Comedy in Iraq, opposition to illegal immigration in Newark

JR IS BACK !! (if only for a short time)My work schedule has been tough, but I wanted to get a belated reply posted.
James, last I checked Mass and Nev are nowhere near the the border. In your reply to my request that you give me two names you said Ted Kennedy (Mass) and Harry Reid (Nev). You said in your post just insert the name of any democtat in any "BORDER"
states legislature, so please provide names from those states which actually are on the border, Thanks. I haven't had much time to check the reference you gave earlier, but I will as soon as time permits.(My Better-half enjoyed your personal comment and sends greetings)so until further notice

James Danley - Right On !!

Don't forget that that 47 million number is made up and includes the 12-15 million illegals

Doen't anyone realize that the socialize medicine is not free, instead of paying an insurance company for aguements sake 2000$ a year you will pay 8000$ more in taxes, it is just different pockets.

Don't believe me, how come public schools they estimate 12,000$ per student but yet Private is about 5,000$. See goverment run equals no quality.

Best example is NJ, the DMV was state run, it was horrible, then Governor Whitman privatized it, now it runs 1000% better.

Poverty is at the Lowest right now in the US then in history - so instead of Bashing President Bush, People should be thanking him immensely.

Mstessyrue, you have to realize that there will always be poverty. Sadly it's a political thing! The powers that be around the world remain in power as long as they have a strangle hold on the poor. Look at all the money and food that has been sent to Africa over the past few decades. Follow the trail and you will discover that in many countries the food just sat around rotting because the powers that be refused to distribute the food. And the money often times ends up lining the pockets of the powers that be.

But even the United States is not immune to exploiting the poor for political gain. Look at how Welfare has been run over the last several decades. The Left wants to give billions of dollars away in housing, food, clothes, transportation and higher education all at the expense of the working class. Now don't get me wrong. There are people who really do need assistance. But the Left places so many strings on their give-aways that the recipients are enslaved and totally beholden to the government. It takes an incredible amount of drive and will power to break free from the government. Because why would someone want to just give up all of the free stuff? And then, of course, the Left is always quick to use fear mongering, charging that Conservatives want to eliminate these programs, which keeps many of the Liberals in office.

"47 million uninsured" is another mantra of the Left. This is just one ploy to convince the general public that we need socialized health care. Instead of forcing employers to double their overhead by making them have to insure their employees (which, by the way, will drive the unemployment rate up), and instead of raising taxes on products (i.e. cigars and cigarettes), why not set up non-profit outlets to encourage donations to specific families in need. NOT EVERYONE that is uninsured needs medical insurance. Some of the uninsured make enough money that they can afford to pay out of their pocket when they need to see a doctor. Why should they pay $1,500 to $3,000 per year in premiums when they see a doctor once every 2-3 years?

Again, don't get me wrong! I am all for helping the poor. But throwing money at the problem, just so that Liberals can feel better, doesn't solve the problem. When it comes to Africa, developing growing economies and creating jobs is a much more lasting solution to poverty.

JRGoodnews - For the Federal Goverment to come into a state in any kind of emergency they need the request to come from the governor, which was late in being sent. This is constitutional. The Federal Government can not just enter a state and take over. In the case of Reagan, they were Federal positions.

The "Mission Accomplished" sign was for the Aircraft Carrier not for the war. The carrier accomplished it mission and was put their at the request of the
Admiral.

As far as you comment about Bush 41, if you remember we went in with a coalition of Arab states, there was an agreement that we would not depose Hussein at that time and if we did the Arab states would not help us.

Oh a side note during the first Gulf War 90% of the troops were ours, this part of the war we had 85%.

JRGoodnews - more news first of all your Libs brought congress to an all time low approval rating.

You rant as if you are Hilary. Your Liberal Appeasement has created the dangerous world today, see Clinton's appeasement gave the terrorists the momentum to attack us on 9/11, it has given China a stronger military and rocket technology. North Korea nukes. So what did you libs do for US. NOTHING!

Oh Congress is breaking the Law right now, by not building the Fence, see they passed a Law last year to build it. Also they are breaking their oath of office.

The benefit of illegals voting goes to the Libs (which makes no sense, because why do they come here, since the libs are trying to turn us into a third world nation like the ones they are leaving)

Oh by the way stop watching NBC the News that the left feel right to print, and Werner is not a conservative.

and for 10 - she is a nutcase that was used by the libs, they have her on video after the meeting with President Bush saying how well the meeting was.

JRGoodnews,
You want two names -- Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV).

The source for the INS memo to President Clinton is Walter V. Robinson of the Boston Globe in his article published Nov. 4, 2000. (NOTE: I inadvertently put "running for office in 2006," when I meant "in 1996.")

The courts have not specifically ruled that the border-fence must be funded by Congress. You asked me how I would propose to fund the fence. My response was that since the courts have already ruled that enforcing immigration laws are the sole responsibility of the federal government, it would then be up to Congress to fund the fence. U. S. District Judge James Munley, in his ruling on July 26, 2007, invoked the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) and found that ONLY the federal government has jurisdiction over immigration law. Since the purpose for building a border-fence is to assist in keeping individuals from entering the country, that falls under enforcing immigration laws, thus making it federal jurisdiction.

