Jim Black: Guilty Liar

Well finally Jim Black is gone from the General Assembly. Jim Black was the incredibly corrupt liar from Matthews, NC, who was the leader of the Democrats and Speaker of the House. He officially resigned yesterday and will plead guilty to at least one federal felony today, and perhaps other, related, state charges at a later date.

However, even in his guilt, he's apparently very happy. He said that he is "extremely proud of [his] many accomplishments." He does not say if he is proud of stealing and bilking millions from the taxpayers and using taxpayer funds for personal use; or rewarding traitors with taxpayer cash.

He is ready to "move forward with his life and attend to the health and welfare of my family." I guess that "moving forward" to him means spending time in a federal jail. Apparently that's where his family is, since that's where he appears to be headed and he wants to attend to his family.

Of course, he's only resigning now because he would be convicted anyway -- oh, and because the election is over and he can effectively appoint his successor. No need for elections here, this is North Carolina. The people don't elect their representatives, the representatives tell the people who will represent them. Even in departing, Jim Black ensured that tradition of the Democrats will continue.

Now the crime to which Mr. Black is supposed to plead guilty to today has a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Many people are bemoaning the lack of trust in the political system that Jim Black created. And they say that it is a sad day, but trust needs to be restored. Want to restore trust? Put the 71-year old in jail for all 10 years. No, I'm not holding my breath. My guess is he will get a couple months supervised probation and that will be all. Somehow that will "restore faith" in the system.

And even now, when Jim Black is admitting he is guilty of federal corruption charges and a total breach of the public trust that was given to him, the Democrats STILL don't think he has done anything wrong!

And Jim Black doesn't think he's done anything wrong. He openly says in his resignation letter that he's PROUD. Yes, he's incredibly corrupt and he's openly proud of it!

Democrat Joe Hackney who will replace Jim Black as speaker -- and will have direct access to all the same cash that Black used illegally -- says, "We know Jim Black as a friend and we prefer - most of us - to remember the good things that he did for North Carolina over the years." Nope, he didn't actually do anything wrong. He's a nice guy, just a little misguided. Get ready for more of the exact same from Mr. Hackney, apparently.

The Democrat leader of the Senate, Marc Basnight, says that Jim Black "never used this place for any personal gain." In other words, it's okay that he took millions of dollars and spent them on his personal things. And Mr. Basnight, Democrat leader, says it's perfect okay to break the law when you're "concerned of others and their station in life." Sure, that restores my confidence in the corrupt system, doesn't it you?

Keep in mind that already five people who were close friends of Mr. Black have been found guilty of criminal acts. The NC State Board, strongly controlled by Democrats, finally admitted that Mr. Black clearly and openly broke election laws -- but the Democrat state Attorney General decided not to actually press any charges against Jim Black.

Dr. David Mclennen, a political science professor in Raleigh, thinks that Jim Black is just a nice guy who was tempted, so it's apparently okay: "This is just a system that lends itself to good people doing things that aren't considered to be ethical or legal." It's not that Black did anything WRONG, apparently, it's just that what he did "happened to be" illegal.

Many House members are fretting yesterday as a "sad day." I wonder why. I think most of them think it's a sad day because one of their members got caught -- not because he actually did anything wrong. Remember, those who are feeling sorry for Jim Black -- he was accused of these wrongdoings over 2 YEARS ago. For TWO YEARS he has been lying and claiming that he never did anything illegal or wrong. TWO YEARS of lies have finally come to an end. That's not a sad day, that's a good day. Now if justice is done, and Black is send to prison, it will be an even better day.

One of the few public names that actually gets this is Linda Daves, of the NC Republican Party: "When men or women disregard the rule of law, a day of accounting usually comes. That day seems to have arrived for Jim Black." Again, hopefully there will be some justice done.

Ferrel Guillory, director of the Program on Southern Politics at UNC Chapel Hill, doesn't think this is any big deal. He honestly believes that this doesn't really affect "North Carolina's reputation for good government." Apparently he either doesn't understand representative government, or he thinks that people actually electing representatives is "bad" government.

And the self-appointed King of Mecklenburg County, Parks Helms, when asked about Jim Black's guilty plea, said that he still stands by Jim Black. Even when Jim Black himself is admitting he is guilty of federal crimes, Parks Helms, Democrat, still feels that Jim Black hasn't done anything wrong.

Putting Jim Black in jail is right. Jim Black should be sentenced to the full, maximum 10 years in prison -- it makes no difference that he's 71 years old. Any sentence less than the 10 years will show those entrusted with political power at the state level that corruption and stealing DO pay. Anything short of the full 10 years will show the people that corrupt politicians can work and survive in Raleigh with impunity. If anyone wants to restore any semblance of faith in North Carolina state government, throw this corrupt criminal in prison. Teach him and everyone else that there are consequences to your actions.

It is a good day when a bad person is caught doing something wrong. It is a good day when someone who has been stealing and lying for years finally admits that he's a lying thief. But it will be a better day if justice is served.

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Freedom vs. Socialism

The strong avowed socialists in Chatham County now have more people who want freedom and capitalism lined up against them. Let's hope freedom wins out:

Americans for Prosperity, Chatham Conservative Voice Announce Partnership

New Chatham County Chapter of Americans for Prosperity to Begin Fight for Freedom

(Pittsboro, NC) The North Carolina Chapter of the national free-market grassroots group, Americans For Prosperity (AFP-NC), and the Chatham Conservative Voice (CCV) today announced they are joining forces. The partnership will make Chatham County taxpayers more powerful in the fight for lower taxes and lower levels of government spending and regulation in Pittsboro, Raleigh, and Washington, DC.

The Chatham Conservative Voice has taken the lead in the fight against new taxes and irresponsible spending in Chatham County.

"It has become clear that Chatham County is ground zero for property rights in North Carolina," said AFP-NC State Director Francis De Luca. "There clearly is a need for an enhanced organization fighting for property rights and for individual freedom."

Under the partnership plan, the Voice will operate as an affiliate of Americans for Prosperity. The Voice will continue to be governed and operated by its own set of by-laws and Board of Directors. Its goal continues to be protecting the freedoms of Chatham County citizens.

AFP-NC will provide Chatham taxpayers with intellectual ammunition in the battle for economic freedom. It also will provide, to the Voice, its national best-in-field grassroots training schools, as well as communications, marketing, and public policy support.

Last summer, AFP-NC launched an extensive issue campaign to inform the public about twelve state legislators who broke their pledge to not raise taxes in the state legislature. Concerned taxpayers responded with notable results. Seven of those pledge breakers, one of whom was the assistant majority leader, were defeated.

In less than three years of existence, Americans for Prosperity already has chalked up a number of major victories on the state level, including the defeat of proposed tax hikes in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and California, and the limiting of taxpayer-funded lobbying in Texas. Americans for Prosperity also has become the national grassroots leader in promoting state constitutional tax-and-spending limits from coast to coast.

Americans for Prosperity this year also brought its hugely successful "Ending Earmarks Express" road tour of wasteful pork-barrel projects to thirty-seven states including North Carolina.

