU citizens from member states, and Brussels is threatening legal retaliation.

While the immigration reform legislation in the U.S. collapsed over the highly sensitive issue of amnesty, the European Commission chastised Spain and Italy for granting amnesty to undocumented immigrants in the last few years. Berlusconi returned to power in Italy, in large part, by talking tough on crime and immigration; the country passed a highly controversial immigration pact soon after his election. The plan formally criminalizes illegal entry and raises penalties, but perhaps the most controversial measure involves the fingerprinting of the Roma population. While an independent census can help policymakers understand their options, when combined with politically motivated and discriminatory actions, it is a recipe for disaster. In August, realizing the political gains derived by linking crime and immigration, a new plan involves Carabinieri patrolling the streets in several major cities to tackle both problems. Adding to this mix, several high profile incidents of violence against immigrants and amnesty now appears more likely in the US than in Italy. Last month, even the Vatican weighed in, urging for more compassion on the issue.

The U.S. debate offers a valuable model for analyzing the politics of immigration. The prevailing wisdom in Washington, circa 2006, was that immigration was a winning issue for Republicans touting their national security credentials. This strategy proved an utter disaster when the Democrats took over Congress and several single-issue conservatives lost their seats. In Italy, the immigration issue brought Berlusconi back from the dead, but whether or not this concern can distract voters from an ailing economy and political corruption is yet to be determined. When privacy concerns, civil liberties and human rights are taken into account, questions remain regarding Italy's immigration pact, let alone the frail coalition holding its government in place.

Roberto Peña is a former legislative aide in Congress currently pursuing his Master's Degree in International Afffairs at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Bologna, Italy.

Posted by Roberto Peña on October 17, 2008 1:59 PM

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Johns Hopkins University.

---
Some WaPo comments on this article



Posted on October 17, 2008 15:25
Lolo2
This article's main conclusion is precisely the opposite of its title: the EU has been the sole reason immigration policies have stayed "un-Dobbs-ian" in Europe.

It is true that national politicians in Italy, Austria, the Netherlands and Denmark (among others) have increasingly sounded alarmist tones about immigration. But it is precisely because the EU imposes certain basic principles that these national tendencies have been reined in. Italy will likely fail to deport large masses of Romanians, Austria will not be able to espouse xenophobic policies, and no European country can toughen its own immigration policies unilaterally.

The EU itself (as noted in the article) is in the forefront of guaranteeing basic rights to immigrants across the continent. It is working on an EU "blue card" to enhance legal immigration for skilled workers, and is the only bulwark against anti-immigration voices in national governments.

Using national examples to say that the EU is watching Lou Dobbs is like using examples of hardline candidates in state legislature races in New Mexico to argue that the US as a whole is espousing anti-immigration policies.

October 17, 2008 3:15 PM |

tbone4719 Author Profile Page:

Uneuropean? Are you kidding me? The europeans have always had more trouble than the U.S. in dealing with immigrants, especially assimilating them into their culture. These issues go back decades in most of the major European countries. The issues have taken a harder slant in recent years as immigration has amped up, islamic terrorism has become more prevalent and violent, and the EU has made cross-border migration easier than it was before. But the underlying issues remain the same. Europena nations still define themselves by bloodlines and herritage far more than Americans ever have, and because of that they have a far harder time dealing with immigration than we do. Just look at Germany and their trouble dealing with their sizeable Turkish minority. Even after the horrible lessons learned during the Showa, Germany still defines Germaness based on bloodlines, which is why Russians of German descent, who themselves speak no German but have the right genes, are able to get German citizenship far more readily than people of Turkish descent born in Germany, who speak fluent German, who understand and identify with German cultural practices.

October 17, 2008 3:31 PM

Doom_of_cthulhu

Why is it that Europeans are always held to a higher standard than other groups? It's about time that Europe realized that they have profoundly important choices to make with regards to immigration... particularly in light of the profoundly negative impact immigration has on the societies in Europe. Personally, I think it's been a profound mistake to try to treat people from former colonies as 'French' or 'British' just because they speak the same language. Cultural differences run profoundly deep and it's unreasonable to expect people to become European when they're not European. Instead, we now see vast migrations of Muslims moving to Europe instead of staying in their own countries. This would be less problematic if they weren't also expecting Europeans to change THEIR cultural values to those of the immigrants. Would non-white countries tolerate this? Would you see the Chinese making room and changing their culture to accomodate whites? I doubt it.

Europe is not America. If you want diversity, move to the U.S.

October 17, 2008 4:28 PM

Ahi2001 Author Profile Page:

Design1:

I stand corrected but please don't hide behind my error. If you're not calling for such desperate measures, you sure seem to be sympathetic to or unsurprised by such desperate measures, without explaining why you would consider the situation so desperate?

The two examples you provide are of people booing a national anthem and the majority of one ? Is that a reason Well, in soccer matches across Europe, black people are booed at and people make monkey noises. What desperate measures does that provoke? The second is that North African Muslims should become the majority in your town (which is probably happening in very few towns to begin with). Why is that a cause for desperation? That has happened in the US in many towns and hasn't brought down this country or even weakened it. Why is Europe so insecure about it's own fragility?

Also, I think it is interesting that you place Albanians with other non-Europeans. Albania is a part of Europe. Why include Albanians? I think I know why, but wonder whether you have the integrity to explain what I can wager is a rather undignified bias.

October 17, 2008 5:24 PM

Luciana1 Author Profile Page:

This seems to me like a very "European" not "un-European" approach. There is a lot of cultural nationalism and xenophobia in Europe and of course historically there was quite a feeling of superiority to other, non-"European" nations as well. European anti-Americanism has some strains of racism, xenophobia and nationalism as well, it's not all just due to Abu Ghraib. Haven't you ever heard of the idea, expressed by more than a few Europeans, that Americans are just "losers" because we are, many of us, descended from European "losers" who were not able to be successful in Europe? Like Jews and younger sons and poor people and the like. So the "best" Europeans stayed behind in Europe and the losers had to go to the US where they constructed an inferior culture. European cultural nationalism, xenophobia and feelings of superiority to outsiders are still pretty powerful.

October 17, 2008 5:50 PM

link to image

A Nasty Movie: Obsession

link to video and audio

October 17, 2008
Democracy Now
Smearcastersweb
“Smearcasting: How Islamophobes Spread Fear, Bigotry and Misinformation”

In the last few weeks, 28 million copies of a DVD titled “Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West” have been distributed in key battleground states. The film features graphic, violent images and makes comparisons of Islam to Nazism.The DVD comes amidst concerns of increasing levels of ethnic and religious bias in US politics and the stoking of Islamophobia. We speak to Ibrahim Cooper of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and Isabel Macdonald of Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting, co-author of the new report “Smearcasting: How Islamophobes Spread Fear, Bigotry and Misinformation.”

John McCain has been widely praised for correcting a supporter at a campaign rally last week in Minnesota.

John McCain, questioned at Minnesota campaign rally.

McCain’s was correct in telling the woman that Obama was not an Arab, but his response explicitly suggested that being called an Arab was itself a smear. The incident has raised concerns about increasing levels of ethnic and religious bias in US politics and the stoking of Islamophobia. In the last few weeks, 28 million copies of a DVD titled “Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West” have been distributed as an advertising supplement in newspapers in key battleground states. It was paid for by the Clarion Fund, a nonprofit group established by the film’s Israeli producer with the goal of exposing what it calls the threat of radical Islam. The hour-long film features graphic, violent images and makes comparisons of Islam to Nazism.

Excerpt of “Obsession.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, has filed complaints with the IRS and Federal Elections Commission, saying Clarion has violated its tax-exempt status by distributing the film.

Ibrahim Hooper is the National Communications Director for CAIR. He joins us from Washington DC. And joining us here in New York is Isabel Macdonald, she is the communications director at Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting, and the co-author of the new report “Smearcasting: How Islamophobes Spread Fear, Bigotry and Misinformation.”

Isabel Macdonald, communications director at FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting), and the co-author of FAIR’s new report “Smearcasting: How Islamophobes Spread Fear, Bigotry and Misinformation.”

Ibrahim Hooper, National Communications Director for the Council on American-Islamic relations.

LA Times evaluation of candidate's position on immigration

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-equality17-2008oct17,0,6873423.story

Editorial
Los Angeles Times
Immigration, abortion and the next president
McCain and Obama are closer on immigration issues but differ starkly on reproductive rights.
October 17, 2008

...Immigration is one subject on which McCain and Obama broadly agree. Both acknowledge that the system is broken and favor securing borders, creating a guest-worker program and providing a path to citizenship. As a sponsor of two comprehensive reform bills, McCain should be unbeatable on this issue. Standing up to fellow Republicans (and some Democrats), he declared that the nation could not turn its back on the impoverished millions who have come here to work and prosper. Unfortunately, the free-thinker has become a follower, trailing behind the worst instincts of his party. Abandoning problem-solving for politics, McCain has made border security and employment enforcement his new mandate. That may be good Republican politics, but it's not sound policy. An estimated 500,000 illegal immigrants arrived in the United States last year -- down from about 700,000 the year before -- and about 280,500 people were deported. Those expulsions too often took their toll on families and businesses and did nothing to address the wider consequences of a large population of illegal immigrants within our borders.

Obama acknowledges the importance of border and workplace security but does not make it a prerequisite for solving the problem in its entirety. Also, his proposal to increase economic development opportunities in Mexico offers hope for addressing the causes of illegal immigration, not just the symptoms. He does not have McCain's impressive record in support of comprehensive reform, nor does he have McCain's cynical abandonment of that position...

The Faces We Make

We all make faces. But usually it is when we are alone or with someone who we really trust and are comfortable with. But WE DON'T do it in front of an audience, after a national debate, where news photographers are present.... esp. not a face where we are sticking out our tongue, obviously in disgust.

This post is not an endorsement for Obama. But I have to say, I'm glad they both didn't make a face. We can use this as a clue to what the candidate would do in future public situations they find distasteful.

It is hard to know what is going on with McCain. It is very likely that Obama might have the same feelings about his experience of the debate. But what you think in certain times needs to be very different than what behavior you display. McCain should have known better. I would encourage you to link to the comments to this WaPo post and see what people said about the photo:



link to WaPo photo and article

Washington Post
October 17, 2008


Counter-Intuition » Is This What McCain Thinks of Obama?


Psychologists believe that fleeting expressions can sometimes reveal how we really feel about other people. The photo above of John McCain, taken by Reuters photographer Jim Bourg, shows the presidential candidate going the wrong way around the table after the third presidential debate and sticking out his tongue in the direction of Barack Obama. Does it unwittingly convey what McCain really thinks of his opponent?

It seems unfair to pick a single photo to describe how a candidate feels -- all of us look like idiots during some part of each day. But we use expressions as guides all the time. Here is how John McCain, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama want us to see them. If unflattering pictures are deceptive, what about the flattering ones?

Or could it be that photos -- at least the ones that are not posed -- tell us something important? Psychologists such as Paul Ekman and John Gottman believe that microexpressions, rapid expressions often overlooked in everyday interactions, can give us important insights into a person's innermost thoughts and feelings.

So is that McCain photo a hatchet job, or a window into his soul?

The Accidental American

I found out about 'The Accidental American' via facebook. This book is a must read for those of us concerned with immigrant rights and racial justice in this country. To find out more about the authors of this book listen/read/watch the interview with the authors in the Tavis Smiley show.

Tavis: Rinku Sen is president and executive director of the Applied Research Center and the publisher of "Color Lines" magazine. Fekkak Mamdouh is a restaurant union organizer who this year co-founded the country's first national restaurant workers' organization. The group is called Restaurant Opportunities Center United. The two of them have teamed up for the new book, "The Accidental American: Immigration and Citizenship in the Age of Globalization." I'm glad to have you both here.

Rinku Sen: Thank you.

Fekkak Mamdouh: Thank you.

Tavis: My pleasure. Rinku, let me start with you. The title of the book actually got me - "The Accidental American." The more I thought about it, the more I thought that maybe we're all accidental Americans. But you tell me what you meant by the book's title.

