That we’ve been in Iraq longer than in WWII.

Film at Expose the Left

As Ian says:

WRONG! The US has been in Iraq for a little over three years. Germany and Japan declared war on the United States in December 1941. The war ended on September 2, 1945 with the surrender of Japan.

And this guy is my senator…

Dick Durbin was on the Big Story today to discuss the protests and immigration reform.

Gibson: Hundreds of thousands of protesters have put pressure on Congress over the issue of immigration reform. Bipartisan leaders in the Senate say they’ve made a huge breakthrough and are closing in on a legislative compromise. We asked some of you in a new Fox News / Opinion Dynamics poll, “Which party do you think would do a better job at handling immigration issues. The winner: the Democrats.
{graphic}

Illegal Immigration Would Handle Issue Better
Democrats	34%
Republicans	24
Both	6
Neither	20
Don’t Know	15

Gibson: The Senate’s Democratic Whip joins us now, Dick Durbin of Illinois. Senator Durbin, next week there’s going to be another round of these immigration protests around the country. Sixty cities, there in Washington on the Mall, maybe as many as 100,000 people. Are these demonstrations putting pressure on you and your colleagues to go one way or another on immigration reform law?

Durbin: I wouldn’t say pressure but I will tell you that the group that gathered in Chicago a few weeks ago was the most amazing public gathering I’ve ever been in. Over 110,000 people packed into downtown Chicago, virtually no arrests. A peaceful group asking that they might have an opportunity to find legal status in this country. I think the fact that so many came forward was a reminder that they were a critical part of our economy in Chicago and they’re a critical part in many cities.

Gibson: Senator, you describe them as asking to be a part of our economy and our country. Some people are seeing these demonstrations as a demand that we make laws that they would approve of. Is that an unfair characterization?

Durbin: I think it is. I think is, was clear to me as they were chanting USA, USA that most of the people who gathered there just wanted the same chance that my mother had when she immigrated to this country. They were outraged, I’ll be honest with you, by the Sensenbrenner bill, the House Republican bill which branded them, not just as criminals, but as aggravated felons (ed: Wasn’t it the Democrats that insisted on that language Mr. Durbin? that’s a category crime that we reserve for rapists in America. The Sensenbrenner bill charged those not only who were in undocumented status, but those nurses and volunteers and people of faith who provided humanitarian assistance with the same crime.

Gibson: Senator, there’s been a few schools around the country that have been forced to ban flags, including the American flag over conflicts back and forth between one group waving Mexican flags and another group waving American flags. Do these demonstrators, are these demonstrations making a mistake in these open displays of the Mexican flag over the American flag?

Dubin: Which schools have banned the American flag?

Gibson: There’s one in particular in Oceanside California the home of the US Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton.

Durbin: Well, I’ve never heard of that. And I don’t know a single school in America that can’t display the American flag. I’d like to look into that story. That’s pretty {unbelievable}.

Gibson: Well please do check it out. We’ve been talking about it for a couple of days. It’s made a lot of people angry. Where are you on the compromise bill that’s come out of the Senate on immigration reform, and do you think that can pass the House?

Durbin: I think it’s a good bill. And I think it’s a bipartisan compromise and I want salute the Republican Senators who stepped up to make sure that it happened. I know Senator Frist had a press conference today announcing that he would support it. My understanding the White House is also in support. And the thing is, of course, it’s comprehensive immigration reform. Not only strong enforcement, more border agents, more efforts with technology, barriers and fences where appropriate to make sure we cut down on the flow of illegal immigration, more enforcement when it comes to employers, but also making certain that people can step out of the shadows with the understanding that it’s better for America’s security that we know who they are and where they live and where they work. So I think this bill is a move in the right direction, consistent with American values, and consistent with our goal to make America safer.

Gibson: As you know, some of your colleagues in the House have been, well, have opposed this. Do you think it can get through the House now in it’s compromise form coming out of the Senate?