Now then, you wrote: "We should have shored up our resourses and beefed up our military as much as possible as quickly as possible and proceeded with caution..." Actually we did that. We began shoring up our resourses (grossly depleted during the Clinton Administration) and the Army and Marines began beefing up in earnest right after 9/11 in preparation for going into Afghanistan. When it became a real possibility that we might use the military option against Iraq, the military had extensive training for biological and chemical warfare, as well as, preparing for the much anticipated hand-to-hand, door-to-door combat through the streets of Baghdad. The main problem occurred at the very last minute when Turkey refused to allow the United States to use their airspace. This meant that we didn't have a northern flank during the invasion. The lack of a northern flank allowed Saddam Hussein and a large portion of his force to escape into the Sunni Triangle and beyond. That meant that our troops had to go searching for the enemy. And unfortunately, at the same time, Syria opened their borders to allow huge numbers of foreign fighters into Iraq.

Absolutely the biggest mistake made by the Bush Administration was trying to fight a war, rebuild AND conduct nation building all at the same time. While I certainly understand why they elected to conduct the war that way (i.e. an attempt to soften world opinion), the subsequent insurgency made it impossible to do all three effectively and efficiently. Normally you go in and defeat the enemy first and worry about rebuilding and nation building AFTER the war is over.

As for the option of having three separate principalities, it is highly unlikely that would ever work. That's because the vast majority of the oil is in the Kurdish and Shia sections of Iraq. The only way for the Sunnis to get a fair share of the revenue is if they are a part of a coalition.

Now going back to Katrina! The Air Traffic Controllers are federal employees. That places them under federal jurisdiction which allowed President Reagan to easily step in and fire the controllers. The Posse Comitatus Act does not allow federal control over National Guard units and prohibits active military personnel from acting in a law enforcement capacity within the boundaries of the United States, except where expressly authorized by Congress or the U. S. Constitution. Gov. Kathleen Blanco could have signed the papers that the Bush Administration had prepared which would have given the President the authorization to place New Orleans under federal jurisdiction. Many on the Left have been calling President Bush a dictator over some of his actions. Imagine if he had declared martial law and taken over control of New Orleans against the wishes of Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin. Not only would the Left have the dictator claim, but they would have said that he did this because the Governor is a woman and the Mayor of New Orleans is black.

Regarding your personal note, best of luck with the longer work hours. I certainly understand priorities. Your wife should come first. Politics aren't going anywhere. But your wife might if you don't give her enough attention!!

J Danley:

In response to your previous post,
I asked for specific names and you replied with a generalization. I would like to know their names as a reference point, so please answer my original request and provide at least two names. Thank you. Also, I would just like interject the following observation: Illegal Immigration and Immigration Law Reform is an issue that is not divided by Party lines. I personally know many Conservative Dems that are in full agreement with you Repub Conservatives. This issue is really becoming an urgent issue and ,hopefully we can come to a workable and fair solution that will help us move forward instead of marking-time. Also, if you would give me your source for the INS-Clinton Memo I would like to read the text of that personally. Also, When did the courts hand down a ruling that made the proposition of a border fence a Federal jurisdiction ?
As for Iraq; Before we ever went over there, a strategy should have been in place even with the suppositon of an imminent threat, We should have shored up our resourses and beefed up our military as much as possible as quickly as possible and proceeded with caution ,rather than drawing a line in the dirt the way Bush did. As it turned out,the WMD's that Bush asserted were there failed to materialize. All of this is 20-20 hindsight, of course, so now instead of arguing over what should have been done , hopefully, we can find a solution that will benefit all and bring some stability to that highly volitile region. I personally , am in favor of Warner's proposition. If we withdraw, the Iraqis will, by necessity,either form a workable coalition or divide into three separate principalities much in the same way that the former Yugoslavia did. It is my fervent hope that our troops will be able to be extricated from the cross-fire of the warring factions that are fighting for supremacy over there. John McCain has said that "We are where we are" and it is pointless to backtrack. We need to focus on the here and now and do what is best for our troops and the civilians of Iraq. It's obvious that you admire George Bush and it's even more obvious that I DO NOT,so perhaps we can agree to disagree on this point and move on.
As for Katrina: You felt that the ultimate resposibility rested upon the Local government officials. I agree that not utilizing the school buses was a tragic mistake that would have saved lives. However, in times of national emergency the President can and should supercede any and all other authority to stave off a national catastrophe. I don't know if you are old enough to recall when Reagan broke the Air Controllers Union Strike. He intervened because the nation was at a stand-still. He bypassed the Congress and Union officials and demanded that the air-traffic controllers return to work. My point in mentioning this is that Reagan set a precedent by assuming ultimate authority and ultimate responsibility in an emergency situation. In my opinion, Bush would have done well to take a chapter out of Reagan's book and assume ultimate command and ultimate responsibility. But there again, let's agree to disagree. It will be interesting to see what sort of reception Bush receives when he goes to New Orleans for the two yr anniversary of this disaster.
About Cindy Sheehan: I logged on to her website and read some of the entries from last year, so if you know of any other website that has anything current ,please pass along that info, Thanx.
Now on a personal note: My work schedule has changed starting Monday 8/27. My employer has informed us ,the supervisory team, that we will be putting in some 12 hr and probably some double shifts, if necessary.Until further notice...
I'm mentioning this because I likely won't have too much time to devote to online pursuits. What little free time I will have my spouse has dibs on. I say this just as an explanation of why you won't be hearing from me for awhile.
I haven't cut and run. So, until then,STAY STRONG!

