Barack Obama directed criticism at Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin in Terre Haute, Idiana yesterday, remarking on her statement that she now says she is against earmarks when she has previously always embraced them.
"I know the governor of Alaska has been saying she's change, and that's great," Obama said. "She's a skillful politician. But, you know, when you've been taking all these earmarks when it's convenient, and then suddenly you're the champion anti-earmark person, that's not change. Come on! I mean, words mean something, you can't just make stuff up."
McCain has vowed to wipe out earmarks, which are targeted funding for specific projects that lawmakers put into spending bills. As governor, Palin originally supported earmarks for a controversial Alaska project dubbed the "bridge to nowhere." But she dropped her support after the state's likely share of the cost rose. She hung onto $27 million to build the approach road to the bridge.
McCain has acknowledged voting with President Bush 90 percent of the time in Congress, Obama said.
"And suddenly he's the change agent? Ha. He says, 'I'm going to tell those lobbyists that their days of running Washington are over.' Who is he going to tell? Is he going to tell his campaign chairman, who's one of the biggest corporate lobbyists in Washington? Is he going to tell his campaign manager, who was one of the biggest corporate lobbyists in Washington?"
"I mean, come on, they must think you're stupid," Obama said as the crowd laughed and cheered.
Obama's statements were not long and drawn out but they certainly got right to the point, didn't they?
How dare Palin say she is against earmarks, when she has been their biggest proponent in her short but seedy history as an Alaskan "politician"?... And McCain knows no shame - how can he possibly be saying he wants to "wipe out earmarks", when his own campaign manager is, as Obama said, the biggest corporate lobbyist there is?!!
These people are really running a snow job...
And hey, what's up with the new hot pink cast on Cindy McCain's right arm? How did she break her arm? Beating her husband off Palin???
And that outfit!!! I must say, it certainly does make her look just like what John McCain called her! (I am referring to the "Trollop" word...)
Here are the McCains at Albuquerque, NM yesterday... (Like the color coordination? I'm not sure, but I think she may have been trying to dress "ethnically" (New Mexico=Mexican, get it? Red and green like the Mexican flag??? HUH???) Her taste leaves very much to be desired - I guess when you have that much money, you get confused??
Here's the questionable Palin nude photo - they say it's a fake. But is it?
And here's the new Caribou Barbie Doll with accessories...
Why We Were Falsely Arrested By Amy Goodman
Current mood: angry
Category: News and Politics
Thanks very much, Lo at Dandelion Salad, for sharing this article by Amy Goodman from Democracy Now, who along with 2 of her producers, was illegally arrested at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN., and thank you very much, Ms. Goodman, for your fine journalist work over the years.
I absolutely love and totally admire and respect Amy Goodman for the job she is doing in getting the real truth out. In my opinion, she is the best in her field. There is no way she should have been arrested, nor should the other 2 Democracy Now workers. I hope she is able to expose this blatant abuse for what it is and put the stop on it. The charges of "planning to incite to riot" are ridiculous. Peaceful protest is NOT rioting!!! And has nothing to do with "terrorism". Defending our own country and our own constitution is NOT TERRORISM!!!
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Government crackdowns on journalists are a true threat to democracy. As the Republican National Convention meets in St. Paul, Minn., this week, police are systematically targeting journalists. I was arrested with my two colleagues, "Democracy Now!" producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar, while reporting on the first day of the RNC. I have been wrongly charged with a misdemeanor. My co-workers, who were simply reporting, may be charged with felony riot.
The Democratic and Republican national conventions have become very expensive and protracted acts of political theater, essentially four-day-long advertisements for the major presidential candidates. Outside the fences, they have become major gatherings for grass-roots movements - for people to come, amidst the banners, bunting, flags and confetti, to express the rights enumerated in the Constitution's First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
Behind all the patriotic hyperbole that accompanies the conventions, and the thousands of journalists and media workers who arrive to cover the staged events, there are serious violations of the basic right of freedom of the press. Here on the streets of St. Paul, the press is free to report on the official proceedings of the RNC, but not to report on the police violence and mass arrests directed at those who have come to petition their government, to protest.
