jgo Resume	jgo Books
jgo Econ Data	jgo Econ News Bits Index
Economic News Analysis Summary
Kermit home
Links	jgo's Work in Progress
Bottom

 

"Mean peak life-time creativity was significantly higher in the index group than in the controls, with the highest levels of creativity being not in the manic-depressives but in the cyclo-thymes & in the normal relatives of people with mood disorders.   In interpreting the findings, Richards & her colleagues suggest that some of the normal relatives in question may have been hyper-thymic, or otherwise mildly affected with mood problems at the soft end of the bi-polar spectrum.   Not normalcy alone, but normalcy in the relatives of bi-polar patients, predicted greater creativity." --- Melvin Konner "Art of Darkness" _Why the Reckless Survive_

 
 

2007 August

U	M	T	W	R	F	S
			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30	31

 
 

"A standard which would forbid the reception of evidence if obtained by other than nice ethical conduct by gov't officials would make society suffer & give criminals greater immunity than has been known heretofore.   In the absence of controlling legislation by Congress, those who realize the difficulties in bringing offenders to justice may well deem it wise that the exclusion of evidence should be confined to cases where rights under the Constitution would be violated by admitting it." --- William Howard Taft in Olmstead v. US

 
 
 

My 4*great uncle's (captain William Scott's) flag for the Republic of Texas.

2007-08-01

2007-08-01
Francis X. Gilpin _Montgomery Advertiser_
state agencies resisting release of records on OTJ injury fund and guest-workers
"McCooey ruled last year that the same agency also must release records of a federal pro gram that allows foreigners to enter the country as so-called guest workers.   The foreigners fill temporary jobs for which employers claim they cannot find Americans willing or trained to do.   But Frank D. Marsh, the department's general counsel, has appealed McCooey's order in the guest-worker case to the Alabama Supreme Court, and promised to do the same with the worker-comp suit unless McCooey reverses her July 10 order.   The Southern Poverty Law Center, which is seeking the guest-worker records made identical requests of labor agen cies in 9 Southeastern states.   Only Alabama has refused to hand over guest-worker records, although the center had to sue to obtain Mississippi's records.   [Marsh] said Alabama keeps employment records secret so businesses don't lose workers to industry rivals that gain access to state wage data.   'Employers trust the department.', said Marsh.   'If we let this out, there could be unfair competition.'   The guest-worker records are supposed to include evidence required by federal law showing that employers attempted to recruit American workers at fair wages before hiring foreigners."

2007-08-01
_Arizona Daily Star_
Sweep of gang members in southern California
"arresting 43 reputed gang members and associates in a huge sweep aimed at taking down violent offenders...   Tuesday's operation followed a 6-month investigation and focused on a neighborhood near Long Beach known locally as 'Ghost Town'.   Authorities were looking for at least 25 leaders of a street gang called the East Side Pain, said police lieutenant Ruben Delatorre...   According to FBI statistics, there are some 30K street gangs in the U.S. with about 800K members.   In Los Angeles and Chicago, more than half of the combined 1K or so homicides reported in 2004 were blamed on gangs.   Los Angeles saw a 15% increase in gang-related crimes in 2006 at the same time general crime declined citywide."

2007-08-01
Todd Seavey _National Review_
Ron Paul is the Fusion Candidate
"John Derbyshire is wrong to resist the Ron Paul Temptation.   Embrace it.   Embrace it: conservatives, libertarians, pro-lifers…Right-minded Americans, all.   Sure, Paul, currently hovering in the single digits in polls, looks at first glance like a textbook case of a fringe candidate.   And that's unfortunate, because he ought instead to be our next president -- and would be if he made it to the general election, since in a one-on-one match-up with likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, he could fare remarkably well.   That means Paul's greatest obstacle is the Republican primary process.   Since he wants to do virtually everything conservatives have long dreamed of with the office of the presidency, what's stalling his chances is a herd-like desire to vote for the candidate who already seems likely to win the primaries.   Democrats won't keep him from the White House; it would be tragic, then, if Republicans stopped him themselves."

2007-08-01
Tom Fitton _GOP USA_
Corrupt judge rules against Hazleton's crack-down on illegal aliens
"Judicial Watch believes Judge Munley is wrong on this issue.   In March, Judicial Watch filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the City of Hazleton.   Here, in a nutshell, was our argument: 'The City of Hazleton has found it both reasonable and necessary for the public health and welfare to exercise its police power by enacting [these ordinances]...   The subject matter regulated -- the employment and harboring of persons not entitled to lawful residence in the United States, let alone to work here -- is certainly within the main-stream of [the City of Hazleton's] police power...'...   To most Americans, this would seem a completely logical response to the federal government's failure to secure the borders.   In fact, according to a recent Zogby poll commissioned by Judicial Watch, 72% of likely voters believe local law enforcement officers should help enforce federal immigration laws, including 40% of Hispanics and 55% of self-described political 'liberals'...   So, what is the purpose of this summit, the third since the [SPP] was announced in 2005?   The State Department claims the purpose is to 'develop common approaches to transnational security threats and to expand economic productivity by stream-lining trade among the countries'.   Critics, however, maintain the true purpose is to develop and implement policies that would ultimately erase the borders between all 3 nations and form a North American Union, much like the European Union...   last week, Judicial Watch filed a notice with Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez that we plan to seek access to meetings and records of the North American Competitiveness Council during the Quebec summit...   Currently, there 5 appellate court nominees -- 3 waiting to fill vacancies declared 'judicial emergencies' -- and 14 district court nominees who are stalled in the Judiciary Committee, some for more than a year.   (Four other nominees were just announced.)"

2007-08-01
_Dice_
Dice Report: 96,548 job ads

2007-08-01
Phyllis Schlafly _Eagle Forum_
The Globalists' Plan to Give Away US Patents
"In extraordinary Senate-House coordination, the 2 Judiciary committees in the same week voted out a bill (S1145 and HR1908) which, if it becomes law, will spell the end of America's world leadership in innovation.   Called the Patent Reform Act, it is a direct attack on the unique, successful American patent system created by the U.S. Constitution.   Prior to 1999, the U.S. Patent Office was required to keep secret the contents of a patent application until a patent was granted, and to return the application in secret to the inventor if a patent was not granted.   That protected the legal rights of the inventor, who could then go back to the drawing board to perfect his invention and try again.   A mischievous congressional 'reform' in 1999 authorized the U.S. Patent Office to shift to the Japanese and European practice of publishing patent applications 18 months after filing whether or not a decision is yet made on granting a patent.   Congress allowed a patent application, under certain conditions, to be exempt from the publication requirement, but the default procedure is to publish.   The 2007 Patent bill would delete this exemption and require publication of all patent applications 18 months after filing even though a decision has not yet been made on granting a patent.   By 2006, the U.S. Patent Office had placed 1.271M patent applications on the internet, giving access to anyone anywhere in the world.   This foolish practice created a gold mine for [Red China] to steal U.S. innovations and get to market quickly."

2007-08-01
Douglas MacKinnon _TownHall_
Illegal aliens have declared war on the USA
"Town by town, city by city, county by county, these illegal aliens and the far left lawyers that are eagerly facilitating their law-suits, plan to chip away at the sovereignty of the United States.   And as they do, many of our elected officials and leading 'news' organizations, are cheer-leading them on from the side-lines."

2007-08-01
Jasmynne Sloan _Creston News Advertiser_
Tancredo on illegal immigration (with video)
"'When I first came to Congress, the issue of immigration reform was what really motivated me...', he said.   'I still believe it's the most serious domestic policy issue we face as a nation.'   Tancredo said illegal immigration is causing lost jobs for Americans, wage depression, stress on school systems, higher medical costs, higher expenses for the nation's prison systems, increased gang activity and increased drug use, specifically methamphetamine...   Tancredo said damage to U.S. culture comes from immigrants today who aren't assimilating the way past immigrants have.   He said he's frustrated by the changes taking place across the nation, such as Spanish-language editions of newspapers like the Ottumwa Courier, Muslim foot baths at colleges like University of Michigan and a prayer room at the Denver, CO, airport for Muslim cab drivers...   'They come one way because we have something better.   Because this life, created by Western civilization on Judeo-Christian principles offers something better.   Individual freedom.'...   When asked specifically about his stance on rural issues, Tancredo pointed out that he'd voted against the recent farm bill because the subsidies are 'skewing the market, and they're terrible for both the farmers and the [tax-victims].   I believe the development of alternative fuels, bio-fuels included, is imperative so we stop our reliance on petroleum products, especially from countries where they want to kill us.', he said.   'But then markets take over.   Government should not.   Rural America will be much better off without the government.'"

2007-08-01
Shobhana Chandra _Bloomberg_
July lay-off announcements up 15% from same month last year
CNN/Money
MarketWatch
"Announced job cuts rose to 42,897 last month, from a 6-year low of 37,178 in 2006 July, Chicago-based Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. said today.   So far in 2007, corporations have announced plans to lay off 436,396 workers, down 8% from 473,636 this time last year.   The number of planned job cuts decreased 23% last month from 55,726 in June, the report said.   Job cuts in the financial industry last month were the fewest since September, plunging 78% to reach 2,181, from the prior month's 9,800.   The financial sector continues to lead job cuts for the year, with 67,006 year-to-date, compared with 31,680 in 2006.   The transportation industry announced the greatest number of job cuts last month, 9,722, followed by electronics companies with 7,100.   Cost-cutting, business closings and slowing demand were the top three reasons cited for the July announcements.   Texas led all states with 13,224 announced firings, the report said.   In all of 2006, Challenger tallied 839,822 job reductions.   In May for instance, a total of 1.3M workers were discharged from their jobs involuntarily in mass lay-offs from large firms, representing about 0.9% of total employment, according to the latest available data from the Labor Department.   By comparison, 2.8M people quit their jobs voluntarily in May."

2007-08-01 04:51PDT (07:51EDT) (11:51GMT)
Ann d'Innocenzio & Natasha T. Metzler _AP_/_Yahoo!_
Fisher-Price is recalling nearly 1M toys made in Red China using lead paint
CNN
"Toy-maker Fisher-Price is recalling 83 types of toys — including the popular Big Bird, Elmo, Dora and Diego characters — because their paint contains excessive amounts of lead.   The worldwide recall being announced Thursday involves 967K plastic preschool toys made by a Chinese vendor and sold in the United States between May and August.   It is the latest in a wave of recalls that has heightened global concern about the safety of [Red Chinese-made] products.   The recall is the first for Fisher-Price Inc. and parent company Mattel Inc. involving lead paint.   It is the largest for Mattel since 1998 when Fisher-Price had to yank about 10M Power Wheels from toy stores...   The recall is particularly alarming since Mattel, known for its strict quality controls, is considered a role model in the toy industry for how it operates in [Red China]...   The recall follows another high-profile move from toy maker RC2 Corp., which in June voluntarily recalled 1.5M wooden railroad toys and set parts from its Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway product line.   The company said that the surface paint on certain toys and parts made in [Red China] between 2005 January and 2006 April contain lead, affecting 26 components and 23 retailers...   ."