Now we have a new twist to the immigration issue. WorldNetDaily reports that the Kansas Court of Appeals ruled that:

"[Federal law] declares an alien's unsanctioned entry into the United States to be a crime. While Congress has criminalized illegal entry into this country, it has not made the continued presence of an illegal alien in the United States a crime unless the illegal alien has previously been deported and has again entered this country illegally," the court opinion said. "[Federal law] makes it a felony for an alien who has been deported to thereafter reenter the United States or at anytime thereafter be found in the United States."

Say what!!

JRGoodnews:

1. As for names, just insert the name of ANY Democrat in Congress; just insert the name of ANY Democrat in ANY border-states' state legislature. THEY ALL believe they would benefit politically by giving amnesty and American citizenship to all illegal immigrants currently in the U. S.

You only have to go back to the 1996 Presidental election cycle to see just how many citizenships were handed out to legal immigrants on an expedited basis. The Clinton Administration pressured the INS to naturalize 1 million new voters before Election Day. A memo from the INS to President Clinton stated: ''You asked us to expedite the naturalization of nearly a million legal aliens who have applied to become citizens.'' And it made a reference to, ''Lower the standards for citizenship...'' It worked, the INS swore in 1,044,689 new citizens between Oct 1, 1995 and Sept 30, 1996.

Incidentally, by expediting these citizenships, it was later discovered that the INS negliected to do fingerprint checks on nearly 180,000 applicants. It turned out that at least 80,000 of these applicants had criminal records.

The Clinton Administration would not have done this if they had NOT believed that they would benefit polically -- specifically that the vast majority of these new citizens would register to vote AND that they would vote heavily in favor of the Democrats running for office in November 2006.

Furthermore, hundreds if not thousands of immigrants were even allowed to register to vote BEFORE they actually became citizens in California. And these were NOT tossed out upon discovery because a judge ruled that it was no different then the age requirement: As long as you would be 18 years of age before the election that it was okay to be registered at 17. Thus, so as long as the immigrant actually became a citizen before the election, it was not illegal to register to vote before the fact. BUT THE PROBLEM IS, the application specifically questions whether you will be 18 by election day. It does not ask if you will be a citizen by election day. Instead you have to actually STATE that you are a U. S. citizen on the application. So the judges ruling was wrong and everyone of these individuals violated federal law by signing that they WERE U. S. citizens when, in fact, they weren't.

Now as for the funding of the fences, since the courts have already ruled that enforcing immigration laws is the reponsibility of the federal government, Congress would have to fund the building of the fences. But Congress should also allow for donations to be made by private citizens, groups and corporations to help pay for the funding.

2. "Bush told the nation we were in mortal danger from WMD's." The media reported that President Bush said that the threat was imminent (i.e. LA Times headline on Jan 29, 2003: "Bush Calls Iraq Imminent Threat."), but what he actually stated in his State of the Union message on Jan 28, 2003 was:

"Some have said we must not act until the threat is imminent. Since when have terrorists and tyrants announced their intentions, politely putting us on notice before they strike? If this threat is permitted to fully and suddenly emerge, all actions, all words, and all recriminations would come too late. Trusting in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein is not a strategy, and it is not an option."

"The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. America will not accept a serious and mounting threat to our country, and our friends and our allies. The United States will ask the U.N. Security Council to convene on February the 5th to consider the facts of Iraq's ongoing defiance of the world. Secretary of State Powell will present information and intelligence about Iraqi's legal -- Iraq's illegal weapons programs, its attempt to hide those weapons from inspectors, and its links to terrorist groups.

"We will consult. But let there be no misunderstanding: If Saddam Hussein does not fully disarm, for the safety of our people and for the peace of the world, we will lead a coalition to disarm him."

In other speeches President Bush said that "we must act before the threat becomes imminent."

Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV) stated on Oct 10, 2002: "Saddam's existing biological and chemical weapons capabilities pose a very real threat to America, now."

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) stated on Oct 10, 2002: "In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including Al Qaeda members, though there is apparently no evidence of his involvement in the terrible events of September 11, 2001."

3. Saddam Hussein did fire missiles as our surveillance planes. As I mentioned before, THIS could have been declared an act of war. One of our planes was actually in Kuwaiti airspace at the time.

Again, as I mentioned before, President Bush (41) -- even before the Gulf War began -- agreed NOT to go after Saddam Hussein in order for the Arab nations to subsidize the war. Everyone knew we were not going to take Saddam Hussein out. Yes, many of us wanted President Bush to take out Saddam Hussein. THAT is one of the reasons President Bush was not re-elected in 1992.

4. "We are still waiting for an EXIT strategy from this bozo!" You are waiting because you aren't listening. President Bush as said on numerous occasions: We will leave "when Iraq is able to govern, sustain and defend itself" or "when Iraq tells us to leave."

