Today's Rant..
I've been busy for a while, but i felt i should post today since i'll be out of town visiting my fiance this weekend. So, for those of you who have missed it, i'm sorry for the delay but i'm back.
A lot has happened in the last week. Barry Bonds tied Babe Ruth for 714 HR on all time list, Barbaro broke his leg at the Preakness-thus ending his run at the Triple Crown. That may be the safest record in sports now. Also, Taylor Hicks shocked me by winning American Idol. I was sure he wouldn't win, but after Tuesday's performances, i knew it was inevitable. Congrats Taylor. The Hippies won the Amazing Race, Aras won Survivor and we just had the season finale of Lost last night. I'm still confused now after watching it, but i get confused easy.
The man credited with starting conservative direct mail fundraising, Richard Viguerie, wrote a fantastic column in Sunday's Washington Post about George W. Bush's betrayal to his base voters. If you get the chance, please take a look at it:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2006/05/19/AR2006051901770_3.html
Today's Washington Times had an interesting piece about the rate of arrest of illegal aliens falling off the pace from arrests made during the Clinton Administration. This is interesting that is being reported by the Times, which is widely considered a conservative newspaper. Below is the article:
Arrest of illegals falls off Clinton pace
By Stephen DinanTHE WASHINGTON TIMESMay 25, 2006
The U.S. Border Patrol increased at a faster rate and apprehended more illegal aliens per year under President Clinton than under President Bush, according to statistics from a new, unpublished congressional research briefing report. Mr. Bush trails his predecessor on a series of measures of border security, says the briefing from the Congressional Research Service to the House Judiciary Committee, which was based on Department of Homeland Security data. Mr. Clinton increased the number of Border Patrol agents and pilots by 126 percent over his eight-year term, or an average of 642 per year, while Mr. Bush has averaged 411 new agents per year through 2005, for a total increase of 22.3 percent over his tenure. Although Mr. Bush last week said his administration has caught and returned 6 million illegal aliens, that's actually a drop from any five-year period during Mr. Clinton's administration, the briefing says. Meanwhile, the number of alien absconders has grown by more than 200,000 during Mr. Bush's term, reaching 536,644 in fiscal 2005; the number of completed fraud cases has dropped; and, until recently, detention beds hovered at or below the level Mr. Bush inherited from Mr. Clinton in 2001. "The sense of urgency that comes with deploying the National Guard is belied by the administration's consistent opposition to providing the necessary resources that our border security agencies need to do their jobs," said Sen. Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. Mr. Byrd has sought for years to get the Bush administration to add Border Patrol agents and detention beds and improve enforcement technology. Bush administration officials say they are looking for ways to work more efficiently. "It's always been a serious matter, and certainly since 9/11, we've been serious about border security," said Jarrod Agen, deputy press secretary at the Department of Homeland Security. "I would say we've looked at changing our approach and looking at this new approach, it's learning from ways that didn't work in the past, and it's integrating systems that hadn't been looked at in the past and looking at all the problems across the board and seeing how they can be incorporated together," he said. He also said to look beyond the percentage increases and at the actual numbers. Although Mr. Bush has increased the Border Patrol by 3,000 through the first five years, last week he proposed adding 6,000 agents to reach 18,000 by 2008. And the administration has made measurable progress in the last year, he said, particularly on returning "other-than-Mexican," or OTM, illegal aliens back home. The average amount of time that OTMs spend in detention facilities has fallen from 66 days to 21 days in the past year. The shorter time means that more people can be held and that fewer have to be released into the population on usually futile hope they will return to be deported.
