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Kill the bailout: Illegal immigration and the mortgage mess By Michelle Malkin  •  September 24, 2008 07:49 AM

My syndicated column today tackles the bailout angle no one wants to talk about: Open borders and the home loan debacle. You’ve heard a lot about Fannie/Freddie and the minority lending shakedowns, but you haven’t heard most commentators/analysts on either the left or the right talk about the massive illegal alien mortgage racket — a topic I’ve reported on for the past five years. That’s because fault lies at the feet of the crime-enabling banking industry and the ethnic lobbyists and the illegal alien-enabling Bush administration.

They screwed us. Now, they want us to fork over a trillion dollars.

Screw them.

Kill this bailout.

And I second Mark Krikorian: Credit is not a civil right. It’s not a civil right for illegal aliens. For foreign banks. For American banks. For anyone. The bailout proposal, as I noted earlier, now includes student loans and auto loan debt. Will our tax dollars next cover foreign student loan debts? Illegal alien in-state discounted college tuition debt? Where and when will it end?

Oh, but pardon me. I’m just being, you know, an ideological purist.

***

Illegal immigration and the mortgage mess
by Michelle Malkin
Creators Syndicate
Copyright 2008

The Mother of All Bailouts has many fathers. As panicked politicians prepare to fork over a trillion dollars in taxpayer funding to rescue the financial industry, they’ve fingered regulation, deregulation, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Community Reinvestment Act, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, both Bushes, greedy banks, greedy borrowers, greedy short-sellers, and minority home ownership mau-mauers (can’t call ‘em greedy, that would be racist) for blame.

But there’s one giant paternal elephant in the room that has slipped notice: How illegal immigration, crime-enabling banks, and open-borders Bush policies fueled the mortgage crisis.

It’s no coincidence that most of the areas hardest hit by the foreclosure wave – Loudon County, Virginia, California’s Inland Empire, Stockton, San Joaquin Valley, Las Vegas, and Phoenix, for starters — also happen to be some of the nation’s largest illegal alien sanctuaries. Half of the mortgages to Hispanics are subprime (the accursed species of loan to borrowers with the shadiest credit histories). A quarter of all those subprime loans are in default and foreclosure.

Regional reports across the country have decried the subprime meltdown’s impact on illegal immigrant “victims.” A July report showed that in seven of the 10 metro areas with the highest foreclosure rates, Hispanics represented at least one-third of the population; in two of those areas – Merced and Salinas-Monterey, Calif. – Hispanics comprised half the population. The amnesty-promoting National Council of La Raza and its Development Fund have received millions in federal funds to “counsel” their constituents on obtaining mortgages with little to no money down; the group almost succeeded in attaching a $10 million earmark for itself in one of the housing bills past this spring.

For the last five years, I’ve reported on the rapidly expanding illegal alien home loan racket. The top banks clamoring for their handouts as their profits plummet, led by Wachovia and Bank of America, launched aggressive campaigns to woo illegal alien homebuyers. The quasi-governmental Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority jumped in to guarantee home loans to illegal immigrants. The Washington Post noted, almost as an afterthought in a 2005 report: “Hispanics, the nation’s fastest-growing major ethnic or racial group, have been courted aggressively by real estate agents, mortgage brokers and programs for first-time buyers that offer help with closing costs. Ads proclaim: “Sin verificacion de ingresos ! Sin verificacion de documento !” — which loosely translates as, ‘Income tax forms are not required, nor are immigration papers.’”

In addition, fraudsters have engaged in massive house-flipping rings using illegal aliens as straw buyers. Among many examples cited by the FBI: a conspiracy in Las Vegas involving a former Nevada First Residential Mortgage Company branch manager who directed loan officers and processors in the origination of 233 fraudulent Federal Housing Authority loans valued at over $25 million. The defrauders manufactured and submitted false employment and income documentation for borrowers; most were illegal immigrants from Mexico. To date, the FBI reported, “58 loans with a total value of $6.2 million have gone into default, with a loss to the Housing and Urban Development Department of over $1.9 million.”

It’s the tip of the iceberg. Thanks to lax Bush administration-approved policies allowing illegal aliens to use “matricula consular cards” and taxpayer identification numbers to open bank accounts, more forms of mortgage fraud have burgeoned. Moneylenders still have no access to a verification system to check Social Security numbers before approving loans. In an interview about rampant illegal alien home loan fraud, a spokeswoman for the U.S. General Accounting Office told me five years ago:

“[C]onsidering the size of Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Houston, and other large cities throughout the United States known to be inundated with illegal aliens, I don’t think the federal government is willing to expose this problem for financial reasons as well as for fear of political repercussions.”

Chickens coming home to roost. And law-abiding, responsible taxpayers are going to pay for it.

Here at the Pepsi Center For Monday Night's Session Aug 25, 2008 | 4:11 PM
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Well, it took a lot longer than anticipated to get from the Sheraton to the Pepsi Center.  First you wait outside the hotel for the bus for about 20 minutes--and believe me it is hot!  Luckily I'm passing the time with my friend LAUSD School Board Member Yolie Flores Aguilar.

 

 

After waiting for the bus it was about a forty minute ride, a lot of sitting and waiting before unloading.  It would have taken about ten minutes in a taxi.

 

 

Now after running the security gauntlet, we are inside and safely seated in the California delegation.  It is truly an amazing sight here in the hall.  I can't believe I'm really here.  What a historic week for the Democratic Party and for America.