5. "The UN inspectors found nothing, and we have yet to locate the chemical facilities in six yrs of occupation." The irony is, had Saddam Hussein let the inspectors back into Iraq in 2002; and had Saddam Hussein proven that he did not have WMDs, war would have been averted. But Saddam Hussein wanted his neighbors to THINK he had WMDs. And France, Germany and Russia had convinced Saddam Hussein that the United States would not invade Iraq. So he really didn't see any incentive to actually comply with the directives of the United Nations Security Council.

6. "GW had not have the slightest intention of finding him (Usama bin Laden)." The search continues in full earnest. Satellite surveillance continues; as do armed-unmanned drones. When Usama bin Laden makes a mistake he will be spotted. U. S. Soldiers going house-to-house DID find Saddam Hussein. But you have to remember U. S. troops are not allowed in Pakistan to search for Usama bin Laden. Had President Musharraf allowed our troops to cross into Pakistan and conduct a house-to-house search, we would have found him (as well as, Ayman al Zawahri and Mullah Omar) years ago.

7. "Bush sent a handful of troops there,( less than the number of cops in NYC) so that tells you how "motivated " Georgie was to find Osama." Sending 100,000 soldiers into Tora Bora would have gotten 50,000 soldiers killed. Just ask Alexander the Great (sorry, he's been dead too long). So ask the former Soviet Union generals. During the 9-year Soviet-Afghanistan War estimates are that as many as 26,000 Soviets died.

8. Regarding Katrina, I stand by my statement that the ultimate blame falls on the shoulders of Gov. Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans' Mayor Ray Nagin. They should have ordered the evacuations at least 48 hours before the National Hurricane Center's predictions of landfall. Instead evacuations were ordered less than 24 hours before Katrina made landfall. (NOTE: The head of the National Hurricane Center, Max Mayfield CALLED Mayor Nagin on FRIDAY night pleading with him to begin an immediate mandatory evacuation of New Orleans. AND President Bush CALLED Gov. Blanco just before midnight on Friday, pleading with her to sign the request papers which would have given the federal government control of the situation and then they could have immediately mobilized active military personnel. President Bush called Gov. Blanco again on Saturday and again pleaded with her to handover control to the federal government. She again refused.)

The National Guard should have been called up on SATURDAY morning (Katrina made landfall at 5:34 AM Monday morning, but hurricane force winds were felt hours earlier) to evacuate everyone who did not have transportion -- they should have used the thousands of school buses that were just sitting at the baseyard. And then the National Guard units would have been on the scene to prevent the problems that did occur. Instead, Gov. Blanco didn't call up the National Guard until Monday and 100 troops didn't arrive until Tuesday.

Yes, President Bush did accept the blame for FEMA's mistakes -- but not for the mistakes of the first responders (the responsibility of the state and local officials). Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff ordered FEMA Director, Mike Brown, to remain in his makeshift office and coordinate the relief, search and rescue efforts. Instead, Brown, was up in a helicopter surveying the damage. That was a huge blunder and left FEMA members hanging waiting for directives.

SORRY, FOOT IS FIRMLY ON THE FLOOR!

9. "Scooter" Libby indicted. Yes, for perjury! NOT for outing a CIA operative. Again, Joseph Wilson actually outed his own wife in his biography in Who's Who when he named his wife as the "former Valerie Plame."

AGAIN, FOOT STILL FIRMLY ON THE FLOOR!

10. Various reports are that Cindy Sheehan actually gave a glowing report following her meeting with President Bush. Other reports are that her comments were taken out of context. I don't know, I wasn't there. President Bush might have had a second meeting with her had she just requested one. BUT instead she joined the anti-war movement and was then used by them as a spokesperson. Only then did she demand a second meeting. Any meeting at that point would have been just a show.

Sen John Warner did request that President Bush bring home 5,000 troops by Christmas. I WOULD NOT call pulling 5,000 of 161,000 troops cutting and running. But if it is a premature reduction, it would be a mistake. All along, President Bush has said he would follow the advise of his generals on the field. He will wait to hear the full report from General Patraeus.

You wrote: "We can put aside our differences and give our prayers for this family and what they are going through. That is the great and wonderful thing about America. We can disagree and argue, but we can do so without fear of reprisal, imprisonment or banishment." WITH THIS I TOTALLY AGREE. My prayers go out to every loss -- regardless of whether the loss is American or Iraqi.