AFP's visits to unnecessary pet projects such as a proposed "Railroad to Nowhere" in Mississippi, the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere" in Alaska, and the world's largest teapot museum in North Carolina, helped lead to the removal of some $15 billion in wasteful pork-barrel spending from an emergency spending bill and to the passage of significant earmark reform in Congress.

"The Chatham Conservative voice has done a great job fighting for the taxpayers and land owners of this great county, and we're proud to join them in that fight," said Americans for Prosperity State Director Francis De Luca. "The taxpayers of Chatham County will be a stronger force in the county seat, in the state capital, and in the nation's capital as a result of this partnership."

"This partnership is a win-win for the Conservative Voice and the taxpayers of Chatham County," said Conservative Voice Chairman Mark Cares. "Chatham taxpayers will have a louder voice here at home, and we'll have a louder voice in Raleigh and in Washington."

AFP-NC Grassroots Director Chris Farr and Communications Director Dallas Woodhouse will work closely with grassroots members to develop a strategy to defeat the spend and tax policies of the current Board of Commissioners and advocate for a positive agenda of economic growth for business and jobs. "The Chatham BOC wants to decide what other people can do with their own land. They want to decide what type of private business people can start, and where they can start them," said AFP-NC's Dallas Woodhouse. "This is still the United States of America and citizens still have rights under the U.S. Constitution."

Chatham Conservative Voice Chairman Mark Cares said, "This partnership with AFP gives us the voice we need in Raleigh and beyond to defeat the new tax proposals that our Chatham County Board of Commissioners have asked the state to allow. These proposals will undoubtedly affect everyone in the state if we do not stop the tax increases now."

Candace Steele, a grassroots member of the Voice, said fighting a proposed land transfer tax would be among the first priorities of the new partnership. "It is important we don't tax people out of the hard earned equity in their homes. A land transfer tax will hurt economic growth and personal prosperity in Chatham County."

The Chatham Conservative Voice will provide a truthful and positive voice within our county for conservative principles and liberty as defined by the founding fathers. We will educate, we will be informed, we will be effective and represented in every election. Our mission is to protect our freedoms.
www.chathamconservativevoice.org/

Americans for Prosperity-North Carolina (AFP-NC) is the North Carolina Chapter of the nation's premier grassroots organization committed to advancing every individual's right to economic freedom and opportunity. AFP believes reducing the size and scope of government is the best safeguard to ensuring individual productivity and prosperity for all Americans. AFP educates and engages citizens in support of restraining state and federal government growth, and returning government to its constitutional limits. For more information, visit www.americansforprosperity.org

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50% Advertising Rates!

Here and everywhere else on the ReviewMe Network of advertisements. It's a neat idea because your advertisements actually show up in a blog post instead of in the sidebar or somewhere else that might get ignored. Take a peek at how it works.

To encourage new advertisers they are offering a special coupon code that will give advertisers 50% off any review they purchase this month. For advertisers to use the 50% off coupon they simply have to enter: "trial" (without quotes) into the coupon code at checkout. This special promotion will be good for the rest of the month.

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The Victory Caucus

The Victory Caucus:

At the site, you will find news and information on the war, discussion forums to share your views, and concrete ways to help support our troops and communicate to our leaders that victory is what we demand.

We are pleased to have assembled a serious group of serious thinkers on the war to act as our Board of Governors, including:

Dean Barnett
Austin Bay
Matthew Currier Burden (Blackfive)
Frank Gaffney
Hugh Hewitt
Ed Morrissey
'Publius' and 'Joe Gish', two formidable experts on the war whose current occupations require they remain pseudonymous

The Board is currently kicking off the first of many discussions on our group blog, taking on the most fundamental question of all: how do we define victory?

I hope you will visit the site and join us in sending a message to our leaders, our troops, and the world that America will not flinch from the fight, and that we will not settle for anything less than victory.

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Tax-Free Bank Accounts!

Many people are working on their taxes now. One of the items that increases your taxes is interest income. Each bank sends you a form reporting the amount of interest you earned at that bank, and they send that information along to the IRS so you can pay taxes on that income. If you don't want to pay those taxes, just go bank with Citibank -- they won't report your income to the IRS.

How is that possible? Well, the way your taxes are reported is with your social security number. Citibank now says they will issue bank accounts and even credit cards to people who do not have social security numbers (primarily illegal criminal immigrants). Well, why should they be the only people to benefit from Citibank's niceness? I think I should be able to open an account at Citibank and not provide my social security number. Then they have no way to report my earnings because they don't know who I am.

Is that breaking the law? Well, you'd have to ask Citibank about that. And feel free to ask them, when you're opening the account, how they meet the federal Patriot Act requirements for identifying the account holder. And not just illegal criminal aliens can benefit -- if you're a terrorist and want to earn some free interest on your laundered money, feel free to apply to Citibank because they won't ask you for your taxpayer ID and can't report your earnings.

I wonder if anyone cares. Clearly the federal government doesn't, or Citibank would be stopped from doing this.

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Dirty Johnny Sutton

By Heidi Thiess

We are still closely watching the Border Patrol case, especially after last week's explosive news that the DHS had lied to Congressmen who were looking into the case. Close on the heels of that shocking revelation, we noted that US Attorney Johnny Sutton, the prosecutor in this case, has lied openly and repeatedly about this case to the media. In an effort to counter Sutton's lies, here is one of his favorite public statements about Border Patrol agents Ramos and Compean deconstructed:

"These guys did very serious crimes and once anybody who knows all the facts of this case — the fact that they shot at an unarmed guy 15 times, lied about it, covered it up, destroyed the evidence ... it's hard for me to imagine a prosecutor would look the other way," he said.

1. It has not been proven that the drug smuggler was unarmed. Sutton has been unable to prove it, yet he states it like it's a fact. Furthermore, two of the drug smuggler's own family members have made statements that he has been running drugs since he was 13 or 14 and has never smuggled drugs without being armed.

2. Compean and Ramos DID NOT LIE about shooting the drug smuggler. They didn't know that they had until almost a month later! And it's still not proven that Ramos is the one who shot the drug smuggler.

3. The DID NOT try to "cover it up". They verbally reported to their superiors that they fired their weapons.

4. They DID NOT destroy evidence. Sutton has been harping on this because he claims that the site of the shooting was a "crime scene" and that the BP agents knowingly altered the scene of the crime by picking up their shell casings. That is FALSE. The agents, including the agents that were with them at the time of the shooting, did NOT designate the area a crime scene, since they did NOT know that the drug smuggler had been shot.

5. In fact, far from lying about the incident or "covering it up", Ramos and Compean followed procedures exactly:

U.S. Border Patrol firearms policy specifically states that agents are prohibited from filing a report if a shooting incident takes place and that only an oral report to supervisors is required.

"Ensure that supervisory personnel or INS investigating officers are aware that employees involved in a shooting incident shall not be required or allowed to submit a written statement of the circumstances surrounding the incident," according to the firearms policy. "All written statements regarding the incident shall be prepared by the local INS investigating officers and shall be based upon an interview of the INS employee."

INS refers to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which oversaw the Border Patrol prior to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. The shooting policy has remained unchanged.

Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General documents obtained by the paper show that all nine agents on the scene at the time of the shooting - including two supervisors - knew shots had been fired.

Oscar Garcia, El Paso Border Patrol Union representative with Local 1929 and a firearms instructor, said that the Report of Apprehension or Seizure filed by Compean and Ramos on the day of the incident was accurate. Garcia stated that the agent's omission of the shooting in the drug seizure report followed firearms policy.

"Our own policy prohibits them from filing any report on the shooting incident," Garcia said. "The U.S. Attorney's assertion that they covered up the incident by not filing a report is ridiculous."

6. On Saturday, it was further revealed that two of the Border Patrol agents that had testified on behalf of the prosecution against Ramos and Compean also lied in their testimony during the trial.

Two Border Patrol agents who testified against two co-workers convicted of shooting a drug smuggler will be fired for changing their stories about events surrounding the shooting, according to documents obtained by the Daily Bulletin.

Sources inside the Border Patrol also say Oscar Juarez, a third agent who testified against Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean, resigned from the agency last month shortly before he was to be fired.

All three agents gave sworn testimony against Ramos and Compean for the U.S. Attorney's Office, which successfully prosecuted the shooting case in March. The agents were given immunity in exchange for their testimony despite changing their accounts of the incident several

"When you give deals to witnesses like immunity, the government usually gets the testimony (it wants)," said Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, a former judge and prosecutor. "This case is a perfect example."

What else is Johnny Sutton up to, besides being a bald-faced liar and coercing others to lie? As we've already reported in our previous coverage, he's an over-zealous prosecutor of American law enforcement officers who are doing their best to protect America and themselves from coyotes, drug smugglers, and the other criminals turning our borders into a war zone. Ramos and Compean are not Sutton's only victims:

A Texas deputy sheriff who fired shots at a fleeing vehicle after the driver tried to run him down faces 10 years in prison for injuring one of the passengers, a Mexican national being smuggled illegally into the United States.

The U.S. attorney, who won lengthy prison terms last year for two U.S. Border Patrol agents in the shooting of a drug-smuggling suspect, also prosecuted Edwards County Deputy Sheriff Guillermo F. Hernandez, who is to be sentenced next month.

The deputy's boss, Sheriff Donald G. Letsinger, said his officer -- who had been on the job for a year -- "followed the letter of the law" in defending himself in the April 2005 incident and questioned why the government brought charges.

"This is a fine young man, and I just don't believe he committed the wrong of which he was accused," Sheriff Letsinger said. "I have never had anything hurt me so badly as this prosecution. We've got to make this right."

Rep. Ted Poe, Texas Republican, called the prosecution and conviction of Hernandez, known to his friends as "Gilmer," "another example of how the federal government is more concerned about people [who are] illegally invading America than it is about the men who protect America."

"Once again, our government is on the wrong side of the border war," Mr. Poe said.

The deputy's Dec. 1 conviction has enraged his hometown of Rocksprings, Texas, population 1,250, where "Free Gilmer" signs have been posted. The Baptist church is paying the deputy's mortgage and others have come up with costs for the family's truck, propane and water bills. Hernandez, 25, and his wife, Ashley, have a 4-month-old daughter.

"The town is outraged that this has happened to our deputy," said the Rev. Albert Green, pastor at the First Baptist Church. "Those people were in this country illegally, and they tried to run him down. They were the criminals, but the prosecutors made our deputy out to be the criminal."

"I do not know a single person who doesn't feel Gilmer was prosecuted for doing his job," said Mr. Green, who is the deputy's pastor. "I do not know a finer, more well-behaved gentleman. He would not purposely or willfully hurt anyone."

U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, appointed in October 2001 by President Bush, said Hernandez fired shots at the vehicle as it sped away "knowing it was occupied with the nine individuals," at least seven of whom were illegal aliens -- some of whom later were called to testify for the government.

Hernandez was convicted after a jury trial in U.S. District Court in Del Rio, Texas, 75 miles southwest of Rocksprings -- found guilty of violating "under the color of law" the civil rights of Maricela Rodriguez-Garcia, a Mexican national.

Furthermore, those same illegals LIED about Hernandez shooting at them after they crashed their vehicle and fled on foot:

Sheriff Letsinger also said the Rangers and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents, using dogs and metal detectors, found four shell casings at the traffic stop site but none at the crash site -- discounting claims by two of the vehicle's occupants that Hernandez fired shots at them as they fled the vehicle.

Nevertheless, Sutton treated the testimony of illegals already proven to be liars as inviolable, while painting Hernandez as a "rogue cop" (sound familiar?) and has imprisoned Hernandez for doing his job. But it doesn't stop there. Sutton has a very dirty track record. In 2004, in an effort to protect one of his star witnesses - a Mexican informant - he covered up the informant's participation in 15 tortures and murders at the "House of Death" in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.

Apparently, no crime is too vile for Sutton when it comes to protecting his informants. Just as he protected the notorious drug smuggler Aldrete-Davila and provided whim with taxpayer funded benefits such as a vehicle and a green card, so he has previously protected and paid off an informant that he KNOWS is a mass murderer. In fact, Sutton's office has gone to great lengths to conceal the heinous crimes of their informant and have moved him frequently to keep him away from other American law enforcement agencies, such as the DEA. Furthermore, Sutton has been involved in making huge payments in "hush money" to this informant - over $50,000 - which was disguised as a payment to a different informant who was already dead. Now Sutton has gone to his high-level contacts inside the Department of Justice (I've previously revealed his insider connections with Alberto Gonzales and George Bush) in order to shut down a DEA officer who is brought serious charges against Sutton for his complicity in covering up torture and murder.

Several sources within the Department of Homeland Security, the parent agency of ICE, confirmed that the informant Lalo was moved around frequently after DEA was forced to evacuate its agents from Juarez and the full extent of his – and the ICE agents’ and U.S. prosecutor’s – complicity in the murders became known to DEA.

“They (the ICE agents and U.S. prosecutor Juanita Fielden) couldn’t get rid of him (Lalo), so they tried to control him, and they moved him from place to place, to Albuquerque (N.M.) then to San Antonio (Texas), so no one could talk to him,” one source says.

Then, the first hints of the informant’s role in the murders in Juárez hit the media in the spring of 2004, and the cover-up went into full swing, according to sources. The problem is that the informant Lalo had leverage because of what he knew. He was demanding more money, sources indicate.

That’s what allegedly led one of Lalo’s ICE handlers, a high-level supervisor in El Paso, sometime between March and June of 2004, to put a payment through to him using a dead informant’s “source number,” which is a number assigned to all confidential sources in order to keep their identity concealed.

Although it is not clear how much money was given to Lalo through this means, sources indicate that it was discovered by someone at ICE headquarters in Washington, D.C. The sources add that because the payment required headquartersÂ’ approval, the amount likely exceeded $50,000.

“The confidential informant (Lalo) said the government owed him money,” one source says. “They decided they better pay him or he would start talking.”

According to law enforcement sources, a high-level ICE supervisor in El Paso allegedly sent out the word to members of his staff that no one was to cooperate with any investigation into the informantÂ’s role in the murders, or they would face discipline. Ironically, that supervisor has since been promoted, sources indicate.

