Bill O'Reilly goes bonkers in a fight against Geraldo Rivera

I'm not sure where to file this YouTube video under:



Rivera is right. This is not about illegal immigration, but rather about drunk driving. Had these two young girls been killed by a drunk driver who was an American citizen, this story would have been ignored. The only reason this story is on O'Reilly is because Alfredo Ramos is an illegal immigrant. This gives O'Reilly a chance to score political brownie points by blasting the Virginia Beach local law enforcement, the Mayor Oberndorf, and Virginia's Democratic governor Tim Kaine for supposedly not enforcing this nation's illegal immigration laws, when our own federal government--under this Bush White House--has so spectacularly failed in adopting a comprehensive immigration policy.

Still, it is rather ironic watching these two blowhards duking it out on Fox News.

Texas to install border Web cameras

I'm pretty sure you know where this post will be going. This is from Yahoo News:

EL PASO, Texas - The governor of Texas wants to turn all the world into a virtual posse. Rick Perry has announced a $5 million plan to install hundreds of night-vision cameras on private land along the Mexican border and put the live video on the Internet, so that anyone with a computer who spots illegal immigrants trying to slip across can report it on a toll-free hot line.

"I look at this as not different from the neighborhood watches we have had in our communities for years and years," Perry said last week.

Some say it is a dangerous idea and a waste of money.

"This is just one of those half-baked ideas that people dream up to save money but have no practical applications," said Jim Harrington, director of the Texas Civil Rights Project in Austin. "We would be far better off to invest that money in Mexican small towns along the border so people wouldn't have to emigrate."

Before I comment on this, I need to hunt around for my jaw--it dropped down on this floor somewhere. So Governor Perry wants to install hundreds of internet webcams along the Texas border with Mexico, and then allow private citizens to call a toll-free number if they spot illegal immigrants trying to cross over the border?

Has Governor Perry been chewing too much peyote? Continuing on with the details of this webcam border control:

The plan marks a political about-face for Perry, a Republican seeking re-election, who has long argued that security along the state's 1,200-mile border with Mexico is strictly a federal responsibility.

This week, he said cuts in federal homeland security funding, a rise in reports of border violence and the crossing of Mexican soldiers into Texas about two years ago have demonstrated that "Texas cannot wait for Washington, D.C., to act."

Under the plan, announced on the eve of the state GOP convention, cameras and other equipment would be supplied to willing landowners and placed along some of the most remote reaches of the border. The live video would be made available to law enforcement and anyone else with an Internet connection.

Viewers would be able to call day or night to report anything that looks like trespassing, drug smuggling or something else suspicious.

The governor plans to pay for it all with grant money the state already has, and wants the first cameras in place within 30 days.

The Border Patrol already has lots of its own surveillance cameras along the border, but the images are not made available to the public. Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar did not comment directly on the governor's plan Wednesday, but said: "We are looking forward to the opportunity to sit down and discuss it with him to ensure that whatever is done will be aligned with the efforts of the Border Patrol."

Agency officials did not immediately return calls for comment Thursday.

Where do I start on this multi-million dollar boondoggle? First, you're talking not hundreds--but thousands of web cameras to fully cover the 1,200-mile Texas border with Mexico. For this hair-brained plan to work, you have to cover the entire border--not just the particular hot spots for illegal border crossings. You see, the drug smugglers and "coyotes" will quickly spot these webcams, and simply move further out into the open country to cross over the border. And who is to say that the smugglers and "coyotes" won't try destroying a few webcams in the process as a diversionary tactic? Second, this video is going on the internet. You can bet that the smugglers and "coyotes" will take advantage of that and monitor the tracking of those live webcams. So we've got a security question here.

But there's an answer to the problem of having the bad guys looking at the same webcams. Consider this:

Connie Hair, a spokeswoman for the Minuteman organization, which patrols the border against illegal immigrants, said access to the video should be restricted to trained volunteers and law enforcement officials, to prevent smugglers from using the equipment to adjust their routes.

First, law enforcement officials have their own cameras. They don't need more cameras--they need to hire more border patrol agents! Consider this:

Bush Administration Underfunds Border Security Called For By 9/11 Act. The Bush Administration "continues to fall short of fully-funding the level of Border Patrol Agents, detention bed space, and Immigration and Customs Agent resources called for by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (9/11 Act). . . Funding in the President's fiscal year 2007 budget is 25 percent short of what is needed to hire the 2,000 Border Patrol Agents required by the 9/11 Act." (Democratic Staff of the Committee on Homeland Security, Annual Report Card, 2/06)

But it appears that Governor Perry, and George Bush are happy with developing a high-tech border security plan:

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - The Bush administration is looking to military contractors for high tech help controlling the U.S. border, according to a published report.