JD and spock,
Here goes:
1) Name the politians that would gain politically from increased immigration. You used the plural so you will need to provide at least two names to back up your previous statement. Also, How would you propose to fund your Fence Project?? Should each border state provide the same amount ? Or, would you assess the funding by mileage?( Should AZ pay as much as TX??) I'm sure you just forgot to include these important points in your last diatribe.
I agree that blanket amnesty is not the answer. Each case would need to be assesed and reviewed on an individual basis, it would be unfair to lump everyone collectively into one faceless group.
2)" Mission Accomplished" ? I believe the ORIGINAL premise for the war was WMD's not Saddam. Bush told the nation we were in mortal danger from WMD's so that Congress would back him in going to war,Even Bush himself has said that we will "stay the course". So that doesn't exactly sound like Mission Accomplished'. As long as we have troops stationed over there the war is not over. As for the banner, doésn't Bush outrank the Admiral, spock? Bush could easily have ordered the banner taken down,if he'd had any class, that is. But Bush was there for a photo-op so it made a nice back drop and he had his flight suit on and everything....
3) Yes, Saddam attacked KUWAIT not the US, which was my point. And if you recall , BOTH Schwarzkopf and Powell begged Papa Bush to finish the job, but he balked and it cost him the '92 election. Had Bush Sr. taken this advice Saddam would not have even been in the picture, So Bush sr. was the". appeaser"back in '92.
4) You may google the Downing Street Memo on your computer and read the text and draw your own conclusions. In response to your statement "you don't want to wait 6 months äfter an utimatim to excute your threat". The most famous Generals throughout history prepared for months, if not years,preparing carefully before mounting any all out attack and they ALWAYS had a retreat strategy.
I had to shake my head in disbelief when Rummy made his"you go to war with the army you have " statement. If Bush and Rumsfeld HAD prepared and supplied the troops with proper body armor and enough Ammo and armored vehicles, many lives and limbs would have been saved during the course of the war. All because Bush didn't want to back down from his own bravado!! Yeah, JD, really smart strategy! Troops were sent out poorly equipped and they come home to rat-infested Walter Reed !!WHAT AN OUTRAGE!! Those"six months" might have helped us assess what we would need for the long haul instead of making Bush look like "Fearless Leader". We are still waiting for an EXIT strategy from this bozo! Saddam's gone so what's the hold-up if our Mission's Accomplished "as you stated earlier? JD, Just how long do you suppose " Operation Overlord"from WWII took before Ike felt the troops were ready? I'll give you a hint : LONGER THAN SIX MONTHS !!!
5) Yes. Saddam was a rotten bastard who gassed the Kurds. The ethnic groups over there have been warring for centuries They don't get along and likely never will at this rate. The Kurds, Shiites. and Sunnis are probably as likely as Yugoslavia was; to maintain a national identity. So Saddam had no qualms about the Kurds, or even certain members of his own family. Saddam was more intent upon his own personal wealth than he was upon creating a nuke project. Even if he was planning such a venture ,he had already squandered alot of his resourses on opulent things i.e.gold toilets, marble palaces etc. The UN inspectors found nothing, and we have yet to locate the chemical facilities in six yrs of occupation.
6) Once again, It was Osama Bin Laden we have been seeking. The Key words here are :BIN LADEN , JD. Osama is blood kin to the Bush Family's business associates. The Carlyle Group has made money had over fist from this war. I seem to remember Georgie saying back in '01 that Osama "can run, but he cannot hide" Well, JD, he ran and hid but GW had not have the slightest intention of finding him. If the U. S. intelligence can find Saddam holed up in a rat-hole ,why then is Osama still at large, HMMMMMMMMM?????? For all Bush's posturing he has yet to make good on his swaggering boast.
7)Great Britain found their terrorists in India, half a world away. Sure ,Afghanistan is rough ,steep terrain, but we knew he was there. Bush sent a handful of troops there,( less than the number of cops in NYC) so that tells you how "motivated " Georgie was to find Osama. The terrain and location are excuses that are not acceptable to those who lost loved ones on 9/11. Plus, Bush now has the Pat Tillman Scandal to deal with on top of that. Bush's dismal record in Afganistan is equally reflected in his idiotic handling of Iraq.
8)About Katrina, Bush made a statement,acknowleging his own culpability in the wake of the disaster,saying that the response of the Federal Government was "unacceptable,I take full resposibilty ". So , JD , Bush HIMSELF acknowledged that for the Feds to not come to the aid of one of America's major cities,as well as Missippi and Alabama, was IN HIS OWN WORDS unacceptable. Did Blanco and Nevins make mistakes ? Yes, they did, Was Bush at fault for having an unqualified, inept head of FEMA in his good buddy, Micheal Brown,?? (whose main qualification was breeder of show ponies ) Yes he was. And Bush himself admitted this and (for once ) took resposibility. (Open mouth ,insert foot,Danley )
9)"Scooter "Libby, (perhaps you've hear of him ,he's been in all the papers...) was indited for this very incident and was given a slap on the the wrist; with a very lenient sentence ,which will likely be pardoned by Georgie anyway,so where is your logic there , JD ? I'm sure you are well aware of Libby's close link to Slippery Dick ,the Mystery Veep.So, I am CORRECT on this point. (Please insert other foot,now)
10)Obviously,Bush did not have any kind of satifactory dialog with Sheehan, or why would she subject herself , her family and friends to public scrutiny? My point was that it would have been a decent ,caring gesture on his part to play the Noble Leader and show some genuine humanity. It would have only taken a hug or a handshake or even to set up a time for a meaningful exchange. But , the moment was lost and Bush could have gained some respect that day, but he opted to ignore someone who wanted to get an answer and since he can't converse well with out somebody coaching him, he went on his merry way.
I just finished watching the Newscast on NBC. John Warner, Leading Republican in the Senate has just announced that he hopes to see 5,000 troops home by Christmas. This ought to send a clear message about how much the GOP has faith in Bush's leadership. The commentary even stated that Bush will have an uphill climb to sell his unpopular war in the face of overwhelming opposition. So, tell me James, are you going to get on your soap box and rant that Warner is a "cut and runner"? Even the Repub front-runners avoid Bush like the plague. The GOP is running scared because this travesty of a "war on terror" is threatening their chances for re-election. When someone the calibre of Warner is saying "bring the troops home", you know that the crap has hit the cooler. It will be interesting to see what transpires. Also, on the news tonight, The Hubbard Family of Clovis, has lost another son to this war. Two Gold Stars. We can put aside our differences and give our prayers for this family and what they are going through. That is the great and wonderful thing about America. We can disagree and argue, but we can do so without fear of reprisal,imprisonment or banishment.
So, JD, spock,Conservatives, Repubs,I respect your right to disagree with me. I will defend my views with equal vigor knowing that in America this is the right and privelege of every Citizen,That's what this country is all about

James Danley - True
I think right now we should hope someone closes the border and then we can all have debates on what to do with those already here.

