Monday, December 31, 2007

Coverage report

“Prosecutors said Javier Molina, 25, of Crystal Lake broke into the home of a sleeping woman on the 300 block of Ridge Avenue and beat and raped her in an attack that lasted more than an hour.” The woman was 61 years old.

His fate? “With credit for good behavior, Molina, who prosecutors said had lived in the United States illegally for 18 months before the attack, would have to serve about 26 years of his sentence. Afterward, he likely would be deported to Mexico.”

The above quotes are from The Northwest Herald, 12/28/07. It is a publication of Shaw Suburban Media. The story was 523 words in length.

So, how did the other papers treat the story?

The Chicago Tribune printed 125 words (four paragraphs) and did not mention Molina’s immigration status.

The Daily Herald, a Paddock Publication, used 367 words in its story. They also neglected to report on his immigration status.

I could find no evidence that the Chicago Sun Times or any of its publications even covered the story.

For comparison, here are the three stories

Northwest Herald:
Man gets 30 years for CL rape
Northwest Herald 12/28/07
By BRANDON COUTRE - bcoutre@nwherald.com
WOODSTOCK – A judge Thursday handed a 30-year prison sentence to a man who attacked and raped a woman in her Crystal Lake home last year in a crime that the judge called “every woman’s worst fear.”
Prosecutors said Javier Molina, 25, of Crystal Lake broke into the home of a sleeping woman on the 300 block of Ridge Avenue and beat and raped her in an attack that lasted more than an hour.”I awoke to a stranger standing in my doorway,” the victim said during the sentencing hearing. “I knew that if I didn’t pretend to agree with what he wanted, I wouldn’t survive.”
Molina pleaded guilty in October to aggravated criminal sexual assault under the agreement that prosecutors would seek no more than a 35-year prison sentence, which they sought Thursday.
The woman suffered injuries from the June 11, 2006, attack that included bruising, facial fractures and torn ligaments. She said she continued to suffer from dizziness, memory loss and other aliments.“Something else happened to me that night – I learned to hate,” she said. “I lived 62 years without this emotion and now I will carry it with me the rest of my life.”
The attack drastically altered her life, said the victim, who the Northwest Herald is not naming to protect her identity.“I went from being a highly active intelligent person to someone who can’t do much of anything,” she said.As a result of permanent memory loss, the victim said she was forced to give up her personal accounting business and now suffers financial hardship.
The attack altered her social life, too, she said.“I also find people avoid me, because they’re uncomfortable knowing what happened to me,” she said.
During the hearing, Molina’s court-appointed attorney, McHenry County Assistant Public Defender Richard Behof, asked Judge Sharon Prather to give Molina no more than 18 years in prison.
A doctor who evaluated the defendant suggested Molina could be delusional, Behof said, adding that the attack was fueled by a large amount of alcohol.During the hearing, Molina’s uncle testified that he sat in the courtroom shocked when the victim recounted the attack.“He was a boy who was very alert and intelligent,” Jose Benavides said through and interpreter. “He was a very obedient man.”
Nichole Owens, criminal chief of the state’s attorney’s office, scolded Molina for not showing any remorse for the crime and being deceptive during the police investigation.Shortly after Molina left the victim’s home, police found him nearby, passed out in the back of his car. When first questioned as to why he had blood on his clothing, Molina told police he was roasting a pig for his birthday and he must have scratched himself with a spear, Owens said.“The more he is questioned, the more his story changed,” Owens said.
Molina declined to make a statement in the courtroom before he was sentenced.With credit for good behavior, Molina, who prosecutors said had lived in the United States illegally for 18 months before the attack, would have to serve about 26 years of his sentence. Afterward, he likely would be deported to Mexico.

Chicago Tribune:
Crystal Lake man gets 30 years for raping woman, 61
Chicago Tribune staff report
December 28, 2007
McHENRY COUNTY - A Crystal Lake man was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in prison for the rape last year of a 61-year-old woman.
Javier Molina, 25, pleaded guilty in October to three counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault. He will be required to serve at least 85 percent of the sentence, said Nichole Owens, chief of criminal prosecutions for the McHenry County state's attorney's office.
The victim, who lives in Crystal Lake, testified at the sentencing hearing that she still has physical and emotional problems from the attack in her home on June 11, 2006.
"She still has some surgery ahead of her," Owens said. "She has dizzy spells. She has difficulty walking. Her physical injuries and her emotional trauma are likely to continue."

Daily Herald:
Crystal Lake rapist gets 30 years in prison
By Charles Keeshan Daily Herald Staff
Published: 12/28/2007 12:07 AM
Calling the crime every woman's worst fear, a McHenry County judge Thursday sentenced a Crystal Lake man to 30 years in prison for the violent rape of a 61-year-old woman in her home.

Javier Molina, 245 W. Terra Cotta, must serve at least 25½ years of the sentence handed down in connection with a June 11, 2006, attack that left the woman with permanent brain damage, hand and leg injuries and emotional trauma she said robbed her of happiness in her life.

"I survived, but it's been harder than anything I could have imagined," the woman said in court. "I am not the same person I was before the attack."
Molina pleaded guilty in October to three counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault as part of a deal in which McHenry County prosecutors agreed to seek a sentence no longer than 35 years.