 

 

The convention is buzzing with excitement about Michelle Obama's speech tonight.  Of course we are all so thrilled that Senator Ted Kennedy will be speaking.

 

 

Earlier this afternoon I attended the Americans for Democratic Action's (ADA) celebration at the beautiful Colorado History Museum.  The speakers included Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA), and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL).

 

 

Barney Frank's eloquent, impassioned and humorous speech ignited the crowd. An ardent supporter of Senator Hillary Clinton during the primaries, he made it clear that he and other Clinton supporters must unite behind Senator Obama.  He said the primaries are the past, it’s done, its over--let's move on.  The Hillary supporters cheered enthusiastically.

 

 

I'll check in again soon!

 

 

 

My first day of the Democratic Convention in Denver has been exciting although sometimes challenging.  The convention starts at 4 p.m., but as I watched television from my room, I saw the gavel come down at 3 p.m. I realized I should probably start toward the Pepsi Center. 

 I had gone over to the Convention Center, which is different and a place where the Convention is held, but the place where many of the Caucuses were held.  It’s about two blocks from the hotel.  As I approached, it was a massive crowd.  The public was being allowed to enter, but the security process was long.  It was also not too much fun to go through the pro-life protestors with life-size photos of a bloody fetus as they chanted “murderers!”

    I did see a number of Californians. I ran into Rep. Maxine Waters when I returned from the Convention Center. She was on her way to the women's event featuring Eleanor Speal.  When I wandered into the lobby, L.A. City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo was there as was Assemblymember Mike Davis. The legislature had been called back to Sacramento to vote, but his luggage was lost so he was shopping.  

At 4 p.m., I started off to the Pepsi Center.  The shuttle was now a full size bus. They took us over to the Convention, but the traffic was bumper- to-bumper.   When I got off in the parking lot with the convention center in sight, someone recognized me and offered me a ride in their golf cart. I accepted and I was off to the Convention.  

    I thought I would take some popcorn in with me but I was advised there is no food allowed in the Convention.  Lots of concession stands in the lobby, but you have to eat there.  I wasn't too upset because as soon as I got a seat, I intended to go up to the National Association of Counties suite.  From 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. is a while to go without a snack.

    I was really lucky; Gloria Molina and Hilda Solis had an empty seat in the California Section.  Later, City Councilmember Bernard Parks joined us in the row behind us.   All the Statewide elected officials were there including former candidate for Governor, Phil Angelides.  Everyone was in great spirits and the music was lively.  The speeches had started, and I had a chance to hear most of them.  Congress member Jesse Jackson was especially good. 

    The highlight was Senator Ted Kennedy, introduced by Carolyn Kennedy.   We had been originally led to believe he would only say a few words, but he was electrifying!  It was moving and the entire atmosphere changed.  Of course, the final speech was Michelle Obama, introduced by her brother and a video.

    Every time there was a different speaker we were passed out cards to hold up.  No homemade signs allowed.  Gloria Molina had a large bag and smuggled in some popcorn, so we were really doing okay. 
    Michelle Obama looked exceptional.  She appeared very slim and she’s so tall, so she carried it off very well.  Her speech was well scripted and delivered with real sincerity.  She was well received and at the end she was joined by their two daughters.   

    I left there with a feeling the convention was off to a good start.  Back to the bus and the hotel.  Senator Diane Feinstein was hosting a desert event at the hotel.  Unfortunately, she injured her ankle recently and was unable to attend, but the delegates enjoyed her hospitality in absentia. 

It’s 11 p.m. and it’s been a good day.   

                                                    

                     --Yvonne B. Burke

 

Day one (yesterday) of the convention and what do I forget to do?  I forgot to wear comfortable shoes. Comfortable shoes are a must. They make or break your day. You need them. Without them you end up looking mean from all the pain you’re in. Always remember that. Flip-flops, though funny looking with a suit are a real commodity.

 

The first day like all conventions was exciting. I woke up with a plan of all the events I was going to attend and I was determined. That quickly changed. You see, conventions are in part more or less like family reunions. Your day is quickly shot when you end up seeing all the people you’ve been meaning to touch base with back home, but just didn’t have the time. Six impromptu meetings and 7 hours later you realize that the day you had so diligently planned has vanished. However, I was able to start my morning at the California Delegation Breakfast where Speaker Nancy Pelosi was honored and all the delegates were briefed on the events for the day. Of course we were warned about the protestors and I did encounter a few, including some McCain supporters, but nothing to be alarmed about. The one thing I managed not to miss was the actual convention proceedings. However, getting there was a challenge. After an hour long bus ride from the hotel to the Pepsi Center (my hotel is only a mile away) I was able to listen to Senator Ted Kennedy as he gave an amazing speech that brought tears to the eyes of many around me. I think what made it even more emotional was the knowledge of his illness and knowing that this time, this great leader was facing a challenge he would unlikely overcome. Highlight number two of the convention was Mitchell Obama’s speech. She was just amazing – providing us with an introduction of who she is, what moves her, and her vision for America.

The Democratic National Convention is a blizzard of events, each event more crowded than the last.  At the luncheon that I attended for my union, the American Federation of Teachers, someone told a story.  She said that when she landed at the Denver Airport, she took a taxi.  Making small talk, she asked the taxi driver what country he came from.  He said that he was from Ethiopia.  She said that she was in town to help Barack Obama become president of the United States.

 

He looked back in the rear view mirror and said, “The whole world needs you to help him.”

 

She was taken aback and said, “I’m so sorry that I don’t know who the president of Ethiopia is or what is going on there.”