To date, no one directly involved in overseeing the informant has been brought up on criminal charges, at least no such charges have been publicly announced. One field agent has been put on administrative leave, however. Law enforcers familiar with the case believe that Hispanic agent, unless he has documentation to prove otherwise, will likely be the only person set up to take the fall.

Any investigation into U.S. prosecutors in this matter, of course, would have to go through Sutton’s office – absent the appointment of a special prosecutor – or through the Department of Justice’s Office of Professional Responsibility, which is under the charge of San Antonio native Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Given those realities, most law enforcers who spoke with Narco News believe that, absent intervention by Congress, nearly everyone involved will get a pass on the House of Death murders.

“If Sandy Gonzalez or I had done something like this, we’d be in prison,” says a former high-ranking DEA official who asked to remain anonymous. “When a U.S. attorney is incompetent, there are no sanctions. You have the Department of Justice that is supposed to control these U.S. Attorneys, but they don’t when it comes down to nut-cutting.”

As for Sandalio Gonzalez, he canÂ’t believe justice is being sacrificed in this case, that some 15 murdered people are deemed expendable for the sake of salvaging careers and promoting political ambitions.

“If someone in Congress is not willing to take a stand on this, the nation as a whole loses some integrity in the process,” he stresses. “This isn’t about national security, spies or intelligence work, this is police work, right here. There are bodies out there.”

All the details of the above case are presented here. There is no crime to vile - not drug smuggling, not torture, and not mass murder - for U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton to overlook in order to further his career. How many lives does he get to destroy with impunity before he's held accountable? U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton is a despicable and incredibly corrupt individual. And because of his long-held and close ties with President George W. Bush, and U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and other high-ranking Texas politicians in D.C., Johnny Sutton gets a free pass for crimes that would put any other American into prison for the rest of their lives! Who is paying Johnny Sutton for his crimes?

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This has been a production of the Guard the Borders syndicate. It was started by Euphoric Reality to educate the public about the vulnerabilities of our open borders during an age of global terrorism and the resultant threat to our national security and sovereignty. If you are concerned about the lapses in our national security and the socio-economic burden of unchecked illegal immigration, join our blog syndicate. Send an email with your blog name and url to admin at guardtheborders dot com.

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NC Socialists Demand Socialism

This past Saturday, socialists gathered under one banner at the capital to demand the socialist democrats who run the state increase socialism even more in North Carolina. It is highly likely the Democrats will comply.

They're even more bold than they've been in recent years. They're now calling it "The People's Agenda," just like Marx, Castro, and Chavez. They have diverse demands of the North Carolina General Assembly: including surrendering the war in Iraq. No, I'm not sure how the North Carolina government can do that, but they're sure to try.

They also want completely socialist medical care: so that those who work and take care of their health are required by the force of government to pay for the medical care of those who do not work and who take risky chances with their health. I'm not quite sure why these people don't move to Canada for their own personal health care needs.

They also brought racists along with them who whined and complained, while looking at people only by skin color, that everyone ELSE was racist but they.

They asked for tens of billions of new money to be taken from those who work and given to bureaucrats. They asked for businesses to be punished and crushed by asking for a "minimum wage" of over $10 an hour, no matter the economic consequences and massive unemployment that would cause.

Senator Larry Shaw (D) agreed with the group and promised to try and get their concerns passed, despite the fact that North Carolina once had a Republican form of government.

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SHEIKH GILANI Road?

To all who are on the East Coast of the USA – please go to this event in Virginia on Feburary 20th. The demonstration will begin at 6:00 pm, one hour before the scheduled meeting, County Administration Building, 250 LeGrande Avenue, Suite A, (PO Box 60 Charlotte Court House, Virginia, 23923.

Background:

On February 6, 2007, the Charlotte County, Virginia Board of Supervisors voted to name a local road to honor Sheikh Gilani. The road is an access road to the Red House, Virginia compound of Jamaat ul Fuqra, aka The Muslims of America. This group has been listed as a terrorist group – until removed from the list by the Clinton administration in 2000. Join the Christian Action Network’s public demonstration at the February 20, 2007 Charlotte County Board of Supervisors Meeting to demand removal of the Sheikh Gilani road sign.

The road sign, “Sheikh Gilani Ln” is in front of the “Muslims of America” compound in Red House, Virginia. This terrorist-recognizing road name also appears on the public maps of Charlotte County. “This road sign is named after Sheikh Mubarak Gilani, a known international terrorist. It must come down,” said Martin Mawyer, president of the Christian Action Network. “Sheikh Gilani is the head of a Pakistani terrorist organization called ‘Jamaat al-Fuqra’, which has been responsible for numerous fire bombings and murders inside the United States.”

During the 1980s, Sheikh Gilani entered the United States and began forming guerilla training camps that go by the name of “Muslims of America” and “International Open Quranic University.” Sheikh Gilani has established at least two-dozen guerilla compounds inside America and claims to have between 10,000 and 15,000 followers in 22 states.

For more information on the Red House, Virginia, Jamaat ul Fuqra compound and others throughout the USA: Christian Action Network. More at Gates of Vienna, and The politics of CP.

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Gathering of Eagles

Col Riley (USA-Retired) and Larry Baily (Vets For the Truth and BootMurtha.com) are organizing the veterans' response to Jane Fonda, Cindy Sheehag, ANSWER, and Code Pinko, et al on March 17th. The veterans have declared they will not allow the anti-Americans anywhere near our nation's sacred memorials. They plan to encircle the memorials on the Mall and stand with their backs to the protesters, thus showing quiet contempt for their actions. They will be wearing their military shirts and hats and special armbands to boldly declare their pride in their service to our nation.

An official website is now up to consolidate and organize the flood of information about this event: www.gatheringofeagles.org. Veterans from all over the States (even Hawai'i!) are flocking to D.C. for this chance to stand between between our nation's memorials and those who would defile them.

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New Advertiser

This week we have a repeat advertiser in NY Nitty Gritty. This is an absolutely GREAT photoblog. If you like pictures at all, you absolutely must head on over and check this blog out. This is what I'd have if I had a photoblog. And if I were a better photographer. And if I had more time. And if, well, you get the idea. And he's rented here before, so we must have done good last time! Really, head over and take a peek, I promise it will be worth your while.

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Duncan Hunter 08

So, have you heard of Duncan Hunter? Well, he's running for president. I'm not sure how many that makes on the Republican side vying for the nomination. This fellow is taking quite a different approach from any of the others I've seen and read about so far.

Mr. Hunter is running on a conservative ticket.

Now that's new, isn't it? Of course, I suppose it depends on what you think of when you think "conservative." I'll give you a hint -- President Bush is NOT a conservative.

Mr. Hunter is running on three big platforms that could be big winners:

1. He wants to secure our borders. Wow. That makes three Republicans that I know of that are not anti-borders. Tom Tancredo is the other big name Republican, and he's already exploring a presidential run. I seriously think this one issue could get someone elected -- if the word gets out. You see, practically everyone in Washington now and the media all want open borders, despite what the vast, vast majority of Americans want. So if this message gets out there, one of these guys could win a landslide!

