Free Republic

Veteran CNN anchor Lou Dobbs, whose populist views on the perils of immigration and his repeated questioning of President Barack Obama’s birthplace made him a controversial figure on a network that has traditionally eschewed opinion, announced Wednesday night that he is resigning. While Dobbs will continue his radio show, he gave no indication of whether he will stay in television—it’s been rumored that he could end up on Fox. Dobbs said on his show “Lou Dobbs Tonight,” that he’s now “considering a number of options and directions,” and that CNN president Jon Klein has released him from his contract, which...

Police Probe Shot Fired at Home of CNN's Lou Dobbs Thursday , October 29, 2009 By Joshua Rhett Miller A gunshot was fired at the New Jersey home of CNN's Lou Dobbs after a series of threatening phone calls earlier this month, the host told listeners on his nationally syndicated radio show. Dobbs, a fervent proponent of U.S. border enforcement, told listeners of "The Lou Dobbs Show" on Monday that the incident is part of an ongoing assault against anyone who opposes amnesty or leniency toward illegal immigrants.

RICHMOND, Calif. — Police believe as many as a dozen people watched a 15-year-old girl get beaten and gang-raped outside her high school homecoming dance without reporting it. Two suspects were in custody Monday, but police said as many as five other men attacked the girl over a two-hour period Friday night outside Richmond High School. "She was raped, beaten, robbed and dehumanized by several suspects who were obviously OK enough with it to behave that way in each other's presence," Lt. Mark Gagan said. "What makes it even more disturbing is the presence of others. People came by, saw...

A new study examines the costs of education, health care and incarceration of illegal aliens, and concludes the costs to Californians is $10.5 BILLION per year. The state's already struggling K-12 education system spends approximately $7.7 billion a year to school the children of illegal aliens. Another $1.4 billion of taxpayer's money goes toward providing health care to illegal aliens. The same amount is spent incarcerating illegal alien criminals. Back in 1994 California voters rebelled and overwhelmingly passed Proposition 187, which sought to limit liability for mass illegal immigration. Since then state and local governments have blatantly IGNORED the wishes...

"I was stunned that this would happen," Kunkle said at a news conference. The police chief added: "In my world, you would never tell someone not to speak Spanish." The bogus citations – there is no law requiring Dallas residents to speak English – came to light after it was revealed that a rookie officer, Gary Bromley, had issued a citation on Oct. 2 to Ernestina Mondragon for being a non-English-speaking driver.

The Fox News Channel and conservative and right-leaning libertarian talk radio hosts Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Michael Savage and Lou Dobbs are being targeted for federal investigations by a coalition of religious groups for so-called anti-immigrant hate speech.The So We Might See Coalition is sponsoring what they call a media fast, asking participants to abstain from violence on television and radio from October 19th through the 26th.The coalition is leading a petition drive asking the Federal Communications Commission initiate an investigation in to "hate speech in the media."The coalition is also calling for the 1993 report entitled, The Role of...

The Avenues gang and Mexican Mafia may have assassinated Los Angeles County Deputy Abel Escalante as "payback for the spectacular LAPD shootout on Drew Street in June 2008 that forced the closure of local streets, caused the evacuation of two nearby public schools — and left AK-47–wielding menace Danny 'Clever' Leon bloodied and dead in the street": Deputy Escalante had nothing to do with LAPD’s killing of Leon last year. The 27-year-old officer most likely heard about it on the news, like everyone else. But, federal prosecutors believe, Escalante died for it. Seeking revenge, the dead man’s friends months later...

SAN DIEGO COURTS — Men kidnapped from their homes in broad daylight. Bodies dumped along roadsides and in abandoned cars. Human remains dissolved in acid. It's the kind of violence seen all too often in some Mexican border cities, where thousands have fallen victim to a prolonged war between drug cartels. But the indictments of 17 men, both U.S. and Mexican citizens, accused of running a drug-trafficking-and-murder crew called Los Palillos  in San Diego offer the best proof in recent years that cartel violence has spilled across the border. Concerns about witness safety in the case, for which convictions could...

DECATUR, AL -- Decatur police have arrested one suspect in a Sept. 11 gang-style shooting at Funland Park and are searching for a second suspect who is considered to be armed and dangerous. Jose Luis Gonzalez, 19, was arrested Tuesday at the B&B Trailer Court on Modaus Road and charged with conspiracy to commit murder, three counts of attempted murder, three counts of second degree assault, shooting into an occupied vehicle and shooting into an occupied vehicle. He's being held in the Morgan County Jail on bonds totaling $400,000. Police are still searching for Samuel Trejo Carbajal, 19, of Elkmont....