It was Labor Day, and there was an anti-war march, with a huge turnout, with local families, students, veterans and people from around the country gathered to oppose the war. The protesters greatly outnumbered the Republican delegates.
There was a positive, festive feeling, coupled with a growing anxiety about the course that Hurricane Gustav was taking, and whether New Orleans would be devastated anew. Later in the day, there was a splinter march. The police-clad in full body armor, with helmets, face shields, batons and canisters of pepper spray-charged. They forced marchers, onlookers and working journalists into a nearby parking lot, then surrounded the people and began handcuffing them.
Nicole was videotaping. Her tape of her own violent arrest is chilling. Police in riot gear charged her, yelling, "Get down on your face." You hear her voice, clearly and repeatedly announcing "Press! Press! Where are we supposed to go?" She was trapped between parked cars. The camera drops to the pavement amidst Nicole's screams of pain. Her face was smashed into the pavement, and she was bleeding from the nose, with the heavy officer with a boot or knee on her back. Another officer was pulling on her leg. Sharif was thrown up against the wall and kicked in the chest, and he was bleeding from his arm.
I was at the Xcel Center on the convention floor, interviewing delegates. I had just made it to the Minnesota delegation when I got a call on my cell phone with news that Sharif and Nicole were being bloody arrested, in every sense. Filmmaker Rick Rowley of Big Noise Films and I raced on foot to the scene. Out of breath, we arrived at the parking lot. I went up to the line of riot police and asked to speak to a commanding officer, saying that they had arrested accredited journalists.
Within seconds, they grabbed me, pulled me behind the police line and forcibly twisted my arms behind my back and handcuffed me, the rigid plastic cuffs digging into my wrists. I saw Sharif, his arm bloody, his credentials hanging from his neck. I repeated we were accredited journalists, whereupon a Secret Service agent came over and ripped my convention credential from my neck. I was taken to the St. Paul police garage where cages were set up for protesters. I was charged with obstruction of a peace officer. Nicole and Sharif were taken to jail, facing riot charges.
The attack on and arrest of me and the "Democracy Now!" producers was not an isolated event. A video group called I-Witness Video was raided two days earlier. Another video documentary group, the Glass Bead Collective, was detained, with its computers and video cameras confiscated. On Wednesday, I-Witness Video was again raided, forced out of its office location. When I asked St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington how reporters are to operate in this atmosphere, he suggested, "By embedding reporters in our mobile field force."
On Monday night, hours after we were arrested, after much public outcry, Nicole, Sharif and I were released. That was our Labor Day. It's all in a day's work.
Amy Goodman is the host of "Democracy Now!," a daily international TV/radio news hour airing on more than 700 stations in North America.
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(Thanks very much, LO, for sharing this article by Amy Goodman.)
Note from MagicStarER:
Police State tactics seem to be getting worse and worse. Where journalists/reporters who are reporting the truth are now being harassed, arrested, and jailed! This is a sure proof that we are living in a FASCISM.
We were already aware that MSM is censored and controlled. All Americans are under surveillance. What more proof do we need?
People better start waking up and real fast.
Although it is probably already too late. Obama and McCain will run the same agenda when elected. And yes, it is a shame that Libertarians and Progressives can not find some middle ground. It should not be that hard. You Libertarians: would you rather spend money on weapons and wars? Or would you rather spend it on infrastructure and social and educational programs here in our own country to better our quality of life for all?
Money for social programs would not be a problem if they would quit stealing and misspending it!!!
A Kucinich/Paul ticket would have been the Dream Ticket - they themselves even discussed it… But Americans refused to educate themselves, and refused to listen to the truth. Now they will pay with more wars, more police state, more economic woes, no healthcare, no jobs, a destroyed constitution, homelessness, and maybe even with martial law and concentration camps.