 

He said, “It doesn’t matter.  The president of Ethiopia cannot hurt or help you here in the U.S.  Your president can do a lot to help the people of Ethiopia or hurt them.  That’s why the world needs you to help him.”   

 

On the first night of the convention, there was mass confusion as people tried to figure out how to get to the Pepsi Center and where to sit.  There were, however, plenty of volunteers providing direction.  With heavy traffic and a crush of  buses, it took an hour to get there on the shuttle bus and to get checked in through security.  Some delegates had gotten there as early as 2:30 p.m.  I got there later, and was relieved to find a good seat with the California delegation.  Then I realized we’d be sitting there until 9 p.m.

 

Since this is my first convention, I asked the person I was sitting next to, David Sanchez, President of the California Teachers Association, “Is this what we delegates do?  Listen to speeches all night?”

 

“Yep,” he said.

 

But actually the convention is an overwhelming experience with a crush of people, rousing musical interludes with singers like John Legend, moving videos… and speeches.   There was an intricate orchestration of a multitude of signs, held up by the delegates, saying such things as “Common Values, Common Purpose” one moment, and then “Michelle” the next.

 

Most delegates agreed that the most moving moments of the night were the speeches of Ted Kennedy and Michelle Obama.

 

Senator Ted Kennedy’s appearance was entirely unexpected by the delegates, and there was a gasp when he appeared.  I suppose people had assumed that because of the brain tumor, it would be too difficult for him to speak.  But he delivered a powerful, flawless speech, and it was only when Caroline Kennedy helped him walk around the stage that people could see how frail he was. Then he greeted all the young members of the Kennedy family who were on stage with him.  It was very touching to see the different generations of this iconic and compassionate family together in front of us.

 

Michelle Obama gave a powerful speech as well, showing people that she was a person that middle Americans could relate to.  But the moment that delegates commented on the most was when Barack Obama came on to the video screen, and his youngest daughter blurted out, “Daddy, where are you?”  It seemed so human and the family seemed so close, like people that you would actually want to have as next-door neighbors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

US turns over Mexican man accused in 1998 massacre 06:35 PM CDT on Sunday, August 24, 2008 Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - A Mexican national wanted in connection with the 1998 drug-related massacre of 19 people in the Baja California resort town of Ensenada has been captured and turned over to Mexican authorities, U.S. immigration officials said Sunday. Officers confronted Jesus Ruben Moncada, 33, at his Los Angeles home Thursday night as he took out the garbage. Moncada, who did not resist arrest, was taken into custody on administrative immigration violations and was returned under heavy security Friday to Mexico where he faces first degree murder, attempted murder and kidnapping charges. He was being held at a Tecate, Baja California prison pending court proceedings, according to the Mexican Attorney General's Office. Moncada told officers he fled to the United States in 1998, illegally crossing the border near San Ysidro, according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "This man is suspected of being involved in one of the most heinous mass killings in recent times," Brian DeMore, a field office director for ICE, said in a statement. Authorities believe Moncada was among several gunmen who raided the compound of an alleged drug trafficker near the Baja California beach resort of Ensenada in 1998. They lined the alleged trafficker and 18 members of his family up against a wall and shot them. Eight children were among those killed. Prosecutors contend Moncada was a high-ranking member of a Felix Arellano gang, which carried out the killings to prevent the rival gang's marijuana-smuggling operation from becoming too competitive with theirs. Moncada had been using his real name while living in the U.S., DeMore said.

Tempers flare at meeting on checkpoints Monica Rodriguez, Staff Writer Article Created: 08/23/2008 12:01:42 AM PDT
POMONA - Hours after off-duty police officers engaged in a shouting match with participants at a community meeting, members of the Pomona Habla/Pomona Speaks coalition began taking steps Friday to file formal complaints against the officers.

Coalition representatives met Friday and decided to file complaints with Police Chief Joe Romero's office and the City Council in addition to seeking an independent investigation of Thursday night's incident, said coalition member Arturo Jimenez.

The coalition will also file complaints at the state level, he said.

"We are going to be filing a complaint with the state Attorney General's Office and calling for his involvement," Jimenez said, adding that various state agencies will also be contacted.

Thursday evening's actions on the part of the officers were out of line, Jimenez said.

"What happened (Thursday) was a horrible intimidation tactic," he said.

The incident took place during a community forum organized by the coalition at the Centro Promesa de Dios on West Second Street in Pomona's Arts Colony.

The event drew more than 100 people to discuss traffic checkpoints in the city. It was also a means of collecting residents' ideas that could potentially be included in a list of proposals to be presented to city leaders as a means to address checkpoints.

Members of the audience spoke mostly about negative experiences with checkpoints, but some gave their views on why

they are necessary.

The conflict erupted when a woman commented that regulations requiring licenses are racist policies and that the city should develop alternative means of keeping streets safe without using checkpoints.

She went on to say that even people who have not been through a checkpoint live in stress.

At that point, someone among a group of about a dozen officers shouted: "Get a license!"

Meeting organizers said people who could not show respect for others would be asked to leave, prompting an officer to shout: "This is a community meeting!"

From there a few officers and audience members clustered together shouting at each other.

While some meeting organizers addressed the shouting group, others called on attendees to move toward the front of the stage and continue with the agenda.

Two officers - Phil Bozoich and Jorge Aleman, who were involved in the heated exchange - left the building followed by audience members who with the remaining attendees chanted, "Justicia! Justicia!" meaning justice in Spanish.

The rest of the officers left the gathering shortly after.