Runner sues Attorney General over ballot wording SACRAMENTO • State Sen. George Runner is suing California Attorney General Jerry Brown for crafting what Runner calls an “overtly biased” summary of a ballot measure the senator created to prevent voter fraud. “I believe he has misrepresented what this initiative does,” said Runner, R-Lancaster, in an interview Monday. “That’s a tremendous disservice to the citizens of California.” Earlier this year Runner submitted ballot measure Vote SAFE, which would require voters to present photo identification at the polls, allow county Registrar of Voters additional time to count military votes and protect the identity...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Counterterrorism officials have issued security bulletins to police around the nation about terrorists' desire to attack stadiums, entertainment complexes and hotels—the latest in a flurry of such internal warnings as investigators chase a possible bomb plot in Denver and New York. In the two bulletins—sent to police departments Monday and obtained by The Associated Press—officials said they know of no specific plots against such sites, but urged law enforcement and private companies to be vigilant. These two bulletins followed on the heels of a similar warning about the vulnerabilities of mass transit systems.

"Every third young Swede has been subjected to repeated harassment, threats or violence over the past year. Six percent of young girls have been raped, a new report from Swedish researchers shows."

Los Angeles religious leaders have launched a phone campaign to urge lawmakers to include undocumented immigrants in any healthcare reform plan. At a religious service Friday, faith leaders called access to healthcare a moral and spiritual imperative. More than 150 worshippers attended a Mass at Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church and prayed for an all-inclusive reform plan.

Goodnight, America A Jihad Grows in Brooklyn byPaul L. Williams, Ph.D.thelastcrusade.org Bam! Bam! Bam!It’s 3:30 a.m. in Brooklyn and Mohammad Boota, a Pakistani immigrant, is beating his barrel drum along Coney Island Avenue and Foster AvenueBoota, who immigrated to the U.S. in 1992 from Pakistan, is joined by other drummers, other Pakistani immigrants, as the cries of muezzins ring out from loud speakers throughout the borough.The racket goes on every morning during Ramadan.The pounding of the drums, Boota explains, is necessary to wake believers so they can eat a meal before the day’s fasting must begin.“Everywhere they complain,” Boota...

The senator's partial term was marked by frustration and failure, experts say. BY WILLIAM MARCH TAMPA - Mel Martinez may go down in Florida history as the reluctant senator. During his short Senate career, from 2005 until this week, Martinez took stands on principle and stuck loyally by his friends, particularly President George W. Bush, even when it hurt him politically. But circumstances and his own mistakes conspired to mark his partial term with much frustration and little accomplishment, experts in Congress say. In an interview last week, Martinez acknowledged that frustration. "It is true," he said. "The Senate works...

Massachusetts Cuts Back Immigrants’ Health Care By ABBY GOODNOUGH Published: August 31, 2009 BOSTON — State-subsidized health insurance for 31,000 legal immigrants here will no longer cover dental, hospice or skilled-nursing care under a scaled-back plan that Gov. Deval Patrick announced Monday. Mr. Patrick said his administration had struggled to find a solution “that preserves the promise of health care reform” after the state legislature cut most of the $130 million it had previously allotted immigrants, to help close a budget deficit. Although their health benefits will be sharply curtailed in some cases, Mr. Patrick portrayed the new program as...

"OMAHA, Neb. » A Nebraska man who stole a painting of the Virgin Mary to finance an abortion for a teen he raped has been convicted of first-degree sexual assault and felony theft. Aurelio Vallerillo-Sanchez, 39, of Omaha pleaded no contest to the charges Friday and faces up to 70 years in prison when sentenced in October, Douglas County prosecutor Brenda Beadle said Saturday. A call to the county public defender representing Vallerillo-Sanchez wasn't answered Saturday. Beadle said Vallerillo-Sanchez fled to Mexico with the 300-year-old painting worth $100,000 and the pregnant teen in March 2007. "The plan was that when...

-- The strangest thing about our "now-you-see it, now-you-don't" relationship with Somalia, that ungoverned space on the Horn of Africa, is why we have any relationship at all. Myself, I remember it well. I spent a week there on a USIA speaking tour in 1980. That was the country's "Age of Pericles," and it was pretty awful then.

