* All art courtesy "Google Images" and our special thanks to all
the great cartoonists who have had their work posted on Google!
Titling and composition by Felicity.
BLOG POST by Felicity Blaze Noodleman
Los Angeles, CA
12.19.14
With the Yule holiday season fast approaching or in some cases already upon us I thought it might be fun to take the lighter approach to THE HOLIDAYS and the remainder of the shopping season. We will explore some mad and crazy last minute gift ideas, ten things to hate about the holidays, and last but not lease remember the true meaning of of Christmas. We would also wish our Hebrew friends and readers the best of Chanukah's (December 16 -24)!
With merchants spreading their store shelves and tables with literally everything from A to Z and setting up those irresistible store windows with the latest and greatest we now have more outlets than ever to do our holiday shopping. Stores, Malls, the Internet and Mail Order Catalogs we are sure to find the best gift for the right price and even have it shipped! It all else fails then there are always the old standbys – gift certificates and cash! I have to confess that there are always some of what I call “Wankers” bought and given during the gift giving season. I think we all know or have had that experience over the years. Sometimes it makes us laugh out loud or is a disappointment to our expectations. Sometimes it might even hurt a little but as time passes turns into something we talk about and even make fun of for years. You could call them the gifts that keep giving!
This week’s article celebrates the worst of the possible worst. Just for fun! I’m sure we could add many things to our list of “10 Bad Gift Ideas” and “10 Things To Hate About Christmas” so let the fun begin! Remember; “it’s always the thought that counts” or as any woman can tell you; you'd better get a great gift to go with that thought! Remember: precious memories are made from time spent with loved ones.
CRAZY AND MAD LAST MINUTE GIFT IDEAS
1
(1)Auntie Griselda's famous Fruit Cake, (2) the traditional lump of coal for bad
children and (3) a "Planed Parenthood Gift Certificate" by a Doctor who's doing
abortions because his Medical Mal-practice Insurance won't let him perform
any other type of surgical procedures.
2
A refurbished cell phone with a cheep cellular phone provider.
sweaters and socks. They never fit right and, well, they
have a stitch missing here and there. She made them with all
the love in her heart and worked so hard on them all year!
4
Subscription to a French "Wine and Cheese" of the month club.
5
A shot gum from your uncle George with a little note tucked inside which
reads "praise God and pass the ammunition". He loves to hunt and thinks
you should too!
6
I don't know why the Mogen David Winery's even started making this
"Rot Gut" fortified wine. It's not the kind of stuff you really want to
add to your holiday punch bowl!
7
A used magic kit from a magician who died on stage!
8
Gift certificateto a beauty school.
9
Kitty dress up clothing, especially "Reindeer Antlers" and
anything from the "Jingle Cats"!
10
An old shelter dog with bad habits and fleas!
10 THINGS TO HATE ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS
Grand Poppa's made up Christmas songs like “Rudolf The One Eyed Reindeer”.
Never enough space at the table for everyone to eat. Family eating in the kitchen and living room – children eating at folding tables.
Commercialism
No snow
Holiday blues
Post holiday cleaning and decoration removal
Another College Football game
Making leftover turkey salad sandwiches
2 AM “Door Buster” sales
I HATE THAT THE HOLIDAYS HAVE ENDED!
What he really means is he wants to watch more football!
A star pointed the way for three wise men from the east . . .
THE BLESSINGS OF CHRISTMAS
All four of the Gospels in the Christian Holy Bible chronicle the birth and life of Jesus. It is why we celebrate Christmas. I just wanted to remind all of the true meaning of Christmas. May God bless each and every one of you as we come to the end of another year and commence with the new year of 2015!
When we attempt to bring our hearts, minds and thoughts back to the true meaning of Christmas we think of the man from Galilee. These thoughts Reignite the fire of true love and peace in our hearts – the love given so freely to us by our Heavenly Father which we now must give to the world around us. With the holidays of Christmas and New Years only less than a week away, we will be taking time off from our jobs to be with our loved ones and friends to celebrate the holidays.
This time of the year means so many things to so many people but for Christians it’s the annual calibration of our savior’s birth and marks the new beginning of God’s redemption for human kind. During the life of Jesus Christ It was a time of wonders, signs and miracles to substantiate that Jesus of Nazareth was in fact the only begotten son of God and that a new covenant was about to be struck between our Heavenly Father and Haman Kind – first for the Jews and also with the Gentiles.