In a recent speech, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove said that during the week of April 10, 2,100 OTMs were apprehended, of which 1,300 were immediately returned and 830 were released. Of those 830, 700 were Salvadorans, who are required to be released because of a court decision -- something the administration says it is working to change. Mr. Bush is pressing for Congress to send him a broad immigration bill that includes a solution to the current illegal alien problem and a new program for future foreign workers. But he has to overcome objections of conservatives, especially in the House, who say the first job is to control the U.S. borders. "I support all of the additions the president is making as far as National Guard, Border Patrol and technology," said House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter T. King, New York Republican. "Having said that, granting legalization or amnesty would undo much of that. So on balance, it's a much worse [proposal], because whatever additional security we would gain through additional personnel, we would lose that amount of security by legalizing the illegals." T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, said Border Patrol staffing and spending has increased dramatically, but because of "insane policies" that tie agents' hands, they are apprehending fewer illegals. In 1987, each agent averaged 357 apprehensions, but that fell to 110 per agent in 2004, he said. In addition, while the number of aliens being smuggled by criminal organizations has gone up, the number of smugglers being prosecuted is about the same. But Mr. Bonner said Mr. Bush is no worse than other presidents before him, and he credited Congress with the Border Patrol increases in the 1990s. "As far back as my career goes, there has never been a president -- and I've been around 28 years -- who was serious about securing our borders and stopping illegal immigration," he said. Bush spokesman Tony Snow last week said the president's proposal to use the National Guard and increase Border Patrol agents means "the president is actually taking a more aggressive approach on border security than the House of Representative itself took." House Republicans, though, said that they worked within the budget constraints the White House gave them and that if the president had told them he would find more money, they would have done more. Rep. Tom Tancredo, head of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, questioned Mr. Bush's commitment to border security, saying the president had to be pulled "kicking and screaming" to go along with earlier border-security measures. He said he thinks Mr. Bush will say anything to win a guest-worker program. "I'm sorry to say this, but he is not sincere about his desire to secure the border," the Colorado Republican said. "He is sincere in his desire to get an amnesty that will pass, and he will essentially do a Clinton on us -- say anything, promise anything -- but I'm afraid I just don't trust him anymore."
Arrest of illegals falls off Clinton pace
By Stephen DinanTHE WASHINGTON TIMESMay 25, 2006
The U.S. Border Patrol increased at a faster rate and apprehended more illegal aliens per year under President Clinton than under President Bush, according to statistics from a new, unpublished congressional research briefing report. Mr. Bush trails his predecessor on a series of measures of border security, says the briefing from the Congressional Research Service to the House Judiciary Committee, which was based on Department of Homeland Security data. Mr. Clinton increased the number of Border Patrol agents and pilots by 126 percent over his eight-year term, or an average of 642 per year, while Mr. Bush has averaged 411 new agents per year through 2005, for a total increase of 22.3 percent over his tenure. Although Mr. Bush last week said his administration has caught and returned 6 million illegal aliens, that's actually a drop from any five-year period during Mr. Clinton's administration, the briefing says. Meanwhile, the number of alien absconders has grown by more than 200,000 during Mr. Bush's term, reaching 536,644 in fiscal 2005; the number of completed fraud cases has dropped; and, until recently, detention beds hovered at or below the level Mr. Bush inherited from Mr. Clinton in 2001. "The sense of urgency that comes with deploying the National Guard is belied by the administration's consistent opposition to providing the necessary resources that our border security agencies need to do their jobs," said Sen. Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. Mr. Byrd has sought for years to get the Bush administration to add Border Patrol agents and detention beds and improve enforcement technology. Bush administration officials say they are looking for ways to work more efficiently. "It's always been a serious matter, and certainly since 9/11, we've been serious about border security," said Jarrod Agen, deputy press secretary at the Department of Homeland Security. "I would say we've looked at changing our approach and looking at this new approach, it's learning from ways that didn't work in the past, and it's integrating systems that hadn't been looked at in the past and looking at all the problems across the board and seeing how they can be incorporated together," he said. He also said to look beyond the percentage increases and at the actual numbers. Although Mr. Bush has increased the Border Patrol by 3,000 through the first five years, last week he proposed adding 6,000 agents to reach 18,000 by 2008. And the administration has made measurable progress in the last year, he said, particularly on returning "other-than-Mexican," or OTM, illegal aliens back home. The average amount of time that OTMs spend in detention facilities has fallen from 66 days to 21 days in the past year. The shorter time means that more people can be held and that fewer have to be released into the population on usually futile hope they will return to be deported.
