We continue to hear that Iraqis don’t care and want the terrorists to take over and that we should just back off and kill them all. Meet Falah Hassan.

Polishing a gun, and sitting behind a counter in the Jazeera Police station, it’s hard sometimes for people to imagine that Sgt. 1st Class Falah Hassan was a farmer.“I didn’t think I’d be an Iraqi policeman either,” he laughs. “I wanted to continue farming but I had to change that because my city needed me.”

Imagine that, a citizen of a country heeding the call of need. I think I heard something like that from JFK. This man is putting his life on the line every single hour of every single day to help his country.

“I did it because I wanted the terrorists out of this area, and I’ll keep working until I see Ramadi safe and secure again.”

Does he think that they are making progress?

“Out here it’s been hard work,” he said. “We’ve made it possible for people to once again go into downtown Ramadi, where before they thought that was impossible. I’m real happy about it. I thank God every day that we are able to bring more security to the people of Ramadi.”

Yes, I think he does. Why don’t we hear more about men like Mr. Hassan?

While reviewing the data on U.S. military casualties in Iraq, I noticed a clear trend emerge. Long before the president’s change in strategy we call the surge, those men and women that have volunteered to protect us began to die at a higher rate. Why? What happened in March 2006?

The primary elections were held and campaigning for the November 2006 elections began in earnest. The Democratic Party chose to base their strategy around the Iraq war, using every means possible to cast it in a negative light. The terrorists, emboldened by this strategy, were able to convince neighboring countries to supply them with better, more powerful weapons, killing our service personnel at an ever increasing rate.

In April of this year, Speaker Pelosi chose to ignore her proper role in government, traveling to terrorist sponsor Syria and negotiating directly with the terrorists. Once again, U.S. deaths increased.

It is past time for politicians to understand that their words carry more weight than the Cindy Sheehan’s of the world. It is time for them to keep the rhetoric behind closed doors. They have sacrificed enough of our men and women in their lust for power.

Whenever he hears criticism of the Senate Sellout immigration bill, loopy John McCain becomes red-faced and demands to know: “Have you read the bill?”

I am wading through that monstrosity in case McCain, or his lackey Flim Flam Graham, slipped something worthwhile in that nobody else has apparently seen. I’ll let you know when I find it.

I am quite sure, however, that those who write on such things for The Heritage Foundation have read the bill, Senator, and what they say about it gets more frightening - and infuriating - each day.

Just one of the recent analyses will either make your blood pressure skyrocket or will send you scurrying through the house looking for a shower rod to put yourself out of your misery.

Let’s be miserable together, shall we?

As we all know by now about this bill:

It would create a new “Z” visa exclusively for illegal aliens. This title would change the status of those who are here illegally to legal, essentially granting amnesty to those “previously in unlawful status.”

And there the mischief starts. In what The Heritage Foundation calls a “massive amnesty,” 12 to 20 million lawbreakers will be legalized by the bill - far more than the 2.7 million given amnesty in the unsuccessful 1986 attempt to solve the problem. Incredibly, the bill places no cap on the number of Z visas.

The documentation required to qualify is laughable: two documents suggesting the applicant was in the country before January 1, 2007, and has remained in the country since then. This documentation can consist of bank statements, pay stubs, or similarly “forgeable” records. And, if you can’t get that, what the hell. “Also acceptable under the legislation is a sworn affidavit from a non-relative.” Wow, I’m sure that will be hard to come by. As THF points out, we can expect a tidal wave of NEW illegals as soon as the bill passes, who will promptly make or obtain forged documentation and, voila! Instant legalization.

Need an aspirin? Get a load of the payment requirements, which kooks like McCain claim show this bill is tough on those who came here illegally:

The price of a Z visa is $3,000 for individuals …. A family of five could purchase visas for the bargain price of $5,000—some $20,000 short of the net cost that household is likely to impose on local, state, and federal government each year, according to Heritage Foundation calculations.

You didn’t know you were so generous, did you? The net cost of this boondoggle is to be paid by you, the taxpayer.

If you haven’t reached for the Valium yet, brace yourself. Remember how the supporters of the bill, including that man of honor himself, G. W. Bush, emphasized that the Z visas would be temporary? My stars and garters, they were misleading us!