I love so many things about the holiday season. All of the imagery which portrays good cheer and happiness toward our family and fellow acquaintance's. I like the food and beverages which are sometimes a little more than good spirits. I am also hopeful that these attitudes will continue on into the approaching year. It's always a joy to see all of the holiday programing on television - the animated traditional Christmas stories, the classic movies, the parades and I especially enjoy the Popes annual Christmas Mass on PBS, even though I'm not Catholic. The New Years "Rose Parade" is also a treat for the whole family!
Artist conception of the stable where Jesus of Nazareth was born in Bethlehem.
The birth of Jesus Christ is a simple story; so simple that even little children understand it perfectly. It’s only as we become older that questions begin to form about so many things concerning religion. So this is why we take the time to remember the birth and life of Jesus. We retell the story's. We sing the songs. We exchange gifts. We give thanks for the love which is all around us. In many ways we renew our faith as we prepare for the new year ahead of us.
It’s very difficult to imagine the kind of world Jesus was born into. The cruelty which men and Governments inflicted upon each other and their citizens is almost unspeakable by today’s standards. As Jesus lived he thought his disciples and all who would listen the lessons of peace and tolerance toward all men. These teachings would begin to change the world and advance human civilization. This is the peace and love which passes all understanding and brings us all closer to God.
Even in today's world so many terrible things happen which cause us wonder if there is even a God. How could a creator who is so good and loving allow such pain to afflict us? Truthfully I don't have an answer for this question. We also endeavor to make a better life in this world! As for now; all we can do is offer each other our most heart felt sympathy and share each others grief and try to build a brighter future. We should also remember that our faith is in God and not in some of our fellow human beings.
So please consider this as my Holiday Greetings to all of you. May your Holidays be bright and your New Years be filled with good cheer! Felicity again for the "Noodleman Group"!
People normally don't think of Los Angeles here in sunny Southern California
as a Christmas local but as you can see, the mountains to the north of
are filled with snow. I have heard that Santa also makes his rounds by
Stage Coach when ever he is unable to use his Sleigh!
The Church of the Nativity was built in Bethlehem, Israel to mark
what is believed to be the true location of Jesus birth.
It's easy! Just copy and paste me into your email!
* “The Noodleman Group” is pleased to announce that we are now carrying a link to the “USA Today” news site.We installed the “widget/gadget” August 20, and it will be carried as a regular feature on our site.Now you can read“Noodleman” and then check in to “USA Today” for all the up to date News, Weather, Sports and more!Just scroll all the way down to the bottom of our site and hit the “USA Today” hyperlinks.Enjoy!
Anti-illegal immigration activists are planning several hundred protests in cities across the country on Friday and Saturday, part of a growing backlash against the federal government's efforts to temporarily house migrant children detained at the border. "We're the American defenders that are standing with the current Constitution, the existing federal laws, and the current borders of the United States that are in peril here."
(National Public Radio
·http://www.veooz.com/news/CHKvk0m.html
* Special thanks to "Google Images", "The Los Angeles Times", "The Washington Times", "Reuters" and "Bloomberg Reports"
BLOG POST
by Felicity Blaze Noodleman
Los Angeles, CA
12.12.14
Thanks for returning to "Noodleman" this week! We have assembled a very interesting group as we explore the reaction to Obama's executive order giving Illegal Aliens amnesty. No; he didn't, we thought when we heard the news of the President's plan for Illegal Immigration on November 20, 2014. With a new Republican Congress taking the floor in January, 2015 President Obama clearly wants to get things off on the wrong foot! He announced he is acting on his Executive authority which is evidently going to far for a lot of people.
After Democrats completely lost control of Congress in the mid term elections the President still has not got the message from voters. When the President made his Illegal Immigration proclamation it was news, but the real news is the "blow back" on the issue and now we are beginning to see some of the results in the form of demonstrations, law suits and what Congress may do in 2015. All along the US / Mexico boarder States from Texas to California protests are calling for Washington to protect our country and enforce the immigration laws which protect us all and our civil rights!
When is the Federal Government going to get the message that US citizens are opposed to Illegal Immigration and Federal spending on these Illegals? It's a lot like someone breaking into your house and telling you they are going to live there too! Which one of us would put up with that? The United States has tolerated this situation for far to long! Why do other country's know how to deal with their boarders and the United States is unable to do the same? Illegal Latinos have been leaking into the United Stated for decades. Quietly building their army of criminals and draining the country of resources to fund their invasion of our schools and social services. They make no contributions nor pay taxes and have built a Latino culture separate and apart from the United States. Now they are protesting their treatment and want to demand their rights. What rights? They're criminals! They must go!!!
