Bush defends his immigration proposals

I am sad to say that I voted for Bush twice and supported him all the way up to here. My support for this guy has ended and I will never agree or go along with his political aspirations ever again as he simply does not listen to us "We The People". I will take a guess that his public support or rank in popularity will continue to drop and he will go out of office as one of the most un-popular Presidents. I think that he has no interest in listening to the American public that placed him in office. Whatever his motives are is a puzzle to me as it's not generally what the public wants. He has stood up for one of his Texas buddies (Johnny Sutton) and let him get away with imprisoning two Border Patrol Agents on trumped up charges for simply doing their job, while letting an illegal drug peddler loose to continue his illegal drug running activities. That is a travesty and a slap in the face of our laws and the citizens of this country. It's as if he does things for his friends, buddies and cohorts, but does not give a rats butt about anything else. He let his pal Scooter Libby from doing any prison time and stood up for his other big buddy, the DA that sent the Border Patrol agents to prison trying to tell us it was a fair trial when we know it wasn't. I see leaders from other parts of the world running their country like that, but never in my wildest dreams thought that I would live to see the day that it took place here.

Bush defends his immigration proposals


President Bush sharply challenged critics of his stalled immigration-overhaul efforts on Thursday, suggesting that failure to pass a guest-worker program could trigger a labor shortage in the United States.

At a town-hall style meeting, Bush also rebuffed a question about whether he would consider pardoning two Border Patrol agents in prison for the cover-up of the shooting of a drug trafficker in Texas.

"No, I won't make you that promise," Bush told a woman who asked about a possible pardon. Many Republicans in Congress have said the men should not have been convicted and have criticized the federal U.S. attorney for even prosecuting the agents.

"I know it's an emotional issue but people need to look at the facts. These men were convicted by a jury of their peers after listening to the facts" as presented by U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, said Bush. Bush called Sutton a friend.

The president also toured a bun bakery here, and used the business to illustrate a warning to Congress that he'd veto any government spending bill that he thinks is excessive.

"You can't keep making buns if the Democrats take all your dough," Bush joked in a speech shortly after taking in the aroma of fresh bread at the bakery, which supplies fast-food restaurants.

Bush took questions for more than an hour. Most were friendly, but several on immigration policy were pointed.

The president said he was disappointed about his immigration bill's demise in the Senate and reiterated his support for a guest worker program and a path toward citizenship for many of the 12 million illegal immigrants now in the United States.

Without such a program, and with stricter enforcement of the border, said Bush, "I can make you a prediction ... that pretty shortly people are going to be knocking on people's doors saying `Man we're running out of workers."'

The president defended his embattled Iraq policy and sought yet again to link the current Islamic militants in Iraq with those who planned the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, even though such links are tenuous.

When Bush was asked about whether he would consider pardoning the two border patrol agents, he seemed briefly taken aback.

"I'm not going to make that kind of promise in a forum like this, obviously," he said. "I'm interested in facts. I know the prosecutor very well, Johnny Sutton. He's a dear friend of mine from Texas. He's a fair guy. He is an evenhanded guy and I can't imagine, well, you know. ..."

To the woman, Bush said, "You've got a nice smile but you can't entice me (into) making a public statement" on the controversy.

The issue of presidential pardons has been front and center since Bush last month commuted the 30-month jail sentence of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney. Bush had called the sentence "excessive."

The border patrol case has figured in the debate over overhauling immigration law. And calls for executive clemency have come from many Republican lawmakers. Former agents Ignacio Ramos and Alonso Compean are serving 11- and 12-year federal prison sentences, respectively, for the 2005 shooting.

The woman who asked the question of Bush told him that the Tennessee General Assembly has passed a resolution asking for such a pardon.

Bush's visit was designed to focus on the economy.

He said the Democratic-led Congress should pass appropriations bills and make sure they keep spending in check, a key concern of his conservative base.

"I've got the right to accept whether or not the amount of money they spend is the right amount," Bush said during the speech about his federal budget priorities at the Gaylord Opryland Resort Hotel and Convention Center.

"If they overspend or if they try to raise your taxes, I'm going to veto their bills," he said.

Seven of the 12 annual spending bills have passed the House but none have passed the Senate, and it's clear that the Oct. 1 deadline to enact the bills will go unmet.

Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., chairman for the Senate Budget Committee, responded even before Bush left Nashville.

"How ironic that the White House would use a bakery as a backdrop, because when it comes to spending the people's dough — taxpayer money — this president baked this cake," Conrad said. He argued that since Bush took office, government spending has increased nearly 50 percent.