Supporters of the bill call the Z visa a “temporary” visa. However, they neglect to mention that it can be renewed every four years until the visa holder dies, ….

Some temporary visa, eh?

And what of the promise that, at least, the illegals wouldn’t be able to “go to the front of the line”? Guess what? They were lying to us.

A law-abiding alien with a normal nonimmigrant visa would surely desire this privileged status. Unfortunately for him, only illegal aliens can qualify, according Section 601(c)(1).

And, it turns out, our illegal friends do not even have to leave the country to apply for the Z visa - they can do it from the comfort of their armchairs in South Houston.

If you’re like me, you’re probably now about to chase that Valium with Jim Beam, but don’t pass out yet. I’ll make this as quick and painless as possible. Other revelations about the bill:

Title VI’s amnesty extends even to fugitives who have been ordered deported by an immigration judge but chose to ignore their removal orders. More than 636,000 absconders are now present in the country, ….

The bill would transform Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from a law enforcement agency into an amnesty distribution center. … [I]f an ICE agent apprehends aliens who appear to be eligible for the Z visa (in other words, just about any illegal alien), the agent cannot detain them. Instead, ICE must provide them a reasonable opportunity to apply for the Z visa.

Under Section 601(g)(2) of the bill, gang members would be eligible to receive amnesty. … To qualify for amnesty, all a gang member would need to do is note his gang membership and sign a “renunciation of gang affiliation.”

Section 616 would allow these and all other states to offer in-state tuition rates to any illegal alien who obtains the Z visa and attends college.

These tuition breaks, of course, are not available to a US citizen from out of state or a LEGAL alien.

Every illegal alien working in the agricultural sector would have access to an immigration attorney to argue his case through the immigration courts and federal courts of appeals—all at taxpayer expense. This provision alone could cost hundreds of millions of dollars each year.

If you’re still conscious, riddle me this: Could a committee of illegal alien gang member felons have written a more pro-illegal, anti-US citizen bill?

The Jim Beam and Valium aren’t working. I wonder if that shower rod will hold me?

ADDENDUM:

A number of astute commenters have noted this analysis did not discuss border enforcement. That is because, contrary to the claims of the political gasbags, enforcement is not a prerequisite to this massive amnesty:

Proponents of the Senate approach have consistently claimed that it would allow delayed amnesty only after certain law enforcement goals are met. The text of the bill, however, tells a different story. Section 1(a) allows probationary Z visas to be issued immediately after enactment, and Section 601(f)(2) prohibits the federal government from waiting more than 180 days after enactment to begin issuing probationary Z visas.

By law, then, the government cannot wait more than 180 days to start dishing out the goodies - regardless of where we are in border enforcement.

Thus, just as in 1986, we have nothing but vague promises of future border enforcement, which we justifiably take with a grain of salt.

So much for stopping the invasion.

One of the very few perks LST’s contributors get in exchange for their work (other than the satisfaction that comes from your uncritical affection, of course) is a platform to try to improve their station when life throws a curveball.

The LST family performed remarkably well a few months ago when Ree-C Murphy needed to transition to a new employeer who was willing to not retaliate against her for having the temerity to fall seriously ill. (She’s doing fine now, btw, both job wise and in terms of health.)

Time to step up to the plate again.

Matt Forge, one of the earliest and funniest contributors to LST (and ChronicallyBiased) is looking to make a change.

Take a look, pass the word, and see if you can help; thanks.

—————

Prepress production operator seeking day shift position with opportunity to eventually advance into supervisory role. Candidate has over seventeen years experience in the printing industry working in diverse fields from newspaper to high-end clients including Pepsi, Mary Kay Cosmetics, R. J. Reynolds, Donruss Sports Trading Cards, etc.

Applicant has a B.A. in Communication Arts and has a wide range of experiences from graphic design and ad building to preflight and prepress service. Project experience is also widely diverse including packaging, multi-page layout and trading cards.

Interested parties should contact candidate with resume request via email at “cchd AT houston DOT rr DOT com”.

—————

It is 2006 and a Chinese panda spy is dispatched into the field.

State media last year said that Xiang Xiang hesitated for a second when the door of his cage was opened, then scampered off into a nearby bamboo forest where he was tracked by a global positioning device attached to his collar.

