Theodore's World

Bush Sides With Mexican Killers Against U.S.
By Cliff Kincaid
June 12, 2007

The State Department’s top legal adviser told international lawyers on June 6 that President Bush is so committed to the primacy of international law that he has taken his home state of Texas to court on behalf of a group of Mexican killers. The Mexicans had been sentenced to death for murdering U.S. citizens, including young children.
John B. Bellinger III, legal adviser to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, cited the case, Mexico v. United States of America, in trying to convince the attorneys that the administration is doing what it can to enforce international law in U.S. courts.
In the case, Bush has come down on the same side as the U.N.’s International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ruled 14-1 on behalf of Mexico against the U.S. The ICJ was headed at the time by a judge from communist China, who also ruled against the U.S.
Bellinger’s extraordinary speech, coming at a time when Bush is under fire for failing to protect America from a Mexican invasion of illegal aliens, demonstrates how the President has been working on behalf of Mexican interests–in this case, convicted Mexican killers claiming their “rights” were violated under a treaty–against the interests of his own nation. When the implications of the Mexico v. United States case are widely known, it can only further harm the administration’s chances for an amnesty-for-illegal-aliens bill.
Conservatives have shown, through derailing the bill, that they are not content to play dumb or go to sleep when the issue involves American sovereignty.

Kincaid goes on to say……………

Many Americans are not aware that the Mexico v. United States case, also known as the Avena decision, was decided against the U.S. by the U.N.’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) and that the Bush Justice Department sided with the ICJ. What’s more, the Bush Justice Department took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court in order to force U.S. states to legally recognize the “rights” of Mexicans who kill Americans on U.S. soil. A decision from the Supreme Court is pending.
The case was taken to the ICJ by the government of Mexico on behalf of 51 of its citizens who had carried out these murders in the U.S. The argument advanced by Mexico on behalf of the killers was that they were not afforded a timely opportunity to meet with Mexican representatives in the U.S. known as consular officers. This was said to be required under the Vienna Convention.
Current figures show 124 foreign nationals on death row in the U.S. Fifty-five of those are from Mexico. Most of them are on death row in California or Texas.

Kincaid continues ……………..

How did the President do this? On February 28, 2005, Bush simply made a “determination” and assumed the power to tell the states what to do.
He declared, “I have determined, pursuant to the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States, that the United States will discharge its international obligations under the decision of the International Court of Justice in the Case Concerning Avena and Other Mexican Nationals (Mexico v. United States of America), 2004 I.C.J. 128 (Mar. 31), by having state courts give effect to the decision in accordance with general principles of comity in cases filed by the 51 Mexican nationals addressed in that decision.”
The Bush Justice Department argued that the president has the power to do whatever he wants to do. “In particular circumstances, the President may decide that the United States will not comply with an ICJ decision and direct a United States veto of any proposed Security Council enforcement measure,” it said. “Here, however, the President has determined that the foreign policy interests of the United States justify compliance with the ICJ’s decision.”
But Bush’s home state of Texas decided that Bush did not have that power.

Here is the International Court of Justice Press Release 2004/16. And here’s additional information at FindLaw, including a link to the actual judgement of the court, as well as the individual opinions of the justices.

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Wild Thing’s comment…………

Before I would have had a very difficult time believing this. But after Bush verbally attacked his conservative base for wanting him (Bush) and the rest of our leaders to obey our existing laws on immigration, his lack of passion to get the fence built and his non existence of making sure our borders are secure……….well, reading this article only adds to my concern about what on earth is he doing???? This is an outrage to the max!!!!
Regarding Bush and his dedication to giving Amnesty to illegals, there are multiple possibilities why he is doing it, and what the end game is. But rest assured it is not to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Nor is it intended to benefit American citizens.
And then there are also the Border Patrol Agents, Campeon and Ramos are left twisting in the wind.
I lived in Texas for a few years, Dallas, Texas. That is where I met Bob Hope while I was in a show at SMU and he asked me to go to Vietnam with his tour to entertain the troops. I have many fond memories of living there. It is a great State and the people that live there are the some of the friendliest I have ever met in all the places I have lived.
They love America and are very patriotic, they appreciate our military and are vedry aware of the cost of our Freedom. Everything there is bigger then life in so many ways.Even writing that has me with a big smile on my face.
In thinking about all the things I mention now, and how when Bush was elected he was a Texan, and now he is something else.

