September, 2006

The California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation has posted video its activists took of Minutemen protesting day-labor sites in the San Diego area. For his part, the founder of the San Diego Minutemen – who are seen in the video clips taking pictures of employers and arguing with or threatening workers and others – complains that “These camera people are getting in our faces.”

A few miles to the north, the city council of Escondido appears poised to pass a Hazleton-style anti-immigrant ordinance, including California’s first ordinance to target landlords who rent to undocumented immigrants. Even as cities that passed such measures – like Riverside, New Jersey and Valley Park, Missouri – are straining under the effects, more cities are looking to crack down on a certain part of their populations. Altoona, Pennsylvania approved such an ordinance Wednesday, and now Carpentersville, Illinois is looking to join in:

In what experts said was a first for the Chicago area, two Carpentersville trustees have proposed that the village punish landlords and businesses that "aid and abet" illegal immigrants.

The ordinance, expected to be formally introduced at Tuesday's Village Board meeting, would also make English the official language of Carpentersville, a town whose population of 37,000 is almost half Hispanic.

“What we're seeing around the country is local entities saying, you know what, folks, we have to take matters into our own hands,” says Minuteman Civil Defense Corps’ Illinois state director. “That's the proper response, because they were voted in to protect American citizens.”

The Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund has a list of anti-immigrant local ordinances.

Earlier this week, USA Today reported how backlash from last year’s Supreme Court ruling on eminent domain has led to ballot initiatives in eleven states to reform the process – and how in some cases, the “property rights” movement is coupling eminent domain initiatives with other measures, such as one in three states advancing an obscure libertarian theory called “regulatory takings” which is designed to undermine zoning and environmental laws. According to USA Today, the ballot initiatives are “bankrolled largely by libertarian organizations controlled by New York City real estate investor Howie Rich. The groups, Americans for Limited Government and the Fund for Democracy, have donated $4 million to ballot drives in eight states.”

Last week’s episode of “NOW” on PBS delved into the effort in Montana to advance three initiatives: one to limit eminent domain, one to make it easier to recall judges, and one to implement a constitutional cap on spending, much like the controversial “Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights” that Colorado voters partially rescinded two years ago.

“NOW” tries to look at who financed the effort in Montana.

[PBS correspondent Maria] HINOJOSA: You're talking $600,000—to put your initiatives on the ballot in Montana. Where does the— that money come from, the 600,000—

[SOS Treasurer Trevis] BUTCHER: From major donors

HINOJOSA: Can you, can you name some of them?

BUTCHER: No. And— and the reason—

HINOJOSA: And why— why wouldn't you name them?

BUTCHER: Because our— our membership is a private list

…

HINOJOSA: Do you think that if you were to disclose who funds your organization, who's been funding the initiatives, the $600,000 that this has cost, do you think that if you disclose that, that that might influence how voters voted on these initiatives?

BUTCHER: What does it matter? I— I don't see that there's a relationship there. The reality is—

HINOJOSA: If it doesn't matter, then—

BUTCHER: —is the voters are the ones that get to do that.

HINOJOSA: But why not reveal who is helping to fund you? What is so controversial about revealing the names of foundations, or corporations that are national, and revealing it to your fellow Montanans? Why not?

BUTCHER: Why should we? You know? I mean, that's— that's the reality.

As PBS shows, all signs point to Howard Rich, who is providing 99 percent of the funding for similar initiatives in Oklahoma, Arizona, and Missouri. PBS has the video and transcript.

Earlier this month, the initiatives were stricken from the ballot after a judge found a “pervasive and general pattern of fraud” by out-of-state signature gatherers.

The anti-spending pig used in the Montana was also used in Michigan. (PBS)

It looks as if the folks at Focus on the Family were a little hurt by Dick Armey’s recent statement that “[James] Dobson and his gang of thugs are real nasty bullies” who rely on “demagoguery” to manipulate the “intellectually lazy” – so much so that FOF went out and found a few members of Congress who would fight back against Armey while kissing Dobson’s boo-boos and making it all better  

Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., who served under Armey's leadership, said it was sad that someone of Armey's stature would call Christians a "gang of thugs."