The May 12 fatal traffic accident in Omaha involving Eleazar Rangel-Ochoa, a suspected illegal immigrant driving under a suspended license, has generated needed public attention. Police allege that a vehicle driven by Rangel-Ochoa ran a red light and collided with a vehicle driven by Jayme Bluhm and carrying her three children. The accident claimed the life of one of the children, 4-year-old Josie, and injured the other family members. Foremost, this is a tragedy for the Bluhm family. In addition, the case should raise red flags regarding two important public issues. The first issue deals with the incredible danger posed...

Three days of the family's whereabouts were missing in prior reports. Now we know why it was kept hush-hush - they were shopping in a Houston mall the day before he (supposedly) showed symptoms.

I sat in a hotel lobby and was watching CNN reporting on the "Pandemic". I commented to the person sitting next to me that the flus shouldn't be called the swine flu, because it actually is a combination of several flu viruses. To my surprise, he named off in rapid succession the four viruses that that latest flu bug contained. I asked him how was it that he was so knowledgeable. He responded that he worked for a large pharmacuetical firm. I commented that it seemed odd that several viruses purportedly from different parts of the globe could combine like...

An Associated Press story dated April 28 takes swine flu fears to a whole other level. A report datelined Washington by Ricardo Alonsozaldivar and Eileen Sullivan examined the worst-case scenario "if the swine flu gets out of control." "Two million dead," Alonsozaldivar and Sullivan wrote. "Hospitals overwhelmed. Schools closed. Swaths of empty seats at baseball stadiums and houses of worship. An economic recovery snuffed out. We're nowhere close to what government planners say would be a worst-case scenario: a global flu pandemic. But government leaders at all levels, and major employers, have spent nearly four years planning for one in...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency, while telling Californians not to panic about swine flu. His action gives permission for state health agencies to enter into any contracts needed to respond to the outbreak and to expand laboratory testing. Orange County health officials said early Tuesday there are no swine flu cases in Orange County, but they are continuing to be on watch. California now has 13 swine flu cases, with two Sacramento County seventh graders added to the list.

The Los Angeles County coroner's office is investigating two recent deaths for links to swine flu. Coroner's Capt. John Kades says tests are being run on two bodies to see if swine flu was a factor in their deaths, but there is no confirmation that the disease killed them. The Los Angeles Times reports on its Web site that both men's deaths were reported to the coroner's office on Monday. Coroner's spokesman Craig Harvey told the paper that a Bellflower hospital reported the death of a 33-year-old Long Beach man who was brought in Saturday with symptoms resembling swine flu....

On Sunday, April 19, 2009, Secretary Napolitano went on CNN’s “State of the Union” and proclaimed that crossing the border illegally is not a crime. This statement left a lot of folks scratching their heads given that U.S. law—the law Napolitano is sworn to uphold—says quite the opposite. Section 8, Title 1325 of the U.S. code clearly states that those who enter the U.S. illegally are committing a crime. This ‘interpretation’ of the law by Secretary Napolitano seems to be the latest in an effort by the Obama Administration to scale back interior immigration enforcement efforts in the United States....

London suffering from shocking rise in rare 'Victorian' diseasesJoe Murphy, Political Editor 15.04.09   London is in the grip of a startling rise in diseases associated with Victorian times, figures disclose today.Rare infectious illnesses including typhoid, whooping cough and scarlet fever have soared by 166 per cent in the past two years.Infection rates in the capital are markedly higher than the national averages, warned Justine Greening, the shadow minister for London who assembled the figures.They include a staggering 214 per cent increase in cases of mumps - up from 125 in 2007 to 393 last year. The disease is...

Growing numbers of children of illegal immigrants are being born in this country, and they are nearly twice as likely to live in poverty than those with American-born parents... Overall, illegal immigrants' children account for one of every 15 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. In 2008, California had the most illegal immigrants at 2.7 million, double its 1990 number, followed by Texas, Florida, New York and New Jersey.

Growing numbers of children of illegal immigrants are being born in this country, and they are nearly twice as likely to live in poverty than those with American-born parents, a report says. The study released Tuesday by the Pew Hispanic Center highlights a growing dilemma in the immigration debate: Illegal immigrants' children born in the United States are American citizens, yet they struggle in poverty and uncertainty along with parents who fear deportation, toil largely in low-wage jobs and face layoffs in an ailing economy. The analysis by Pew, a nonpartisan research organization, found that the nation's estimated 11.9 million...

