DOWNLOADS: (119)

PLAYS: (446)

Embed

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer was terribly upset with the news that this sequester battle is going to end up cutting into the profits of her buddies in the private prison industry: Jan Brewer: Freeing Immigrant Detainees Is ‘Height Of Absurdity’:

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R) is not at all happy with immigration officials for releasing hundreds of detainees in anticipation of coming sequester cuts.

“I’m appalled to learn the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has begun to release hundreds of illegal aliens from custody, the first of potentially thousands to soon be freed under the guise of federal budget cuts,” Brewer told the Arizona Republic in a statement. “This is pure political posturing and the height of absurdity given that the releases are being granted before the federal sequestration cuts have even gone into effect.”

In an interview with FOX News' Neil Cavuto on Wednesday, Brewer also attacked the White House over their claim that they had no involvement with the decision, saying they were in "duck and cover mode."

Maggie's Farm at Kos has more on what really has Brewer upset: Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer 'appalled' DHS is releasing immigrants. Blow to prison industry profits:

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's quest to imprison as many aliens as possible was steered in part by the state's powerful private prison lobby, since the "papers please" law and other tough anti-immigrant policies bring more customers to their jails. Most stories about the Department of Homeland Security releasing inmates this week have overlooked the blow to the prison industry's bottom line. It costs, for instance, about $164 a day to incarcerate one immigrant. Multiply that by tens of thousands. Day after day. [...]

Jan Brewer's been an esteemed member of the Crazy Republican Governors Club—joining lugheads like Scott Walker, Sam Brownback and Rick Scott who've embraced the tea party's "cut the deficit" gibberish, seemingly unaware of the effects in their state. Now Brewer and her looney tunes ideologues are getting a taste of Norquist's bathtub politics. She's finding out what GOP obstructionism is going to cost Arizona, and it began this week with her state's former governor, Janet Napolitano, releasing immigrants.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer says she's appalled to hear that the Department of Homeland Security has begun releasing hundreds of illegal immigrants from custody. It's the first of potentially thousands of immigrants to soon be freed before mandatory federal budget cuts go into effect.

The reality chicken has come home to roost in the guise of nearly 31,000 immigrants held in jails nationwide. That's an expensive undertaking, and the sequester will wallop DHS upside the head, necessitating huge cuts. Rather than $164 a day to incarcerate one inmate, the "supervised release" planned for prisoners who pose no serious threat costs less than $14 per day—a blow to prison profits, even if only some inmates are held in private facilities.

Gillian Christensen, an [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] spokeswoman, said ICE has reviewed "several hundred cases" of immigrants being held in jails around the country and released them in the last week. They have been "placed on an appropriate, more cost-effective form of supervised release," she said.

Of course if you watch the clip above with Brewer on Cavuto's show, you'd get the impression the opposite was true and that it was more expensive to monitor the prisoners than jail them.

DOWNLOADS: (392)

PLAYS: (7005)

Embed

Here's Mitt Romney as he presents himself behind closed doors, and if you were one of the ones who thought Barack Obama's "clinging to God and guns" remark was terrible, you ought to really listen to how Mitt views those of us he seeks to govern.

These videos have been authenticated by the Huffington Post and Mother Jones. They were uploaded to YouTube by an anonymous witness who recorded a closed-door fundraiser.

In the snippet at the top, Romney says Obama supporters are lazy freeloaders who contribute nothing and expect the government to take care of them. I can almost imagine the sneer, can't you?

During a private fundraiser earlier this year, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney told a small group of wealthy contributors what he truly thinks of all the voters who support President Barack Obama. He dismissed these Americans as freeloaders who pay no taxes, who don't assume responsibility for their lives, and who think government should take care of them. Fielding a question from a donor about how he could triumph in November, Romney replied:

There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax.

Please do take note of what Willard thinks of "entitlements." Because this is what wealthy people think about people who actually do pay more of their income as a percentage into taxes -- sales taxes, payroll taxes, and other taxes they have to pay to live and get by.