"That would be your listeners and readers, (he's talking about)," the congressman told CitizenLink. "That would be the many Christians around the United States who devoutly hold conservative moral beliefs — and he's acting like this is just some kind of political game. And it's disgusting. I was incredibly disappointed to read these comments."

Souder said it is important for people to understand something about Dr. Dobson.

"When Dr. Dobson speaks out, he takes the hits and bullets for all of us," Souder said. "He becomes the easy punching bag. And when someone sees trends changing or they want to pick on somebody, by Dr. Dobson becoming a public figure and taking the lead, he will get the criticism, but he's really taking it for everybody."

…

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who also served under Armey when he was a member of the House, said the former Texas congressman and fiscal conservative has no business making such comments.

"I don't know why he's mad now, but his characterization is totally inappropriate," Coburn said. "I'm sorry Dick Armey feels that way.

"Dr. Dobson has done more to advance the cause of moral excellence than anybody I know in this country," Coburn said.

Apparently Armey’s assessment of Dobson and his ilk as a “bunch of thugs” wasn’t entirely accurate – thugs don’t usually get others to fight their battles for them. 

At least a few supporters of Intelligent Design Creationism have taken it upon themselves to teach students another kind of lesson: if at first you don’t succeed, threaten violence.

The AP reports that Pennsylvania U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III received, in addition to verbal attacks from far right commentators, at least a few death threats which led to a week of protection by federal marshals after Jones ruled last year against a plan by the Dover School Board to require the teaching of Intelligent Design Creationism in the district’s schools.

“And if you would have told me when I got on the bench four years ago that I would have death threats in a case like this as opposed to, for example, a crack cocaine case where I mete out a heavy sentence, I would have told you that you were crazy,” he said. “But I did. And that's a sad statement.”

Dover is the town whose residents were warned by Pat Robertson not to pray to God if they suffered a catastrophe because voting the pro-creationism members off the school board meant citizens were kicking God out of town.

PFAWF has already documented that the Creationism movement has tried a variety of tactics to force religion into public science classrooms over the years. And attacking judges as dangerous and un-American has become frighteningly commonplace. But death threats over a school science curriculum is a potent reminder that extremism is alive and well in 21st century America.

Land joins PFAW board member Saperstein in urging Congress to “deal compassionately and fairly” with immigrants.

Family Research Council, Traditional Values Coalition, National Right to Life Committee urge activists to call Senate.

Because it was a joke, it’s OK, the minister tells CNN. Watch: Broadband or Dial-Up.

An article (temporary link) in today’s Wall Street Journal examines the rise of nativist groups and anti-immigrant sentiment – such as California’s “Save Our State,” which inspired small towns like Hazleton, Pennsylvania to attempt to crack down on immigrants through local ordinances:

Armed with a computer and less than $100, Joseph Turner two years ago formed a group called "Save Our State." His goal: save California from turning into a "Third World cesspool" of illegal immigrants, he says. The group doesn't have a formal membership, and Mr. Turner counts barely 2,000 people on his email list and message board.

Yet this meager base has proved to be a powerful springboard. Through his Web site, Mr. Turner has recruited supporters to hold confrontational protests outside Home Depot stores, where unauthorized workers often gather to seek jobs. He has also helped ignite a nationwide movement by local governments to crack down on illegal immigration. So far, about 10 towns have passed ordinances to drive out undocumented immigrants after getting the idea from Mr. Turner. Dozens of other towns are considering such measures. …

"With as little as five people you can shut down a day-laborer center," says Mr. Turner, because employers will be too intimidated to stop and hire them. Contractors have been deterred from hiring from these sites during the protests and in several days that followed. Home Depot declines to comment on Mr. Turner.