2007-08-01 15:00PDT (18:00EDT) (22:00GMT)
Lou Dobbs & Bill Tucker _CNN_
Federal Legislation Affecting Science and Technology
Lou Dobbs:: Still ahead here, Congress says it has a new plan to keep jobs in the United States -- presumably for American citizens. We'll have that report.
And are this country's liberal elites destroying America?
The author of _Foundations of Betrayal: How The Liberal Super Rich Undermine America_ joins me.   We'll have a discussion how the liberal elites do that and a few thoughts, also, about conservative elites do that.   And I'll have a few thoughts, also, for Mr. Kent about those conservative elites, as well...
Lou Dobbs:: Congress appears to be on the verge of passing legislation that would raise funding for mathematics and science education.   Supporters say that funding would keep the United States competitive within the global marketplace and American jobs from being shipped over-seas.
Bill Tucker reports now on what this new legislation could mean for American students and workers.
Bill Tucker: Members of the House and Senate believe America needs to be more competitive.   A bill that they believe will do that is likely to pass Congress before the week's end.
The reason?
Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN): Well, the need is to keep our jobs.   I mean if we really want to think of the way to keep our jobs from going to [Red China] and India and other countries over-seas, we need to keep our brain power advantage.
Bill Tucker: The Competitiveness Bill would nearly double the funding for the National Science Foundation and authorize $43 billion for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, research and education programs at the federal level for the next three years.   It creates grant programs for low and middle income students.   And while putting more money into education and national research labs is welcome, critics point out 2 problems.
First, the problem is a presumed lack of kids with degrees in the field.
Vivek Wadhwa, former cross-border body shopper and assistant professor at Duke University: And the problem isn't the supply, it's the demand.   That we have enough engineers and scientists.   The problem is that the salaries aren't there.
Bill Tucker:: And that's the second problem.   The salaries don't reflect a shortage and the bill doesn't fix the underlying fundamental policy problem, where it's cheaper for companies to out-source the jobs over-seas.
In February of last year, the head of the Federal Reserve testified...
Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Board chair: Simply producing more engineers and scientists may not be the answer because the labor market for those workers will simply reflect lower wages or, perhaps, greater unemployment for those -- for those workers.
Alan Tonelson of the US Business and Industry Council: If you don't have the jobs here because the industries aren't here, because they have been sent over-seas by our out-sourcing-focused trade policies, it doesn't matter how highly skilled our workers are.   They'll still be unemployed.
Bill Tucker:: Not a single organization or leader who represents American workers was a part of the process of forming this legislation.
Bill Tucker:: Now, there's no question this bill will create jobs at research institutions and on university campuses.   The bigger question is will corporations react by investing more in its U.S. work-forces instead of doing as IBM is doing, for example, Lou, and that is out-sourcing its work to India?
Lou Dobbs:: IBM and hundreds of other corporations.
Bill Tucker:: As well.   Right.   Exactly.
Lou Dobbs:: You know, it -- I love to see the enthusiasm for this legislation based on it'll make it -- it'll America more competitive.   It will -- we will have a better educated work-force.
What happened in this country to the idea of education for its own sake, with the millions and millions of brilliant students, bright people we have in this country, who don't have an opportunity to go to school?
Why not make certain that those students who have an aptitude and a talent, a gift in mathematics and science, are guaranteed their education by the federal government, whether it be through state programs, grants for state programs, whatever?
The idea of this government reinforcing -- for the sake of just educating our people, not because of global competitiveness or all of this nonsense.   And to listen to Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, I mean that's scurrilous and disgusting, the words that he uttered there.
Bill Tucker:: But he does make a point.   You can -- you've got to create jobs for these people so that when they come out -- the Vacaduar (ph), for example, says 40% of the engineers at Duke end up not going into engineering because the salaries aren't there when they graduate.   They go into investment banking.
Lou Dobbs:: The salaries aren't there because of public policy...
Bill Tucker:: Right.
Lou Dobbs:: ...and business corporate practice that is devastating.   I wish I would have written a book about that in 2004.
(LAUGHTER)
Lou Dobbs:: All right, Bill Tucker, thank you very much.   Bill Tucker:: Sure.
Lou Dobbs:: I'm joined now by the chairman of the House Committee On Science and Technology, Congressman Bart Gordon.
Congressman Gordon joining us tonight from Capitol Hill.
Gordon, good to have you with us, Congressman.
Representative Bart Gordon (D-TN), House committee on science & technology:Thank you, Lou.
Lou Dobbs:: The idea that this government would get behind a program to incentivize, to support science and mathematics, engineering, is exciting.
What -- what -- how do you respond to the claim, though, that even this legislation would not be supportive of American jobs and higher pay in the private market-place of jobs, which is where most folks live?
Bart Gordon: Well, I think it's a misunderstanding to think that this bill is only for producing a few great scientists or engineers.   It's much broader than that.
If you look at the problem that we in this country, there are about 7G people in the world, half of which make less than $2 a day.   We can't compete and we don't want to compete on that level, which means that we've got to be making 50 widgets for every one widget they're making in [Red China].   We've got to be innovating and developing the widget maker and manufacturing that widget maker here.
So whether you are a high school graduate, whether you are a junior college graduate or a college graduate, no matter what it is, you're going to have to work at a higher skill level.   You're going to have to have a better proficiency in math and science so that we can be more efficient and more productive.   And that's what we're trying to do, in addition to investing in research, so that we are in the lead in those areas.
Lou Dobbs:: The National Academy has issued a report in 2005 that two thirds of all fourth and eighth graders in this country are testing below the proficient level in mathematics.
Will your legislation move to that level of education?
Bart Gordon: Absolutely.   It's K to 12.   And the problem, Lou, is, it's not the our kids aren't smart.   But when you look at scores around the world, only Cypress and South Africa have lower math and science scores than our kids. [But only Singapore kids have higher scores than ours.]
Lou Dobbs:: Yes.
Bart Gordon: The reason is that -- and, again, we have good teachers, but our teachers aren't proficient in the material.
Lou Dobbs:: Oh, Congressman, if I may interrupt you.
Bart Gordon: Yes?
Lou Dobbs:: Look, we've got some wonderful teachers.   But we've -- we've got to acknowledge some realities.   We -- we have teachers who don't even -- who have not -- that's not their main -- the subjects they're teaching wasn't their major.
Bart Gordon: Well, that's the reality...
Lou Dobbs:: You know...
Bart Gordon: That's what I'm talking about.
Lou Dobbs:: Yes.
Bart Gordon: Right now, there's something like 67% of the middle school math teachers don't have a certificate or a major in that area.   87% of the science teachers.   And we're going to do something about that.
We're going to do 2 things.   One, we're going to bring those teachers in for the summer, provide them stipends to get their certification, A.P. Courses and whatever might be necessary.   We're going to set up a scholarship program for those students that want to go into math, science and education, and agree to teach for five years.
So it's really focused on getting the teachers up to teach and inspire.
Lou Dobbs:: Right.
Well, I'm inspired that we're -- we have you thinking about this and your colleagues, to move it forward.   It's certainly something the country needs -- a focus, an incentive and inspiration for our young people and to make certain that every kid in this country, irrespective of his or her economic or social circumstance, can get an education, certainly in mathematics, engineering and science.
Bart Gordon: And if we don't...
Lou Dobbs:: So my hat is off to you.
Bart Gordon: If we don't do that, I'm very afraid that my daughter and this next generation could be the first generations of Americans that inherit a national standard of living less than their parents.
Lou Dobbs:: Well, you know, as you were saying, it isn't that our students are dumb.   But, man, have we got some dumb people leading this country to get us in this kind of mess.   And I'm talking about -- I'm not talking about simply politicians.   I'm talking about the business leaders who talk out of one side of their mouth about education and then do nothing to improve the opportunities for education for all Americans.
We thank you for doing so.
Gordon HR2272
Reid S761

2007-08-01 (5767 Menachem-Av 17)
Thomas Sowell _Jewish World Review_
Defeatism defeated?
"Having waited for years, why could he not wait until September for the report by the general who is actually on the ground in Iraq every day?   Why was it necessary for politicians in Washington to declare the troop surge a failure from 8K miles away?   The most obvious answer is that Senator Reid feared that the surge would turn out not to be a failure -- and the Democrats had bet everything, including their chances in the 2008 elections, on an American defeat in Iraq...   Another revealing sign is that the solid front of the main-stream media in filtering out any positive news from Iraq and focussing only on American casualties -- in the name of 'honoring the troops' -- is now starting to show cracks."

2007-08-01 (5767 Menachem-Av 17)
Walter E. Williams _Jewish World Review_
Economic Thinking
"Which choice, sticking with the chosen topic or choosing another, will more readily lead to successful completion...   We can change the future, but we cannot change the past, though we can learn from it...   The only costs relevant to decision-making are what economists call marginal or incremental cost; that's the change in costs as a result of doing something.   That cost should be compared to the expected benefit...   The idea of weighing the costs of doing something against its benefits are part and parcel of intelligent decision-making.   If we only look to benefits, we'll do darn near anything because everything has some kind of benefit."
 

2007-08-02

2007-08-02 05:30PST (08:30EST) (13:30GMT)
Subri Raman & Tony Sznoluch _DoL ETA_
un-employment insurance weekly claims report
current press release
"The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 255,679 in the week ending July 28, a decrease of 43,069 from the previous week.   There were 259,974 initial claims in the comparable week in 2006.   The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.9% during the week ending July 21, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week.   The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,454,584, a decrease of 134,211 from the preceding week.   A year earlier, the rate was 1.8% and the volume was 2,358,926.   Extended benefits were not available in any state during the week ending July 14."
graphs

2007-08-02 12:00PDT (15:00EDT) (19:00GMT)
Marianne Kolbasuk McGee _EE Times_/_CMP_
Some in congress pushing for more tech education programs
Information Week
Information Week 2
"Earlier this week, joint-committee leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate reached an agreement on a version of the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science, or the Competes Act (HR2272).   The bill could go up for a vote in the House and Senate before the August recess begins this weekend."
Gordon HR2272
Reid S761

2007-08-02
Ron Paul _Lew Rockwell_
Comprehensive Health Care Act
"Unfortunately, most health care 'reform' proposals either make marginal changes or exacerbate the problem.   This is because they fail to address the root of the problem with health care, which is that government polices encourage excessive reliance on third-party payers.   The excessive reliance on third-party payers removes all incentive from individual patients to concern themselves with health care costs.   Laws and policies promoting Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) resulted from a desperate attempt to control spiraling costs.   However, instead of promoting an efficient health care system, HMOs further took control over health care away from the individual patient and physician.   Furthermore, the predominance of third-party payers means there is effectively no market for individual health insurance polices, thus those whose employers cannot offer them health benefits must either pay exorbitant fees for health insurance or do without health insurance.   Since most health care providers cater to those with health insurance, it is very difficult for the uninsured to find health care that meets their needs at an affordable price.   The result is many of the uninsured turn to government-funded health care systems, or use their local emergency room as their primary care physician.   The result of this is declining health for the uninsured and increased burden on tax-payer-financed health care system.   Returning control over health care to the individual is the key to true health care reform."