Dang lawnmower busted again

I've been having problems with my riding mower. Seems like every time I use it, I need to work on it. A couple of weeks back I went to get it out of the barn and it wouldn't crank. After an hour or so of checking things out, I found that the ignition switch had gone bad. I went and bought a new switch, air filter and new blades and installed those and got it going and got the grass cut. Then a couple of days ago the blades started hanging up and wouldn't turn. I took the mower deck off this morning and found that the middle blade wouldn't turn. I took the bearing housing out and noticed that the bearings were seized up and wore out. I then went to the tractor shop and bought a new bearing housing that came with bearing's, seals, new shaft and everything I needed plus a couple of tubes of grease for my grease gun. Whew, I think the tractor place makes more money off parts than they do the mowers as parts are sky high. Anyway, got it all put back together and greased the bearings for all 3 blades and it seemed to whip right through the grass. I hope it holds together for at least 2 or 3 years as this fixing that thing all the time is gettin old. I think I'm almost qualified to call myself a millwright after all the work I've done on that riding mower.

Ya'll have a good day
Almtnman

FBI: Iraqis Being Smuggled Across the Rio Grande

We know this is and has been happening, but our government seems to have a deaf ear when it comes to our southern border. When Bush made a statement about the Minuteman organization being a bunch of vigilantes, I knew we could no longer find any support from him on protecting our border and I started losing interest in him and any of his programs from that point on.

July 17, 2007 3:11 PM

Brian Ross Reports:

The FBI is investigating an alleged human smuggling operation based in Chaparral, N.M., that agents say is bringing "Iraqis and other Middle Eastern" individuals across the Rio Grande from Mexico.

An FBI intelligence report distributed by the Washington, D.C. Joint Terrorism Task Force, obtained by the Blotter on ABCNews.com, says the illegal ring has been bringing Iraqis across the border illegally for more than a year.

Border Patrol officials in the area said they were unaware of the specifics of the FBI's report, and federal prosecutors in New Mexico told ABCNews.com they had no current cases involving the illegal smuggling of Iraqis.

The FBI report, issued last week, says the smuggling organization "used to smuggle Mexicans, but decided to smuggle Iraqi or other Middle Eastern individuals because it was more lucrative." Each individual would be charged a fee of $20,000 to $25,000, according to the report.

The people to be smuggled would "gather at a house on the Mexican side of the border" and then cross the Rio Grande into the U.S., the report says.

"Unidentified individuals would then transport them to train stations in El Paso, Texas or Belen, New Mexico," according to the FBI document.

A spokesman in Albuquerque said the FBI had "no viable information" that could lead to a case.

Until recently, the United States has kept its doors all but shut to the estimated two million refugees fleeing the violence in Iraq. Until this year, the country had taken in fewer than 800 Iraqi refugees, according to the State Department. This May, the Bush administration pledged to resettle 7,000 Iraqi refugees here by the end of the year.

Common Sense

I see more and more people that don't seem to have any common sense whatsoever. I worked with a few in my days. A lot of them are running our country or trying to.They get elected and somehow become an authority on knowing how to do everything except they still don't have a inkling of common sense. The new house speaker is one of them along with quite a number of liberal Senators. Now all of them are not that way, but a majority are. So I thought that this was appropriate for posting here.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
My parents told me about Mr. Common Sense early in my life and told me I would do well to call on him when making decisions. It seems he was always around in my early years but less and less as time passed by until today I read his obituary. Please join me in a moment of silence in remembrance. For Common Sense had served us all so well for so many generations.

Obituary for Common Sense.

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, life isn't always fair, and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not children are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job they themselves failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Aspirin, sun lotion or a sticky plaster to a student; but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar can sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by three stepbrothers; I Know my Rights, Someone Else is to Blame, and I'm a Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

I'm sure going to miss him!!!!

Labor Department Announces It Will Revise Overreaching OSHA Explosives Rule

It looks like our comments to OSHA have stirred things up as they were overloaded with comments about this new regulation. Here’s some good news to show what your comments can do with government officials.

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Monday, July 16, 2007

 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it will significantly revise a recent proposal for new “explosives safety” regulations that caused serious concern among gun owners. OSHA had originally set out to update workplace safety regulations, but the proposed rules included restrictions that very few gun shops, sporting goods stores, shippers, or ammunition dealers could comply with.

 

Gun owners had filed a blizzard of negative comments urged by the NRA, and just a week ago, OSHA had already issued one extension for its public comment period at the request of the National Shooting Sports Foundation. After continued publicity through NRA alerts and the outdoor media, and after dozens of Members of Congress expressed concern about its impact, OSHA has wisely decided to go back to the drawing board.