Police Chief Joe Romero, who on Friday was already investigating the matter, said the officers attending the meeting did so on their own time and "not in an official capacity" but their actions will be reviewed.

"Those that go into professional law enforcement know that their off-duty actions are as carefully scrutinized as their professional actions," he said.

Officers were sent out to the meeting after calls were made to police seeking their presence, Romero said.

City Manager Linda Lowry has received inquiries from City Council members about the meeting and she "has asked that I look into the entire situation," Romero said.

Among the steps Romero said he will be taking are meeting with Bozoich, who is president of the Pomona Police Officers' Association, "to assess that organization's involvement and naturally I will be meeting with command staff to best determine how to proceed with resolving this situation."

Bozoich said Friday that he had asked members of the association if they would consider attending the meeting.

His request was prompted by two recent traffic collisions. One, on Aug. 15, was a hit-and-run incident on Temple Avenue that left a 19-year-old Ontario woman on life support. The driver reportedly was unlicensed. The second incident, on Aug. 17, involved a drunken, unlicensed driver who hit a police patrol car, injuring the officer and police dog inside.

Bozoich said he saw a newspaper article about the community meeting and thought officers could attend and give their views and possibly start a dialog with the coalition.

Officers were surprised to find the meeting would be in Spanish, but he had Aleman, who is bilingual, at his side translating for him, Bozoich said.

During the meeting, Bozoich said, he and others asked Jimenez for an opportunity to speak.

"We spoke up to give our opinion of checkpoints," he said, adding they were not afforded the opportunity to address the audience.

But Jimenez said everyone had an opportunity to speak, and he told the officers all they had to do was get in line to speak.

Bozoich said people appeared angry with Aleman because he supports checkpoints.

Attending the meeting was "definitely not productive for us as an association," he said.

Romero said the matter is a priority for him and that he canceled plans to attend a training program outside of town and expected to work on the matter throughout the weekend.

monica.rodriguez@

inlandnewspapers.com

Hoping farmworker film reaps goodwill Email Picture California Assembly Access A frame from the film, "California's Harvest of Shame," that Nuñez screened for Schwarzenegger last week. Assemblyman Nuñez makes a movie about field hands to persuade governor to sign a bill to ease unionizing. By Nancy Vogel, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
August 21, 2008 SACRAMENTO -- To get the movie-star governor's attention on a pet issue -- the plight of California farmworkers -- Fabian Nuñez made a movie.

Toting a video camera, the assemblyman (D-Los Angeles) and his staff trekked through fields near Stockton and Bakersfield to interview field hands and labor contractors for a 21-minute documentary.

 

• Video: "California's Harvest of Shame"

The Los Angeles Democrat and his crew were not always well received. In one scene, Nuñez confronts a field boss about a lack of shade for workers, which is a violation of state law. In another, an angry grower stalks toward the camera, ordering Nuñez and the crew off his tomato field. An eerie night scene shows workers toiling in the dark, picking onions by the light of headlamps, "faceless bodies working the soil," according Nuñez's narration.

His purpose? To persuade Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign one of his measures, now pending in the Legislature, intended to make it easier for farmworkers to unionize. Making the video -- with taxpayer-funded staff and equipment, though Assembly officials say they do not have a cost estimate -- was an unusual exercise for a state lawmaker. Their persuasive efforts normally stop at letter-writing.

"I saw this as an opportunity to reach the governor in a dignified way, knowing how he thinks and sees the world," said Nuñez, "knowing that he really feels for the families of those who have died while toiling in the fields."

A former labor organizer and the son of a onetime farmworker, Nuñez screened "California's Harvest of Shame" for Schwarzenegger last week before releasing it to the public on an Assembly website and elsewhere. He got some constructive criticism.

"He said some of the footage is great," said Nuñez. But Schwarzenegger chided him for dramatizing the work done at night to avoid the hot sun. "People work night shifts," Nuñez said the governor told him.

The documentary was filmed and produced by Gabriel Ortega and Pablo Espinoza, veterans of Spanish-language media company Univision who now work for the Assembly Democratic caucus.

Narrated partly by actor Martin Sheen, the documentary concludes that 2-year-old state regulations mandating water, breaks and shade for farmworkers are often flouted. It claims that 15 farmworkers have died of heatstroke since 2004, two while the documentary was underway.

The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration, using death certificates and coroner reports, has recorded 12 heat-related farmworker fatalities since 2004. Three deaths this year are under investigation and may be heat-related.

The dead include pregnant 17-year-old Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez, who collapsed in a vineyard near Stockton in May. Nuñez and Schwarzenegger attended her funeral.

"Every time there's a death," said Nuñez, "I know it gets to him."

After working closely with Schwarzenegger for four years, Nuñez said, he's learned "you've got to get to his heart if you want him on something this big."

Nuñez's measure, AB 2386, would change the way farmworker union elections have operated since 1975. Instead of having employees vote in secret ballots at the workplace on whether to unionize, the bill would allow workers to take a ballot home.

Nuñez says such a method would still give workers a secret ballot while avoiding drawn-out campaigns of intimidation by both growers and the union.

California agricultural interests disagree. Farm owners argue that under the Nuñez law, union officials could strong-arm workers in their homes. They call the bill a more convoluted version of one Schwarzenegger vetoed last year that would have allowed a union to bargain on workers' behalf if more than 50% of employees checked a card in support.

"It's simply another form of card check," said Barry J. Bedwell, president of the California Grape & Tree Fruit League, of the Nuñez bill.

He accused the United Farm Workers, sponsor of the bill, of trying to change election rules to its advantage.

