L.A. Times Readers: L.A. Has Money For Illegal Aliens, But Not Cleaning Streets

By William Teach April 21, 2017 – 7:18 am

An interesting point brought up by multiple L.A. Times readers

To the editor: Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and County Supervisor Hilda Solis in December announced the creation of a $10-million legal aid fund to “hire lawyers to defend local immigrants without legal status.” (“A $10-million fund will help immigrants fight deportations. But should it help those with violent criminal convictions?” April 17)

My street hasn’t been swept for years. When I tried to find out why, I was told that my area is not “on the list” because there are no longer enough machines and people to drive them. Services that I continue to pay for have been stopped.

If there is enough money around to help illegal immigrants, surely there is enough to begin sweeping my dirty street again. Shouldn’t citizens come before illegal residents?

Oh, stop, Arline George. Of course those who are unlawfully present in the U.S. come before actual lawfully present citizens in Liberal World.

To the editor: So-called sanctuary cities and the state of California say they do not want to spend their precious resources on enforcing federal immigration laws because it is not the function of local government to do so.

Now for the irony: Both the city and the county of Los Angeles will spend millions of taxpayer dollars to defend people in federal immigration courts where the only action is a right to residency or potential deportation. In these cases, state laws are not at issue.

Either immigration is solely a federal function or it is not. It can’t be both depending on politics.

Robert Braley, the illegal immigration debate is no place for Adult Logic.

Or for following the law

(Hot Air) This is something of a new twist on a story which has long since become old and tired. In the Sanctuary State of California you can find many Sanctuary Cities, all of whom are busily thinking up ways to “fight Trump” by refusing to enforce the nation’s laws. But now the city of Oakland has really upped their game to the next level. Why leave all of this lawlessness in the hands of the elected officials when you can privatize the system of lawbreaking? That’s right… they’ve moved to formally endorse private workplaces who choose to violate the law.

That’s right, Oakland city officials, who take oaths to uphold the law, are telling private companies they can break federal law. Of course, that won’t help those companies when federal authorities come to call. And, as Jazz Shaw goes on to point out

You see, no matter what the “status” of the employees may be, the city officials are encouraging the employers to violate federal law. Specifically, we’re talking about another section of 8 U.S. Code § 1324a – Unlawful employment of aliens.

And oh, just by the way, the act of formalizing this encouragement also appears to be in violation of a related statute, that being 8 U.S. Code § 1324 (a)(1)(A)(iv) which specifies criminal penalties for anyone who, “encourages or induces an alien to come to, enter, or reside in the United States, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that such coming to, entry, or residence is or will be in violation of law.”

That’s right, Oakland officials could be prosecuted for violations of federal code. Which require fines and jail stays.

Meanwhile, in Chicago

Chicago’s city council voted on Wednesday to authorize a $3 million program proposed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel that would grant special city ID’s for illegal immigrants and other groups.

One would think that Chicago had more pressing concerns, such as violent crime and a huge uptick in murders and shootings, where that money could be spent.

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President Trump Secures Release Of American Held By Egyptian Government

By William Teach April 21, 2017 – 6:56 am

Yesterday, the Washington Post was Very Concerned over the possibility that Mr. Trump was hollowing out American leadership. Today, Mr. Trump shows that leadership is taking care of the people he was elected to serve

American detained in Egypt for 3 years returns to U.S. after Trump intervention

An Egyptian American charity worker who was imprisoned in Cairo for three years and became the global face of Egypt’s brutal crackdown on civil society returned home to the United States late Thursday after the Trump administration quietly negotiated her release.

President Trump and his aides worked for several weeks with Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi to secure the freedom of Aya Hijazi, 30, a U.S. citizen, as well as her husband, Mohamed Hassanein, who is Egyptian, and four other humanitarian workers. Trump dispatched a U.S. government aircraft to Cairo to bring Hijazi and her family to Washington.

The couple and their co-workers had been incarcerated since May 1, 2014, on child abuse and trafficking charges that were widely dismissed by human rights workers and U.S. officials as false. Virtually no evidence was ever presented against them, and for nearly three years they were held as hearings were inexplicably postponed and trial dates canceled. Human rights groups alleged that they were abused in detention.