President Barack Obama plans to start addressing the thorny issue of immigration reform this year, including the search for a path to legalize the status of millions of illegal immigrants, The New York Times reported on Wednesday, quoting a presidential aide. Obama will speak publicly about the matter in May and bring together working groups including Democratic and Republican lawmakers over the summer to begin discussing possible legislation for as early as the fall, administration officials told the Times.

A Modesto police officer had to pull his gun to keep a hostile crowd at bay early Sunday. The officer sustained minor injuries in the southwest Modesto incident, said police spokesman Sgt. Brian Findlen. Police are not releasing the officer's name. The officer's dog was assaulted but not seriously injured, Findlen said. Police arrested several suspects in connection with the incident. A loaded assault rifle was found later at the scene of the struggle, which unfolded about 2 a.m. Findlen said the officer pulled his gun only after other deterrents, including his police dog, failed to keep the crowd under...

Efforts by a street gang to recruit Fairfax County youths have led to the arrests of seven Chantilly area teenagers, ages 13 and 16... ...this time, the Latino gang Sur 13, with roots tracing to a notorious Mexican prison gang in Southern California, tried to pick up more members at Franklin Middle School, just off Centreville Road in western Fairfax County, court records state. A student at Franklin reported to the school resource officer that a student approached him during lunch period and asked him to join his gang, according to an affidavit for a search of the alleged gang...

This just in: 1.1 million people got "Green Cards" last year [2008] through the federal immigration program.

Witnessing someone humiliate his uncle for speaking broken English, says Leland Yee, was a childhood experience that stuck with him. The memory rushed back, the California state senator said, when the Ladies Professional Golf Association announced last September that it would start suspending foreign players – many of them South Koreans – if they lacked English proficiency. The LPGA backed down from the rule under a barrage of criticism from Lee, D-San Francisco, and civil rights groups that argued the idea seemed xenophobic. Yee now wants to make sure no one else tries to enact such a policy, at least...

San Francisco - Even as tuberculosis rates decline in the United States, drug-resistant strains of the disease showing up in states with large immigrant populations and are becoming increasingly hard to treat. Researchers are concerned about this trend while funding for labor-intensive disease control programs is being cut in cities such as San Francisco, which has the highest TB rates in the country.

City police say it is the largest raid in any single location in Douglas in recent memory DOUGLAS — More than 50 illegal immigrants were captured and detained today after the apartment they were using was discovered by the Douglas Police Department. The apartment, located at 337 G Avenue, was discovered as a result of a vehicle check at 7:50 a.m. Wednesday. Douglas Police Officer Tomas Romero spotted a suspicious vehicle on 19th Street and A Avenue. After checking on the plates of the 1999 yellow Chevy 3/4 ton pickup, it was discovered to be registered to a fictitious address...

Spectacular Hispandering (as Kaus calls it) from Madam Speaker, coinciding with The One’s decision to toss yet another hot-button issue that he doesn’t have to deal with right now onto his already crowded plate. Describing positions she disagrees with as un-American or unpatriotic is an endearing little habit of Pelosi’s and comes this time with a twist: Not only are immigration raids unpatriotic, apparently, but illegal aliens are among the greatest patriots of all. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently told a group of both legal and illegal immigrants and their families that enforcement of existing immigration laws, as currently practiced,...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently told a group of both legal and illegal immigrants and their families that enforcement of existing immigration laws, as currently practiced, is "un-American." The speaker, condemning raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, referred to the immigrants she was addressing as "very, very patriotic."

House Speaker recently told a group of legal and illegal Immigrants that enforcement of exsisting immigration laws, as currently practiced, is " Un-American " She said, " it must be stopped " " what value system is that? "

A University of North Texas sophomore was raped before she was strangled and set on fire, a Dallas County prosecutor said this morning during opening statements in her accused killer's trial. Prosecutor Andrea Handley told jurors that after Ernesto Reyes raped Melanie Goodwin, a 19-year-old Arlington native, he put his knee on her chest and strangled her before burning her body. Reyes faces a capital murder charge in the Sept. 25, 2007, slaying. "Melanie Goodwin never had an enemy in her life until she came into contact with the defendant in this case," Handley said. Goodwin was killed after she...

Immigrants rally in Prince William County against an alleged incident of police brutality.