According to the Agricultural Labor Relations Board, since 1998 there have been 19 elections certifying the UFW to bargain for employees and eight elections in which union employees have voted to oust the UFW. Three other decertification elections are unresolved.

UFW spokeswoman Vicki Adame compared the ballot in Nuñez's measure to an absentee ballot that allows workers to "take it home and think it over."

Nuñez said he does not know whether Schwarzenegger will sign the bill if, as appears likely, it passes the Democrat-controlled Assembly. It passed the Senate on Monday. Schwarzenegger's staff will certainly urge a veto, Nuñez said.

The governor has taken no official position on the measure.

nancy.vogel@latimes.com

WHAT'S IN A NAME? L.A. mayor passed over for speaking role at Democratic convention Some speculate it's because Antonio Villaraigosa backed Hillary Clinton in the primaries. Others think it's because California is a given for Obama. And there are other theories. August 19, 2008
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa won't have a featured role at next week's Democratic National Convention in Denver, the political pep rally that can be a springboard for the party's brightest stars.

Villaraigosa was a national co-chair for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential bid. When she bowed out, the mayor was quick to toss his support behind presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama -- and was even tapped to introduce the Illinois senator at a convention of Latino leaders in July.

But as of Monday, Villaraigosa wasn't among the big-name Latino politicians scheduled to speak at the convention. The lineup consisted of former Denver Mayor Federico Peña, Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

Villaraigosa's biggest moment of the week could come when he speaks to the California delegation at a breakfast Thursday, along with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.

The Los Angeles mayor's office played down any notion of Villaraigosa being snubbed or disappointed.

"The mayor is a team player and will do whatever is necessary to bring home a win in November," spokesman Matt Szabo said.

Larry Gerston, a political scientist at San Jose State University, said he thought Villaraigosa was passed by simply because California is expected to be an easy win for Obama.

It makes more sense, he said, to have speakers from states that are up for grabs.

GOP pollster and political consultant Arnold Steinberg of Los Angeles thinks the Obama campaign is making a mistake.

"He's the mayor of Los Angeles. I would think they would give him some more attention," Steinberg said.

"Maybe they thought it was easier to pronounce 'Richardson' than 'Villaraigosa.' "

How Many Must Die To Pass Jamiel's Law?
By Walter Moore, Candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles, WalterMooreForMayor.com

If you haven't yet seen and heard Danielle Bologna interviewed about the murder of her husband and sons by an illegal alien gang banger in San Francisco, you need to do so.

The murder of Mrs. Bologna's husband and sons were foreseeable and preventable. That's not 20-20 hindsight. It's a fact:

On March 25, 2008, when I heard that an illegal alien gang banger had murdered Jamiel Shaw, II, an outstanding young high school athlete headed for college, whose mother was serving in our Army in Iraq, I wrote Jamiel's Law, and posted it on my website.

News of Jamiel's murder, and the subsequent publicity about Jamiel's Law, should have been enough to make Mayor Villaraigosa of Los Angeles and Mayor Newsome of San Francisco to revoke immediately all "sanctuary city" protection for gang members.

Instead, neither Mayor took any action. Nor has the Los Angeles City Council. And you can't even read about Mrs. Bologna's ordeal in the L.A. Times/Hoy.

It's up to us to pass Jamiel's Law, and to replace the Mayor and City Council. Appealing to them to do the right thing is pointless: they are committed to aiding and abetting these crimes. They are so committed to illegal aliens that they will let people like Jamiel Shaw and the Bologna men die if that's what it takes to avoid alerting the general public to L.A.'s "sanctuary city" policy.

Nor should you expect the L.A. Times/Hoy to cover this story, any more than you would expect Tokyo Rose to report accurately on World War II. After all, if the general public realizes that illegal immigration is not just a "federal problem," but is aided and abetted by City Hall, who will buy advertising in the Tribune Company's Spanish-language newspaper, Hoy?

The Shaw Family has paid a terrible price for Villaraigosa's sanctuary city policy. Now the Bologna Family has paid the same price for the same policy, albeit in a different city.

We must take action. We must replace the career politicians, the minions of Vichy California. Spread the word. Tell your friends and neighbors about Jamiel's Law and about my campaign to replace Villaraigosa as Mayor.

And if it seems like a hassle, just remember the burden the Shaw Family and the Bologna Family will bear for the rest of their lives. Get sad, sure. Get angry. But get going.

Villaraigosa Embroils City In Losing Lawsuits: Airport Hotels And Port Truckers
By Walter Moore, Candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles, WalterMooreForMayor.com

You and I, as taxpayers, will be paying dearly for Villaraigosa's inability to pass the bar exam -- despite four tries.

He keeps adopting unconstitutional and unfair policies that embroil the City of Los Angeles in litigation and deter employers from trying to do business here. Let me give you two examples:

Airport Hotels
Villaraigosa and the City Council adopted a patently unfair law that singles out a handful of employers, in one industry (hotels), in one part of town (near LAX), and requires them to pay higher minimum wages than any other employers in our city. Is that fair? Of course not. It makes no sense, and is, therefore, what those of us in the law trade call "a violation of equal protection."

As a result, one of those businesses, the LAX Hilton, has filed a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles, which is now pending in federal court. You and I, as taxpayers, will foot the bill to defend this patently indefensible law that punishes the Hilton and other hotels near the airport.

Hey, can you guess who benefits from that law, by the way? How about the developers of downtown hotels who contribute to Villaraigosa's and the City Council's campaign funds, and who receive subsidies paid for with your tax dollars? It all makes sense now, doesn't it?

