The deceit of David Brooks

After watching a beautiful sunrise in Montauk Point this morning I headed west and as usual when I am staying out in the east end of Long Island stopped at the Aamagansett Farm Stand to pick up the papers. What caught my eye in today's New York Times was David Brook's piece on Richard Armitage. Brooks contrasted the coverage of Armitage who reveled inadvertently the fact that Joe Wilson's wife worked for the CIA. Brooks then goes on to criticize the light treatment Armitidge received in the news media against that of White House official Karl Rove who also ackowledged the identity of Joe Wilson's wife covert identity. What Brooks completely ignores is Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff Scooter Libby's complicity in the issue. It was the result of Scooter Libby's request to the State Department to find info on administration critic Joe Wilson that caused a report to be issued which is where Armitage read about the Joe Wilson's wife's CIA ties. Unlike Rove who amended his story before the Grand Jury in several testimonies. Armitage came right out and admitted his mistake and unlike Libby who is under indictment for lying Armitage fessed up right away. Brooks ignored Libby's lies completely in his column.

Congressman Mike Pence does not get it

Congressman Mike Pence is leading the congressional charge for a "compromise" on illegal immigration. But, what it really is a back door plan for corporations to control immigration and give them all the cheap labor they want while middle class U.S. taxpayers subsidize it all. . When asked why he was focused on the immigration issue Pence said "April 11, 1923. That is when Pence's Irish Catholic Grandfather arrived on Ellis Island. EARTH TO CONGRESSMAN PENCE! Most of the immigrants now in the country are here illegally. They are not coming through legally like his grandfather did. They are not paying the employment and local taxes that the middle class working stiffs/taxpayers are required to pay. They have not respected our immigration laws! Why is this Republican Congressman from Indiana pushing for this compromise that fellow conservatives like Phyllis Shlafly of the Eagle Forum called "a sick joke". Pence bills himself as "a Christian, a conservative and a Republican in that order." Perhaps Pence should also remember he is a Congressman who took an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and yes, Congressman Pence that includes protecting our borders from illegal immigrants crossing them.

What Mexico can do when it wants to.

The Washington Post has an article today about Guatemalan youth attempting to illegally enter the United States. What was interesting about the article is how Mexico works hard about enforcing it's immigration laws and deports them. Here is the money quote:

"Many of the youths never make it to the border. Mexico reported deporting 3,772 accompanied Central American minors bound for the United States in 2005, compared with fewer than 700 in 2003."

Of course Mexico does not want the United States to enforce and secure the U.S. border. Come to think of it neither does President George Bush!

Cluster bombs to Israel:The gift that keeps on giving!

It seems Israel in it's brutal assault on Lebanon may have violated a U.S. agreement for the use of weapons we provided them as the Washington Post reports:.

"The U.N. Mine Action Coordination Center in southern Lebanon reported this week that it has found unexploded American-made cluster bombs in nearly 300 locations across the area."

But of course this is not the first time Israel ignores and violates agreements with us.
"In 1978, 1979 and 1981, the State Department notified Congress that Israel "may have violated" U.S-Israeli agreements by using U.S. weapons for purposes other than defense, according to the Congressional Research Service."

Of course in Bushworld truth is not considered an important concept.
" lower-level officials had determined that Israel had violated its agreements with the United States, but, the officials said, the finding was quashed at a more senior level."

Now where has this happened before?

What a difference...

"WESLACO, Texas -- Stepped-up enforcement and detention procedures have sharply reduced the number of people attempting illegal entry into the United States, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Thursday."-Washington Post

Imagine that! It is amazing what happens when our Federal Government decides to enforce our laws.

The Senate Bill does not add up on illegal immigration.