A suspected illegal worker at a Del Monte plant in St. Johns is led away after a raid on the plant on Tuesday.

Immigration Officials Arrest 100 Illegal Workers in Raid on Oregon Food Plant
Fox News
PORTLAND, Ore.

Federal agents on Tuesday raided the offices of a food processing plant suspected of employing hundreds of illegal workers who used Social Security numbers that belonged to other people or were made up, authorities said.
By Tuesday morning, approximately 100 workers had been placed under administrative arrest to be processed for possible deportation, an official with the Department of Homeland Security said. More arrests were expected, the official said.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to talk about the case ahead of a news conference scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
According to an affidavit filed by Maximillian Trimm, a special agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, only 48 of nearly 600 employees at the Fresh Del Monte Produce fruit and vegetable processing plant had valid Social Security numbers.
Prosecutors said a federal grand jury had indicted three people on criminal charges, but the indictment remained under seal.
The raid at American Staffing Resources Inc. offices at the plant was based on an investigation by ICE and the Social Security Administration that began in January, the official told The Associated Press.
Separate American Staffing offices also were searched, along with a Fresh Del Monte office, officials said.
A federal judge authorized agents to search for evidence of violations such as hiring illegal aliens, identity theft and Social Security fraud, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Portland.
Federal prosecutors said that 20 of the Social Security numbers being misused belonged to people older than 60, and that 29 belonged to dead people.
Aeryca Steinbauer, spokeswoman for CAUSA Oregon, an immigration rights group, was outside the Del Monte plant as agents were interviewing workers, but she said she had not been able to talk to any of them.

From the United States Attorney Karin J. Immergut
District of Oregon
Press release…..a pdf file
from the press release……

“Based on this affidavit, the Magistrate Judge authorized ICE and Social Security agents
to search for evidence of the following federal crimes: hiring illegal aliens; harboring illegal
aliens; encouraging illegal aliens to reside in the United States; identity theft; immigration
documents fraud; and Social Security fraud. The United States Attorney’s Office will make no
further comment regarding the ongoing criminal investigation at this time.
“Today’s enforcement action is part of ICE’s continued efforts to investigate employers
who facilitate the hiring of undocumented workers,” said Leigh Winchell, Special Agent in
Charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Seattle. “No employer, regardless of industry or
location is immune from complying with the nation’s laws.”

Wild Thing’s comment………..

Interesting to note here that enforcing EXISTING LAWS works just fine and dandy. When they decide to do it! Hello Bush, Kennedy, Graham, McCain, Kyl , Reid, etc. are you paying attention???? Oh I forgot they want to give the illegal’s a tamper proof ID. Now someone tell me how a “tamper proof ID” will stop this? And the illegal’s are just “undocumented AMERICANS” according to Harry Reid.
Just let law enforcement and the Boarder Patrol do their jobs. New laws will not work if the old laws cannot even be enforced.

