The Black Republican

Wizbang Blog calls our attention to a tactic used in Panama City, Florida to discover illegal aliens. The local Sheriff is sending multiple police cars to construction sites with lights and sirens turned on, when the illegals take it on the lam the police track them down and report them to Immigration. It is having the desired effect.

"We immigrants, we are leaving Panama City. People are afraid they will be deported," he said. "The companies don't want to hire illegal people. Now they're only hiring those with papers."

Dang, ain't that a shame, no papers, no worky!

Sheriff Frank McKeithen is apparently one of many local and state officials willing to do the work our Federal government won't do. No word in this story on whether the INS immigration services follow up or if any of the illegals are actually punished; but we can guess that result, can't we?

Oh, and the story wouldn't be complete without the ACLU charging in to claim the tactics are like "Nazi Germany".

Today was one for the books.

It began with a vote in the Senate that beat, throttled, and mutilated the hotly contested immigration bill before it finally died. Good riddance. I can't help but wonder if we've seen a life preserver thrown to the Republican Party.

You can continue to follow the spectacle on the thousand-or-so blogs covering the action, but make sure you hear about Sam Switchback and MSM Dimwittery from the WSJ, both via HotAir.

FULL DISCLOSURE: As someone who has clicked occasionally on the "Those Shirts" ads on HotAir, I am apparently involved in the plot.

That would have been a full day's news, but we're not finished.

SCOTUS decided to get into the action by offering its final ruling (yet another 5-4 with Kennedy siding with the Originalist/Textualist half of the court) [ SCOTUSBlog] on affirmative action in public schools. We'll need time to really digest this mammoth ruling; I've only managed to skim the Chief Justice's opinion for the court. But, as widely reported, the CJ has offered a statement in conclusion that I trust will become one of the great catchphrases of Supreme Court jurisprudence:

The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.

Next, Mike Pence's preventative measure banning the UnFairness Doctrine thundered out of the House, 309-115. Expect the Senate to pass it on a voice vote some Friday night in July.

To finish off a tumultuous day with a little comic relief tonight, the Dems had a debate, where they discussed the evils of resegregation being forced on America by the Supreme Court. The event was held at Howard University.

So, John Kerry has received the talking points on reviving the unFairness Doctrine and has dutifully chimed in with his endorsement of the directive. The Politburo has spoken and comrade Kerry is down with the party line.

Of course, we must assume that his enthusiasm for the mandated opposing views dictated by a fairness doctrine would subside if he, and his service record, were the subject of discussion. In that instance he would not only opposes the presentation of an opposing view, he even opposes the full presentation of his own view, which is illustrated by his failure to fulfill his promise to release his service records; a failed promise now 878 days old.

At once we know that it isn't fairness or equality that proponents of the fairness doctrine desire, it is a favorable outcome whenever they enter into the public arena. They want to win, always, and if they can't they will take their ball and give it to a friendly reporter under the promised protection of his confidentiality. Oh, and then they will tell everyone that they let everyone play just as they promised. Liars. And confidence artists.

We don't need a, so-called, fairness doctrine, or a return to the old equal time mandates; there are plenty of outlets for every voice. We just need more of them to say worthy things. And, it would be nice if those, like Kerry, who don't take advantage of the opportunities afforded them, it would be nice if those people would not try to tell the rest of us about free speech; we understand it just fine thank you. We understand, for example, that John Kerry is not free to talk about his service because the Swift Boat Veterans were right. And we also understand that he would not lift one finger to support their fair right to equal time.

Union soldiers during the Civil War knew at certain times they needn't duck so hastily when the sound of Confederate artillery approached. Many of the South's gunners had a bad habit of overshooting their targets, and the failure allowed many Union units to escape much more serious casualties before a Confederate assault than they otherwise would have. Many historians credit this particular trait with saving the Union at Gettysburg, so ineffective was the long barrage before Pickett's Charge. For the South, it was a wasted opportunity from which they never recovered.