The New York Times reported Thursday that three of the nation's largest defense contractors -- Lockheed Martin (Research), Raytheon (Research), Northrop Grumman (Research) -- have confirmed they plan to submit bids within two weeks for an estimated $2 billion federal contract to build what the paper reports the administration is calling a "virtual fence" along the nation's land borders. Two other companies, Boeing (Research) and Ericsson (Research), are also expected to bid.

The federal government is looking to use unmanned aerial vehicles, ground surveillance satellites and motion-detection video equipment to monitor rivers, deserts, mountains and settled areas that separate Mexico and Canada from the United States.

But beyond buying the type of high-tech equipment that these companies have already put to use in Afghanistan and Iraq, the paper reports that the administration will be asking the contractors to devise and build a whole new border strategy that ties together the personnel, technology and physical barriers.

The government has spent at least $425 million in the last decade to buy cutting-edge technology to monitor the border, with limited success, the paper reports. Nearly half of video cameras ordered in the late 1990's did not work or were not installed. A $6.8 million unmanned aerial vehicle bought to patrol a 300-mile stretch of the border in Arizona crashed last month.

And the paper says a report late last year by the homeland security inspector general showed that ground sensors installed produced false alarms in 92 percent of the cases they were triggered, forcing the border patrol to send out agents to respond to what turned out to be a passing wild animal, a train or other nuisances.

If the federal government is having this much trouble with their high-tech border security, which is to say that Governor Perry's internet webcam border security system is going to be even more successful? And then we have Minuteman spokeswoman Connie Hair's idea that access to this internet webcam video should be restricted to trained volunteers? Who determines the criteria for selecting these volunteers? Who is going to train them--the Border Patrol? They are already understaffed and suffering from the budget cuts. The Minutemen? I'm not sure I would trust this type of high-tech border security to these wing-nuts. I certainly don't like them sitting on the border as they currently are doing now. And who is to say that anyone who gains access to these cameras as "volunteers" won't also provide that access to their friends? Finally, I'm not sure I would trust the training of these "volunteers." To have these volunteers sit watching an empty countryside a low-quality night-vision webcam image for hours on end is a recipe for hundreds of false calls coming into these toll-free lines as these "volunteers mistakenly report possible wildlife movements as illegals crossing the border.

But I'm starting to wonder if there is a political motive behind Governor Perry's webcam plan. This whole idea of having volunteers watching a webcam to catch illegals will certainly draw support from the hard-line conservatives who want to stop the illegals at the border. And you can bet the Minutemen would love this plan--especially if their own members could be exclusively trained as the "volunteers" to be watching these cameras. You've heard of the Junior G-Men. Well, how about the Junior Minutemen!

I think I'm going to need some peyote.

In all seriousness, this is an election year issue, and a cheap political solution, proposed by Perry, to court votes among the law-and-order Texans. It is also a way for Perry to pick up some campaign contributions from defense contractors eager to supply Texas with these webcams. We know that President Bush is happily supplying the military-industrial complex with gobs of federal cash for a high-tech border security service that doesn't work on the federal level. How about having those same defense contractors pick up some excessive profits from Texas taxpayers and state grants on a webcam service that also will not work. While I don't know exactly who the corporations are that will be awarded these webcam contracts, I would be curious to see if any of the corporations that are awarded these webcam contracts have also given campaign money to Governor Perry, and how much did they give?

So are you ready to check out some hot Mexican babes trying to cross the border on your webcam?

Senate passes immigration bill overhaul

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., talks with reporters on Capitol Hill Thursday, May 25, 2006, after the Senate voted 62-36 to overhaul the nation's immigratikon laws. Left to right are Frist, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. AP Photo.

Well, it appears that President Bush has got his election year victory bill for immigration reform. You can expect the President to tout this immigration reform bill for the midterm elections. This is from Yahoo News:

WASHINGTON - Legislation to secure U.S. borders and offer millions of illegal immigrants access to the American dream cleared the Senate on Thursday, a rare election-year reach across party lines and a triumph for
President Bush.

The 62-36 vote cleared the way for arduous summertime compromise talks with the House on its version that focuses on border enforcement — with no guarantee of success.