Continue reading »

DOWNLOADS: (113)

PLAYS: (304)

Embed

On his gazillionth appearance on the Sunday talk shows, Sen. John McCain was asked about whether the increased number of Hispanic voters might spell trouble for Republicans in the 2012 elections and McCain admitted that all of that immigrant bashing might not end up working out so well for them in states like Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and eventually Texas.

Okay, maybe it wasn't his gazillionth appearance, but it sure feels like it. Heaven forbid we can't let another Sunday go by without making sure we hear from the de facto Commander in Chief as ordained by our media that lost the last presidential election.

McCain believes the Republicans need a more "humane" approach to the issue of immigration, but really didn't back off of the same rhetoric we've been hearing used to fearmonger over the issue even during this interview. I think the GOP is going to continue to use immigration as a wedge issue to divide the electorate until they're voted out of office en masse for it. McCain sees the writing is on the wall as he admits here, but the Republican Party has been running on the politics of fear and racial tensions for decades now. And even if they start to soften their stance on the immigration issue when it comes to the Hispanic community, they'll just find another boogeyman to take their place. They've got a long alternate list already.

Transcript via CNN.

CROWLEY: Let me ask you about your home state of Arizona, which Democrats, you may or may not know, are beginning to eye as maybe doable for President Obama simply because you have an increased number of Hispanics who are registering...

MCCAIN: Absolutely.

CROWLEY: ... a big drive to get them out, and because, by and large, that's a community that looks at the Republican Party as anti- immigrant.

Do you worry about the image, the imagery of the Republican Party as it relates to some of the issues that are going on up on the Hill right now? And I want to talk to you about the payroll tax.

But does the Republican Party need to refigure its imaging?

MCCAIN: I think that the Republican Party has to discuss this issue in as humane a way as possible. By the way, I would remind you that...

CROWLEY: Yes, but Newt Gingrich tried to do that and everyone jumped all over him.

MCCAIN: Yes, that's, you know, I still maintain that position.

But, look, also, the enthusiasm on the part of Hispanics for President Obama is dramatically less than it was in 2008 because he has not fulfilled his campaign promises, either.

So I view the Hispanic vote up for grabs. And I think that we are going to have to discuss this issue in a humane fashion. I still believe that most Hispanics agree that we need to secure the borders, if for the drug issue alone. We talk about people coming across the border, I'll tell you, Candy, the coyotes mistreat these people in a terrible fashion. The drug cartels, who are moving drugs across our border, that are killing our Americans by polluting our society with drugs. And we have an obligation to secure our borders.

Continue reading »

DOWNLOADS: (93)

PLAYS: (346)

Embed

MSNBC isn't the only network that needs to hear from their viewers that Pat Buchanan ought to be taken off the air. Buchanan is also a regular guest on PBS's The McLaughlin Group and this week was no exception with Buchanan and the other panel members being asked to weigh in on whether President Obama is going to have any trouble being reelected because of his failure to get some sort of immigration reform passed.

After one of the other guests, Susan Ferrechio pointed out the obvious, that there was no way Obama was ever going to get any type of immigration reform past a Republican filibuster and wavering Conserva-Dems in the Senate, it didn't take Buchanan long to go on a little tirade here about amnesty and whether the children of illegal immigrants who were brought here at a young age should be allowed a path to citizenship.

Eleanor Clift rightfully pointed out that any backlash that President Obama might be facing is likely to be more than offset by the likes of Buchanan and his ilk who have been hammering on the issue of illegal immigration for political gain for some time now.

After Clarence Page pointed out that what really has the Hispanic community upset is the number of deportations that we've seen soar under the Obama administration, host McLaughlin asked why we're not talking about just what activities they're doing that are considered illegal and what they actually contribute to our society and said we should welcome them with our aging population here in the United States.