In a recent speech, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove said that during the week of April 10, 2,100 OTMs were apprehended, of which 1,300 were immediately returned and 830 were released. Of those 830, 700 were Salvadorans, who are required to be released because of a court decision -- something the administration says it is working to change. Mr. Bush is pressing for Congress to send him a broad immigration bill that includes a solution to the current illegal alien problem and a new program for future foreign workers. But he has to overcome objections of conservatives, especially in the House, who say the first job is to control the U.S. borders. "I support all of the additions the president is making as far as National Guard, Border Patrol and technology," said House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter T. King, New York Republican. "Having said that, granting legalization or amnesty would undo much of that. So on balance, it's a much worse [proposal], because whatever additional security we would gain through additional personnel, we would lose that amount of security by legalizing the illegals." T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, said Border Patrol staffing and spending has increased dramatically, but because of "insane policies" that tie agents' hands, they are apprehending fewer illegals. In 1987, each agent averaged 357 apprehensions, but that fell to 110 per agent in 2004, he said. In addition, while the number of aliens being smuggled by criminal organizations has gone up, the number of smugglers being prosecuted is about the same. But Mr. Bonner said Mr. Bush is no worse than other presidents before him, and he credited Congress with the Border Patrol increases in the 1990s. "As far back as my career goes, there has never been a president -- and I've been around 28 years -- who was serious about securing our borders and stopping illegal immigration," he said. Bush spokesman Tony Snow last week said the president's proposal to use the National Guard and increase Border Patrol agents means "the president is actually taking a more aggressive approach on border security than the House of Representative itself took." House Republicans, though, said that they worked within the budget constraints the White House gave them and that if the president had told them he would find more money, they would have done more. Rep. Tom Tancredo, head of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, questioned Mr. Bush's commitment to border security, saying the president had to be pulled "kicking and screaming" to go along with earlier border-security measures. He said he thinks Mr. Bush will say anything to win a guest-worker program. "I'm sorry to say this, but he is not sincere about his desire to secure the border," the Colorado Republican said. "He is sincere in his desire to get an amnesty that will pass, and he will essentially do a Clinton on us -- say anything, promise anything -- but I'm afraid I just don't trust him anymore."
I think history will record that Bill Clinton was a better President than George W. Bush. Even with impeachment tarnishing his legacy, i could effectively argue that Clinton was better than Bush.
Today, the US Senate is scheduled to vote on the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act, S. 2611. This will be the most important legislation to ever come out of the Senate because, if passed as is, will affect our country for generations to come. Most of the talk coming out about this bill is that 10-12 million illegal immigrants would receive amnesty. What hasn't been discussed is the fact that CIRA would allow over 3 to 5 times the amount of illegal immigrants to enter the US over the next 20 years than under present guidelines.
US Senator, Jeff Sessions (R-AL), put together a study that shows that if the current legal immigration level (950,000 a year for 20 years or 18.9 million over 20 years) is excluded from the total, CIRA would be described as increasing legal immigration by 54.3 million to 73.4 million over 20 years. The influx of immigrants provided for in S. 2611 would increase to the current US population by almost 31%.
Some of the problems of the compromise proposal are:
Cost: The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill increase the deficit by 29 Billion in just 5 years and more than that in the years to come.
Categories of aliens that should be removed from the US under present guidelines would be allowed to qualify for the mass amnesty program, including:
-Aliens with certain felony convictions or 3 misdemeanors
-Aliens previously barred from the receiving immigration for life, because they filed frivolous asylum application
-Aliens who are under final orders of removal, or who signed voluntary departure agreements but have never been deported.
The "essential worker" program is not a temporary-worker program. The program contains no economic trigger allowing workers to be sent home when US economy dips. These workers will also receive green cards, which means they never have to leave and are on a direct path to citizenship.
The bill provides free legal counsel paid for by the American Taxpayer to illegal-alien agricultural workers. The bill reverses current law and allows illegal aliens to be eligible for in-state tuition rates, and compete with US citizens and legal residents for Stafford loans-making it even more difficult for financially strapped kids to go to college, even in their own state.