Sen: Well, that's exactly what we meant, actually. It started out as a reflection on the way that most immigrants come to the country; many people don't imagine staying forever and becoming Americans, but as soon as we start thinking about that, it eventually became clear in our minds that all of us are accidental in some way. So no one actually can claim 100 percent to be the real or true American and to make immigration policy as though there were such a thing would be dishonest.

Tavis: To your latter point now, which is where I wanted to go, how do you think not acknowledging that reality, that we are all accidental Americans, how does not acknowledging that reality impact the immigration debate as we now know it?

Sen: Well, one of the things that happens is that we make immigration policy as though we're trying to preserve some kind of pure or natural American identity - something that got set up in 1776 and hasn't been changed in the 200-some years since then. And we argue that there is no such thing; that American culture has been changed many times through its history, often from people inside of the culture, and also by people who are outside of the culture to whom Americans became exposed and who influenced the way that we listen to music or the foot that we eat or even the way we do our politics.

Tavis: With regard to how the book is written, the storyline here, the narrative, weaves in discussion of policy with Mamdouh's personal story. You got these two things that are being woven together from the front to the back of the book. Why was that important, and how does his personal immigrant story augment the kind of narrative that you think it's important for us as Americans to understand in this debate - does that make sense?

Sen: Yeah. I think that people are pretty confused by the immigration debate. They don't really know what the laws are and how they actually affect human beings. And what you got to see in Mamdouh's story is how he starts out organizing immigrants who are of color, working in kitchens and at the back of the house in restaurants, and gradually in six years how that community grows and grows and grows until it includes everybody.

It includes U.S.-born workers who are working at the front of the house, it includes employers who are trying to do the right thing, and it includes diners who want to get a decent meal in New York without exploiting anyone. And at the same time, we track what happens to immigration reform in Congress in that same period, and in contrast to this beautifully expanding community that Mamdouh is building, in Congress the idea of who belongs in America gets narrower and narrower in that six years, and meaner.

Tavis: Mamdouh, tell me more, given Rinku's introduction of you - tell me more about the work that you're doing now, and how you got into doing the work that you're doing as an immigrant.

Mamdouh: Well, it all starts - I come from Morocco, and why I come here, because I was really poor and I cannot afford to live the life that everybody living in Third World country, so I managed to come here. And when I come here, like every immigrant, we start in low jobs.

So I start working as a delivery boy, even I have a degree in physic and chemical. And all immigrant, they come, they're driving taxi and they are doctors in New York, because where we come from. We don't get the help that other people get when they come here. So start working in restaurant and very quick I was moved from delivery boy to busboy to waiter, and they moved me very fast because I speak French.

Other immigrants and people of color does work as busers and dishwashers stay for life there because nobody help them and because of the look. They want pretty face - blue eyes, white skin - to be serving, and all the rest doing the hot job in the back.

And the difference between the back of the house and the front, the back will make up, like, $25,000, $30,000, and the front, in good places, you make $60,000 up to 80, to 100, to $120,000 where it's a livable job, but it's not given to people of color and immigrants.

In my case, I was given that because I speak French and in 1996, I ended up working at Windows on the World restaurant at the top of the World Trade Center. And after 9/11, I lost 73 of my coworkers; 350 of us left with no jobs, and there was nowhere to go. We're lucky that we have a union there, (unintelligible) area local 100 - all of us went to the union, and the union didn't have the capacity to work with all of us.
...Rest of interview

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When An Immigrant Mom Gets Arrested

Color Lines features this piece that came out in their July/August issue. It is a bit lengthy, but it is a story worth reading to understand the consequences of family separation due to the draconian immigration laws being enforced.

When An Immigrant Mom Gets Arrested
By Julianne Ong Hing and Seth Wessler

BEHIND THE THICK GLASS THAT RUNS THE LENGTH of the Yuba County Jail’s visitation corridor, Tatyana Mitrohina’s eyes glisten, and then fill with tears as she recounts the last time she saw her son. “During the visit, he climbed into my arms and fell asleep with his head on my shoulder while I walked around with him,” she remembers.
Two months after that visit, Mitrohina was sent to the Yuba County Jail in Marysville, California, hours away from her 2-year-old son, who is in foster care. She was convicted on charges that she had hit him. While she does not deny the charges, she does say she had expected to be released from jail and to get counseling and start to rebuild her life with her child. But with the increasing collaboration between local authorities and federal immigration officials, Mitrohina found that she would not get that second chance. The government had slated her to be deported to Russia, the country she left as a teenager.

“When I first got here, I would break down crying once a week, just thinking about everything that’s happened,” says Mitrohina, who is 30 years old.

Immigration and child welfare advocates say that Mitrohina’s story—the loss of her child, her incarceration and detention, and her struggle to care for her child—represents a new and dangerous terrain at the intersection of three government systems—deportation, incarceration and foster care—that are tearing apart poor families and families of color.

While rates of detention and deportation have increased exponentially in recent years, what is happening to immigrant families is not a new story. It has been played out time and again in the lives of Black families who, in the past 20 years, have faced an increase in drug-related arrests and sentences that place Black parents in jail and their children in foster care. As immigrant families find themselves targeted by a combination of public policies, it is becoming clear that their experiences and those of Black families, women and children are troublingly similar.


Rest of article

DREAMers in California are FAR from Giving Up!

It is with tenacity and this same passion written by fellow DREAMer that things will continue to change for us and our families.

As a DREAMer, i believe that after experiencing a lot of rejection and discrimination in the system our current struggles are deeper that what they seem. I believe that the rejecting and attempting to kill in-state tuition bills for immigrant students, is not because of fiscal issues in the state, but rather an attempt to keep a group of individuals oppressed.

Students don’t give up on Dream Act
Lizbeth Mateo / Contributing Reporter
Published: Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Updated: Monday, October 13, 2008

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made history on Tuesday, Sept. 30, when he vetoed a record 35 percent of the nearly 1, 200 bills the California Legislature put on his desk this year.

Among those bills returned by the governor without his signature was Sen. Cedillo’s SB 1301, the California Dream Act, which has been vetoed by Schwarzenegger for the fourth time.

This bill would have allowed U.S. citizens and undocumented AB 540 students to apply for institutional financial aid – aid that is awarded based on academic achievement and financial need, and that is administered by the attending college or university in the forms of scholarships, loans and work-study programs.

It is estimated that AB 540 students compromise less than one percent of the student body in the University of California system. Approximately 1,200 of the 1,600 AB 540 students enrolled during the 2006 -2007 school year were U.S. citizens or legal residents, and in total AB 540 students contribute $64 millions each year in tuition to the UC system, of which 30 percent is used to create this institutional aid.

The CSU does not track the number of AB 540 students due to a confidentiality agreement and it is unclear how the UC system is able to do it.

One of Schwarzenegger’s spokesmen, Aaron McLear, said that the governor “reviewed each and every bill, but he wasn’t going to spend a lot of time and energy on bills that didn’t mean much to the state.”

Didn’t mean much to the state? Wouldn’t spend much time on them?

Tell that to the approximately 25,000 AB 540 students who could have benefited from the California Dream Act. Tell that to the hundreds of students, activists, educators, professionals, faith-based leaders, union members, community and business members of the Power and Unity Coalition and CHIRLA’s California Dream Network who spent months collecting over 20,00 signatures in support of this bill.

Members of CSUN’s Dreams to be Heard, an AB 540 support group, worked hard in collecting pens and signatures, and traveled to Sacramento on Sept. 17 to remind the governor of his promise of making California’s future a priority.

The governor, however, seems to care very little about California’s future, despite his claim that he would make this a year of education. So far, Schwarzenegger has only terminated the dreams of thousands of students.

I have to admit that I’ve never been a big fan of the governor, but I was hopeful he would sign it, as were over 100 students from Los Angeles and Orange County who traveled to the state’s capital to urge Schwarzenegger to sign the bill. That hope came in part from the governor’s own words, when in 2005 during my commencement ceremony at Santa Monica City College, he said:

“And make sure that you understand one thing; that you are the only obstacle. There is no other obstacle for you than you yourself, your own mind, because America and California is already the land of opportunity.”

I beg to disagree with Schwarzenegger. Our mind is not the biggest obstacle here. During the last hour of Sept. 30, while thousands of students were glued to the TV, searching the Internet, waiting for a call, a text message or an e-mail with news about the California Dream Act, the governor became the obstacle.

Once again, he has ignored legislators who have supported, have approved and have put this bill on his desk. He has ignored studies from institutions such as the Public Policy Institute of California, which predicts that 41 percent of jobs in California in 2025 will require a college education, but at the current rate the state will only produce 32 percent of the workers needed.

AB 540 students are a key component of the state’s future because these students can help fill the gap. They are an untapped resource that given the right opportunity and support will bring about great changes and benefits to California.

If the solution seems to be a signature away and everyone understands this, including our very own Associated Student Senate, which passed a resolution last spring expressing its support for SB 1301, what in the world is wrong with the governor?

Perhaps we’ll never know, but there is one thing we know for sure: AB 540 students are not giving up. If the “Governator” was able to hear the more than one hundred students chanting in front of the state capitol, myself among them, then he knows that “We’ll be Back!”

Schwarzenegger’s veto was only a small setback, since the students behind this movement for equal access to education will continue their efforts on bringing about legislation, at the state and national level, that will give undocumented students a chance for a better future and the honor of giving back to the country they know as home.

Van crashes in AZ as it carried 20+ People

Van packed with more than 20 crashes in Phoenix

Associated Press - October 13, 2008 1:54 PM ET

PHOENIX (AP) - A van packed with some 20 people suspected of being illegal immigrants crashed into two cars in southwest Phoenix while trying to elude authorities.

After Monday morning's collision at the intersection of 27th and Southern avenues, witnesses said they saw more than 15 people get out of the van, which had tipped on its side, and run into the neighborhood.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety said officers first spotted the van driving erratically on Interstate 10.

At least 21 people were in custody, including the suspected driver of the van, and all were taken to hospitals to be checked out for minor bruises and back pain.

Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Just because you don't have blue eyes

If Obama had blue eyes, people wouldn't be screaming ugly things about him at McCain rallies.  There is something about being a little darker skinned that makes many (white) Americans think it is OK to insult or threaten someone...  It doesn't help that McCain and his pal Palin are egging people along.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/12/AR2008101201873.html?hpid=topnews

Does Your Subconscious Think Obama Is Foreign?
By Shankar Vedantam
Monday, October 13, 2008; A10

A few years ago, psychologists Mahzarin Banaji and Thierry Devos showed the names of a number of celebrities to a group of volunteers and asked them to classify the well-known personalities as American or non-American. The list included television personality Connie Chung and tennis star Michael Chang, both Asian Americans, as well as British actors Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley. The volunteers had no trouble identifying Chung and Chang as American and Grant and Hurley as foreigners.

The psychologists then asked the group which names they associated with iconic American symbols such as the U.S. flag, the Capitol building and Mount Rushmore, and which ones they associated with generically foreign symbols such as the United Nations building in Geneva, a Ukrainian 100-hryven bill and a map of Luxembourg.

The psychologists found that the participants, who were asked to answer quickly, were dramatically quicker to associate the American symbols with the British actors, and the foreign symbols with the Asian Americans. The results suggest that on a subconscious level people were using ethnicity as a proxy for American identity and equating whites -- even white foreigners -- with things American.

The psychologists initially assumed that this bias began and ended with Asian Americans and would not apply to other ethnic groups. But in another experiment involving famous black athletes around the time of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, they found that the same pattern applied to African Americans. Although white volunteers agreed explicitly that hurdlers Allen Johnson and Angelo Taylor, who won two golds at Sydney, "contributed to the glory of America" and "represent what America is all about," they were slower to associate photos of black athletes than white athletes with American symbols. Black participants, on the other hand, were as quick to associate black athletes as white athletes with being American.

"The reason this is powerful is it shows our minds will not just distort our preferences but distort facts," said Banaji, who works at Harvard. "African Americans in their [own] minds are fully American, but not in the minds of whites."