Port Truckers
Villaraigosa and the City Council recently adopted another patently unfair program at the port. Long story short: independent truckers will be denied access to the port, whereas companies that employ union truckers and have old trucks will receive $1.6 billion worth of subsidies to buy new trucks.

Does that sound fair to you? Or does it sound like Villaraigosa is rewarding the unions that fund his campaigns by using his power to crush independent truckers? A federal judge will decide, because the American Trucking Associations filed a federal lawsuit yesterday to invalidate this patently unfair and unconstitutional new policy.

Meanwhile, you and I, the taxpayers, will foot the bill for lawyers to defend the wrong side of a righteous lawsuit.

You know how you can stop this type of craziness? Elect a Mayor who actually passed the bar and, more importantly, who knows right from wrong. You don't have to pass a bar exam to know that it's wrong to pick on a handful of businesses or business people, and make them bear a bigger burden than others in their industry.

If you want a Mayor who will treat people fairly, and who will make L.A. a great place to live and do business, the way it used to be, I'm your man. Help spread the word, would you? Get a yard sign or a bumper sticker. Hand out some flyers. Or contribute money so I can buy radio ads. But do something, would you? Click here to take action.

Bitterroot's sweet with S.F.'s cowboy mayor, bride

Willie Brown

Sunday, July 27, 2008

(07-27) 04:00 PDT Stevensville, Mont. -- What a party. What a wedding. What a spread.

I'm up here in Montana's Bitterroot Valley at the family ranch of Gavin Newsom's new bride, Jennifer Siebel. The place has to be at least six times bigger than Golden Gate Park and just as beautiful in its own way.

It's a working horse ranch, but the accommodations are cleaner than most airports.

The place is located about two hours outside of Missoula, Mont., where a bunch of us flew in Wednesday for the Saturday night wedding.

The group I came with flew in on one of Google's corporate jets - a Boeing 757 - and it was like flying in seven connected living rooms.

Guests include House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and husband Paul Pelosi (who seems to be recovering just fine from his recent hip surgery), Pelosi's daughter, Christine Pelosi, and her husband; Charlotte and George Shultz, Gina Moscone, Gordon Getty, Joe Cotchett, Maurice Kanbar and Kathleen Alioto are all here as well.

Chuck and Helen Schwab - who helped turn the valley into a premier golf and recreation destination - are here as well and hosted a lunch for all the guests at the Stock Farm Clubhouse.

They say the Google guys, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, are here too, but I haven't seen them.

Dianne Feinstein got tied up in Washington, but they saved a place for her husband, Dick Blum.

The theme of the wedding is "Out of Africa," Montana style.

So I had to get a new outfit for the wedding: white silk and linen sun blazer, white Riviera collar shirt, Brioni khakis and brown-and-white spectator pumps.

Robert Redford would be proud.

The actual service took place on a field, far out on the ranch and way out of cell phone reach.

As far as I can tell, however, the best part of the weekend was the rehearsal dinner. It was a rodeo and barn dance thrown Friday evening by the bride-to-be's parents, Ken and Judy Siebel - complete with Gavin on a horse, demonstrating how to cut cattle from a herd.

It was something to see. Gavin on a horse, going eye to eye with some cow - and getting it to move.

I couldn't help but yell, "Just handle it like the Board of Supervisors!"

He looked just like Ronald Reagan.

And then Jennifer came out and did the same.

The dinner was a total Stanlee Gatti affair. It took place in a barn, with long tables with sunflower centerpieces and all 200 guests sitting on hay bales.

The food was fantastic, real Western country fare. They even had buffalo for those who wanted to try it. Suffice to say, Alice Waters wasn't within a thousand miles of this menu.

Then came the dancing, with Huey Lewis - who happens to live just down the road - getting up and singing a few tunes.

But the highlight of the evening came when members of the respective families got up to introduce Gavin and Jennifer.

One of Jennifer's sisters talked about Jennifer's life as an athlete, her life as a Stanford scholar, her humanitarian work in Africa and, finally, her work as an actress.

Gavin's sister, Hillary Newsom Callan, then got up, and, after a few jokes, turned to Jennifer and talked about how being with her has changed Gavin's life.

"The last time Gavin was like how he is today was 20 to 30 years ago," Hillary said. "You are singularly responsible for turning him into a human being again."

In the middle of Hillary's speech the chickens and roosters that live in the barnyard began to crow, and each time she made a point it generated a response from a rooster.

I'm sure it wasn't staged.

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Had the honor of emceeing former KTVU anchor Dennis Richmond's retirement bash out at Blackhawk the other night - what an event!

Everyone was there. Ronn Owens in a tux - a tux! But the only way he'd come was if they sent a car.

So the host of the preparty, Brian Banmiller, sent one - a Bentley - all the way to San Francisco.

I've got to tell you, Blackhawk looks like what one of those fancy towns down on the Peninsula looked like a hundred years ago.

Everything is well manicured. The trees are all young, with no overhangs. Everything is precise.

I got inside the party and every woman in there had the same sculptured look. That has got to be plastic surgeon's heaven out there.

I also got to meet the mayor of San Ramon - H. Abram Wilson.

He's black - a Republican - and now running for the state Assembly.

I tell you, this Obama phenomenon is getting out of hand.

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A lot of heat coming down on Mayor Newsom over this sanctuary policy for illegals and those juvenile offenders who were getting sent back to Honduras.

