Communities fight to opt out of immigration program

From the New Mexico Independent - Until last week, local officials in Arlington, Va., Santa Clara, Calif., San Francisco and Washington, D.C., thought they’d have no trouble opting out of the Secure Communities program, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement initiative that runs fingerprints collected by local police through federal immigration databases. After all, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and an assistant attorney general had both written letters confirming that an opt-out was possible, and the ICE website even lists steps for communities to opt out. But in the past week, these local officials’ plans have been thrown into turmoil, as a senior ICE official told The Washington Post that opting out of the program was impossible and Napolitano confirmed on Wednesday, “We don’t consider Secure Communities an opt-in, opt-out program.” Read more

Communities fight to opt out of immigration program

Computer taken in burglary at Phoenix mayor's home

From ABC15.com - PHOENIX - Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon spent Sunday morning cleaning a mess left behind by a burglar. "These crimes happen and I'm not different than anyone," he said Sunday at his central Phoenix home. The Mayor says he was asleep in his home around 3:30 a.m. Saturnday when a burglar broke in through the back door and stole a computer. A wallet, check book and papers were nearby but not taken. "Detectives think I may have scared him when I woke up early to get coffee," said Gordon. Gordon didn't discover the burglary until around 6:30 a.m, after noticing the back door had been damaged. He apparently noticed a draft coming from the laundry room when he got up Saturday morning, but didn't think anything of it. The Mayor has a security detail guarding him but it is not in effect 24 hours a day. Read more

Computer taken in burglary at Phoenix mayor's home

'Green' red tape said to hinder Border Patrol

From the Washington Times.com - By Stephen Dinan - Environmental red tape has at times ensnared the U.S. Border Patrol's efforts to gain control of parts of the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a draft government report that found agents sometimes take a back seat to protecting endangered species in the Southwest's national parks and forests. "This report reveals shocking details that illustrate how U.S. so-called "environmental" policies are contributing to the ongoing crime and violence along the southern U.S.-Mexico border," said Rep. Rob Bishop, Utah Republican, who posted the draft report on his congressional website Friday. Read more

'Green' red tape said to hinder Border Patrol

Cheney calls anti-terror policies necessary but controversial

From MSNBC.com - BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Former Vice President Dick Cheney addressed his health and offered another defense of Bush administration of "necessary" but "controversial" anti-terrorism policies Saturday in his first long speech since he suffered what was described as "increasing congestive heart failure" last summer. Cheney appeared frail but spoke clearly at the Bakersfield Business Conference, where he was "interviewed" by his wife, Lynne. "Now I think the biggest threat of all is the possibility that we'll end up with terrorists, at some point, in the heart of one of our communities, one of our big cities, armed with a nuclear weapon. When you're dealing with somebody who wants to die for Allah and their promise is that if they do they'll go straight to paradise, then the possibility of a nuclear weapon isn't a deterrent, it's an incentive. And it's my belief if they ever do get their hands on that kind of capability, that they'll use it." Read more

Cheney calls anti-terror policies necessary but controversial

11 jailers busted in a month

From the New York Post - By Reuben Blau - These city jail guards seem to be on the wrong side of the bars. At least 11 correction officers have been arrested in just the last month for crimes ranging from armed robbery to biting a woman's finger and having sex with an underage inmate -- and sources say the 8,660 member-strong force is on pace for a record-high 250 arrests this year. "For some of these people, it's just miraculous that they are on one side of the bars, and not the other," said a veteran jail official. Added a disgusted jail supervisor, "A bunch even have gang tattoos." Read more

11 jailers busted in a month

California Democrats bet on bong war

From the Politico.com - Forget the billion-dollar budget hole and layoff threats the big debate in California right now is whether a bong war over legalizing pot could help boost Gov. Moonbeam back into office. Seizing on new independent polling data, proponents of Proposition 19 the Golden State ballot measure that would make possessing and growing marijuana legal argue the measure is going to drive younger-voter turnout in such a way that it will benefit the Democrats statewide, from gubernatorial retread Jerry Brown to Sen. Barbara Boxer. The liberal website Firedoglake has teamed up with Students for Sensible Drug Policy to form the “Just Say Now” campaign aimed at turning out college kids. Two independent pollsters say they’re seeing evidence of what Rolling Stone magazine dubbed the “burnout turnout” effect in recent surveys. Read more

California Democrats bet on bong war