 

Working with the NRA, Congressman Denny Rehberg (R-MT) planned to offer a floor amendment to the Labor-HHS appropriations bill this Wednesday when the House considers this legislation. His amendment would have prohibited federal funds from being used to enforce this OSHA regulation.

 

Such an amendment is no longer necessary since Kristine A. Iverson, the Labor Department’s Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs, sent Rep. Rehberg a letter, dated July 16, stating that it “was never the intention of OSHA to block the sale, transportation, or storage of small arms ammunition, and OSHA is taking prompt action to revise” this proposed rule to clarify the purpose of the regulation.

 

Also, working with the NRA, Congressman Doug Lamborn (R-CO) gathered signatures from 25 House colleagues for a letter, dated July 11, expressing concerns about this proposed OSHA rule. The letter calling the proposal “an undue burden on a single industry where facts do not support the need outlined by this proposed rule” and “not feasible, making it realistically impossible for companies to comply with its tenets.”

 

The OSHA proposal would have defined “explosives” to include “black powder, … small arms ammunition, small arms ammunition primers, [and] smokeless propellant,” and treated these items the same as the most volatile high explosives.

 

Under the proposed rule, a workplace that contained even a handful of small arms cartridges, for any reason, would have been considered a “facility containing explosives” and therefore subject to many impractical restrictions. For example, no one could carry “firearms, ammunition, or similar articles in facilities containing explosives … except as required for work duties.” Obviously, this rule would make it impossible to operate any kind of gun store, firing range, or gunsmith shop.

 

The public comment website for the proposed rule is no longer accessible. The Labor Department will publish a notice in the July 17 Federal Register announcing that a new rule proposal will soon be drafted for public comment. Needless to say, the NRA monitors proposed federal regulations to head off this kind of overreach, and will be alert for OSHA’s next draft.

 

Gonna start getting in shape

I went to the sporting goods store today and bought myself and the other half a bicycle for each of us. I paid a little more than I wanted, but wanted one that wouldn’t fall apart while riding down the road. Anyway I had read an article in an Arthritis magazine last week about how bicycling was good exercise for people with arthritis. We’re gonna get in shape, but need to sort of take it easy to start out with. We made a little trip down the road and back just before dark. I could tell that I wasn’t in good shape as my legs got to aching some, but I’ll get over it. I think we will stick to the flatland riding until we get in shape enough to hit the hills. Funny thing about bicycles, everyone you look at is made in China. I think everything sold nowadays is made in China. It’s hard to find American made stuff around anymore. I don’t like buying Chinese made stuff. My wife asked me about the bikes and I said, well those suckers ride them all over China, so they must be fairly good at building them. We’ll see!

Wonder What Al Gore Thinks Now!

 

It was 1987! At a lecture the other day they were playing an old news video of Lt.Col. Oliver North testifying at the Iran-Contra hearings during the Reagan Administration.
There was Ollie in front of God and country getting the third degree, but what he said was stunning!

He was being drilled by a senator; "Did you not recently spend close to $60,000 for a home security system?"

Ollie replied, "Yes, I did, Sir."

The senator continued, trying to get a laugh out of the audience, "Isn't that just a little excessive?"

"No, sir," continued Ollie.

"No? And why not?" the senator asked.
"Because the lives of my family and I were threatened, sir."

"Threatened? By whom?" the senator questioned.

"By a terrorist, sir" Ollie answered.

"Terrorist? What terrorist could possibly scare you that much?"
"His name is Osama bin Laden, sir" Ollie replied.
At this point the senator tried to repeat the name, but couldn't pronounce it, which most people back then probably couldn't. A couple of people laughed at the attempt. Then the senator continued. Why are you so afraid of this man?" the senator asked.

"Because, sir, he is the most evil person alive that I know of", Ollie answered.

"And what do you recommend we do about him?" asked the senator.
"Well, sir, if it was up to me, I would recommend that an assassin team be formed to eliminate him and his men from the face of the earth."
The senator disagreed with this approach, and that was all that was shown of the clip.

By the way, that senator was Al Gore!

Also:
Terrorist pilot Mohammad Atta blew up a bus in Israel in 1986. The Israelis captured, tried and imprisoned him. As part of the Oslo agreement with the Palestinians in 1993, Israel had to agree to release so-called "political prisoners."

However, the Israelis would not release any with blood on their hands, The American President at the time, Bill Clinton, and his Secretary of State, Warren Christopher, "insisted" that all prisoners be released.

Thus Mohammad Atta was freed and eventually thanked the US by flying an airplane into Tower One of the World Trade Center. This was reported by many of the American TV networks at the time that the terrorists were first identified.
It was censored in the US from all later reports.