Unfortunately, this was one mission doomed to failure.

The body of Xiang Xiang was found Feb. 19 on snow-covered ground in the forests of Sichuan province in China’s southwest, the Xinhua News Agency said. He survived less than a year in the wild after nearly three years of training in survival techniques and defense tactics.

Critics say this highly trained panda operative was “outed” by a high-level Bush Administration official, resulting in a fatal confrontation.

“Xiang Xiang died of serious internal injuries in the left side of his chest and stomach by falling from a high place,” Heng Yi, an official from the Wolong Giant Panda Research Center in Sichuan, said in a telephone interview.

“The scratches and other minor injuries caused by other wild pandas were found on his body,” he said. “So Xiang Xiang may have fallen from trees when being chased by those pandas.”

Keith Olbermann, of MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann and a vocal Bush critic, had strong words for the Administration during a recent interview regarding the panda agent’s death. “How can it be a coincidence that the claw marks on that panda were exactly the same distance apart as Karl Rove’s fingernails? The answer: it can’t! When will this Administration come clean? When?” asked the host.

Vice President Cheney, on a goodwill hunting trip in China, had no comment when questioned about the matter. President Bush also deflected queries about the incident, instead praising the commitment of giant pandas to “do the work Americans won’t do.” The Chinese, meanwhile, have lost the services of a highly skilled agent in whom they had invested considerable training.

The 176-pound male panda was released from Wolong in April 2006 and had been trained for almost three years on how to survive in the wild. Xiang Xiang, whose name means auspicious, learned how to build a den, forage for food and mark his territory, experts at Wolong have said. He also developed defensive skills such as howling and biting.

A state funeral for the fallen agent has already taken place.

He has been buried at the foot of a mountain, about eight miles from the Wolong center, Li said.

Given the highly political nature of this panda agent’s death, it seems likely that Democrats will push for Congressional investigations into the matter. Whether the panda outing controversy will have any lasting repercussions for the Bush Administration remains to be seen.

The almost announcement yesterday that Fred Thompson was running for President generated a heck of a lot of publicity, excitement and fear. Driving in to work today, I listened to the lefty nutcases calling in to the Bill Press radio show to get a feel for the opposition to him. In the thirty minutes that I listened, these were the main themes.

• Cancer - yes, people called in to say that we shouldn’t elect him because of his recent disclosure that he had lymphoma.
• Lazy - a guy who “knows” him well from Tennessee called in to say that Fred has always had things handed to him, never had to work for anything and was lazy in high school.
• Swinger - several callers, and Bill Press, said that Fred was known as a swinger in inside-the-Beltway circles between his two marriages. And that he has a trophy wife to show for it. The thinking is that they can attack him on this and conservatives will fall away.
• Puppet - many callers decided that he is a puppet candidate, just like GWB is with Cheney controlling everything. They weren’t sure who was going to be pulling the strings but were certain that it would be someone from the New World Order.
• Racist - a couple of callers said that a review of his voting record would reveal that he is a far right racist. This website is actually calling for the use of Thompson’s television role as a racist in political ads to defeat him.

Looks like the race is on. Personally, if I were Fred, I’d have stuck with Lorrie Morgan but his wife is okay too.

UPDATED– Welcome National Review readers!

ORIGINAL POST–The editors of National Review have decided to open a can of Burkean Whup-Ass on the intellectual dandies over at the Wall Street Journal.

We hereby challenge the Journal’s editors to debate the immigration bill in a neutral venue with a moderator of their choosing — two or three of us versus any two or three of them. We propose to do it in Washington next week so it will have the maximum impact on the Senate’s consideration of the most sweeping immigration reform in decades (time and place to be worked out in a mutually satisfactory fashion).

It shouldn’t be a problem for the Journal’s editors to take up this challenge, since opponents of the bill aren’t “rational” on the question, have no arguments, and are “foaming at the mouth,” as they explained in a videotaped session of one of their editorial meetings last week. Click here to watch — you have to see it to believe it.

I especially appreciate the trash-talk at the end of the challenge.

We urge them to come out of the shadows, and hope defending the bill in this forum is not another one of those jobs that no American will do.