2008-01-02
Nadeem Walayat _Market Oracle_
USA transfer of sovereignty to "sovereign wealth funds"
"The SWF's have been stepping in of late with tens of billions in financing and investments into the cash starved US banking and finance sector with financial institutions such as Citicorp selling off large chunks every other week to funds such as that to the Abu Dhabi SWF at 4.9% of the company for $7.5G on a fixed yield of 11%, the terms are far more favourable than offered to domestic investors.   Most recent speculation is that Rio Tinto maybe inline for a chinese SWF bid of as much as $150G...

The Multi-pronged strategy towards the transfer of sovereignty -
1. Transfer of manufacturing base eastwards
2. Transfer of service sector industries eastward
3. Securing control of energy and mineral resources
4. Theft of new technologies through state sponsored espionage
5. Investment in prime western companies in the West via SWF's
6. Transfer of western commercial and financial expertise eastward.

2007-08-03

2007-08-03 02:49PDT (05:49EDT) (09:49GMT)
Jia Lynn Yang _CNN_/_Money_/_Fortune_
India body shop sets up call center in Reno, OH to give better service to Expedia customers

2007-08-03 08:51PDT (11:51EDT) (15:51GMT)
Greg Robb _MarketWatch_
ISM services index dropped from 60.7% in June to 55.8% in July: Employment index fell from 55.0% in June to 51.7% in July

2007-08-03
Patrick O'Conner _Politico_
US House erupted in chaos over bungled vote tally over benefits to illegal aliens
"Details remain fuzzy, but numerous Republicans argued afterward that they had secured a 215-213 win on their motion to bar undocumented immigrants from receiving any federal funds apportioned in the agricultural spending bill for employment or rental assistance.   Democrats, however, argued the measure was deadlocked at 214-214 and failed, members and aides on both sides of the aisle said afterward."

2007-08-03
Mitch Ratcliffe _Ziff Davis_
"Social Network" Problems
"for the most part, social network providers only want to keep their members on the inside of their walled gardens.   Social activity doesn't exist in narrow parameters, and no one wants to do more to manage their relationships, despite the assertion by Ning cofounder Gina Bianchini that people will want to have to have identities for different [millions of] social networks.   Making socializing into work isn't how you make it popular.   Managing isn't what makes life fun.   Moreover, making socializing into an activity that enriches others doesn't add to the attraction of social networks...   The whole approach to friending, which typically grants carte blanche access to a person's information or to a Facebook application provider, treats personal data as though it was the least valuable feature of the social environment.   Instead, it is the most precious thing, something that we struggle to share selectively throughout our lives.   Simple categories of access to personal information, suggested by social network providers, such as 'friend', 'family' and 'colleague', will not suffice, either, because we don't have uniform relationships with our friends, family members or coworkers.   Here's the rule of social success: Our personal data shouldn't become someone else's asset.   Instead, we need to be able to turn it into value for ourselves."
Privacy organizations

2007-08-03
Nicole Gaouette _Los Angeles Times_
Rule change on checking permission to work in USA expected
"In the coming days, the Department of Homeland Security is expected to issue a rule outlining how businesses must respond when they receive notice that there are discrepancies in a worker's tax records.   Many businesses simply ignore such notices now.   Under the new rules, employees would have a limited time to contact the Social Security Administration to correct the information, or face termination.   The rule would transfer more responsibility for enforcement to companies — part of a Homeland Security effort to break through the complacency that some officials say the corporate world has about illegal workers."

2007-08-03
Edwin S. Rubenstein _V Dare_
Displacement of American Workers Continues
"Total employment fell by 30K, or by 0.02%.   Hispanic employment rose by 140K, or by 0.7%.   Non-Hispanic employment fell by 170,000, or by 0.1%...   July's Hispanic job pop pushed VDARE.COM's American Worker Displacement Index (VDAWDI) up to the record 122.0 first reached in April.   In June VDAWDI was 121.0...   All the lines start at 100.0 in 2001 January...   Month to month anomalies cannot obscure the big picture: From 2001 January through 2007 July Hispanic employment rose 4.213M, or by 26.1%, while non-Hispanic employment rose 4.121M, a 3.4% gain."

2007-08-03
_numen notes_
"You Americans are too honest"
"A few months ago there were 90 of us contract programmers and analysts here in one room, and now there are only 10, and we will all soon be gone.   The guest-workers from India are all calling around looking for new jobs.   My friend Slim was helping 'Rajiv', the guy who sits in the row in front of us, when Raj got a call from a recruiter, and Raj was claiming all sorts of skillsets that Slim knew he couldn't do.   So Slim asked Raj, 'Why are you telling them that?'.   And Raj said, 'You Americans are too honest.   We lie to get the job, and when we get there, we help each other out.   And if none of us there know how to do it, then we just move on to the next job.'   When I got to this gig, 90 of us came here in the course of a few weeks, and only two of us were Americans.   Now, of the few who are left, most are Americans, because we didn't lie about what we could do.   But the 'Powers That Be' had to try to hire at least 2 guest-workers who couldn't do the job before they would break down and hire an American who could.   And that's how the game works."

2007-08-03
Lily Hsueh _Federal Reserve Board of San Francisco_
Trends in Bay Area IT Employment

2007-08-03
Christian E. Weller & Amanda Logan _American Progress_
Ignoring the need to invest in USA at our peril
"After reaching 12.6% of gross domestic product in 2000, business investment fell to 9.7% in 2004 March, its lowest level since 1992 September.   Business investment then rebounded, reaching a level of 10.7% of GDP in the third quarter of 2006, before declining to 10.5% in the first quarter of 2007."

2007-08-03

DJIA	13,181.91
S&P 500	1,433.06
NASDAQ	2,511.25
10-year US T-Bond	4.70%
crude oil	75.48
gold	684.40
silver	13.158
platinum	1,298.00
palladium	367.05
copper	0.2174375
natural gas	6.09/MBTU
unleadedgasoline	NYMEX no longer trading
reformulatedgasoline	$2.029/gal
heatingoil	$2.034/gal

I usually get this info from MarketWatch, which gets them from BigCharts and FT Interactive.
 
 

2007-08-04
 

2007-08-05

2007-08-05
Geoff Oldfather _Treasure Coast Palm_
Landlord evicts business tenant to make room for Spanish-speakers
"Tom McKenna is a long-time Stuart businessman who speaks only English.   He says that's why he's being kicked out of the storefront on South Dixie Highway where he has run Seacoast Water Care for 7 years...   On July 5 -- the day after Independence Day -- McKenna received a letter from landlord Ivan Munroe telling him to consider another location.   Munroe said in his letter he wants to have 'quality tenants serving the Spanish need in the area'.   'I guess I don't serve the ''Spanish need'', whatever that means.', McKenna said.   'I have plenty of Spanish-speaking workers come in here to buy water for their landscaping crews.', he said.   'And people in the neighborhood use the vending machines out front to fill their water bottles for their homes.'...   Directly south of McKenna's store, across Southeast Ellendale Street, is a Texaco gas station where men, most of whom speak primarily Spanish, gather to wait for someone to hire them for day labor.   The population of the Golden Gate neighborhood east of McKenna's store also has become mostly Spanish-speaking.   To McKenna, that's irrelevant, as it should be.   A customer is a customer is a customer...   Apparently the signs for Seacoast Water Care don't fit in.   They're in English.   Munroe pretty much admitted that's one of the reasons he wants McKenna to move...   Munroe is a private business owner, and he can do anything he wants with his property including fulfill his 'vision'.   But there's a double standard, and I don't think Munroe is a villain as much as he's the symptom of a bigger societal ill: Try telling a minority business owner to leave so you can bring in a quality tenant to serve the need of the English-speaking population."

2007-08-05
Steve Sailer _V Dare_
On Genealogy, Kinship, and Race
"According to Harpending's genetic math, on average, people are as closely related to other members of their sub-racial 'ethnic' group (e.g., Japanese or Italian) versus the rest of the world as they are related to their grand-children or nephews and nieces versus the rest of their ethnic group."

2007-08-05
Drew DeSilver _Seattle Times_
New jobs being created pay less
"most of the new jobs created in the current expansion don't pay all that well, and fewer high-wage jobs have been generated than during the late-1990s boom...   Of the 240K jobs created in Washington between 2002 and 2006, almost 70% were in fields where the average weekly pay was less than $832 a week (or $43,264 a year).   That's the income calculated as a 'living wage' in Washington for a family of 2 adults and 2 children, according to Penn State's Poverty in America project.   Several of the fastest-growing job categories -- in retail, hospitality, agriculture and social services -- were at the lower end of the wage scale.   For instance, more than 26K administrative and support jobs have been created, with an average weekly wage of $605 -- about $31,500 a year.   General retailers added almost 9,900 jobs, paying on average $460.53 a week, or less than $24K a year.   Bars and restaurants generated more than 20K jobs, paying an average of about $280 a week, or $14,550 a year, though those workers rely on tips for much of their pay.   The current recovery has so far generated far fewer high-paying jobs than the last [alleged] boom, which ran roughly from 1995 to 2000.   During those heady dot-com years, businesses statewide created more than 99K jobs paying more than $50K a year -- 30.6% of all new jobs -- primarily in Internet, telecommunications and other high-technology fields.   But between 2002 and 2006, just 57K jobs paying above $50K were created in Washington -- 23.7% of the total.   Many high-paying industries -- notably telecommunications, electronics manufacturing and air transportation -- have continued shedding jobs during the current recovery.   Statewide, those three sectors combined to lose more than 11K jobs, with an average weekly wage of $1,275.59, between 2002 and 2006...   Boeing, which employed 104K Washingtonians at the peak of the last cycle in 1998 June, reported just 71,781 Washington workers at the end of July -- despite the big buildup for the new 787 Dreamliner jet.   The leaner pay-roll is a consequence of the company's aggressive stream-lining of its production processes and out-sourcing of much work previously done in-house.   Out-sourcing has acted to hold down wage levels as well as job counts, said Marilyn Watkins, policy director of the labor-backed Economic Opportunity Institute in Seattle...   The Employment Security Department's April survey of job vacancies found that, of the 87,447 openings reported statewide, 46% paid less than $10 an hour; another 26% paid between $10 and $15 an hour.   Though registered nurses, with a median hourly wage of $23.55, were most in demand, the next highest-demand jobs were cashiers, farm-workers and retail sales-people -- all offering a median wage of $8 an hour."