For far to long Government at both the State and Federal levels have not done their jobs. States point their fingers at Washington DC saying it's the Federal Governments job and vice versa when in truth they both have the authority to deal with the problem. Make no mistake about it; the rats are in the corn! They've been there for a long time. Seniors, disabled, and other US citizens all wonder why their Government is not taking better care of them. One big reason for this problem is the Billions Government spends on the costs for Illegal Aliens! This is a crime
Ethnic
polarization is something that Obama can easily exploit to his advantage.
Protests against illegal aliens by Anglos will be perceived as being
anti-Hispanic and anti-Latino and may help produce mass counter-demonstrations
for Amnesty like the one in the photo in 2006. Immigration Reform activists
have been talking about mass demonstrations for the last couple of years.
Illegal Aliens have no legal claims in the US; they are not native Americans from within the US and try to confuse issues to their advantage. Hispanic Latinos have "sneaked in" to the United States for decades and now are trying to tell the United States what to do about them!
ABC News estimates 100 Billion a year is spent by Tax Payers in dealing with the problems which result due to Illegal Immigration. According to other sources this number is much lower, but when we consider all the resources used by Illegals such as Medical, Schools, Law Enforcement, Boarder Security, State & Federal Prisons and last but not least Cleanup to mention only a few, the larger number seems to be a conservative estimate. There are other costs for privet businesses as well which come into contact with these highly destructive people such as Restaurants, Theaters, Retail Merchants ect. and so on. The annual costs for vandalism, theft, graffiti and other damages means that we all pay higher prices! We also must bear the burden of fewer services as a result. The US Census Bureau in conjunction with the Office of Homeland Security (Office of Immigration Statistics) reports that Undocumented Aliens living within US Boarders to be 11.9 million in 2011. Another group reporting Illegal US Populations, (The Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform) put these numbers in a much higher bracket estimating this population to be between 12 to 20 Million. An other aspect to consider with giving such a large group of immigrants amnesty is the national employment picture. Why should those who have immigrated to the United States legally and played by the rules now be forced to compete with the criminals who have come into this country through the back door? It seems there will be less opportunity for these newly naturalized Americans in the land of opportunity!
This issue is not helping the Presidents slumping popularity. Polls continue to show Obama has one of the worst ratings of any President in history; only Harry Truman falls below Obama. The polls we follow; "Gallup" "Rasmussen Reports" and "Real Clear Politics" all follow the same trend with Rasmussen averaging the Presidents numbers for an over all -15 percent What is really interesting in the poll numbers is that now Republicans are receiving a five year high in the poll numbers as "Bloomberg" reports.
Demonstrators confront each other, Friday, July 4, 2014, outside a U.S. Border Patrol station in Murrieta, Calif., over illegal immigration. (Image source: AP/Mark J. Terrill)
President
Obama's ratings hit bottom in a new Bloomberg Politics poll as he prepares to
take on an antagonist Congress.
by Margaret Talev
White House
correspondent at Bloomberg
Washington D.C. Metro Area
Republicans are enjoying a
five-year peak in popularity after their wins in the midterm elections,
according to a newBloomberg Politics poll, while President Barack Obama
struggles with his lowest job approval rating, at 39 percent. The White House
also is facing a backlash from independents who oppose his unilateral moves on
immigration, and just 24 percent say the country is on the right track, the
lowest rating since September 2011.
Obama's weakened standing comes as
he and the rising congressional Republican leaders are poised to become
partners—or adversaries—in guiding the nation. They will start in January on
more equal footing, the poll shows. Forty-five percent of Americans say
they now view the Republican Party favorably, while 47 percent hold an
unfavorable view.
That’s the best showing the party has had since the inception
of the poll in September 2009. Opinion about the Democratic Party has plunged,
with a favorable rating of 41 percent and an unfavorable rating of 50 percent.
This was Democrats’ worst showing in more than five years.
Still, any Republican lawmaker or
2016 presidential hopeful tempted to declare a mandate may want to heed these
warning signs: Americans also are more likely to view Republicans as more
confrontational than Democrats, and to say Republican politicians are more
motivated by their desire to antagonize Obama. In addition, individual
Republican leaders tested aren't benefiting from the 8-point uptick in views of
their party. For House Speaker John Boehner and incoming Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell, more respondents have unfavorable than favorable views.