At a rally outside the day-laborer center in the ritzy coastal town of Laguna Beach, neo-Nazis and white supremacists waved Nazi and confederate flags. Mr. Turner says they weren't welcome at the event but that he couldn't stop them and that Save our State members left shortly after they arrived. Mr. Turner says he also deletes white-supremacist rhetoric when it pops up on his Web site's message board.

About a year ago, Mr. Turner drafted a three-page ordinance -- the "City of San Bernardino Illegal Immigrant Relief Act." Although it was derailed before it could come to a citywide vote, the ordinance went on to be imitated, and passed, by several towns and cities across the country.

Meanwhile, towns that adopted the Turner-inspired ordinances, like Riverside, New Jersey, are reeling as large parts of the community leave:

Dave Ercolani is glad he's retiring and closing his hardware store. It could be tough to stay in business now that the township, not long ago teeming with recent arrivals from Brazil, has adopted one of the nation's toughest anti-immigration laws.

The town council adopted an ordinance in July that makes it a crime for businesses to knowingly employ illegal immigrants or for landlords to rent to them. Even though the law isn't being enforced, its effects can be felt because of a fast loss of hundreds of residents who have left town since the law was adopted.

"This town was starting to move," said Ercolani, who said he does not know whether the law was right or wrong. "I feel that they killed everything."

Riverside is an old industrial town on the banks of the Delaware River. Its downtown has wide sidewalks and wider streets lined with proud two-story buildings. Many of them - more than a few months ago - have "Apartment for Rent" or "Store Closed" signs. And on Wednesday afternoon, there was almost no life on the sidewalks. People who work downtown say that's a big change from before the ordinance was adopted.

Peter Montgomery, vice president of and director of communications for People For the American Way Foundation, recaps the themes and messages that emerged from the Values Voter Summit. Among the themes expressed by the right-wing speakers were:

• we’re at war abroad and at home – against the “culture of death,” gays, judges, advocates of church-state separation, etc;
• dissent from President Bush’s war on terror – including detention and torture policies – is treasonous;
• evil gays are threatening the family and religious liberty;
• the president and Congress should ignore the Supreme Court (at least until there are more right-wing justices);
• poverty isn’t all that important;
• the Religious Right is winning the culture war and has to win the political war – if not, we’re doomed

Read the rest, and read this blog’s coverage of the Values Voter Summit.

In between dreaming up outrageous ads for her clients, slandering their opponents, and heading a small organization called the Coalition for a Fair Judiciary, Kay Daly occasionally finds time to write posts for her blog “The Daly Report.”

On Wednesday, she saw fit to weigh in on the recent allegations that Sen. George Allen used racial slurs to refer to African Americans during his college years

Virginia Sen. George Allen on Monday denied allegations by a college football teammate and another former acquaintance that the senator used a racial epithet to refer to blacks during and after his time at the University of Virginia in the early 1970s.

The accusations by R. Kendall Shelton, 53, a radiologist in North Carolina, and Christopher C. Taylor, 59, an anthropologist at the University of Alabama, reignited questions about Allen and race as he campaigns for reelection against Democrat James Webb.

Shelton said Allen frequently used the "N-word" to describe blacks and nicknamed him "Wizard" because of the similarity of his name to that of Robert Shelton, a former imperial wizard of the Alabama Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. He also recounted an event from 1973 or 1974 in which he, Allen and a third friend were hunting deer. After the deer was killed, Shelton said, Allen cut off the doe's head, asked for directions to the home of the nearest black person and shoved the head into that person's mailbox.

Taylor said that during a visit to Allen's Charlottesville house in 1982, Allen pointed to turtles in a pond on his property and said only "the [epithets] eat them."

Allen denied the allegations, but Daly came rushing to his defense, offering a unique “who hasn’t said ‘n-word’?” defense

This strategy deployed against George Allen could be called the "Southern strategy with a Mark Fuhrman twist." If one is truly truthful, there is probably not a person alive on planet Earth who has not uttered the so-called "n-word."

They might have been singing along with lyrics to a hip-hop tune. Or they might have said it in a sociology course. They might have been in a play. Or a lawyer in a courtroom for OJ Simpson. They might have been reading aloud from a newspaper or a book and quoted the dreaded n-bomb. They might have been using the word as an example of what not to say. Who knows?