I think we ought to divide the country up and let the neo-cons have their own area to plunder and destroy so they will leave the rest of us alone to live in peace and freedom…
And here's the usual action link:
Go sign this letter right now! Demand that press intimidation cease immediately and that all charges be dropped. Your message will be delivered to:
* St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman
* Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner
* St. Paul City Attorney John Choi
* Host Committee of the Republican National Convention
(Latest Update 8/27/08) Evil On My Doorstep: How Could Anyone Do Something So Cruel?
Current mood: sick
Category: Pets and Animals
Evil On My Doorstep (With sickening update 8/16/08)
This is not my kitten "Little Bitty", but looks just like he did...
August 15, 1:00 AM
Something happened earlier this evening which has shocked and horrified me immeasurably, and which I still find hard to even believe, the magnitude of its evil is so outrageous...
I have a Mama Bobtail Black Calico cat out here that befriended me about a year ago, she was so skinny she looked like a skeleton and was completely wild - I could not get within 200 feet of her. Since then, she has decided to adopt me and has become very tame and friendly - She has become fat and glossy and is a beautiful cat now! Her name is Bella... Four weeks ago Bella had 5 tiny little kittens. They were all orange tabbies. Four were bobtails like her (no tails!), and one has a tail, all males.
They were born on my porch, and I was present, standing by to catch them and clean their precious tiny little noses. They are now about 4 weeks old, and have been living in a wicker laundry basket with a soft blankie inside and a thicker one covering the top of it, on my front porch, which I thought was safe, until tonight... They have learned how to walk and now are able to walk around on the porch for short distances and go up and down the steps. But they are way too little to venture farther than the bottom step...
They are so tiny and cute! Such precious little things! Cute as buttons! But so tiny they don't even know how to meow good yet...
Earlier this evening at about 9:45 pm I opened the living room door onto the porch to let my little dog out to use the bathroom before going to bed. When I opened my door, I saw something orange laying there on the doorstep, right at my feet. It took a minute for it to register in my mind what I was seeing....
It was one of my precious little kittens (the prettiest one, "Little Bitty", the one with the swirly designs in its fur!) laying supine in front of me, and the reason it took so long for my mind to grasp what was so wrong about it, was that the kitten no longer had a head. Its head had been completely torn off and severed.
The first thing that came to my mind is that the neighbor's puppy must have gotten ahold of it and used the poor little thing as a chew-toy (puppies have been known to do this) But when I looked the little body over, I quickly saw that it was completely dry - no dog slobber on it, no tooth or chew marks, and no blood...
That's when I realized, with nauseated shock, that this was done by human hands, and when I remembered, with sick understanding, that 10 minutes before, I had heard a thud at the door. It must have been when whoever did this horrific thing threw the body of the kitten at our door...
This perverted, warped, and disgusting piece of insane unhumanity was therefore out on our doorstep enacting this cruel and unbelievably heinous deed right there outside at the foot of our steps, about 12 feet away from where we were sitting in the living room talking, and we did not even know it...
There have been many reports of vandalism and breakings into of houses in our little country neighborhood in the past weeks. There are 3 teenaged boys who ride around on their bikes in the evenings all around the neighborhood. My neighbor next door had their mailbox pulled out of the ground and thrown in the ditch across the road, another neighbor reports that the lock to the gate of her fenced-in pool area was broken into. Windows have been broken and holes shot in them. The grocery store 1/4 of a mile down the road from us was broken into and robbed about 5 days ago. And many other reports of vandalism and mischief...
But this one really takes the cake...
For boldness, for one thing. Our lights were on, both cars were here, our television was on and could be heard.
And this disgusting piece of shit was out there catching this poor helpless little baby creature that could barely even walk yet, and twisting its neck and pulling its head off, then throwing its lifeless body at our door. And all while we were sitting 12 foot away...