I'm just lucky it didn't blow up when I was mayor.

Sanctuary started back with Mayor Art Agnos, and it was a good idea at the time.

It has since been corrupted, like a lot of ideas, to where these juveniles picked up for selling crack or whatever were being sent back home rather than being handed over to immigration.

It had to be going on when I was mayor, too - but it's not something that as mayor you would be made aware of.

No truant officer or probation officer would come in and say, "Mr. Mayor, under the sanctuary policy, I just turned over a half-dozen crack dealers to a halfway house in San Bernardino."

Or, "I just sent a half a dozen teenage crack dealers back home."

They just wouldn't.

And it's hard to defend.

I went on Fox TV because nobody from the city would go on. Nobody wanted to be visible on this issue.

I went on - and I got clobbered.

 Protestors gather in Postville By HENRY C. JACKSON Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press - Sunday, July 27, 2008 POSTVILLE, Iowa

With chants of "end the raids" and "si se puede," or "Yes, we can" hundreds of immigration protesters marched through the streets of Postville on Sunday, bringing a national debate to an isolated corner of northeastern Iowa.

Busloads of protesters from the Twin Cities and Chicago as well as hundreds of others from around the region rallied in this city of about 2,200 to protest a federal immigration raid of the Agriprocessors plant in May.

Many residents sat on their lawns and gaped as approximately 1,000 people walked, stomped and chanted a route about a mile long. The rally started at St. Bridget's Catholic Church, winding its way through town and pausing near the driveway of Agriprocessors.

"This is an awesome moment, a historic moment," said Sister Mary McCauley of St. Bridget's Catholic Church in Postville. "We're calling for reform, not raids."

The May 12 raid at Agriprocessors - the nation's biggest kosher meatpacking plant - was the largest in U.S. history and resulted in 389 arrests. Most of those arrested were Guatemalan and Mexican nationals who lived in Postville and the surrounding area.

Sunday's protesters included hundreds of Hispanics but had a diverse collection of ages, races and genders. Eldery white women marched next to young Hispanic men and Jewish men from Minneapolis and Chicago. They clutched banners and signs like one that read, "United for immigrant and worker rights."

The protesters circled the streets of Postville before returning to the center of town. They passed a much smaller group of anti-immigration protesters along the way, outshouting them during their march.

One of them was Claire Jamison, who said she'd traveled from Minneapolis to protest the protesters. She wore a hat emblazoned with a U.S. Border Patrol logo and held up a sign reading "What would Jesus do? Obey the law" as she shouted across the street.

"I'm just so fed up as an American. We have laws. Why can't they obey our laws?" Jamison said. "I empathize with those people, but they are not victims. They should not have even been here."

Apart from a few moments of cross-shouting, Sunday's protests remained orderly. Local police formed a perimeter around the march, separating anti-immigration protesters from marchers.

The march ended with a rally outside St. Bridget's Church, before a heavy rain storm forced the crowd to disband.

Rabbi Harold Kravitz of the Adath Jeshurun Congregation in Minnetonka, Minn. spoke when the rally paused near the driveway of Agriprocessors, on the outskirts of town.

Shouting into a portable microphone, he said the protesters wanted to stop the criminalization of people who come to the U.S. simply to make a living.

"People have come here from Minneapolis, Wisconsin, Chicago, New York and New Jersey...because we care," said Kravitz.

As Kravitz spoke, about a half-dozen Agriprocessors workers stood watching from just inside the company's gates.

Getzel Rubashkin, an Agriprocessors employee and a member of the family that owns it, approached reporters outside of the plant as the rally moved on. He said it was unfair to blame his family and Agriprocessors for the raid and theorized that unspecified competitors and enemies of the plant were behind the enforcement action.

"Look around," he said, after cautioning reporters that he was not speaking on behalf of the company. "There are a lot of people around here who are not necessarily antagonistic to the plant but they can benefit from these stories ... Now, some artificial positions have been created. Agriprocessors doesn't have a position on immigration reform ... it's a business."

The reaction from Postville residents appeared largely supportive. Cindy Moser, 53, from nearby Elkader, said her daughter and son-in-law were marching while she watched her two grandchildren.

"If they want to come and work here I say fine," Moser said. "We all saw the effect of this. My grandson, he told me, 'Grandma, they took my friends away.' I hope this stops."

Postville resident Dave Hartley said the protests were unfortunate because they could have been avoided. But the 50-year-old said he didn't fault people for coming to his town to make their point.

"It's not their fault," he said of the protesters. "It just didn't need to get to this, to a boiling point. People knew what was going on in there, in Agriprocessors and this could have been dealt with another way.

"It should have been."

Governor set to slash state workers' pay Employees would get money back when budget's settled Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to sign an executive order next week intended to temporarily reduce pay for 200,000 state workers to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 per hour to preserve cash until lawmakers reach a budget deal, according to a draft copy of the order obtained by The Bee.

The governor's order also would terminate about 22,000 retired annuitants, temporary workers and seasonal employees, as well as impose a hard freeze that blocks the hiring of roughly 1,700 new employees per month.

Administration officials said the Republican governor expects to take the action Monday, when the budget will be four weeks late as Democrats and Republicans continue to spar over how to resolve a $15.2 billion shortfall.

"The administration is looking into many different options to preserve cash to ensure we have enough to cover our costs," said Matt David, Schwarzenegger's communications director.

But a spokeswoman for Democratic state Controller John Chiang, who pays the state's bills, said he would ignore the governor's order and continue paying full salary, likely forcing a court battle.