Good for him. Of course, you didn’t think that the Washington Post could let this ride without taking a swipe at Trump and trying to make Obama look like He Tried, right?

The Obama administration unsuccessfully pressed Sissi’s government for their release. It was not until Trump moved to reset U.S. relations with Egypt by embracing Sissi at the White House on April 3 — he publicly hailed the autocrat’s leadership as “fantastic” and offered the U.S. government’s “strong backing” — that Egypt’s posture changed. Last Sunday, a court in Cairo dropped all charges against Hijazi and the others.

Of course, Sissi is not the greatest of guys, but, he’s a damned sight better than the Muslim Brotherhood fanatic Obama embraced, Mohamed Morsi. Furthermore, it was the Washington Post’s deputy editorial page editor, Jackson Diehl, who ran this piece back on July 10, 2016

The Obama administration ignores an American imprisoned in Egypt

A few snippets

And the Obama administration’s response to this gross persecution of an American? Absolute silence. When Hijazi was smeared as a sex criminal and a U.S. secret agent on Egyptian state television; when her pretrial detention passed Egypt’s legal limit of two years; when her case was postponed seven times on ridiculous pretexts — the State Department did not offer a single word of defense or public protest.

On May 19, the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights filed a petition on Hijazi’s case to the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. It said Hijazi had been subjected to “coercive interrogation techniques.” One security officer “hit her neck, bringing her to her knees, called her names, threatened to urinate into her vagina, and said that she should be sentenced to death or at minimum, life imprisonment.” The Obama administration remained silent.

So what explains the failure to defend this equally innocent, if less prominent, U.S. citizen? The obvious answer is that the Obama administration is loath to acknowledge that the U.S. relationship with longtime ally Egypt has turned toxic — that Sissi treats Americans in Egypt as enemies even while pocketing bounteous U.S. aid. When I asked about the case last week, a State Department official who declined to be identified offered a technical excuse: State had not received written permission from Hijazi to speak out. That is disputed by Hijazi’s family, which says she signed a waiver; Rezaian (who was held in Iran and did receive support from Obama) also told me he never provided such written consent.

A few Obama advisors did release a wishy washy statement in October, 2016, which “reiterated the president’s deep concern for the welfare of all American citizens held abroad” or something. His concern wasn’t deep enough to actually get involved and do something, though.

Nor was this a partisan issue. Americans of all stripes, including Senators and Representatives of both parties, were calling on Egypt to release Hijazi, and for Obama to get involved. For the most part, he couldn’t be bothered.

A senior administration official said that no quid pro quo had been offered for Hijazi’s release but that there had been “assurance from the highest levels [of Sissi’s government] that whatever the verdict was, Egypt would use presidential authority to send her home.” The official said the U.S. side interpreted that to mean that a guilty verdict and sentencing would be followed by a pardon from Sissi, but they were pleasantly surprised.

The dropping of charges set in motion the release of Hijazi and Hassanein from custody and their journey to the United States, which was personally overseen by Trump and detailed Thursday by the senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the national security sensitivities of the case.

So, Trump, along with high ranking members of his team, including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and deputy national security adviser Dina Powell, both of who went to Egypt, were involved. All for just one American. Because, really, if it isn’t the president’s job to safeguard just one American, what else is the job of president good for? And, when the POTUS gets involved with the case of just one American, it shows international players that he takes interest in the small things. So don’t mess with American.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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South Florida Has A Nightmare Scenario From ‘Climate Change Or Something

By William Teach April 20, 2017 – 5:40 pm

Yet another in a long line of carnival barker prophesies

The Nightmare Scenario for Florida’s Coastal Homeowners
Demand and financing could collapse before the sea consumes a single house.

On a predictably gorgeous South Florida afternoon, Coral Gables Mayor Jim Cason sat in his office overlooking the white-linen restaurants of this affluent seaside community and wondered when climate change would bring it all to an end. He figured it would involve a boat.

