Open the Crown!

This would be great news. Now if they would just get rid of the over-the-top Wackenhut "security" we would be free to visit the Statue of Liberty again.

Boston Globe: Salazar may reopen Liberty's crown

NEW YORK - Interior Secretary Ken Salazar visited the Statue of Liberty yesterday and said he will consider reopening its crown, which has been off-limits to tourists since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"I hope we can find a way," Salazar said in a statement. "It would proclaim to the world - both figuratively and literally - that the path to the light of liberty is open to all."

Salazar traveled to the monument and nearby Ellis Island at the request of Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, who accompanied him.

Menendez and Senator Charles Schumer of New York, both Democrats, sponsored a bill in 2006 that would require the interior secretary to reopen the crown to the public. Salazar, as a Democratic senator from Colorado, introduced a similar amendment later that year as part of legislation to overhaul immigration laws.

The National Park Service opposes opening the crown to the public because the structure and the only staircase to it weren't designed for mass use.

Traitor Joe In His Own Words

He has lied and lied and lied repeatedly. He is no longer to be trusted. Sure he says he'll caucus with the Democrats, but he's made so many promises he's broken.

And as Jane Hamsher points out, he's abused the position of committee chairman:

While it's one thing for Obama to personally forgive Lieberman for the race baiting and other gutter tactics that he engaged in on McCain's behalf during the campaign, it's quite another to let the chairmanship of such an important committee, which Lieberman has used for years to prevent Senatorial investigation into no-bid contracts and contractor abuse within the Department of Homeland Security, to serve as an olive branch.

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Lieberman, many will recall, was responsible for holding hearings into the government's response to Hurricane Katrina. But after winning his 2006 election with the help of the GOP, he decided it would be too "divisive" and refused to do so.

Good governance is going to be about more than passing new legislation, it's going to be about cleaning up the mess that has been made over the past 8 years. It's going to be about weeding out the graft and greed and corruption that has caused American taxpayers to foot the bill for outrageous deficits. The military industrial complex has been bilking the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security with no-bid contracts for things nobody needs that we're not allowed to know about for years now. The only way we're going to find out about these abuses, and right then, is if our elected officials accept that responsibility.

Not only is Joe Lieberman not doing that job, as Chairman of the Department of Homeland Security Committee he's keeping anyone else from doing it. He happily allowed a seat on the Homeland Security Advisory Council to be doled out as political patronage to a corrupt Bush Pioneer. He has no interest in cleaning up the mess he helped to make.

Is his continued happiness worth the cost of healthcare? Of the environment? Of putting Americans back to work? Of reducing our dependence on oil and getting the economy back on its feet?

Allowing Lieberman to retain control of a committee where he has done nothing but suppress meaningful oversight is going to be an awfully bitter pill to swallow when we're told that the price of "change" we all thought we were voting for is going to be too high.

Factory Pig Farm in Suburban Massachusetts

I'd put a picture of a pig farm here but that would PUT THE NATION AT RISK!!!!!!!!!!!!

Boston Globe: Soo-wee! ...... Phooey!
Sick of pig farm stench, Tewksbury group seeks law

900 pigs is not a family farm. This factory farm has a 500,000 gallon manure pit.

The funniest part of the story is this:

Stranger still, the exact number of pigs at the farm is apparently a poorly-kept secret. Making that figure public jeopardizes national security, state and local officials have said.

National security? Yes, the farm and state officials refuse to release the exact number of pigs on the stinky farm because information about our food supply is a state secret! They let the farm expand illegally then approved it retroactively. The whole thing smells to high heaven:

[T]hree years ago, [pig farm opponent David Powers] said, the pig stench went from bad to unbearable when Krochmal Farm expanded its pig operation before they had legal permission to do so.

It became "horrific, like the bottom of a dumpster," Powers said. "I don't think a factory farm should be in a suburban Boston neighborhood."

Powers has pieced together information about the farm, using public records searches and satellite maps. If that seems like spying, it is. Local health officials refuse to give information about the number of pigs on Krochmal Farm, saying to release that information violates Homeland Security rules protecting the secrecy of the nation's food supply.

Clement did confirm that the farm underwent an unauthorized expansion, which was approved by local officials because the building was deemed sound.

"Basically they built a new pig barn . . . without the necessary approval or building permits," she said.

That angered neighbors, and the town ultimately fined the Cave family for building the barn without proper construction permits. Powers said was deeply disturbing to think that the town's pig farms could expand without public notice.