Next year, we might say the same of Fred Thompson's opponents and a new video that surfaced today on YouTube. The video, which appears to be a crude attempt to discredit the former senator using old video we've seen before, alleges that Fred Thompson isn't really pro-life, and closes with the statistic that Fred only voted pro-life 33% of the time in the 107th Congress.

A quick look at the NRLC website for those sessions tells the truth: Fred voted pro-life once, but against the NRLC position on legislation twice. We're talking about three votes here - one on abortion, and two on campaign finance, which the NRLC opposed. In Fred's other six years of service, he also voted for the pro-life position 100% of the time.

I guess some politicians are just scared of someone who walks the walk.

I strongly suggest this piece by Rich Lowry as "Recommended Reading".

Hmmm... I was out on Drudge and happened to notice this story right next to this one.

All that unusually cold weather must be caused by something, right? I know... GLOBAL WARMING!! And we all have George Bush to blame for not signing the Kyoto treaty and therefore single handedly causing all global warming and all the bad things caused by global warming (which is everything, of course).

Though I am doing so tongue-in-cheek, $10 say's I'm not the only one who will claim this - only anyone else who does will do so with a straight face and perfect sincerity.

Any takers?

(Editors Note: To those of you who know better, and for the sake of the fragile egos of those that will make such arguments, let's just ignore the fact that Presidents cannot enter into treaties without the approval of 2/3rds of the Senate, and that the Senate voted 95–0 against Kyoto. Those facts just do not fit into the narrative and interfere with their ability to blame GWB for every bad thing that has ever happened, so let's just pretend they don't exist. OK?)

I strongly suggest this piece by Brendan O’Neill as "Recommended Reading".

I strongly suggest this piece by Jon Ward as "Recommended Reading".

Will you people please make up your frickin' minds as to exactly what I supposed to be afraid of?! Twenty years ago Newsweek and the "Scientific community" told us it was "Global Cooling." Today of course, the inventor of the Internet and eminently renowned climatologist Professor AlGore tells us that "Global Warming" is going to raise the oceans 20 feet (or is that 20 inches?) and wash away Manhattan and most of Florida. OK, leaving aside that the assertions by the new "Scientific community" are 180 degrees from the old "Scientific community", now this guy and his cronies are trying to tell me that it really is "Global Cooling" that I should be afraid of!

Damn it, would you idiots get your shit together! This so called "Scientific community" of yours is changing directions faster than Mrs. Bill Clinton changes her dialect.

"Just 14% of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in Congress.

This 14% Congressional confidence rating is the all-time low for this measure, which Gallup initiated in 1973."

You might say that I made a leap of judgment by claiming that 86% of Americans believe Congress sucks, but I beg to differ. Only 14% have a "great deal or quite a lot of confidence", and any other rating for an institution with so much control over ours lives (in a time of war no less) is so sub-standard that it equates to the colloquial term; so Congress sucks! And while I am not afraid to point out that this Congress is run by Democrats, party affiliation alone is not the cause of our displeasure with these bums. Whether they have a D, or an R, or an I in front of their names they are not getting the job done. On the whole they seem to lack common sense. They are easily swayed by political correctness. And, mostly they worry too much about winning re-election and making side deals under the table. When they do attempt to pass a bill it gets loaded with pork, which they now call by a new name, earmarks, in the insulting belief that we are too stupid to see that we are being taken.

They regularly behave less like Statesmen and more like confidence men. They use the English language in such a way that native speakers need an interpreter to sort out what their Congressman has just said. And then you find that you don't like half of what they meant and don't trust them to keep their word on the other half. Need I go on?

Basically, there is little wonder that Americans are discouraged by this bunch of insider trading, lying, demagogue, propagandists. After all, we are paying for that government, and it isn't that one we are sold each election year. Or is it? I'll have to wait for the translation.