When Cason first started worrying about sea-level rise, he asked his staff to count not just how much coastline the city had (47 miles) or value of the property along that coast ($3.5 billion). He also told them to find out how many boats dock inland from the bridges that span the city’s canals (302). What matters, he guessed, will be the first time a mast fails to clear the bottom of one of those bridges because the water level had risen too far.

“These boats are going to be the canary in the mine,” said Cason, who became mayor in 2011 after retiring from the U.S. foreign service. “When the boats can’t go out, the property values go down.”

If property values start to fall, Cason said, banks could stop writing 30-year mortgages for coastal homes, shrinking the pool of able buyers and sending prices lower still. Those properties make up a quarter of the city’s tax base; if that revenue fell, the city would struggle to provide the services that make it such a desirable place to live, causing more sales and another drop in revenue.

And all of that could happen before the rising sea consumes a single home.

Oh noes, doom! Even before doom!

Of course, what’s missing from this very long thinly veiled press release from the Cult of Climatology is the data on actual sea rise, which is standard operating procedure. The best data for long term sea rise comes from Mayport, Florida,  which shows just 2.55mm a year, equivalent to .83 feet over 100 years. That’s low for a Holocene warm period.

In fact, it’s damned hard to find any hard measurements on sea rise in the South Florida area, especially long term. It’s almost like they don’t want anyone to know. Realistically, the S. Florida coast isn’t that far above sea level, some reports put it around 3 feet. So, if one is going to build, one might want to think about where they are building.

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If All You See…

By William Teach April 20, 2017 – 1:00 pm

…is an evil plastic water bottle causing global temperatures to spike in the future, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The First Street Journal, with a post on looking for transgenderism everywhere.

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Excitable Bill McKibben: Everyone Should Take Fossil Fueled Trips To Protest In Climate March

By William Teach April 20, 2017 – 11:06 am

Yes, you know that climate march which is supposed to be all about science, which has become a hotbed of everything Progressive

On April 29, We March for the Future
We’ll either save or doom the planet during the Trump administration. Don’t sit the Peoples Climate Mobilization out.

March for the future, because all their computer models and prognostications have failed up to now, so, they have to make them for end of the century and further out.

It is hard to avoid hyperbole when you talk about global warming. It is, after all, the biggest 
thing humans have ever done, and by a very large margin. In the past year, we’ve decimated the Great Barrier Reef, which is the largest living structure on Earth. In the drought-stricken territories around the Sahara, we’ve helped kick off what The New York Times called “one of the biggest humanitarian disasters since World War II.” We’ve melted ice at the poles at a record pace, because our emissions trap extra heat from the sun that’s equivalent to 400,000 Hiroshima-size explosions a day. Which is why, just maybe, you should come to Washington, DC, on April 29 for a series of big climate protests that will mark the 100th day of Trumptime. Maybe the biggest thing ever is worth a day.

Awesome! Fossil fueled trips for everyone! Because we must create massive amounts of carbon pollution to save future people from carbon pollution. And, at the end of the very long screed, Bill wants people out in the street all the time. Which would require lots of fossil fueled trips.

As Instapundit is fond of writing, I’ll believe it’s a crisis when the people who tell me it’s a crisis act like it’s a crisis in their own lives.

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NJ Supreme Court Justice Doesn’t Want Immigration Law Enforced In Place Of Law

By William Teach April 20, 2017 – 8:41 am

Seriously, why would we want to enforce The Law in a courthouse? Not this Democrat, appointed by another Democrat

(AP) Another high-ranking judge on Wednesday asked Republican President Donald Trump’s administration to avoid immigration arrests at state courthouses.

New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner noted in a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly that federal immigration officials recently arrested two people in New Jersey courthouses. The arrests, Rabner said, could cause witnesses to stay silent or domestic abuse victims to avoid court.

“A true system of justice must have the public’s confidence,” he wrote.

Rabner wants Kelly to add courthouses to a list of sensitive locations, including houses of worship and schools, recognized by immigration officials.