This has really freaked me out and there is no way I will be able to sleep for I don't know how long. Thinking that the person who did this is probably out there wanting to do this again, or maybe do something even worse. I am afraid to go to sleep. I am afraid to let my little dog outside unaccompanied anymore, for fear the same will happen to her...
I did call the police to let them know about this. They were supposed to call back. Now, I really HATE to call the police, but I figured this was something they should know about, and hopefully they will catch whoever is responsible for all the disturbances in our neighborhood, but I have been waiting for 3 hours now and they have STILL not bothered to call back!
It was too dark to bury the kitten so I had to put it in a box and will bury it in the morning. It has not rained here for a while now and the ground is hard...
This has made me physically ILL..
We live out in the country by a tiny little town that is unincorporated, lucky if there are 150 people here - and they are all spread out; there really is no town here. All there is, are a grocery store, a gas station, and a fire department. That's it.
I have never felt unsafe here. We never even locked our doors out here, it is that safe and uneventful here. But not anymore...
I don't feel safe here at all anymore...
Is there nowhere you can go to get away from the evil?
Comments?
I am freaked out. I never had anything like this happen to me before. We have had a lot of trouble with teenagers in this area being satan-worshippers and satanic rituals involving animals, which really scares me. I have seen these kids back and forth on their bikes coming in and out of the graveyard behind our house. (Yes, there is a cemetery right out here in back of our house-but it does not bother us at all - they can't hurt anybody anymore! I never even think about that part...)
How could anyone do something like this? Something this evil and cruel? I am in shock...
This is about the size of my little kittens, but mine are a little smaller even...
I am almost in tears as I finish writing this. The poor little thing. What could he possibly have done to deserve this?
What the hell is WRONG with people???
R.I.P, poor Little Bitty Poor little baby...
Sickening update 8/16/08:
This morning I got up at 7:30 am and went and opened the front door to let my dog out and immediately noticed that there was a small white box right in front of my line of vision, at the end of our sidewalk. I'm thinking "NOW what..." A booby trap or some other kind of mischief???
I walked to the end of the sidewalk to look at the box. I recognized it right away as the box I had put the poor little decapitated kitten into after I found him on my doorstep. I had not buried the kitten yet, I wanted to show him to the police and take pictures of him for evidence. I had put the kitten into the box after I found him the night before last with his head pulled off, and set it in the back of the pickup truck way up on top of a bunch of stuff piled up in the truck bed.
I opened the box. It was empty.
I immediately then went to look for my 3 remaining kittens. I went to their little sleeping place and saw THE REAR HALF OF A SAWED OFF KITTEN BODY laying there in the hidey spot in the center of the bush where the kittens sleep. I'm like OH NO they got another one!!! I could only find TWO KITTENS!
I'm thinking - well, they took the dead one from the box and then killed another one and chopped it in half and left it there where the other little kittens sleep. How morbid! Putting a mutilated kitten body in where its little siblings sleep and them having to see and be near it. How sick!!!
I came into the house right away to call the Sheriff Dept. AGAIN! THIS time they did send a deputy out to see the kitten body and take a report...
Before the sheriff got here I found the 3rd kitten. So, thank goodness, this half a kitten body did NOT belong to one of the still living 3 that I had. THANK GOD!
This is what they did:
They took the already decapitated kitten's dead body from the box off the truck, further mutilated it by slicing the kitten's stomach open and removing its entrails (field dressing-like), then chopped its body in half and left the rear half of the kitten's mutilated body in the nest with its siblings. They then set the kitten's box at the end of the sidewalk where I would be sure to see it when I came out the door this morning.
This is getting too dam sick and weird for me.
The sheriff's answer? They will put out some "extra patrols" in this neighborhood. What the hell good is THAT going to do?