Next week i will give a final synopsis of the bill after we have all the amendments passed.
Here are this week's Horoscopes:
Taurus April 20 - May 20
After years of being unable to come to a decision without first consulting your parents, you'll take a giant leap forward this Friday, when both your mother and father fall into a vegetative coma.
Gemini May 21 - June 21
Remember: Give a man a compliment and you'll sate him for a day; teach a man how to fish for compliments and you'll feed his ego for life.
Cancer June 22 - July 22
They've taken to calling you a broken man, defeated, beaten, dispirited, hopeless—but then they have access to a thesaurus.
Leo July 23 - August 22
You'll be left rubbing your eyes in disbelief for hours on end this week, so taken aback will you be by the high concentrations of ragweed pollen and other common allergens in the air.
Virgo August 23 - September 22
Soon events surrounding you will have sociologists the world over talking about the first enduring and naturally occurring isolation chamber.
Libra September 23 - October 23
You may not be the most disorganized person on the planet, nor the most inefficient, but you'll be damned if you're going to let some revolutionary new product take the guesswork out of your life.
Scorpio October 24 - November 21
Hot, stifling weather will have you running to the air-conditioned comforts of your local movie theater; unfortunately, you will not plan on the fact that this will mean having to sit through Al Gore's film An Inconvenient Truth.
Sagittarius November 22 - December 21
Though your teacher keeps reprimanding you for not paying enough attention in class, you remain completely unable to see what good Physical Education will do you out in the real world.
Capricorn December 22 - January 19
Your inquisitive nature will open yet another door for you this week, although others are starting to grow irritated by your apparent inability to open it for yourself every now and then.
Aquarius January 20 - February 18
A team of physicists, long uninspired and directionless, will refocus their efforts to build the world's first time machine after losing what seems like 50 years in conversation with you.
Pisces February 19 - March 20
While one man's trash may be another man's treasure, there's really no reason why you should be wearing that dead kitten as a crown.
After years of being unable to come to a decision without first consulting your parents, you'll take a giant leap forward this Friday, when both your mother and father fall into a vegetative coma.
Gemini May 21 - June 21
Remember: Give a man a compliment and you'll sate him for a day; teach a man how to fish for compliments and you'll feed his ego for life.
Cancer June 22 - July 22
They've taken to calling you a broken man, defeated, beaten, dispirited, hopeless—but then they have access to a thesaurus.
Leo July 23 - August 22
You'll be left rubbing your eyes in disbelief for hours on end this week, so taken aback will you be by the high concentrations of ragweed pollen and other common allergens in the air.
Virgo August 23 - September 22
Soon events surrounding you will have sociologists the world over talking about the first enduring and naturally occurring isolation chamber.
Libra September 23 - October 23
You may not be the most disorganized person on the planet, nor the most inefficient, but you'll be damned if you're going to let some revolutionary new product take the guesswork out of your life.
Scorpio October 24 - November 21
Hot, stifling weather will have you running to the air-conditioned comforts of your local movie theater; unfortunately, you will not plan on the fact that this will mean having to sit through Al Gore's film An Inconvenient Truth.
Sagittarius November 22 - December 21
Though your teacher keeps reprimanding you for not paying enough attention in class, you remain completely unable to see what good Physical Education will do you out in the real world.
Capricorn December 22 - January 19
Your inquisitive nature will open yet another door for you this week, although others are starting to grow irritated by your apparent inability to open it for yourself every now and then.
Aquarius January 20 - February 18
A team of physicists, long uninspired and directionless, will refocus their efforts to build the world's first time machine after losing what seems like 50 years in conversation with you.
Pisces February 19 - March 20
While one man's trash may be another man's treasure, there's really no reason why you should be wearing that dead kitten as a crown.
Have a great Memorial Day and i hope you and your family remember what this weekend is all about: Honoring the Men and Women who have given their lives in protection of our country and in defense of Freedom. May we lift them up in prayer.
posted by Neil @ 3:22 PM
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