Another note - about the Mission accomplished banner, it was reported that President Bush had no involvement in the banner, that the admiral requested the banner for stating the ships mission was accomplished.

Spock, true! But the decades of non-enforcement have allowed these families to grow with children and grandchildren becoming American citizens upon birth. Most of these parents and grandparents came to the United States looking for a better way of life. They found it. They certainly weren't going to just all of a sudden go back home especially when there was no incentive to do so. To the contrary, their children and grandchildren (whether they are legal or not) receive free public education; and they all receive free emergency medical services. Why would anyone in that situation want to voluntarily leave?

James Danley - Great Great Post! though one disagreement, because a Law is not enforced does not make it right or not the individuals responsibility to follow.

And on Cindy Sheehan there was a sppech she gave right after her meeting with President Bush that she gave him praise, it was only after the Lefist got a hold of her that she changed her tunes.

"....and stop casting aspersions on people who are working hard for a better life." I have not cast aspersions on anyone. We have laws that forbid individuals from entering into the United States without going through the proper channels. For decades politicians have refused to enforce these laws under the guise of compassion. Instead it is for pure political gain. It is time that we clamp down on the border and stop these individuals from coming across our borders illegally. I am in favor of fencing as much of the southern border as possible. I am in favor of using the various National Guard units to build these fences. And I am also in favor of using the drones for surveillance. When these individuals are caught crossing the border they must be immediately returned to their country of origin.

Now as for the 11-20 million illegal immigrants who are already here, I am in not in favor of a blanket amnesty nor an easier path to citizenship. BUT I am also not in favor of just rounding them up. Many of these individuals ARE, other than being here illegally, law abiding and great people. It was not their fault that the laws were not enforced for the past several decades. And many of these illegal immigrants have been here for years with family members who are American citizens. So those who have not committed any other offenses should either register for a guest worker program, pay a significant fine and become legal immigrants or voluntarily return home. A time limit should be placed on registering. Once that deadline is expired then they should be subject to deportation upon detection.

Now that is really the "easy" part. The most difficult part is making sure that the existing and any new immigration laws are fully enforced. Local communities that refuse to abide by these laws (i.e. declaring themselves sanctuaries) should have their state and federal funds withheld. Congress must pass legislation that overrides state and local laws which currently prohibit law enforcement from inquiring as to whether an individual is here illegally. Employers who hire illegal immigrants must be subject to jail time in addition to heavy fines. Employers who allow stolen or fraudulent Social Security cards to be used at time of employment should be held accountable as well.

We cannot allow the status quo to continue.

JRGoodnews, I'm sure you can do better than spouting from the George Soro's / Michael Moore playbook.

1. "Mission Accomplished," was overthrowing Saddam Hussein, which we did.

2. "We attacked a country that had never threatened us." Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990. The coalition forces kicked Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait during the Gulf War. That war was NEVER over. Instead there was a conditional cease fire. During the subsequent 12 years Saddam Hussein refused to comply with the conditions of the cease fire, in spite of the United Nations Security Council's diplomatic efforts. During this time Saddam Hussein frequently shot missles at our surveillance planes -- that alone could have been taken for an act of war! When it became clear that the United Nations Security Council would not follow through on its "final ultimatum," President Bush gave his ultimatum...either Saddam Hussein leave Iraq or we would invade.

3. "The Downing Street memo indicated that Bush had decided to go to war..." Even when war is the last resort, you certainly don't want to have to spend six months after an ultimatum's deadline planning to execute your threat. While you hope to avoid war, you want to make sure you are prepared if the military option is necessary.

4. "So Bush lied about the presence of WMD's..." In 1992, during the Presidential campaign, Al Gore chastised President Bush (41) for not finishing the job and overthrowing Saddam Hussein. Gore repeatedly called Saddam Hussein a serious threat to our national security due to Saddam Hussein's WMD programs. In 1998, President Clinton, and over a dozen Democrats called for the overthrowing of Saddam Hussein because he had WMDs and was an imminent threat to our national interests. In 2002, many of the same Democrats repeated the claims that Iraq had WMDs. President George W. Bush used the exact same intelligence that President Clinton had. EVERYONE knows that Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons on his own people killing as many as 100,000 Kurds. And EVERYONE knows that Saddam Hussein was working on biological weapons; and that Saddam Hussein wanted to restart his nuclear weapon's program.

5. "Osama Bin laden was never in Iraq..." True! But Abu Musab al Zarqawi WAS in Iraq almost a year before the invasion. And al Qaeda had a training camp in northern Iraq BEFORE the invasion.