I am going to set the kitten's box back up in the truck bed with a pic of a person choking a kitten, and stick a 30-30 shell through the paper with a note attached to it saying: "We have 8 more boxes of these in the house and every one of them has your name written on it: 4 THE CAT KILLER!"
It's like this person is doing these things to make sure we find it, they're probably off in the bushes around a corner somewhere filming it or taking pictures they can get a hard on over later and gloat over. This is getting just way far too bizarre and morbid for my taste.
I am getting really f-ing FREAKED by this now...
Latest Update: (8/27/08)
There have been no further incidences of vandalisms nor disturbances here - I think it is probably due to the fact that the police have been here 6 times in the last couple of weeks and at different times of the day. The police have been true to their word and have stepped up the patrols on this road. I have been seeing them at night driving through slowly with spotlights on.
I believe this has scared the perpetrator(s) off and they are afraid they will be caught...
The kittens are growing fast and are at that really cute age where they have learned now how to play - They are weaned and eating on their own, and are just about old enough to climb trees! They won't be bothered anymore, I'm quite sure!
They are adorable! 2 little bobtails and one with a tail...
Anybody want one? :) They need good homes where they will be properly taken care of!
Then that will make room for new ones I rescue! We have a lot of dump-jobs here and they all seem to end up on my doorstep... I won't take them to the local shelter because they are a kill-shelter and they euthanize them as soon as you leave... I won't do that! It is not their fault they were born! They deserve to live!
Now this really makes me angry. Because just yesterday I received the answer back regarding a petition I recently signed which was directed to Sen. Mitch McConnell urging him to support the Consumer First Energy Act ( S. 3044 ) which would impose a windfall profits tax on oil company profits, repeal incentives for domestic energy exploration, and subject gasoline retailers to increased price-gouging penalties. It would also authorize the US Justice Dept. to apply U.S. Antitrust Laws to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and address speculation in the oil futures market.
He wrote back to tell me that he opposed this bill and supports one which will pay for building more refineries, more drilling in off limit areas, and more conservation (which is an oxymoron!!!) as well as support and promote coal-to-liquid fuels. He also supports more hybrid vehicles. Which is all totally the opposite of what should be done and is obviously done to further his own personal oil interests.
Now I don't know about you, but this really makes me mad. Because they are LYING about their own personal oil interests - keeping gas prices elevated and keeping their own profits exorbitantly high.
I found this site today, where you can find out what interests your own state Representatives and/or Senator(s) have in the oil industry and how it is benefitting them to keep voting in the best interest of oil corporations.
I highly recommend that you go to this website and find out what your own elected officials are doing. And please send them the letter provided on this site along with your own comments, telling them what you think of their profits from the oil companies and their traitorous votes.
Senator Obama has joined the list of other Senators supporting a windfall profits tax. This week he called for an immediate $1,000 "energy rebate" to U.S. families, paid for with higher taxes on oil company profits.
This idea will help us all immediately, and also start the long process of shifting us away from our oil dependence. But the oil industry pays a lot of money to a lot of politicians, and likes things the way they are. So we have to remind our representatives that they need to work for regular Americans, no matter who is sending them big checks.
In response, TrueMajority has set up easy online tool that shows exactly how much money YOUR members of Congress get from the oil industry. Tell your legislator that you've seen the facts, and it's time for them to show whose side they are on: create the energy rebate for American families by making big oil pay it's fair share.
Here is a copy of the letter I sent my elected officials (the ones listed at the top of this page - I admit I got a little carried away, may as well fit everything in one letter - sorry but I got really angry when I saw how their votes are benefitting them):
Here is the letter:
"I know the facts about how much you take from oil and gas companies.
It's time for you to show whose side you're on: create the energy rebate for American families by making big oil pay it is fair share.
------------------------------------
I recently signed a petition asking you to vote for a bill to make big oil corporations pay taxes on their exorbitant earnings which are in the double-digit billions, while Americans are struggling to put food on their tables, going without health care, and unable to make their mortgage payments. You made excuses for why you would not do this. Saying it would put "undue pressure" on the corporations. This is an unacceptable response.
