Much is happening in the world that I just don’t have the understand to discuss.  Let’s go with an open thread so the contributors will have a place to discuss all the wiki-leaks and Scotland-gate, Afghanistan, Senator Webb’s backlash.  That way we can keep the other threads on topic.  Here is the spot for the free for all.

37 Thoughts to “Open Thread Tues. July 27”

  1. Starryflights

    Deportation of illegal immigrants increases under Obama administration

    By Peter Slevin
    Washington Post Staff Writer
    Monday, July 26, 2010

    In a bid to remake the enforcement of federal immigration laws, the Obama administration is deporting record numbers of illegal immigrants and auditing hundreds of businesses that blithely hire undocumented workers

    The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency expects to deport about 400,000 people this fiscal year, nearly 10 percent above the Bush administration’s 2008 total and 25 percent more than were deported in 2007. The pace of company audits has roughly quadrupled since President George W. Bush’s final year in office.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/25/AR2010072501790.html?wpisrc=nl_fed

    Cue those all those who will find fault with this right about – now.

  2. George S. Harris

    Regarding the leak of documents by WikiLeaks and the reaction by the White House and the Pentagon. Military folks on here are probably familiary with something that used to be called “Combat Readiness Reports”. Each unit had to submit monthly reports on their ability to go war; i.e., their “combat readiness.” Reports had several categories–Equipment, Supplies, Training, Personnel, Overal Readiness and perhaps others I no longer remember. Ratings went from C-1 to C-4. C-1 was great while C-4 meant you were in the toilet. With the Marines, companies submitted reports to battalions, battalions submitted an aggregated report to their regiments, regiments submitted aggregated reports to division, and on up the line. When the reports got to the top–guess what? Folks were combat ready! is it any surprise. At the lowest level, people tried to tell the truth about their status since they are at the pointy end of the spear. But as the reports up, more senior folks didn’t want even more senior folks to see their warts so things got “rounded” off or up to not look so bad.

    These 91,000+ reports are from lower level commanders–doown where the rubber meet the road–and I suspect they provide a pretty accurate picture of what is going on. THAT is why the White House and the Pentagon are downplaying them. They know the truth, they know the tendency for things to get rounded off or up. Remember, we were killing Viet Cong right and left by the hundreds sometimes–almost up to the day the helicopter took off from the roof of the embassy. And who won?

  3. Beat the summer heat by joining Governor Bob McDonnell and Delegate Jackson Miller for an ice cream social tonight, July 27 at the Greater Manassas Rescue Squad, 5:30 – 7 pm. (on Route 28 near the Judicial Center). The cost is $25 per person, kids eat FREE! RSVP to [email protected] or call 703-244-6172.

  4. Starryflights

    Special Report: Is immigration a desert mirage for the GOP?

    But while the law and the administration’s measures to counter it may energize some voters, analysts say illegal immigration is unlikely to become the decisive issue in any of the congressional districts that are coming into play next fall, except possibly in a handful of Arizona House races.

    “This is an issue that in every election the Republicans believe is going to be the keys to the kingdom, and it never performs for them politically,” said Simon Rosenberg, founder of NDN, a Democratic advocacy group and think-tank.

    “For most Americans this is a secondary or tertiary issue. What they want their politicians to address at the federal level is the economy, healthcare … issues that are actually more important to them,” drawing on polling to back up that argument.

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100727/us_nm/us_immigration_arizona_2

    I tell y’a, them Republicans better watch it if they think illegal immigration is a winning issue!

  5. Lafayette

    @cindy b
    See you there!!

  6. Grand opening of Hylton Performing Arts Center made the pages of Virginia Living magazine with some prominent City of Manassas folk in photos.

    http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/capefear/virginialiving_201008/#/40

  7. Is that the center the taxpayers of Prince William County will have to pay millions for because the money sources dried up?

    Who knows the real story on that?

  8. Who are the prominent people? I only recognize the Allens.

  9. punchak

    Interesting obit in today’s WashPost (B6) James E Akins was the State Dept’s chief energy expert in the early 70s; predicted that growing US dependence on Middle East oil gravely threatened the national economy. Nearly all of his predictions came true, starting with the 73 Arab oil embargo.

    Anybody interested in this should read Daniel Yergin’s ’91 book abt the energy industry, “The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power”. Very enlightening.

    Nixon appointed Akins as oil adviser. He proposed a gasoline tax, expanding the use of coal and increasing R&D funding for synthetic fuel. “Above all, the US should quickly take whatever measures necessary to curb oil usage and begin staunch conservation efforts.”
    According to Yergin, John Ehrlichman told Akins: “Conservation is not the Republican ethic.”

    While ambassador to Saudi Arabia, he was unceremoniously fired by Kissinger. Anyway, do read it. Nice little piece of history.

  10. Thanks for that history lesson, Punchak. It seems that after 40 years we are still rattling around some of the same stuff. Of course there were dire warnings about social security 40 years ago also. To date, nothing has been resolved.

  11. Starry, I think if the Obama administration deported every criminal illegal immigrant in the United States, he would not get credit for it.

    Did you see the article about the Mexican drug violence spreading to Central America? It seems that should be our focus and not so much emphasis on lawn care folks and cooks.

  12. George, it sounds like high treason to me. I am still trying to absorb all this.

  13. Starryflights

    The fact of the matter is, the numbers show that deportations increased in 2007, after the Democrats won back the Congress, and have increased even more after Obama became President in 2008. The Democrats have done more to enforce immigration laws than the Republicans ever did when they were in charge.