2. Fair trade. His website doesn't go into detail on this one too much. He says that it's not fair that American companies have to compete with foreign companies that have less regulations and requirements. He doesn't say, exactly, how he'll fix that.

3. The War on Terror. He wants to provide our intelligence agencies with the ability to fight this war. Okay. At least he doesn't want to surrender like the Democrats.

He also mentions a big one for me:

The U.S. tax code is unnecessarily confusing and complicated, full of antiquated policies that place a significant burden on the ability of small businesses and American families to plan, prepare and invest in their future. Unlike the current tax code, my plan is not difficult to understand; reform our tax laws with the goal of making them simpler, fair and more growth oriented.

Well, it's not the Fair Tax, but that's a good start.

So what do you think about Duncan Hunter? If you have questions for him, let me know -- I've got a contact that will get answers for you, the good reader!

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Socialist Chatham Coalition

This group of people really, really dislikes freedom in all forms. Don't believe me? Read about what they want to do to you:

Vision:

Our schools will be a dynamic and thriving environment, helping each child to succeed to the highest level possible.

In other words, we don't care if your child is capable of learning. We don't care if anyone is different than anyone else. Every single child that we can get our hands on will be treated exactly the same. If that means that the best we can do is bring down the good students to the level of the worst, then we shall do it. ALL are exactly the same and none shall be permitted to be better than anyone else.

Our school system will create a professional growth environment for the purpose of recruiting and maintaining excellent teachers and leaders.

And our school will not be concerned with educating students, the public, or anyone else. Instead, our schools will have as their primary focus: teachers.

Strive for quality and diverse educators – We must recruit and retain able and diverse faculty and administrators.

In other words, we hate white people. We will judge all applicants to all positions in our teacher-centered government institution on their skin color, race, and religious beliefs, rather than their actual abilities to do things.

Help all children achieve – We must ensure that our young people can reach their potential in scholarship, citizenship, public service, personal health, and non-violent conflict resolution.

We will, instead of focusing on education and learning, force students into public service and call it volunteering. We will teach them our own personal values about health, even when it opposes their family's religious morals. And we will teach them that guns are bad in all cases and surrendering is much more preferable to victory.

Show leadership in our building designs and location – When new schools are built and when old ones are renovated, we must incorporate the highest standards for energy efficiency and sustainability. We should also consider transportation distance and costs and the impact of unplanned growth in making school location decisions.

We will work hard to ensure soviet-style central planning, no matter what people want. We do not care where people want to live, we will tell them where and how to live, and we will build schools accordingly. If the people do not like the schools where they are, we will do everything in our power to force those people to move out of their subdivisions and into our soviet-style planned housing.

Find ways to fund our schools adequately – Develop education funding strategies including implementing a land transfer tax, exploring grant opportunities, holding referenda for educational bonds and looking at ways for new residential development to pay for its impact on the school budget.

We will continue to always demand MORE when it comes to funding. There will never, ever, be enough money, even if the tax rate were raised to 95% (which we fully support). Therefore, we will use and engage in any trick or deceptive practice to obtain funding from any and all sources, bar none. And we will use the monopolistic force of government to obtain that funding, even when obtained under false pretenses.

Included in that effort will be a strong support for massive, massive new taxes that will accomplish two goals at one time. Adding this new transfer tax will obtain huge piles of money for the educrat-centered bureaucracy AND it will punish those who attempt to move from one school area to another, ensuring that fewer people will have the freedom to flee and move away from our oppressive system.

The socialist bastards who support this new tax claim it is more "fair" -- because it punishes more people, apparently. These taxes are hugely punitive and only punish people for trying to move. They reduce freedom and mobility -- which is what socialists strongly desire. Freedom and mobility are two of the biggest enemies of socialists. And this tax will punish you even when you LOSE money! For example, if you buy a house for $100,000 and then, 5 years later, when you owe $95,000 still and you try and sell it for $105,000, you cannot sell it. The real estate agent will get $6,300, closing costs (and the government taxes already) will get about $2,100. That would leave you with a whopping $1,600 to use for your next down payment, but this new tax would take $3,150 (and more in later years) of your $1,600. Go ahead, just TRY and move in these socialist areas.

What do I want of these scum in the Chathan Coalition? Honesty. Just admit that you people are avowed socialists and that you hate freedom. Then we can have an honest conversation about how you're working hard to crush freedom in North Carolina.

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Friday Feast

Once again it's time for the Friday Feast. Here's how it works:

Each Friday when you visit this meme, you will find 5 enticing courses for your mind to gobble up:

Appetizer
- a quick, tasty morsel to get you started

Soup
- smooth and warm to soothe your mind

Salad
- a nutritious blend of "veggies"

Main Course
- a hearty portion that is sure to satisfy

Dessert
- light concoction for your sweet tooth

And now for this week's fare:

Appetizer - Have you been sick yet this winter? If so, what did you come down with?

Oh, nice timing. How's sinusitis, bronchitis, and pneumonia? All at the same time. RIGHT NOW. Oh yeah, I'm miserable.

Soup - What colors dominate your closet?

Is dirt a color?

Salad - How would you describe your personal "comfort zone"?

Right now? Not being in pain from sinusitis, bronchitis, and pneumonia.

Main Course - On which reality show would you really like to be a contestant?

Ogre is King of the World.

Dessert - Which holiday would you consider to be your favorite?

Easter. I like fried rabbit.

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NC Gets $3.7 Million Windfall

The State of North Carolina just got $3.7 million for free. Sure, it was taken from someone else because the state doesn't actually earn ANYTHING, but still, it was completely unexpected and unknown. With the state complaining continuously about not having enough money, this should certainly help, shouldn't it?

Well no, they already spent it. And they will continue on their mission to raise taxes and pass bonds this year so they can spend even MORE money. $3.7 million gone in a fraction of a second.

Oh sure, they'll claim they "had" to give $2 million to the schools -- but then when you ask them about the $2 million that the general fund WAS going to give to schools, but is not going to any more, they won't say a word. That's $3.7 million that just got dropped into the general fund that Democrats will spend on their own perks or will drop into their personal checking accounts.

At no point was it ever considered that since the state got $3.7 million extra that they would give back the money to the people who worked and earned it. That concept simply does not exist for Democrats in Raleigh. They honestly believe that everything in the entire state is theirs and they're being generous by letting you keep what they let you keep of what you earn.

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Bible Distribution Illegal

Gideons handing out Bibles on public sidewalk arrested after school officials complain
by loboinok of Stop the ACLU

Two men who are members of Gideons International, the Christian organization that is famous for, among other ministries, placing Bibles in motels and giving them to children, have been arrested after trying to hand out Bibles on a public sidewalk in Florida, according to a law firm.

Officials with the Alliance Defense Fund have confirmed they will be representing Anthony Mirto and Ernest Simpson, who were arrested, booked into jail and charged with trespassing.

Jeremy Tedesco, one of the ADF's lawyers on the case, confirmed to WND that the organization's clients were on a public sidewalk when they were handing out Bibles and school officials summoned police.