You should be voting to fund alternative energy and not molly-coddling the oil corporations.
You continue to ok funding for the illegal war being waged in Iraq, paying for the construction of detainment camps all over the US, more prisons, paying for private corporations like Blackwater which are not answerable to the American People, paying private prison corporations like CCA (with OUR money!!) to lock up immigrant detainees for months or years on end instead of immediately deporting them, military and riot control training in other countries, (ie: Mexico???) but will not authorize funding for health care, for housing, nor for desperately needed infrastructure in this country.
Be aware that I am watching your votes. And that I am making sure other people know how you are voting also. The American People are sick and tired of our Constitution being subverted and trashed and our rights being taken away. We are not going to put up with it any longer.
Now I find out how much you, yourself, are profiting by voting to benefit big oil corporations. You are a sham. You are supposed to be representing your constituents, the American People. Now I find you only represent your own interests.
I plan on disseminating this information, and letting people know where the elected representatives of the state of KY stand - they represent big corporations and NOT the people of Kentucky.
You have also voted for telecom immunity, illegal wiretapping and spying on the phone conversations and internet usage of Americans, and voted for the Patriot Act which is in direct opposition to the US Constitution. Not to mention voting against habeas corpus and the right to a fair trial and legal representation for Americans arrested and accused of terrorism. This is against the US Constitution.
You took an oath to defend the US Constitution, and you are NOT doing it.
You have also voted against impeachment hearings for Bush and Cheney. This also is in direct opposition to the US Constitution and you are subverting the rule of law of this country.
The Bush Administration has established a dangerous precedent of imperial executive branch powers which violate the US Constitution and our system of checks and balances.
Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, Mukasey, Tenet, Rove, and others, have all been implicated in authorizing torture, which is against the law in the US, and is also a war crime and against international laws. They have admitted to doing this, and they must be impeached and prosecuted. The Bush Administration has also authorized the use of Depleted Uranium in Afghanistan and Iraq, which is OMNICIDE!! It is said that Bush/Cheney et al, were CONVICTED of War Crimes and Omnicide by the Afghanistan International War Crimes Tribunal in Tokyo in 2004.
And to top it all off, BABIES and CHILDREN are being locked up in PRISONS (immigrant detainment centers like T. Don Hutto and others) In THIS country! In America! And you are using OUR tax money to do this.
SHAME on you!!!
I never thought I would live to see the day when the US would imprison BABIES and CHILDREN!!! This is a horrific civil rights violation of such a magnitude that not even the most barbaric of countries does this!
You have made me hang my head in SHAME to be an American with your failure to defend the Constitution and the American People!!!
This is the most SHAMEFUL administration EVER in the history of this free country, and you are doing nothing to stop it. Our Constitution has been trashed, our economy and our country have been DESTROYED, and our image as a free country and a beacon for democracy and civil rights to the rest of the world has been turned into SHAME.
I am ASHAMED of my country and what this Administration has done. And YOU have done nothing to stop it. You are just as responsible as they are for the criminal acts that have been performed by this Administration.
If you truly represent the people who elected you and who trusted that you would represent their interests and defend the Constitution, then it is time you started doing the job we elected you to do or start packing your bags."
You are welcome to copy and use this letter and send it to your own representatives. Or write your own. But let them know that you know what they are doing....
Here is where to go to find out how much they are profitting from the oil industry in your state and where to send them a letter:
ACLU Challenges Illegal Detention of Immigrant Children Held in Prison-Like Conditions (3/6/2007)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: media@aclu.org
Lawsuits Ask That Children and Their Families be Released From Texas Facility Under Appropriate and Humane Supervision
AUSTIN, TX - The American Civil Liberties Union today filed lawsuits on behalf of ten immigrant children, ages 3 to 16, challenging their illegal detention at the T. Don Hutto facility in Taylor, Texas.
