DREAM Act Scorecard: The GOP Senate Fence-Sitters

The following GOP Senators haven't made up their mind on whether they should oppose a bill that amounts to a 2.1 million future Democrat voter recruitment drive. Know your fence-sitters:

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN 202-224-2235; 480-897-6289: Staff says he "hasn't made a public statement" and "hasn't made up his mind." He talked a tough border security game to get re-elected, while promising illegal alien activists he would "resolve their issues." Arizona, you chose to re-elect him. You get what you deserve.

SEN. OLYMPIA SNOWE 202-224-5344; 207-874-0883: Staff says she "hasn’t released a statement."

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS 202-224-2523; 207-945-0417: Staff says she "hasn’t released a public statement."

SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI 202-224-6665; 907-271-3735: Staff says she’s "still reviewing the bill."

SEN. SAM BROWNBACK 202-224-6521; 785-233-2503 Staff says he "hasn’t had a chance to look at it" and remains non-committal.

SEN. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON 202-224-5922; 214-361-3500: Staff says she "hasn’t released a statement," but will probably do so later today. UPDATE: HUTCHISON will vote AGAINST DREAM Act in its present form, says staff.

SEN. GEORGE LEMIEUX 202-224-3041; 904-398-8586: Recorded message informs callers that he’s "in a meeting." He has yet to publicly state his position as open-borders extremists step up pressure. UPDATE: LEMIEUX IS A NO.

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FYI: The following GOP Senators who had been of concern say they are opposed to the stand-along DREAM Act:

SEN. SCOTT BROWN: Staff says he "does not support ANY taxpayer illegal alien amnesty bills," including the DREAM Act.

SEN. MIKE JOHANNS: Opposed the DREAM Act. Period.

SEN. GEORGE VOINOVICH: Opposed.

SEN. ORRIN HATCH: A former DREAM Act champion, he is now opposed.

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SEN. JUDD GREGG: Staff says he is a likely no vote.

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SEN. RICHARD LUGAR, an original co-sponsor of the DREAM Act amnesty, remains a staunch supporter.

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Your voice and your calls count. Make yourselves heard

Web Censorship Bill Sails Through Senate Committee

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved a bill that would give the Attorney General the right to shut down websites with a court order if copyright infringement is deemed "central to the activity" of the site regardless if the website has actually committed a crime. The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) is among the most draconian laws ever considered to combat digital piracy, and contains what some have called the "nuclear option," which would essentially allow the Attorney General to turn suspected websites "off."

Read More: http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/11/coica-web-censorship-bill/

FCC Chief to Move on Net Neutrality

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski is putting together a net neutrality proposal and plans to take action on the controversial issue as early as next month, according to several sources with knowledge of the situation.

Details of the proposal being developed by Genachowski's office are unclear, but sources say it could be similar to the deal stakeholders tried to reach with Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) earlier this fall.

The long-running net neutrality debate centers around rules that would require Internet service providers to treat all web traffic equally. Internet companies like Google and Skype want net neutrality rules applied to both wireline and wireless networks, but network operators including AT&T, Verizon and Comcast say they need flexibility to manage web traffic on their lines.

President Barack Obama campaigned on a promise to implement net neutrality rules. Genachowski’s plans to carry out that promise were hampered when a federal court ruled the FCC did not have legal authority to adopt the regulations.

Internet and telecom companies have been in trying to reach a compromise on the hot-button issue, first at the FCC over the summer and most recently with Congress. Under the arrangement shepherded b y Waxman, wireline networks would have been subject to net neutrality rules, meaning the biggest telecom companies would not be able to discriminate against any web traffic or content on their traditional wireline networks.

Wireless networks, however, would not have been subject to all of those non-discrimination requirements. The major telecom and Internet stakeholders, as well as several public interest groups, signed onto the deal, but Republicans on Capitol Hill refused to support the draft proposal, especially so close to the mid-term elections.

It now appears Genachowski, after receiving significant pressure from net neutrality advocates and public interest groups to take action after congressional efforts failed, is picking up where Waxman left off.

“We haven’t circulated the December agenda,” said Jen Howard, spokeswoman for the FCC chairman’s office. “These rumors from outside, uniformed sources are pure speculation at best.”


