Vampire Amnesty Bill Fails 2nd Cloture [The bill is DEAD. Again.]

Cspan ^ | 06/28/2007 | CSpan

[indcons]

We WON

[sheikdetailfeather]

YES!!!

[Psycho_Bunny]

lol....I’m so glad people like you are here to tell us all how stupid we are.

[anymouse]

In the Battle of Thermopylae of 480 BC, an alliance of Greek city-states fought the invading Persian Empire at the pass of Thermopylae in central Greece. Vastly outnumbered, the Greeks held back the Persians for three days in one of history's most famous last stands. A small force led by King Leonidas of Sparta blocked the only road through which the massive army of Xerxes I of Persia (Xerxes the Great) could pass. After three days of battle, a local resident named Ephialtes betrayed the Greeks by revealing a mountain path that led behind the Greek lines. Dismissing the rest of the army, King Leonidas stayed behind with 300 Spartans and 700 Thespian volunteers. The Persians succeeded in taking the pass but sustained heavy losses, extremely disproportionate to those of the Greeks. The fierce resistance of the Spartan-led army offered Athens the invaluable time to prepare for a decisive naval battle that would come to determine the outcome of the war. The subsequent Greek victory at the Battle of Salamis left much of the Persian Empire's navy destroyed and Xerxes was forced to retreat back to Asia, leaving his army in Greece under Mardonius, who was to meet the Greeks in battle one last time. The Spartans assembled at full strength and led a pan-Greek army that defeated the Persians decisively at the Battle of Plataea, ending the Greco-Persian War and with it the expansion of the Persian Empire into Europe.

The performance of the defenders at the battle of Thermopylae is often used as an example of the advantages of training, equipment, and good use of terrain to maximize an army's potential,[5] and has become a symbol of courage against overwhelming odds. Even more, both ancient and modern writers used the Battle of Thermopylae as an example of the superior power of a well trained army defending native soil.

There is also a large political significance of the Battle of Thermopylae, in that it was the first defining moment in which the disunified Greek city states first came together to form a significant alliance. It also possibly signified the beginning of the end for the Persian empire - drawing strength from the Battle, the Greeks began forming assaults against the Persian Empire, as a national body rather than small city states.

Dilios: He did not wish tribute, nor song, or monuments or poems of war and valor. His wish was simple. "Remember us" he said to me. That was his hope, should any free soul come across that place, in all the countless centuries yet to be. "May all our voices whisper to you from the ageless stones, "Go tell the Spartans, passerby, that here by Spartan law, we lie." And so my king died, and my brothers died; barely a year ago. Long I pondered my king's cryptic talk of victory, but time has proven him wise, for from free Greek to free Greek, the word was spread that bold Leonidas and his 300, so far from home, laid down their lives... not just for Sparta, but for all Greece and the promise this country holds. Now here on this ragged patch of earth called Plateaea, let his hordes face obliteration! Just there, the barbarians gather, sheer terror gripping tight their hearts with icy fingers, knowing full well what merciless horrors they suffered at the swords and spears of 300. Yet they stare now across the plain at 10,000 Spartans commanding 30,000 free Greeks! Ho! The enemy outnumber us a paltry three to one! Good odds for any Greek. This day we rescue a world from mysticism and tyranny, and usher in a future brighter than anything we could imagine. Give thanks, men, to Leonidas and the brave 300! To victory!

Battle of Salamis

The next morning (possibly September 28, but the exact date is unknown; the Hellenic Navy celebrates September 12 as Battle of Salamis Day), the Persians were exhausted from searching for the Greeks all night, but they sailed in to the straits anyway to attack the Greek fleet. When it became obvious to the Greeks that the battle was inevitable morale rose, the fleet enthusiastically took to sea and started singing the "paean"

Forward, sons of the Greeks,
Your children, your women, the altars of the gods of your fathers
And the graves of your forebears:
Now is the fight for everything.

Conservatives, we did it. We held OUR Congress accountable, against seemingly a unsurmountable invasion backed by those who attempt to control with wealth and greed. Let them know forever more, this is OUR country, OUR government. The only power they have is what we lend them. And today we showed that WE are THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, where freedom exists because we are willing to fight for it.

[CottonBall]

We have’nt taken a razor to our own throats today, but the reconquista proceeds unabated.

That's something in itself - we haven't accelerated the demise of this nation with this bill.

Plus - the House and many conservative Republicans have been informed by vociferous constituents that we want border security. There's several bills out there to enforce security - that's one option. Plus we already have existing laws that'll do the job. With all the publicity on the subject now, perhaps they'll be enforced. We need to STILL be active on this. Bother city councils, state legislatures, congressmen and join the minutemen. We've won the first battle but need to continue the fight.

[angkor]

There’s a reason why senate leaders wanted to pass it quickly so that folks wouldn’t have a chance to read what was in it. We should now get educated for the next round. Hugh Hewitt, for one, has read this and knows a lot about the small print.