Yes, it reads public sidewalk and yes, it reads school officials. I hope you'll also notice that it doesn't say anything about sex offenders, child molesters or military funerals.

"The First Amendment protects the right to engage in religious speech on a public sidewalk," ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman said. "Members of the Gideons have been highly respected for decades as peaceful providers of free Bibles to those who want them."

The arrest happened Jan. 19, when Mirto and Simpson were on the sidewalk outside of Key Largo School in Key Largo, Fla., and were distributing copies of the Bible to those interested.

"Neither man entered school grounds," the law firm said. "After the school's principal called police, a Monroe County sheriff's officer asked the men to leave immediately or face trespassing charges. As the men prepared to leave, the officer decided to arrest both individuals."

A hearing is scheduled March 5 in Monroe County Court in the cases, and ADF attorneys are preparing motions to dismiss the charges.

"Officials cannot use fear of arrest as a means of bullying law-abiding Christians into silence," Cortman said. "These men broke no laws when they decided to communicate their message on a public sidewalk."

Tedesco noted that sometimes school officials have a misconception about whether they can control activities on school grounds and adjacent public sidewalks. But the First Amendment does provide a protection for speech on those parcels of ground that are public, he said.

Lets seeÂ… public schools, public grounds, public sidewalks, public officials and public law enforcement.

"There's no reason why they should be put in jail," he said.

The ADF is a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the truth, through strategy, training, funding and litigation.

The Gideons, a group founded in the late 1800s, has as its "sole purpose" the goal "to win men, women, boys and girls to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ through association for service, personal testimony, and distributing the Bible in the human traffic lanes and streams of everyday life."

Members of the Gideons, who pay their own expenses so 100 percent of the donations to the group go toward Bible purchases and distributions, have placed the Bible in 181 nations in 82 different languages over the years.

The organization focuses on hotels and motels, hospitals and nursing homes, schools, colleges and universities, the military and law enforcement and prisons and jails.

"The demand for Scriptures in these areas far exceeds our supplies that we are able to purchase through our donations. Much more could be done – if funds were available. However, we are placing and distributing more than 1 million copies of the Word of God, at no cost, every seven days in these areas" the group said.

The organization only gives away the Bibles with the Gideon logo on the covers, but plain Bibles are available for consumers to purchase at its distribution center at P.O. Box 140800, Nashville, Tenn., 37214-0800. Information about the products is available on the group's website.

The Gideons serve as an extended missionary arm of the Christian church and are the oldest Christian business and professional men's association in the United States.

Great! Get those laws keeping sex offenders away from our school kids and daycares overturned. Get those laws that permit our loved ones to grieve and honor our dead in peace, overturned.

But get them Christians, handing out Bibles, in jail. Got to protect the kids andÂ…

Did they legalize drugs in Florida or are they putting something in the water? The Dixie County Ten Commandments issue, immigration raids in Miami, and now this.

This was a production of Stop The ACLU Blogburst. If you would like to join us, please email Jay at Jay@stoptheaclu.com or Gribbit at GribbitR@gmail.com. You will be added to our mailing list and blogroll. Over 200 blogs already on-board.

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NC Legislator Problem

There's a newly elected state legislator that says that housing costs are too high in Raleigh. While most representatives and senators rent or buy housing in Raleigh where they stay during the week (supposedly returning home to their districts on the weekends), this Charles Thomas says that it's too expensive.

Can you guess his solution to the problem?

A. Raise legislator pay to ensure he can afford the housing.
B. Create and build a new apartment building for housing of legislators.
C. Suggest rent-control on apartments near the capital buildings for legislators.
D. Find a cheaper way to live within his means.

Oh, want a hint? Mr. Thomas is a Republican.

Guess that made it easy, didn't it? If Mr. Thomas were a Democrat, any or all of options A-C would be considered "essential." But he's a Republican, so he only considered option D -- he's parked an RV near the capital and will stay in it while the house is in session. No, don't expect the Democrats to do the same with the state budget -- they're still considering how much more debt they can afford to put on the taxpayers.

Mr. Thomas also says the compensation of legislators doesn't justify the expense of renting or buying a house in Raleigh. This shows that Mr. Thomas is not only new, but in the minority. He hasn't discovered yet that top legislators in the House and Senate get upwards of $300,000 in direct compensation from lobbyists and tens of thousands more in personal checking account compensation direct from the taxpayer.

Join the Democrats -- it pays better, even if the money is ill-gotten.

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Liberty or Death

No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope that it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen, if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve.

This is no time for ceremony. The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty towards the majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.

Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren, till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation?

For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth -- to know the worst and to provide for it. I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years, to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House?

Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with these warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation -- the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motives for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies?

No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us; they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer on the subject? Nothing.

We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves longer.

Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament.

Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne. In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope.

If we wish to be free -- if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending -- if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us!

They tell us, sir, that we are weak -- unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance, by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?

Sir, we are not weak, if we make a proper use of the means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us.

The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable -- and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come!

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, "Peace! Peace!" -- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!

Patrick Henry - March 23, 1775

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NC: How much can you spend?

With Democrats in Raleigh gerrymandering themselves to a larger majority this year, they are now competing to see who can spend more. Instead of trying to be responsible, one of the spending Democrats, the State Treasurer, has told them they can spend $3.8 BILLION more than the state actually takes in -- and that would be okay. That's the treasurer.

Folks, this is how Democrats view government. They literally want to spend the absolute maximum they can spend, common sense be damned:

We always have more needs than we have revenue

But that doesn't stop them! Despite actually admitting that they want to spend more than they bring in, they honestly don't care because they'll just borrow the money. These are the same Democrats who have DOUBLED the state debt in the past 5 years.

Apparently Democrats think like the poor and uneducated -- they actually believe if they borrow money that there's no such thing as INTEREST PAYMENTS on that money. Or if they do know about it, they simply DO NOT CARE.

Legislators have become increasingly reliant on borrowing, in part because the state's rapid population growth has put pressure on infrastructure and other capital needs. It's difficult to pay for these needs up front, so legislators issue bonds that the state can pay back over a long period of time - effectively spreading out the cost.

Liar, liar, pants on fire!

It's not population growth that's driving spending on museums and oyster hatcheries, it's out of control, utterly irresponsible Democrat politicians AND NOTHING ELSE. They claim they want to pay back those expenses over time -- that's another lie -- if that were true, they'd try to spend LESS in every following year instead of trying to find yet another source of cash for them.

Reports are that the legislature might put a $2 billion school bond on the ballot this year. Why? Because people are suckers and will STILL vote "for the children." The fact that this $2 billion will simply offset general funds used for personal checkbooks of leaders and perhaps Jim Black's personal legal defense fund will never make it into the promotional materials -- the same ones that convinced the people that the lottery would Save Our Schools for all time.

They might put a $1 billion transportation bond on the ballot. Why? Because the roads stink in North Carolina due to decades of horrible, horrible management and outright theft of money already raised for roads, but taken and spent on personal pet projects of Democrats.