The experiments, based on tests that are accessible at http://implicit.harvard.edu, have provoked controversy -- especially in terms of what they mean. It may embarrass people when they subconsciously associate whites with being American, but does that matter? If people have no trouble distinguishing Americans and foreigners in their conscious minds, why should we care about their subconscious tendencies?

It may matter a lot when it comes to voting behavior, the researchers said.

In a new series of experiments, Devos has shown that the "white equals American" bias could well be playing a powerful role in the presidential election. (Banaji is a registered Democrat; Devos is not an American citizen.)

During the primary season, Devos, at San Diego State University, along with colleague Debbie Ma at the University of Chicago, found that on a subconscious level, people more easily associated Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton with being American than Sen. Barack Obama. Clinton is white; Obama is biracial.

Even more remarkably, the psychologists found that the volunteers were quicker to associate former British prime minister Tony Blair with being American than Obama. Blair is white.

On a conscious level, the participants had no trouble identifying Obama and Clinton as American, and Blair as a foreigner. But Devos and Ma found that the subconscious associations mattered: People who were slower to see Obama as American on a subconscious level were less likely to be willing to vote for the senator from Illinois than people who more easily associated him with American symbols. This was true of both Republicans and Democrats.

In a final set of experiments completed just last week, Thierry said the researchers had found an identical pattern when they compared people's subconscious associations with Obama and his Republican presidential opponent, Sen. John McCain. On a conscious level, volunteers said that both Obama and McCain were American, but on a subconscious level, volunteers were quicker to associate McCain with being American than Obama -- and the strength of these subconscious associations predicted people's voting intentions.

"The less you see Obama as American compared to McCain, the less likely you are to vote for him," Devos said.

It is important to emphasize that the bias uncovered by the studies was subtle, and only one of many factors that go into people's voting choices. The research in no way suggests that all of Obama's opponents are racially biased -- people who do not find Obama appealing may well reach their conclusions based on policy positions, partisan identification and personal circumstances.

But Devos said the difficulty in seeing African Americans as fully American is clearly a drag on Obama's prospects, without which he would probably be further ahead in the polls.

The provocative research also may help explain why Obama has proved vulnerable to negative messages that question his identity and his loyalty to America. From the false rumors that Obama is a Muslim and that he refuses to salute the American flag, to the repeated reminders at Republican rallies that Obama's middle name is Hussein and recent concerns that voters just don't know enough about him, the attacks that have dogged the Democratic presidential candidate are not the traditional racial stereotypes that have been used against many African American politicians.

"We cannot think of him as frightening or a likely criminal -- he is the antithesis of that," Banaji said. "So when the mind goes searching for reasons to distrust him, the first thing it lands on are the foreign connections" -- Indonesia and Africa, places to which Obama has ties.

"Suggesting Obama is foreign or unknown offers a cover for racism," she said. "You can't say he is black and unfit to be president, but you can say that he is Muslim and therefore unfit to be president."

Preparing for Marshall Law?

http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2008/10/2/amy_goodmans_latest_column_invasion_of_the_sea_smurfs

A little-noticed story surfaced a couple of weeks ago in the Army Times newspaper about the 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team. “Beginning Oct. 1 for 12 months,” reported Army Times staff writer Gina Cavallaro, “the 1st BCT will be under the day-to-day control of U.S. Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command, as an on-call federal response force for natural or manmade emergencies and disasters, including terrorist attacks.” Disturbingly, she writes that “they may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control” as well.

The force will be called the chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive Consequence Management Response Force. Its acronym, CCMRF, is pronounced “sea-smurf.” These “sea-smurfs,” Cavallaro reports, have “spent 35 of the last 60 months in Iraq patrolling in full battle rattle,” in a combat zone, and now will spend their 20-month “dwell time”—time troops are required to spend to “reset and regenerate after a deployment”—armed and ready to hit the U.S. streets.

The Army Times piece includes a correction stating that the forces would not use nonlethal weaponry domestically. I called Air Force Lt. Col. Jamie Goodpaster, a public-affairs officer for Northern Command. She told me that the overall mission was humanitarian, to save lives and help communities recover from catastrophic events. Nevertheless, the military forces would have weapons on-site, “containerized,” she said—that is, stored in containers—including both lethal and so-called nonlethal weapons. They would have mostly wheeled vehicles, but would also, she said, have access to tanks. She said that any decision to use weapons would be made at a higher level, perhaps at the secretary-of-defense level.

Talk of trouble on U.S. streets is omnipresent now, with the juxtaposition of Wall Street and Main Street. The financial crisis we face remains obscure to most people; titans of business and government officials assure us that the financial system is “on the brink,” that a massive bailout is necessary, immediately, to prevent a disaster. Conservative and progressive members of Congress, at the insistence of constituents, blocked the initial plan. If the economy does collapse, if people can’t go down to the bank to withdraw their savings, or get cash from an ATM, there may be serious “civil unrest,” and the “sea-smurfs” may be called upon sooner than we imagine to assist with “crowd control.”

The political and financial establishments seem completely galled that people would actually oppose their massive bailout, which rewards financiers for gambling. Normal people worry about paying their bills, buying groceries and gas, and paying rent or a mortgage in increasingly uncertain times. No one ever offers to bail them out. Wall Street’s house of cards has collapsed, and the rich bankers are getting little sympathy from working people.

That’s where the sea-smurfs come in. Officially formed to respond to major disasters, like a nuclear or biological attack, this combat brigade falls under the U.S. Northern Command, a military structure formed on Oct, 1, 2002, to “provide command and control of Department of Defense homeland defense efforts.” Military participation in domestic operations was originally outlawed with the Posse Comitatus Act in 1878. The John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007, however, included a section that allowed the president to deploy the armed forces to “restore public order” or to suppress “any insurrection.” While a later bill repealed this, President Bush attached a signing statement that he did not feel bound by the repeal.

We are in a time of increasing economic disparity, with the largest gap between rich and poor of any wealthy industrialized country. We are witnessing a crackdown on dissent, most recently with $100 million spent on “security” at the Democratic and Republican national conventions. The massive paramilitary police forces deployed at the RNC in St. Paul, Minn., were complete overkill, discouraging protests and conducting mass arrests (National Guard troops just back from Fallujah were there). The arrest there of almost 50 journalists (myself included) showed a clear escalation in attempting to control the message (akin to the ban on photos of flag-draped coffins of soldiers). There are two ongoing, unpopular wars that are costing lives and hundreds of billions of dollars. Nobel-winning economist Joe Stiglitz estimates that Iraq alone will cost more than $3 trillion.

In December 2001, in the midst of restricted access to bank accounts due to a financial crisis, respectable, middle-class Argentines rose up, took to the streets, smashed bank windows and ultimately forced the government out of power, despite a massive police crackdown and a failed attempt to control the media. Here in the U.S., with the prospect of a complete failure of our financial system, the people have spoken and do not want an unprecedented act of corporate welfare. We don’t know how close the system is to collapse, nor do we know how close the people are to taking to the streets. The creation of an active-duty military force, the sea-smurfs, that could be used to suppress public protest here at home is a very bad sign.

thanks to A.  

http://hladc-sf.blogspot.com

2008 Global Financial Crisis: from the London Independent

Great Depression seems to the phrase that "cannot be spoken" these days.  Sometimes it is hard to imagine how things on Wall Street could affect our everyday life.  Maybe not much will happen... maybe it will only be that the car lots will be empty of customers - and new housing subdivisions won't grow so fast for a while.  

Either way, maybe we need to think about not having to buy everything we want right now.  Do we really need all those extra channels on our cable programming?  Do we need all those minutes for our cell phone use?  Do we really need a new car?  or new furniture?  or new curtains?  

It seems like a good idea to take a second look at where our money is going - and consider trying to save instead of charge.

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http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/andreas-whittam-smith/andreas-whittam-smith-we-could-be-on-the-brink-of-a-great-depression-959311.html

Andreas Whittam Smith: We could be on the brink of a Great Depression

It has been fashionable to say that this can never happen again

Monday, 13 October 2008

As we return to work this Monday morning, let the words of the director general of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, ring in our ears. Mr Strauss-Kahn, having spent all Saturday with finance ministers in Washington, warned that the global financial system has been pushed "to the brink of a systemic meltdown". And he added that the measures taken thus far to deal with the financial crisis "have not yet achieved the goal of stabilising markets and bolstering confidence".

I stretch "systemic" to mean that we are all affected by what has begun to happen – the shrinking of bank credit. Banks won't even lend to each other, let alone to the rest of us. In a sense, they know too much. Grimly aware of the substantial amounts of dud loans on their own books, following a prolonged period of over-optimistic lending, they assume the worst of each other. They also turn down highly respectable companies, the mainstays of the economy, when they come to them for credit. For as the banks' mistakes return to haunt them, they feel compelled to hoard cash.

Two weeks ago, for instance, I was on the executive floor of a large company, a household name for generations. Decent people run it. It makes substantial profits. I found the directors stunned to discover that they could no longer go on raising short-term loans from time to time to balance out the ebbs and flows of their cash flows. This was a "first" in the company's long history. From now onwards, the directors would have to run their business more cautiously. They will provide less employment and reduce the orders they place with outside suppliers.

Systemic, because virtually all businesses have some borrowing. Credit is the oxygen in the system. Take it away and businesses begin to falter. They become like climbers at high altitudes. An example is the plight of local authorities and charities whose funds have been trapped in insolvent Icelandic banks. Some of these lenders will have difficulty in paying their bills and so they will unwittingly harm others who know nothing of Icelandic banks.

Systemic, seeing that the United States, Germany, Japan and most large economies are feeling the effects. Last week, for instance, shares in General Motors crashed to their lowest level since 1950. Yes, since just before the company launched the first ever "American" sports car, the Chevrolet Corvette, with its white paintwork and red upholstery. Over 50 years later, General Motors' customers are having increasing difficulty in obtaining car finance. And the stock market was spooked by the fact that loans raised by General Motors itself, already classified as "junk" debt, are to be down-rated even further – to sub-junk, I suppose. In these circumstances, virtually nobody will lend to this giant.

"Meltdown," in Mr Strauss-Kahn's phrase, is not an exaggeration because depriving the economic system of credit would quickly result in prolonged recession, or depression, call it what you will. Stock markets suddenly began to sense this possibility last week. That is why investors rushed for the exit.

Indeed, it is not fanciful to make comparisons with the Great Depression, which started with the stock market crash of 29 October 1929 and ended some time in the late 1930s. President Roosevelt's chairman of the Federal Reserve, Marriner Eccles, tried to sum up its essence in his memoirs published in 1951. He had led the Federal Reserve from 1934 to 1948 and seen everything. I quote him extensively because of his sudden relevance: "This is what happened to us in the Twenties," Mr Eccles wrote, "We sustained high levels of employment in that period with the aid of an exceptional expansion of debt outside of the banking system (which) increased about 50 per cent. This debt, at high interest rates, largely took the form of mortgage debt on housing, office, and hotel structures, consumer instalment debt, brokers' loans, and foreign debt."

Before going further, notice the similarities between then and now – the presence of mortgage debt and of shadow banking – what Mr Eccles called debt outside the banking system. Mr Eccles went on: "The stimulation to spend by debt creation of this sort was short-lived and could not be counted on to sustain high levels of employment for long periods of time ... The time came when there were no more poker chips to be loaned on credit. Debtors thereupon were forced to curtail their consumption in an effort to create a margin that could be applied to the reduction of outstanding debts. This naturally reduced the demand for goods of all kinds and brought on what seemed to be overproduction, but was in reality under consumption when judged in terms of the real world instead of the money world. This, in turn, brought about a fall in prices and employment ... (finally) the vicious circle of deflation was closed (with) one-third of the entire working population unemployed. This then, was my reading of what brought on the depression."