2007-08-05
_Animate Matters_
Citizens and Aliens part 1: what the US constitution has to say
 

2007-08-06

2007-08-06
Ron Hira _American Prospect_
How guest-work visa programs promote and facilitate out-sourcing and off-shoring
alternate link
"A lobbying coalition of the technology industry and universities is seeking a massive increase in the annual quota of H-1B visas...   The carefully orchestrated public relations blitz included support from editorial boards of major newspapers and well placed news articles...   A number of presidential candidates have taken the bait by publicly supporting an H-1B increase.   The deep pocketed technology industry has made it clear to them it wants something in return for being an ATM to the candidates...   But in reality, the H-1B program has been thoroughly corrupted.   Rather than providing firms with workers who posses unique skills, the program is dominated by low wage workers with ordinary rank-and-file skills.   And rather than preventing work from going over-seas, the program is speeding it up.   Off-shore out-sourcing firms rely on the H-1B and related L-1 programs for 3 principal reasons.   First, it facilitates their knowledge-transfer operations, where they rotate in foreign workers in to learn U.S. workers' jobs.   In fact, U.S. workers are often 'transferring knowledge' under duress.   Second, the H-1B and L-1 programs provide them an inexpensive, on-site presence that enables them to coordinate off-shore functions.   Many functions that are done remotely still require a significant amount of physical presence at the customer site.   For example, according to its own financial reporting, Infosys' on-site workers, almost all of whom are foreign guest-workers, directly accounted for 49.2% of its revenue in its most recent quarter.   Third, the H-1B and L-1 programs allows the U.S. operations to serve as a training ground for foreign workers who then rotate back to their home country to do the work more effectively than they could have without such training in the United States.   A recent BusinessWeek story described Wipro's use of the H-1B program this way: 'Wipro has more than 4K employees in the United States, and roughly 2,500 are on H-1B visas.   About 1K new temporary workers come to the country each year, while 1K rotate back to India, with improved skills to serve clients.'   The abuse of the program is the result of 3 loop-holes...   companies do not have to demonstrate a shortage exists for U.S. workers and can even force a U.S. worker to train his or her foreign replacement.   The U.S. Department of Labor's 2006 Strategic Plan puts it bluntly, 'H-1B workers may be hired even when a qualified U.S. worker wants the job, and a U.S. worker can be displaced from the job in favor of the foreign worker.'...   The H-1B program's primary safeguard for U.S. as well as H-1B workers is the requirement that an H-1B worker be paid the prevailing wage.   In theory the prevailing wage should be at least the market wage -- the wage paid to an American worker with the same skills -- but in practice the regulation is chock full of loop-holes allowing employers to pay below market wages.   How do we know this?   Employers say so.   The Government Accountability Office conducted interviews of H-1B employers and reported that, 'Some employers said that they hired H-1B workers in part because these workers would often accept lower salaries than similarly qualified U.S. workers; however, these employers said they never paid H-1B workers less than the required [prevailing] wage.'   And examples of approved H-1B applications show how big the cost savings can be.   In 2006, the U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) rubber-stamped applications by HCL America, a major off-shore out-sourcing firm, to import 75 computer software engineers at annual salary of $24,710.   That's a 70% discount on the median wage rate for those occupations...   The median wage for new H-1Bs computing professionals is even lower than the salary an entry-level bachelor's degree graduate would command.   So, half of the 52,352 H-1B computing professionals admitted in FY2005 earned less than entry-level wages.   And even at the 75th percentile, new H-1B computing professionals earned just $60K.   A recent study by John Miano found that 56% of the H-1B applications for computing jobs were for the lowest skill level, 'Level 1'.   The DoL defines such jobs as 'internships' or 'workers in training'...   deficient oversight, permeates nearly all aspects of the H-1B program.   This leads to a program with pages of regulations that are essentially ineffective and toothless.   The DoL's own Office of Inspector General has described the labor certification process, the primary means of safeguarding the labor market, as simply a 'rubber stamp' of the employer's application.   The process is completely automated, with no person reviewing applications, and the employer is not required to submit any supporting documentation.   Based on its examination of the process, the GAO concluded that, 'as the [H-1B] program currently operates, the goals of preventing abuse of the program and providing efficient services to employers and workers are not being achieved.   Limited by the law, Labor's review of the [labor certification process] is perfunctory and adds little assurance that labor conditions employers attest to actually exist.'...   Cheap labor explains why the H-1B program is oversubscribed and it also explains why the technology industry has fought to expand government intervention to keep wages low.   A sizable share of the U.S. high-tech workforce understands this logic, and justifiably views the H-1B program as a threat and a scam.   That's the real danger to U.S. competitiveness...   7 of the top 10 H-1B employers are off-shore out-sourcing firms -- firms that hire almost no Americans.   Those 7 firms gobbled up nearly 20K visas in 2006 alone.   And each of those 20K positions is used to lever 4 to 5 more workers over-seas.   Many American politicians act oblivious to what is obvious to India's Commerce Minister, Kamal Nath, who recently dubbed the H-1B the 'out-sourcing visa'.   The Indian government views the H-1B as a trade issue, not an immigration one.   As such they view any restriction on the movement of people in the form of wage requirements or caps as a non-tariff barrier to trade.   Their comparative advantage is low cost labor...   By giving the industry a steady diet of cheap labor, there is no reason for companies to expand the domestic talent pool they draw from and invest in American workers to fill these jobs.   And it also gives the companies ample opportunities to replace older workers with younger ones, fueling age discrimination...   A more sensible set of solutions would be 2-fold.   First, significantly increase investments in U.S. students and under-employed workers so they can fill these job openings.   Second, let the market work.   If technology workers are as scarce as companies claim, then wages would be bid up and talented workers would choose engineering instead of more lucrative and safe fields in finance, medicine or law."

2007-08-06 07:23PDT (10:23EDT) (14:23GMT)
_WAVY_/_AP_
CEO turn-over was down in July
"88 CEOs headed for the exits last month.   According to global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, that's a drop of 16% from June and the fewest in 16 months.   The July figure is the lowest of the year and the first time in 2007 that monthly CEO changes totaled fewer than 100."

2007-08-06
Kim Berry _Business Week_
Skilled Workers Deserve True Visa Reform
"The [Reprehensible Immigration Law Perversion] legislation that died in the senate was no friend to American workers.   One proposal for a new Z visa would have bestowed millions of U.S. construction, service, and manufacturing jobs to illegal immigrants without first offering these jobs to Americans.   The [RILP] also would have opened the flood-gates for employer-sponsored tech workers on temporary work visas, known as H-1Bs, and green cards...   in 2006 about one-third of green cards went to hourly workers with a median wage under $18 per hour, including thousands of low-skill workers earning $6 to $10 per hour.   Green-card holders with salaries above $120K tend to be managers, attorneys, and medical professionals rather than tech workers.   Only a small fraction of the 140K green cards go to workers engaged in technical innovations or are related to America's global competitiveness -- and even in those rare instances, American workers are generally available for the jobs.   By law, the Labor Secretary may approve green cards only when no qualified Americans are available.   But as a notorious video from a seminar by law firm Cohen & Grigsby revealed this summer, some immigration attorneys try to stack the deck to disqualify every American applicant (see BusinessWeek, 2007/06/21, 'Out-Sourcing: How to Skirt the Law')...   most H-1B applications are at Level One, which is the median of the bottom 25% of American workers.   The result is a 'prevailing wage' $10K to $20K below what average Americans earn.   Tata Consultancy Services Vice-President Phiroz Vandrevala explained how bringing foreign workers into the U.S. on H-1B and L-1 visas gives them a competitive advantage.   'Our wage per employee is 20% to 25% less than U.S. wages for a similar employee.'   These workers then return to India, taking U.S. jobs and technology with them.   If Congress intended to drive U.S. employers off-shore, then the L-1 visa was a success.   By setting up shop in low-wage countries—rather than hiring Americans—employers can rotate in an unlimited number of foreign workers to their U.S. facilities for up to one year while still paying them their foreign wage, which can be $20K or less.   TCS alone has thousands of L-1 workers in the U.S. and has broken ground on a 5K-person facility in Guadalajara, Mexico, which allows them to be closer to U.S. clients and to be in the same time zone. IBM, Intel, M$, and Oracle all rotate in hundreds of L-1 workers as well."
class action against Tata

2007-08-06
Ericka Andersen _Human Events_
Presidential candidates show strength and optimism

2007-08-06 10:00PDT (13:00EDT) (17:00GMT)
David Losey _Conservative Voice_
_In Mortal Danger_ by Tom Tancredo

2007-08-06 14:17:05PDT (17:17:05EDT) (21:17:05GMT)
Angela de Welles _News Zap_
Conflicting opinions surround illegal immigration
"A trio of legislative bills signed into law by governor Janet Napolitano early last month represents the starting point for dealing with the issue of illegal immigration in Arizona, according to some...   House Bill 2779, which of the three bills has created the most debate, imposes penalties on employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.   Those sanctions could include the loss of a business license...   The first offense of HB2779 would cause the suspension of a business license for 10 days, while a second offense would cause the business to shut down permanently...   District 22 House representative Eddie Farnsworth (R-Gilbert) said there is a system in place for immigrants to become citizens or legal residents and he does not buy the arguments against the bill, which he says just puts 'teeth' into a law that is already on the books.   'It's been against the law for 20 years.', he said.   'It is illegal for people to hire illegals.'   He supported the bill and said the intent is to take away the motivation for people to cross illegally into Arizona, which he says hurts the state's health care and school systems.   The law allows the state to enforce what has been federal law since the late 1980s, he said."

2007-08-06 15:06:54PDT (18:06:54EDT) (22:06:54GMT)
Pamela Manson _Salt Lake Tribune_
Driver of illegal aliens who were killed pleads guilty
"The driver of a crowded pickup carrying undocumented immigrants that over-turned in June near Hurricane, killing 2 of the passengers, pleaded guilty today to a felony charge.   Eswin Enrique Aquino-Lopez entered a guilty plea to transporting illegal aliens resulting in death, which in his case carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.   The maximum punishment for the offense can be death, but prosecutors decided against seeking that penalty.   Aquino-Lopez, 23, a Guatemalan citizen, is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 5 by U.S. District Judge Paul Cassell.   The truck over-turned on June 7 about 20 miles east of Hurricane on State Road 59, according to the Utah Highway Patrol.   Two Guatemalans who were among eight passengers died.   They have been identified by the Guatemala Consulate as Senayda Solis Monzon, 37, of Retalhuleu, and Pedro Antonio Coycoy, 26, of La Libertad."

2007-08-06
Retha Colclasure _KFYR_
Illegal aliens arested in Morton county ND
"Morton county deputies arrested 2 men who were in the country illegally early yesterday morning.   Sheriff Dave Shipman says they responded to a call about a possible drunk driver north on Highway 1806.   When deputies pulled the car over, they found an intoxicated woman driving and 2 men with her.   Through an interpreter, they told a deputy that they were working for a paving company but didn`t know which one."