More than 300 people signed a petition in favor of the new pig regulations that would penalize pig farmers who threaten the environment and quality of life. Of particular concern is whether manure runoff from the farm will seep into wetlands.

"Everybody knew there was a pig farm" in the neighborhood when they moved in, Powers said. "Nobody knew they would turn it into a factory farm."

Some moronic state official calls the factory farm "state of the art". State of the corporate farm, maybe, not so great for the neighbors, or the pigs (a 500,000 manure pit must be worse when you live next to it.)

It's a view state officials have little sympathy for. Scott Soares, assistant commissioner of agricultural resources, said the Krochmal pig barn is "state of the art." Neighbors should have questioned whether the pig population would rise before moving there, he said.

Yes, a state official says that neighbors should have assumed that the farm would expand illegally and the state would retroactively approve the lawbreaking. Lawlessness must be expected in modern corporate America.

More at TewksburyOdor.com

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer: No to the "Real ID"

I'm a big fan of Montana governor Brian Schweitzer and think he has a future in national Democratic politics. He's certainly right that the Real ID is "a major threat to the privacy, constitutional rights, and pocketbooks of ordinary [Americans]." (His letter, pdf file)

Wired: Montana Governor Foments Real ID Rebellion

Montana governor Brian Schweitzer (D) declared independence Friday from federal identification rules and called on governors of 17 other states to join him in forcing a showdown with the federal government which says it will not accept the driver's licenses of rebel states' citizens starting May 11.

If that showdown comes to pass, a resident of a non-complying state could not use a driver's license to enter a federal courthouse or a Social Security Administration building nor could he board a plane without undergoing a pat-down search, possibly creating massive backlogs at the nation's airports and almost certainly leading to a flurry of federal lawsuits.

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In his letter (.pdf) to other governors, Schweitzer makes clear he's not going to ask for an extension.

"Today, I am asking you to join with me in resisting the DHS coercion to comply with the provisions of REAL ID, " Schweitzer wrote. "If we stand together either DHS will blink or Congress will have to act to avoid havoc at our nation's airports and federal courthouses."

I'm Less of a Threat

UnrealID.com
So why do I keep having to take off my shoes in airports?

Yesterday Michael (Skeletor) Chertoff announced the next federal step towards a national ID (called "Real ID", like my passport isn't a real ID. Please.). States have until May 31 to agree to go along with the federal rules for IDs that would be necessary a) to get into federal buildings, and b) to fly. But there are different compliance dates, based on the age of the person to whom the license is being issued. Why is this?

The schedule released Friday calls for compliant licenses for everyone under 50 by May 11, 2014, and for those 50 and over, by Dec. 1, 2017.

The Homeland Security Department decided this would lower costs, according to Mr. Chertoff. He called it “risk management,” saying older people were less likely to be terrorists.

So, again I ask, if I'm less likely to be a terrorist, why am I taking my shoes off in airports?

This is just spinning their wheels. Nothing gets done before Bush leaves office, and the national ID is deeply unpopular. Hopefully a Democratic president will scuttle this waste of money. It reminds me of Nazi Germany: Papers, please? Or Casablanca and the letters of transit. No one will be able to travel without a Real ID, and the black market for counterfeit IDs will become even more lucrative.

Action Alert: Stop the National ID Card

UnrealID.com: Papers, Please!
We have less than two days to stop a national ID card from becoming reality.

The US Senate is trying to force states to adopt a National ID card: it's time to stop them. As part the debate on immigration legislation, the states will be forced to become REAL ID compliant.

States have strongly resisted this unfunded federal mandate – one that the Department of Homeland Security expects to cost more that $23 billion or almost $100 per license holder. Seventeen states have said 'no' to REAL ID – labeling it invasive, un-American, costly and an invitation to identity theft. They know it will force citizens to stand in long lines for licenses and endure numerous hassles looking for documents like birth certificates.

Now instead of listening to the states, the US Senate is trying to force them to comply through the back door. As part of immigration legislation being considered next week in the Senate, an employment verification system will be created that requires everyone to have a REAL ID in order to get a job.

There is still hope. There are two amendments that will remove REAL ID from the Senate immigration bill: take action now.

>> Click Here to Fax your Senators...

hat tip to Boing Boing.

'The Great Sippy Cup Anti-Massacre Movement'

The Pitched Battle in the War on Moisture has metastasized.