It has long been fashionable to say that this can never happen again because this time we know better than to let banks actually crash – that is, apart from Lehman Brothers a few weeks ago, whose collapse had had such serious consequences. Nor would governments savagely hack into public spending as they did in the early 1930s – though there are plenty of reasons in 2008 to cut back. Nor would we lapse into protectionism again – in spite of increasing temptation to move in that direction. We know what not to do. But do we know what to do?

"On the brink," observed Mr Strauss-Kahn, a clear reference to the failure of the Group of Seven industrialised nations to decide anything definite at their meeting on Saturday. But since then, I am glad to say, the pace has quickened. There are three encouraging developments. This morning, we are likely to learn which British banks are to get money under the UK Government's £50bn bank rescue. These may well be HBOS and Royal Bank of Scotland.

The Bush administration has quickly embarked on an overhaul of its own strategy for rescuing the foundering financial system. Having two weeks ago persuaded Congress to let it spend $700bn to buy distressed securities tied to mortgages, the White House has decided in addition to follow Britain's approach. The US government would inject capital directly into the nation's banks. Finally, the French government also appears to be moving towards the British solution, expressing a willingness to guarantee banks' short-term borrowings as well as their deposits.

As an international civil servant rather than a finance minister with daily politics to consider, Mr Strauss-Kahn may have felt that he should issue the dreadful warnings that others dare not proclaim. Governments won't even use the word "recession" when it is staring them in the face. And while the weekend's developments have by no means achieved "the goal of stabilising markets and bolstering confidence", they do represent progress of a kind.

Really scary times ahead

John McCain and Sarah Palin try new tactics

By Robin Abcarian and Maeve Reston, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
October 12, 2008

JOHNSTOWN, PA. -- After a week of increasingly nasty rallies in which John McCain and Sarah Palin hammered Democratic rival Barack Obama over his "association" with a 1960s-era radical, the Republican candidates changed tactics Saturday during campaign swings through two presidential battleground states. Palin launched a new front in the culture wars here, attacking Obama on abortion, while in Iowa, McCain concentrated on a critique of Obama's spending proposals.

Emotions -- particularly anger -- have been running high at GOP gatherings. During a town hall Friday in Minnesota, a woman referred to Obama as an Arab, leading McCain to correct the misperception and defend his opponent as a "decent . . . family man."

On a day when an important civil rights figure condemned the tone of the McCain campaign, Palin seemed to acknowledge the nastiness. After chastising Obama for "unconditional support for unlimited abortions," she said at a rally in this heavily Catholic, socially conservative Democratic stronghold that "Americans need to see his record for what it is. And please: It is not negative, it is not mean-spirited, to talk to about his record."

When Obama was an Illinois state senator, she said, he opposed proposals to outlaw what critics refer to as "partial-birth abortion." She invoked two antiabortion Catholic Democrats -- the late New York Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan and the late Pennsylvania Gov. Robert Casey -- in an attempt to characterize Obama's views as extreme.

Moynihan, Palin said, "described partial-birth abortion as 'too close to infanticide.' Sen. Obama thinks it's a constitutional right, but he is wrong."

Senior Obama advisor Anita Dunn said Palin's comments "show that . . . the right to choose hangs in the balance."

Scathing words

Meanwhile in Iowa, McCain advocated for his tax cuts and his plan to balance the budget by "the end of my term in office." He offered a scathing critique of the price tag of Obama's spending proposals and accused him of being vague.

"We've all heard what he's said, but it's less clear what he's done or what he will do," McCain told a crowd of more than 1,000 in Davenport. "Rather than answer his critics, Sen. Obama will try to distract. . . . He has even questioned my truthfulness -- and let me reply in the plainest terms I know: I don't need lessons about telling the truth to the American people. And were I ever to need any improvement in that regard, I probably wouldn't seek advice from a Chicago politician," McCain said as the crowd responded with a roar.

Before McCain spoke, a Christian pastor offered a prayer that seemed to ask for divine intervention on his behalf. "There are millions of people around this world praying to their God -- whether it's Hindu, Buddha, Allah -- that [McCain's] opponent wins for a variety of reasons," Pastor Arnold Conrad said. "And, Lord, I pray that you would guard your own reputation, because they're going to think that their god is bigger than you, if that happens."

The McCain campaign said it did not condone the prayer.

"While we understand the important role that faith plays in informing the votes of Iowans, questions about the religious background of the candidates only serve to distract from the real questions in this race about Barack Obama's judgment, policies and readiness to lead as commander in chief," Wendy Riemann, McCain's Iowa spokeswoman, said.

'Playing with fire'

The campaign earlier had called Obama's judgment into question by invoking his interactions with William Ayers, a founder of the violent Weather Underground. The onetime radical, now an education professor, has served on two charitable boards with Obama and hosted a fundraiser for him early in his political career.

On Saturday, Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a central figure in the civil rights movement, accused McCain of poisoning the political atmosphere, comparing him to former Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace, a proponent of racial segregation.

"He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who only desired to exercise their constitutional rights," wrote Lewis, who is black. "As public figures with the power to influence and persuade, Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are playing with fire, and if they are not careful, that fire will consume us all. . . . The American people deserve better."

At a campaign forum in August, McCain named Lewis as one of the three people he would rely on most in his administration. On Saturday, he said, "I am saddened that John Lewis, a man I've always admired, would make such a brazen and baseless attack on my character and the character of the thousands of hardworking Americans who come to our events to cheer for the kind of reform that will put America on the right track."

robin.abcarian@latimes.com

maeve.reston@latimes.com

Abcarian reported from Pennsylvania and Reston from Iowa.

Support Dreamer T-Shirts

DREAMers from California are selling these t shirts to support their advocacy efforts. For more information on how to get a hold of these t-shirts, visittheir myspace page.

Threatening letters sent to LA Times and Obama's LA campaign office

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http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-powder12-2008oct12,0,4589753.story

Suspicious letters sent to Times and to Palm Desert's McCallum Theatre
The letters contained a granular substance that was found to be harmless. The FBI is investigating. A similar letter was sent to a Barack Obama campaign office.

By Scott Glover Times Staff Writer
October 12, 2008

Suspicious letters delivered to a theater in Palm Desert and to the Los Angeles Times on Friday appeared to contain no hazardous materials, FBI officials confirmed.

Laura Eimiller, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Los Angeles, said the Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating the letters, but said the granular substance in the letters tested negative for hazardous biological or chemical materials.

A similar letter delivered to The Times mailroom on Friday was also being investigated...


The envelope was addressed to two Times reporters and bore no return address, said Times Senior Security Manager Larry Belkin. "Save the Babies" was handwritten on the envelope's face, and "Kill All Obama Supporters" was written on the back, Belkin said. Inside was a one-page letter and a light brown granular substance.

McCain's "rallies are beginning to look... like lynch mobs"

I wonder if this would be happening if Obama was a regular white guy with a name like John Smith

"On "Hardball" today the GOP's Ed Rogers defended McCain and attacked me when I echoed Gergen and suggested the McCain-Palin demonization of Obama was creating a climate that could lead to violence. Luckily John McCain agreed with me, and disagreed with Rogers" - Joan Walsh, Salon.com

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http://www.salon.com/opinion/walsh/election_2008/2008/10/11/current_mccainsdishonest/print.html

John McCain's dishonorable campaign
Finally, he kinda sorta challenges supporters who are sliming Barack Obama.

Joan Walsh

Oct. 11, 2008 |


It kept getting worse all week. Again on Friday a McCain-Palin supporter called Barack Obama a "traitor," and John McCain said nothing. He used to challenge racist hecklers on the trail; he used to say he wanted to run an honorable campaign. But lately he and pit bull Sarah Palin are attacking Obama personally and politically in every city, from every platform. And they seem to be savoring the disgusting hate they're fomenting -- Obama being called "terrorist," "traitor," "socialist." Haters screaming "Kill him."

Finally McCain kinda sorta stood up to a supporter in Minnesota who denounced Obama as an "Arab." McCain replied, "No, ma'am, he's a decent, family man, a citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with." At another point, he said, "I have to tell you, he is a decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared of as president of the United States," to boos and groans from the crowd.

It's no accident McCain stood up after several honorable Republicans and former McCain supporters began to speak out about his campaign's hate-mongering. On Friday Michigan's former GOP governor William Milliken started backing away from the guy he endorsed.

"He is not the McCain I endorsed," Milliken told a local paper. "He keeps saying, 'Who is Barack Obama?' I would ask the question, 'Who is John McCain?' because his campaign has become rather disappointing to me.

"I'm disappointed in the tenor and the personal attacks on the part of the McCain campaign, when he ought to be talking about the issues."

Frank A. Schaeffer, a McCain friend and former supporter (McCain blurbed his book on military service), has denounced the McCain campaign in a Baltimore Sun Op-Ed he cross-posted on Open Salon.

"Stop! Think! Your rallies are beginning to look, sound, feel and smell like lynch mobs," Schaeffer warned. Strong words, but he's right. Even former McCain staffers like Mike Murphy and John Weaver are criticizing the tenor of the campaign. As David Gergen said on CNN Thursday night: "There is this free floating sort of whipping around anger that could really lead to some violence. I think we're not far from that."

On "Hardball" today the GOP's Ed Rogers defended McCain and attacked me when I echoed Gergen and suggested the McCain-Palin demonization of Obama was creating a climate that could lead to violence. Luckily John McCain agreed with me, and disagreed with Rogers.

Update: Wow, I just watched the video, and I belatedly remembered: It was Ed Rogers who first called the Illinois senator "Barack Hussein Obama" on "Hardball" in November 2006. Wish I'd remembered this afternoon!

Here is the video:

McCain can stop those dangerous words

The media has only reported there being lots of "anger" at McCain's rallies- there has been nothing about people yelling "kill him [Obama]." McCain needs to teach himself and Palin a little about history and how violence can be incited. McCain knows better. He has become exceedingly reckless now that he is more than 10 points behind Obama. Is McCain's desire to become president stronger than his ethic? Doesn't sound patriotic to me.
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"What I find most unconscionable is the refusal of the McCain-Palin tandem to publicly condemn the cries of "traitor," "liar," "terrorist" and (worst of all) "kill him!" that could be heard at recent rallies. McCain is perfectly capable of telling hecklers off. But not once did he or his running mate bother to admonish the people yelling these obscene -- and potentially dangerous -- words." - Washington Post

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/10/AR2008101002456_pf.html

McCain and Palin Are Playing With Fire

By Khaled Hosseini
Sunday, October 12, 2008; B05

I prefer to discuss politics through my novels, but I am truly dismayed these days. Twice last week alone, speakers at McCain-Palin rallies have referred to Sen. Barack Obama, with unveiled scorn, as Barack Hussein Obama.

Never mind that this evokes -- and brazenly tries to resurrect -- the unsavory, cruel days of our past that we thought we had left behind. Never mind that such jeers are deeply offensive to millions of peaceful, law-abiding Muslim Americans who must bear the unveiled charge, made by some supporters of Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin, that Obama's middle name makes him someone to distrust -- and, judging by some of the crowd reactions at these rallies, someone to persecute or even kill. As a secular Muslim, I too was offended. Obama's middle name differs from my last name by only two vowels. Does the McCain-Palin campaign view me as a pariah too? Do McCain and Palin think there's something wrong with my name?

But never mind any of that.

The real affront is the lack of firm response from either McCain or Palin. Neither has had the moral courage, when taking the stage, to grasp the microphone, turn to the presenter and, right then and there, denounce the use of Obama's middle name as an insult. Instead, they have simply delivered their stump speeches, lacing into Obama as if nothing out-of-bounds had just happened. The McCain-Palin ticket has given toxic speeches accusing Obama of being a friend of terrorists, then released short, meek repudiations of some of the rough stuff, including McCain's call Friday to "be respectful." Back in February, the Arizona senator apologized for the "disparaging remarks" from a talk-radio host who sneered repeatedly about "Barack Hussein Obama" before a McCain rally. "We will have a respectful debate," McCain insisted afterward. But pretending to douse flames that you are busy fanning does not qualify as straight talk.