To the women of Israel
Jewish World
Israel Diary
by Aviva Kashuk

” I bought one of those little magnifying mirrors some months ago. It was one of the most frightening experiences of my life.
I had no idea what my face really looked like. There were holes, red splotches, little lines and crevices in places on my face that I had no idea existed. I didn’t know what to do about it.
My family and I had recently moved back to the United States after living in Israel for nine years. I never noticed these types of things in Israel. Somehow, facial lines, faded clothes and worn shoes fit into the fabric of life in the Holy Land. Here in the States, those same things glared liked red sirens.
Once I moved back here I realized that the clothes on our lift — the “good ones worth keeping” — were not good, or worth keeping.
They matched the lines on my face, which I now thought weren’t good or worth keeping either.
Here in my corner of America, I have noticed spas or salons on pretty much every commercial block in a 20-mile radius. I haven’t been in one yet, but they beckon me with each peek into that dreadful mirror. I overheard my 10 and 12 year-old daughters discussing with their new classmates how many times they had their nails “done.” My kids had a big lead for last place.
I started thinking about some of the women I left behind in Israel and the lines on their faces. Did they notice?
The woman who has 14 children and makes it to the Western Wall every morning at sunrise, no matter the weather, to cry out for the sake of the Jewish people.
The grandmother who swam across Lake Kinneret to raise money for autistic children.
The woman who opens her home for thousands of soldiers to thank them and give them honor.
The women who lived in a tent near the Tomb of Rachel with their children to insure that the Israeli Government would protect it.
The women of Gush Etzion who produced extraordinary musicals to heighten the spirits of women suffering from the destruction of bombings.
The women who have taken in families from Gush Katif, providing shelter, food and comfort, in already crowded homes.
These are not women who frequent spas. These women are too busy “earning their stripes.”
These are the women who live in Israel, raise their families in Israel, and deal with all that the Land and the politics dole out to them. These are the women who by virtue of living in Israel, “hold our place in line” for the time when we choose to visit, or make aliya.
These women have no fear of that dreadful mirror. The lines on their faces represent lines of love, giving, caring, sharing, struggle, sacrifice, and commitment to the Jewish people, and the One Above.
To the women of Israel, we thank you.”

Wild Thing’s comment…………
This was beautifully written and I wish a lot of American women could read this. Not all, but there are far too many that base their whole lives, their entire existence on plastic surgery, botox on their faces and who designed their shoes.
I put photos of women in the IDF even though the article is about any woman in Israel. There were no photos with the article and I thought the women of the IDF were also perfect examples of this article.
Thank you to Linda of Something…and Half of Something for sending this article to me. And thank you too for women like Lynn, and Yankeemom , LindaF of Right as Usual blog, SondraK of SondraK blog, that could easily have been mentioned in this article as to how they make a difference in this world.

Teachers from Mexico to Help Fill Positions in Utah School Districts
KSL.com
Several Utah school districts have just hired a total of 12 new teachers from Mexico. The State Office of Education has been working on the plan for almost a year. This is part of an agreement Governor Huntsman made with Mexico when he visited there a couple years ago.
School districts say they’re happy about it. The teachers will be filling positions that districts can’t seem to staff right now. At the same time, the teachers will help a growing population of Hispanic students in the state. School districts are having a harder and harder time finding elementary school teachers, science and math teachers.

Human Resources Director for Granite School District Mike Fraser says, “Right now, as we speak, we still have 30 elementary positions to fill.”

But the Granite District has just filled three of those spots with teachers from Mexico. “We think it’s going to be very exciting,” Fraser says. “These are very qualified teaching candidates who are proficient in English.”

The Granite district was one of four school districts in Utah to send employees to Mexico where they interviewed over 50 teachers that the Mexican Consulate had pre-screened. Other districts include Salt Lake, Tooele County and Davis County.

“Each school district selected three teaching candidates to bring back to Salt Lake City,” Fraser says.

Most of the 12 teachers will speak English in the classroom with the exception of those hired for dual immersion programs. The Granite District says the teachers will be a great help to Spanish-speaking students and their parents, who often feel left out of their child’s education.

“They’re very intimidated to come to the school, show up at parent-teacher consultation because of that language barrier,” Fraser explains.

Mark Peterson with the Utah Office of Education says, “If the teacher happens to be teaching math or science or whatever, if they speak Spanish, it’s a bonus.”

The three teachers Granite hired all have at least six years of experience and one has her MBA. The state says it’s glad to have that kind of quality from anywhere. Peterson says,

“At the moment, Utah can use highly qualified teachers wherever we can get them from, which is why the districts are out recruiting out of state, and this is just a little further out of state than normal.”