  14. City of Manassas folk in the Virginia Living photos:

    Carol Merchant Kirby, owner of Merchants, Inc.
    John O. Gregory, president of Gregory Construction
    Mark Wolfe, Council Member, City of Manassas and president of ADCO

  15. Starry, maybe its because they have more time to do something about it since they aren’t talking about it every waking second.

    Thanks for pointing out those stats.

  16. Mom

    Another board meeting, another opportunity for Captain Soundbyte. Today’s misrepresentation, Fearless leader takes a piece of legislation designed to combat panhandlers, handbills and solicitations on the public right-of-way into (CODE WORD ALERT) legislation aimed directly at “Day Laborers”, sigh.

  17. Big Dog

    Little worried about BVBL – recent lash outs at Sarah Palin, Marty Nohe
    and T-ball have joined the standards – which, of course, include this blog.
    A strange mix.

  18. Rez

    I was wondering when Congress took over enforcement? Here, I have always believed it was the executive branch that carries out the laws.

    Reserve kudos (or blame) for when people actually deserve it and one might be more believable. IMHO

  19. Mom

    Another board meeting, another slate of rezonings and map amendments initiated as a result of Captain Soundbyte and his trust sidekick Wally The Fish, attempting to pave over the county.

  20. Mom

    BREAKING!!!
    Captain Soundbyte strikes again. He just scheduled Avendale for the evening session of next week’s meeting. Love that public notice you two-bit developer hack.

  21. He is really on a roll MoM. Thanks for the heads up.

  22. Big Dog

    Article in today’s WaPo on the growth of drug gang related violence in
    northern Central America that has spilled over from Mexico.

    Homicides per 100K people in 2009
    – El Salvador – 71
    – Honduras – 67
    – Guatemala – 52
    – Mexico – 14

    – US – 5.4 (2008)

    Canada isn’t listed, but imagine it is 2 or less.

    1. @Big Dog,

      That information in that article ought to be what we are concerning ourselves. For the amount of time and money that has been dumped into passing or not passing sb 1070, it isn’t going to do jack to curb the serious drug cartel crimes and homicides. Right now the violence is spilling into Central America. How soon before the violence affects the migration north, or has it already? We had better be putting all our energy into stopping violent criminals rather than spending so much time on limited-skill workers who want to work.

  23. Big Dog

    Arghh — news sources, including the WSJ, are reporting a barge
    has hit an oil well off the coast of Lousiana and the well is now gushing
    oil into the Gulf.

    1. @Big Dog

      No more!!! Is that what that fire is? Is this something they can cut off?

  24. Captain Sound-byte first snuck the asphalt plant issue back on the agenda while people were on vacation. Now the public hearing is in session, apparently more people found out than anticipated. He just cut everyone’s speaking time from 3 minutes to 1 minute.

    I would like to see that practice ended. People plan for a 3 minute speech. To blind side them with another time is simply not right to do.

  25. Emma

    @cindy b I was there. Nice community event, and recognized a few blogger faces there.

  26. Mom

    MH, lay the blame on the BOCS as a whole. Captain Soundbyte can not technically reduce the number of minutes given to an individual without the Board moving to suspend the rules. The gutless cowards on the BOCS just won’t call him on it as its apparent their votes are locked in one way or the other and they just want to go home. BTW, my guess on the vote is 5-3.

  27. Yes, Emma. I saw plenty of bloggers at the ice cream social. I left early though. What happened?

    Vote unanimous, Mom.

  28. Mom

    Saw the vote, little surprised. Must be closer to election time than I thought.

  29. Fell asleep from boredom. Did they vote to allow Finley Asphalt?

    I missed the vote on suspending the rules. that should not be happening. When they have a contentious issue before them (and there are no surprises here) they should set the meeting so there is time to hear everyone. I think it is horrible for people on both sides of an issue to have to abbreviate their words of wisdom to the bocs.

  30. http://www2.insidenova.com/isn/news/local/bristow/article/board_denies_asphalt_application/61341/

    And what was Captain Sound-byte’s vote?

    I wonder if he will be giving back any campaign contributions?

  31. Emma

    @cindy b I got there late–listened to the tail end of Jackson’s speech and then Gov. McDonnell.

  32. Just got back from a Weekend at FloydFest… It was nice to be up on a mountian surrounded by people who keep the persuit of money very low on their list of priorities.

    A whole weekend without one angry word, without one mean comment, yet most of the people there have the same amount of confidence in the current federal government as does the Tea Party. Honestly I think the hippies are doing a much better job of affecting change. They are just ignoring the Government and setting up their own collective communes which have little to nothing to do with the Federal Government.

    I got to thinking that if this mindset is spread into the tea party, it could very well destroy the current corrupt system. If every single one of us stoped cooperating with a broken Government, they would be powerless to do anything and would collapse.

    Solidify your community, Buy Local, Support Local Business, Do not comply with laws that defy reason!

    This must also go in hand with keeping cool in speech and action, channel anger into positive energy used to further build the local community. Be proactive, but non-violent.

    The path to freedom is through collective non-violent non-cooperation with the opressor.

    Consider me a member of the Organic Kashmiri Chai Party, baby.

    -peace

  33. Glad you had a peaceful experience, Rod. Those are hard to find these days.

  34. Marine blown up by IED. Response?

    “It pissed me off,” he said.

    Oo-Frickin-Rah!
    http://www.blackfive.net/main/2010/07/some-guys-you-just-cant-blow-up.html#trackback

  35. I don’t think I understand that link, Cargo. Can you explain it to me in non-military terms?

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