What I find most unconscionable is the refusal of the McCain-Palin tandem to publicly condemn the cries of "traitor," "liar," "terrorist" and (worst of all) "kill him!" that could be heard at recent rallies. McCain is perfectly capable of telling hecklers off. But not once did he or his running mate bother to admonish the people yelling these obscene -- and potentially dangerous -- words. They may not have been able to hear the slurs at the rallies, but surely they have had ample time since to get on camera and warn that this sort of ugliness has no place in an election season. But they have not. Simply calling Obama "a decent person" is not enough.

Is inaction tantamount to consent? The McCain campaign certainly thinks so when it comes to Obama and incendiary remarks from the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. By their own inaction, then, are McCain and Palin condoning these slurs? Or worse, are they willfully inciting the angry and venomous response that we have been witnessing at their rallies? If not, then what reaction are they hoping to evoke by their relentless public suggestions that Obama is basically an anti-American liar who won't put "country first" and has an affection for terrorists? Do they not understand the kind of fire they are playing with?

I -- and, I suspect, millions of Americans like me, Republicans and Democrats alike -- couldn't care less about Obama's middle name or the ridiculous six-degrees-of-separation game that is the William Ayers non-issue. The Taliban are clawing their way back in Afghanistan, the country that I hope many of my fellow Americans have come to understand better through my novels. People are losing their homes and their jobs and are watching the future slip away from them. But instead of addressing these problems, the McCain-Palin ticket is doing its best to distract Americans by provoking fear, anxiety and hatred. Country first? Hardly.

Khaled Hosseini is the author of "The Kite Runner" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns."

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cartoon

Migrants Forced Overboard near Yemen: 100 possibly drowned

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http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/10/2008101015433947109.html

Migrants forced overboard off Yemen
More than 30,000 migrants have arrived in Yemen by boat this year [File: EPA]

ALJAZEERA, OCTOBER 10, 2008

Scores of Somali migrants are feared drowned off the coast of Yemen after traffickers forced them overboard in the Gulf of Aden.

The UN refugee agency said on Friday that up to 100 people were believed to have died after around 150 people were told to swim for their lives about 5km from the shore.

Peter Kessler of UNHCR told Al Jazeera that his agency was working with the Yemeni coastguard in an attempt to find the missing migrants but there was little chance they would be found alive.

"There is almost no hope, these are mostly women, some children, some men, of course they are very often poor swimmers," he said.

Survivors said a total of 47 people reached shore after the incident and later saw Yemeni authorities burying five bodies, according to the UNHCR.

The boat left the Somali port of Marera near Bossaso on Monday and sailed for three days before the passengers were forced overboard.

Bodies washed ashore

A Yemeni security official told the Associated Press news agency on Friday that 30 bodies had been washed ashore but it was not clear if they were from the Somali vessel.

Bodies often float up on the coast of Shabwa province, about 500km south of the capital Sanaa. During the first half September, some 165 bodies were found on the shore and buried, according to the interior ministry.

The UNHCR has said that about 32,000 people have arrived in Yemen by boat this year, many of them from the Horn of Africa. A statement form Yemen's interior ministry said 22,532 Somali migrants have reached the country in 2008.

"We are seeing a big surge of people arriving in Yemen, many of them seeking refuge in our camps. We have appealed for $17m to fund the relief programme, to provide shelter, water and other assistance," Kessler said.

Smugglers charge between $70 and $200 to carry a person on the perilous journey across the Gulf of Aden, but reports of abuse by the traffickers are common.

At least 52 Somali nationals died in similar circumstances in September, according to the UNHCR.

2008 Texas Senate Race

I really can't take sides.  But I have to admit, anyone who helps a DREAMer like Noriega has, is worth voting for.
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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6050281.html

Cornyn, Noriega focus on economy in Houston debate
By JANET ELLIOTT and JENNIFER LATSON
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Oct. 9, 2008, 11:34PM

...The Houston debate, aired live on most public television and radio stations in Texas, provided an opportunity for Noriega to take his underfunded, uphill battle against Cornyn directly to viewers.

Noriega could benefit if voters tie the stock market crisis to GOP policies. Even though many voters do not know him, the "D" after his name could work to his advantage.

An executive with Houston's CenterPoint Energy, Noriega has represented a Houston district in the Texas House since 1999. Before going to Washington in 2002, Cornyn, a lawyer, served as Texas attorney general and a justice on the Texas Supreme Court. Schick is an investor who lives in Spicewood.

The candidates also clashed on health policy. Noriega said that since Cornyn has been in office, health premium costs have gone up 80 percent.

"We're number one in the United States in children that are uninsured. That's unacceptable," said Noriega.

Cornyn said Noriega and other Texas lawmakers have failed to reach 800,000 children who are eligible for government programs but have not signed up.

"Let's cover those low-income children who were intended to be covered in the first place," Cornyn said.

On health care, energy
The debate's format, which featured rapid-fire questions on a host of issues, offered little opportunity for the candidates to engage. But afterward, Noriega challenged Cornyn on the reference to children's health insurance, saying that when Republicans took over the Texas House in 2003, changes in a popular program for working families knocked more than 200,000 children out of the program.

Cornyn maintained that even during a national debate over continuing the Children's Health Insurance Program, "I found that we were having a very difficult time signing up people who were already eligible."

Schick said the government needs to get out of the health care business and reduce spending overall. She has supported replacing the federal income tax with a national retail sales tax.

The candidates took a few questions from reporters after the debate.

"Right now, Senator Cornyn has had kind of a deathbed conversion on energy choices, although he's voted I don't know how many times against renewable energy," said Noriega.

Cornyn unveiled a new ad Thursday that shows him with West Texas wind turbines.

"I believe we ought to explore for and produce American energy wherever we find it," Cornyn said. He supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which Noriega opposes.

On immigration, Iraq
On immigration, Cornyn has introduced legislation that would require persons living here illegally to return to their native country before applying for citizenship. Noriega said a "report to deport" program would be unworkable.

"I don't support people being able to stay in place and break ahead of people in line who have waited patiently outside the country for years," Cornyn said.

Noriega aired his first campaign ad Thursday, directly attacking Cornyn as a Washington politician who bailed out special interests but failed Texas families. "I'll be a senator who has your back," Noriega says.

Noriega has served in Afghanistan and along the Texas-Mexico border as an officer in the Texas Army National Guard. He has called for timetables on withdrawing troops from Iraq, and said tax dollars being spent in Iraq would be better used at home. Cornyn has opposed timetables for withdrawal, saying progress is being made.

The two will meet in a final debate next Thursday in Dallas.

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link to photo

S3594 - Controlling ICE when it Raids

S3594 was introduced several weeks ago.  I guess the AP just realized this had happened.  Or, it didn't seem important to them until today. 
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/10/AR2008101000309.html

Senators Push for Immigration Guidelines

By SAMANTHA HENRY
The Associated Press
Friday, October 10, 2008; 3:58 AM

NEWARK, N.J. -- With federal authorities stepping up immigration enforcement raids across the country, Sens. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Robert Menendez of New Jersey are sponsoring a bill to protect the rights of U.S. citizens and legal residents who get caught up in them.

The Protect Citizens and Residents from Unlawful Raids and Detention Act was introduced on Sept. 25 to push for more stringent legal procedures to be followed by authorities executing immigration-related searches and warrants.

Immigration officials have conducted a series of high-profile workplace raids across the country in recent months, including one earlier this week at a poultry processing plant in Greenville, S.C.

The two Democratic lawmakers argue that the raids are often conducted in a sweeping fashion that nets lawful residents and American citizens who happen to be working alongside undocumented immigrants. Those who can't produce papers such as a birth certificate or passport proving U.S. citizenship or legal residency are often detained.

The legislation would require immigration agents to advise people being detained of their rights, including the option of remaining silent or seeking legal counsel, similar to what police officers must do in arresting criminal suspects.

Although the bill may not have much shelf life with the present Congress soon to adjourn, Menendez said he plans to continue pushing the issue.

"We cannot allow the fervor to deport undocumented workers to take away the constitutional rights that belong to each and every U.S. citizen and legal resident," said Menendez, who is the son of Cuban immigrants. "This is the United States of America, where we protect our citizens and treat our fellow humans with respect."
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Immigrations and Customs Enforcement spokesman Harold Ort said the agency could not comment specifically on pending legislation, but said ICE conducts targeted law enforcement operations based on intelligence gathering and standard investigative procedures.

"ICE fugitive operations officers follow applicable federal laws and ICE policies during all of our operations, which are conducted to minimize the risk to officers, those we arrest, and others we encounter during an operation," Ort said.

Joanne Lin, a legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, which helped draft the Menendez-Kennedy bill, said U.S. citizens are frequently detained in raids. She said several U.S. citizens were among those caught up in the Greenville raid, in which 330 people were detained.

"If ICE had conducted much more targeted enforcement actions that were against individuals named in warrants, this bill wouldn't be necessary," she said. "Instead, we're seeing raids in homes and work sites everywhere in the country, because there's no guidelines governing the conduct of these immigration raids. That's why national legislation is necessary."

ICE has arrested more than 2,000 people in New Jersey during raids in the past year, according to Seton Hall University Law School, which has filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security over the detention of U.S. citizens and legal residents during immigration raids.

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link to photo

Bloodbath or Landslide? If the GOP doesn't steal it

Every time the DOW sinks lower the number of people who will vote GOP gets less.  There is lots of talk about a landslide for Obama.  That would be an interesting phenomena.  But Democrats, don't get over confident.  Sarah Palin may be cute, but the GOP is capable of anything.

see related dreamacttexas post  "Learn about the Steal Back Your Vote comic book"

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http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/10/rothenberg_warns_of_gop_bloodb.html
Chris Cillizza's Politics Blog -- The Fix
washingtonpost.com's Politics Blog

Rothenberg Warns of GOP "Bloodbath"
The horizon looks bleak for House and Senate Republicans

UPDATE, 4 pm: The Cook Political Report is also amping up their predictions of Democratic gains in the House and Senate next month. In the latest updates, Charlie Cook now says Democrats are positioned to win between six and eight Senate seats and 15 to 25 House seats. "At this stage, the most relevant question would seem to be: 'How big will the train wreck be for the Republican Party up and down the ballot in November,'" writes Charlie.

ORIGINAL POST

As grim as things look at the moment for John McCain's chances at the White House, the horizon is even darker for House and Senate Republicans trying desperately to avoid huge losses across the country this fall.

As we noted in a story for the Post over the weekend, Republican strategists closely following the battle for Congress are bracing for major losses -- the result of a severely damaged Republican brand combined with the late-breaking economic crisis that has redounded to their party's considerable detriment. (Make sure to read Peter Baker's excellent piece in the New York Times magazine about retiring Virginia Republican Rep. Tom Davis's frank assessment of the miserable state of the GOP.)

And now comes a column from Stu Rothenberg who, along with former Fix boss Charlie Cook stands atop the congressional handicapping game in Washington, in which Stu declares that the GOP stands on the precipice of an electoral "bloodbath."

Writes Rothenberg:

"While Democratic gains both in the House and Senate could still grow or shrink, for Republicans, the end of this movie won't be pretty, no matter the ultimate number.

We could see a new modern floor for House Republicans made in November, and it's likely to be in the 170s, if not the upper 160s. Given the realignment of the Reagan years and the GOP's advantages coming from the last redistricting, this is an incredibly low level."

Rothenberg goes on to revise upwards his previous seat gain predictions for Democrats in the House and Senate; in the upper chamber he says that 60 seats are now within reach while projecting gains of between 20 and 30 seats in the House. (Need more on the most vulnerable races in the Senate and House? Check our latest Senate and House Friday Lines.)

The impact of such a high-profile handicapper declaring that a second Democratic wave in as many election cycles is forming is hard to overstate. Watch for a series of pieces from major newspapers and cable outlets on the increasing peril for Congressional Republicans this fall -- like this one penned by the New York Times' Carl Hulse today.

What will all that coverage do? Embolden Democrats, depress Republicans and generally make an already bad situation for GOPers even worse.