The teachers will arrive in early August. They’ll make a salary of around $35,000, compared to about $12,000 in Mexico. The state is helping the teachers get a temporary work visa which would allow them to stay here up to three years.

Wild Thing’s comment……….
One of my friends applied to teach in New Orleans. Over 1900 qualified applicants for about 100 jobs. So it isn’t a teacher shortage.

Sen. Jeff Sessions

Senate GOP Urges Bush to Secure Borders
washingotn post.com
Senate Republicans pressed President Bush to show a more determined commitment to border security when they met behind closed doors today during a rare presidential appearance on Capitol Hill.
The meeting was described as cordial, even jovial, but Bush’s efforts to rally GOP support for his sweeping overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws did not appear to win any converts.

“We’re off the bill. We ought to stay off the bill for awhile,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), one of the legislation’s sternest critics.

Bush and senior administration officials painted the meeting as a rescue session, coming five days after the tenuous compromise on immigration collapsed on the Senate floor. Bush made an impassioned plea for the legislation.

Following the meeting, Bush told reporters that he understands “this is a highly emotional issue, but . . . now is the time to move a comprehensive” immigration bill. He added that Senate proposal “is the best way to enforce our border. I believe without the bill that it’s going to be harder to enforce the border. The status quo was unacceptable.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) marveled at the president’s passion and commitment.

But, he said, “We didn’t expect anyone to stand up and holler that they had an epiphany.”

Apparently, they didn’t.

“We . . . have lost credibility in Washington on the issue, and I think before the American people will really ever get behind an immigration policy, they’re going to have to feel that Washington is truly going to follow through on what it says,” said Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.).

Much of the conversation revolved around steps Bush could take to convince the public his administration was serious about border security laws that have already passed Congress. Georgia’s two Republican senators, Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, appealed to Bush to quickly send up a multi-billion request to fund not only the border security provisions in the pending bill, but also additional funds for detention beds, border fencing and vehicle barriers approved last year.
The provisions in this year’s bill alone would cost $6.2 billion.
Nine other Republican senators delivered a letter to the president, suggesting a push now to secure the borders could yield political dividends on a future bill.

“We respectfully ask that your Administration enforce the border security laws that have already been authorized by Congress regardless of whether the Senate passes the immigration reform bill,” the letter reads. “Securing the border is the best way to restore trust with the American people and facilitate future improvements of our immigration policy.”

Bush’s visit to Capitol Hill came as Senate Majority leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) has urged him to deepen his involvement in the fight for the legislation. But some Republicans have charged that Reid was simply goading the president, setting Bush up to take full responsibility for the measure’s defeat.
The rescue mission that Bush is embarking on may well be too little, too late. Reid said yesterday that he is willing to bring the immigration bill back to the Senate floor after passage of a major energy bill, probably late next week. But he wants an agreement to limit the amendments to be considered and the time for debate, which would take unanimous consent. A single senator could thwart that demand, and Sessions suggested that opponents of the bill are not about to agree to those conditions, no matter how hard Bush pushes.
Without unanimity, any move to bring the bill to a final vote would take at least five days. The architects of the plan are confident that with 60 firm votes lined up to block any filibusters, Reid would have no choice but to make good on his pledge to try again.
But Reid has made it clear that he would rather dedicate the remaining days on the Senate’s calendar to addressing issues considered more pressing by the Democratic base, particularly soaring energy costs and the war in Iraq. After the July 4 recess, the Senate will have only a few weeks to plow through 11 critical spending bills before the August recess.

Bush put pressure on Reid today in his remarks. “I would hope that the Senate majority leader has that same sense of desire to move the . . . bill that I do and these senators do,” he said, “because now is the time to get it done.”

Wild Thing’ comment………
Great line mentioned on Rush today : Hoover Dam was built, largely with manual labor, in 5 years and one year under budget. The Empire State Building was built in just over 400 days.
Why can’t a piddlin’ 800 mile fence be built in a year? Every day day we delay the border fence the problem gets bigger. Can’t those fools understand that simple fact of life?