Article from the Politico: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/45371.html#ixzz15kXGeruS

Corrupt DeStefano Campaign Seeks Legitimacy By Fraudulently Using NJ Tea Party Coalition Name in Ads

On Thursday, October 28, the New Jersey Tea Party Coalition received word that fraudulent advertisements (Google Ads) have been appearing on the internet connecting the NJTPC to Peter DeStefano. Mr. DeStefano has no connection to the NJTPC, nor does he have a connection to any legitimate Tea Party in the State.

In New Jersey’s Third Congressional District, Congressman John Adler (D) is in a tight race with challenger Jon Runyan (R). Peter DeStefano is a third party challenger claiming to be the Tea Party Candidate.

According to press accounts, Congressman John Adler’s campaign manager Geoff Mackler directed the collection of signatures to get DeStefano on the ballot as a third-party spoiler.

A poll sponsored by Richard Stockton College’s Hughes Public Policy Center puts Jon Runyan and John Adler in a statistical dead heat. We can only conclude that this attempt to link Peter DeStefano to the NJTPC is an attempt to legitimize his candidacy in the minds of conservative voters and to draw votes from John Runyan’s campaign.

At this point, we have filed complaints with Google in regards to at least 6 different ad links. The NJ Tea Party denounces these advertisements as well as the actions of the DeStefano and Adler campaigns and is seeking the person or group that has placed these ads. We believe this action was not only corrupt and immoral, but illegal as well.

We would ask anyone with knowledge of who placed these fraudulent ads to contact us through our website: http://www.njteapartycoalition.org


NJ Tea Party Coalition

Dear Conservative Editorialist,

by John Anthony

To those conservative editorialists and strategists who grab the Moet every time Mr. Obama drops one point in popularity: will you please cork the bottle until after the election?

To those who proclaim the biggest sweeping victory in 30 years, will you kindly look to the present, at least until November 2nd?

Your premature buoyancy spins our opponent's lethargy into energy. Your endless presumptions of yet un-won seats morphs our oppressors into underdogs and provides raw meat for the Obama grinder.

Congressional representatives are already deciding how they will negotiate with the President when we have not even had an election. Thank you for providing our sleeping enemy with a wakening cause.

We can sizably win this election. However, you are making the jobs for us on the ground ever so much tougher.

If you do not stop, the only November 'tsunami' will be the flood of tears as you reach for the Budweiser on Wednesday morning.

We're All Community Organizers Now

by Laura Greer

State House Reps on speed dial. Email boxes filled to the brim with messages about Tea Party events and projects. Congressional contact info locked and loaded into Blackberry address book. A middle-aged mind struggles to remember new acronyms like GOTV (Get Out The Vote, thank you very much).

My summer beach reading morphs from Mary Higgins Clark’s latest mystery to the “5000 Year Leap.”

How did this happen?

There was a time – not so long ago – when American politics was a modern spectator sport.

We tuned in every two or four years to select what the Irish call, “The best of a bad lot.” Those of us who cared enough to vote did our best to gather information about the candidates and trudged to the polls –– voted - and hoped for the best.

This exercise in civil life was fairly simple. The pattern was established and there was comfort in knowing we fulfilled our civic duty. Life as we knew it marched on.

Candidates and elections came and went and not much ever seemed to change.

Or so we thought.

Under the cover of darkness, while we were quietly going about our lives, a cadre of radical activists executed their plan to overthrow the United States Government.

You can call them communists, progressives, Marxists or liberals.

I call them traitors.

These aging hippies are disciples of Mao, Marx, Stalin and Alinksy. They despise all that is good about America and its people. Their contempt for everyday Americans, our freedoms and the Constitution is palatable.

They are the same cast of characters who wreaked havoc in the 1960’s, when they incited riots, killed police officers and did their level best to topple the free market system.

We thought they went away. Instead, they went legit.

It took this fringe, radical group 40 years – but they achieved the ultimate prize – control of the US Presidency and both houses of Congress in 2008.

With break-neck speed under the cover of contrived emergencies, they are in the process of fundamentally transforming America – from a Representative Republic to a Social State. Our free market system, social compact, liberty and freedoms are dissolving before our eyes.

Is this the kind of change you believe in?

For the love of God, Country and the US Constitution, join us in the fight to restore America.

Put down your remote and pick up a protest sign.

Write letters to the editor.

Gather in your houses of worship and pray for God’s forgiveness and intervention.

Find a candidate who believes in small government, who will work tirelessly to overturn the bailouts and Obamacare – and contribute to their campaign.

Attend the local school board and freeholder meetings. Demand to get a copy of your town/city budget.

Call out judge’s for decisions that disregard the Constitution.