And, remember: While McCain still has the power to change his situation -- as a presidential nominee he can directly affect the news on any one day between now and Nov. 4 -- House and Senate candidates have little ability to fundamentally alter the national narrative. That's bad news for anyone running downballot with an "R" after his or her name.

By Chris Cillizza | October 9, 2008; 3:06 PM ET | Category: Eye on 2008 , Fix Picks , House , Senate

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I - Financial Meltdown: How will it affect us?

Television news are focusing on stocks, and CEO's, traders, and the stock exchanges in different countries. Everybody seems to be asking "what will happen to us" - "Us" being people who generally don't invest in the stock market, or make in the 6 figures. Money Magazine published an article about how this could affect your regular person...
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http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/08/pf/money_crisis.moneymag/

By Stephen Gandel and Paul J. Lim
Money Magazine
Last Updated: October 9, 2008: 12:29 PM ET

YOUR SAVINGS

With banks falling like dominos, there's a lot of worry about the solvency of financial institutions. Some people are pulling their cash out of the stock market and putting it into FDIC-insured accounts, while others are hiding theirs under their mattress. Before you make any drastic moves, read these answers to some common questions about your savings.

Are there any safe havens left?

It sure doesn't feel like it. Even conservative investments - like ultrashort- term bond funds and a single money market fund - have lost value recently. But rest assured, your cash accounts are still extremely safe. To shore up confidence in money-market mutual funds after a prominent portfolio "broke the buck," the Treasury Department launched an insurance plan to guarantee their value.

What's more, bank money-market accounts and CDs are as protected as ever. While it's certainly hard to tell which banks will eventually survive this financial meltdown, your accounts are FDIC-insured.

Finally, if you're looking for a safe option within your 401(k), consider a stable value fund. These portfolios often invest in a diversified mix of short- to intermediate- term bonds that are backed by different insurers. Plus, they've been yielding around 4% lately.
Is my bank or brokerage going to disappear?

Even with the government stepping in to buy up the crummy mortgage-backed securities that are endangering the health of so many banks and brokers, this relief won't be immediate. It may take weeks for the Treasury Department to put together a team to evaluate these bonds. In the meantime, more banks and brokers could go under or be forced to sell out to healthier firms.

Still, the tally of failed banks is unlikely to come close to the number we saw in the savings and loan crisis. Between 1986 and 1995, 1,043 thrifts went under (though many of them were tiny). So far this year, only 13 banks and savings and loans have failed, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. That includes Washington Mutual, the nation's largest S&L, which was shut down before its deposits were sold to J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500).

Regardless of what the final tally is, it's important to keep in mind that your bank deposits are for the most part safe. Deposits up to $250,000 per person per institution and $500,000 for joint accounts will be protected by the FDIC (The FDIC temporarily raised the limits from $100,000 and $200,000 respectively through December 30, 2009.). Some retirement accounts are covered up to $250,000.

Investment banks and brokerages have also come under pressure. Here too you are mostly protected. Unlike commercial banks, which use your deposits to lend to other customers, brokerages are supposed to segregate your assets from theirs. So if you own 1,000 shares of General Electric and your brokerage collapses, your 1,000 shares of GE should still be there and will most likely be transferred to another broker on your behalf.

If for any reason your failed broker can't locate your securities, up to $500,000 of your assets per account is covered by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, a nonprofit funded by member firms. With a few exceptions, SIPC limits its safety net to SEC-registered investments. So while your stocks, bonds and mutual funds will be covered, foreign currency, precious metals and commodity futures contracts won't be.

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II - Financial Meltdown: How will it affect us?

http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/08/pf/money_crisis.moneymag/

By Stephen Gandel and Paul J. Lim
Money Magazine
Last Updated: October 9, 2008: 12:29 PM ET

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JOB MARKET

The job market
By Stephen Gandel and Paul J. Lim
Last Updated: October 9, 2008: 12:29 PM ET

It's rough out there, but most of us can weather the storm as long as we keep getting a paycheck. With all this talk of the R-word though, economists predict that lots of workers are going to end up on the chopping block. Could your job be next?
How safe is my job?

If you are an investment banker, you already know the answer. If you work in most other fields, you're likely nervous but not panic-stricken. In the past year the U.S. economy has shed just over 550,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but most of the layoffs have come in home building, the auto industry and financial services. Take those three industries out of the equation and our economy has created 90,000 jobs.

"Companies are continuing to add executive positions even as the market slows," says Mark Anderson, president of ExecuNet, a Norwalk, Conn. firm that tracks management hiring.

The recent financial turmoil could make the jobs outlook tougher, and not just for Wall Street types. If business lending stays choked off, hiring will suffer. In a deeper recession, some economists predict more than 1 million jobs will be lost in 2009.

Now is the time to make sure your emergency fund is in place. Three months of expenses is standard, but if you are in an at-risk industry, sock away enough for six months to a year.

At work, lower your chances of being the first out the door by making yourself valuable - and conspicuous. This may be the time to reconsider your flexible schedule. Demonstrate that you can find ways to bring in revenue and cut costs, don't be afraid to point out the good job you and your team are doing and, to be safe, step up your networking, both inside and outside your company.
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III - Financial Meltdown: How will it affect us?

http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/08/pf/money_crisis.moneymag/

By Stephen Gandel and Paul J. Lim
Money Magazine
Last Updated: October 9, 2008: 12:29 PM ET

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YOUR RETIREMENT


With stock markets plunging, nest eggs are cracking and retirement dreams are slipping away. But don't hit the panic button yet. With a solid strategy, there's still hope for your golden years.
Will I ever be able to retire?

If you have several years, if not decades, to go, don't worry. Yes, your 401(k) and IRAs have taken a significant hit. But history shows that you'll make up 80% of your bear market losses within the first year of the recovery, according to Standard & Poor's Equity Research.

If you're planning to retire in the next few years, the answer is still yes, with a bit of effort. Why? The decade before you quit your job and the first five years that you're out of the work force are vulnerable times. How much your investments earn - or lose - during this time will go a long way toward determining how much money you can afford to spend for the following 30 years or more.

Say you planned to quit this year and begin withdrawing 4% of your retirement funds annually. If you started with a $1 million retirement portfolio last year (split 70% stocks, 30% bonds), the market has already cut that down to $833,000. That means if you pulled 4% of your remaining money out, you'd be left with just under $800,000 after Year One, cutting your odds of having your money last 30 years from nearly 80% to less than 50%.

Sounds scary. But you can fix this problem. For starters, pledge to work one more year. A study from T. Rowe Price found that putting in another 365 days at the job would boost your annual retirement income by 7%. Work three years more and your retirement income could soar by 22%.

By staying at your desk longer, you can also delay taking Social Security benefits. For each year you put off starting your benefits between ages 62 and 70, you boost your Social Security payments by 8%.

What if you don't want to - or can't - work longer? You still have an option: spend less. The traditional advice is to withdraw 4% of your assets in the first year of retirement and boost subsequent withdrawals by the inflation rate. But in this type of market, consider withholding your inflation adjustments for the first three years after you retire. T. Rowe Price found that a retiree with a 55% stock/45% bond allocation in 2000 would have cut his odds of running out of money by half simply by following this approach.
What should I be doing with my portfolio?

Every long-term investor has to face nerve-rattling times like this - likely more than once - and your success will hinge on your ability to keep a cooler head than many others around you.

If you own a diversified portfolio, your asset-allocation strategy has probably protected you from the worst of the storm. While the S&P 500 has lost more than a quarter of its value over the past year, a portfolio consisting of 70% stocks and 30% bonds has fallen around 17%, thanks to the gains fixed-income funds enjoyed.

Still, markets like this are a good time to check if your asset-allocation strategy is still appropriate for your time horizon and if you need to rebalance. You'll likely find that you own too big a stake in bonds - or at least more than you bargained for.

Let's go back to that portfolio of 70% stocks and 30% bonds. If you hadn't traded in the past year, the market would have shifted your mix to 62% stocks and 38% fixed income. That might feel good now because bonds are less volatile, but it will mean that you will lose out on the higher returns on stocks when the market eventually recovers.

If you're selling bonds to add to stocks, what's safe to buy? It's fair to assume that the government's efforts to bail out Wall Street will add to our national debt, which will likely push up interest rates. Basic-materials stocks tend to do well when rates rise. So consider T. Rowe Price New Era (PRNEX), which owns energy and mining stocks. New Era is a member of the Money 70, our list of recommended funds and ETFs.

Also, beef up your blue chips. As Lehman and WaMu shareholders learned, not every large company can weather tough times. But as a whole, the category clearly can. The Vanguard 500 Index (VFINX) is the safest way to invest in the largest American companies.

Another sound option is the Fairholme fund (FAIRX). The managers of this Money 70 fund follow the Warren Buffett school of investing. They buy a stock only if it's trading well below its intrinsic value - perhaps a richly populated universe after this market meltdown.

If you see that the bond portion of your portfolio is underperforming, consider Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS), one of the few types of bonds that can do well when rates rise.
I'm retired. What does this mean for me?

If you're living off a collection of dividend-paying stocks, it may feel as if you've been hit by the perfect storm. Not only have financial stocks, which generate around a quarter of all the dividends produced by the S&P 500, taken a huge beating - they've sunk nearly 45% since the start of this bear - but 30 blue-chip financial firms have cut their dividends.

Worse still, not all of the income you'll receive this year will be eligible for the beneficial 15% tax rate. For dividends to qualify for the rate, the company that issues them must pay taxes on them. And since many banks and brokers are reporting huge losses, they may not owe a penny to Uncle Sam this year.

As long as you diversify among different stocks as well as different sectors, dividend investing still has a lot of appeal. One strategy that's holding up, relatively speaking: Instead of focusing on companies with the highest yields - which could simply be a sign that a payer's share price has tanked or the dividend is at risk - concentrate on companies that are consistently growing their payouts over time. By doing so, the Vanguard Dividend Growth fund (VDIGX) has kept its exposure to the financial sector to only around 11%, and the fund is down just 10% so far this year, about half what the overall market has lost.

In the wake of the near failure of AIG, another worry for retirees is whether to buy an immediate annuity. In exchange for handing over a lump sum of money to an insurer, you get monthly or annual payments guaranteed for life with one of these policies. In this environment, it's hard enough to have faith that your financial institution will be around for the next three months, let alone three decades.

But bear in mind that no major insurer has failed in this meltdown. Even though AIG required $85 billion in loan guarantees to stay in business, it was the parent company that needed the help - not its insurance subsidiary.

In the event your insurer does fail, your state's life and health insurance guaranty association will attempt to find another carrier to take over the failed firm's contracts. If that can't be done, state guaranty funds will cover at least $100,000 in benefits (around 20 states cover more).

There is one reason to hold off awhile before you enter a new contract: Rating agencies like A.M. Best, Moody's, Fitch and Standard & Poor's are likely to re-assess the financial health of insurers in the wake of the financial crisis. Wait to see which insurers maintain the highest ratings.
How will I know when things are recovering?

An oft-quoted Warren Buffett bit of wisdom goes that the stock market is designed to transfer money from the active to the patient. Keep that in mind when you wonder when this crisis is over for good.

Let's remember what this crisis is all about. It's not just about problems with bad mortgages and toxic mortgage-backed bonds. "That's just the tip of the iceberg," says Charles de Vaulx, portfolio manager for International Value Advisers. The reason that we're still stuck in a bear market and that loans are hard to come by is the ongoing crisis in confidence in the financial system that greases the wheels of the economy. It may take months, if not longer, for the markets to get enough courage to overcome this.

Whether you're an investor or a would-be borrower looking for a sign of better days to come, pay attention to the so-called overnight London Interbank offered rate. Libor is a rate banks charge one another. The lower it is, the greater the likelihood that banks are willing to lend freely - and the sooner this credit crisis may be over.

Historically, Libor has run fairly close to the federal funds rate, which the Fed is currently targeting at 2%. But lately the overnight Libor has fluctuated between around 3% and 6%, an indication that banks still perceive a great deal of risk in the market.