You can almost see Ponnuru ripping open his shirt and slapping himself on the chest while Goldberg flashes gang signs (”1955″) and Lopez grabs her crotch while flipping Gigot the bird.

Me likey.

… is a popular subject?

• When you can’t find a parking place at Taste of Texas;
• When more people are sitting and listening and making notes and asking questions than eating the most wonderful shrimp stuffed jalapeno and cheese thingy ever concocted in a kitchen and served to regular people, as opposed to royalty (yes, it was that good!!)
• When at least 180 people are called for more personal “one on one” help in their tax appraisal protests (there were probably more, but that’s the last number I remember).
• When Paul Bettencourt, Tax Assessor-Collector and Jim Robinson, Chief Appraiser for Harris County are treated like “rock stars” by a room full of people.

I attended the free appraisal protest coaching that was arranged by CLOUT and local officials. The turnout was nothing short of amazing; standing room only! The information was excellent and helpful!

SRO

Paul Bettencourt gave excellent information. Paul and Edd Hendee answered endless questions… that is before Jim Robinson, the Chief Appraiser made an appearance. They are all lucky if they all don’t loose their voices from talking so much!

Taxman and Robinson

Representative Dwayne Bohac and City Council Member Toni Lawrence for District A also showed their support for taxpayers and attended.

Senator Dan Patrick was able to be there and take part in his own radio show. He even dodged golf ball sized hail in order to so! (Please note: that was H-A-I-L)

I have several take aways; the most important being Edd’s Handy-Dandy Appraisal Protest Form/Spreadsheet. I figure it is pretty important and useful when the first thing out of Jim Robinson’s mouth is basically an endorsement of the form. He highly recommends using it.

Edd making a point

The other take-away is that the final day to file your desire to protest your appraisal is today, May 31 for most of the surrounding counties.

In summary, if you are going to protest your appraisal, file today. When your hearing is scheduled, use Edd’s spreadsheet.

Edd & Paul moving around so much, cameras have a hard time focusing.

Thanks Edd, CLOUT, Paul, Jim and Dan for your time and effort in helping out a bunch of irate/anxious taxpayers. It is hugely appreciated! (Thanks Dwayne and Toni for thinking enough of us to come by also.)

Special Note: The guy that waited on our room and brought us cold soft drinks and cleared tables was kind and patient. That’s saying a lot with a room of “anxious” taxpayers.

On behalf of all of the anxious taxpayers in attendance, THANK YOU everyone that helped out in making this a helpful event!

Concealed Handgun License Training– New licenses $100 (classes approximately every other week), recertification $80 (done weekly). Price includes all range fee, fingerprinting, notary work and photographs. Basic training available for persons who want a license but have little or no experience with a firearm. Ask about special group classes. Contact Austin Arrington 281-948-8373.

——————–

Get paid to tell us what you think– Register to participate in one of our focus groups; earn money telling us what you think about politics, your community and consumer goods. Click here to learn more and sign-up!

——————–

——————–

Dawn Wolf Design– LST’s full-service graphic designer of choice. Talented, professional, competitively priced; a generous LST volunteer, we could not recommend her more highly. | 713-781-8900 | website

——————–

It’s a not-so-classic love story. Boy meets girl, boy moves to another town, boy still wants girl, boy corresponds with girl, boy sends body part to girl:

However, his last correspondence to his ex-girlfriend resulted in Class A misdemeanor.

He apparently chopped off his finger and mailed it to her. He also wrote a letter that stated:

“This is my last chance to touch you.”

Charming.

He was thoughtful, too. He washed the finger before mailing it.

Of particular interest to you North Siders: His last known whereabouts were in Spring.

I have a sneaking suspicion there is a small flaw in New Mexico’s DUI laws:

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - An Albuquerque man arrested for the 28th time on a drunken driving charge has pleaded not guilty. Joseph Brill, 53, entered his plea Tuesday to charges of aggravated driving while intoxicated, driving on a suspended license and having an open container of alcohol in a vehicle.

And who knows? He might have gotten away with it this time had he remained upright:

Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputies arrested Brill in an Albuquerque neighborhood on March 14. Deputies said they saw him park, then fall out of his pickup truck.

The man has 14 prior convictions! It’s a perverse miracle that he is not in prison.

Yet, there is an even bigger miracle:

An attorney for Brill said the man had not been in any accidents.

