Illegal Immigration? Why it’s the fault of the unions!

That lovely albeit stupid, totally absurd and fucktarded thought is from the mind of an elected representative of the people – One Senator from South Carolina, Jim DeMint. From RawStory:

After the attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas day, a months-old question for the Senate became a pressing concern for the public: Why is the Transportation Security Administration without an appointed director?

While President Obama did make a nomination to the spot — one Erroll Southers, a counterterrorism expert and former FBI special agent — Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) has held up his appointment for months. His blockade of Southers’ nomination is apparently due to President Obama’s promise that he would push to allow TSA baggage screeners full union rights.

The objection being, if baggage screeners are allowed to negotiate for better pay, benefits and working conditions, it would somehow place national security at risk. (emphasis mine)

This man is holding up the nomination of the Director for the TSA. Because he freaks out at the thought of people unionizing. Please..read and digest his rationale for this horseshit:

“The union boss that you were interviewing used the customs and border enforcement as an example,” DeMint said, though customs and border enforcement had not been mentioned during the segment. “We do have 12 million undocumented aliens in our country and that agency has also had to deal with all kinds of charges for changing prices for parking. They’re dealing with the collective bargaining of unions all the time and they’re not as effective as they should be.”

Just how fucking ignorant is this man, not to mention the idiots that keep electing him? That question is of course..rhetorical.

Even the Washington Post has published an article about this fuckwit’s hold-up of a most important job post. As the WaPo article notes:

Two Senate committees have given their bipartisan blessing to Erroll Southers, a former FBI special agent and a counterterrorism expert who is Obama’s nominee. But DeMint has objected to a full Senate vote, saying he wants additional testimony to clarify Southers’s stand on unionizing the TSA, a shift Democrats support.

Notice the word ‘bipartisan’ in that quote from the article. That gives me hope that not all Republican’s are idiots and morons in the same vein as Jim DeMint. So there is hope for the party..however slim.

The Federation of Government Employees has the following response to DeMint’s ridiculous and totally inane bullshit logic:

“This is not an issue of security,” a group spokeswoman said, according to CNN. “There is no evidence that labor union rights have any effect on transportation security officers. This is a dedicated workforce who see their jobs as important to the security of the nation.”

“They point to union members who acted after 9/11 and the Fort Hood massacre as well,” the host said. “These were union members — firefighters, police officers — who essentially acted very quickly, and that your argument doesn’t hold water here.”

And if that isn’t enough to convince you that this crap is all in the mind of a fucking idiot, read the ProPublica article on this issue, specifically the following:

John Gage, the president of the American Federation of Government Employees, told CNN earlier this month, “People who insinuate that being a union member has a nation security implication are just totally wrong.”

Totally wrong? I call them idiots and morons with the IQ of a fucking dandelion Mr. Gage. It’s embarrassing that this jackass actually holds an elected office. It’s embarrassing that people from around the globe can read his ignorant rantings and frankly I think he should be not only recalled but jailed in Gitmo for being a fucking terrorist..since he is single-handidly undermining the effectiveness of the TSA.

Jesus H. Fucking Christ..how do these people get elected? WTF is in the water in South Carolina anyway? Watch this whackjob say it:

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Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill Gets It Right at the Border, Say Enviro Groups

“This bill will restore the rule of law along America ’s border.” ~ Bob Irvin, Defenders of Wildlife

The new immigration bill introduced in Congress December 15 includes important provisions that will help protect wildlife, communities, and natural resources from damage wrought by border walls between the U.S. and Mexico, according to three major environmental organizations.

The Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Defenders of Wildlife jointly issued an early and emphatic endorsement statement of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act of 2009, introduced by Representative Luis Gutierrez Luis Gutierrez.

To date, at least 633 miles of border walls and barriers have been constructed along the U.S. – Mexico border, and the construction has proceeded quickly and almost entirely without proper consultation or compliance laws. Three dozen environmental, archaeological, religious freedom, historic preservation, cultural, and other laws were waived by former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff Michael Chertoff for border wall construction.

The legislation would replace the border wall’s one-size-fits-all approach to border security with a strategy based on comprehensive analyses of the effectiveness and costs of various security measures, say the supporters. To address negative impacts from existing border infrastructure, the legislation would establish comprehensive monitoring and mitigation programs.

The bill would also ensure full compliance with landmark laws like the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Endangered Species Act that were enacted to promote public health and protect our country’s wildlife and natural heritage.

“Rep. Gutierrez and Rep. Grijalva [who introduced Border Security and Responsibility Act of 2009 (HR 2076) in April] deserve praise for recognizing the need for a responsible border security policy that minimizes harm to our precious borderlands, wildlife, and border communities,” said Sierra Club representative Michael Degnan.

“Much of this country’s rarest and most spectacular wildlife-including jaguar, ocelot, Sonoran pronghorn, and many other species–depend upon the borderlands for survival. This bill would restore crucial protections to such wildlife and help mitigate the widespread damage that has already been done to important habitat and migration corridors,” commented Randy Serraglio, conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity.

“Laws that protect our wildlife, our water, our air, and our right to a healthful environment should never have been circumvented by the Bush Bush administration,” added Bob Irvin, Senior Vice President for Conservation Programs at Defenders of Wildlife. “This bill will restore the rule of law along America’s border.”

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Press release sources: Kristina Johnson, Sierra Club; Randy Serraglio, Center for Biological Diversity; Mary Beth Beetham, Defenders of Wildlife.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION: Spectacular photographic slideshow/presentation,”Wildlife and the Border Wall,” explains impact of wall on borderland nature and creatures:

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SUMMARY of GUTIERREZ’ IMMIGRATION BILL: found HERE

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New Info: Trends Are Changing in MX Migration to the US

Some surprising new facts appeared in the news last week.