Authorities say Molina's victim was home alone when he entered her Crystal Lake residence, punched and elbowed her repeatedly, slammed her head on a floor then raped her before leaving.

Police later found him passed out drunk in a car parked next door. He eventually confessed during police questioning, authorities said.

The attack, the woman said Thursday, left her with multiple concussions, torn thumb ligaments and bruises on more than 60 percent of her body. Even worse, she said, are the mental and emotional consequences that have her constantly fearful and awake several times a night checking her door locks.

"There's very little happiness in my life, and I doubt there ever will be," she said. "Calling (Molina) a man would be an insult to my sons and every other man in my life. Real men don't do this."

Molina did not make a statement when given the opportunity in court. But his attorney described him as remorseful, noted that he has no criminal history and blamed his actions on his extreme intoxication the night of the attack.

"In all my years of doing this, I've never seen a case with facts so severe, and I have a
hard time matching those facts up to Mr. Molina," Senior Assistant Public Defender Richard Behof said. "It baffles me the situation my client finds himself in."

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Cheeps

The Mexican government will begin issuing immigration visas with electronic chips imbedded in them in an effort to control their southern border.

They detained about 182,000 illegals last year.

The AP story I read says the US already has such a system but the border control agents rarely use them and the vehicle lanes aren't even equipped to check. We are really cracking down, aren't we?

I wrote a few days ago about the British requirement that you leave a deposit before entering. It seems like everyone wants to keep people out. I wonder why?

Friday, December 28, 2007

The end of Bhuttopia

Benazir Bhutto was the great hope of American politicians. She was to replace the uniform-wearing Musharraf as the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

We even had Arlen Specter and Patrick (son of Teddy and Joan) Kennedy on their way to a dinner party with Bhutto when the assassination took place. Kennedy invoked the memory of Uncle Jack with the statement that Bhutto was a “profile in courage” after learning of her murder.

But Tony Snow was on the radio last night and explained that Pakistan is much like Iran in the Carter days. Khomeini was the great hope for democracy in 1979 after we cut off the Shah at the knees. The holy man turned out to be wildly popular but also the first of the great terrorists of the Middle East.

The problem with most of the Third World is that there are no great leaders sitting on the bench, waiting for their turn to play. We still don’t seem to understand that there is a power vacuum when you depose a despot.

Why? Because that is how tyrants rule. They are quick to eliminate the competition. And they control the media. And the military. And they can be ruthless.

We are simplistic to believe that the masses want to be a democracy and will rise up to support good leaders. First off, they exist in corrupt societies. Secondly, there are no good leaders to support.

There is an art to tyranny. Americans don’t appreciate a leader who can ride herd on millions of starving peasants and live to tell about it.

So, we either need the DDT or a return to the British Empire model. The DDT (Department of Dirty Tricks) was dismantled by Jimmy Carter in the wake of Watergate. It suddenly became a great sin to work underground in a country, prep a successor, and assassinate the tyrant-in-chief.

And of course the British Empire way was to simply govern the country yourself and work to provide a modicum of civilization to the masses through health care, schools, and cultural events.

Of course those options are archaic and despicable. Having factions running around with their suicide bombers is a much better way of allowing self-determination. And it gets even better when Congress, the President, and every candidate on the stump in Iowa have to put in their two cents about Bhutto and Musharraf. Ah, the curse of CNN.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Confucius say.....

..."Settle one difficulty and you keep a hundred away.”

I am amazed at the fallout from the simple problem of allowing the uninvited to invade our country.

1- Anchor babies would cease to be a problem. What if there were no illegal aliens here? There would be no anchor babies. None. And no generational pull to legalize the father or mother.
2- Complex marriages would decline. We have no idea how many families live with the heartbreak and uncertainty of a spouse who is here illegally. One would think that the county clerk would be able to demand verification of legal presence. Not so. At least in Illinois it is strictly a “ministerial” function. They record the event in the public record. Nothing more.
3- Stolen Social Security numbers would be more secure. Imagine no need for No-Match letters. No need for E-Verify. Maybe we could go back to putting the Social Security number on our checks. Imagine that.
4- Schools we can afford. What would it be like if 10% of our school students disappeared? What about fewer bilingual students?
5- Emergency rooms would be for emergencies.
6- Hispanics would return to their normal path of assimilation. They were well on their way to being mainstream Americans in the mid-1980s. Now discrimination has crept in. And why not? So many millions of illegals. It is easy to do.
7- Entry level wages…would rise.
8- Kids would learn to work again.
9- Tax revenue would increase with fewer employees being paid in cash.
10- Housing would be less “overcrowded”.

Now, illegal aliens aren’t responsible for all our problems, but they have a hand in many of them. For example, the mortgage crisis. There are flippers and people buying more house than they can afford. But the illegals are part of the problem as well.

The health insurance problem is not entirely their problem, but they are part of it.

The same can be said of crime and gangs and uninsured motorists and drunk drivers and wife beaters and child molesters…They are in there and probably over-represented by virtue of the fact that most of them are from Third World countries.