6. "Isn't it interesting that Great Britain can find terrorists within DAYS of a threat, and Georgie-Porgie can't find Osama in SIX YEARS??" Maybe you should take a course in geography. There is a huge difference between looking for someone in Great Britain and looking for someone in the treacherous mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Besides, in the former, Scotland Yard received thousands of tips from British citizens who wanted to see the terrorists apprehended. In the case of Usama bin Laden, he is surrounded and protected by the Afghan and Pakistani warlords in spite of the $50 million bounty on his head.

7. "(President Bush) has mismanaged national catastrophes." Nice try! Katrina was mishandled by Louisiana's Gov. Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans' Mayor Ray Nagin. They refused to order the evacuation of New Orleans until it was too late, in spite of repeated warnings by the Feds. Thousands of school buses could have been used to evacuate those who had no transportation. Instead they were left in the baseyard where they sat in several feet of water for days. Even Amtrack offered to evacuate thousands of people when they relocated their train cars. Instead the train cars were relocate empty. A year prior to Katrina, New Orleans had a drill in which they tested the Superdome as an shelter in case of emergency. It failed the test. But in spite of failing the test, Mayor Nagin ordered it be used as a shelter. In addition, Mayor Nagin warned everyone who headed for the Superdome that they were responsible for their own food and water. Finally, Mayor Nagin ordered the New Orleans Convention Center to be opened up as a shelter. However he failed to notify FEMA.
Katrina was one of the worst natural disasters in American History. There was huge devastation all along the Gulf Coast. Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana all suffered huge losses. YET only Louisiana and New Orleans complained about not getting enough help. That's because in EVERY disaster, everyone knows that the first responders are the responsibility of the local and state authorities. Yet, in the case of Louisiana and New Orleans, the local and state authorities just left everything up to FEMA.

8. "...outed a CIA agent." WRONG! Joe Wilson's own biography in Who's Who named his wife as the "former Valerie Plame" long before Robert Novak wrote his piece.

9. "...but the real indication of Bush's shallowness and lack of character was when he couldn't drag himself from his backyard BBQ long enough to walk across the street to offer Cindy Sheehan, who lost her son in this travesty, any words of condolence or have any ready answer of why her son had to die." WRONG AGAIN! President Bush did have a brief meeting with Cindy Sheehan in June of 2004. She apparently wasn't satisfied and wanted another meeting.

I thank God that President Bush had the courage to stand up and fight these terrorists -- unlike any of his predecessors. President Carter could have acted when Iran stormed our embassy in 1979, but he didn't. President Reagan admitted his greatest mistake was cutting and running from Lebanon in 1984 following the bombing of the Marine barracks where 241 Marines, soldiers and sailors died on 23 Oct 1983. President Bush (41) agreed with Iraq's Arab neighbors to not oust Saddam Hussein in return for their subsidizing the Gulf War. And finally, President Clinton, treated the first bombing of the Twin Towers as a criminal act in spite of evidence that al Qaeda was involved in the bombing. In retaliation for al Qaeda's bombing of the embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, President Clinton bombed an aspirin factory in the Sudan and dropped a few bombs on a training camp in Afghanistan. And he did NOTHING in relaliation for the bombing of the USS Cole.

Danley and Steve W.
If you read my previous post you would have realized that I fully concur that criminals who commit violent crimes should receive the full extent of the law, As for having compassion for the victims of this terrible crime,let me tell you that I KNOW HOW THEY FEEL, FIRST-HAND. My (Then) 19 yr old cousin was brutally shot for no apparent reason. So ,I can totally relate to the families of the victims of any violent crimes.It was hard not to have bitter feelings toward his killer, but , even then , I never felt that his nationality or legal statis had anything to do with the way I felt about others of his ethnicity. Once again, I will state that THOSE people(legal or illegal) should be sent away; and stop casting aspersions on people who are working hard for a better life.
AS for the war, What happened to"Mission Accomplished"? Where's Osama? We attacked a country that had never threatned us, to depose a dictator who had worked with the US in the '80's (and had previously been photographed with Don Rumsfeld during the Iran-Contra affair during Reagan's Admin.)The Downing Street memo indicated that Bush had decided to go to war and would find justification for doing so, So Bush lied about the presence of WMD's in Iraq in order to justify the "shock and awe" invasion. Osama Bin laden was never in Iraq, He is the one we should be looking for. Isn't it interesting that Great Britain can find terrorists within DAYS of a threat, and Georgie-Porgie can't find Osama in SIX YEARS ??Probably because the Prime Minister of GB has no business ties with the Bin Ladens,unlike the Bush Family, who has done business with the Bin Ladens for years, and even guaranteed them safe passage after 9/11.
Bush's mishandling of this war has cost our country billions of dollars, squandered our resources and lost more lives than 9/11. The Bush Admin has been linked to the Enron Scandal; has mismanaged national catastrophes due to inept,unqualified cronies being given positions of authority;outed a CIA agent;politicized the Justice Dept;had ties to Jack Abramoff,Duke Cunningham, Tom DeLay,The list goes on and on...but the real indication of Bush's shallowness and lack of character was when he couldn't drag himself from his backyard BBQ long enough to walk across the street to offer Cindy Sheehan, who lost her son in this travesty, any words of condolence or have any ready answer of why her son had to die.
So , Danley, if you feel good about paying through the nose for this war, I'm sure Haliburton appreciates your hard-earned cash, along with the other 23% of the country that thinks Bush is a symbol of Freedom. The rest of us know he's a giant phallic symbol.