Fax, phone and visit your representatives (term loosely used) to protest latest assaults on our freedoms.

Email your friends and family – share information and widen your sphere of influence.

Educate yourself – read the Constitution, learn about our Founding Fathers, do your own homework. Subscribe to conservative publications – or read them for free online. The state-run media is corrupt – so it’s up to each of us discern truth from propaganda.

Join groups of like-minded citizens who are in the fight to roll back this radical agenda. If you can’t find a group, start one of your own.

Travel to lower Manhattan to protest the Mosque at Ground Zero September 11, or take the bus to DC on August 28 and September 12 to support the cause of freedom.

Leave your comfort zone. Join the action – time to get some skin in the game.

For the love of God, Country and US Constitution – join the fight for freedom.

Make no mistake - we are all community organizers now.

NJTPC Research Bulletin No 1

Beware of Misinformation Regarding the UN "Small Arms Ban"
- produced by the NJ Tea Party Coalition Research Committee

Lately, emails have been circulating regarding the Obama administration's support of international treaties regarding arms bans, such as the so-called UN "small arms ban". In particular, one email cited an alleged Reuters announcement to the effect that the State Department, under Hilary Clinton, had reversed longstanding policy and said last week that it woul d back launching talks on a treaty to regulate arms sales. The concern is that this announcement in effect represents the Obama administration's "first major step in a plan to ban all firearms in the United States". Another rumor claims that Hilary Clinton has already signed such a treaty.

Now, every American who has thought about the matter understands that the Obama administration indeed manifests the hard liberal/left view that the right to bear arms should be restricted to the state and to a self-appointed elite; not surprisingly, self-appointed elites such as Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Castro, Chavez, and Daley all had or have the same view. If given a chance, the left would indeed eviscerate the Second Amendment. It is no coincidence that sales of firearms and ammunition skyrocketed after Obama's election, and probably would have had Hilary Clinton become president.

That being said, there is no evidence that any international arms ban is at all imminent. The NRA, which does a good job of tracking legislative or political threats to the Second Amendment has this to say about the email rumors:


Contrary to a widely circulated e-mail, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has not signed any UN small arms treaty. She could not have done so, in fact, because no such treaty has yet been negotiated.

As we noted in the item below from last November , the UN Arms Trade Treaty will be drafted between now and 2012, and even if signed would not take effect in the U.S. until it was ratified by the Senate.

Please rest assured that, as we said in November, NRA will be actively involved in this process and will oppose any treaty that would attempt to impose limits on our Second Amendment rights. In the meantime, we urge gun owners to follow this issue in NRA's magazines and NRA-ILA's Grassroots Alerts. We also urge gun owners not to circulate misinformation on this issue.

Web link for more is here: http://www..nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=5843

We must note that he NRA makes ample use of the Obama and Clinton position on firearms in their fund-raising efforts, with the unfortunate result that hysteria can easily be stirred up. it is also true that gun owners are very aware of the issue, and remain rightfully concerned.

While there is every reason to remain vigilant on this subject, there is no immediate apparent reason to let it distract us from more urgent matters.

The Committee to Recall Senator Robert Menendez Will Finally Have Their Day in Court

The day many of us have been waiting for, Friday, February 26th, has been postponed to Tuesday, March 2nd due to inclement weather. Dan Silberstein and Richard Luzzi, attorneys representing the Recall Committee, will be appearing in Mercer County’s Hughes Justice Complex in Trenton at 10:30 AM. They will be joined by Peter Ferrara, the Attorney for the American Civil Rights Union, who has filed an amicus brief in defense of the Committee’s civil rights.

Since this is a matter of great concern to the citizens of New Jersey and has recently received media attention, we are anticipating that many of our supporters and opposing protesters are planning to demonstrate outside of the courthouse. We respectfully ask those intending to go to Trenton on our behalf , behave in a manner that respects the court and the system – the same system of law we are working so hard to preserve. While those who oppose our intitiative may seek to disturb the peace, we believe our citizens are protectors of the peace and therefore should act accordingly. To all wishing to attend, please dress conservatively, and if you plan on carrying signs, we ask that they be handmade and not controversial. We are sure that the media will also be attending and will be looking to capitalize on any behavior that can be interpreted as radical in any way, shape or form.

Thanks to all who have been supportive of this initiative and we are counting on your cooperation. Without it, we will not succeed and the consequences for our country can be dire.