So, why are we pushing so hard for a solution? Because we’ve seen the results of years of neglect. The problem will continue to grow if we don’t take action now. You can see it in the border crossing activity of the past 20 years. You can see assimilation falling apart. You can see them taking to the streets demanding amnesty. Unlawful presence will not taper off by itself. A lot of somebodies will need to take action right away.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Not so appealing

If you really want to get angry with government, just read a few immigration appeals. Maybe I’ll compile a book of rulings from the Board of Immigration Appeals. You will not believe what passes for justice here in America.

I give you Agustin Ortiz-Cornejo a “citizen of Mexico” who snuck into the United States in February 1987. There is a law on the books that if you can prove “ten years’ continuous physical presence in the United States” you can be granted amnesty.

(Which makes Bush, Reid, Durbin…liars in the first degree. Illegals already have a path to legalization – several of them, actually - because we’ve made all sorts of accommodations to allow them to stay. The 10 year rule is only one of them.)

In April of 1996 (not quite 10 years) Agustin returned to Mexico to visit his family. Now if you get a committee of 20 sixth graders in a room and ask them if this man had 10 years of physical presence in the United States, would that be a hard question for them?

OK, so he spent a month in Mexico and then tried to get back in. Twice he was stopped at the border. It is SOP to ask the foolish question, “Do you want to be prosecuted for illegal entry or do you want to just self-deport, as in turn around and pretend nothing happened?”

Unless you are Cuban or otherwise entitled to refugee status, you choose to self-deport. But they don’t keep records of those who voluntarily self-deport.

The third times a charm and he finally was successful in getting back in by June of 1996.

Well, they finally caught up with Agustin and in July 2001 he was ordered deported. But he appealed saying he had 10 years continuous presence. And his appeal was appealed until he received the answer he wanted. He could stay.

Now, because there is no evidence that he was properly offered self-deportation the judge ruled that the 10 year rule still applied to Agustin according to the 8th Circuit Appeals Court.

And you will like this footnote to the 10 year rule: “Continuous physical presence ends if an alien departs from the United States for any period in excess of 90 days or for any periods in the aggregate exceeding 180 days.” If I read that right, the US government allows illegals to take vacations from the American Dream and still qualify for amnesty!

It amazes me that anyone can keep a straight face in one of these immigration hearings. Perhaps we should change our name to the United Schmucks of America.

Monday, December 24, 2007

Merry Christmas from Alien Rants

12 Politically Correct Days of the Non-Religious Midwinter Festival
On the 12th day of the Eurocentrically imposed midwinter festival, my potential-acquaintance- abuse-survivor gave to me:
TWELVE males reclaiming their inner warrior through ritual drumming.
ELEVEN pipers piping (plus the 18-member pit orchestra made up of members in good standing of the Musicians Equity Union as called for in their union contract even though they will not be asked to play a note...)
TEN melanin-deprived testosterone-poisoned scions of the patriarchal ruling class system leaping,
NINE persons engaged in rhythmic self-expression,
EIGHT economically disadvantaged female persons stealing milk-products from enslaved Bovine-Americans,
SEVEN endangered swans swimming on federally protected wetlands,
SIX enslaved fowl-Americans producing stolen non-human animal products,
FIVE golden symbols of culturally sanctioned enforced domestic incarceration, (NOTE: after a member of the Animal Liberation Front threatened to throw red paint at my computer, the calling birds, French hens and partridge have been reintroduced to their native habitat. To avoid further animal-American enslavement, the remaining gift package has been revised.)
FOUR hours of recorded whale songs,
THREE deconstructionist poets,
TWO Sierra Club calendars printed on recycled processed tree carcasses
AND A Spotted Owl activist chained to an old-growth pear tree.

(Found somewhere in cyberspace. Not my own work.)

No deposit-No return

"Britain may start requiring residents to pay deposits when their non-European Union family members visit -- refundable only when the relatives go home -- according to a government proposal aimed at tightening borders and eliminating illegal immigration. Britain has progressively been tightening the screws on immigrants and asylum seekers for years."

from Chicago Tribune 12/19/07

Just a reminder that there is huge pressure around the world from Third World countries to developed nations. They say it has to do with technology like cell phones, Internet, video, and air travel.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Grow up, Washington

To: Pelosi, Reid, and Bush
(I’ve long ago dropped the “Honorable” titles from the names of our elected officials.)
Here’s why your approval ratings are in the tank:
1) The Internet and 24-hour news have provided a brutal glimpse behind the curtain.
2) We are sick and tired of congressional hearings on dog fighting, lead in Chinese toys, and steroids. Everyone but you can see that they are nothing more than campaign sound bite factories. We need you to legislate and execute.
3) Your repeat performance of a border fence without funding is pathetic.
4) Clay pigeons and Rule 14 are cheap shots that will not fool the public, even if you can get your cronies to go along.
5) The big “Grow up”: Keep the Senate open – Don’t adjourn – Don’t allow Bush to do any recess appointments. Do you know how juvenile that is? Do you understand what a mockery of government it is? I blame the White House and the Congress here. You are supposed to be able to resolve our problems like rational adults. Your tantrums result in more court backlogs and simply prove that you (both parties) have turned the judiciary into a political tool.
6) You are all guilty of choking on gnats and swallowing camels. Case in point: ICE Chief Julie Meyers. You spent your time talking about a Halloween Costume Party. How seriously did you look at her performance at Immigration? For my money all DOJ lawyers ought to be BANNED from any appointed positions. We need people of action, not attorneys who only want to tell you why something can’t be done.
I don’t know what will become of this once great nation, but only you can reverse this trend of infighting. We get a blow-by-blow account on a daily basis and America is sick of it. Lay down your fiddles and put out the fire.