Btw, there is a portion of our money that we feel is being used well.

"By way of contrast, 69% of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the military, which tops the list."

Very funny stuff, if you are not an Islamofacist.

" National Lampoon's 72 Virgins
Two idiot college students unwittingly join an Al Qaeda cell in order to get the 72 virgins promised to terrorists when they die."

To see the video short and vote for the full-length movie, go here

LGF

The ever brilliant Thomas Sowell hits the nail on the head with his observations regarding last year's "rape" case against Duke University lacrosse players, and the as of yet unfinished business surrounding the entire spectacle:

There is not the slightest reason to believe that Nifong was deceived or mistaken. He was not some kid fresh out of law school. He had decades of experience as a prosecutor. He knew exactly what he was doing.

Nor was the New York Times a naive ingenue in these matters. It had backed Al Sharpton's fraudulent accusations of rape in the Tawana Brawley case, which had the same politically correct elements of a black woman accusing white men of rape.

Nor were the 88 Duke faculty members who promoted a lynch mob atmosphere naive. Most were from departments promoting the "race, class, and gender" vision of victimhood.

This case served their purposes. That trumped any question about whether the charges were true or not.

Don't expect any of these people to recant or apologize. But be aware of how wide and how deep the moral dry rot goes.

Michelle Malkin.

I strongly suggest this piece by Mike Allen as "Recommended Reading".

I strongly suggest this piece by Ted Nugent as "Recommended Reading".

Did Don Quixote ever hit that windmill? The question is germane because I'm picking up the bat for a third time to beat what I have the feeling is a very dead horse. Bones even. At least to the MSM. But, hey, just like the lottery, you can't win if you don't play, and so I play the game.
Thanks to the people at Wisconsin’s Capital Times (via NewsBusters), we have a story in which the father of scientific climatology, Reid Bryson, has this and more to say about the global warming theories being disseminated by media and the scientific alarmists:

There is very little truth to what is being said and an awful lot of religion. It's almost a religion. Where you have to believe in anthropogenic (or man-made) global warming or else you are nuts.

I strongly suggest this piece by Mark Steyn as "Recommended Reading".

Well it seems the man I dubbed an underdog isn't so much the underdog after all... he's actually won!

I must wholeheartedly disagree, however, with the comment judge Amanda Holden made in the first clip about this guy being a lump of coal about to turn into a diamond. I think this guy has proven that he is the diamond among a pile of cubic zirconia.

Even though I have watched American Idol and other talent competition shows that have proliferated over the past few years, I have become ever more disenchanted with them, mainly because they tend to lampoon people like Paul Potts rather than extol their talents. Any more it seems the American talent competitions have become as much about making fun of and embarrassing people as they are about finding talent.

With so much to be depressed about in this world it's uplifting to see an ordinary guy, an Everyman, not only get his shot at greatness, but actually reach out and grab it! That is why in my original post I called this guy a Samwise Gamgee, because he, like Sam, was an ordinary man with an ordinary life who just happened one day to take a walk down a different road... and that has made all the difference. Congratulations Paul Potts. I look forward to purchasing your debut CD.

It's a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.

I just finished watching the Robot Chicken Star Wars special on Comedy Central. I hope that's why I burst out laughing when I saw this. This one's stupid and real.

I strongly suggest this piece by Bryan Bender as "Recommended Reading".

I strongly suggest this piece by John Cox as "Recommended Reading".

Pardon my language, but this story is "da shit!"

"Usually, if a turd gets into the Senate, it’s because he or she was elected," Emily Heil reports for Roll Call.