Former Bradley University student Ali al-Marri

On December 12, 2001, AL-MARRI was arrested as a material witness in connection with the investigation of the September 11 Attacks. AL-MARRI was subsequently indicted by a grand jury sitting in this District for the unauthorized possession of 15 or more access devices — credit card numbers — with the intent to defraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(3).

President denied authority to detain civilians in U.S.
The Justice Department said on Monday that it will ask the full 12-member Fourth Circuit Court to reconsider en banc the panel decision in Al-Marri v. Wright (Circuit docket 06-7427).
The Fourth Circuit Court, in a 2-1 ruling on Monday, declared that President Bush did not have the authority to order the military to seize and indefinitely detain a civilian who was taken from his home in Peoria, Ill. For the Qatar national who has been held by the military since 2003, the Court said, “military detention…must cease.” The ruling barred military detention of any civilian captured inside the U.S., but the Court said it was limiting its decision to those who are in the country legally and have established connections here.

“The President cannot eliminate constitutional protections with the stroke of a pen by proclaiming a civilian, even a criminal civilian, an enemy combatant subject to indefinite military detention,” the Court said.

The panel concluded that it would grant al-Marri habeas relief, though not immediate release. It said the government had accused him — though not with formal charges — of “grave crimes.” The case was returned to a federal judge in South Carolina with instructions to order the Pentagon to release al-Marri from military custody ….

“within a reasonable period of time to be set by the District Court. The Government can transfer al-Marri to civilian authorities to face criminal charges, initiate deportation proceedings against him, hold him as a material witness in connection with grand jury proceedings, or detain him for a limited time pursuant to the Patriot Act. But military detention of al-Marri must cease.”

Later, in 2003, he was declared an enemy combatant, and transferred to the U.S. Navy brig in Charleston, S.C., from which he challenged his detention. He lost in a U.S. District Court, in a decision overturned on appeal Monday.
The key part of the ruling on presidential powers declared:

“Even assuming the truth of the government’s allegations [against al-Marri], the President lacks the power to order the military to seize and indefinitely detain al-Marri….[W]e have found no authority for holding that the evidence offered by the Government affords a basis for treating al-Marri as an enemy combatant, or as anything other than a civilian….The President’s constitutional powers do not allow him to order the military to seize and detain indefinitely al-Marri without criminal process any more than they permit the President to order the military to seize and detain, without criminal process, other terrorists within the United States, like the Unabomber or the perpetrators of the Oklahoma City bombing.”

“In light of al-Marri’s due process rights under our Constitution and Congress’s express prohibition in the Patriot Act on the indefinite detention of those civilians arrested as ‘terrorist aliens’ within this country,” the majority said, “we can only conclude that in the case at hand, the President claims a power that far exceeds that granted him by the Constitution.”

In an opinion written by Circuit Judge Diana Gribbon Motz, the Court said:

“We do not question the President’s war-time authority over enemy combatants; but absent suspension of the writ of habeas corpus or declaration of martial law, the Constitution simply does not provide the President with the power to exercise military authority over civilians within the United States.”

Wild Thing’s comment……..
Think about thousands of Al Qaeda attacking in America and the precedent set by this court. The precedent is that our military guys would be breaking the law by taking up arms ahgainst Al Qaeda infiltrators. Somehow, I just can’t applaud that jurisprudence.
This decision is flatly, undeniably and ridiculously WRONG, not correct. An enemy combatant is one no matter where we find him or what his country of origin, even when he is found in the US and was born here. He can still be a member of the Iranian army or al-Quaida, and they are our enemy, and we can shoot them, detain them or whatever we want when we are at war with them. To think otherwise is to allow the enemy sanctuary INSIDE the US that we would not give them on the battlefield. They have it backwards.
The court’s ruling is limited to (a) civilians, who are (b) citizens or legal residents of the U.S., and (c) are seized within the 50 states.
If Bush has his way and gets the Amnesty bill resurrected passed, this will be a bonanza win for every al Qaeda operative who is presently here illegally. Overnight they will be declared legal residents entitled to the multi-million dollar pro defenses that every America-despising liberal law firm will be fighting to provide.
This decision isn’t an expression of our strength as a nation, but an expression of our abject weakness. We are dying as a nation. We are beset by parasites that hang dripping from the national jugular.