After McLaughlin asked if easing refinancing for homeowners would earn him any Hispanic support back, Buchanan responded:

BUCHANAN: No and the immigration should be cut John because we've got twenty five million unemployed and underemployed and you're bringing in workers? […] Send them home and tell them to file their papers and get in line!

MCLAUGHLIN: It would ruin the economy! It would depress it even more! They're at the top of their profession, some of them.

BUCHANAN: They're agricultural workers!

As Eleanor Clift rightfully pointed out following that remark, immigrants whether legal or illegal are not the ones destroying the economy and if anyone wants some proof of that, just look at what happened in Alabama where farmers had crops rotting off of their vines.

Buchanan is the last person the viewers on PBS or any other network need to be hearing from when it comes to the topics of immigration, racism, or minority rights in the United States. As Nicole wrote here, Color of Change is asking that everyone sign a petition to MSNBC to get Buchanan taken off the air there. If you'd like to send PBS the same message, you can find their contact information here.

Continue reading »

Stephen Colbert had a bit fun with a very serious topic during his Word segment on the Colbert Report and defended Texas Gov. Rick Perry for his claim that those that disagreed with his on the position of what to do with the children of illegal immigrants and paying for their education are heartless.

Stephen Colbert Defends Rick Perry After Debate Debacle:

Stephen Colbert has made no secret of his fondness for Rick Perry, so it was only natural that he'd use tonight's Report to go to bat for Perry against critics of the Texas governor's disastrous performance in last week's Republican debate. The arguments Colbert made while doing so, however, were a bit more unorthodox.

I don't think Colbert's remarks are going to be landing him any interviews with the likes of Sheriff Joe Arpaio or his ilk any time soon.

Mo Brooks, my congressional representative, got special attention from Chris Matthews last night. He's not the first Alabama politician to use eliminationist rhetoric regarding the undocumented, or the worst. But this is not the representation we need in Alabama's 5th congressional district:

Brooks had a little to say about immigration at the town hall I attended a couple of weeks ago. What struck me at the time was the tone of doom he had, which was in tune with the general tone of the affair. (Click here to watch the whole thing; I dare you). Illegal aliens are out for your job and your life -- be afraid, very afraid! Because no one ever gets murdered or killed in a car wreck with an American citizen.

Tourists leaving for Egypt are warned that if they are in a car accident, they should leave the scene as soon as possible so they don't get blamed for the accident -- on the supposition that if they had not been visiting Egypt, the accident would not have happened. That is exactly the logic Mo Brooks is using. He uses anecdotal, not empirical, evidence to paint undocumented immigrants as especially violent and prone to dangerous behavior. It's an old meme, one used on people of color in times past. It's ugly. It's also completely false. Someone should put a bullet in the brainpan of this zombie idea.

When your race-baiting is too far over the top for even nativist serial race-baiter Lou Dobbs, that's pretty bad. Republicans like Lindsey Graham and Jon Kyl are hoping to make a campaign issue out of birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens for the mid-term elections.

This might play well for now with their nativist base but I don't see how this ends up being a good strategy for them in the long run given the changing demographics in the United States.

h/t Media Matters

DOWNLOADS: (159)

PLAYS: (165)

Embed

Apparently Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis' latest PSA (Public Service Announcement) has got the right wingers up in arms. As Media Matters noted, "Contrary to the suggestion made by some bloggers that the campaign and hotline were created solely for undocumented workers, they are aimed at all vulnerable workers, regardless of immigration status."

Fox's Greta Van Susteren and Stephen Moore just didn't understand how the Department of Labor might care that workers of any status might need to know their rights and pretended that this only applied to illegal immigrants rather than legal immigrants who may have employers exploiting them as well.

And of course Wall Street flack Stephen Moore is not in favor of employer sanctions because he doesn't think "we should turn our employers into immigration cops". Sorry Stephen, but it doesn't turn them into cops. What it should be doing is turning them into criminals if we want to take the harsh stance that the right wing does towards the workers coming here. Heaven forbid we might punish the employers who too often keep these workers as slaves even though slavery was supposed to be outlawed in the United States.