I saw this on Brit Hume last night and was blown away. We live in such a cynical, media driven, Paris Hilton pop culture world that we seem to have forgotten the simple elegance and passion of the Samwise Gamgee's of the world; the Everyman. Watch and listen... and see the passion in this man's eyes and hear the power in his voice. And pay special attention to the crowd. That is the reaction of ordinary people to a frumpy man with bad teeth as he restores their belief that somewhere within us all resides this quiet nobility, a trait so often overlooked or dismissed by those who believe themselves to be our betters. This is his one moment, his time, and he seizes that moment for himself, and for us all, with such unassuming, humble grace that, win or lose, you could almost hear this guy going back home and saying "Well, I'm back."

UPDATE: It seems that this underdog has made it to the finals. This truly warms my heart.

Given the fact that he is at least second now in most polls (see this and this) even though he has yet to officially declare his candidacy, it's becoming obvious that Fred Thompson is going to change the way political campaigns are run from this point onward.

And just to toot our own horn a bit here, we here at TBR have been talking about Fred for quite a while now and were, as far as I know, the first to suggest what is becoming a favorite prognostication out in the blogosphere... Thompson/Steele '08.

Kathryn Jean Lopez at NRO.

If you want to see what real civil war looks like, look at Gaza today. And if we leave Iraq early it will deteriorate to Gaza-like levels. And both political parties know this to be true, and that is why we are still there today.

I strongly suggest this piece by Michael Steele as "Recommended Reading".

With Hamas and Fatah once again demonstrating how barbaric they can be it seems a good time to bring the 2002 perspective of comedian Larry Miller to mind once again, for absolutely nothing has changed in the last five, or fifty years in that part of the world.

Miller reminds us that there are no "Palestinians", as the term is currently used, and suggests "adjacent jew-haters" as the more accurate term. He really gets going on page two.

"Okay, so the Adjacent Jew-Haters want their own country. Oops, just one more thing. No, they don't. They could've had their own country any time in the last thirty years, especially two years ago at Camp David. But if you have your own country, you have to have traffic lights and garbage trucks and Chambers of Commerce, and, worse, you actually have to figure out some way to make a living. That's no fun. No, they want what all the other Jew-Haters in the region want: Israel. They also want a big pile of dead Jews, of course--that's where the real fun is--but mostly they want Israel. Why? For one thing, trying to destroy Israel--or "The Zionist Entity" as their textbooks call it--for the last fifty years has allowed the rulers of Arab countries to divert the attention of their own people away from the fact that they're the blue-ribbon most illiterate, poorest, and tribally backward on God's Earth, and if you've ever been around God's Earth, you know that's really saying something. It makes me roll my eyes every time one of our pundits waxes poetic about the great history and culture of the Muslim Mideast. Unless I'm missing something, the Arabs haven't given anything to the world since Algebra, and, by the way, thanks a hell of a lot for that one.

shyboy, even if he did confuse Larry Miller for Dennis Miller

I strongly suggest this piece by John Fund as "Recommended Reading".

I strongly suggest this piece by Nouri al-Maliki as "Recommended Reading".

Many thanks to Rick for posting a reminder that today is Flag Day. But today is special for another reason. It's the US Army's 232nd birthday.

And I'm including this because I just like it so much. GO ARMY!

UPDATE: Well, Chris has rightfully chastised me for posting a video that was not as appropriate as the one below. In my own defense, I knew about the one above and just went looking for it and didn't search to see if there was a better one. Thanks Chris, this one is more appropriate.

Ripley was born too late to include this one is his museum; the independent Party which Joe Lieberman created for himself has been taken over by an anti-Lieberman activist, and now the man wants Lieberman to resign!

Here at TBR we adore Joe Lieberman for his pro-American stances, and our love for the guy increases each time he says what only he can seem to find the guts to say. Most recently he is cited as saying what so many already knew but hesitated to say; if Iran will not stand down on their terror enabling tactics, we will have to take action. For that alleged transgression (which in the American language actually means courage) the sole member, and insurgent Mullah commander of the Connecticut for Lieberman Party wants Joe to resign. Ain't that a hoot? My belly hurts from laughter.