The legislation includes money to better secure the borders, provide a new guest worker program and give an eventual shot at citizenship to many of the estimated 11 million to 12 million immigrants in the country illegally.

The House bill, which passed on a largely party-line vote last year, is generally limited to border enforcement. It would make all illegal immigrants subject to felony charges and it contains no provision for either a new temporary worker program or citizenship for men, women and children in the country unlawfully.

In contrast, the Senate bill would mark the most far-reaching changes in immigration law in two decades. Built on compromise after painstaking compromise, it was designed to appeal to conservatives and others seeking tougher border enforcement; business interests eager for a steady supply of legal, low-wage labor; unions seeking enhanced protections for migrants who often toil in seasonal work the fields and Hispanics who are on the cusp of greater political power and determined to win a change in legal status for millions of illegal immigrants.

The House bill on immigration reform doesn't surprise me here--add more guards, more barbed wire, and stop the supply of illegal immigrants from coming across the border. The house bill does nothing to punish business and corporate interests who use this form of cheap illegal slave labor to drive down American wages. It is immigration reform that was written by Corporate America. The Senate bill is different. There is a combination of many different issues here--money to secure the border areas, a "guest worker" program, a possible amnesty program, and even an electronic verification system so that companies will be accountable for hiring decisions. I'd like to say it is a good start towards immigration reform....

But I'm still not sure. I guess I will take a "wait and see" look.

Evangelicals Tightlipped on Immigration

Well, this is interesting. From Yahoo News:

While the Roman Catholic Church, mainline Protestants, Jews and Muslims have backed the emerging immigrants' rights movement, the situation has proved more complex for some conservative Protestants.

Struggling to balance compassion with respect for law and order — and dealing with an increasing number of Hispanics in their churches — evangelicals have lacked the united front they have presented on matters such as abortion and gay marriage, with some groups notably quiet.

"Evangelical leaders are concerned that our voice be a biblical voice that does not send the wrong signal to the growing Latino community," said the Rev. Richard Cizik, Washington spokesman for the National Association of Evangelicals

Cizik was one of several officials from evangelical organizations who were briefed Tuesday on
President Bush's plans by top adviser Karl Rove — the idea being to gather support and head off opposition. Other groups represented included the Concerned Women for America, Institute on Religion and Democracy, National Religious Broadcasters and Southern Baptist Convention.

Tanya Erzen of http://www.talk2action.org, which monitors and criticizes the conservative Christian movement, said the issue is tricky for evangelicals because they want to mobilize Hispanics behind their favored social causes, and know that many of the street demonstrators are "members of evangelical churches that represent a key constituency."

A report to the NAE board's March meeting said more evangelical converts come from Hispanic communities than from any other sector in America. Cizik counts 600,000 Hispanic converts from Catholicism living in the United States.

Pew Research Center polling this year showed nearly two-thirds of white evangelicals thought immigrants threaten "traditional American customs and values" and are a burden on "our jobs, housing and health care," well above the percentages for white Catholics, mainline Protestants and the U.S. population in general.

The Evangelicals are in a pickle here. The want to court the Hispanic Catholics behind their pet causes of abortion and gay marriage, but their own extreme law-and-order stance of Minutemen watching the border and concrete fences to keep the illegals out, will actually go against the desires of the Hispanic community for an amnesty program for long-term illegal immigrants to become legal residents in the U.S. And what is more, the Evangelical church leadership's concerns for this balancing act of courting Hispanics, actually goes against their congregation's white evangelicals political views of illegal immigration threatens jobs, housing health care, and traditional values, as reported by the Pew Research Center. They are in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation since it is likely that the most radical of Evangelical leaders were also decrying that illegal immigration would threaten "traditional American values and society" for years.

What goes around, comes around.

Shooting closes border crossing

A car sits empty near the border after its driver was shot and killed by a U.S. law enforcement officer Thursday. From CNN.Com.

Well, here is one good way to control the border. From CNN.Com:

SAN DIEGO, California (AP) -- Authorities shut down a busy U.S-Mexico border crossing Thursday after U.S. authorities shot and killed the driver of a car headed for Mexico, officials said.

The shooting occurred on southbound Interstate 5 around 3:30 p.m. about 50 feet north of the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world's busiest border crossing, which links Tijuana, Mexico with San Diego.

The driver, who not immediately identified, was pronounced dead at the scene with multiple gunshot wounds, said Maurice Luque, a spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

Footage from TV news helicopters showed a black sport-utility vehicle in the middle of the road with a shattered driver's side window.

There were no immediate reports of any other injuries.

