Patterico's Pontifications

7/19/2010

Officials Raid Utah Marijuana Farm

Filed under: Crime — DRJ @ 10:08 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

U.S. officials raided a one-acre marijuana farm in Utah’s Dixie National Forest reportedly operated by Mexican drug cartel(s). The farm was irrigated by tapping into a nearby water pipe. One Mexican national was arrested.

— DRJ

Taking Sides

Filed under: Immigration,Law — DRJ @ 9:44 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

Like Mexico, seven Latin American nations have requested permission to file amicus briefs in a lawsuit opposing Arizona’s new immigration law:

“Bolivia, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Peru filed separate, nearly identical motions to join Mexico’s legal brief supporting the lawsuit filed by U.S. civil rights and other advocacy groups.”

The law takes effect July 29. The lawsuit(s) will undoubtedly heat up on July 30th.

— DRJ

Racism Within (Updated)

Filed under: Government,Race — DRJ @ 5:38 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

Today Andrew Breitbart’s BigGovernment released a videotape of Obama appointee and U.S. Agriculture Department official Shirley Sherrod “regaling an NAACP audience with a story about how she withheld help to a white farmer facing bankruptcy:”

Sherrod has resigned.

Will House Majority Whip James Clyburn add Sherrod and the NAACP to his list of racists?

— DRJ

UPDATED: Shirley Sherrod says the White House forced her to resign, even though she claims the point of her story was racial reconciliation.

Washington Post Intelligence Series

Filed under: Government,Terrorism — DRJ @ 12:03 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

The Washington Post series “Top Secret America” exposes the “hidden world” of U.S. intelligence:

“The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work.”

Last week’s teaser suggested the series would reveal the names and locations of top secret military contractors, perhaps not only at home and in the war zones but elsewhere around the world. Please update this in the comments as you read the report.

— DRJ

Asian Carp Lawsuits

Filed under: Law — DRJ @ 11:49 am



[Guest post by DRJ]

Following up on an earlier post, five Great Lakes states are suing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Chicago Water Reclamation District to keep Asian carp out of Lake Michigan.

I’m sure this is a big story in the Midwest. Like offshore drilling in the Gulf, it inflames passion and pits big money business interests against big money leisure interests.

— DRJ

Obama Scolds Republicans

Filed under: Obama,Politics — DRJ @ 10:51 am



[Guest post by DRJ]

President Obama scolded Republicans today for not extending jobless benefits:

“On Monday, [Obama] sought to cast his Republican opponents as hypocritical for having voted for extensions of unemployment benefits when his Republican predecessor, President George W. Bush, was in the White House, but not now. He accused Republican leaders of subscribing to what he called a misguided notion that providing unemployment aid to people lowers their incentive to look hard for a job.

“That attitude, I think, reflects a lack of faith in the American people,” Obama said.

The president said that the out-of-work people he hears from are “not looking for a handout. They desperately want to work. Just right now, they can’t find a job.”

I agree most Americans want to work … like those former car dealership employees the Obama Administration put out of work.

MORE: Commenter em has more Americans who want to work — Gulf Coast oil workers laid off because of Obama’s moratorium.

— DRJ

Religion on the Job

Filed under: Religion — DRJ @ 10:37 am



[Guest post by DRJ]

A Central Texas bus driver is out of a job, and he says his religious views caused him to be fired:

“After he was dispatched to take the women to Planned Parenthood in January, [Edwin] Graning called his supervisor “and told her that, in good conscience, he could not take someone to have an abortion,” his lawsuit said. The women’s names, their location and the clinic location were not included in the lawsuit. Planned Parenthood also provides health care services unrelated to abortion.

Graning, a Kyle resident, is “an ordained Christian minister who is opposed to abortion,” the lawsuit said.

His supervisor, who is not named, responded by saying, “Then you are resigning,” the suit said.

Graning denied he was resigning and was later told to drive his bus back to the yard and then was fired, the lawsuit said.”

The law requires that an employer accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs unless it causes a “substantial financial hardship.” A law professor interviewed in the report indicated the outcome might hinge on whether the employer knew in advance of Graning’s religious concerns.

— DRJ


Powered by WordPress.

Page loaded in: 0.0840 secs.