How many of Obama’s bills have passed?

ONE!

Study: Immigrants don’t commit crimes

Reuters writes:

Immigrants are far less likely than the average U.S.-born citizen to commit crime in California, the most populous state in the United States, according to a report issued late on Monday. People born outside the United States make up about 35 percent of California’s adult population but account for about 17 percent of the adult prison population, the report by the Public Policy Institute of California showed.

Keep in mind this says immigrants, not illegal immigrants. There have been several stories and studies like this over the past few months. There is no doubt it is in response to the illegal immigration fervor.

Here is another one from April of 2007:

Legal and illegal immigrants are far less likely than nativeborn Americans to be incarcerated for crimes, according to a new statistical analysis of 2000 Census data.

The findings were released Monday by the Immigration Policy Center, a Washington, D.C.-based group that studies contributions by immigrants

I would expect nothing less. Immigrants who come here legally (and most illegals) want to make a better life for themselves. Why would they jeopardize that by committing crimes and potentially ending up in jail? It is hard to provide for your family if you are incarcerated.

The Public Policy Institute of California study also says:

Long-standing fears of immigration as a threat to public safety are unjustified. The report also noted that U.S.-born adult men are incarcerated at a rate more than 2 1/2 times greater than that of foreign-born men.

Most Americans don’t fear both legal and illegal immigrants. Sure, some do. But, most people just want to see the rule of law prevail. We have to follow the law, so should you.

Have we learned anything after the 9-11 attacks?

Brian Ross from ABC News reports apparently not much.

Under the new laws, American flight schools are only supposed to provide pilot training to foreign students who have been given a background check by the TSA and have a specific type of visa.

But in thousands of cases that has not happened, according to the documents and current and former government officials involved in the program.

A TSA Official, Richard A Horn complained in 2005 that students taking training courses didn’t have the proper background checks and visas,

“Some of the very same conditions that allowed the 9-11 tragedy to happen in the first place are still very much in existence today…Thousands of aliens, some of whom may very well pose a threat to this country, are taking flight lessons, being granted FAA certifications and are flying planes.

It has been over 6 years from the most dreadful day in modern history. Our borders remain wide open, we haven’t altered our visa policies enough to make a difference and the FBI is fast tracking more visa applications without thorough background checks. What really has changed then?

The candidates for the White House have been touting their experience as reasons to vote for them. But, if their experience only makes matters worse, why are we even thinking about voting for them?

David Duke: No difference between any candidates

Remember David Duke? The former Ku Klux Klan member was also elected as a state Representative from Louisiana and almost elected Governor there. Yes, he has back in the news thanks to the folks at the New Republic. He calls himself a white nationalist. We call him a racist.
The New Republic quotes him as saying,

I “don’t see much difference in Barack Obama than Hillary Clinton–or, for that matter, John McCain.”

Duke adds this later in the piece:

“I don’t think Obama will be any more negative for the United States than Hillary or John McCain, In fact, we probably have less preference for a European like a John McCain or a Hillary who has betrayed our interests, our heritage, our rights.”

So honestly, who really cares what David Duke’s political analysis is? The man in completely irrelevant, but this is how much coverage this election is getting. McCain might not be the best candidate in the world for conservatives, but he is a far cry from both Clinton and Obama.

Obama denounces and rejects Farrakhan’s comments

Gas Prices on the way up again

From The International Herald Tribune:

Gasoline prices, which for months lagged the big run-up in the price of oil, are suddenly rising quickly, with some experts fearing they could hit $4 a gallon by spring. Diesel is hitting new records daily and oil closed at an all-time high on Tuesday of $100.88 a barrel.

Some politicians want to tax us more at the pump too. Isn’t that something. For the record, you already pay 18.4 cents per gallon to the Feds and another 18 cents per gallon to the state. The IHT continues,

The increases could not come at a worse time for the economy. With growth slowing, high energy prices that were once easily absorbed by consumers are now more likely to act as a drag on household budgets, leaving people with less money to spend elsewhere. These costs could exacerbate the nation’s economic woes, piling a fresh energy shock on top of the turmoil in credit and housing.

If I had a dollar for every time a news organization tried to scare me about the economy.

Then you have Steve Zell, chairman of Equity Investments Group and owner of the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times. He said this on CNBC:

“Obviously what we have going on is an attempt to create a self-fulfilling prophecy, We have two Democratic candidates who are vying with each other to describe the economic situation worse.”

So which is it?

Talk the Vote polls: Hillary is slipping

Polling numbers are all over the place, but here is a look for yourself.

First, the Democratic race for the nomination between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

CBS News has Obama ahead nationally by sixteen points.

In Ohio (their primary is March 4), Hillary’s once huge lead has fallen to 5 points, 48 to 43%. In Texas (which also votes March 4) Rasmussen has the race tied.

Check out Rasmussen’s Electoral College breakdown: Advantage Democrats.

Zogby also has Obama up big nationally.

In the head to head match up, it’s good news for Obama versus McCain and good news for McCain if he is up against Hillary.

WSJ: Medicare spending to surge

Today’s Wall Street Journal is reporting, “Government spending on health care could nearly double by 2017 to more than $2 trillion.” This could bring about a crisis in America. Ankarlo has spent time this morning talking about a reboot. And we need one. For the first time in history, the budget of the United States has surpassed $3 trillion dollars. In just 9 years the government will take $2 trillion dollars out of everyone’s pay checks just to pay for health care. That $2 trillion total doesn’t include defense spending, infrastructure repairs, and the millions of other things we as taxpayers spend.

Last month, the USA Today reported that each senior in America gets over $27K in benefits per year. Thirteen thousand some from social security benefits, while the rest is in health care benefits. Keep in mind, the baby boomers haven’t retired yet.

I hate to say this, but I think we are at a major crossroads in this country. The government can’t keep doling out entitlements. They are never free. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are promising universal, free health care for us. Americans fall for it. Where does all the government’s money come from? Working Americans.

2004 Obama: I don’t have enough experience

2008 Obama;  It’s time for change.

Greenspan: Recovery to take longer

By Souhail Karam

JEDDAH (Reuters) - Economic growth has stalled and recovery may take longer than usual, former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said on Monday.

“As of right now, U.S. economic growth is at zero,” Greenspan said at an investment conference in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia’s second-largest city. “We are at stall speed.”

“Recovery might take longer to emerge than it usually does,” he added.

The longer growth stays at zero, the more likely the world’s largest economy would start to contract, he said, adding that globalization of trade could ease some shocks.

“Growing globalization of trade and the economy would facilitate the absorption of shocks in the U.S.,” he said.

In updated economic forecasts released last week, the U.S. central bank lowered its outlook for 2008 growth by a half percentage point to between 1.3 percent and 2 percent, citing the prolonged housing slump and bottlenecks in credit markets.

The Federal Reserve said at the time it was worried the economy could face further setbacks, even after a series of interest rate cuts.

Greenspan also said a boom in oil prices, which hit a record of $101.32 on Wednesday, will “go on forever”.

Soaring crude prices have kept U.S. inflation high, even as growth slows.

 

© Reuters 2008 All rights reserved

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