"This
is a rising tide for Republicans while the tide has kind of gone out for the
Democrats," said J. Ann Selzer, president of Selzer & Co., which
conducted the poll. "Now that the midterms are over, it seems to me it's
incumbent on them to pivot for 2016. They've had a strong ride in beating up on
Obama. Now, exactly how long is that the relevant message? People are
eventually going to want to hear 'We're going to do this.' They're
going to want to hear a positive message—not just 'we have to stop
Obama.'"
Roman
Kenenitz, 62, a Democrat from Mount Carmel, Pa., says that "mainly the
disgust with Obama" is what's driving his more favorable views of the
Republican Party rather than any sense that they are getting things done. His
shift in partisan preference was intensified after the president last month
announced a reprieve for the undocumented parents of children born in the U.S.
and an expansion of permits for high-skilled foreign workers. Kenenitz
said that Obama is “too much of a flip-flop type guy" and that "with
him pulling this executive power” the president is “like a crybaby—‘it’s my way
or no way’—and I just don’t feel he’s doing a good job.”
“Right
now I feel they’re trying to put the brakes on him,” Kenenitz said of
Republicans. But ask him who he likes for president in 2016, and he mentions
Democrat Hillary Clinton, though he says he's open to a Republican as well. “I
vote for who I feel will do the best,” he said. “I actually put a lot into it.”
Americans
remain skeptical about the motivations of the ascendant congressional majority.
Almost a majority, or 49 percent, say Republicans have been more
confrontational while 32 percent say the Democrats have taken that posture. A
clear majority also says Republicans are more motivated by their antagonism
toward the president than their vision for the country—55 percent to 34
percent.
The findings are essentially reversed when they were asked about
Obama, with 54 percent saying he’s motivated by his vision and 36 percent
saying he’s driven by antagonism toward Republicans. "If what they're
doing is out of antagonism, are they making choices that aren’t really about
their values?" Selzer said. Republicans run the risk of "sort of
painting themselves into a corner" if they continue on this path once
they're in control of both chambers of Congress or running for president
against a candidate who is not Obama.
Obama
is viewed favorably by 45 percent of Americans, a tick higher than in a June. A
bright spot in the survey: his approval rating on managing the economy rose
five points since June to 42 percent, although a majority, 53 percent, still
disapprove of the job he's doing on that issue. Americans also issued negative
ratings for his handling of health care, the budget deficit, immigration and
foreign policy. His lowest approval rating—32 percent—is on the question of
negotiating with the Republican majority in the U.S. House.
As
for Obama’s decision to take executive action to give some illegal immigrants
temporary legal status, 56 percent say they don’t approve, while 39 percent are
okay with it and 5 percent aren’t sure. This is partly a partisan issue; 83
percent of Republicans oppose the decisions while two-thirds of Democrats favor
them. More ominously, though, a clear majority—57 percent—of independents
oppose the actions.
The Bloomberg Politics poll
of 1,001 U.S. adults was conducted Dec. 3-5 by Selzer & Company of Des
Moines, Iowa, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
Anti-Illegal
Immigration Activists Look Beyond California For Action
Robin Hvidston, president of We the People Rising, demonstrates in downtown Los Angeles last summer against illegal immigration. (Dan R. Krauss)
By CINDY CARCAMO contact the reporter
For
years, Raul Rodriguez Jr. would let out an exasperated sigh, then move on,
whenever he read or heard news about illegal immigration. But something clicked
last summer when he saw reports of multitudes of Central Americans illegally
crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
"I've
got to do something," Rodriguez, 72, said he told himself. "I've got
to get off the couch and need to get people involved."
Rodriguez
crafted signs denouncing illegal immigration for various rallies, including one
in Murrieta a few days after busloads of Central American detainees were turned
back amid vocal protests.
After
President Obama announced his immigration reform plan last month, the Apple
Valley resident started contacting congressional leaders to express his
displeasure.
California's
anti-illegal immigration movement has lost a lot of steam in the 20 years since
voters passed Proposition 187, the ballot measure intended to deny
taxpayer-funded services to those in the country illegally.