Regarding how many Mexicans are coming to the US:

The number of Mexican immigrants entering the US has fallen sharply. It has hit a 10-year low (in the 12 months ending in March 2009).

Regarding how many are here:

A third of all foreign-born US residents and two-thirds of Hispanic immigrants to the United States come from Mexico.

Nearly everyone who leaves Mexico heads for the United States.

The US is currently home to one in 10 people who were born in Mexico.

Regarding how many illegal entries are caught:

2008 saw the lowest number of apprehensions of would-be illegal immigrants from Mexico by the US border patrol in 25 years.

Regarding Hispanics who die on the job:

The number of Hispanic workers who die on the job in the US has risen by 76 percent (since 1992), although the nation’s total number of on-the-job deaths is on the decline.

Regarding the economic downturn’s affect:

While traditionally Mexicans living here send money back home, reports are surfacing on the Border of the reverse. Some Mexicans are sending money to support their relatives in the United States due to the economic crisis north of the border.

Latinos, especially immigrants, are suffering a disproportionate share of the joblessness that is officially rising to engulf close to 10 percent of the overall US population.

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New study: U.S. Border Enforcement Keeps Illegal Aliens Here!

The Department of Homeland Security reported their numbers last month. They haven’t apprehended so few illegal aliens since 1973. One wonders: Why is that?
Is it the U.S. economic downturn? Or could it be beefed-up enforcement efforts?
New data from a research team led by Wayne Cornelius, Director of Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at the University of California, San Diego indicates that our strengthened border enforcement may be producing some unintended consequences
According to info they gleaned from thousands of interviews with migrants and prospective migrants, it seems it’s the downturn of the U.S. job market along with the high personal and financial costs of migration that’s slowing the rate of undocumented migration from Mexico.

But, at the same time, the undocumented immigrants who are already here are staying put. They want to avoid the great expense and physical risks of being smuggled back into the United States should they leave to go back home. They fear losing their U.S. jobs. And, besides that, there just aren’t many economic opportunities to return to in Mexico.

The ironic reality that the data reveals is that enhanced border security has created “reduced circularity in migration.” We’ve essentially locked illegal migrants into the United States because the prospect of going home and returning later has gotten too expensive and dangerous.

The main reason undocumented migration from Mexico has lessened, according to Cornelius´ research, is that there are fewer jobs available in the United States. Decreased numbers of illegal entrance apprehensions is not because they can’t get in. Migrants attempting to enter the US illegally may be caught on their first attempt at crossing the border; however, they have an almost 100% chance of eventual success if they continue to try.

Apparently, the most profound impact that border enforcement has had on migrants in the past decade has been “reduced circularity in migration (less return migration).” Or, simply put: it looks like border enforcement is more successful at keeping undocumented immigrants in the United States than it is at deterring them from coming.
For further information: KEEPING MIGRANTS HERE: Recent Research Shows Unintended Consequences of U.S. Border Enforcement

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Volunteer/Humanitarian Convicted of Littering while “trying to save lives”

Walt Staton labels water to be left for migrants.

Web-designer Walt Staton, 27, a volunteer with a Tucson AZ humanitarian aid group, routinely places sealed jugs of drinking water in the Arizona desert at the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, in the paths undocumented migrants use as they to attempt to enter the US. For that, he was convicted this month of littering. This criminal misdemeanor carries a punishment of up to one year of in prison and a $10,000 fine, according to information provided by the group he assists called, appropriately enough: No More Deaths.

In the brutal Arizona desert south of Tucson, summer temperatures regularly top 110 degrees. Shade is scarce. Every year literally hundreds of undocumented migrants die trying to walk north from Mexico through this merciless environment. It is virtually impossible to carry sufficient water. No More Deaths’ website reports 79 migrant deaths in the southern desert already this year, with 20 bodies of deceased migrants recovered from Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge alone since 2002. For the past five Staton has attempted to alleviate migrant misery by providing them with food, medical care, and–most importantly–emergency water.

“I was just trying to save lives,” Staton stated. “I was trying to end the death and suffering in the desert. The best we can understand, the United States wants to enforce the border by making the desert itself a deterrent.”

His defense lawyer Bill Walker held a full gallon jug of water high during closing arguments and declared: “When the government tells you this case isn’t about water or this isn’t about saving lives, they’re wrong! This is valuable, life-sustaining water.”

In December Fish and Wildlife Service officers cited Staton and three other volunteers, against whom charges were later dismissed, after Border Patrol officers tracked them in a helicopter. Officers confiscated eight jugs of water that they had positioned for migrants, and then seized an additional six gallons from the group’s vehicle. The group of volunteers was carrying out empty water jugs and other trash at the time of the citation.

Staton’s sentencing is set for August 11; he plans to appeal the decision to the 9th Circuit. Staton, unrepentant, says he will continue to leave out water for illegal immigrants walking through the desert, even if that means risking further citations. And No More Deaths has not given any indication that they’ll change their motto:

“Humanitarian aid is never a crime.”

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Fear mongering at its worst-Tancredo ad

H/T to Firedoglake, who got it from TPM Election Central. This disgusting ad will hopefully never be broadcast over our tv airwaves.

 

Wasn’t that something? Didn’t it just scare the shit out of you m’dear reader? Jesus Christ on a crutch, Tancredo the Tool is so out there with the fear factoring..its a wonder this guy isn’t locked in some psych hospital mumbling to himself..

Tags: Tancredo, Fear mongering, illegal immigration,

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