Two news items about the fence

It appears that Congress has failed to fund the border fence construction. They quietly pulled the funding from the appropriations bill.

On November 6th, Chertoff gave the State of Immigration Report and was warning us the problem was coming. He said: “Now I have to be clear, there’s a very important condition that has to be met if we are to live up to the goal at the end of calendar year 2008, and that is, Congress needs to fund the money that the President has requested to get this important work at the border done. If Congress funds that, we will get it done. If Congress doesn’t fund it, obviously that’s going to be a problem.”

He’s no prophet. Congress pulled the same stunt last year.

If we thought Congress was behind the effort to show the American people we could achieve a respectable level of enforcement and promise-keeping, we were obviously wrong.

So, they all give speeches about the fence, then include wording that lets them off the hook when Homeland Security uses the money for something different. And now they have pulled the money from the appropriations bill altogether. What are they thinking?

News item number two from the border is a story from San Diego that the Mexican government is complaining about the use of tear gas by Border Patrol agents. Violence is up at the border and the agents are using the tear gas as a non-violent way to get rid of the rock throwers and taunters who hang around the border.

BP denies using anything in Mexico but freely uses pepper spray and tear gas in the zone between the primary fence and the secondary one.

Sometimes those agents must feel very lonely. Washington isn’t helping out and everyone complains when they try to do their job.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Extreme green

Here in the Fox Valley we take recycling seriously! Some of our fine residents are recycling BEFORE the product is even being used. How’s that for environmentally friendly?

I mentioned a few of months ago about the guy who stole $8,000 in brass fitting from his employer, then sold them for scrap and got $300.

Well, lately there has been a rash of metal thefts. They’ve stolen over a dozen manhole covers right out of the street. And jobsites are robbed every week for their copper pipe and wire.

Like I said, we are doing pre-emptive recycling. Who can beat that? We need some press on this program. Where's Al Gore?

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

The dearly deported

President Felipe Calderon told reporters on December 17th that he’s going to bat for his countrymen who have recently been deported.

It is quite a shock on border towns like Tijuana when the United States increases the number of people deported back to Mexico. For one thing, crime goes up south of the border.

We’re not proud of it, but sometimes these decent, hard working people act up once they are kicked out of the United States. The mayor of Tijuana reports a 300% increase in petty crime this year.

So, here’s what Calderon is promising: Food, shelter, emergency medical care and temporary employment for the recently deported. He calls it Humane Repatriation.

Some journalists on the U S side get out the violins and hankies. I hear the same thing from principles and school teachers who bemoan the fact that these people are really just like citizens because they were brought here so young. They have no clue how to live in Mexico. They belong here.

Here’s a tale the OC Register printed the other day in a story about the impact for increased deportations: “Irvin DeLeon, 22, was dropped off at the Tijuana gate on a cold day in March after being arrested for driving without a license near the intersection of Edinger and Main in Santa Ana.

“DeLeon was brought to the United States at the age of 2 by his parents and grew up in Santa Ana. After finishing high school, he started working construction jobs. He also had a minor brush with law enforcement, getting arrested as a juvenile for stealing a car.

“DeLeon had been arrested seven times for driving without a license between 2002 and 2006. Without documents, he can't legally obtain one. Most times, he would pay bail and be released.

“Even though he speaks some Spanish, he's never thought of himself as a Mexican national. Recently married, DeLeon works as an electrician's apprentice in Orange County. Except for the juvenile case and the license problems, DeLeon had stayed out of trouble.

“But this time, deputies identified DeLeon as undocumented and he found himself being deported.

“In Tijuana, outside the border station, DeLeon stared at his cell phone, trying to figure out how to dial inside a foreign country. He was hoping to reach a distant aunt that had agreed to take him into her house.‘My whole life is over there,’ he said, gesturing toward the United States. ‘I don't even have a Mexican ID.’"

Welcome home, Mr. DeLeon. Sorry things didn’t work out for you up north.

Greenspan

I read the other day where Alan Greenspan was talking about the mortgage crisis and suggested that the government inject more capital into the home loan system.

He said maybe a tax break or government spending would do the trick.

He was so close to an answer that it was frightening.

How about this tax break? Let’s say that personal savings accounts are tax exempt. Let’s get people saving again. Let’s introduce a whole new generation to the value of money by encouraging them to save a little.

Most people under 40 think “saving” means moving your balance to a credit card with a lower interest rate.

And we’ve now learned that manipulating interest rates cannot go on forever. Who knows what the “real” value of money is? No one, because the feds have tinkered with the rates for so long. I’ve seen 16% interest on home loans. I’ve considered myself lucky to get a 10% 30 year fixed. And we didn’t refinance every six month, either.