Our Lord is either watching over this fellow, or the entire city of Albuquerque has learned to give him a wide berth.

Once again, the fine folks at CLOUT have teamed up with local officials to help taxpayers learn how to compile an effective property tax protest.

It will be held from 2:00-6:00 at the Taste of Texas on Katy Freeway.

More about it here and here.

Politico.com is reporting that Fred Thompson is indeed in the race for ‘08.

Fred Dalton Thompson is planning to enter the presidential race over the Fourth of July holiday, announcing that week that he has already raised several million dollars and is being backed by insiders from the past three Republican administrations, Thompson advisers told The Politico.

Well, maybe not. Reading further down in the article, it says:

Campaign officials said they have every indication Thompson will declare his candidacy, but cautioned that he could still decide not to run or to postpone the announcement. Mark Corallo, the campaign spokesman, said: “He is seriously considering getting in and doing everything he has to do to come to a final decision.”

Come on, already Fred! The current president just handed you the nomination by calling conservatives un-American. None of the other candidates has denounced this stupidity. Run, Fred, run!

UPDATE: In case you forgot what Fred said about the President’s amnesty plan, here you go:

We should scrap this “comprehensive” immigration bill and the whole debate until the government can show the American people that we have secured the borders — or at least made great headway. That would give proponents of the bill a chance to explain why putting illegals in a more favorable position than those who play by the rules is not really amnesty.

I’m guessing that GW thinks Fred is un-American too.

The following blog was posted on The Pine Blog by a contributor named kfg. I thought I’d share it with Lone Star Times because it begs to ask the question: Do politicians understand their own rhetoric on the Iraq war?

Speaking of Military by kfg

Speechifying on the Iraq war is tricky. Sound bites don’t really work on this tough, complex issue. So here’s a guide to help decode politicians’ statements like these:

“It is time to end this war so that we can redeploy our forces to focus on the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 and all those who plan to do us harm.” (source)

“The responsibility of Congress should be to continue our support for U.S. soldiers in harm’s way in Iraq … by demanding a plan to strategically redeploy out of harm’s way before the end of this year.” (source)

“Out of harm’s way” (OOHW) - Usually means out of Iraq. But, as much as we want them to be safe, is it Congress’ job to keep the troops OOHW? What about national security, and the separation of powers? Where is OOHW? And can you support the troops (see below) while believing they should remain in Iraq?

“Redeploy the troops” - The Military Dictionary says redeploy means either transfer to another operation or return home. Redeploying troops to Afghanistan doesn’t keep troops OOHW, redeploying to Okinawa probably does. A vague “redeploy” probably means bring them home, but it sounds more military.

“Focus on the terrorists” - No politician can afford to ignore terrorists, so most advise focusing on them. But where, and how? Terrorists are in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, London, Indonesia, Morocco; widespread, and by definition not OOHW. Would any more focused operations — secret strikes, freezing terrorist funds, or detaining suspected terrorists — be permitted by NY Times’ editor-security experts?

“End this war” - Leave Iraq to its own devices; shorthand for ending U.S. participation in the war. Most politicians want a stable, nonviolent Iraq, but few have any serious plan to end the war. It’s sticky: they’re not prophets, they can’t control Iraqis, and they’ve condemned every error in judgment. Therefore, what happens if/when we leave is Not a Topic. Exception: Joe Lieberman.

“Civil war” - No agreed definition; a bad place for U.S. troops, definitely not OOHW. Usually means longstanding sectarian violence involving high civilian death counts. May exist in Iraq now, or may follow “end this war.” Related: Darfur, Sudan.

“Support the troops” - The trickiest one of all. Well-meaning people support the troops in different ways, so let’s ask the troops. The annual Military Times Poll of active duty troops shows who THEY think supports them:

3) How do you think each of these groups views the military?

Civilians

Very or somewhat favorably 86% (good!)

Very or somewhat UNfavorably 13%

Politicians

Very or somewhat favorably 57%

Very or somewhat UNfavorably 41%

News Media

Very or somewhat favorably 39%

Very or somewhat UNfavorably 60% (not good)

And 69% disagree that “Congress has my best interests at heart.” Maybe Congress would poll higher by talking to us as if we are real people.

Next Page »