Natasha Aeriel, who clings to life, was a Junior at Deleware State, majoring in Biology. She played alto sax in the marching band. Her brother Terrence was studying business management, and played baritone sax. Iofemi Hightower worked two jobs, one of which was at an assisted living center. She was enrolled for Fall term. Dashon Harvey's fellow students elected him "Mr. Junior" for Homecoming. None of them had been in trouble. My heart breaks for the families of those young people. My teeth clench at the thought of the kind of people who killed three of them. Enforcing immigration laws may likely have prevented these murders. So, we must start immigration law enforcement, and stop providing 'havens' for illegals. That won't solve the violence problem in our cities, but it's a start. It is unargueable that we should not take this simple first step. It does not matter how many illegals are nice people, or how much money we waste on the war, or welfare, or whatever.

Compassion? What about the compassion for the four innocent NJ college students, three of whom were executed with the fourth still in serious condition? What about the compassion for the children who were sexually abused? What about the compassion for the innocent American citizens whose identities are stolen? What about the compassion for American citizens who need emergency care but the emergency rooms are filled? What about the compassion for American students who have to endure 35-45 students in class rooms and don't receive special needs? What about the compassion for American citizens who cannot find reasonable housing.

As for the war, contrary to what the Left wants the American people to believe, the regime change in Iraq was COMPLETELY LEGAL. Congress gave President Clinton the authorization for regime change in Iraq in 1998. Then, in October 2002, Congress gave President Bush the authorization to use the United States armed forces against Iraq to oust Saddam Hussein. You can deny it all you want, but WE ARE FIGHTING al Qaeda in Iraq.

War is not cheap. But cutting and running in the face of al Qaeda for any reason, much less because the war is costing too much money, would be tantamount to signing a death warrant for the civilized world. Let me ponder that a bit...under the world domination of an Islamic Caliphate there would be no United States; No European Union; No democracies anywhere; No right to vote; No freedom of speech; No freedom of religion; And, oh my, no social security or medicare!! Sorry no thank you! I would rather we spend whatever it takes to defeat the terrorists.

Danley- You and spock make quite the comedy team. Why don't you Space Cadets take the next shuttle back to spock's home planet?

The one thing you didn't mention in your post was Compassion. The Repubs don't mind spending billions on an illegal war,but cry in their beer over "subsidizing the fee for obtaining a green card and the fee for applying for citizenship" (that's a direct quote from you, Jim-bob) Geesh, what hypocracy! I'd MUCH rather pay for Green cards and Citizenship apps than subsidize the gazillion dollars already spent on "Bush's Folly".... (I'm sure mstessyrue will be in agreement here)

The next shuttle leaves on the hour,I'll pack your bags.

"They (immigration laws) should be enforced. If those laws are too restrictive or harsh, they should be changed."

The problem is:

(1) Federal judges have ruled that it is the federal government's responsibility to enforce immigration laws. So even when local communities have tried to take matters into their own hands (i.e. to prohibit landlords from renting to illegal immigrants) these laws are overturned when challenged.

(2) Some states and local communites have passed laws prohibiting law enforcement from inquiring whether individuals are legal or not. They can't turn illegal immigrants over to the federal authorities if they don't know they are illegal.

(3) Some local communities have declared themselves sanctuaries for illegal immigrants. That handicaps most action by the federal government, unless Congress denied all federal funding to these communities.

(4) The politics. The Democrats would just as soon give immediate amnesty to anyone who can make it over the border. They figure the more illegal immigrants who are made citizens will be more votes for Democrats. The far Left believes it is too harsh to even call illegal immigrants "illegal." So obviously the far Left considers all immigration laws "too restrictive and harsh." Local and state Democrats want to give even more rights to illegal immigrants. A case in point is the fact that San Francisco city officials will propose to have their taxpayers subsidize the fee for obtaining a green card and the fee for applying for citizenship.

Ya gotta LOVE Rob Riggle !!! It takes a lotta courage to go into such an unstable area and bring some comic relief to our troops. The Daily Show is to be commended for their excellence. I am a big fan of both the Daily Show and Colbert. I especially loved Rob's Indiana-Iraq show. It really blew the "summer market in Indiana" Repub ****crap straight to Hell.

As for the Immigration topic, Yes , there are some bad apples that have crossed illegally.Drug dealers, child molesters, gang members,you name it. Unfortunately, all these deplorable types have already been here giving us grief since the country was founded. Do you think that every other immigrant group wasn't ostracized by society? Think again. The Irish , the Italians, Germans,African slaves,Japanese, Chinese, Poles, American Indians,Jews, Mormons,the list goes on and on.. Every group that is different in some way has experienced discrimination and condemnation. Should child molesters be brought to justice and given the full extent of the law?ABSOLUTELY. Should an entire group of people be held responsible?? ABSOLUTELY NOT !! If some people came here illegally and have proven themselves to be hard-working, moral people, they should be given the chance to earn citizenship, instead of being treated as criminals. Indite the criminals who are here illegally and send THOSE people back. Let's don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. It is clear that we need to examine each case individually instead of creating a witch hunt.