There is an obvious difference between reading a book or studying the word in sociology class and using it as an epithet , but apparently Daly is incapable of understanding that  … which is not particularly surprising considering that she works for a candidate who produces ads such as this [view the ad here]

Former Rep. Dick Armey (R-Texas), the chief author of Republicans’ 1994 “Contract with America” and current chairman of FreedomWorks, was a stalwart of the Right during his time as majority leader of the House, but recently he has expressed dissatisfaction with the current crop of right-wing leadership. Disgusted with the “demagoguery” surrounding issues like Terri Schiavo and prayer in schools, he recently commented that “[Focus on the Family head James] Dobson and his gang of thugs are real nasty bullies” and “being a Christian is no excuse for being stupid.”

Now, Armey is expressing his impatience with House Republicans over immigration. He says he’s “disappointed” with the lack of “deep thought” from Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisconsin), the primary sponsor of the enforcement-only bill that passed in the House. And had harsh words for Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colorado), a leading spokesman for the modern anti-immigration movement who thrives in the political margins. From McClatchy News Service:

[T]he former House majority leader is now savaging conservatives in his own party for what he calls ''knee-jerk'' opposition -- ''emphasis on jerk'' -- to the Bush administration's efforts to create a temporary guest-worker program and overhaul the nation's immigration system. …

“This has been rallied up by a lot of people that are very visible, make a lot of noise and have never been guilty of any deep thinking,'' Armey said during an appearance on Tuesday.

Unabashedly naming names, Armey described Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., as the ``cheerleader of jerkiness in the immigration debate.''

Claims former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor of a South Dakota measure (reg. req.).

“Not a scientific theory,” says Discovery Institute’s Wells. “Pro-Darwin” scientists should be “very afraid.”

Abortion bill and bill to stymie First Amendment lawsuits will “help with the base,” says FRC’s McClusky. (More on “values agenda.”)

Group already sued by FEC for not operating as a PAC. (More on Schwarz and CFG.)

Corsi and Gilchrist suspect Catholic leader’s “true agenda is to build his base of parishioners.”

A “report” from the anti-gay group describes a “dangerous new threat to the normal development of your children as heterosexuals.”

Daniel Allott, a policy analyst for Gary Bauer’s group American Values, claims that liberals were “conspicuously absent” from last weekend’s Values Voter Summit, a gathering of the Religious Right and prominent Republican politicians where speakers from Rep. Mike Pence (R-Indiana) to James Dobson encouraged right-wing activists to work to preserve the Republican majority in Congress in November. Leaving aside the fine point that those who disagree strongly with the far Right – such as this blog – were in fact in attendance, Allott goes on to assert that liberals and Democrats are alienated from “religious voters.” “Despite the left’s recent values offensive, the ‘God gap’ is actually growing!” he writes.

But as a recent poll from PFAW Foundation’s Center for American Values in Public Life shows – despite years of efforts by the far Right to portray liberals as openly hostile to Christians – the difference is scant, with 16 percent believing Democrats unfriendly to religion and 13 percent believing Republicans unfriendly to religion.

Nevertheless, Allott goes on to claim that the reason for this purported “God gap” is that liberals “have yet to support the policies people of faith care most about” – citing abortion as an example, and claiming that interest groups who support choice, such as PFAW, are “actively seek[ing] to undermine religious freedom and family values.” Therefore, the argument goes, “values voters” shun Democrats at the polls.

But as the Center for American Values poll shows, when Americans are “voting their values,” they’re not talking about abortion (3%) or gay marriage, another bugbear cited constantly by speakers at the “Values Voter Summit” (9%). They’re talking about honest, integrity, and responsibility (39%); poverty and health care (23%); and protecting individual freedoms (21%). And more than eight in ten people think leaders use religion to talk about abortion and gay marriage too much, and don’t talk enough about values like loving your neighbor and caring for the poor.