Look, any bond issue on the ballot this year serves ONE purpose and one purpose alone: to line the pockets of the scum that claim the title legislator in Raleigh. There literally is no more to it than that, no matter how you might hear these bonds hyped. Democrats have run the state into the ground and they can't find any more money to make up for their screw-ups and theft over the years, so they want the voter to approve loans to fix their problems.

Anyone who votes for and approves any bond is a fool.

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NC Spends Millions to Cause Cancer

Perhaps you need to work a little harder this year. Since the government of North Carolina has absolutely no limit on the amount of money they can spend (they can always just raise taxes a little more), they are now considering spending around $40 million to give poor kids cancer. No, really. Of course, they're not selling it that way, but if you're looking for someone to tell the truth, stay far, far away from the Democrats in Raleigh.

Oh, and they don't want to directly spend taxpayer money. No, the latest way the slimeball Democrats in Raleigh want to spend money is to force insurance companies to charge working people more to pay for their own projects. See, that way they can claim they didn't raise taxes and you will blame the "evil" insurance companies for doing what the Democrats require them to do.

This is just another step in the socialization of medicine in America. No, you absolutely cannot have the "right" to health care. It's quite impossible. For those who don't understand the concept (or refuse to use words with their actual meanings) -- if you have a right to something, NO ONE else needs to provide you anything.

For example, I have a right to freedom of speech. That requires absolutely nothing from anyone else. The same with every other actual RIGHT. However, if anyone who wants health care gets whatever health care they want, SOMEONE has to PAY for that health care. And if no one is willing to provide it, then the state will employ slaves to provide it.

That's completely wrong, and in total opposition to freedom. Then again, Democrats and Raleigh don't have ANYTHING to do with freedom, do they?

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Texas Border Patrol Politics

Download the original attachment

DIRTY TEXAS POLITICS: PART TWO

UPDATES TO THE BORDER PATROL CASE

By Heidi at Euphoric Reality

All audio files pertaining to this Border Patrol update are archived at Euphoric Reality. They are interviews with Congressman Ted Poe and investigative journalist Dr. Jerome Corsi as conducted by Houston & Dallas radio talk show hosts Edd Hendee and Pat Gray for KSEV and KVEC radio.

Quite a lot has been developing over the past two weeks, since GTB published a list of highly suspicious inconsistencies in the prosecution's case against Border Patrol agents Compean and Ramos. Namely, the prosecution's case is unraveling. And none too soon, since both agents have been incarcerated in federal prisons since the first week of January, one in Ohio and the other in Mississippi, far from loved ones.

Before we get into the details of new evidence recently come to light, I need to submit a correction to my previous coverage, and an update.

CORRECTION: First, I cited the irregularity of the court being unable to finish the transcripts for the case in the six months since the trial. (Usually, transcripts are completed within a matter of days.) In fact, it has not been six months since the trial, but six months since the sentencing. It has actually been 11 months since the trial was completed in March of 2006. During that time frame, the court's reason for the unfinished court transcripts has been that "the court transcriptionist has been sick." I submit to you that after 11 months of "illness" - so ill as to make moving one's fingers feebly across a keyboard impossible - someone needs to get that poor transcriptionist a doctor!

UPDATE: I had previously reported that Congressman Michael McCaul, Chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Investigations, had failed to subpoena documents concerning the case, and refused to hold a hearing to review the case, which was within his purview. I noted that Michael McCaul is a former employee of U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton. Since then, McCaul has made public statements in Houston, TX, that under the auspices of his position as Chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Investigations he repeatedly (four times) requested to review the documents concerning the case, and for months, he was stonewalled. He said he trusted his fellow Republicans, including the DHS-IG Richard Skinner and the DHS chief Michael Chertoff when they gave him every assurance that he would be provided with the trial documentation. He admits he made a mistake to trust them, when he sent letters instead of issuing a subpoena.

Unfortunately, now that McCaul is no longer chairman of that committee it is too late. After the Democrats took control in January, he’s been told by Richard Skinner, the Inspector General: “You’re not the chairman anymore. You’re in the minority. You’ll have to get the information through an FOIA request.”

---

Meanwhile, the feds have continued to stonewall a group of concerned U.S. Congressmen who have repeatedly requested the documentation surrounding the case. Below is audio of Congressman Ted Poe, citing the delay tactics and the unprecedented behavior of US Attorney Johnny Sutton. As well, Poe has already submitted an emergency FOIA request.

Poe expressed concern that he is not sure the jury in the Ramos and Compean case got all the information the government had concerning the relevant facts of the case.

"When the government does backroom deals with criminals, like this habitual drug offender from Mexico, the public, and especially the defendants, have an absolute right to know what the deal was and how it came about," he said. "Maybe the jury heard it, and maybe the jury didn't hear it, but we will find out."

Many of the factual aspects of the case are now being disputed by investigators, including the ballistics investigation into the weapons fired and the round subsequently extracted from the left buttocks and right groin of the drug smuggler by a U.S. Army doctor.

"For all we know," Poe commented, "the drug smuggler seemed to be pointing back at the Border Patrol agents with what could have been something in his hand based on the ballistics reports I am seeing. U.S. Attorney (Johnny) Sutton says the guy was shot in the buttocks. Well, now we find out that that isn't exactly accurate. The guy was shot from 'cheek-to-cheek,' or maybe from the side of his left buttocks to his right groin. There's a big difference in those two statements. You don't have to be a ballistics expert to understand that the body was turned if the bullet went from one cheek to the other cheek, or from the left cheek to the right groin."

Poe repeated that his office was determined to get to the bottom of these investigative questions. "In the big scheme of things, let's assume that the Border Patrol agents violated policy. Assume they didn't file a report even though the law says that they were only required to file an oral report to the supervisor," he asked. "There was no requirement in this instance that they file a written report. Okay, let's discipline the Border Patrol agents, you bet. Let's give them three-day's suspension like the rules call for."

Poe questioned the judgment of U.S. Attorney Sutton, asking "why does the federal government here have a choice to prosecute a guy bringing in a million dollars worth of drugs or prosecute Border Patrol agents who were doing their job, yet the government chose to prosecute the Border Patrol? "Why is the federal government spending so many federal taxpayer resources prosecuting federal Border Patrol agents trying to stop drug smugglers, especially when it means making deals with drug offenders?" he continued. "That's the bigger question in my mind."

Poe agreed the prosecution would put a chilling effect on other Border Patrol agents.

"That's a war zone on the Texas-Mexico border," he said. "It's an undeclared war that's taking place. You have aggressive Border Patrol agents like Ramos and Compean, who are protecting the country, and yet they are vilified and prosecuted by our own government. The next time you have a similar situation with a different Border Patrol agent, the Border Patrol agent will hesitate before they put their life or their career in danger."

Poe called the Ramos and Compean case "the best news drug dealers have ever heard."

Additionally, it is noted that White House press secretary Tony Snow has repeatedly dismissed questions surrounding the Border Patrol case and has said several times that if one were to "read the transcripts", one would see that the agents were properly charged and convicted. According to Tony Snow (read The White House), the Border Patrol agents were "the bad guys". However, since then, it has become obvious that Tony Snow has himself not read the court transcripts for one very simple reason - they do not exist! Tony Snow was bluffing!