TSA was ticked off and posted video of the incident (sans sound) on its website. Great use of those taxpayer dollars to fight terrorism. They claim the Mom whipped out her Secret Service ID and wanted special treatment. Well, you've got to treat those Secret Service agents cleverly carrying toddlers (that kid could totally be an Iraqi IED, or stuffed with C5; heck, he could be Osama bin Laden, shrunken by Talibani scientists) like terrorists. Make sure to rough up the grandmas and grandpas, and the folks in wheelchairs, too. That will keep us all safe.

The Washington Post wrote it up:

WaPo (Sat. 6/16): Sippy Cup Spill Sparks Tiff at National Airport
TSA Uses Web to Counter Mother's Allegation of Improper Detention

Bloggers who still think TSA's War Against Moisture is inane have launched a popular movement:

Albatross!: The Sippy Cup Anti-Massacre Movement

It's simple. Buy a sippy cup. Leave it in its packaging so it is totally harmless and beyond suspicion. Every time you take a commercial flight, carry the cup through security and on to the plane. That's it.

Dohiyi Mir: Sippers Of The World: Unite!

I personally plan to have a sippy cup with me on every flight from now on. The War on Moisture is a huge waste of money and time.

Pitched Battle in the War on Moisture

A former Secret Service agent carrying a toddler and a sippy cup filled with water are heroically foiled by vigilant TSA agents. You've got to read this story to believe it. This mom was "detained, harassed, [and] threatened with arrest", all while trying to keep a 19-month-old calm, all over a few ounces of water in a sippy cup.

How long before our long national nightmare of ridiculous security procedures that don't keep anybody safe are over?

nowpublic: Nightmare at Reagan National Airport: A Security Story to End all Security Stories

hat tip to Boing Boing

Homeland Security: Tearing Nursing Babies From Their Mothers' Arms

An employee cries outside the Michael Bianco Inc. textiles plant in New Bedford, Mass., Tuesday, March 6, 2007. About two thirds of the company's 500 employees were detained by immigration officials on suspicion of being in the U.S. illegally. The sweep caused chaos which saw some workers try to flee, only to be turned back by the bitter cold, said Bruce Foucart, Customs Enforcement Special Agent in Charge. (AP Photo/Peter Pereira-The New Bedford Standard Times)
Yesterday Homeland Security arrested allegedly illegal immigrant workers (mostly women) in New Bedford, Mass. and, presuming them guilty, shipped dozens of them to Texas, without any apparent thought to what would happen to their children. Two nursing babies were hospitalized for dehydration. Babies! What is wrong with these zealots?

[Massachusetts Governor] Patrick, at a press conference, and later in a private conference call with Homeland Security officials, protested the decision to fly 90 of the detained workers from Massachusetts to Harlingen, Texas, before state social workers had a chance to inquire about their child-care needs, potentially leaving many children with inadequate care. Two young children were hospitalized yesterday for dehydration after their nursing mothers were taken away, state officials said. Another 7-year-old girl called a state hot line seeking her detained mother. It was unclear last night where their mothers were.

Of course, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division of DHS, which carried out the raids, is led by the unqualified, crony appointee, Julie Myers, who is both daughter of former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard B. Myers, and wife of the chief of staff for Homeland Security's criminally incompetent Michael Chertoff. Nice work, Heckuva-Jobbers.

What do you think happened to the owners, who were breaking the law by employing illegal immigrants, creating fraudulent documents for those workers, making profits, and defrauding the federal government which had contracted with them to make vests for soldiers? You got it if you guessed they were charged, made bail, and released to spend the night at home in the comfy houses with their families.

"HAS ANYONE seen my wife? She left for work yesterday and never came home. Our newborn baby is hungry and crying. Can someone please help?" asks a young father in the basement of a crowded church, one clear voice above the din of the hundreds gathered. The fear is palpable in the young man's eyes. He implores the listener to offer solace, hope, and encouragement.

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On Tuesday, more than 500 armed homeland security officers descended upon Michael Blanco Inc. The owner of the factory, and a few of his senior staff, were arrested for hiring undocumented workers and creating false documents. They were out on bail and home with their families that night.

Approximately 350 employees, mostly mothers with young children, were swept up in the raid, shackled together in groups of three by their wrists and ankles and marched to buses bound for Fort Devens, 100 miles away. Without any legal representation or due process, these workers were asked for their immigration documentation and encouraged by immigration officers to choose voluntary deportation regardless of whether an immigration application was in process.