Details about what might have prompted the shooting were not immediately available.

The California Highway Patrol sealed off southbound access to the border and rush-hour traffic backed up for more than a mile.

Wait a minute--the guy was was heading towards Mexico before U.S. authorities shot him? I'm not sure I know what to say about this story, except that the details are so sketchy here. Was the guy in the black SUV armed, and did he fire on U.S. authorities? Or is it now the policy of U.S. border guards to shoot first at vehicles in the U.S. that are approaching the Mexican border, and then ask questions later?

Oh, and by the way--don't you feel safer now that President Bush wants to send 6,000 National Guard troops to watch the US-Mexican border?

Immigrants Demonstrate Economic Clout

A pedestrian walks by one of the closed stores on 4th Street in downtown Santa Ana, Calif., Monday, May 1, 2006. Fourth Street, the busiest area for various businesses for and by Latinos, was almost vacant on Monday morning due to the closure of most stores to support the 'Day Without Immigrants' (AP Photo/Sang H. Park)

This is interesting. From Yahoo News:

Illegal immigrants made their point Monday: Without them, Americans would pay higher prices and a lot of work wouldn't get done.

As nationwide demonstrations thinned the work force in businesses from meat-packing plants to construction sites to behind the counter at McDonald's, economists said there can be no dispute within the context of the contentious immigration issue that the group wields significant clout in the U.S. economy.

"If illegal immigration came to a standstill, it would disrupt the economy," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "It would lead to higher prices for many goods and services, and some things literally would not get done. It would be a major adjustment for our economy, for sure."

Another economist, Diane Swonk, said it would be an economic mistake to restrict entry and work rights when revising immigration policy.

"Given the obvious hardship of having illegal aliens flooding in, we also know they are critical to the functioning of the U.S. economy," said Swonk, chief economist at Chicago-based Mesirow Financial. "To be turning our backs on people who want to work is kind of silly in an environment where you've got tight labor markets and we're getting older and need younger people to work."

While the full impact of the one-day Day Without Immigrants boycott was hard to immediately gauge, it was palpable in some industries with a heavily Hispanic work force. On-the-job turnout was dramatically lower at some locales in the meat-packing, masonry, restaurant and landscaping businesses, and numerous firms closed for the day.

I would be curious to see what the economic impact of this boycott would be in lost business sales--especially in the areas of agriculture, food services, construction, hospitality, and retail sales. Consider some of these examples:

Mike Collins, who owns 500 acres of Vidalia onions in southeastern Georgia, was forced to shut down his packing shed and postpone his harvest when none of his 175 seasonal workers showed up.

"We need to be going wide-open this time of year to get these onions out of the field and we have nobody working today," he said. "Losing a day in this part of the season causes a tremendous amount of problems."

Tyson Foods Inc., the world's largest meat producer, shut five of nine beef plants and four of six pork plants in anticipation of widespread absences. Perdue Farms Inc., the nation's third-largest chicken producer, closed eight processing plants in seven states. Cargill Meat Solutions, the nation's second-largest beef processor, gave more than 15,000 workers the day off and closed plants in six states.

Gold Kist, another poultry producer, shuttered two North Carolina plants and operated its two Georgia facilities at reduced productivity after many employees failed to heed requests by the company's managers and CEO to show up despite the protests.

"We've tried to be open," said Wayne Lord, a vice president for the Atlanta-based company. "They were urged to come to work today because of our focus on satisfying our customer requirements."

Work sites operated in the Washington, D.C., area by Beltsville, Md.-based Manganaro MidAtlantic, a concrete and masonry company where immigrants comprise up to 75 percent of the work force, were quiet Monday. John Livingston, a business developer for Manganaro, said his firm has not been able to fill its staffing needs without immigrants for more than a decade.

Low attendance also was the story at hotels in Indianapolis, construction sites in Miami and plant nurseries and landscapers across a wide area.

McDonald's Corp. said some of its employees participated in the rallies, prompting it to operate an unspecified number of its nearly 14,000 restaurants with limited crews, shortened hours or drive-thru service only. The Oak Brook, Ill.-based company did not provide further specifics but released a statement saying it strongly supports U.S. immigration reform.

Carl Tannenbaum, chief economist at LaSalle Bank in Chicago, said the boycott underscores that immigration is not only political issue but a big economic one, too.

"The American economy really relies to a large extent on a growing labor force," he said. "There's a certain replenishment to the labor force that immigrants provide, and I think we have to be careful about taking steps that would hinder that process."