Were we fools back then? Well, the mess we are in suggests the MBAs don’t have all the answers either.

As for people losing their homes, the fact is they never owned those homes! There are so many interest-only deals out there and loans based on the future value of the home that there isn’t any equity.

For the benefit of the economy in general we will do something. We can only hope it is the bare minimum. But we are in an election year.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

From Illegal 2 Legal

One of the functions of immigration lawyers is to take someone who came here illegally and somehow change their status to legal. According to the Center for Immigration Studies, that happened about 1.5 million times from 1990 to 2000. Call it someone’s “personal amnesty” if you will.

Let’s suppose for a moment that someone came here ten years ago by sneaking across the border. He now stands before the Board of Immigration Appeals and wants to be granted a green card because he and his wife have two children born here who are citizens.

Chances are pretty good he will get his wish if he doesn’t have some record as a violent criminal. And so he pays the immigration lawyer $8,000, they shake hands, and the judge thinks he’s had a pretty good day.

Now, let’s go back and look at the idea of self-support. If the man has worked for ten years there ought to be a review of his tax liability at the federal, state, and local level. He should be responsible for his back taxes. I paid ‘em; so should he.

And he ought to be brought to account for ID theft, which could include jail time and/or restitution for those who were harmed by his abuse of their identity.

Then there is a matter of those anchor babies. Right now the law says they are citizens, but it doesn’t say they aren’t responsible for the medical bills for labor and delivery. They need to be paid in full as well. There’s another $15,000.

It turns out that our friend sowed some wild oats before he got married. He has two other children by two other women. The same thing with them. Another $15,000 is owed to the hospitals for the births of those children also.

And, he’ll need to pay $47 a week to each of those women for child support until those children reach the age of 18.

He will also need to show the judge proof of insurance and license.

Now, tell me that isn’t fair. Tell me he shouldn’t be responsible for those costs. Tell me we’re being mean or discriminatory.

If we really did that there wouldn’t be near enough work for the immigration lawyers because few people would apply. They want the green card but they have a history of not paying their own way.

Now, why are we so foolish as to allow this to happen? That is a really good question.

Chicago ICE

Listen to this from the Daily Herald: “According to immigration officials, 16 of the 21 arrested had known gang ties. Five were illegal immigrants they encountered during the operation with no known gang affiliation.”

This was in Chicago’s suburbs. The key phrase is, “Five were illegal immigrants they encountered during the operation…” This is a big step for Special Agent-in-Charge Brown. She actually allowed them to pick someone up who wasn’t on their original list.

The practice is called “collateral arrests” and it is rare here in Chicago. And there is no apology from ICE spokesmen either. All Gail Montenegro told the press was, “We are mandated to enforce immigration laws. And where better to start than with individuals who are here illegally and are members of violent gangs?”

I’m not ready to say we’ve turned a corner here, but things are looking up.

Maybe they got a copy of the Jim Hayes playbook. I certainly hope so.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Someone to look up to

A brewery in Mexico has introduced a new beer called “Malverde”. Bad and green for a brew doesn’t sound too appealing to me.

But the story gets better. It is named in honor of Jesus Malverde, the patron saint of drug lords. (I swear on Mike Huckabee’s Bible I am not making this up!)

The company is Minerva Brewery of Guadalajara.

Here’s the quote from the Associated Press: “He was adopted as the saint for drug traffickers and a chapel was built in his honor. The Roman Catholic Church does not recognize Malverde.”

This is a stretch for multicultural tolerance, even for the best of them.

Hey, I’m not charging you for this stuff. I don’t even allow ads. Here I scour the globe for these primo nuggets of wisdom and all you can do is shake your head? Go to your room.

News from out west

Illegal alien Fernando Orozco-Trevizo, 32, is accused of attaching his girlfriend to a 20 foot chain in his bedroom and attaching the other end of the chain to a 6-cylinder engine block in the closet.

She had been left in that state daily for several days. She escaped when she wrote “call 911” in the condensation on the window and a neighbor followed her instructions.

Now, some of you are going to ask, “Why is Alien Rants taking license by calling him an illegal alien? He’s discriminating!”

I quote from two newspapers:
“He also had an immigration detainer put on him for aggravated re-entry into the United States. Orozco-Trevizo told police if he got deported again, ‘he will come back for the victim,’ according to jail records.” (Deseret Morning News)

“U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement became involved in the case after authorities discovered Orozco-Trevizo is an undocumented immigrant who was working construction jobs…” (Salt Lake Tribune)

In fairness to the defendant, here is his side of the story. “Orozco-Trevizo told authorities chaining his girlfriend was ‘just a game,’ but said he was concerned the woman was having an affair with a neighbor, according to the booking document.” (Salt Lake Tribune)

A warning to readers: Be careful who you play Monopoly with. Some people have a different idea of the word “game”.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

The Feds "Risking it"

In a bold move Homeland Security will begin requiring a photo ID and proof of citizenship when entering the United States. The change takes place on January 31, 2008. This applies to anyone over 18 years of age. Up until that date oral declarations of citizenship will be accepted. (I wonder if you need to make that declaration in English?)