In the short run, that's not great news for investors or consumers waiting for banks to start lending again. In the long run, however, the fact that banks are starting to consider risk isn't necessarily bad. After all, says Steven Romick, manager of the FPA Crescent Fund, "the reason we're in this mess is that financial institutions tried to make money without any regard to the concept of risk."

Additional reporting by Joe Light

IV - Financial Meltdown: How will it affect us?

http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/08/pf/money_crisis.moneymag/

By Stephen Gandel and Paul J. Lim
Money Magazine
Last Updated: October 9, 2008: 12:29 PM ET

---

THE REAL ESTATE MARKET


The global contagion has spread, but the source of the crisis is still bleeding. From struggling homeowners who can't make their payments to would-be buyers, almost everyone is wondering where home prices are heading next. Here's some insight.
Is there any hope for home prices?

The burst real estate bubble that kicked off this crisis is unlikely to reinflate quickly. "I don't see the slump in housing prices ending anytime soon," says Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic Policy and Research. The government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lowered mortgage rates briefly (which helps buyers afford your home).

But the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, the failure of Washington Mutual and the sale of Wachovia, as well as the stock market sell-off, have made investors nervous about everything, mortgage bonds included. And that has pushed home-loan rates right back up.

The proposed government bailout could help home prices if the banks that get relief turn around and make new loans, but it's not clear that they will. More important, housing prices are not just a factor of mortgage rates. Foreclosures and slow sales have left 4-million-plus homes on the market, nearly half a million more than two years ago. That could get worse before it gets better if rising unemployment translates to fewer buyers to work off that fat inventory.

"In the long run none of what we're doing now is going to matter that much to real estate," says Wellesley economics professor Karl Case. "Home prices have to do with the scarcity of land and perception of that scarcity."

Until homes for sale are again scarce, it will continue to be better to be a buyer than a seller. Most economists expect another 10% drop in housing prices nationally over the next year. Some, like Nouriel Roubini of New York University, say a 15% to 20% drop is more likely.

V - Financial Meltdown: How will it affect us?

http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/08/pf/money_crisis.moneymag/

By Stephen Gandel and Paul J. Lim
Money Magazine
Last Updated: October 9, 2008: 12:29 PM ET

--
THE ECONOMY

If you're watching the news and scratching your head wondering what bomb hit the economy, you're certainly not alone. It's rough out there. People are losing their jobs, retirement dreams are going up in smoke and personal wealth is plummeting. Here's why it's happening and what it all means.
How did we get here?

By now you likely know that the crisis in the financial markets is the culmination of years of reckless mortgage lending and Wall Street dealmaking. It's the final gasp of the burst housing bubble. But how exactly did this happen?

To find the root cause of Wall Street's woes, you have to go back to the collapse of a different bubble - tech. In 2001, after the dotcom craze ended and the bear market began, the Federal Reserve started aggressively slashing short-term interest rates to stave off recession. By eventually reducing rates to a historically low 1%, the Fed reinflated the economy. But this cheap money sparked a new wave of risk taking.

Homeowners, armed with easy credit, snapped up properties as if they were playing Monopoly. As prices soared, buyers were able to afford ever-larger properties only by taking out risky mortgages that lenders were happily approving with little documentation or money down.

At the same time, Wall Street investment banks got a brilliant idea: bundle the riskiest of these mortgages, then slice and dice these portfolios into tradable bonds to be sold to other banks and investors. Amazingly, bond-rating agencies slapped their highest ratings on the "best" of this debt.

This house of cards came down when subprime borrowers began defaulting on their mortgages. That sent housing prices tumbling, unleashing a domino effect on mortgage-backed securities. Banks and brokerages that had borrowed money to boost the impact of those investments had to race to raise capital.

Some, like Merrill Lynch, were forced to sell. Others, like Lehman Brothers, weren't so lucky. "What we always tell investors is beware of too much leverage in a company," says Brian Rogers, chairman and portfolio manager for T. Rowe Price. "Leverage is the enemy of the investor."

Sure, everyone from former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan to your friends and neighbors played a role in stoking this casino culture. But troubled banks and brokerages can't pass the blame. "These firms closed their eyes and made very bad bets on risky securities that they didn't truly understand," says Jeremy Siegel, finance professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton business school. "Investments that they did not have to make led to their demise."
How bad could the economy get?

Before the meltdown, economists fell into two camps: those who thought the economy had already slipped into recession and those who thought a recession could still be avoided.

While forecasters still differ on the timing and severity of a downturn, "the consensus view is that we're headed for recession and will be in one until next year," says Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Economy.com.

Corporate profits are already on the verge of falling for a fifth straight quarter, according to Thomson Financial. The next shoe to drop will be consumer spending. "Two years ago, people were using their homes as ATMs, pumping out cash," says Robert Arnott, chairman of the investment consulting firm Research Affiliates in Pasadena. "As banks continue to tighten their lending, that spending is disappearing."

But softer profits and slower spending haven't translated into widespread layoffs yet. "This is the strongest recessionary job market in 40 years," says James Paulsen, chief investment strategist of Wells Capital Management. A jump in unemployment could still be coming, especially given bank and brokerage failures and mergers. But outside of finance and housing, much of the rest of the economy is strong, he says.

The weak dollar is boosting demand for our goods abroad, and lower gas prices are making Americans feel more flush. Add in the cash that the Fed has been hosing into the banking system and we are bound to see growth in 2009. "If all this stimulus has no effect on the economy, that would be a rarity indeed," says Paulsen.

Standard & Poor's chief economist David Wyss expects a mild recession that ends next spring. "Gradually we will regain confidence in the market. Lower oil prices and a falling trade deficit will help," he says. "This is a financial panic, not an economic one."

Of course, that could change if the financial panic doesn't abate soon. If banks remain too scared or broke to lend, would-be home buyers will be frozen out of the market. If that happens, home values could fall even more, crimping confidence and putting the brakes on the economy's greatest engine: the consumer.
Does all this mean I'll pay higher taxes?

Yes. "Taxes will rise regardless of who wins the Presidency," predicts Greg Valliere, chief political strategist for Stanford Group Co.

It's impossible to say what the final bill for rescuing Wall Street will be. Even before the bill to buy $700 billion of unwanted mortgage-backed debt, the government had already signed on for nearly $365 billion in loan guarantees and other costs.

The eventual price tag will depend in part on the housing market. If it recovers by 2010, the value of mortgage-backed securities could rise, minimizing the tab for taxpayers, says Brian Bethune, chief U.S. financial economist for Global Insight.

"On the other hand," Bethune adds, "if the economy continues to tank into a deeper recession, dragging the housing market along with it, then the costs to the taxpayers easily could escalate to several hundred billions of dollars."

Under Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's original debt-buyback proposal, some economists predicted the federal deficit could soar to $900 billion in 2009. Even without a bailout, the federal budget was expected to hit $482 billion next year. If government aid pads that figure by $200 billion, the deficit will be back to where it stood in the 1980s - around 5% of GDP. At the very least, that will make it hard for a future President to keep tax-cut promises.

From the UK: " It's official. It's a bloodbath"

"It's official. It's a bloodbath - just pure blind panic! Valuations go out the window, sentiment rules OK," commented David Buik, veteran City commentator at BGC Partners.



http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/10/marketturmoil-creditcrunch

Financial crisis: Panic selling piles sees FTSE down nearly 10%
# Graeme Wearden and Julia Kollewe
# guardian.co.uk,
# Friday October 10 2008 14.00 BST

A wave of panic selling wiped more than £100bn ($170 billion dollars) off the value of Britain's biggest companies today, as recession fears sent stockmarkets worldwide tumbling.

Dealers in the City dumped shares when trading began this morning, sending the FTSE 100 plunging by more than 10% in early trading. The index fell by 438.8 points, careering down through the 4000 mark for the first time in five years.

Markets across Europe were also in freefall, following yet another rout in Asia, piling pressure on world leaders as they meet in Washington for the G7 summit to consider joint action to contain the financial turmoil.

The CBI warned that any signs of disarray at the G7 meeting could have a devastating effect on the markets.

"Never has a meeting of the G7 been so important to the financial markets," said the CBI's deputy director-general, John Cridland. "This meeting has the power to galvanise sentiment and aid the confidence-building process internationally."

The markets clawed back some losses as the morning progressed, but there was little sign of confidence returning. By 2pm the FTSE 100 has lurched down to 3918.8, off 958 points or more than 9%, putting it on track for one of its biggest ever losses. Banks and miners led the fallers, along with blue-chip firms such as British Airways, BT and Thomson Reuters, as the pound hit a five year low against the dollar.

"It's official. It's a bloodbath - just pure blind panic! Valuations go out the window, sentiment rules OK," commented David Buik, veteran City commentator at BGC Partners.

Shares on Wall Street are also expected to plummet later today, with the Dow Jones industrial average tipped to drop by almost 300 points, or 3.3%. Yesterday, in a further sign that the wider economy was being pulled into the crisis, shares in General Motors and Ford plunged on Wall Street over fears that the troubled automotive industry may not survive the downturn.

The stockmarket turmoil shows confidence has not been restored despite America's $700bn (£380bn) bail-out, Britain's £500bn banking rescue plan and the coordinated interest rate cuts by the world's central banks.

The latest Libor figures, released before noon, showed that banks were still very reluctant to lend to each other.

It's clearly a crash

Investment guru Jim Rogers today criticised the political response to the crisis, warning that attempts to rescue "incompetent" banks would simply drive up debt and inflation.

"Markets are collapsing because they have no confidence in the various government plans," said Rogers, who said the markets were "very clearly experiencing a crash".

Martin Slaney, the head of derivatives at financial spread betting company GFT, said markets were suffering "vicious sell-offs".

"What we are witnessing is mass selling on a global scale due to a combination of sheer panic and fear, combined with complete uncertainty over the future of the world's major economies," Slaney said. "Investors are effectively pricing in the possibility of a global depression."

President George Bush is due to speak later today on the state of the economy, after watching the Dow Jones industrial average suffer its third-worst points fall ever, hitting a five-year low.

Japan's Nikkei index has now fallen by more than 24% in the past week. It closed down 9.6% earlier today, its biggest one-day fall since 1987, at 8,276, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was nearly 8% lower at 14,672.

The price of a barrel of oil also tumbled overnight, with traders anticipating lower demand as several economies lurch towards recession.

US light crude for November delivery dropped $4.19 a barrel to $82.40, taking its losses over the past two weeks to 23% — the biggest two-week sell-off since prices fell at the start of the 2003 war in Iraq.

London Brent crude slid $3.58 to $79.08 a barrel, falling below $80 for the first time in a year.

Gold prices jumped to the highest in two months as investors scrambled for safety. Spot gold rose for the fifth day in a row and hit $925.05, the highest since July 31.

"Investors only concentrate on gold. Stock prices and other commodities are not so good," said Yukuji Sonoda, a precious metals analyst at Daiichi Commodities in Tokyo.

Immigration being ignored in presidential campaign

A few questions for Obama and McCain from the Huffington Post:

• What is realistic and what should be done about the 12 million immigrants here in the U.S. without papers?

• What should be done with the employers who knowingly hire unauthorized workers, take advantage of them, and undercut their competitors: what should be done about them?

• Opponents of reform say anything that provides legal status to those here illegally is amnesty: how do you define amnesty? Do you support amnesty? If not, what do you support?

• How do you make sure that we actually solve the problem rather than pass reforms that perpetuate the problem and lead to another 12 million coming in illegally in the future?

--

U.S. Latinos Slammed by Immigration Debate Gone Ugly
Immigration Policy Center

October 9, 2008

The current climate of undeterred public immigrant-bashing along with an immigration policy of "attrition through enforcement" has cultivated unfettered hatred and bigotry against an entire ethnic population. A recent survey by the Pew Hispanic Center shows its toll: half of all Latinos, immigrant and non-immigrant, say that their situation in this country is deteriorating and is worse now than it was a year ago. IPC has released a fact sheet and written a piece on the Huffington Post on Pew's report and its serious implications.