Hugh did some fine work, but he (and almost everyone else) missed the most disastrous and dangerous element of the bill.

You need to know one and only one thing: the Z Visa would have provided permanent residence and work authorization to 15 to 20 million peasant laborers who are greatly desired by the corporate members of the American Meat Institute, Assoc. of American Home Builders, the Council Of Chain Food Operators, the American Restaurant Assoc., and many hundreds of other business lobbies (the foregoing all hire large numbers of DC and K Street lobbyists).

Most importantly, the very second thet George Bush signed the bill, all illegal aliens and their U.S. employers would instantaneously be immunized from every aspect of U.S. immigration law!

It is one thing to say the bill was "not an amnesty" for illegals. The same cannot be said for the American businesses that would be let off the hook for immigration crimes as if the law never existed. That meets every dot and tittle of the Black's Law definition of "amnesty".

Bottom line is that this was a top to bottom amnesty for American business, which has been increasingly exposing uitself to citizen-backed RICO lawsuits for immigration crimes (thousands of predicate offenses are easily proven).

Back to the Z Visa itself, it would have been completely and totally unvetted. There was no requirement whatsoever for identification. NONE. There were no health checks, immunizations, extra-U.S. criminal checks, financial checks, or anything else that legitimate and lawful immgrants must undergo. Nothing.

ANYONE FROM ANY NATION could assert Z Visa eligibility, and thereby obtain immunity in the U.S. from all further immigration violations. Plus permanent residence, work and work authorizations and a nice new official U.S. federal ID card.

The underlying problem is that George Bush, Congress, and their business association buddies wanted to quickly immunize U.S. businesses from investigation or prosecution of our immgration laws (e.g., some like Tyson and Cargill employ tens of thousands of illegals each).

And they were perfectly willing to do so with a sham Z Visa that threatened our national security and daily law enforcement.

And finally, they know that the USCIS cannot possibly process 15 to 20 million visas of any kind without complete and total breakdown. The very idea is risable, and every person on Capitol Hill knows that to be true (a staffer told me several years ago that INS/USCIS "generates more constituent complaints [on the Hill] than all other issues combined".

This was not about "coming out of the shadows". It was entirely about protecting American business from prosecution, at the thoughtless expense of national security and law enforcement.

[Pookee]

Not dead yet?

[EternalVigilance]

Just so you know, Fox News reported that we literally crashed the Capitol Hill switchboard.

We melted their phone lines indeed...

[mowowie]

Our Country just dodged yet another bullet. THANK GOD!!!

[thelastvirgil]

Just enough time for one celebratory cigar before we all have to go to work to eliminate the traitors in the senate. It is time they learned that we DO have good memories, and that they will suffer the sad consequences of ignoring the will of theie employers.

[IndyInVa]

If you want to know whether the amnesty would be good for our economy, I think the direction of the stock market after the “No” vote may be an indication.

The market reacted by moving up. That mirrors my sentiments.

[Libertina]

You mean the Freddy Crueger Amnesty Bill. Round THREE finished, want to take a bet a when four comes up?

[A Balrog of Morgoth]

I don't know that I agree with your characterization of the base in this instance, BUT

hyperventilating, sky is falling cross hangers

That is just plain LMAO funny. I don't care who you are. Always a pleasure to see such outstanding wordsmithing.

[BerkeleyRefugee]

This Mass GOP gal says ditto to that.

[Mama_Bear]

It's about time the Senate got a wake-up call! It's about time they are reminded WHO pays their very substantial salaries.

This is a good day across the fruited plain. Finally, the American people stood up on their hind legs and demanded to be heard. Two thumbs up for the people!!!

[Frank_2001]

“and time to let GWB exactly how we feel about this issue!”

In English or Spanish?;)

[juliej]

I want to see the breakdown of the votes.

[angkor]

Webb and the other democrats who voted against cloture were only following the general direction of the unions,

Um, sorry, but I do believe that Webb's election was a quirk, that he knows it too, and that he's trying to determine who his constrituency should be.

He voted *against* the people who assert that they put him in office (all the leftie immigration and ethnocentric "gimmee gimmee" groups).

Contrary to what you say, I'm slightly optimistic that Webb can be moved in the bluedog direction, which is in our best interest over the next five years.

So if you want to go about dissing him and kicking his butt, that's fine. I'd rather see him swayed toward our causes, just as he was today.

As to your main point, I am going to speculate that his discussion from the podium yesterday about the "unfairness" of the bill made it clear that the *legal* immigrant community had gotten his attention. Or maybe it was his wife, Vietnamese American securities and corporate lawyer Hong Le Webb.

Ya never know, do ya?

[huldah1776]

This is what I wanted to see. if anyone else has any other ideas- have at it. let’s see if 20,000 citizens can come up with a bill of their own.

[freepertoo]

And...we have to do something about that Texas town that has a Spanish Only philosophy...they have literally taken over an American town and no one is doing anything about it.