He went on to say that for years state officials have cooperated with federal detainer requests, but he said the practice of publicly arresting possible immigration violators “sends a chilling message.”

Why yes, it does send a chilling message to people who are unlawfully present in the United States and are in court to face charges of other criminal wrongdoing that they should get out of the United States. And, yes, a true system of justice must have the People’s confidence that The Law will be upheld in government places of Law. Like courthouses. Where Law is supposed to be practiced and enforced. And where criminals have to go through security, meaning most will have no weapons on them, making it safer for law enforcement to take the illegal in question into custody.

If Judge Rabner was following his oath, he’d have the illegals detained himself. If he doesn’t want to send a chilling message, he could separate the illegals away from the public, then have them detained and contact ICE himself.

As for DHS Secretary John Kelly

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly on Tuesday bluntly challenged members of Congress critical of the Trump administration’s aggressive approach to immigration enforcement to either change the laws or “shut up.” (snip)

“They (DHS employees, especially ICE) have been asked to do more with less, and less, and less,” Kelly said. “They are often ridiculed and insulted by public officials, and frequently convicted in the court of public opinion on unfounded allegations testified to by street lawyers and spokespersons.”

Kelly said the public and public officials should err on the side of assuming that the agency’s employees are acting within the law. And for members of Congress who don’t like the laws, Kelly said they “should have the courage and skill to change the laws. Otherwise they should shut up and support the men and women on the front lines.”

You tell them, John! You should surge ICE agents to NJ, and arrest lots of illegals as they have their day in court for breaking laws.

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Washington Post: Trump Is Hollowing Out America’s International Leadership Or Something

By William Teach April 20, 2017 – 8:16 am

Apparently, leading from behind is passe’

The risks of the Trump administration hollowing out American leadership

On the surface, much of President Trump’s foreign policy seems to be reverting to the mainstream upon first contact with reality. Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s horrific use of chemical weapons produced a quick military response, applauded across partisan lines in Washington. Relations with Russia have settled to predictably adversarial depths. The administration is full of appropriately reassuring words about NATO, and the one-China policy was safely back in place for the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Senior national security appointments have been mostly traditionalist, with radical voices in retreat. In a Washington always impatient for sweeping judgments as a new administration wraps up its first 100 days, it is tempting to conclude that convention is ascendant.

Beneath the surface, however, lurk more troubling trend lines. Through policy incoherence and not-so-benign neglect, the Trump team risks hollowing out the ideas, initiative and institutions on which U.S. leadership and international order rest.

The idea of America has been at the heart of our success in the world for 70 years. For all our imperfections, we have embodied political and economic openness, respect for human dignity and a sense of possibility. The power of our example has mattered more than the power of our preaching, and enlightened self-interest has driven our strategy.

Who wrote this schlock? That would be William J. Burns, who was deputy U.S. secretary of state from 2011 to 2014 under President Barack Obama. First, let’s consider that Trump has only been in office for three months. These things take time. We were exorted to give Mr. Obama time in 2009.

Second, a guy who worked for Obama shouldn’t be yammering about foreign policy failures. Here’s a few, with some additions from myself

  • Lack of solidarity with Israel
  • Disaster with the Arab Spring
  • Crimea
  • Leaving Iraq too soon and letting ISIS take over
  • Handling of Syrian Red Line
  • Calling ISIS “JV”
  • Returning the bust of Churchill to the Brits
  • Signing a Disastrous Nuclear Deal with the Mullahs of Iran
  • Paying ransom to Iranian for hostages- and using foreign currency in unmarked plane
  • Obama trashed America 18 times on Asian Tour
  • Released $221 million to the Palestinian Authority in last few hours
  • Leading from behind
  • The Russian “reset” button
  • The Asian reach-out
  • Blowing off Poland on missile defense
  • Blowing off our traditional relationships in favor of new ones with extremist regimes.

There’s plenty more for that list. It’s the “power of example.” And, that example included spying on our own people, going after journalists, using the IRS to attack citizens and groups, etc. Mr. Burns, and Mrs. Clinton, btw, were part of the Obama administration for a goodly chunk of those failures. And, Mr. Obama ended his presidency with a 56% disapproval rating for his foreign policy. 55% disapprove of his handling on terrorism. 61% disapprove of his handling of ISIS.