2007-08-06
Mladen Rudman _NW Florida Daily News_
John Lollar pre-files to run for Okaloosa county sheriff: Vows to crack down on illegal immigration

2007-08-06
_UPI_
Quarter of work-force have new job regrets
Chicago Sun-Times
Christian Science Monitor
"it's natural to have second thoughts in the first month or 2 of any new job, said John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, based in Chicago.   Depending on the severity of the regret, Challenger suggested meeting with a supervisor to discuss the situation or leaving before the regret begins affecting job performance, Challenger told the Chicago Sun-Times.   The 4 reasons people leave a new job are: the position is different from what the job seeker perceived, the new employee does not get along with his or her supervisor, the new employee does not mesh well with co-workers, and the employee is not getting the results expected by either the employee or employer.   Don't compromise 'must haves'.   At any time in the interviewing process, if job seekers think they cannot be themselves, they should immediately rule out the prospective employer.   It will never get better, it can only get worse."

2007-08-06
Barbara Anderson _Web Commentary_
North American Union to get firmed up in secrecy at meeting in Canada

2007-08-06 15:30PDT (18:30EDT) (22:30GMT)
Claudia Parsons _Yahoo!_/_Reuters_
State governments tackle illegal immigration
"state legislatures are passing a growing number of local laws on immigration, according to a report released on Monday.   The National Conference of State Legislatures said state lawmakers had introduced roughly 2.5 times more bills related to immigration in 2007 than in 2006.   So far this year, 170 bills have been enacted in 41 states, up from 84 in 2006...   The report by the NCSL said that by July 2, 1,404 pieces of legislation related to immigration had been introduced among the 50 state legislatures.   The 170 that were enacted covered a range of areas from access to health care and education to eligibility for public benefits and voting rights...   Of the laws enacted, 26 dealt with employment, for example requiring employers to verify workers' status.   11 states, including Texas and Montana, passed legislation cracking down on human trafficking, including by imposing stiffer sentences."

2007-08-06 04:00PDT (07:00EDT) (11:00GMT)
Declan McCullagh _CNET_
Ron Paul: The Internet's favorite candidate

2007-08-06 (5767 Menachem-Av 23)
Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir _Jewish World Review_
Anti-aristocracy: Understanding the Torah's obligation to tithe
 

2007-08-07

2007-08-07 09:08PDT (12:08EDT) (16:08GMT)
Jonathan Tasini _Huffington Post_
Major unions are ready to make endorsements for candidates... but will they?
"International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers: this is not a large union but it is one of the fastest growing, percentage-wise.   The union's leadership is furious at Clinton for her support for expanding the H-1B visa quotas -- which IFPTE believes costs their members jobs by increasing the number of foreign engineers.   I suspect they would endorse Edwards, if anyone."

2007-08-07
_Human Events_
interview with Ron Paul
"I am not a predictor [of polls].   All I know is I do what I've always done and present the case for freedom and usually there's a receptive audience, whether it was in the campaign that I've run in the past or in this campaign...   my policy is very conservative, very traditional, it's very American, it's very constitutional—it's very Republican.   I think it's the Republicans that have really gone astray, politically...
 
[We've rewarded] people who get weapons.   I mean, what do we do with India?   We give them nuclear technology, and they have a weapon -- they don't follow the NPT.   How about Pakistan? They've over-thrown an elected government.   They have a military dictatorship.   They're harboring Osama bin Laden.   We finance them.   We send them foreign aid.   So, I would say that we reward people with weapons.   Korea showed their might and set off a rinky-dink nuclear weapon, and we're over there begging and pleading and giving them money.   So, I say remove the incentive for doing this, and that is talk to these people...
 
To me, if you over-throw a regime it's an act of war, and it back-fires on us.   It has never served us well over the last 100 years.   It's sort of like what we did with 1953 by installing the Shah.   We worked with the regime, we worked the British then, and we're still suffering the consequences...   There is always some militant-violent-jihadist looking to rally that faction, but they have to have incentives.   The incentive is when we impose our will on them and we get involved in their internal politics.   Besides, it contradicts everything the Founders theorized, and there's no constitutional authority for us to march around the world under-mining different governments...   [I] believe in the Constitution, we don't have that authority.   I believe the Founders were right, and I believe that Jefferson was absolutely right that by staying out of entangling alliances -- which... no UN, no NATO -- which serve the interests of this country right now.   We have no respect for our national sovereignty.   This is why we don't even defend our borders, because we're moving onto a North American union.   So I would say you have to have concern about our national sovereignty and not meld us into these NATO alliances and agreements, that...
 
I voted for the authority to go after those individuals responsible, which was al Qaeda...   And I voted for the money -- probably the only 2 authorities and money that I voted for.   Because it was a direct attack on us and we were pretty confident who did it because they were bragging about it...
 
I think our policies toward Israel are setting the stage for the destruction of Israel, because Israel has sold out their national sovereignty to us...   When Israel attacked the nuclear site in Iraq in the early 1980s, you can go back and find out that I was one of the very few that defended Israel, because they were condemned at that time...   Israel has 300 nuclear weapons and they can take care of themselves.   Matter of fact, in the Persian War, if Israel and maybe some friendly Arab allies who didn't want to see Saddam Hussein spread, I think they could've taken care of Saddam Hussein back in the early 1990s instead of that stuff that we got into now for 17 years.   So I would treat Israel like all friends and treat them respectfully, and friends, and trade with them...
 
we either declare war by the Congress or we don't...   you can't amend the Constitution through treaty...   [Would you project power anywhere in the world?   The United States -- in terms of navy...]   On our borders...   nobody would touch us.   No, I think our influence, our real power is to be... through influence and by setting good examples, set a modern standard for liberty, great prosperity, trade with people, talk with people and be willing to be strong so nobody messes with us.   And, the world would be better off -- we would be better off, and I think the world would be better off.   There will be thugs around and there will be civil wars.   They've been fighting over there for a thousand years...   It's not going to end soon; it's going to end with a bankruptcy.   If we can't get anywhere closer on dealing with the Constitution, and Jefferson, and the old Right, and the Republican position...   We've got to think about it by dollars.   How in the heavens are you going to pay for it?...
 
We don't need it [the Unpatriotic Act] because it's so dangerous: it means national ID cards, it means everything else.   It means a total sacrifice of the Fourth Amendment, the First Amendment, the whole works -- we've just given them away...   They can watch everything that you do, your e-mails.   They can go into your house.   They can go into your financial records, your medical records.   Everything is gone...
 
Before 9/11 and before the Patriot Act we were spending $40G a year on national intelligence, and there was a lot of intelligence.   And buried in that intelligence was the explanation of everything these guys planned and that is well known now.   And there was one CIA or FBI agent that reported something like 70 times -- dozens and dozens of times -- but we have were pilots down here training to fly airplanes but not land them.   Totally ignored.   So it's bureaucracy, it's not a lack of power in the government or a lack of money.   It's so big.   So what did we do?   We created more bureaucracy, undermined more liberties, and spent more money...   It's sort of like gun control.   You know, people with guns commit violent crimes, so the Liberal wants to say, 'let's register the guns of all law abiding citizens'.   What we're doing here is registering all Americans and all this regulation and invasion of our privacy and national ID cards won't do much to find this dozen or so who can probably get around the law or avoid it or participate in it.   So what we're doing is very self-destructive.   All you have to do is go to the airport.   You can't even carry tooth-paste...you know, a tube of tooth-paste on there, because you might be a terrorist.   I mean we've gone nuts, on what we're doing, doing destruction on ourselves...
 
[at this last Supreme Court term, are you happy with the Alito, Roberts picks?]   Well, I would say half the time I am.   But I would admit right now that I probably haven't studied every ruling well enough to make a complete decision on that...   But I believe in civil liberties and I believe in strict interpretation of the Constitution.   But where would they be on the deceleration of war and the 4th amendment?   I'd worry about it...
 
Well I guess we could have a Justice Department.   I guess we could have a State Department, and I guess we could have a Defense Department, and maybe 1 or 2 others more but not many more than that.   I mean… We need to think about a Republican form of government.   I believe in a republic -- little 'R' republic -- and we don't need a Department of Education and a Department of Energy.   We used to win elections on that but not any more.   We doubled the size of all those programs...
 
Well, a President can't do it, Congress has to do it.   But you can probably run them in a different manner.   I mean the Justice Department certainly can be modified.   We don't have to send out the federal police to arrest people smoking marijuana.   Education, I'm sure there's plenty of things that we could do.   But ultimately, it's not the Congress, it's the prevailing will of the people.   But mainly it is about foreign policy...   My idea on this is that you can't turn a switch.   I don't like the Federal Reserve, but I don't have a program where you turn the switch off, because that wouldn't work.   But we ought to legalize freedom, we ought to legalize the Constitution.   Gold and silver ought to be, you know, legal tender.   You can have parallel currencies.   No taxes on gold and silver.   So there is always a parallel program.   On Medicare or Social Security, let the people get out of [them] if they want out, especially the younger generation.   If they don't want Social Security, they ought to be allowed to opt out.   Then the question is, how do you pay for it?   The only way you can pay for it is stop spending this trillion dollars that we're spending over-seas.   Therefore you can finance social security because it's not all been spent.   If you don't want to have the bankruptcy to come and have everyone out on the streets, what you have to do is cut some place, cut some deficit...
 
So you legalize competition in medicine.   Make sure the medical savings accounts got - Make sure the federal government never interferes with home-schooling and private schooling...
 
The Security and Prosperity Partnership… came out of NAFTA, there have been agreements signed.   Congress is totally ignorant of the whole thing, although there‘s been funds there to study the production of this highway...   The NAFTA Superhighway.   And uh... They're talking about the 'Amero' as a currency.   It's the early stages...   He [the president] is certainly in support it.   That's why he doesn't support us on immigration.   Because he really doesn't care about the borders, he cares about this [North American Union].   Some people theorize that the United Nations is a move towards one world government.   Well, we don't have one world government, but we ought to be concerned about it, because that...   Whether it's the United Nations, the WTO, the IMF or the World Bank, more and more power gravitates to these organizations.   Just as NAFTA does...
 
In my viewpoint, the Constitution has been sold long ago and that the Congress has probably been more responsible than anybody else.   So I don't think there is much left of the Constitution...
 
The message I have is the message of liberty, the message of the Constitution, and believe me, there is a receptive ear to it.   They are sick and tired of this war, they are sick and tired of policing the world, and they are sick and tired of the debt.   They are sick and tired of the entitlements.   $50T, $60T, $70T dollars we can't even imagine, that these young people are obligated to...   Believe me, they are listening out there and they are very upset and they're very annoyed, and they're upset with Republicans and Democrats.   And there is a revolt against the establishment...   the national debt was still going up [in 2001] because we were borrowing from the trust fund so that the national debt was still going up..."
 