Wizbang

The Mullahs of the Broward County (Florida) Board of Commissioners may reconsider their religious war against a local radio station which carries (insert scary organ music here) Rush Limbaugh after two moderates Mullahs of their faith returned from pilgrimage with an alternate interpretation of the Board's mandate.

"If your roof gets blown off, do you really care if the radio station that is giving you the information that you need also carries Rush Limbaugh?" Jacobs asked. "I don't think so. I don't agree with that man's philosophy and I don't listen to him, but I'm not going to not choose WIOD because of it."

If only New Orleans Mayor Nagin and Louisiana Govenor Blanco had followed such sage and practical advise in the prelude and subsequent aftermath of hurricane Katrina instead of their faithful avoidance of allowing the infidel Bush to give the help he offered, how that story could have changed for the better.

As an eminent scholar of the Democratic faith Mr. Limbaugh concisely analyzed the Broward situation.

"They are politicizing the delivery of emergency news, which is non-partisan"

Liberal politics, of course, being their religion, they were placing aside all common sense in order to punish the non-believers. In fact, their wrath was not so finely directed, they were creating a scenario wherein all people, believers and not, were sure to suffer in the event of an emergency. Hopefully this newfound grasp of reality will take hold on other fronts as well. And maybe one day the political Party of Peace will join the 21st century as a constructive and tolerant force for good.

Wow! The liberal left could really learn something from this guy. THIS is what "Speaking Truth to Power" is all about! This guy is actually putting himself in jeopardy saying these things. But that is what always happens when you tell the truth about those that truly have power - you run the risk of having them use that power to squash and silence you. The only risk ever experienced by the liberal elites who claim to be "Speaking Truth to Power" is that of getting a splinter from carrying a sign or blisters from marching too long.

Liberals are cowards. They want to run from a war they were all too happy to help get started, and could never even imagine saying the things this guy does for fear of angering Muslims... and thereby endangering themselves. Two quotes often come to mind when I think of the cowardice and perfidy of the left:

"Live free or die; death is not the worst of evils." --General John Stark

"Cowards die many times before their deaths, The valiant never taste of death but once." --Shakespeare, From Julius Caesar

Hat tip to Jonah Goldberg at NRO.

I strongly suggest this piece by Investor's Business Daily as "Recommended Reading".

According to the latest poll at Rasmussen Reports™, Fred Thompson and Rudy Giuliani are now tied in the national preference for the Republican nomination, each garnering 24%. But if you go down in the details, Newt Gingrich's announcement that the odds had turned 4-to-1 against himself running is used as justification for Rasmussen to cease including him in their polls.

Is Thompson's surge coincidental with Gingrich's announcement? Don't bet on it. Expect even more of a bump if Gingrich gets around to endorsing Thompson.

Meanwhile, over at the LA Times, things are looking bleak for the Nancy and Harry Show.

Fueled by disappointment at the pace of change since Democrats assumed the majority on Capitol Hill, public approval of Congress has fallen to its lowest level in more than a decade, according to a new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll.

Just 27% of Americans now approve of the way Congress is doing its job, the poll found, down from 36% in January, when Democrats assumed control of the House and the Senate.

And 63% of Americans say that the new Democratic Congress is governing in a "business as usual" manner, rather than working to bring the fundamental change that party leaders promised after November's midterm election.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), the first woman to hold that position, has also failed to impress many Americans. Only 36% approve of the way she is handling the job, the poll found.

Anyway, I bring up the LA Times because of who else is mentioned in that article. Just as Reid's favorite foil is doing better than him, Nancy has to hear this:

In contrast, 46% of Americans in the current poll said they approved of the way Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia handled the job after he led the GOP into the majority in 1994.