* U.S. Latinos Slammed by Immigration Debate Gone Ugly - (IPC Fact Sheet - October 9, 2008) Read this fact sheet to find out why the Pew Hispanic Research Center is reporting that Latinos, regardles of immigration status, are feeling anxious and discriminated against amid public immigrant-bashing and stepped-up immigration enforcement measures.

* One in Ten Latinos Asked for Papers for LWL: Living While Latino - (Huffington Post - September 24, 2008) A post by Angela Kelley on the vicious public denunciations of undocumented, brown-skinned immigrants -- once limited to hard-core white supremacists and a handful of border-state extremists -- that are increasingly percolating into the mainstream and are surely fueling the problems that Latinos are facing.

Also, check out IPC's new piece in the Huffington Post on the absence of immigration in the election debates, "Presidential Debates Ignore 12 Million Elephants in the Room."

For more information contact Andrea Nill, 202-507-7520 or Wendy Sefsaf, 202-631-0358 or email ipc@ailf.org

Learn about the STEAL BACK YOUR VOTE comic book

link to order Steal Back Your Vote comic book

from video transcript:

"We give them a provisional ballot, yeah. And then they take the provisional ballots and they throw them in the dumpster in the back.

So the guy thinks he's voted but he hasn't voted. That's how they get rid of all the Democratic voters. That's why we still have, after the most catastrophic presidency in the history of the United States . . . you know, a lot of Europeans wonder why are Americans so crazy, they keep reelecting this guy. Well, the answer is WE DON'T! They keep stealing these elections.

And they stole it in 2000. They stole it in 2004. And they're all set up to steal it again. We've got to get an electoral process that actually works and guarantees every American the right to vote - or these people are going to be able to consolidate power and just stay in there forever, no matter how disastrous a government they've given us.

They can collapse the economy. They can get us into a war that nobody wanted - through lying that they've been caught on. They can let one of the nation's big cities just drown and do nothing about it. They can do all of these things that should get them impeached.

They can eavesdrop on 300,000 Americans - you know, we impeached President Nixon in this country for eavesdroppping on a single office building illegally . This government has eavesdropped on 300,000 people illegally. Why aren't they impeached? Why are they still in office? Why are we continuing to vote them in?"

"StealBackYourVote.org is a project of the Palast Investigative Fund (a 501c3 non-partisan non-profit educational foundation), Greg Palast and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. With the generous support of voting rights and other organizations and concerned individuals, we are aggressively investigating the hanky-panky Republicans have already road-tested in the primaries, and are prepared to use this November to steal YOUR vote. The good news is, you CAN steal back your vote. Kennedy and Palast are publishing a major expose in a mass-circulation national magazine. The Palast Investigative Team is heading to the Democratic convention to finish a documentary film. And three major cartoonists have teamed up to illustrate the "Steal Back Your Vote" graphic guide that you can download, print and distribute now. Please read the material on this site, make a tax-deductible contribution to the Palast Investigative Fund, download the voter guide, and share this information with your friends and family. To follow Greg Palast's ongoing journalistic work on this and other stories, please visit gregpalast.com For more on attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr., see ringoffireradio.com"

Are we panicking or is the financial crisis for real?

--
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/hamish-mcrae/hamish-mcrae-its-bad-may-get-worse-but-its-no-great-depression-955492.html

Hamish McRae: It's bad, may get worse, but it's no Great Depression

Thursday, 9 October 2008
London Independent

The world's monetary authorities are at last really trying to reassert their power over the financial markets. They have not yet succeeded and they will have to do more, maybe much more, but eventually they will win. Or at least they always have in the past 75 years. You have to think that the world is facing something akin to the Great Depression of the 1930s to believe that they will fail.

For a start, the fire-power of the world's central banks, particularly when acting together, is huge. They can flood the world with money almost without limit, hence reinforcing the changes in interest rates such as they agreed on yesterday. Central banks don't act in concert very often. The last time I recall was a pact in 1985 to support the dollar. This time there will have to be more interest rate cuts around the world, but one of the messages yesterday was that there will be. This is the start of global interest rate disarmament. It was also great in show-biz terms to get the Chinese on board, since the Chinese economy has become the principal source of growth in the world.

The second way in which the authorities are taking charge is by supporting the banks. The response has had to come from governments and it has been pretty mixed. You would expect that. Governments had to make it up as they went along.

Not all have succeeded. The wooden spoon clearly goes to Iceland but the US has done none-too-well either. Continental European governments have done rather better with their bank rescues and this latest British plan makes a great deal of sense because it goes to the heart of the problem. It will give the banks access to whatever capital they need to keep functioning. You cannot do this well for that is not in the nature of the beast, but the British authorities are doing it better than most.

Getting the world's banking system moving again is a necessary precondition to averting a serious economic slump. There was always going to be some sort of global slowdown but the loss of confidence in the financial markets has made matters worse, potentially much worse. Markets reflect what they think will happen to the economy, but also help shape it. The markets are now in blue funk mode, signalling they believe that the forthcoming downturn will be serious indeed. They are not in the utter despair of the mid-1970s, the feeling that governments have lost control over monetary policy, their budgets, everything.

But the negative response to the British bank rescue plan and to the global interest rate cuts is undoubtedly troubling. You could say that what they are suggesting is that this downturn will be similar to that of the 1990s, a nasty but "conventional" post-war recession. That may happen, though my own view is that the UK may pull through in somewhat better shape than it did then. But could it be worse still – something more akin to the 1930s Depression?

I can think of at least half-a-dozen reasons why the present situation is quite different to that after the 1929 share price crash.

First, what is happening now follows a long period of rising prosperity, the longest such period the world has ever known. In the 1930s the world was still recovering from the destruction of half the accumulated wealth of the 19th century.

Second, there were deep rivalries and even hatreds between major nations that made economic co-operation virtually impossible and encouraged the rise of trade barriers and competitive devaluations. As a result world trade halved, making recovery very difficult.

Third, the US allowed many banks to go bust, leading to a breakdown in commercial activity. The US has a deeper recession than any other major nation. This time, pace Lehman, it will patch things up.

Fourth, countries followed what they thought were sound fiscal policies, trying to balance their budgets, cutting spending as their tax revenues fell. This time budget deficits will be allowed to rise.

Fifth, price levels in the 1930s were falling, so even very low nominal interest rates were high in real terms and investment funds were therefore expensive. Now prices are rising so low interest rates are more likely to boost investment.

Finally, global demand will be maintained by China, which in the 1930s was not a force in world trade. Now it is probably the world's third largest economy, so though much of the developed world may go into some sort of recession, we are not talking a decline for the world as a whole.

So yes, maybe something like the early 1990s, though that is not at all certain, but the 1930s? Unless something unspeakably dreadful happens in the coming months, absolutely not.

The war in our (American) heads

---
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oct/09/uselections2008.barackobama

The world needs the US to get over its cultural civil war - and fast
Sarah Palin is the Katyusha rocket of the American right. But so far her attacks on Barack Obama aren't working

o Timothy Garton Ash in Stanford
o The Guardian,
o Thursday October 9 2008


As if there were not enough real enemies to fight, the United States has been at war with itself in recent years. They call it the culture war. It has generated more hot air than most real wars in history. John McCain has now turned to its red army tactics to rescue himself from impending defeat - and Sarah Palin is his Katyusha.

"There is a religious war going on in our country for the soul of America," declared the conservative nationalist Pat Buchanan at the Republican national convention in 1992. "It is a cultural war, as critical to the kind of nation we will one day be as was the cold war itself." Later that year he explained that "the Bosnia of the cultural war is abortion". As Buchanan foresaw, this has been a war for power: not military power, but the kind that comes from shaping the norms, beliefs and values by which people live, and the meanings attached to words like liberalism, patriotism or, indeed, culture. The two sides in this war came to be labelled red and blue, after the colouring of Republican and Democratic states on electoral maps.

No one has generated more hot air in this cause than Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly, who in 2006 published a book proudly called Culture Warrior. He describes the culture war as a battle between traditionalists ("T-Warriors") like himself and "the committed forces of the secular-progressive movement that want to change America dramatically: mold it in the image of western Europe". Like Europe! God, how horrible.

O'Reilly labels these secular-progressive forces "S-P", and identifies George Soros as "El Jefe of the S-P forces". In a fashion disturbingly familiar to any student of the 20th century, he illustrates this passage with an unflattering photo of the financier-philanthropist, captioned "George Soros, S-P Jefe, puppet master, and moneyman". "Born George Schwartz to a Jewish family in Hungary in 1930," he explains, "Soros assumed the identity of a gentile boy when the Nazis invaded at the start of world war II." This is what they call a Fox Fact. (It was Soros's father who changed the family name in 1936 and the Nazis did not invade Hungary until 1944: three errors in the space of one innuendo.) Anyway, what should that personal history have to do with an argument about cultural and social policies in 21st-century America?

Excoriating "leftwing outfits like the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the British Broadcasting Company" (Foxy Fact-checking again: it's the British Broadcasting Corporation), O'Reilly pounds the hot buttons of the culture war with a ham fist: abortion, drugs, gay marriage, not celebrating Christmas, atheism, the liberal or - as he prefers - "S-P" media and elites. The New York Times, he says in an afterword to the paperback edition, has "morphed into a brochure for secular-progressive causes". And so it goes on. And on.

Does this matter? Over the past decade it has mattered a lot. The framing of the political debate in cultural conservative terms - a counter-revolution against the cultural revolution of 1968 - contributed significantly to George Bush's election victories in 2000 and 2004. And one way of understanding the direction taken by the McCain campaign over the past few weeks is this: only the culture war can win it for us now. On Iraq, we lose. On the economy, we lose. But by caricaturing the liberal otherness of a candidate called Barack Obama, perhaps we can snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Enter Sarah Palin, the Katyusha rocket of red America. (I trust she won't mind a Russian analogy since, as she has informed us, you - or at least she - can see Russia from Alaska.) The selection of such an obviously under-qualified candidate for vice-president can only be explained by electoral calculation, and that calculation has everything to do with the politics of the country's cultural civil war. Her kind of down-home populist inveighing against Washington elites (add "liberal" or "S-P" according to taste) is part of the well-tried semantic armoury of the red army.

Katyusha Palin now leads the attacks on Obama. This week she has repeatedly tried to tar-and-feather him by association with former terrorist William Ayers. The not-even-subliminal message is: he's not like us, he's like them. The others: elites, liberals, subversives, immigrants and infidels, closet Europeans! Chapter one of O'Reilly's Culture Warrior begins with an imagined 2020 state of the union speech by a president of the United States called Gloria Hernandez: hispanic, and a woman to boot. Worse still, she celebrates the United States as "a diversified nation striving to be at peace with the world". How terrifying. How blood-curdling. Give us President Palin any day.

For Gloria Hernandez read Barack Obama. Or "that one", as McCain disrespectfully referred to him in Tuesday night's presidential debate. At the moment, the tactic isn't working. This election is about the economy, stupid. The pocketbook trumps the prayer book. However much McCain lauds himself as a "maverick", he can't disassociate himself from eight years of Republican rule that are ending in the biggest financial crisis since 1929 and a near-doubling of the national debt. And Obama is better on the economy: clearer, more specific, always bringing it back to the everyday struggles of ordinary Americans. In the instant-reaction polls, a clear majority thought Obama won that debate, as he is winning in most of the polls both nationwide and in key battleground states.

Even if the red-clawed tactics of culture war don't pull Obama down at the last minute, an Obama victory won't spell the end of this war. But perhaps it may spell the beginning of the end. Let's be clear: this war will not finish with a victory of blue over red, or vice versa. It will finish with the accepted, peaceful coexistence in one society of different faiths, value systems and lifestyles - along the lines laid down centuries ago by the classical liberalism of John Locke and others, which so much influenced this country's Founding Fathers. It won't be "liberals" (in the perverted sense in which that word is now used in the United States) trouncing conservatives, but classical liberalism re-made for the 21st century. It won't be blue obliterating red, but red, white and blue - as in Obama's healing promise earlier in this campaign, that there are not red states and blue states, just the United States.
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