Polls
consistently show that Californians don't see illegal immigration as the same
type of threat they did in the 1990s, and a SeptemberUSC Dornsife/Los
Angeles Times pollshowed 73% of voters support some
type of path to citizenship for those here illegally.
But
the last few months have shown that the anti-illegal immigration forces remain
small but potent — and a movement that backers hope will get stronger with
Obama's action.
Tactics
this time are changing. Robin Hvidston, president of We the People Rising, a
Claremont organization, said her group and other California activists have
focused on targeting congressional leaders outside the state because they know
there's little they can do here.
"They
see their only hope being the national government," said Roy H. Beck, who
heads NumbersUSA, a powerful national advocacy group opposing illegal
immigration. "They don't see a solution coming from inside
California."
People
Rising and other groups campaigning against illegal immigration say they are
experiencing a modest uptick in public interest and support as immigration has
emerged as a big issue this year, a trend confirmed by the Southern Poverty Law
Center.
But
it's not exactly a groundswell.
The
protests in Murrieta garnered days of national attention and inspired similar
demonstrations throughout the nation, according to activists and the poverty
law center.
Obama's
plan, which would give work permits and temporary protection from deportation
to nearly 5 million who are in the country illegally, did generate some
protests, but they were decidedly small-scale. One last month in Rancho
Cucamonga drew just six
demonstrators.
Activists
in California say that once the new Congress takes office in January, they are
planning a phone and fax blitz in response to Obama's move. Plans to join
rallies in Washington, D.C., are also in the works.
Movement
leaders said they want Congress to fight Obama's executive action and to
further secure the border with Mexico.
The
renewed activity opposing illegal immigration in California reflects what's
happening on a national level, Beck said.
"They're
all enraged and engaged," Beck said. "This issue is a white-hot
priority within our followers."
Leo
Chavez, professor of anthropology at UC Irvine who has researched and written
about the movement against illegal immigration, said an uptick in such activity
is common when there are national events with high-media exposure, such as the
border crisis last summer.
But
whether the momentum will be sustainable is a question, especially in
California, where dramatic political and demographic changes have taken place
since the heyday of the movement in the 1990s.
Polling
shows that Californians still have concerns about illegal immigration.
In
the September USC/Times poll, 72% of respondents said illegal immigration is a
crisis or major problem. The response was shared across ethnic, ideological,
income and geographic lines, the poll found, even by those who support a path
to citizenship for people who are in the country illegally.
Still,
the state's movement is a shadow of what it was in 1994, when California voters
approved Proposition 187, a measure to deny public services — such as public
schooling and healthcare — to people in the country illegally. Most of its
provisions were struck down in court.
The
movement deflated a bit, then picked up steam in 2005 with the rise of the
Minuteman Project — a civilian militia patrol led by Jim Gilchrist of Orange
County. The group took to patrolling the Mexican border in Arizona.
But
infighting, violence and accusations of corruption dismantled the movement. The
2011 conviction of Minutemen member Shawna Forde in the murders of a man and
his 9-year-old daughter in southern Arizona scarred the cause and drove many
people out of the movement.
Many
of the movement's most active participants moved into the tea party, which put
immigration on the back burner and focused their energy on defeating a number
of Obama's efforts, such as the Affordable Care Act, said Heidi Beirich,
director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center, which
tracks extreme right-wing and hate groups.
At
the height of the movement in 2010, the center tracked more than 300 such
groups. After that, it dipped dramatically to just about 30 last year.
Chavez,
who has tracked anti-illegal immigration groups for years and wrote "The
Latino Threat: Constructing Immigrants, Citizens, and the Nation," said
that the movement in California lost a lot of its momentum because of the
demographic shift that has occurred since the mid-1990s.
This
year, Latinos became the largest single ethnic group in the state, making up
39% of the population, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.
"Latinos
are definitely a force to be reckoned with in California," Chavez said.
After
California, the crusade against illegal immigration moved east toward Arizona
after a series of immigration-enforcement laws were passed there, but many were
ultimately struck down by the courts.
Now,
all eyes are on Texas, where conservative legislators have adopted many of the
movement's goals, especially after the crisis along the Texas border last
summer.
"This
is where California was in the 1990s," Beck said.
Rodriguez,
born in El Paso, Texas, to a U.S.-born mother and a father of Mexican origin
who became a naturalized U.S. citizen and fought in World War II, said he
doesn't know whether his father came to the U.S. legally.