He is all in favor of letting that cheap labor come in though. Just as long as the border is secured first, their typical right wing talking point that does nothing to actually address the problem of why workers from Mexico are coming here in the first place.

How about this Stephen? How about we actually make sure that no one coming in is either kept as a slave or paid slave wages, we punish employers that exploit their workers and send them to jail when they violate our labor laws and we legalize marijuana so we're not using our tax dollars to fight Mexican drug cartels who are running drugs across our borders one way and guns from America the other way? And while we're at it, how about fixing those trade laws that destroyed all of the small farms in Mexico that has so many of them looking to the United States for work in the first place?

I would guess if we did those things our border security could probably handle what few people were still trying to cross the border illegally. As long as we want what amounts to the mob running the drugs and the continued exploitation of workers with no consequences for those that hire them all the border security in the world isn't going to fix this problem.

Hacks like Stephen Moore would rather protect the big commercial farms, the gun manufacturers, big pharma, WalMart, the hotel industry, the cotton industry and a host of businesses that don't want to see workers paid a fair wage, don't want to see marijuana legalized because it would cut into their profits and who are happy to exploit their workers as long as there are no meaningful penalties attached to that exploitation.

In the mean time the right wing zealots will continue to pit working class people against each other who should be on the same side of the issue that no one, no matter what country they're working in or coming from is paid slave wages for their labor, and they'll continue to do it by demonizing "the other" and fear mongering about things like terrorism and the evil illegal immigrants that are "infiltrating" our country while ignoring the businesses that are taking advantage of the workers and causing the problem in the first place.

If our pundit class at Fox and the Wall Street Journal dared to tell the truth about the actual problem with the rich exploiting the poor and that they have equal disdain for the "Real Americans" that they're happy to exploit and take advantage of for political purposes, that wingnut welfare check from Rupert Murdoch might get cut off, and we couldn't have that, now could we?

DOWNLOADS: (861)

PLAYS: (4878)

Embed

Bill asked everyone to at least "be nice to the poor and desperate people who change our Depends and cook our food, hopefully not in that order". Full rant at the HuffPo -- New Rule: This Mother's Day, Americans Must Extend a Special Thanks to Their Nannies:

New Rule: This Mother's Day, all Americans must pause and extend a special thanks to the women who maintain our homes, who take care of our kids, and who still make time for sex with Dad. I'm talking, of course, about our nannies. Lost in this whole immigration debate is why Americans want to be so harsh on the people who, in so many and varied ways, enable them to sit on their fat asses. Nannies, valet parkers, gardeners, all the people who do the things we're a little too busy or important to do. There are plenty of people to be mad at our there -- the jerks at Goldman Sachs, the idiots at BP, the guy who charged you fifty bucks for these tickets -- why set our crosshairs on the humble, servile people?

I'll tell you why. Because we're bullies. Instead of confronting real threats, like the debt or the environment or Utah, we pick out the poorest, most defenseless kid on the block -- illegal immigrants -- and say, "What are you looking at?" But I'll tell you something, you anti-immigrant hoopies -- as usual you're mad at the wrong people. It was corporate America that busted your unions and didn't keep your pay up to the cost of living, causing your wife to have to go to work and Esmeralda to have to come in to watch the kids. Your problem is low wages, not low riders. A middle class life can now only be maintained with the presence of an underpaid underclass. In the 1940s, fewer than one in five moms worked outside the home. Ironically, mostly in bomber factories, to beat Nazi Germany, a place, like Arizona, where you always had to show your papers. I kid, that's an unfair comparison. The Germans knew how to dress.

Read on...

DOWNLOADS: (238)

PLAYS: (643)

Embed

After Brian Bilbray said you can tell who is an illegal immigrant by their shoes or the type of clothing they're wearing, the staff of Real Time decided to try to help out anyone who might fall victim to racial profiling in this segment Bill Maher calls an "American Makeover".