Give me a break! Even if you ignore the recommendations of federal commissions in 1981, 1994, and 1997, it has been SIX YEARS since 9/11. The Department of Homeland Security has been around for four years.

Here we are jumping through hoops at the airport when the alert level goes to orange and we are just now getting tough with our border identification program.

My guess is that it will be just like the passport deadline and the backlog for citizenship processing. They’ll probably delay implementation because the system isn’t ready.

They’ll probably be sued by the ACLU because we are discriminating against this group or that.

Who knows what will turn up when they get serious. Maybe they’ll stop a TB carrier. Maybe they’ll discourage some illegals. Maybe they’ll change the plans of some terrorists. You never know once you start enforcing the law.

I do hope this isn’t too risky.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Travel plans

“We’ll have to route you through Mexico. Is that OK?”

So goes the plan uncovered by the Attorney General of Mexico.

We have this refugee policy with Cuba that if you can make it to shore, you will be granted asylum here in the United States and put on a path to legalization. But, if we turn you away off-shore in your boat, you will not be allowed in.

It doesn’t make a great deal of sense but past history made the policy necessary.

If you go directly north from Cuba to the Keys, it is about 90 miles. If you go west to the Yucatan Peninsula it adds about 40 miles to the sea voyage.

And, as we know, getting across the Mexican border into the U S is no problema.

“In a new trend, nearly 90 percent of all undocumented Cubans who make it to the United States now travel overland rather than reaching U.S. shores by boat, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.” San Diego Union Tribune

So, is the Mexican government demanding that we put up a fence? No, of course not. But their immigration detention centers are flooded with Cubans who were caught trying to make the trip. Mexico holds them for 90 days and then lets them go.

About a third of them are sent back to Cuba. The article doesn’t say what happens to the other two thirds upon release. But I think we can guess.

Maybe it’s time to add a third rule about Cuban refugees. If you don’t come through a beach in Florida, you have to go back. Don’t hold your breath on that one.

Sunday, December 9, 2007

A protected class

I was thinking as I was driving home tonight, “How did the illegal aliens get to be a protected class?” It has happened in just the last ten years or so.

When did it happen? Who did it? How were they able to pull it off?

I say it is a recent development because Proposition 187 in California and the report of the US Commission on Immigration Reform came in 1994. In 1996 Congress was getting tough about illegals stealing federal welfare benefits. They certainly weren't considered an asset back then.

In 1997 the Commission on Immigration Reform came back with a final report which was a little softer but still affirmed the illegality of their presence and the negative impact on society.

I think we have to look to a man named Lionel Sosa. Lionel is a political consultant; an advisor to G W Bush. I think Sosa and Rove and Bush decided that they could court the Hispanic vote. It was the next big thing after campaigns to win women voters.

And since Hispanics already had the benefits of a minority group they chose to lure them by promising high immigration quotas, family chain migration, and amnesty for their illegal hermanos. Only they wouldn’t call in amnesty.

Would it work? Well, it worked in 1986. They just need to figure out a way to get credit for it.

But there was stiff competition on the left. The Democrats were naturalizing Latinos in 1995-96 to win Clinton a second term.

Suddenly you had both parties calling at the brown door. And both of them were promising amnesty. It wasn’t bipartisan support for the idea; it was both parties swapping promises for votes.

And enforcement took a back seat. And, like a drug, business got hooked on cheap labor. And the unions didn’t see growth anywhere else so they came calling, too.

Well, it worked. Here’s the actual level of illegal alien entry as reported by Homeland Security in August of this year:
1980-1984 910,000 (182K per year)
1985-1989 1,270,000 (254K per year)
1990-1994 1,980,000 (396K per year)
1995-1999 3,254,000 (648K per year)
2000-2005 4,160,000 (693K per year)

Now, these are Homeland Security numbers and they are notorious for understating the problem. They add up to about 11.5 million. That’s a little lean but it still proves the point.

Once Washington started making deals and promises, more illegals started making the trip. Add to the rhetoric coming out of Washington the improved communications that exist today. Cell phones, satellites, Internet (with video), and cheap airfare. Everyone here telling family there that they can make ten times the money here, get free medical care, and live pretty much hassle-free. You’ve even got Senators and the President vouching for you.

Yes, they have been lured here by the politicians seeking the vote of their cousins already here. No wonder they keep talking about guest workers, amnesty, and how valuable they are to the economy. They would rather sweep it under the rug than own up to the fact they were playing games with our country.

Unfortunately for them, far too many of us have figured out what they have done. It will be a long, bitter fight on this issue.

Musicians wanted

I have a number of friends who are (or want to be) musicians. I’ve discovered that a number of musicians are needed in Mexico due to recent unexpected vacancies.

Mexican singer Zayda Pena, 28, was shot in the neck on November 30th. The next day, someone entered the hospital where Pena was recovering and shot her in the chest, killing her. Someone really wanted this woman dead. Her lyrics often focused on drug trafficking and violence. Two members of her band were also killed in the original assault.

Trumpeter Jose Aquino, 33, was found bound and beaten to death earlier this week.

Lead singer Sergio Gomez was strangled this week as well.

Singer Valentin Elizalde was killed last year.