Durbin: Well I can tell you there is a world of difference between the Sensenbrenner bill, the Tancredo bill which criminalized humanitarian workers and those who are here undocumented, a world of difference between that and the bipartisan approach in the Senate. I hope I’m a member of that conference committee, but I can tell you that if the idea is to go in and compromise with Mr. Sensenbrenner and decide that we won’t charge them with an aggravated felony, just a felony, then that’s unacceptable. We’re going to have a bill that consistent with American values or no bill at all.

Gibson: Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois. Senator, thanks very much.

This is what they came up with (MSNBC):

Republican officials said the GOP plan would divide illegal immigrants into three categories:

* Those who had been in the country the longest, more than five years, would not be required to return to their home country before gaining legal status. They would be subject to several tests, including the payment of fines and back taxes, and be required to submit to a background check, according to these officials.
* Illegal immigrants in the United States less than five years but more than two would be required to go to a border point of entry, briefly leave and then be readmitted to the United States. As with the longer-term illegal immigrants, other steps would be required for re-entry, after which they could begin seeking citizenship, these officials said.
* Illegal immigrants in the United States less than two years would be required to leave the country and join any other foreign residents seeking legal entry.

The officials who described the proposal did so on condition of anonymity, saying the had not been authorized to pre-empt senators.

How will this work? How will the illegals prove they’ve been here for however long? I guess some could point to a child born here who is more than five years old, but how do they prove they’ve never been home for a visit? To show off that new grandchild to the grandparents back home?

What types of proof will be accepted? Proof like they use for voting in some areas – someone, anyone, just has to say that they know you and you’ve been here however long?

What about the illegal who has been here for four-and-a-half years? Do you think they’ll say, “Oh well, haven’t been here long enough. Guess we’ll just pack up and leave.”????

And those that have been here under two years… How many of those do you think will be found?

The current laws have to be enforced. The border has to be tightened. Businesses that hire illegals need to be penalized. If you can’t run your business by paying the prevailing wages, then maybe you should rethink your business plan.

Sanctuary cities also need to have all their federal monies cut off until they comply with federal law.

Michelle has more.

Sensible Mom also has a good post on this.

Senator Dubin was just on The Big Story about all this. Transcript to comehere.

This flag proudly flies from a standard on my house and there has been a flag on that standard since the day I moved in in 1997.

Michelle has more flag pictures at her site.

Don Surber shows how Donald Trump achieves his “fabulous” hair.

This is how you get a Shih Tzu to look just like a Furby: (below the fold)
Continue reading →

I was checking through my referrers and found that one was the NY Times from a search on their site. The search terms were “Cynthia McKinney recent arrest” and my post below was the number one result. Strange.

click image for larger

Watch the trailer. Never forget.

via Expose the Left.

NSFW: there is a teeny tiny bit of full frontal male nudity…

The Blackberry Helmet

Courtesy of the Rick Mercer Report on CBC in Canada.

Caught a glimpse of “This Week” this morning. In their memorial section at the end of the show they did a little bit on Caspar Weinberger’s life – two lines worth actually. Two lines: that he oversaw the largest “peacetime” military buildup in history, and that he was prosecuted for his role in Iran/Contra.

Ahh yes, that nasty “peacetime” military buildup under Ronald Reagan that cost America so many billions. I guess there’s no need to mention that whole Cold War thing. Now that the decades long fear of Soviet attack is safely behind us, we can now call that era one of “peace”. Forget that it was precisely because of that military buildup that we now have the luxury of cozying up with our comfy peacetime historical revisionism.

That is how the liberal mainstream press sums up your life’s accomplishments (failures) when you hold the wrong (conservative) beliefs.

It’s [tag]Daylight Saving Time[/tag] again. This is the first time that ALL of Indiana will spring ahead with the rest of the midwest. Hawaii and Arizona (and Puerto Rico) do not observe Daylight Saving Time.

Next year the dates for Daylight Saving Time are changing. “Spring Ahead” will be the second Sunday in March (March 11, 2007) instead of the first Sunday in April and “Fall Back” will be the first Sunday in November (November 4, 2007) instead of the last Sunday in October.

It’s also a good time to change the batteries in your smoke detectors so add some 9 volt batteries to your shopping list this weekend.