Kill the Gang of 8 Bill

NiceDeb posted a blog today regarding the immigration reform proposal that the United States Senate will be voting on today (June 24th, 2013) at 5:30 pm.  This is the most sweeping reform the Senate has voted on in nearly 3 decades.  You can read the entire post from NiceDeb below:

Monday Morning Catch-up: Kill The Gang of 8 Bill

June, 24, 2013 — nicedeb

Ted Cruz, Red State: Latest “Deal” from the Senate: Pass Amnesty First, Read the Bill Later:

On Monday at 5:30pm, the United States Senate will vote on the most sweeping immigration reform proposal it has considered in almost 3 decades – and it will do so having only seen the nearly 1200 pages of text for approximately 72 hours.  Americans – including myself, my fellow senators and our staffs – are still trying to figure out exactly what is in the new Schumer-Corker-Hoeven “deal.”

Sound familiar?  Pass it to find out what’s in it?  Reminiscent of Obamacare, the lengthy amendment to replace the Gang of 8’s original bill was crafted behind closed doors and introduced late on Friday, after many members had left town.  In the 2007 immigration debate, close to 50 amendments were considered.  But this year, we have only debated 9 – with some of us being completely shut out.

Given only a weekend to review the language, we will now vote on whether to end a debate that never really began.   To be clear – this is not a difficult vote.   On process alone, we should all vote “no.“  This was by design – the President, Harry Reid and the Gang of 8 preferred all along to ram through a “deal,” and not have a real debate – just like Obamacare.  Worse, just like Obamacare, the “deal” involved lots of horse-trading and buying off of votes at the last minute – a display of everything that is wrong with Washington, and one of the things I specifically campaigned against.

But, on substance – the vote is even easier.   There are too many troubling provisions of the bill to list, such as de facto affirmative action hiring for current illegal immigrants due to Obamacare and huge amounts of discretion for the DHS Secretary to waive deportation and inadmissibility.   And for all the talk, the new Schumer-Corker-Hoeven “deal” is nothing new at all.  It’s the same amnesty-before-false-promise-of-security of the Gang of 8 and the bills of debates past.

That is why we started this petition, so that Americans can speak out and let Senators know that they oppose the legalization-first bill offered by the Gang of 8 and Schumer-Corker-Hoeven.

Finish reading at the link…

Michelle Malkin: Mass illegal alien amnesty violates our founding principles: 

The U.S. Constitution does not say that the paramount duty of government is to “Celebrate Diversity” or to “embrace multiculturalism” or to give “every willing worker” in the world a job. The Premable to the U.S. Constitution does not say the Republic was established to keep illegal alien families together, provide illegal alien college tuition discounts, or promote immigrant welfare magnets. It says the Constitution was established “to provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty.”

Our founding fathers recognized that fulfilling these fundamental duties is impossible without an orderly immigration and entrance system that discriminates in favor of those willing, as George Washington put it, to “get assimilated to our customs, measures, [and] laws.”

Assimilation, not amnesty, is at the heart of the American experiment.

And “secure the border, period” — not “secure the border first” as a pesky precondition to a mass illegal alien bailout — is an ongoing, never-ending obligation of our government.

Border security is not something you finish and hastily check off a list in order to move on to another politically correct campaign promise. It is the most basic duty of government and it remains the federal government’s biggest failure.

The Hill: Sessions: Opposition to border security amendment will grow:

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), an outspoken critic of the Senate immigration reform bill, predicted Sunday that GOP opposition to the measure will grow as lawmakers learn more of its details.

John Hayward, The Conversation: Marco Rubio makes his case for immigration reform:

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) wrote an article for Human Events today, defending his immigration reform proposals.  A sample, in which he discusses the border security provisions of the Corker-Hoeven amendment:

The Republican Border Surge Plan was developed with input from border patrol officials, border state officials, and security experts. It stipulates that no illegal immigrant can even apply to become a legal permanent resident of the U.S. until at least ten years have elapsed and until five security triggers are achieved.

Liz Sheld, The Conversation: Rubio Image Drops 15pts this Year Among GOP Voters:

Marco Rubio (R-FL) has seen his favorables drop over the course of the year, according to a new Rasmussen Report poll.  Fifty-eight percent of GOP voters have a favorable opinion of Rubio in these latest figures. Those numbers are “down 10 points since May and 15 points since February. Sixteen percent (16%) of GOP voters have an unfavorable opinion of him, while 25% are undecided.”

Big Government: EXCLUSIVE: ICE UNION ATTACKS CORKER-HOEVEN AMENDMENT:

After Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) admitted the amendment he and Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) offered to the immigration bill will not improve immigration law enforcement, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) National Council president Chris Crane told Breitbart News he is shocked lawmakers would still want to pass the bill.

“So that’s the answer from U.S. Senators,” Crane, an ICE agent and a former marine, told Breitbart News exclusively on Sunday morning. “They know the bill is bad but plan to pass it anyway? With billions of taxpayer dollars to be spent and the safety of the public on the line, Senators plan to pass the buck to the House with hopes they might fix it? Anti-enforcement special interests have succeeded in pressuring the Senate from doing what’s best for America. This is why America has lost faith in its lawmakers.”

Points and Figures: Immigration Bill Almost Done:

Clearly, the US needs high quality immigrants to come here.  We want to be that shining city on the hill, and a destination country for people all over the world.  One of the portfolio companies I invested in, Brilliant, identifies those immigrants.  Stories like the one I wrote about yesterday are the epitome of the American Dream.