Here’s why, according to the San Diego Union Tribune: “Some fear that singers, whether they have any links to drug cartels or not, are routinely ‘adopted’ by drug gangs, which post Internet videos showing their members torturing and executing rivals to soundtracks of popular tunes.”

So one of your songs is picked as the theme song for a gang and suddenly you are a target of all the rival gangs? Wow!

I knew their deaths couldn’t be related to their musicianship; there wasn’t a drummer in the lot!

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Memo to Public Officials Nationwide

Note: This is the official response that SHOULD be given by any governmental body in the United States in response to this directive from Mexico.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon is upset by the “swaggering, macho and anti-Mexican” attitude of some politicians in the United States and has directed Mexico’s Embassies and Consulates to raise the voice of protest and enter the debate on behalf of his people.

“The key is to neutralize this strategy of confrontation and discrimination that forms part of U.S. society's mistaken perception, and be able to newly focus arguments on the complimentary aspects of our economies.”

So, when the Mexican Consul goes around your town complaining of discrimination against Mexicans, please quote these facts:
1) 31% of all LEGAL immigration comes from one country – Mexico. Even in the great migration of a century ago, no TWO countries combined made up 30% of the immigrants.
2) 56% of the ILLEGAL aliens in the United States come from one country – Mexico.
3) 71% of Mexican immigrants speak little or no English. –Assimilation problem #1
4) Only 19.8% of Mexicans have chosen to become naturalized citizens. – Assimilation problem #2
5) 57% of Mexican immigrants do not have health insurance.
6) 50.9% of Mexican immigrants use some form of welfare services, paid for by U S taxpayers.
7) Remittances back to Mexico totaled $24.3 BILLION flowing out of our economy last year.
8) The United States purchases 1.3 MILLION barrels of oil EACH DAY from Mexico at $98 a pop.

Tell the ambassador that we gave at the office. And tell him to inform El Presidente that more and more Americans are getting wise to his welfare plan of sending his unemployment, education, health care, and crime problems to the United States for us to handle.

Friday, December 7, 2007

Name calling

(It’s not what you think.)

I had a good laugh reading the terminology and rationale of a group studying illegals. But first, the set-up.

The term “illegal alien” actually comes from the law. United States Code, Section 8, uses “illegal alien” repeatedly.

The terminology that hurts my ears the most is “Undocumented American”, used by Sen. Harry Reid last summer.

Now, for the explanation as to why Pew Hispanic Center uses the term “unauthorized migrant.” Warning: You are going to believe I am making this up, but I am not. It appears on Page 2 of their document entitled, “Unauthorized Migrants: Numbers and Characteristics, June 14, 2005”

Here’s exactly why they prefer to call them “unauthorized migrants” rather than illegal aliens: “The term ‘unauthorized migrant’ best encompasses the population in our data because many migrants now enter the country or work using counterfeit documents and thus are not really ‘undocumented’ in the sense that they have documents, but not completely legal documents.”

For some reason that struck me as very funny.

And as a result of my personal research I have determined the fool-proof litmus test for any organization or website regarding the immigration problem. And here it is:

Those organizations that use the term “illegal alien” or (erroneously) “illegal immigrant” to describe them are anti-illegal.

Those organizations that use any other term are most likely pro-illegal.

Now, I’m going to sort through my wallet to see if I have “completely legal documents.”

The bailout

So President Bush has announced his bailout of the mortgage industry, declaring that subprime rates are frozen for five years. It won’t help everyone but it will help some. I heard the commentators on the radio during the ride home last night.

One of them explained that the government has been in the middle of mortgages for decades. Lenders get in big trouble when someone doesn’t qualify. And judges are more than willing to rule against any lender who might have turned someone down due to race or neighborhood. It is vanquishing the little guy against the big bad banker. It plays well in court.

And we really don’t have any laws about lending to people who are here illegally. Why, Illinois has a special subsidized loan program specifically for ITIN clients; that is people who do not have social security numbers. And the state knows full well that most of these borrowers are illegal aliens.

So, lenders got lax. It’s easier to say “yes” than “no”, especially if HUD is watching. In my opinion they’ve gone way overboard and the majority of the problem rests with the lenders. It is ridiculous to loan money to someone based on future income and future home value.

And when two or three families have to be included as buyers just to qualify, all sorts of bells should go off. You’ve got lenders and realtors and lawyers all in on the deals and no one could see past the commission check. I really don’t feel like using my tax dollars to help them out, do you? (I can see Dana at the White House, opening up Tony Snow’s Word documents, pressing Ctrl-F, and replacing the word “amnesty” with “bailout”…as in, “People keep calling this a bailout. It is not a bailout.”

One fellow here in Elgin was what you would call a “Full Service” lender. Luis Uribe worked for a mortgage company that I won’t name (you could look it up) and he really took care of his clients. “Uribe would manufacture I.D.s, job references and places of employment for people, some illegal immigrants, Roscher said, who couldn't qualify for a home loan with their true credit history.” (Courier News)

And when he had someone’s good numbers he would milk them for all they were worth. He would harvest their ID from legitimate mortgages, then turn around and use the papers over and over and over. And you wouldn’t even know it unless the thieves got behind in their payments.

One lady owned four houses according to her credit history and didn’t even know it. Another couple owned four extra houses as well.