Video Game Border Patrol shows extreme racism against Mexicans

I found this off of the comments section of an Americablog posting. I decided to check into this to see what it was. It is pretty sickening. It appears that this Aryian website decided to develop this simple Flash video game called Border Patrol--where you control the U.S. border by shooting Mexican illegal aliens trying to cross over this border. The game does get pretty graphic with blood splattering as you hit your targets. It also appears that this game is getting picked up by the mainstream press.

Here is the link to play the game.

Here is a KNBC News web story on the game:

SAN DIEGO -- Human rights activists say a new video game is encouraging hate and racism in the debate over immigration reform.

The game is called "Border Patrol," and it challenges players to kill as many illegal immigrants as they can.

The computer game puts the player in charge of guarding the border with a loaded gun. The goal to kill as many people as possible, including pregnant women and children. Pedro Risol and other immigration rights activists are outraged.

"It's sole purpose is just to offer violence to the immigration question," Risol said. "It truly is disturbing."

The site plays up the racial overtones of the immigration debate. Those killed during the game are called "wetbacks."

The game is part of a Web site called "The Insurgent." Information on the Web site says that it is based in Temecula, Calif., just north of the San Diego-Riverside county line. The site claims that Tom Metzger, the head of White Aryan Resistance, is responsible for the content.

"Border Patrol" is just one of five games on the Web site that targets people because of their race.

"Drive-by 2" arms you as a drive-by shooter. Players score points for shooting up windows, joggers, prostitutes, and police officers. Killing a cop racks up the highest score.

In "Kaboom," players become suicide bombers. The goal is to take out as many people as possible with a bomb strapped on your body. The game breaks down the damage by number of men, women and children killed and injured.

Phillip Gay, a sociologist at San Diego State University, said allowing kids to play games like these can desensitize them to killing people.

"You get into the game and you want to win the game. We're competitive," Gay said.

The Web site claims that the games are not meant to be a threat against anyone.

NBC San Diego attempted to contact the people who run "The Insurgent" for comment. They have not returned the calls.

So this is how the wing-nuts feel about border control--kill the illegals! What I find especially disgusting is how the Republicans, and their media pundits, quietly condone this hatred and vitriol among its members. We hear it concealed in their social messages of gay marriage, or using Minutemen to watch the borders. Look at the comments section of Michele Malkin, or RedState, and you can read the hatred within them--calling immigrants, illegals, gays, liberals, Democrats, some of the worst names in the English language, wishing the most foulest means of torture and death upon anyone who does not agree with their extreme view. And when racist games such as this Border Control appear on the net, they are dismissed as childish humor. Consider this review of the game. Please note that the spelling in some of these reviews is taken as is, from the review and comments pages. Also, some of these comments contain harsh language and racist statements:

Speaking of illegal immigration, racism, and what have you, Aryan website The Insurgent has a whole slew (a horde, if you will) of racist, flash-based video games, including "Border Patrol," in which you try to shoot illegal immigrants as they run across the US-Mexico border.

Other games featured on the site include "Driveby 2 (Feel what it's like in the ghetto.)," "Watch Out Behind You Hunter! (Shoot the fags before they rape you!)," and "Kaboom! (Arab Training Game)." I liked the "Border Patrol" one best myself, but that "Driveby 2" is not to be slept on.

Regardless of where you come down on the issue, you have to admit this is some hilarious shit.

Or how about some of these comments:

I found a game called Border Patrol where you kill as many wetbacks as you can trying to cross the border. Its funny. You can check it out at http://freehost.nfshost.com/games/wp...der_patrol.swf My best score was 54

They are going to have a hell of a time "taking over" and fullfilling "reconquista" if they are filled full of lead at the border.

We should have started doing this in real life a long time ago. Perhaps less people would attempt to illegally come into the country, and those that did would be shot dead.

hey . ok.. why is this racist. when i saw this on the nws, i started laughing. like damn.. that's creative. and who cares it's just a game.it's funny. but you kow. fighting for Mexican rights. and yeah. i don't worry about it cause. i am already american. do you think the mexicans in mexico would care about americans. huh. Stop bitching and go with the flow. Damn.. and for all the ppl who say whit trash ans stupid shit like that. your being racist which viods your comment . so just shut up. Fuckin ignorance Bitches!.