2007-08-06 22:07PDT (2007-08-07 01:07EDT) (2007-08-07 05:07GMT)
Deb Nicklay _Globe Gazette_
Ron Paul believes country's freedom and prosperity are threatened

2007-08-07
Ron Brown _Canton Repository_
Ron Paul is the only candidate for president with a long history of standing for freedom

2007-08-07
Craig Crawford _Congressional Quarterly_
Presidential Race Could Use a Course Correction

2007-08-07
Mike Whitney _Atlantic Free Press_
Judgement Week on Wall Street
"We are now beginning to feel the first tremors from the massive credit expansion which began 6 years ago at the Federal Reserve [to counter the continuing Clinton-Bush depression].   The trillions of dollars which were pumped into the global economy via low interest rates and increased money supply have raised the nominal value of equities, but at great cost.   Now, stocks will fall sharply and businesses will fail as volatility increases and liquidity dries up.   Stagnant wages and a declining dollar have thrust the country into a deflationary cycle which has -- up to this point -- been concealed by Greenspan's 'cheap money' policy.   Those days are over.   Economic fundamentals are taking hold.   The market swings will get deeper and more violent as the Fed's massive credit bubble continues to unwind.   Trillions of dollars of market value will vanish over-night.   The stock market will go into a long-term swoon.   Ludwig von Mises summed it up like this: 'There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion.   The question is only whether the crisis should come sooner as a result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved.'   (Thanks to the Daily Reckoning)...   The dollar is falling, employment and manufacturing are weakening, new car sales are off for the seventh straight month, consumer spending is down to a paltry 1.3%, and oil is hitting new highs every day as it marches inexorably towards a $100 per barrel...   Apart from the 2 million-plus foreclosures, and the 80 or so mortgage lenders who have filed for bankruptcy; a growing number of investment firms are feeling the pinch from the turmoil in real estate.   Bear Stearns; Basis Capital Funds Management, Absolute Capital, IKB Deutsche Industrial Bank AG, Commerzbank AG, Sowood Capital Management, C-Bass, UBS-AG, Caliber Global Investment and Nomura Holdings Inc. are all either going under or have taken a major hit from the troubles in sub-prime...   Leveraged Buy Outs (LBOs) have been a dependable source of market liquidity.   But, not any more.   In the last quarter, there was $57G in LBOs.   In the first month of this quarter that amount dropped to less than $2G...   Representative Ron Paul is the only presidential candidate who supports abolishing the Federal Reserve."

2007-08-07
_Charleston Daily Mail_
Vents
"Ron Paul believes in limited federal government and limited taxes.   He even wants to end the income tax.   Can you imagine taking home your whole pay-check?"

2007-08-07 08:50PDT (11:50EDT) (15:50GMT)
Marianne Williamson _Huffington Post_
Truth Be Told

2007-08-07
Jacob Adelman _AP_/_San Diego Union-Tribune_
US citizen mistakenly deported
"He was jailed on a misdemeanor trespassing violation and then deported to Mexico on May 11, according to authorities, after he allegedly told immigration and sheriff's officials that he was an illegal immigrant."

2007-08-07
Brent Whiting _Arizona Republic_
Over 40 illegal aliens found in west Phoenix drop-house

2007-08-07
Joe Tacopino _Pop Matters_
Boys on the Bus #11
"his common sense approach is refreshing and more importantly he exposes the other candidates weaknesses.   The rest of the GOP field is entangled with special interests and institutions like the religious right and the military industrial complex.   What Ron Paul gives us is a good dose of honesty."

2007-08-07
_National Review_
Is 2008 the New 1964?

2007-08-07
_iGaming Business_
US On-Line Act gets endorsement from presidential candidate

2007-08-07
Marianne Kolbasuk McGee _Information Week_/TechWeb_/_CMP_
Wipro is expanding US operations through $600M acquisition of Infocrossing
alternate link

2007-08-07
"Hamous" _Lone Star Times_
Looking for Pork and Shrimp in the Constitution

2007-08-07
Kathryn Fiegen _Iowa City Press-Citizen_
Candidate stresses hands-off philosophy
"'We just need to follow what we have.', he told the Press-Citizen's editorial board Monday, alluding to his belief that the country should govern itself in accordance with the U.S. Constitution...   Paul said his support has been growing, mostly on the Internet, and he thinks he just is joining something that existed, his candidacy.   'I've sort of joined a campaign, rather than creating one to join.', he said."

2007-08-07
_Raw Story_/_AFP_
The bullet and the ballot: US gun owners eye election choices

2007-08-07
_Free Market News_
ABC & CNN should explain botched debate poll and comment board deletions
"CNN 'mislaid' commentary favorable to Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul and ABC has apparently done so in the past as well.   But it would seem, from reader reaction to a previous FMNN article 'ABC Reset Republican Debate Tally After Ron Paul Win?' that ABC is at it again -- and pervasively...   But now that reader reactions have updated the story, it seems as if the tinkering with poll results and with the commentary board itself was pervasive.   ABC is one of the biggest media franchises in America, and such franchises present themselves as deadly serious about maintaining and building trust with viewers...   if it wants to maintain the credibility of such, it ought to explain what is going on with its fluctuating poll numbers and even with the removal of commentary on its boards."

2007-08-07
Maggie O'Brien _Des Moines Register_
Ron Paul says he's a traditional conservative Republican
"The 200-plus Council Bluffs supporters comprised mostly college students and young families.   At age 71, Paul is the oldest candidate in the race for the White House...   Paul said he doesn't feel safe from terrorism because of U.S. involvement in the Middle East, and that the terrorist attacks of 2001 Sept. 11 could have been prevented had pilots been allowed to carry weapons -- a personal and Constitutional right.   'I think the Second Amendment would have prevented 9/11.', he said.   Paul, a former obstetrician-gynecologist who opposes abortion, is a strong advocate for rights spelled out in the Constitution.   He refuses to vote for legislation unless the proposed measure is expressly authorized by the Constitution."

2007-08-07
Jackson Baker _Memphis Flyer_
The Ron Paul Revolution, Memphis-Style

2007-08-07
_KTIV_
Ron Paul says young voters are key to presidential race
"'The number one obligation of anyone representing us in Washington is to obey their oath of office and to obey the constitution.', explains Paul.   At a campaign event in Lawton, Iowa, Texas Congressman Ron Paul speaks passionately about his views on abortion, tax reform, and education.   A strict constitutionalist, Paul doesn't agree with any laws or programs that weren't authorized by our founding fathers.   'I won't go to war without a declaration.   If the constitution says money should be gold and silver, then money should be gold and silver.', says Paul.   At almost 72, Paul's the oldest presidential candidate in the race, but young people are the reason he's running for the White House."

2007-08-07
_DiGiTAL50_
Hitwise launched Election 2008 Data Center
Web Pro News
Information Week/CMP
Data Center

2007-08-07
_Animate Matters_
Citizens and Aliens part 2: Quotes from the founding fathers

2007-08-07 (5767 Menachem-Av 23)
Estee Rieder _Jewish World Review_
What's in a name: Origins of surnames (nachnamen)

2007-08-07 (5767 Menachem-Av 23)
Thomas Sowell _Jewish World Review_
A bridge too far gone
"It is not just the people but the incentives that are responsible for the neglect of infrastructure, while tax money is lavished on all sorts of less urgent projects...   the same incentives will remain when new leaders take over...   The real problem is that the political incentives are to spend the [tax-victims'] money on things that will enhance politicians' chances of getting re-elected.   There may be enough money available to maintain bridges and other infrastructure but that same money can have a bigger political pay-off if spent building something new instead of maintaining and repairing existing structures...   But there are no ribbon-cutting ceremonies when bridges are being repaired or pot-holes are being filled in.   These latter activities may be more valuable than a community center or a golf course, but they are not nearly as photogenic...   A company that has to get the money to build and maintain bridges or other infrastructure through the voluntary actions of people in the financial markets, instead of being able to extract money from the [tax-victims], is going to find financiers a lot more finicky about what is being done with their money.   People who are putting their own money on the line are going to want to have their own experts taking a look under the bridges they finance, to see where there are rust, cracks or crumbling supports.   When people know that the law-suits that are sure to follow after a bridge collapses are going to drain millions of dollars of their own money -- not the [tax-victims'] money -- that keeps the mind focussed."
 

2007-08-08

2007-08-07 18:11:19PDT (2007-08-07 21:11:19EDT) (2007-08-08 01:11:19GMT)
_Pasadena Star News_
Border death stirs debate
"dozens of posts pouring onto Web sites honoring America's border patrol agents, messages left in tribute to Eric Cabral, 31, who died while on duty over the weekend from heat-related causes.   Cabral, an Azusa Pacific University graduate, obtained his master of science degree in physical education in 2003 from the local Christian college.   Not only did he study the human body, he put his education into practice -- he was in superb physical shape.   The Associated Press reported his physical stamina impressed his superiors at the Border Patrol Academy in New Mexico, where Cabral graduated in 2006.   The ironies don't stop there.   While we often hear of suspected illegal immigrants dying during a tortuous journey through the desert and mountains between Mexico and the U.S., Cabral is the first border patrol agent to die from extreme weather.   The news reports don't say enough about Border Patrol agents who work in the same heat and humidity that can define the 1,952-mile border 6 months or more out of the year.   Some say the combination of 95-degree heat and high humidity conspired against Cabral while chasing suspected illegal immigrants near Jacumba, a small village 60 miles east of San Diego.   When he didn't rendezvous with his partner, a search was launched.   His body was found with a head gash, a canteen that still had water in it next to him."

2007-08-08
Jerry Seper _Washington Times_
Border Patrol agent charged with 2nd degree murder as result of fatality in scuffle with 6 illegal aliens
"Mr. Corbett, 39, initially was charged with first-degree and second-degree murder, manslaughter and negligent homicide in the death of Mr. Dominguez-Rivera, 22, of Puebla, Mexico -- killed during what the Border Patrol said was a scuffle between the agent and as many as 6 illegal aliens attempting to cross into the United States.   The shooting occurred on the border about 100 miles southeast of Tucson, AZ, along a popular alien- and drug-smuggling corridor.   Mr. Corbett told colleagues he feared for his life and used deadly force to keep the man from throwing a large rock at him.   But the Arizona chapter of the National Border Patrol Council, which represents all 11K of the agency's non-supervisory agents, said the Mexican Consulate in Douglas, AZ, tainted the investigation by interviewing some of the 6 witnesses to the shooting before U.S. investigators.   Agent Brandon Judd, vice president of Local 2544, called the charges part of a nationwide pattern of politically motivated prosecutions against Border Patrol agents.   He said the matching testimony of 3 of the witnesses had more to do with their blood ties and influence from the Mexican Consulate than what happened."

2007-08-08 00:12:46PDT (03:12:46EDT) (07:12:46GMT)
Mark P. Couch _Denver Post_
Colorado governor Bill Ritter orders review to ensure conscientious enforcement of state's immigration laws
"Colorado governor Bill Ritter ordered his administration to review how the state is handling its get-tough immigration laws in the wake of disclosures that most laws haven't been rigorously enforced...   'I am not aware of any government agency under governor Ritter's control that is taking these illegal immigration laws seriously.', [senator David Schultheis (R-Colorado Springs)] said."