UPDATE: Allahpundit, looking at the same polls, tells us to cool it:

Since we’re talking polls, a word of caution about this one. [The LA Times'] Every time new numbers come out showing Congress’s ratings in the basement, right-wing bloggers crow. Let me gently suggest that the main reason they’re tanking is because Reid and Pelosi haven’t done enough to surrender in Iraq to please their anti-war base, and so they’ve deserted her the way the right has deserted McCain. If and when they get enough Republican votes to force Bush into some type of withdrawal, not only will the war effort crumble, Congress’s ratings will probably rise. Not really cause for celebration, is it?

Reuters is worried: U.S. voters may face outbreak of campaign fatigue

(T)he question of fatigue gives political experts a topic of conversation on slow days, said Douglas Muzzio, Baruch College professor of public affairs at the City University of New York.

"It allows us to talk about being tired of talking about it," he said.

A long time ago, I signed up for some sort of email newsletter from The Jerusalem Post. I found it informative, and it let me see what was concerning our friends in Israel. On a very basic, emotional and subjective level, it also let me see their ads and read their stories to observe how much alike Israel and the United States are, even while being very different. I like and greatly admire the Israeli people, and believe their success is vital to our own economic, cultural, and national security interests.

Eventually, I found I didn't have time for the newsletter. Though I unsubscribed, I would occasionally get advertisements for subscriptions and requests for donations to their affiliated charities. I never tried to get off that mailing list, because I thought it was harmless, and still more fun and informative that most of the other spam I get.

Similarly, I like Rudy Giuliani. He seems like a nice guy in most cases, and I can imagine it might be fun to be able to sit down to dinner with him. I believe him to be a strong economic conservative, with good federalist tendencies, regardless of any compromises he might have had to make to get along in liberal New York. I think he has strong pro-defense and foreign policy instincts. I don't like his social liberalism at all, and I am offended by some of his seemingly anti-Catholic, cafeteria Catholicism. I will not vote for him in a primary. But between him and any Democrat in a general election, I would not hesitate to vote for him.

That all said....

The following just popped up in my email. I am quoting it in its entirety.

(click to enlarge)

Dear Friend,

As a longtime friend and staunch supporter of Israel during my entire public life, I want to share with you my deep concern for the Jewish state and ask for your support as I campaign to become the next President of the United States.

We are at a crucial moment in history. We are once again at a point where the free world's resolve in fighting evil is being tested.

In the 1990's, we had the blinders on with regard to Islamic terrorism. Coddling terrorists-even applauding for winning the Nobel Peace prize as was done with Yasser Arafat-is a policy we cannot return to.

Yet, these blinders are still worn by some people who wish to lead our country.

In neither of their debates did the Democrats mention Islamic fundamentalist terrorists and the threat they pose to our country. One candidate has even said that the global war on terror is nothing but a bumper sticker slogan. It makes the point that I've been making over and over again - that the Democrats, or at least some of them, are in denial.

I promise you that if elected President, I will make sure this country remains on offense against terrorism. But I need your help and support to get there. Will you consider giving $1,000, $500, $250, $100 or $50 to my campaign?

Israel and the United States share common values. We cherish freedom, democracy, and human life. Our shared values have attracted common enemies. The terrorists Israel is fighting are the same terrorists America is fighting, and we must continue to fight them together.

Last week Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, announced that the world would soon witness the destruction of Israel. This 2008 presidential campaign will determine how we deal with statements like these and the madmen who make them.

I stand by Israel and I'll never embrace a terrorist like Arafat, a tyrant like Ahmadinejad, or a party like Hamas.

Will you join me and support my campaign for President so we can continue to work together? Your contribution of $1,000, $500, $250, $100 or $50 will go a long way in helping us to ensure victory.

Please consider signing up for my email list as well. Doing so will keep you up to date on the latest news from my campaign.

A Giuliani administration won't accept business as usual. We will stay strong amidst the threats of tyrants and we will stay on offense against the terrorists.

Sincerely,

Rudy Giuliani

I am a United States citizen or an individual lawfully admitted with permanent residence status (e.g., a "green card holder")

Contributions from corporations, labor organizations, federal government contractors, and foreign nationals without permanent residency status ("green cards") are prohibited.