"He will pay state workers the salaries that they have earned, and that's full salary," Deputy Controller Hallye Jordan said of Chiang.

The order would take effect for the August pay period and envisions that state workers would receive their back pay in full when a budget is signed. State workers who get paid once at the end of the month still will receive their July paychecks next week.

The move would save roughly $1 billion in cash per month, depending on how many employees are exempt under federal law because they work in health and safety fields, according to Schwarzenegger officials. Each state department head will be responsible for determining which employees are exempt under federal law.

 

Available cash in dispute

 

Word of Schwarzenegger's pending order had circulated through the vast state Corrections and Rehabilitation offices on S Street by the time workers headed home Wednesday afternoon. Several gathered at the nearby 16th Street light-rail station, shaking their heads.

Corrections employee Vicki Rhodes said the governor is "crazy" to think about cutting workers' wages and predicted that the strategy could backfire.

"I guess people will start working on Monday like they're making $6.55 an hour," she said.

Janis Rose, another corrections worker, said Schwarzenegger is posturing and ultimately won't be able to legally cut her pay. "It's utterly ridiculous," she said. "He's acting – and not very well."

The governor believes that without a budget the state could run out of money by mid-September because of a soft economy and low reserves, officials said. Given the state's low credit rating, borrowing from Wall Street without a budget could cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars in interest.

But Chiang, in a statement, questioned Schwarzenegger's calculation. He said he believes the state still has enough cash to make it through September without cutting salaries.

Democrats and state employee groups immediately denounced the governor's plan as a political ploy designed to pressure lawmakers into passing a budget.

"The governor is turning the budget crisis into a budget catastrophe," said Yvonne Walker, president of Service Employees International Union Local 1000, which represents 94,000 state workers. "If it's political pressure by the governor, shame on him, because he is causing harm to the workers who run the state of California. We're not game pieces. We're real people with real lives."

 

Parties jockey for position

 

Democrats and Republicans remain sharply divided over how to bridge a $15.2 billion gap in the $101 billion general fund. Democrats have proposed a series of tax increases, largely on the wealthy, while Republicans want program cuts and a promise of long-term budget reform that would make spending reductions easier in bad years.

Both houses of the Legislature adjourned until Aug. 4, but on Wednesday the Senate summoned its members for a vote next Tuesday.

Senate Republican leader Dave Cogdill of Modesto and Assembly Republican leader Mike Villines of Clovis issued a joint statement Wednesday: "Republicans understand the urgency of getting the budget done as soon as possible, which is our main focus right now. We are working very hard to avoid drastic measures like the one that is being proposed."

Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, and Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, criticized the governor's plan and blamed Republicans for the standoff.

"I have no idea why this would be proposed, but I think it unfairly puts at risk the ability of people who work for the state to pay their bills and pay their rent and pay their mortgages and otherwise maintain their families," Jones said.

Schwarzenegger's order says his action complies with a 2003 ruling by the California Supreme Court that deemed federal labor laws require the state to pay most workers "either federal minimum wage or, for those employees that work overtime, their full salaries" when the state has no budget. The order would require state agencies to stop authorizing overtime for most employees.

The state would pay only the federal minimum wage, which is $1.45 per hour lower than California's minimum wage of $8 per hour. The governor believes the 2003 court decision, White v. Davis, allows the state to pay the federal wage and meet its legal obligations by issuing back pay once the budget is signed.

Walker said SEIU lawyers are reviewing the draft executive order and the 2003 case.

 

Credit unions offer help

 

More than 75,000 state employees work in Sacramento County alone, according to the Controller's Office.

Terry Halleck, president and chief executive of Golden 1, said the credit union likely will float loans to members if the governor cuts their pay. The Sacramento-based firm, founded by California state workers 75 years ago, has a history of offering such deals to direct-deposit members during budget delays.

Golden 1 is the nation's sixth-largest credit union, with $6 billion in assets. About 100,000 of its 686,000 members – roughly 15 percent – are employed by the state.

"Certainly, as a credit union started by state workers, we would immediately give consideration to what we could do to help our members," Halleck said in a cell phone interview.

While the Golden 1 has branded itself as the dominant state worker credit union, others have similar loan programs.

Sacramento-based Schools Financial Credit Union, for example, started a "budget impasse" loan program July 1 that made zero-interest loans available to members crunched by the budget delay. It also offers loan payment extensions for state employee members who have lost income.

Court decisions over the years have given the state authority to pay many bills, including employee salaries, without a budget. The state began withholding pay and $162-a-day per diem July 1 for lawmakers, though they recover all money once the budget is signed.

Under the order, employees of the California Public Utilities Commission, University of California, California State University, California community colleges and legislative and judicial branches are exempt because they are not under the governor's direct authority, though Schwarzenegger encourages such employers to impose similar measures on their own.

 

1992 IOUs declared illegal

 

The state has not imposed a comparable across-the-board pay cut since it paid 93,000 workers with IOUs in 1992, a practice later deemed illegal by a federal judge.

That year, the budget impasse lasted a then-record 64 days, as California was deep in a recession and Democrats and Republicans fought over spending cuts and taxes.

The IOUs became an embarrassing milestone for California, as they marked the first time since the Great Depression that the state paid bills in scrip.

Banks initially cashed the IOUs for employees when the state began issuing them that summer. But as the budget stalemate persisted, some banks refused to accept them, sparking legal action against the state by public employees.

In 1995, U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. found that the IOUs violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. The state reached a settlement in 1996 in which it granted state workers as many as seven additional days of paid leave.

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