2007-08-08
T.J. Schick _Morning Call_
Internet is changing the way politicians campaign

2007-08-08
Ralph Z. Hallow _Washington Times_
Republicans pan Specter's immigration proposal

2007-08-08
Jay Walters _Pittsburgh Tribune-Review_
Ron Paul's message is inspiring
"After attending Friday's rally in Marshall for presidential candidate U.S. representative Ron Paul, R-Texas, with approximately 1K others, I eagerly awaited reading about the event in Saturday's Trib.   I must say that I was very disappointed to find no mention of it in the paper...   Unfortunately it is this attitude on the part of the media, the major political parties and the public that has gotten our country into the mess it is in today.   It seems as if repeating the 'talking points' of the major parties has become more prevalent than actually discussing and debating the issues.   I found Dr. Paul's message to be so inspiring that I shall change my party affiliation so that I may vote for him in the next primary election."

2007-08-08
Linda Schrock Taylor _Lew Rockwell_
Let the Tower of Power Fall
"Only one, representative Ron Paul, spoke courageously, with conviction, of the rightness of the Constitution; the wrongness of the State tower as it now lords over the land; of the harm done by misuse of power; of the rightness of returning power to the People.   We need Ron Paul to guide us as we disassemble the misshapen and misbegotten structure; to reveal the essence that was, and will again be, The United Individual States of America."

2007-08-08
Louie Gilot _El Paso Times_
Stalled van on bridge, filled with 5,769 pounds of marijuana led to charges against customs officer
"CBP officer Margaret Crispin, 32, has been charged with conspiracy to import a controlled substance for allegedly allowing loads of marijuana to pass through her bridge lanes unchecked for the past 4 years.   If convicted, she faces 10 years to life in prison.   Tuesday, she was denied bond by U.S. District Judge Richard P. Mesa after prosecutors and their witness, Byers, said Crispin owned property and had family in Juárez, making her a flight risk...   Byers mentioned at least three drug smugglers who are expected to testify against Crispin.   One of them was identified as Samuel Baltazar, who said he smuggled 5 to 6 loads through Crispin's lane in a year's time in 2003 and 2004, according to Byers' testimony.   Baltazar also allegedly took part in a meeting of a drug-trafficking organization in which Crispin suggested they build fake speaker boxes to conceal the drugs...   Crispin's indictment, partially unsealed last Tuesday, shows there are 7 indicted conspirators, but only one of them whose name was disclosed.   He is Roberto Carlos Murguia Ramirez, nicknamed 'Philly'...   Tuesday in court, Byers said ICE agents spent months watching Crispin's behavior at work on the Paso del Norte Bridge.   He said she communicated with look-outs on the bridge through her cell phone."

2007-08-08
George Chidi & Mary Lou Pickel _Atlanta Journal-Constitution_
Gwinnett county ordinance would limit occupancy of homes
"Commissioner Bert Nasuti asked county staffers to investigate revising an existing ordinance that says up to 8 people can live in a household.   He said the current ordinance is hard to enforce...   Last year, Roswell limited the number of unrelated residents who can live in the same house.   Many counties and cities have called Cobb county recently to ask for a copy of its new housing ordinance, which commissioners say is easier to enforce than an old regulation.   Cobb's new ordinance uses square footage to limit the number of adults who can live in a home.   It limits occupancy to at least 390 square feet of 'total building square footage' for each adult and for each car parked over-night.   The rule also limits the number of people living in a home to 1 family or 2 or fewer unrelated adults and their children and/or grand-children.   Family is defined as parents, children, grand-parents, grand-children, brothers and sisters...   Gwinnett's current rules require 75 square feet of sleeping space for the first resident of a house and 50 square feet for each additional resident.   Gwinnett began restricting homes to 8 residents in 2005 September, regardless of whether the occupants are related."

2007-08-08
Liza Mitchell _Culpeper county Star Exponent_
Culpeper county supervisors unanimously designated English as the official language, offer to work with other localities to address problems with illegal aliens
Fredericksburg Free-Lance - Star
Newport News Daily Press
"Without a single comment, the board unanimously approved a resolution declaring English to be the county's official language.   Moments later, they resolved, again without discussion or dissent, to join other counties in seeking the General Assembly's help in grappling with problems caused by undocumented immigrants."

2007-08-08 15:13PDT (18:13EDT) (22:13GMT)
Alicia A. Caldwell _AP_/_San Francisco Chronicle_
Maintaining the border fence is a non-stop job
"Every day, Eddie Lujan and fellow members of his Border Patrol welding team go out and fix holes cut in a 12-mile border fence the night before by illegal immigrants sneaking across from Mexico...   Congress has authorized [only] $1.2G for about 700 miles of fencing, including about 330 miles of a so-called virtual fence -- a network of cameras, high-tech sensors, radar and other technology.   The remaining 370 miles, primarily in more urban areas, are expected to have an actual, 2-layer fence.   Salvador Zamora, assistant Border Patrol agent in charge of the El Paso station, said no amount of vigilance -- including constantly wandering patrol agents, pole-mounted cameras trained on the border and underground sensors -- is going to prevent someone from taking a pair of bolt cutters to the fence...   Lujan's crew, consisting of 2 Border Patrol agents and 2 National Guard engineers, then goes out and repairs them, patching perhaps 15 to 20 holes a day...   And for every cut, Lujan said, 3 to 5 people are probably making their way across the levee road, into a nearby canal and onto a highway, eventually reaching a neighborhood..."

2007-08-08
Sara A. Carter _Washington Times_
Terrorists are teaming with drug cartels
"Islamic extremists embedded in the United States -- posing as Hispanic nationals -- are partnering with violent Mexican drug gangs to finance terror networks in the Middle East, according to a Drug Enforcement Administration report...   The 2005 report outlines an ongoing scheme in which multiple Middle Eastern drug-trafficking and terrorist cells operating in the U.S.A. fund terror networks over-seas, aided by established Mexican cartels with highly sophisticated trafficking routes.   These terrorist groups, or sleeper cells, include people who speak Arabic, Spanish and Hebrew and, for the most part, arouse no suspicion in their communities...   According to a Department of Homeland Security intelligence report obtained by The Times, nearly every part of the Border Patrol's national strategy is failing.   'Al Qaeda has been trying to smuggle terrorists and terrorist weapons illegally into the United States.', the 2006 document states.   'This organization has also tried to enter the U.S.A. by taking advantage of its most vulnerable border areas.   The seek to smuggle OTMs [other than Mexicans] from Middle Eastern countries into the U.S.A.'   Peter Brown, terrorism and security consultant, stated that the 'biggest element' to the DEA report is the ease with which terrorist cells have taken on new identities...   Lending credence to Mr. Brown's concern, an El Paso, Texas, law-enforcement report documents the influx of 'approximately 20 Arab persons a week utilizing the Travis county Court in Austin to change their names and driver's licenses from Arabic to Hispanic surnames'.   Under the current drug-intelligence collection, analysis and reporting posture, the DEA runs the risk of failing to detect or report the entry of terrorists, weapons of mass destruction or portable conventional weapons into the United States, according to the DEA document.   Many times, smugglers don't know what they are transporting."

2007-08-08
Randall Burns _V Dare_
Does H-1B Expansion Mean Gender Bias?

2007-08-08 (5767 Menachem-Av 24)
Daniel Pipes _Jewish World Review_
Countries threatened with extinction

2007-08-08 (5767 Menachem-Av 24)
John Stossel _Jewish World Review_
Let Wisconsin experiment with socialized medicine: Their suffering will be for the greater good
"We need laboratories of failure to demonstrate what socialism is like.   All we have now is Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea, the U.S. Post Office, and state motor-vehicle departments."

2007-08-08 (5767 Menachem-Av 24)
Thomas Sowell _Jewish World Review_
Sub-prime politicians
"As of 2002, fewer than 10% of the new mortgages in the United States were of this type.   But, by 2006, 31% of all new mortgages were of this 'creative' or risky type.   In the San Francisco Bay Area, 66% of the new mortgages were of this type.   Why this difference in times and places?   Because housing prices were sky-rocketing in some places and times, so that people of modest incomes had to go out on a limb to buy a house, if they expected to buy a house at all.   But why were housing prices going up so fast, in the first place?   A number of studies of communities across the United States and in countries overseas turned up the same conclusion: Government restrictions on building...   In places that resisted this political rhetoric, home prices remained reasonable, despite rising incomes and population growth.   Construction costs were seldom a major factor, for there was relatively little construction in places with severe building restrictions and sky-rocketing home prices."

2007-08-08
Lincoln Kahn _V Dare_
Prominent Illegal Aliens
"Victor Toro, who has spent the last 2 decades promoting the [privileges] of illegal aliens in the Bronx, New York, was arrested on July 6th...   In the early 1970s Toro was one of the three founders of a Chilean political party called the MIR, or the Movement of the Revolutionary Left.   Yes, Toro was an avowed Communist and fervent admirer of Fidel Castro who sought the overthrow of his country's elected democratic government.   He stood even further out on the left than Salvador Allende.   Toro was forced into exile when Augusto Pinochet came to power in a coup, restored order and rebuilt the economy.   In the years that followed, Toro claims, he drifted about Europe.   At some point, though, he wound up living in Cuba.   It was there, in 1980, that his daughter was born.   But, like so many extremists, it seems that Toro was in favor of the revolution in principle but eager to enjoy the fruits of capitalism in practice.   So he moved to the U.S. and set up a storefront organization promoting radical agitation in the Bronx.   His presence in the Bronx, of course, not only violated U.S. immigration laws, but was also almost certainly a violation of the McCarran-Walter Act, which barred political undesirables from entering the country.   (McCarran-Walter was repealed by the Immigration Act Of 1990, after Toro settled in the USA.)"

2007-08-08 (5767 Menachem-Av 24)
Thomas Sowell _Jewish World Review_
Sub-prime politicians

2007-08-08
Bret Hayworth _Sioux City Journal_
Ron Paul preaches non-intervention and less government
 

2007-08-09

2007-08-09 05:30PST (08:30EST) (13:30GMT)
Subri Raman & Tony Sznoluch _DoL ETA_
un-employment insurance weekly claims report
current press release
"The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 270,634 in the week ending Aug. 4, an increase of 13,320 from the previous week.   There were 275,430 initial claims in the comparable week in 2006.   The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.9% during the week ending July 28, unchanged from the prior week.   The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,454,282, an increase of 5,281 from the preceding week.   A year earlier, the rate was 1.8% and the volume was 2,366,848.   Extended benefits were not available in any state during the week ending July 21."
graphs

2007-08-09 02:25PDT (05:25EDT) (09:25GMT)
Jim Kouri _Conservative Voice_
Illegal Alien Gang Violence Has Been Increasing

2007-08-09
Jason Pulliam _Des Moines Register_
Ron Paul condemns loss of civil liberties

2007-08-09
Jerry Seper _Washington Times_
National Guard troops are being pulled from the border
"The reductions, which began July 1 and will be completed by Sept. 1, will result in a cut of Guard troops in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas from 6K to 3K -- half of that promised by Mr. Bush in 2006.   In Arizona, the nation's most popular alien- and drug-smuggling corridor, the number of troops will be cut from 2,400 to 1,200.   Mr. Bush ordered the National Guard troops' deployment while the Border Patrol recruited, hired, trained and assigned 6K new agents, a recruitment goal the agency expected to reach by the end of 2008.   The White House did not return a call yesterday for comment, but officials at Homeland Security told reporters the Guard troops being withdrawn have been assigned to administrative support or maintenance work and are being replaced...   Members of New Mexico's congressional delegation also have asked Mr. Bush not to cut the number of National Guard troops stationed along that state's border with Mexico...   From Oct. 1 through June 30, Border Patrol agents apprehended 682,468 illegal aliens, compared with 894,496 during the same period last year.   While arrests declined, at the same time the amount of drugs seized on the border increased, with Border Patrol agents seizing more than 1.47M pounds of marijuana (a 27% increase) and 9,514 pounds of cocaine (a 22% increase)...   The National Guard troops were assigned to build additional roads and fences, add cameras and sensors, conduct aerial reconnaissance and provide medical aid and communications support.   They also performed administrative duties, gathered intelligence from border cameras for agents to act upon, assisted at highway checkpoints and served on entry-identification teams."

