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Let the Voters Decide—For a Day, Anyway

By |2023-05-20T09:39:12-04:00May 22nd, 2007|

Many readers will remember that Farmers Branch, Texas, a Dallas suburb, recently enacted an ordinance to the effect that landlords may not rent to illegal immigrants. The ordinance went to a vote after a pro-illegal immigrant group waged a vigorous campaign to, as they put it, “Let the Voters Decide.” The voters promplty did so. By a margin of 68% to 32%, they decided to adopt the ordinance.

Without missing a beat, it then became time to “Let the Court Decide,” a strategy the previously pro-vote group has now pursued. Yesterday they obtained, from a federal judge appointed by President Clinton, a preliminary injunction barring enforcement […]

The Farmers Branch Absurdity

By |2023-05-20T09:39:12-04:00May 22nd, 2007|

Farmers Branch, a small Texas town near Dallas, passed an ordinance imposing penalties on landlords who might rent their apartments to illegal aliens. The act included a requirement that the voters must approve it. In an exceptional turnout last Saturday, the voters did approve, 68% to 32%.

The ACLU and various parties took the town to court, claiming that the ordinance was unconstitutional. The court then ruled that the councilmen and residents of Farmers Branch are too stupid to govern themselves, substituted its judgment for theirs, and struck the ordinance as unconstitutional.

No, that’s not the stated reason for the decision of US District Judge […]

There Is No Such Thing As A "National ID Card"

By |2023-05-20T09:39:12-04:00May 22nd, 2007|

Below is a description of the provisions of what is inaccurately being called the National ID Act. These are minimum standards which all states are required to follow, as a matter of national security and illegal immigration. All states are free to have whatever requirements they choose, above and beyond these minimums.

The “Real ID Act of 2005” was actually passed as Section B of the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, 2005. It repealed a prior law that sought consultation between federal agencies and the states, to set standards for issuance of Drivers Licenses […]

Is This Parliament?

By |2023-05-20T09:39:13-04:00May 21st, 2007|

The Senate is poised to take what is being called a “no confidence vote” on Attorney General Gonzales. The Senate Majority Leader appears to be unaware that this maneuver is at best constitutionally problematic, since while no confidence votes are all well and good in parliamentary systems, they have no place in our federal system. The Constitution provides for the Senate to advise and consent at the time of the Attorney General’s nomination, but nothing more. The only constitutionally-designated role for the legislature after that is impeachment. So the “no-confidence vote” is exactly what it has been called — a political stunt — and probably […]

Steyn: "America, Z Beautiful"

By |2023-05-20T09:39:13-04:00May 21st, 2007|

Columnist Mark Steyn has a must-read Op-Ed at the New York Sun today concerning illegal immigration. As he points out, sponsors of the recent accord between the White House and the Senate don’t like the word “amnesty” any more than the deal’s critics do. Rather, Steyn argues, we should call it “zamnesty.” As he writes:

That’s why the [proposed Z-1, Z-2, and Z-3] visa starts with the letter that’s furthest away from the one “amnesty” begins with. “Z” stands for zellout …no, hang on, zurrender or Zapatista, or some other word way up the other end of the alphabet from “amnesty”. But the […]

Sound Off on the Immigration Reform Deal

By |2023-05-20T09:39:13-04:00May 20th, 2007|

Wall Street, or at least the Wall Street Journal, seems quite satisfied with the immigration deal brokered late last week between the White House and the Senate. Said the opinion editors of the esteemed business journal, it “looks like the best chance in years to balance border security with human and economic realities.” In the article, “Immigration Opening: The Bush-Kennedy Proposal’s Vices and Virtues,” the editors look favorably upon the smooth glide path to legal status provided for the 12 million undocumented aliens living in the U.S., thinking that good for the American economy. However, the Wall Street Journal looks less favorably […]

Will DC Appeal Parker Case to the Supreme Court?

By |2023-05-20T09:39:14-04:00May 17th, 2007|

I am beginning to think it is quite possible that DC will not appeal the ruling of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals in the Parker case. That historic ruling concluded that the Second Amendment really does protect an individual’s right to keep and bear arms and struck down the DC gun control laws as a result.

DC may instead pass a new gun control law that is still quite severe but does not as thoroughly prohibit any right to gun ownership and use in self defense as the old law did. They would argue that this new law meets the requirements of the Parker […]

Ed Meese on Immigration Reform

By |2023-05-20T09:39:14-04:00May 17th, 2007|

The Hon. Ed Meese, ACRU Policy Board Member and former Attorney General under President Ronald Reagan, has co-authored an important paper with Dr. Matthew Spalding of the Heritage Foundation concerning immigration reform.

The Backgrounder paper is titled “Where We Stand: Essential Requirements for Immigration Reform.” At a time when the Congress is considering a comprehensive immigration reform bill that reports indicate will do little to stem the tide of lawless immigration and will do much to reward those who have already breached our borders illegally, this is a much read.

In the paper, Mr. Meese and Dr. Spalding lay out several policy proposals and […]

Farmers Branch Ordinance Gets Another Poll

By |2023-05-20T09:39:14-04:00May 17th, 2007|

Yesterday, I had the privilege of discussing the Farmers Branch ordinance with Terry Lowry on his Houston radio show, “What’s Up.” There is more news today.

There appears on the MSNBC website a story about the reaction to Farmers Branch. As many readers will recall, the ordinance, which requires landlords to verify the legal status of renters, was adopted by Farmers Branch voters by a margin of 68% to 32%. The balloting was held after a campaign to, as ordinance opponents put it, “Let the Voters Decide.” These, incidentally, are the same opponents who, after the voters did decide, wasted no […]

Assassinating the Dead

By |2023-05-20T09:39:14-04:00May 17th, 2007|

The Rev. Jerry Falwell’s body had not yet reached room temperature when the vile began to spew forth from his enemies’ mouths and finger tips. Just three hours after his death was announced, Christopher Hitchens, the atheistic columnist and author of God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, bared his own venomous fangs on national TV, declaring Falwell an “ugly little charlatan” who lived an “empty life.” He declared that there was no heaven for Falwell to go to, but he sure wished there was a hell for him to rot in.

In the succeeding 24 hours, a host of left-wing bloggers and commentators […]

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