Border Patrol Seeks Recruits At NASCAR
NASHVILLE, Tenn
The U.S. Border Patrol hopes a NASCAR sponsorship will help it recruit 9,000 new agents.
The Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines all have sponsored cars.

“It was just a matter of time that the Border Patrol got involved,” said Robert Richardson Jr., who drives the U.S. Border Patrol No. 28.

A Saturday NASCAR Busch Series race at the Nashville Superspeedway marks the fourth race for the car, which is getting more attention than its rookie driver.
The Border Patrol has hired about 1,500 agents since it began recruiting last year after President Bush announced plans to add 6,000 agents at the country’s Mexican border. The agency needs another 3,000 to replace agents who are retiring.
In the meantime, National Guard troops have been sent to the border while the new agents are being recruited and trained. More than 6,000 troops, including hundreds from Tennessee have gone to the border in the past year.
The NASCAR sponsorship will run for 25 races at a cost of $950,000.
Officials said the deal gives them visibility in areas of the country, like the Southeast, where the Border Patrol doesn’t have a presence and may be little known.

“Never in our 83-year history have we had this ambitious of a hiring campaign,” said Assistant Border Patrol Chief Michael Olsen, who planned to attend the race on Saturday to talk with prospective recruits.

At last week’s race in Dover, Del., Olsen said, he talked to between 50 and 100 people who were eligible and interested in joining. Only about one in 30 applicants actually becomes an agent.
Richardson said he has enjoyed the added attention the car has given his team.

“They’re serious about what they’re doing for the nation, and we’re serious about what we’re doing for our race team,” he said.

Wild Thing’s comment……….
This is a battle for hearts and minds and NASCAR fans are some of the most pro-America people. Great demographic to get the word out. If the car wins, the driver gets global face time and you can bet La Raza won’t be mentioned favorably.

Congratulations to a brave man, one of the sons of a dear friend of our blog.
This is not just a blog but a little home online and we all take such pride and gratitude in those that are serving our country.
Here is the message from Rhod that I wanted to make sure you all got to see. It is also in the post about Special Forces but it might not be seen so I wanted to make sure you all got to see it.
Thank you Rhod and please let your son doing this know how proud of him we are and that our thoughts and prayers are with him every day.
Wild Thing

Thank you everyone. Of the 365 who applied, only 123 (I think) made the grade. His brother told me they covered about two hundred miles with ruck in the 28 day selection process.
Apparently names were called during the last formation, and those called retired to a room, where they believed the news would be a rejection.
Then the major cranked up Sadler’s “Balland of the Green Berets” and there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.
He’s going to learn Arabic for his field of operations. Very troubling along with the pride.
Thanks to everyone once again. There isn’t a guy or gal here who isn’t a Special Force to me and to America. We’re all part of this resistance. Every one of us.
Posted by: Rhod at June 11, 2007 06:40 PM

Bush Vows to Get Immigration Bill Passed
SOFIA, Bulgaria
June 11
As he heads home from an eight-day European swing to face a hostile Congress, President Bush today lashed out at Democrats for holding a vote of no confidence on his attorney general, and vowed to get his stalled immigration legislation passed, saying, “I’ll see you at the bill signing.”
But while the president has been gone, his already diminished clout on Capitol hill has seemed to deteriorate further. The immigration bill was put on hold when Republicans revolted. He was forced to withdraw his nomination of General Peter Pace to be chairman of the military’s joint chiefs of staff to avoid a bruising nomination fight. Mr. Bush put the blame on Congress.
On immigration, Mr. Bush is facing a backlash in his party’s conservative wing, whose members decry the bill as amnesty. On Tuesday, he plans to attend the Senate Republican policy luncheon on Capitol Hill — a rare step for a president who typically has lawmakers come to him at the White House — in an effort to revive the measure.