2007-08-09
_KSDK_
Missouri state legislator Nathan Cooper pled guilty to visa fraud
"Cooper, who represents the Cape Girardeau area, is also an immigration lawyer.   He took advantage of a temporary visa program to help clients in the trucking business.   The program, called H2B, allows companies who need seasonal workers, and can't find enough locally, to get temporary work visas so they can hire workers who are not U.S. citizens.   Prosecutors say the trucking company didn't need seasonal workers, but Cooper ignored the law and convinced a [federal] government agency to issue the visas anyway.   Cooper took in $50K in legal fees over a 2 year period from clients in the trucking industry to obtain the illicit visas...   Cooper, 33, pleaded guilty to one felony count of visa fraud and one felony count of making a false statement to the Department of Labor.   The maximum sentence would be 15 years in prison and fines up to $500K."

2007-08-09
Russ Flanagan _New Jersey Express-Times_
Pennsylvania judge calls for immigration laws that allow more local participation to deal with illegal aliens
"A Pennsylvania Superior Court judge ripped the federal government's enforcement of immigration laws Wednesday, saying they allow too many illegal aliens to slip through the cracks.   Speaking before the local Kiwanis Club, judge Correale F. Stevens said there have been several instances in which local police have arrested illegal immigrants only to be told by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement to set them free.   Stevens said ICE often doesn't prosecute illegal immigrants for small crimes such as parking tickets, traffic violations or low-level misdemeanors...   Stevens called for passage of federal legislation that would allow local and state police to arrest illegal immigrants without federal approval.   It also would allow district attorneys to prosecute them and county judges to hold deportation hearings, he said."

2007-08-09
Brad Bumsted _Pittsburgh Tribune-Review_
Next battleground on illegals: State aid

2007-08-09
John W. Lillpop _Huntington News_
San Francisco: Home to king and queen of corruption

2007-08-09
Dan Moran _Lake County News Sun_
Waukegan mayor on immigration issues
"Mayor Richard Hyde said he has an understanding of why immigrants will come to the U.S.A. without permission.   'I've been to Mexico 3 times, (and) I have never seen slums like that in my life.', he said, speaking about neighborhoods he encountered when venturing away from tourist centers.   He added that poor communities that he's visited in [Red China], Japan and Appalachia are worse than what he's seen in Mexico...   But while expressing compassion for those affected by the economic conditions south of the border, Hyde said he still [thinks] it is wrong to come to the U.S.A. without going through the system..."

2007-08-09
_Arizona Daily Star_
50 illegal aliens in tractor-trailer
"Federal agents at an inland immigration check-point found 50 illegal immigrants locked inside a tractor trailer, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Wednesday...   All were being processed for deportation."

2007-08-09
Will Bigham _Ontario Daily Bulletin_
David Dreier is hopeful for immigration law reform
"Dreier said he opposed any effort to offer citizenship or federal welfare benefits to illegal immigrants because he feared such a bill would offer incentives for immigrants to enter the country illegally in the future...   Since Ramos and Compean were jailed in January, an increasing number of politicians have called for their respective 11- and 12-year sentences to be commuted.   Dreier believes the men should be pardoned and has expressed his feelings to President Bush, but opposes recent efforts in Congress to force a pardon."

2007-08-09
Jacques Billeaud _AP_/_Arizona Daily Star_
Maricopa county sheriff Joe Arpaio vowed to arrest illegal aliens from visiting prisoners
"In addition to arresting more than 600 people under the state's immigrant-smuggling law, Arpaio had 120 deputies and jail officers specially trained in enforcing federal immigration law.   He also has set up a hot line for people to report information about illegal immigrants...   Arpaio said his officers don't racially profile people and that deputies have treated the 1K tips received since July 20 with great care.   The hot line has led to eight arrests."

2007-08-09
James Conmy _Hazleton Standard Speaker_
Police arrest illegal alien accused of murder
"An illegal immigrant accused of fatally stabbing a 44-year-old father of 2 in New York City last week was nabbed in West Hazleton early Wednesday morning.   The arrest marks the seventh time this year someone wanted for murder in a big city or different state was arrested in Luzerne county.   Three uniformed Pennsylvania state troopers and several New York City detectives took Mejia Cinto into custody at a Roosevelt Street home without incident, said Luzerne county Assistant District Attorney Tim Doherty.   The 19-year-old, who emigrated from Mexico, is charged with stabbing Anthony Senisi, the brother of a New York City police officer, once in the chest on Aug. 4."

2007-08-09
Sara A. Carter _Washington Times_
Hearing sought on terrorists entering USA via Mexico

2007-08-09
Douglas M. Bloomfield _New Jersey Jewish News_
The Republican field and the Jewish vote

2007-08-09
Rick Klein & Jennifer Parker _abc_
Fun and fire-arms at the Ames straw poll

2007-08-09
Paul Craig Roberts _V Dare_
Red China's Nuclear Option

2007-08-09
Suzanne Gamboa _AP_/_Philadelphia Inquirer_
Federal government pledges to step up enforcement of immigration laws
Orangeburg Times & Democrat
Politico
National Review
composite: "An outline of the announcement, obtained by The Associated Press from a congressional aide, said the administration plans to expand the list of international gangs whose members are automatically denied admission to the U.S., reduce processing times for immigrant background checks and install by the end of the year an exit system so the departure of foreigners from the country can be recorded at airports and sea-ports.   In addition, employers will face possible criminal sanctions if they don't fire employees unable to clear up problems with their [Socialist Insecurity numbers, SINs].   Also, the Homeland Security Department will ask states to voluntarily share their driver's license photos and records with the agency for use in an employment verification system.   The sharing is meant to help employers detect fraudulent licenses, according to the summary...   Some members have kept up efforts to tighten the border.   Last month, the Senate added $3G to a Homeland Security bill to be used for U.S.-Mexico border security.   The Department of Labor will reform the H-2A agriculture worker program so farmers can readily hire legal temporary workers, while protecting their rights.   The Department of Labor will issue regulations stream-lining the H-2B program for non-agricultural seasonal workers.   The Department of Homeland Security will extend, from 1 year to 3, the length of the NAFTA-created TN visa for professional workers from Canada and Mexico, removing the administrative hassle of annual renewals for these talented workers.   The Office of Citizenship will unveil in September a revised naturalization test that emphasizes fundamentals of American democracy, and the rights and responsibilities of citizens.   The Office of Citizenship will introduce a Web-based electronic training program and convene eight regional training conferences for volunteers and adult educators who lead immigrants through the naturalization process.   The Department of Education will develop a free, Web-based model to help immigrants learn English."

2007-08-09 (5767 Menachem-Av 25)
Libby Lazewnik _Jewish World Review_
Shock Treatment
 

2007-08-10

2007-08-10
Heather Whipps _Live Science_/_Yahoo!_
8K year old settlement found on the floor of English Channel
"The site, just off the Isle of Wight, dates back 8K years, not long before melting glaciers filled in the Channel and likely drove the settlement's last occupants north to higher ground...   'With under-water sites, all the trappings of a society are going to remain, not just the stone.', Momber said.   The trade-off is an environment that can carry away the precious remains at any time—a real concern at the Isle of Wight settlement."

2007-08-10
Warner Todd Huston _Thomas Brewton_
Immigration

2007-08-10
Diane Alden _News Max_
Yet another way the Clintons sold out America
"In 2004, 2 powerful members of the U.S. senate instituted something called the India Caucus.   New York senator Hillary Clinton and Texas senator John Cornyn put together an alliance giving special status to foreign interests including what appears to be sale of U.S. visas (student and work) in exchange for favors, campaign contributions, and God only knows what else...   Hillary accepted $60K in contributions from employees of Cisco System; Clinton's Presidential Exploratory Committee took $39,450 from Cisco employees during the first quarter of 2007.   Cisco employees have also donated $18,900 to Clinton's Senate committee between 1999 and 2006.   Bill Clinton received $300K from Cisco for 2 speeches, $150K on 2006/05/18 and 2006/08/17 (Hillary Clinton 2006 Financial Disclosure Report; 3,4)...   During fiscal year 2006 an official count of 43,167 H-1B visas were granted to Indians...   In total, 358,734 temporary visas were issued to Indians in U.S. fiscal year 2006..."

2007-08-10
Don Lee _Civil Engineering News_
H-1B Battle
The proposal to allow [science, technology, engineering, and math] (STEM) degree holders to proceed directly to a green card appears to be a direct end run around the H-1B limits.   These people still will work for less just to get that all important 'job offer'.   The reason tech companies cannot get enough engineers is because they do not pay salaries commensurate with the intelligence and effort required for an engineering degree.   Since the number of people capable of obtaining an engineering degree is limited by intelligence and drive, employers can ensure an adequate supply only by paying salaries high enough to attract a larger percentage of these people.   The [American Council of Engineering Companies] obviously supports [the STEM proposal] because they are employers and have a vested interest in keeping salaries as low as possible.   This was true 40 years ago when the aerospace was using [foreign workers] and is still true today.   The threat from foreign workers is real at both the top and bottom of the job-skill spectrum."

2007-08-10
Kareem Fahim, Andrew Jacobs, John Eligon, David Kocieniewski, Serge F. Kovaleski & Jonathan Miller _NY Times_
Illegal alien pled not guilty of Newark murders
"A third suspect, identified as a teen-ager, has been arrested in the execution-style slayings of 3 students here Saturday night, the authorities said.   The 2 others charged so far are a 28-year-old construction worker and a 15 year old.   The construction worker, Jose Carranza, is an illegal immigrant from Peru who now also faces an order of detention against him by federal authorities, his lawyer and judicial officials said today.   Mr. Carranza pleaded not guilty to the murder and other charges at an arraignment this morning...   Mr. Carranza, who lives in Orange, had been out on $150K bail pending trial on 2 separate indictments: sexual assault on a young girl in his care over 4 years when she was 5 to 9; and aggravated assault stemming from a bar fight last year.   He turned himself in to Mayor Booker personally Thursday, about 12 hours after a 15-year-old, who is not b