Judge Approves Appeal of Menendez Recall Decision to Move Forward; Will Hear Oral Arguments February 26th; American Civil Rights Union to Join Appeal

A NJ Superior Court Appellate Judge has granted an emergency motion to fast-track the appeal of a committee seeking to recall a United States Senator.

In a two-part order issued late afternoon on Thursday, February 4th, Judge Edwin Stern granted the committee's motion to accelerate their appeal and scheduled oral arguments for Friday, February 26th. In the same order, the Judge also granted approval for the American Civil Rights Union (ACRU) to participate in the appeal as amicus curiae (friend of the court), in response to an emergent application filed by the ACRU.

The case stems from a January 11th final agency determination by NJ state election officials, in which the Secretary of State denied a Notice of Intention and proposed petition filed by the Committee to Recall Robert Menendez. Former Secretary of State Nina Wells wrote in the letter,

“It has been determined that the qualifications and election of a Member of the United States Senate is a matter of exclusive jurisdiction of federal authority and that neither the United States Constitution nor federal statute provide for a recall proceeding for a federally-elected official…Therefore, in my capacity as the Chief Election Official of the State of NJ, I hereby determine that neither the Notice of Intention to Recall nor the proposed Petition can be accepted for filing or review.”

Members of the Sussex County Tea Party formed the recall committee and had filed the Notice back in September, 2009, hoping to move onto the phase of petitioning the public for signatures in support of requesting a recall election.

Dan Silberstein and Richard Luzzi, attorneys for the committee, have challenged the state's decision, contending that the issue at hand is not one of whether the State has the power to issue a judicially enforceable recall order of a U.S. Senator, as the respondents maintain, but it is a question of first amendment rights. Their brief reads in part,

"Can the State [of NJ], after amending its Constitution and passing legislation to guarantee its citizens access to a formal, State-endorsed mechanism to foster collective “core political speech”, deny its citizens access to that mechanism because of the content of their political message?"

While the constitutionality of a 1995 amendment to NJ's state Constitution that granted citizens the power to recall federal officials may be open to debate, there has never been any federal court decision holding that the States do not have the power to recall their Senators. Some might contend that it is premature to determine the enforceability of a State’s recall order before a ruling on it has ever been issued.

Due to its potential broader constitutional implications, the case also attracted the attention of the American Civil Rights Union. Peter Ferrara, General Counsel for the ACRU, recently sought approval from Silberstein and Luzzi to participate in the appeal as amicus curiae, and they were happy to oblige.

The ACRU was founded in 1998 by Robert B. Carleson, long time policy advisor to President Reagan, as a non-partisan, non-profit 501(C)(3), legal/educational policy organization dedicated to defending constitutional rights. Its policy board includes former US Attorney General Edwin Meese III; Pepperdine Law School Dean, Kenneth Starr; and former Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, William Bradford Reynolds, among many others. In addition to the public interest in this matter regarding the functioning of our democracy and the constitutional rights of the citizens of NJ, the ACRU also maintains that the recall of US Senators is a matter of broad, national public interest across the entire country. It plans to file a brief addressing the right of recall in NJ under the law of the state of NJ, the Constitution of NJ, and the US Constitution. For more information on the state’s provisions for recall, visit recallcongressnow.org

Oral arguments will be heard by Judges Stern, Graves, and Sabatino at 10:00am on Friday, February 26th in the Appellate Division courtroom in Trenton, NJ.

Follow NJ Recall Now, Sussex County Tea Party, or NJ Tea Parties United for more on this case.

Legal Contact:
Dan Silberstein, Esq.
Phone: (732) 388-8600, Email: dsilberstein@dpspc.com

Sussex County Tea Party Contact:
RoseAnn Salanitri, Founder (Branchville, NJ)
Phone: (973)948-8553, Email: roseann216@gmail.com

Attorneys for Respondents:
Paula Dow, Acting Attorney General of NJ, on behalf of respondents [former] Secretary of State and the Director of the Division of Elections

Angelo Genova, of Genova Burns and Marc Elias, of Perkins Coie, LLP, attorneys for Senator Robert Menendez

The Committee to Recall Robert Menendez from the Office of U.S. Senator v. Nina Mitchell Wells, Esq., Secretary of State, and Robert F. Giles, Director of the Division of Elections; Appellate Docket No. is A-2254-09 T1.

This Is What The Terrorists Did To Me -- And Why They Should Be Tried At Gitmo

President Obama finally listened to the outcry of New York, and is considering moving the trial of 9/11 terrorist Khalid Sheik Mohammed and other al Qaeda members out of the city, perhaps to Guantanamo Bay.