That Border Patrol game sure was fun, you wetbacks run real fast, know wonder there's so many of you pieces of shit here, my high score so far is 53, I think I'll get 88 soon, too bad we don't implement the same thing in the game in real life.
Well I hope you wetbacks keep making out more gangs to kill each other off, see one of you wetbacks soon, you will know me by the guy in the uniform beating the shit out you.
Have fun you anti-US wetback pieces of shit/
P.S. of course Mexicans are going to be the majority soon, they are ignorant and breed like cockroaches, and for the most part there not much smarter then cockroaches.

FUCK all of you wetback fags, go back to your shit hole in Mexico.

This is how the extremists on the conservative side thinks. This is how the real wackos--who probably make the neoconservatives seem moderate view the issue of immigration. And not only are they expressing it in vulgur terms, but the conservatives laugh and shrug it off, as they are happily playing this game. It is depressing.

Feds Warn Companies Using Illegal Workers

IFCO systems, shown Thursday, April 20, 2006, in Phoenix, was one of several sites where Immigration agents arrested seven executives and hundreds of employees Wednesday as part of a crackdown on employers of illegal workers. Authorities raided offices and plants of IFCO Systems in Arizona and at lease seven other states in the culmination of a yearlong criminal investigation, law enforcement officials said. (AP Photo/Matt York)

There are two stories here on Yahoo News. The first story is titled, 1,187 undocumented workers arrested in US crackdown:

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US authorities have arrested 1,187 undocumented workers across 26 states in a crackdown against a Houston-based pallet-making company called IFCO, a senior official said.

Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff told reporters at a press conference that the surprise raids against IFCO had occurred on Wednesday.

"Employers and workers alike should be on notice that the status quo has changed ... these enforcement actions demonstrate that this department has no patience for employers who tolerate or perpetuate a shadow economy," Chertoff said.

"We intend to find employers who knowingly or recklessly hire unauthorized workers and we will use every authority within our power to shut down businesses that exploit an illegal workforce to turn a profit," he warned.

Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff, seen here in march 2006, told reporters that the US authorities arrested 1,187 undocumented workers across 26 states 19 April 2006 in a crackdown against a Houston-based pallet-making company called IFCO.(AFP/Getty Images/File)

Several IFCO mangers were also targeted in the raids and arrested, and charged with knowingly employing undocumented workers.

The managers could face up to 10 years in jail and a fine of 250,000 dollars if they are found guilty.

There are an estimated 12 million undocumented foreigners living in the United States, and recent bids by Congress to crackdown on their presence has triggered widespread protests by pro-immigrant and Hispanic groups.

So the feds have cracked down on this pallet-making company that has hired 1,187 illegal aliens, at probably substandard wages, in 26 states. I'd like to say that is good news, but I'm not sure yet. I can't see the Bush administration cracking down on big business and corporate interests, which would love to hire illegal aliens at lower wages. Like it or not, President Bush has aligned his presidency towards the interests and benefits of big business. I can't see him willing to anger those business interests by using the government to crack down on the same businesses that hire illegal aliens.

Or is this company a token sacrifice to show the American public that President Bush is starting to apply pressure against his business interests that hire illegal aliens? The trouble here is that I can't say, unless Bush goes after a second or third business regarding illegal aliens. And I also can't say unless the punishments against these businesses are enough to deter them from hiring illegals, rather than the usual slap-on-the-wrists fines that are simply calculated into the balance sheets.

Now here is the second Yahoo story, titled, Feds Warn Companies Using Illegal Workers:

WASHINGTON - The government plans to crack down ever harder on employers who harbor and hire illegal immigrants, pursuing companies that ignore the law so they can exploit cheap labor.

"We are going to move beyond the current level of activity to a higher level in each month and year to come,"
Homeland Security Secretary
Michael Chertoff said Thursday. He pledged to "come down as hard as possible" on violators.

Federal agents on Wednesday arrested seven current and former managers of IFCO Systems, a manufacturer of crates and pallets, on criminal charges, and more than 1,100 people were arrested on administrative immigration charges at more than 40 IFCO sites in the U.S.

"Our nation's communities cannot be a wild frontier where illegal aliens and unscrupulous employees subvert our nation's laws," said Julie Myers, assistant secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Don Sherman, director of the Cincinnati Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, an advocate for immigrant workers and their rights, was skeptical about the government's move.

"I think the timing is very suspicious because there are a number of rallies coming up around the country promoting immigration reform," he said.

Chertoff denied the timing of the stepped up enforcement had anything to do with recent immigration demonstrations, saying the investigations began more than a year ago.

Something tells me this is a token sacrifice that the Bush White House will use in its marketing and PR-spin claiming President Bush is doing something to solve the illegal immigration, before the midterm elections.