The lawsuits, which charge that these children are being imprisoned under inhumane conditions while their parents await immigration decisions, were filed against Michael Chertoff, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as well as six officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The ACLU brought the lawsuits along with the ACLU of Texas, the University of Texas School of Law Immigration Clinic and the international law firm of LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP. The families represented come from countries including Lithuania, Canada, Haiti, Honduras, Somalia, and Guyana, and many have fled dangerous situations and are seeking asylum in the United States.
"There is simply no justification for imprisoning innocent children who pose no threat to anyone," said Vanita Gupta, a staff attorney with the ACLU's Racial Justice Program. "This is an affront to our core values as a nation. We need practical, realistic immigration policy, not draconian methods that are harming vulnerable kids."
The lawsuits charge that by operating the Hutto facility, ICE violates its duty to meet the minimum standards and conditions for the housing and release of all minors in federal immigration custody set forth in a 1997 settlement agreement in the case of Flores v. Meese. Recognizing the vulnerability of children, that settlement established that children should generally be released promptly to family members when possible, that those who do remain in ICE's custody be placed in the least restrictive setting available, and that regardless of where minors are housed, they be guaranteed basic educational, health, and social benefits and rights.
"ICE fails miserably to meet the required standards by placing children at Hutto," said Barbara Hines, Clinical Professor of Law with the University of Texas School of Law Immigration Clinic. "These children, who can safely be released with their families under reasonable supervision, are basically imprisoned under conditions that do not meet generally accepted child welfare and juvenile justice standards. It is truly a disgrace."
Approximately 400 people are currently detained in Hutto, half of them children, and many of them are refugees seeking political asylum. What ICE calls a "Family Residential Facility" is in fact a converted medium-security prison that is still functionally and structurally a prison. Children are required to wear prison garb, receive only one hour of recreation a day, Monday through Friday, and some children did not go outdoors in the fresh air the whole month of December, 2006, according to legal papers filed today. They are detained in small cells for 11-12 hours each day where they cannot keep food and toys and they have no privacy, even when using the toilet.
Despite their urgent needs, many children lack access to adequate medical, dental, and mental health treatment, and are denied meaningful educational opportunities. Guards frequently discipline children by threatening to separate them permanently from their parents, and children are prohibited from having contact visits with non-detained family members.
According to 16-year-old Egle Baubonyte, a Lithuanian girl being held at Hutto with her mother and sister, "Conditions for little kids or even babies are really bad. There's no pediatrician. Nurses don't care about if babies are sick. They treat us like we're nothing."
In 2005 and 2006, Congress directed DHS to keep immigrant families together, either by releasing them or using alternatives to detention. If detention is necessary, Congress said immigrant families should be housed in non-penal, homelike environments.
"While keeping families together is a laudable goal, there is nothing about Hutto that one can call non-penal or homelike. ICE claims that it opened Hutto to keep families together, but imprisoning families this way cannot be what Congress had in mind," said Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU.
The lawsuits seek the release of the detained children and their families under reasonable conditions of supervision, and ask that the government be prohibited from separating the children from their parents.
"The choice is not between enforcement of immigration laws and humane treatment of immigrant families. There are various alternatives under which both can exist," said Lisa Graybill, Legal Director of the ACLU of Texas.
Copies of the complaints, client profiles, and related materials are available online at: www.aclu.org/hutto
ICE is currently accepting bids for contracts to construct three new privately run family detention centers, despite past controversies over Taylor, TX family detention center T. Don Hutto Residential Center. Several reports speculated that one of these proposed centers might be in Raymondville, Texas this month.
In January 2008, when we visited Raymondville, we talked with individuals who implied that there were plans for the Willacy County Processing Center, would expand its facility to possibly house detained families. The detention center, also known as Tent City, is the largest detention center in the country and is operated by the company MTC.