Finally, some wisdom.

It would be better there. It's military. They're not going to mess around. These dangerous terrorists will not be allowed to spread their hate, or hurt anyone else.

Nobody knows better than me.

I was a federal prison guard at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. In 2000, I was with a prisoner, Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, taking him back to his cell. His cellmate was Khalfan Khamis Mohamed. They were accused of bombing two embassies in Africa in 1998. Later they said that they worked with Osama bin Laden and that they helped set up al Qaeda.
We were back at their cell. It's only me and those two guys. No supervisors. Just the three of us. Somehow, they slipped out of their handcuffs.

They sprayed me with some kind of hot sauce. I couldn't see. They pulled me into the cell and hit me — boom, boom. They hit me so much, I swear to God, like a hundred times.

I hit my radio. I thought help would come.

They wanted the keys for the other prisoners, but they couldn't find them. They were in my front pocket. I used to be big, 300 pounds, and I was laying on them. I gave them my car keys.

About halfway through, they used a comb — thick and long, about 10 inches, with a handle. They'd taken the teeth out and sharpened it like a knife.

They put it in my left eye. It went three inches into my brain.

Nobody came. I kept calling and nothing. I was in there with them for an hour. It was f- - -ed up. With my blood, they made the sign of the cross on my chest because they thought I was dead. Finally, 12 guards came to my aid. They said they had the wrong keys.

When it was over, I got up and walked down toward the infirmary. I wanted to show them I could do it.

I thought I would go to a doctor right away. They kept me at the infirmary.
Finally, I was taken to Bellevue. I thought I was dead. I went into a coma.

They did surgery. I lost my left eye and suffered some brain damage. It was like I had a stroke. For two years, I couldn't speak. I couldn't write. I couldn't walk. My right eye is perfect — straight ahead. But I can't see to the side. It's like a horse with blinders.

It's better now. I have a gym in my apartment in Coney Island. I do 500 sit-ups a day. I have a speech therapist and a massage therapist. I get up at 3 in the morning, eat some breakfast, cereal and a banana. I can dress myself.

But for 10 years, I was pretty much in isolation. Now I can walk a little. I go to the boardwalk twice a day. I have a cellphone and sometimes talk to girls. I'm 52. I'd like to have a girlfriend, maybe a baby.

And I have my family — my mom, my sister. They're right here. I have a nice home.

I'm not really friends with the other guards. They know they messed up.

Do you know they never found the handcuffs for Salim? After the attack, his set was not there. They still don't know where the cuffs went 10 years later. It looks very stupid.

They won't give out the results of the investigation into the attack. I think there's something fishy.

I'm still afraid of Salim. When I was in the hospital, there were death threats. Salim wants to do something one more time.

These people want to kill and go to Allah and have 10 girls. That's just the way they are.
They want to become martyrs. They want jihad. They want to kill people. And that's all they want.

Federal prison officials are still naive. They give these terrorists toothbrushes, squirt bottles, items that can be used as weapons. Caught up by political correctness, they let them out of handcuffs to pray, leaving guards unprotected.

It's going to happen again — unless the trial gets moved to where it belongs, a military prison.

We don't need Khalid Sheik Mohammed in New York City. President Obama should do the right thing and keep him at Guantanamo Bay.

By LOUIS PEPE

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/this_they_what_gitmo_terrorists_YFcFeMXZOxAm4t9cJzTcMN#ixzz0eEkxbr7t

Recall Update

The recall petition submitted to the State to begin to take signatures was also sent to Senator Menendez last week (Friday) as requested by the Judge reviewing the appeal. This was only a notification to Senator Menendez that a request to begin taking signatures was submitted.

We are waiting for the determination from the Judge as to whether we can begin taking signatures. We may receive word as soon as next week to begin. The lawyers continue to submit any necessary paperwork to get the approval to proceed with the recall petition. Please realize that approval of the petition itself to collect signatures is what we are seeking. Once the approval is received to proceed we will call upon all of our members to collect signatures; the member groups of NJ Tea Parties United (statewide) will also collect signatures. Only when sufficient signatures are collected can the actual petition be submitted and a decision to remove Senator Menendez be sought.

Was it a coincidence that Senator Menendez after receiving the paperwork on Friday was all over the talk shows during the weekend? Perhaps or perhaps not….you be the judge.

America Rising - An Open Letter to Democrat Politicians