If there isn't, please tell me you really did pay them, because otherwise it's a contribution prohibited by the statement I just cited.

Most of all, tell me how you're going to deride the Democrats for any foreign donations from Communist countries or for direct income from foreign nations to a candidate's spouse when The Jerusalem Post is acting as your liaison to Israeli dual-citizens.

That would be the title of the book, if CAIR was writing it.

According to tax documents obtained by The Times, the number of reported members spiraled down from more than 29,000 in 2000 to less than 1,700 in 2006, a loss of membership that caused the Muslim rights group's annual income from dues to drop from $732,765 in 2000, when yearly dues cost $25, to $58,750 last year, when the group charged $35.

The organization instead is relying on about two dozen individual donors a year to contribute the majority of the money for CAIR's budget, which reached nearly $3 million last year.

PJM

UPDATE: Is Mel hearing the bell toll for him?

I also got an email response from the good senator (the first time in a dozen or so emails/faxes to D.C.). I'll put it in the extended entry for your perusal.

Dear Mr. O'Conor:

Thank you for taking the time to contact me. I appreciate hearing from you regarding comprehensive immigration reform and would like to respond to your concerns.

As you may know, on June 7, 2007, the Senate was unable to reach an agreement on the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act (S. 1348) and the Senate Majority Leader has set aside S. 1348, for the time being. Delaying comprehensive reform does a disservice to America. I remain committed to working together with my colleagues to produce a tough but fair and workable piece of legislation that President Bush can sign into law during this Congress.

To do this, we must secure the border first. The first section of S. 1348 mandates that border security and worksite-enforcement benchmarks must be met before other elements of the legislation are implemented. This legislation will direct the Department of Homeland Security to complete construction of hundreds of miles of additional double layered fencing and create 200 miles of vehicle barriers on our border with Mexico. The department will hire and train 18,000 border patrol agents. In addition, this bill provides for surveillance technologies to enhance our ability to monitor the border, such as, 70 ground –based radar and camera towers on the southern border and 4 unmanned aerial vehicles. However, physically securing the border will not solve the entire problem. Employers will be required to verify the work eligibility of all employees using an employment eligibility verification system, while all workers will be required to present stronger and more verifiable identification documents. Tough new anti-fraud measures will be implemented and stiff penalties imposed on employers who break the law.

After the border has been certified secure by the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and the employment verification system is in place, the remaining provisions of the bill will go into effect. To address the labor shortage in industries with a demonstrated need such as, the Florida Citrus and Hospitality Industries, a guest worker program will be implemented. The purpose of this program is to relieve pressure on the border and provide a lawful way to meet the needs of our economy. The proposal creates a temporary worker program to fill jobs Americans are not doing. To ensure this program is truly temporary, workers will be limited to three two-year terms, with at least a year spent outside the United States between each term. A small percentage of temporary workers will be allowed to bring immediate family members only if they have the financial ability to support them and they are covered by health insurance.

Additionally, this legislation does away with a relative- based immigration system or “Chain Migration” and establishes a new merit-based system to select future immigrants based on the skills and attributes they will bring to the United States. Under the merit-based system, future immigrants applying for permanent residency in the U.S. will be assigned points for skills, education, and other attributes that further our national interest including: ability to speak English; level of schooling, including added points for training in science, math, and technology; employment in a specialty or high-demand field; employer endorsement; and certain family ties to the U.S. This merit- based system will enhance and ensure American competitiveness for the future and put American immigration policies in line with other industrialized nations.