Two Stories on the Immigration Bill

You just have to love the political spin that is coming from the Republican Party these days. First, here's a little story from the Bush White House, titled "Bush blames Democrats for stalled immigration reform:"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush, trying to head off the latest in a string of setbacks, blamed Democratic "blocking tactics" on Saturday for stalling an immigration overhaul and urged an end to the impasse.

Bush used his weekly radio address to point the finger at Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid for the breakdown on Friday of a Senate compromise plan to reform immigration law and give millions of illegal immigrants a chance for citizenship.

Failure to approve the bill, which would create a temporary worker program as proposed by Bush, could derail major changes in immigration laws for this year, dealing another blow to a president beset by his lowest public approval ratings since taking office.

"Unfortunately, this compromise is being blocked by the Senate Democratic leader who has refused to allow senators to move forward and vote on amendments to this bill," Bush said.

"I call on the Senate Minority Leader to end his blocking tactics and allow the Senate to do its work and pass a fair, effective immigration reform bill," he added.

So President Bush is blaming the Democrats for sinking the immigration bill. That's understandable--the Republican spin-meisters in the White House always blame the Democrats for everything.

Now we come to another little story, titled "Republican leader rejects guest worker plan:"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House of Representatives Majority Leader John Boehner on Sunday rejected efforts to establish a guest worker program in the United States, despite calls from President Bush to make provisions for millions of current illegal immigrants.

Boehner, an Ohio Republican, said he supported a bill already passed by the House that focuses on tightening up the nation's borders but does not include a program for temporary workers.

"You can't begin to talk about a guest worker bill until you secure the borders," he said on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" program. Otherwise, he said, "We're going to have an endless parade of illegal immigrants here in our country."

Boehner's position pits him directly against Bush, who on Saturday blamed Senate Democrats for failing to approve a bipartisan Senate plan that created a temporary guest worker plan and provided a path to citizenship.

Boehner stopped short of saying congressional efforts to pass immigration reform legislation had stalled, calling on the U.S. Senate to pass a bill when lawmakers return from recess in two weeks.

If the Senate passes legislation, lawmakers from both sides of Congress would have to work out differences for a final version of the bill.

Boehner said both the House and the Senate could resolve their disagreements.

Still, he said, "Until we begin to secure our borders and enforce our immigration laws, I don't think we ought to be talking about a more comprehensive approach."

Allowing illegal immigrants to stay and work "sounds too much like amnesty for most Americans," he said.

Can you say hypocrisy?

GOP Unveils Revised Immigration Legislation

This is off Yahoo News:

WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans unveiled revised immigration legislation Wednesday night clearing the way for legal status and eventual citizenship for many of the estimated 11 million men, women and children living in the United States unlawfully.

Majority Leader Bill Frist outlined the proposal after efforts at a bipartisan compromise faltered earlier in the day and the Senate teetered between accomplishment and gridlock on the most sweeping immigration bill in two decades.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., listens to a question during an interview with The Associated Press, Tuesday, March 28, 2006, in his office at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid pledged to review the GOP proposal overnight to see whether "it could be something we could all support." The prospects appeared uncertain, however, since the provisions appeared similar to what he and other Democrats had earlier spurned.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaks with the media after making a speech to the Hispanic Chamber of commerce legislative conference on Tuesday, April 4, 2006 in Washington. McCain discussed immigration reform. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The fate of the 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally hinged on the outcome of election-year maneuvering on an issue that Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz., said had generated an unusual amount of emotion.

Protesters hold an US flag in the distress position as they gather to decry pending federal legislation on illegal immigration on 01 April in Costa Mesa, California. Ninety-eight percent of the 12 million undocumented workers in the United States would apply for legal residency if Congress passed a law allowing it, according to a poll.(AFP/Getty Images/File/David McNew)

Hundreds of Phoenix area high school students protest proposed immigration policy at the state capitol in this March 28, 2006, file photo. As hundreds of thousands of protesters astounded the nation with massive immigrant rights demonstrations, a piece of material took the spotlight off their message. Those carried them, and scholars of the immigrant community, say that pride in their culture should not be misconstrued for lack of patriotism in their adopted nation. (AP Photo/Khampha Bouaphanh)

People gather at a rally at the steps of the State Capitol Saturday, April 1, 2006, in Oklahoma City. More than 5,000 people jammed into the state Capitol's south plaza Saturday to protest immigration measures being considered by the Legislature that a coalition of Latino groups and religious organizations say is harsh and discriminatory. (AP Photo/Ty Russell)