Good ol’ Luis wasn’t just doing this out of the goodness of his heart. He was charging these undocumented buyers “anywhere from $1,000 to $14,000" for these papers. Well, Mr. Uribe is in custody, he entered a guilty plea, and he is awaiting sentencing. I certainly hope the case doesn’t end there. These buyers were deeply involved in the scam as well. Surely they will be prosecuted. Or will they?

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

A real mess, I tell ya'

You’re going to need a scorecard to keep track of this story, but I didn’t see anything in the Chicago papers about it and thought it was important.

Two and a half years ago a 36-year-old man was kidnapped in Mexico. His mother then received a ransom note demanding a million dollars. No body was ever found.

So his mother hired private investigators to solve the case. And that led to a restaurant in Louisville where they arrested Brenda Quevedo in connection with the crime.

Immigration now has Brenda in the McHenry County Illinois Jail. (I have no idea why our government moved her 400 miles North, but I’m guessing it has something to do with space available and/or regional jurisdiction.)

She’s being held on immigration violations pending her extradition back to Mexico.

It turns out that the mother has already been instrumental in finding four other accomplices in the case. Only one more remains at large.

Gee, maybe we could hire this woman. She seems pretty effective at finding people who don’t want to be found, certainly out-performing both Mexican and US government agencies.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

What is allegiance?

Often in the debate about illegal aliens we hear the tired, old song, “They just came here to be part of the American Dream, just like millions of immigrants in the past.”

But, let’s be honest here; How do we demonstrate our love for America? We’ve circulated the Teddy Roosevelt quote about dual loyalty and point to that. I would guess that dual citizenship is not a sin, and it certainly isn’t illegal. It goes against the “Love it or leave it” philosophy, but in most cases those who hold dual citizenship are respectful of our nation.

Generally, dual citizens do it as a personal safeguard. They were born in Canada or Mexico, have lived most of their lives here, raised families, and want some insurance against changes in the immigration laws.

So how do we show we are sincere about pursuing the American Dream? Let me suggest these criteria:

1) Respect for our laws. It is a bad sign of your loyalty when the first thing you do is come here uninvited. And the second thing you do is buy fake documents so you can work here. (They don’t all do that; some of them work for cash and avoid taxation altogether.)
2) When in Rome…learn Italian. There is a new report from the Pew Hispanic Center that reveals that 71% of Mexican immigrants don’t speak English. (The percentage comes from those who say they speak English “just a little or not at all.”) 56% of Mexicans speak Spanish only at home.
3) Become a citizen. Only 19.8% of immigrants from Mexico have become naturalized citizens. (See CIS Study, “Immigrants in the United States, 2007”, page 11.) Over 52% of the two million Chinese have become citizens. Indians have 38% citizens. Filipinos become naturalized citizens at a rate of 60.3%. Taken together, this report says 39% of the foreign born from ALL nations have become citizens.

I suppose there are other “good citizen, good neighbor” indicators like paying your own way, being financially responsible (with health insurance, car insurance, and planning for your own retirement), flying the flag of your host country or no flag at all…

Evidence of all of these things and more make the “I want to be an American” statement ring hollow in the ears of the citizens.

Perhaps their demand for rights while they defy assimilation grates on us the most.

Monday, December 3, 2007

Voting in Illinois

If you’ve never seen an application for voter registration you should take a look at this sample from Illinois (in Spanish or English, of course).
http://www.elections.il.gov/VotingInformation/VoteRegForms.aspx

Now, let’s look at what you need, bare minimum to be a registered voter in the Land of Lincoln.

- A utility bill
- A name
- A mailing address
- A birth date
- A gender

Now, what is the optional information?
- An address. You can just use the handy grid, label the streets, and put a dot on the page.
- A phone number
- A photo ID
- A Social Security number
- The ability to sign your own name

If you are willing to sign that you are a citizen, that’s good enough. But you will have to show up in person at the county clerk’s office to apply, right? And they’ll check you out then, right?

Nope! Not in Illinois. You could be registered by a latino activist going door-to-door in your neighborhood or walking down the street. You could register at a rally for illegal alien rights. Or, you could just mail it in.

They won’t even check your pulse, a fine Chicago tradition.

The best part is that you don’t even need to register. My daughter has two voter cards in Illinois; one from when she went to the library and signed up and a second one from when the Secretary of State computer calculated that she had turned 18. Neat, huh?

There is a guy I met who bought a new car and used his middle initial instead of his middle name on the plate registration. Guess what? He got a new voter card in the mail. And he’d been an active registered voter in Illinois for 30 years!

They are passing them out like candy here.

Well, there was a Filipino woman in the Chicago Tribune today who got confused on some forms down at the DMV, got a voter card, voted last year, and got in trouble for it because she isn't a citizen. Poor victim.

The amazing thing in my mind is that they even enforced the law. With the whole process so loosy-goosy, who would even catch on? I mean really, how difficult would it be to commit voter fraud in this state? I say it would be simple.

And what upsets me are all the special accommodation for Hispanic voters. It was already a sore spot that we are printing ballots in Spanish. Now to make matters worse, Kane County is required to have bilingual interpreters in every polling place to answer questions.