Editor's Note By Mark Potok Three Washington, D.C.-based immigration-restriction organizations stand at the nexus of the American nativist movement: the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), and NumbersUSA. Although on the surface they appear quite different--the first, the country's best-known anti-immigrant lobbying group; the second, an "independent" think tank; and the third, a powerful grassroots organizer--they are fruits of the same poisonous tree. FAIR, CIS and NumbersUSA are all part of a network of restrictionist organizations conceived and created by John Tanton, the "puppeteer" of the nativist movement and a man with deep racist...

Mexico football fans are adopting voodoo tactics ahead of Wednesday's crucial World Cup Qualifier with regional rivals the United States. Both sides will be looking to make a strong start to the final phase of qualifying for South Africa 2010, when they meet in the match at Columbus, Ohio. Mexico haven't won in the U.S. for ten years. In the hope of boosting their team's chances, Mexican sport magazine 'Record' has issued coupons for U.S. team voodoo dolls -- which could be attained with five different stamps from the publication. The move has also been supported by U.S. chain Blockbuster,...

PAWTUCKET — Racism and xenophobia are contributing to a Rhode Island social climate in which immigrants are regarded as the villains, speakers at a pro-immigration rally said yesterday. “We build walls for people who have to leave their country for economic reasons,” said Gladys Gould of the Providence Presbyterian Church, one of a number of organizations that took part in “Unite for Fairness,” held at the Pawtucket Visitors Center. “You don’t see them going after the Irish. The difference is, the police will stop us because of the way we look. It is all about race,” said Gould, a native...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A national civil rights group has decided to pull its 2008 convention out of Kansas City because of actions by the city's mayor. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference was expected to announce the decision Tuesday morning, The Kansas City Star reported in its Tuesday editions. The group says Mayor Mark Funkhouser showed racial insensitivity in June when he appointed to the park board someone who is a member of an organization that opposes illegal immigration. The SCLC also was upset that Funkhouser tried to oust City Manager Wayne Cauthen, who is black, without first consulting...

MEXICO CITY - The Mexican government promised Friday to defend any Mexicans affected by an Arizona law that punishes employers who hire undocumented migrants. The Arizona law, which went into effect Tuesday, prohibits businesses from knowingly employing illegal immigrants. Violators face business license suspensions for up to 10 days; a second offense triggers permanent revocation. "Measures like the one approved in Arizona do not contribute to solving the issue of migration by workers between the two countries, and ignore the contributions that migrants make to the U.S. economy and society," Mexico's Foreign Relations Department said. The department said it will...

GRANJENO — This year, the quest for a better life often ended in death in the Rio Grande Valley. Authorities found dozens of immigrants’ bodies in Hidalgo, Starr and Brooks counties. Those immigrants who didn’t succumb to heat exhaustion or other harsh elements lost their lives after the human smugglers who ushered them into this country took great risks fleeing from police on Valley roads or in swims across the Rio Grande. Last week, the U.S. Border Patrol released numbers showing assaults on their agents had increased this year, as smugglers became more desperate. The agency’s heads said the increased...

Moving to a new country and trying to fit in with the community can be difficult, and for some immigrant families in Madison, it's a church that can provide a sense of home. That's been the experience of Sy Inthachak, who attends Bethany Evangelical Free Church on the city's east side. Inthachak grew up in Laos but fled the country in the aftermath of the Vietnam War and spent 10 years in a Thai refugee camp before coming to the United States. Along with another family of five, Inthachak and his family started attending Bethany Evangelical Free Church 10 years...

The Governor of Texas has before the Legilature letters from Gen. Cass and the Mexican Minister at Washington on the frontier troubles between Texas and Mexicans. The Mexican Minister complains to the Government of the United States "that from the town of San Antonio de Bexar, the residents of Mexican origin have been expelled, living there in a peacable manner, under the protection of the laws of the United States, and of the treaties subsisting between the two Governments," The Minister expresses the hope and confidence that the Government of the United States "will by every means, proceed to investigate...

As the nation settled down on Wednesday night to watch England play Croatia, I sensed an air of optimism in the land. A feeling that all would be well. I mean hey, England were holding their own against Brazil when Croatia didn’t even exist as a nation state. So what chance would these swarthy-looking Yugo-ruffians have? They were minnows in a tank of sharks. They weren’t going to be beaten. They were going to be eaten. Hmmm. I’m afraid I knew we were going to lose moments before the match began. I looked at our players mumbling their way through...