A second crucial asset has been American initiative — our willingness and ability to mobilize others to deal with shared problems. From regional challenges to wider global dilemmas such as climate change and trade, U.S. leadership has been critical to the unprecedented peace and prosperity of the post-World War II era. Of course we got a lot of things wrong, sometimes at grievous cost, most painfully in Vietnam and Iraq. And of course we need to make significant adjustments in a world in which the United States is no longer dominant but still preeminent.

Mr. Burns forgot to mention ISIS, Libya, the Arab Spring, the Iranian Green Uprising, and so many others. When you’re leading from behind because Obama just can’t be bothered to chill on the vacations, golf, and fundraisers, well….

Maybe Trump fails. Maybe he doesn’t. Time will tell. But, people who were bigshots during the terrible foreign policy of Obama shouldn’t complain. Especially when so many of the problems were not only left over from Team Obama, but created by Team Obama’s reckless and feckless foreign policy.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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What Say To An Adorable Squirrel Eating Ice Scream?

By William Teach April 19, 2017 – 8:48 pm

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If All You See…

By William Teach April 19, 2017 – 1:00 pm

…is a haze created from carbon pollution, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Other McCain, with a post on Dems spending $8 million to lose.

Read: If All You See… »

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Proposal To Tow Cars With Unlicensed Drivers Deemed Anti-Immigrant Or Something

By William Teach April 19, 2017 – 10:44 am

What seems pretty darned common sense saw Liberals say “hold my beer”

(WRAL) A state House committee this week will debate a proposal to require vehicles driven by unlicensed drivers to be towed away from a traffic stop unless a licensed driver can be quickly found to drive the car away.

House Bill 341, sponsored by Rep.George Cleveland, R-Onslow, is scheduled to be heard in the House Judiciary I Committee on Wednesday.

Under the proposal, any driver found at a traffic stop to be driving on a suspended, revoked or expired license or having no license at all would not be allowed to drive his or her vehicle away after being charged. The driver would have one hour to produce a licensed driver who can legally drive the car away. If that’s not possible, the car would be towed and impounded.

The owner of the vehicle would be able to reclaim it by bringing a valid driver’s license and, if the owner didn’t know the driver was unlicensed, a written acknowledgement to that effect, and would have to pay all towing fees and storage fees of no more than $10 per day. If the vehicle isn’t reclaimed within 90 days, the tow service operator would be free to dispose of it.

Is there any need to discuss how common sense this is? Sure, they could just leave the vehicle there, but, then, that vehicle could be getting in the way of traffic and all sorts of other things. So, what’s the problem?

The proposal has been denounced as “anti-immigrant” by immigrants’ rights activists, who say it’s intended to target undocumented immigrants who are not permitted to get driver’s licenses. However, the likely effect of the bill would reach far beyond the immigrant community. In fiscal year 2015-16, law enforcement agencies around the state reported issuing more than 125,000 citations for driving with a revoked license.

Sigh. Sadly, previous Democrat administrations, along with a General Assembly controlled by Democrats, allowed illegals given executive amnesty by Obama to obtain legal driver’s licenses, though they do say “Legal Presences No Lawful Status”. And, in fairness, Republicans attempted to pass a law providing all illegals with licenses, but, as far as I can determine, it never made it out of committee, much less signed into law.

Regardless, this is typical fear-mongering by Useful Idiots.

My one other complaint here has nothing to do with illegals. It’s that sometimes you forget your wallet/purse/ID carrier. It happens, right? You get to the store and realize you forgot everything, and have to head home. What if you get pulled over on the way and haven’t realized that you do not have it on you? Yes, we’re all supposed to have that DL on us, but, come on, things happen. No one is perfect. You may not be able to rectify this in an hour.  Certainly, law enforcement has you in their database, and can most likely pull up your photo associated with your DL. In NC, most can renew their license on-line without getting a new photo. That’s what I did. So, DMV has that info.

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