Wednesday, November 26, 2014

NYT Reporters Who Gave up Darren Wilson's Address

New York Times reporters Julie Bosman and Campbell Robertson published the address of Darren Wilson in the New York Times so here are their addresses:

Julie Bosman
5620 N. Wayne Avenue
Apartment 2
CHICAGO, IL 60660-4204


Campbell Robertson
1113 Dupre Street
New Orleans, LA 70119-3203

They just love to get mail! Send Holiday Cards!

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Immigration and Nationality Act Executive Summary

Congress has complete authority over immigration. Presidential power does not extend beyond refugee policy. Except for questions regarding aliens' constitutional rights, the courts have generally found the immigration issue as nonjusticiable.

States have limited legislative authority regarding immigration, and 28 U.S.C. § 1251 details the full extent of state jurisdiction. 

By controlling the visa process, the federal government can achieve the goals of its immigration policies.  There are two types of visas: immigrant visas and nonimmigrant visas. The government primarily issues nonimmigrant visas to tourists and temporary business visitors.

Immigrant visas, on the other hand, permit their holders to stay in the United States permanently and eventually to apply for citizenship. Aliens with immigrant visas can also work in the United States. Congress limits the quantity of immigrant visas, which numbered 675,000 in 1995. Many immigrant visas remain subject to per-country caps.

Upon ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, all children born within the United States received citizenship at birth.  

In 1921 Congress passed the Emergency Immigration Act, creating national immigration quotas, which gave way to the Immigration Act of 1924, capping the number of permissible immigrants from each country in a manner proportional to the number already living within the United States.

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (INA), also known as the McCarran-Walter Act, eliminated all race-based quotas, replacing them with purely nationality-based quotas.

When Congress passed the INA, it defined an "alien" as any person lacking citizenship or status as a national of the United States. 

Having the proper records and identification typically requires the alien to possess a valid, unexpired passport and either a visa, border crossing identification card, permanent resident card, or a reentry permit. 

The need to curtail illegal immigration prompted Congress to enact the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986. The IRCA toughened criminal sanctions for employers who hired illegal aliens, denied illegal aliens federally funded welfare benefits, and legitimized some aliens through an amnesty program.

The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of 1996 revolutionized the process of alien entry into the United States.  The IIRIRA eliminated the term "entry," replacing it with "admission."

On March 1, 2003, the Department of Homeland Security opened, replacing the INS. Within the Department, three different agencies - U.S. Customs and Border Enforcement (CBE), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) - now handle the duties formerly held by the INS. 

The Refugee Act of 1980 defines the U.S. laws relating to refugee immigrants.  Under the Refugee Act, the term "[[wex:refugee|refugee]]" refers to aliens with a fear of persecution upon returning to their homelands, stemming from their religion, race, nationality, membership in certain social groups, or political opinions.  Anyone who delivers a missing American POW or MIA soldier receives refugee status from the United States.

The United States, however, denies refugee status to any alien who actively persecuted individuals of a certain race, political opinion, religion, nationality, or members of a certain social group.   As a matter of public policy, the government also typically refuses refugee applicants previously convicted of murderer. [Now, who thought up this egregious limitation?]

To qualify for refugee status under the persecution provision, the refugee applicant must prove actual fear. 

The President retains the ultimate decision making authority when determining the number of refugees to allow into the country during a given year. 

Deportation proceedings refer to the official removal of an alien from the United States and provide for causes for deportation.

The U.S. government can initiate deportation proceedings against aliens admitted under the INA that commit an aggravated felony within the United States after being admitted.  An alien's failure to register a change of address renders the alien deportable, unless the failure resulted from an excusable circumstance or mistake.  If the government determines that a particular alien gained entry into the country through the use of a falsified document or otherwise fraudulent means, the government has the grounds to deport.  

Other common grounds for deportation include the following: aiding or encouraging another alien to enter the country illegally; engaging in marriage fraud to gain U.S. admission; participating in an activity that threatens the U.S.'s national security; voting unlawfully; and failing to update the government with a residential address every three months, regardless of whether the address has changed.


If the government brings a proceeding for deportation because of fraud or falsification, the government bears the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that alleged falsification or fraud occurred and that the falsification or fraud proved material to the granting of admission to the alien. 

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Principles of Jefferson

About to enter, fellow citizens, on the exercise of duties which comprehend everything dear and valuable to you, it is proper that you should understand what I deem the essential principles of our government, and consequently those which ought to shape its administration. I will compress them within the narrowest compass they will bear, stating the general principle, but not all its limitations.

Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political;

peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations — entangling alliances with none;

the support of the State governments in all their rights, as the most competent administrations for our domestic concerns and the surest bulwarks against anti-republican tendencies;

the preservation of the general government in its whole constitutional vigor, as the sheet anchor of our peace at home and safety abroad;

a jealous care of the right of election by the people — a mild and safe corrective of abuses which are lopped by the sword of the revolution where peaceable remedies are unprovided;

absolute acquiescence in the decisions of the majority — the vital principle of republics, from which there is no appeal but to force, the vital principle and immediate parent of despotism;

a well-disciplined militia — our best reliance in peace and for the first moments of war, till regulars may relieve them;

Principles of Jefferson: the militia is EVERY able-bodied man between the ages of 18-55. He provided NO exceptions!

the supremacy of the civil over the military authority;

economy in the public expense, that labor may be lightly burdened; the honest payment of our debts and sacred preservation of the public faith;

encouragement of agriculture, and of commerce as its handmaid;

the diffusion of information and the arraignment of all abuses at the bar of public reason;

freedom of religion;

freedom of the press;

freedom of person under the protection of the habeas corpus; and trial by juries impartially selected — these principles form the bright constellation which has gone before us, and guided our steps through an age of revolution and reformation.


Jefferson promised to govern as he felt the Founders intended, based on decentralized government & trust in the people to make the right decisions for themselves. He favored a more literal interpretation of the Constitution and thought that governmental powers shouldn’t be so far-reaching. These are the Principles of Jefferson and these are my principles and why I am a Jeffersonian Democrat. Many continue to ask me what a Jeffersonian Democrat is - read and understand please. I always have been and I always will be a Jeffersonian Democrat.

See also, Jefferson’s Platform:  http://bit.ly/gkImNv