Now I haven't really gone into the immigration debate in Congress, of which has caused the explosion of multiple protest movements throughout the country. Immigration has become a very controversial subject, with so many definitions, perceptions and scapegoats. I believe that people who wish to come live in the United States, and to become U.S. citizens, should be allowed to immigrate. I believe that those who also wish to live in the U.S., to become citizens and functioning members of our society, must also satisfy certain requirements. They have to learn how to read, write, and speak English. They need to learn about the workings of the U.S. government, our political and election processes, and our U.S. history. This is the basic information that anyone who wishes to live in the U.S. must know. I don't mind if they satisfy these requirements while living here in the U.S. They have to satisfy these requirements.

Now here is what I don't believe in. I don't believe in guest worker programs, or companies brining in legal or illegal immigrants because they can't people to take jobs that ordinary Americans would not accept--if you can find people willing to work in jobs at wages you want to pay, then tough luck--raise your wage rate until you can find Americans willing to work in those jobs. I don't believe in the H-1B visas, that Congress gives out to companies to bring in skilled Indian or Chinese labor here, to replace higher priced American workers at cheaper wage rates. If you can't find skilled American workers for these jobs, then adjust the education and training so that Americans can fill these jobs. If the skilled Indian or Chinese workers wish to immigrate to the U.S. for these jobs, and to stay to become American citizens, then that is fine with me. My worry is that these immigration laws will continue to provide loopholes for companies to bring in cheap, illegal workers, and to not get caught in their transgressions.

Here are some of the details regarding this legislation:

Republican officials said the GOP plan would divide illegal immigrants into three categories:

• Those who had been in the country the longest, more than five years, would not be required to return to their home country before gaining legal status. They would be subject to several tests, including the payment of fines and back taxes, and be required to submit to a background check, according to these officials.

• Illegal immigrants in the United States less than five years but more than two would be required to go to a border point of entry, briefly leave and then be readmitted to the United States. As with the longer-term illegal immigrants, other steps would be required for re-entry, after which they could begin seeking citizenship, these officials said.

• Illegal immigrants in the United States less than two years would be required to leave the country and join any other foreign residents seeking legal entry.

The officials who described the proposal did so on condition of anonymity, saying the had not been authorized to pre-empt senators.

Frist's move cleared the way for a series of test votes over the next day or two on a pair of rival proposals.

The first showdown was set for Thursday, on an attempt by Reid and other Democrats to advance legislation that cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee more than a week ago. While a bipartisan majority supported the bill, it quickly ran into trouble from conservative Republicans, some of whom said it would bestow amnesty on lawbreakers.

"This is a vote that for millions of Americans is a question about whose side you're on," said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the second-ranking Democrat, adding that unless legislation clears the Senate this week, it may be doomed for the year.

But it appeared destined to gain far fewer than the 60 votes needed to advance, and perhaps less than a majority that would give political bragging rights to Reid in the event the effort to pass legislation eventually collapses.

Nor was it clear that Frist would be able to muster 60 votes for his revised legislation. In addition to Democratic critics, he faced potential defections from some in his own party.

Sen. John Cornyn (news, bio, voting record) of Texas issued a statement late Wednesday that avoided taking a position on the proposal. It said he remains "adamant that we not repeat the mistakes of the 1986 bill, a measure widely viewed as having imposed amnesty on those in the country illegally.

In general, both of the major alternatives would strengthen border security, regulate the flow of future foreign workers and open the way to citizenship for many immigrants who are in the country illegally.

As they have for days, Democrats used their rights on the Senate floor to prevent votes on politically difficult amendments. Republicans criticized them but were unable to thwart the strategy.

Senators discuss the immigration reform measure co-sponsored by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) (R) and Senator John McCain (R-AZ) (C) during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 30, 2006. Also pictured are Senator Barak Obama (D-IL) (top L), Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) (bottom L) and Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) (middle R). (Larry Downing/Reuters)

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Arlen Specter, left, discusses immigration legislation during a Capitol Hill new conference on Thursday, March 30, 2006. From second from left are: Specter, Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)

House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Ill., right, and House Majority Leader John Boehner of Ohio appear at a new conference on immigration legislation on Capitol Hill Wednesday, March 29, 2006. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)

So we'll have to see in the next couple of days whether this immigration bill is a genuine compromise on the Republican's part, or if this is another dog-and-pony show that Bill Frist is trying to shove down the American people's throats.