But, this bill stinks. It’s full of loopholes and special interests.   It plays politics.  The guys at Powerline do a great job analyzing it.

Gateway Pundit: Rand Paul on Immigration Reform: Without Security Triggers, ‘I Can’t Support Final Bill’ (Video):

Senator Rand Paul told liberal CNN host Candy Crowley on State of the Union he will not vote for the immigration bill.

“We’ve thrown a lot of money at a lot of problems in our country. To me, what really tells me that they’re serious is to let Congress vote on whether the border is secure. If the people in the country want to be assured that we will not get another ten million people to come here illegally over the next decade, they have to believe that they’re going to vote through their Congress.”

Heritage: 10 Problems with the Gang of Eight Immigration Bill:

Gateway Pundit: Enough Is Enough… ‘Gang of 8′ Members Jeff Flake & John McCain Face Recall Petitions:

You can sign the petitions here and here.

John Ransom, Townhall: The White House Beatings to Continue Until Morale Improves:

You can always count on the White House to react strongly to “internal” threats.

Yes, the folks who could care less who is blowing up whom in Syria, Libya or Boston, takes people who snitch on them very seriously.

Their newest weapon is a program called “Inside Threat,” which, according to McClatchy, is designed not to just to clamp down on classified leaks, but rather to make sure ANY unauthorized disclosure of ANY information that make them look bad will leave a mark on the miscreant leaker.

Given the proclivities of the administration to impale themselves on the sharp edge of many of their policies, it’s no wonder they have no time for the economy, jobs, the war in Afghanistan, the immigration reform, budgets, national security briefings and all the other effluvia of governing.

What with vacations and stopping the whistle blowers, time is short.

“President Barack Obama’s unprecedented initiative, known as the Insider Threat Program,” writes McClatchyDC.com, “is sweeping in its reach. It has received scant public attention even though it extends beyond the U.S. national security bureaucracies to most federal departments and agencies nationwide, including the Peace Corps, the Social Security Administration and the Education and Agriculture departments. It emphasizes leaks of classified material, but catchall definitions of ‘insider threat’ give agencies latitude to pursue and penalize a range of other conduct.”

It’s received scant attention because the media, which makes money to report this type of abuse of power, is hoping still that Bo loves them, even though they have had some tiffs of late.

Just like the wife who excuses the abusive husband, they’ve deluded themselves that really, come on, he means well.

Legal Insurrection: Monday is Lawmageddon:

1.  Zimmerman Trial Opening Statement and Prosecution case– 9 a.m.

We’ll have our live coverage, including video embed and live Twitter stream, as well as commentary during the day and in an end-of-day wrap up from Andrew Branca.  If you haven’t seen his coverage so far, you’ve missed out.

2.  Supreme Court — 10 a.m.

We almost certainly will get one of the big 4 decisions from the Supreme Court — Gay Marriage/DOMA, Voting Rights Act, Affirmative Action.

I’m guessing Voting Rights Act. We’ll have coverage as decisions are released starting at 10 a.m.

3.  Senate Amnesty Vote — 5:30 p.m..

This is an attempt by Democrats aided and abetted by anywhere from 10-15 Republicans, to damage the rule of law by rewarding law-breakers and making fools of law-abiders, and giving Janet Napolitano sweeping power to disregard the law in her discretion.

LifeSite News: Planned Parenthood sues to block Kansas law telling mothers baby is ‘separate, unique, living human’:

An abortionist and his local Planned Parenthood affiliate sued in federal court Thursday to stop a law that would tell women considering abortion that an unborn child is not a part of her own body and that unborn children can feel pain by the third trimester of pregnancy.

Abortionist Orrin Moore, director of the Overland Park Planned Parenthood, sought to block a provision of the Kansas 2013 Pro-Life Protections Act that requires abortionists to inform mothers who seek abortions that they are ending the life of a “whole, separate, unique, living human being.”

According to Moore, the statement that an abortion terminates the life of a separate human being is “a misleading statement of philosophical and/or religious belief.”

He claims in his lawsuit that the law violates his First Amendment right to free speech by forcing him to say something he personally believes to be untrue.

If I want to call the moon the sun – that’s my First Amendment right, dammit. And no one is allowed to tell me otherwise, or they’re infringing on my rights!

Weasel Zippers: Obama Family’s $100 Million Trip To Africa Among Most Expensive Presidential Trips Ever…

To give you an idea how expensive this is, Bill Clinton’s most expensive trip cost taxpayers $63.5 million, which is $36.5 less than Obama’s.

Via US News:

President Obama’s trip to Africa starting Wednesday is drawing criticism for its vast expense, estimated at up to $100 million, but presidential travel has become an easy target for critics over the years no matter who is in the White House.

President Bill Clinton was roundly criticized for making his own Africa trip in 1998. The cost of the visit, which was considered excessive at the time, was $42.7 million, according to the Government Accountability Office, and that tabulation didn’t include Secret Service expenses.

Clinton’s trip to Asia in 2000 was even more expensive, and Clinton was a lame duck then, only months away from leaving office. His Asia visit cost taxpayers $63.5 million. This included not only the expenses for operating Air Force One but for more than 60 other aircraft to transport U.S. personnel and equipment halfway around the world. […]

Democrats love to spend our money, don’t they?