“I’m under no illusions about how hard this is,” he said, adding that he was disappointed that the measure had been “temporarily derailed.”

Mr. Bush did not do much lobbying from afar. While on Air Force One Friday evening, on the way from Poland to Rome, he telephoned three top Republicans: Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the party leader; Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi, the whip, and Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, an architect of the bill.

“The political process sometimes isn’t pretty to look at,” Mr. Bush said. “There’s two steps forward and one step back. We made two steps forward on immigration, we took a step back, and now I’m going to work with those who are focused on getting an immigration bill done and start taking some steps forward again. I believe we can get it done. I’ll see you at the bill signing.”

Wild Thing’s comment…………
This whole mess is still such a shock to me. I grew up respecting our laws, respecting those in authority and that I suppose makes it why I have a hard time understanding why a person does not obey our laws. I don’t get it, how does a person hold a position of power at any level and not see that blatantly ignoring existing laws and pushing for something that favors those that break our laws weakens our country. An d that is just for starters how bad this is for Ameirca and it’s future.
Bush needs to re-read The Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

Here we go again! Mr. President, we’re not going away either.
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Powell: U.S. should talk with Syria, Iran
WASHINGTON, June 10 (UPI) — Former Secretary of State Colin Powell recommends the United States engage in talks with Syria, Iran and other Middle East nations.
Speaking to Tim Russert on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Powell said such talks should no be to solve a particular problem or crisis du jour but to have a dialogue with the people involved in the region in many ways.

“And so I think it is shortsighted not to talk to Syria and Iran and everybody else in the region and not for the purpose of making a demand on them, and I’ll only talk to you if you meet the demand that I want to talk to you about,” he said.

And then there is this as well…………….
Colin Powell: Close Guantánamo Prison Camps
Miami Herald
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday he favors immediately closing the Guantánamo Bay military prison and moving its detainees to U.S. facilities. The prison, which now holds about 385 war-on-terror captives, has tarnished the world’s perception of the United States, Powell said.
”If it was up to me, I would close Guantánamo. Not tomorrow, but this afternoon. I’d close it,” he said.
”And I would not let any of those people go,” he said. “I would simply move them to the United States and put them into our federal legal system. The concern was, well then they’ll have access to lawyers, then they’ll have access to writs of habeas corpus. So what? Let them. Isn’t that what our system is all about?”
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said Congress and the Bush administration should work together to allow imprisonment of some of the more dangerous detainees elsewhere so the military camp at the remote U.S. Navy base in Cuba can be closed.
The Defense Department estimates it would take about three years to conduct 60 to 80 military trials, if the administration authorizes that many.

Wild Thing’s comment……..
First let me say I am not a fan of Powell, never have been. I saw through him before GW Bush was elected President the first time. Powell was making statements to the press he would not mind working for Gore when he was elected President. Then Gore lost and Bush gave Powell a job. What the heck was that, keeping your enemies close maybe? Not my cup of tea thank you ever so. I want a different kind of person in my Foxhole, not someone whose allegience is wishy washie. Powell also counciled against Gulf War I , because we might have 30,000 KIAs going up against that “elite” force known as the Republican Guard.
Sooooooo to Powell……It will never again be “up to you.” So fade away already. You are so 5 minutes ago. You had your chance to make a difference and you botched it.
Powell wants us to talk to the two terrorist states most responsible for the murders of American troops in Iraq????? Good grief, and a BIG ole WTF applies here!!!!
My only idea about communicating with Syria and Iran would be a message delivered by Air Mail, from 30,000 feet up that would certainly be appropriate.
“I would simply move them to the United States and put them into our federal legal system. The concern was, well then they’ll have access to lawyers, then they’ll have access to writs of habeas corpus. So what? Let them. Isn’t that what our system is all about?”
Yeah, there’s a great idea – – turn the WOT into a lawyer-infested circus, complete with a clown car packed with scumbag liberal activist judges.