Furthermore, Tony Snow and Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) have both said that the "legal system has worked" in this case, as will the appellate process. That's all well and good, except that the process is broken! Did you know that the defense attorneys cannot file an appeal until they have all the facts of the case in hand? That includes the non-existent court transcripts. The Border Patrol agents, currently incarcerated, are being denied their right to an appeal, because the Western Texas court refuses to complete the court transcripts!

Below I list seven major inconsistencies (in addition to the ones already documented in our previous coverage) in the tainted case U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton crafted against the Border Patrol agents. Dr. Jerome Corsi, the author of Unfit For Command, has done some deep investigative work on this case and has presented his factual findings in a series of articles published by World Net Daily. I understand that some readers typically dismiss WND coverage as being "too conservative", but I challenge anyone to read the findings and try to find holes in Corsi's investigation. I haven't found any yet.

Audio of a local radio interview with Dr. Jerome Corsi is included in an .mp3 file below.

1. Johnny Sutton has claimed over and over, both in public statements and in his infamous fact sheet, that the drug smuggler was unarmed. Sutton has failed to prove that, yet continues to assert it as a fact of the case. It is NOT! Nor is it reasonable to believe a life-long criminal over two law enforcement officers, especially when the criminal is contradicted by statements from his own family, and by the known behavior of smugglers in the area. It is not reasonable.

2. Sutton has claimed that the drug smuggler, Aldrete-Davila, could not be tied to the van full of $1 million worth of dope. He also has said that the BP agents were unable to identify him.

Sutton told WND "there was no way we could prosecute" Aldrete-Davila.

"Ramos and Compean could not identify him," he said. "We found no fingerprints on the van, and he managed to escape, even though he had been shot in the behind by the agents."

Nevertheless, Sutton's office was able to track down Aldrete-Davila in Mexico and convince him to return to the U.S. to testify against Ramos and Compean. The bullet was removed from the smuggler's buttocks by a military physician in the U.S. so it could be introduced as evidence in the agents' trial.

How then, was Sutton able to later locate Aldrete-Davila in Mexico to offer him an immunity deal? If the drug smuggler could not be tied to the crime of smuggling drugs, how then could he be tied to the shooting incident with the BP agents?

3. Sutton claimed in court that BP agent Ramos was guilty of shooting Aldrete-Davila in the buttock. However, the ballistics analysis has been flagged as inconclusive, and contrary to Sutton's statements does not prove that the bullet came from Ramos' weapon.

WND: So, Compean shot 14 times and missed everybody, but Ramos shot one time and hit the drug dealer in the buttocks?

Sutton: That's correct.

WND: Is Ramos that much better a shot than Compean?

Sutton: Ramos is a marksman.

The results of the ballistics tests were reported in a letter written by Joseph J. J. Correa, a Criminalist IV with the Texas DPS El Paso Laboratory, March 18, 2005, and addressed to Brian D. Carter of DHS in El Paso.

The letter states Correa examined one fired copper-jacketed bullet presented to him by Carter on March 17, 2005. The letter identifies the victim shot by the bullet as "Osvaldo Aldrete."

In the letter, Correa notes that he was asked to determine the manufacture of the firearm that fired the submitted bullet.

Correa could not positively identify Ramos's weapon as the one that fired the submitted bullet. His report concludes:

The copper-jacketed bullet was fired from a barrel having six lands and grooves inclined to the right. The manufacturer of the firearm that fired the copper-jacketed bullet is unknown, but could include commonly encountered models of .40 S&W caliber FN/Browning, Beretta, Heckler & Koch, and Ruger pistols.

Despite the impossibility of identifying the weapon the bullet was fired from - it could've been any number of pistols from FOUR major arms manufacturers - DHS agent Christopher Sanchez lied under oath in an affidavit filed by DHS March 15, 2005, with the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Texas. Special agent Christopher R. Sanchez swore the following:

Ballistics testing confirms a government-issued weapon belonging to U.S. Border Patrol Agent Ignacio "Nacho" Ramos, a 96D Beretta .40 caliber automatic pistol, serial number BER067069M, fired a bullet (a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson jacketed hollow point) which hit the victim in the left buttocks while he was attempting to flee to Mexico.

4. Sutton repeatedly has said there was no evidence at the scene that would have permitted his office to investigate, find, and prosecute Aldrete-Davila. He has also repeatedly claimed that no fingerprints were found inside the van. I noted in our previous coverage that that was highly unlikely - even impossible. Now, a DHS memo reveals that eleven fingerprints were found inside the van. The memo also documents that no fingerprint search was conducted on the vehicle until a full month after the Feb. 17, 2005, incident! That indicates no serious effort on Sutton's part to identify the driver of the van (thus identifying the criminal) and as well, highlights egregious mishandling of the chain of evidence.

5. Sutton cannot keep his own lies straight. He has recently stated that a Mexican lawyer brought Aldrete-Davila forward, without revealing the drug smuggler's identity, but would not cooperate until immunity had been granted. However, according to Sutton's own previous statements, Aldrete-Davila was identified by his family and life-long friend BP agent Rene Sanchez.

DHS investigative memos make clear that Border Patrol agent Rene Sanchez in Wilcox, Ariz., identified Aldrete-Davila only days after the Feb. 17, 2005 incident, obtaining his information through family connections. Sanchez grew up with Aldrete-Davila in Mexico.

The information about Aldrete-Davila's identity was then passed on by Sanchez to DHS special agent Christopher Sanchez, who went to Mexico and found Aldrete-Davila.

This Christopher Sanchez is the same DHS special agent the DHS memo on the fingerprints says received the videotape of the El Paso Police Department fingerprint search on the drug smuggler's abandoned vehicle.

6. Sutton has claimed that Compean and Ramos attempted to "cover-up" the fact that they discharged their weapons and has made a big deal out of the fact that they policed their spent shell casings and filed fraudulent paperwork. However, that is not true. There were at least five BP agents on the scene that day, and all of them knew of the shooting. As well, Compean and Ramos made a verbal report to their supervisor. They did not file a written report.

7. The latest reports coming out of West Texas are that the agents actually present during the shooting incident do not match the agents presented by Sutton to the court as witnesses. I will update this allegation further as more information becomes available.

Finally, this week, despite the total lack of a court transcript, some long-awaited incident reports regarding the case were delivered to Congress but have been classified secret from the general public. The Congressional Homeland Security Subcommittee on Management, Investment and Oversight obtained the report after submitting an emergency Freedom of Information Act request for the documents.

Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, said he will not review the classified documents until they are made available to the public. Poe expects a redacted version will be made available.

Lastly, if you are touched by the plight of these agents and would like to do something to help, a labor union, the National Border Patrol Council, is soliciting donations on its website.

All donations that are designated for Agents Ramos and Compean will be used to fund their legal defense and assist their families in their hour of need. Donations to the fund can be made by check payable to 'BPA Legal Defense & Relief Fund.' Checks should be mailed to: BPA Legal Defense & Relief Fund, P.O. Box 47208, Tampa, FL 33647.

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