The back story of the construction of the Willacy County Processing Center is a complicated story in itself.
The Business of Detention The trail of money leads to CCA - how the nation's largest private prison company had partnered with the federal government to detain close to a million undocumented immigrants until they were deported, and in the process fill their empty beds and increase revenue. CCA now has close to 10,000 new beds under development in anticipation of continued demand www.businessofdetention.com
Tent City expansion near done
The Brownsville Herald reported "the $111 million Willacy County Detention Center's inmate count has soared as construction crews completed its 1,000-bed expansion last month." It also reported that the inmate count climbed to more than 1,950 undocumented immigrants and that on March 23, the detention center's population reach a monthly high of 1,954. It now has 3,000 beds totals. Known as Tent City, the detention was built in 2006 and is the largest detention center in the US. http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/detention_85833___article.html/center_count.html
DOJ Budget Request Calls for Immigrant Detention Funds The President released his $22.7 billion budget proposal for the Department of Justice in Fiscal Year 2009. Among the highlights is this funding for the Office of the Federal Detention Trustee (OFDT):
Detainee Housing and Transportation: $37.6 million to accommodate an anticipated increase in the number of detainees housed in non-federal facilities. These resources will be utilized to fund the costs associated with prisoner detention, care and transportation of detainees along the Southwest Border.
Commissioners in Williamson County are considering adding as many as 250 immigrant women to the population held at the T. Don Hutto detention center in Taylor, Texas http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5499506.html
National Immigration Law Center Immigration Detention Centers under the Microscope: Recent Reports Reveal Widespread Violations of the National Detention Standards http://www.nilc.org/immlawpolicy/arrestdet/ad090.htm
On June 13, 2007, the ACLU filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of immigrant detainees at San Diego Correctional Facility (SDCF), charging that inadequate medical and mental health care have caused unnecessary suffering and, in several cases, avoidable death. http://www.aclu.org/immigrants/detention/
Nine immigrant children were repeatedly sexually molested and beaten last year while housed in a government-operated youth detention center near San Antonio, and their cries for help were covered up by administrators and state and federal officials http://www.care2.com/news/member/101933861/648626
Greg Moses: Crossing the Line in Texas http://www.care2.com/news/member/101933861/581893
Platform of the America First Party ...For this reason, we do not support keeping immigrant children languishing .... in a criminal case exist to protect the innocent from wrongful imprisonment. ... http://www.americafirstparty.org/docs/platform.shtml
National Center for Refugee & Immigrant Children The Center serves as a referral center matching pro bono attorneys with unaccompanied immigrant children released from federal custody in the United States. http://www.refugees.org/data/nationalcenter/htx/manual.pdf
PETITIONS:
Tell Congress to End Human Rights Abuses
The Bush administration has abandoned the rule of law and American values in authorizing previously unimaginable human rights abuses including torture, kidnapping, abusive interrogations and indefinite detentions.
STOP THE BARBARIC MOTHER’S ACT!
Current mood: depressed
Category: News and Politics
Special Human Rights Alert:
Stop The MOTHERS Act!
EXTREMELY URGENT - ACTION NEEDED JULY 23-25
MOTHERS ACT set to pass July 26. Senator Reid bypasses committee, attempts to pass MOTHERS Act with no debate. Action needed immediately...
Mothers (and others),
Unite! Save yourselves, save countless women and their families! Save innocent, helpless babies from dangerous drugs given to their mothers during and after pregnancy...
S.1375 MOTHERS Act Introduced: May 10, 2007 Status: Introduced Next step: Voted on by Senate Latest action: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Sponsor: Sen. Robert Menendez [D, NJ] View Bill:http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-s1375/show
UNITE aims to educate the public about the dangers of psychiatric drugs and other interventions. Through referrals, continued research, and collaboration, we can improve our society and the world by preventing unnecessary harm to innocent people... http://www.uniteforlife.org/
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