If you are watching cable news like MSNBC (More Sh#t No Body Cares about) with their wall to wall stories about dead blondes(which seem to be most important news items to them). Then you miss news that really affects you and your wallet. Like this item about how the illegal immigrant amnesty bill passed by the Senate recently will cost us taxpayers at least $126 billion dollars. I'm going to pass this info on to my Senators Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton. It's bad enough they voted for this bill which gives amnesty for illegal immigrants but, they ignored increased costs to taxpayers if it was enacted. To make matters worse the report does not include the costs to the local communities the $126 billion in extra costs were only at the Federal level.

Speaking of boobs,

Since I'm on the subject of boobs here is a little reminder of our Commander in Chief thinking quickly on his feet.

Which boob will save lives?

Like a Dreidel the U.S. and Israeli governments continue to spin the military and PR disaster that was Israel's invasion of southern Lebanon as a victory. President Bush said:

"There's going to be a new power in the south of Lebanon,"

Bush is right about that it will be a bigger more popular Hezbollah! How did this happen? Well it's seems like the same NeoCon con artists who bought us the Iraq war quagmire also used Israel's military as a demonstration and test case for a future military bombing of Iran. That's what Seymour Hersh points out in this weeks New Yorker. Well it did not work but, boobs like Bush never seem to learn the lesson.

While boobs like Bush may not save us from future fiascos. It appears there are other boobs who may actually save lives.

Even better news for America!

First the good news:
"The owners of a company accused of hiring dozens of illegal immigrants
to work at America's Fair in Hamburg (NY) appeared in court Friday."

1) Companies who hire illegal workers being held to accountable for their hiring practices.

Then the better news:
"On Thursday, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement busted 41 suspected illegal immigrants who were caught working for an Atlanta-based cleaning company that is a subcontractor at the fairgrounds."

2) Illegal immigrants being arrested and deported for breaking our immigration laws


and then best news:
" U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement said, "The public is integral to every part of law enforcement. We got the call, and acted swiftly to the information."

3) A Federal government that is beginning to respond to the concerns of the citizens and is taking action on those concerns and ENFORCING our laws! Let's hope it continues!

Some good news for America!

Even with Israel continuing it's military slaughter of Lebanon (where Israel is sowing the seeds for it's own destruction with every bomb it drops) and Iraq sliding ever more closely toward civil war. There is some good news for us here in the U.S. who still believe in Democracy. What has giving me hope when death and destruction are the news of the day? This quote from the Washington Post is what did it for me:

"Most Americans describe themselves as being in an anti-incumbent mood heading into this fall's midterm congressional elections, and the percentage of people who approve of their own representative performance is at the lowest level since 1994, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll."

It sums up my feelings exactly! Even as a lifelong Democrat I will not be pulling the lever for my Congressman Democrat Tim Bishop of Long Island this election as I did twice before. He has failed to represent me despite the letters and emails sent to his office. He does not get the outrage of voters like me on issues such as stopping illegal immigration, Iraq and other issues. It appears other fellow voters in the U.S. of both parties are feeling the same way about the incumbents and that is GOOD NEWS!

Oops! BP did it again!

Well it seems BP (British Petroleum) did it again and guess who will be paying higher prices for gas? Hint: Look in the mirror! BP plans to shut down 8% of crude oil flow here in the U.S. because it suddenly discovered a leak and corrosion he pipeline in Alaska. Seems someone was not inspecting and maintaining things as they should. But, then again accidents are nothing new in BP's operations and they are one of the better companies in the oil business. There was also the fatal accident in BP's Texas City refinery that killed 15 workers guess how much of a fine BP paid for that accident? Oil prices jumped up two dollars a barrel on this news. Guess which industry (including BP) will be making more money because of that price spike?

"Whenever you wonder why things happen it is useful to ask: Who benefits?"

Sailing Shoes

I've been away for the past two weeks. On July 24th I sailed out of New York harbor on the Queen Mary 2 which docked at Southhampton. I spent the next week in Canterbury and the Kent countryside. I've got a few posts to make about the trip and the experiences I had. But that will have to wait until tomorrow...