It is my firm belief that addressing border security and cracking down on unscrupulous employers while doing nothing to address those already living here illegally would amount to de facto amnesty for those 12 million. Further, it is in the United States’ national security interest to learn the identity of these individuals. Illegal immigrants who come out of the shadows will be given probationary status. Once the border security and enforcement benchmarks are met, they must pass a background check, remain employed, maintain a clean criminal record, pay an initial fine, determined by the size of their household as well as a state impact fee, and receive a counterfeit-proof biometric card to apply for a work visa or "Z visa." Some years later, these Z visa holders will be eligible to apply for limited permanent residency, but only after paying an additional $4,000 fine; completing accelerated English requirements and demonstrating knowledge of American civics; going to the back of the line while the current green card backlog clears; returning to their home country to file their application; and demonstrating merit under the merit-based system. It is important to note that a petitioner for or holder of a Z visa can be deported at any time if a disqualifying factor is identified during background checks, such factors include but are not limited to-- a criminal conviction, gang affiliation or terrorist activity.

With my full support, this bill declares that English is the national language of the United States and calls on the United States Government to preserve and enhance it, as well as enacting accelerated English requirements for many immigrants.

Please know that I will keep your concerns in mind as the Senate debates S.1348. I am aware that Congress has failed to oversee the enforcement of immigration law in the past. I believe that S. 1348 provides the Executive Branch, American employers and people aspiring to work in America or become Americans with a clear and workable policy that is efficient and fair. This is an important national security, economic, and humanitarian challenge, and I know the American people are looking to Congress for action and oversight.

Again, thank you for sharing your views with me. If you have any additional comments, please contact me. For more information about issues and activities important to Florida, please sign up for my weekly newsletter at http://martinez.senate.gov.

Sincerely,

Mel Martinez
United States Senator

What's most amazing about this video is how unabashedly racist it is, wrapped in the certitude that I am the racist.

Hot Air

Tonight, skipping from Ace to Captain Ed I stumbled across Let Freedom Ring, which tries to make the case that Fred Thompson is actually "a closet movement conservative." No less than David McIntosh, former congressman and co-founder of the Federalist Society has said, "he’s a real conservative." And now McIntosh is working on the Thompson campaign.

It was this last point that caused my nose to twitch. Back on St. Pat's, when the flame was just starting to kindle for Fred, OpinionJournal.com did an interview with him, where he discussed his federalist principles.

Mr. Thompson has also been criticized for failing to back some comprehensive tort-reform bills because of his background as a trial lawyer. Here he insists his stance was based on grounds of federalism. "I'm consistent. I address Federalist Society meetings," he says, noting that more issues should be left to the states. For example, he cast the lonely "nay" in 99-1 votes against a national 0.8% blood alcohol level for drivers, a federal law banning guns in schools, and a measure limiting the tort liability of Good Samaritans. "Washington overreaches, and by doing so ends up not doing well the basics people really care about."

A Bloomberg.com end-of-term preview of the Supreme Court laments that Chief Justice Roberts isn't getting the consensus he promised.

The dissenters are making no secret of their dismay about the direction of the court. Three times since April, one of them has read a summary of the dissent from the bench, a step that typically occurs no more than three times in an entire nine- month term.

In two of those cases, Ginsburg, 74, the only female justice, accused the majority of callousness toward women. The abortion decision, she said, reflected ``ancient notions about women's place in the family and under the Constitution.''

In the pay-disparity case, Ginsburg said from the bench that the majority ``does not comprehend, or is indifferent to, the insidious way in which women can be victims of pay discrimination.''

UPDATE: Apparently, Bloomberg needs a little bit of patience. According to The New York Sun, the Court issued rulings in five cases yesterday, the same day the Bloomberg article appeared. All five were unanimous.

Jeff Nelligan, former staffer at the Government Accountability Office, says that about the newest entrant to the Presidential sweepstakes. Big Fred grinds it out, he says, while posting a nice analysis why the rumor keeps popping up that Thompson is lazy. I'll tease it for you: it has something to do with the ADD suffered by the sound-bite press.

K-Lo at the Corner

According to "America's finest news source", Alberto Gonzales can finally "recall" something.