Regardless,
he said, people should "get in line" and come and stay with
permission, instead of crossing the border illegally or overstaying a visa and
falling out of status.
The
path to legal immigration to the U.S. is backlogged and very restricted,
leaving those who do it through legal channels waiting for a very long time.
For
instance, a Mexican national who is the adult child of a U.S. citizen must wait
an estimated 20 years before filing for a permanent residency visa, according
to a Migration Policy Institute report last year.
Rodriguez
said he'll continue to fight illegal immigration any way he can. Recently, he
fired his gardener after learning he was in was in the country illegally,
because Rodriguez believed keeping him on was unfair to U.S. workers.
"I
haven't found someone who I can hire to do the job," he said. "But
I'm willing to pay an American citizen to do that for me."
Obama Amnesty In
Jeopardy With Bush Judicial Appointee Hearing States’ Challenge
Texas Gov.-elect Greg Abbott speaks to member of the media following a meeting with President Barack Obama and newly elected governors at the White House on Dec. 5, 2014.Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP (MSNBC)
ByStephen Dinan- The Washington Times - Sunday, December 7,
2014
Judge Andrew Hanen
rebuked Homeland Security last year for refusing to follow border security laws
The states challenging
President Obama’s deportation amnesty have already won the first round in court
after the case landed in the lap of Judge Andrew S. Hanen,
a Bush appointee who issued a scorching rebuke to the Department of
Homeland Security last year, accusing it of refusing to follow
border security laws.
It could hardly have
been a worse outcome for Mr. Obama, who, in order to preserve his policy, will
now have to convince a judge who is on record calling his previous,
less-extensive nondeportation policies “dangerous and unconscionable.”
Led by Texas Attorney
General Greg Abbott,
the 20 states challenging the new policy filed their case in Brownsville. It
could have gone to one of two judges — the other a Clinton appointee — but it
landed in the lap of Judge Hanen last
week, putting Mr. Obama on the defensive early.
“It’s the Constitution
itself that is under assault by the president of the United States by this
executive order,” Mr. Abbott told
NBC’s “Meet the Press” this weekend. “This lawsuit is not about immigration.
The issue in this lawsuit is abuse of executive power.”
Analysts on both sides
of the issue said Mr. Obama’s opponents were fortunate to draw Judge Hanen,
who has already shown a deep distrust of Homeland Security officials,
questioning both their policies and their legal arguments.
In a 10-page order
last December, just as the surge of illegal immigrant children was beginning,
he blasted the Obama
administration for refusing to get tough on enforcement and
instead shipping children caught at the border to live with their illegal
immigrant parents here in the U.S. — and refusing to even try to deport those
parents.
“The DHS should
cease telling the citizens of the United States that it is enforcing our border
security laws because it is clearly not,” Judge Hanen wrote.
“Even worse, it is helping those who violate these laws.”
Judge Hanen,
who took his spot in the federal bench in 2002, was quick to say in his order
that he didn’t take a “position on the topic of immigration reform,” but said
he was dismayed at “the failure by the DHS to
enforce current United States law.”
Even more striking was
his reasoning: Judge Hanen said
the government was wasting money, not saving it, by refusing to deport illegal
immigrants and instead paying to connect children and their illegal immigrant
parents.
The states that sued
to halt Mr. Obama’s policy say they too will incur hundreds of millions of
dollars in costs if they have to police, educate and provide care for the
thousands of new illegal immigrants they expect to be enticed to enter the U.S.
illegally based on the new amnesty. The states argue they have been injured by
Mr. Obama’s order — or, in legal terms, have “standing” to sue in court —
because of those economic consequences.
A number of legal
experts, however, doubt that will be enough to convince a judge to take the
case.
“It’s not enough to
say you would be harmed. You have to prove it with evidence,” said Stephen H.
Legomsky, a professor at the Washington University School of Law.
Mr. Legomsky spent two
years as chief counsel at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services during the
time when that agency was implementing Mr. Obama’s deferred action policy for
“dreamers” — which was the testing ground for this year’s broader policy — and
the professor said both have solid legal underpinnings.
First, the states
would have to prove conclusively that Mr. Obama’s program will lead to a new
surge in illegal immigration — something that is speculative. Mr. Legomsky said
another federal court has already rejected that argument in a challenge to the
“dreamer” policy.
He also said the
drafters of the policies, known in the immigration world as “deferred action,”
were careful to make sure that nobody has a right to tentative legal status.
Each case is supposed to be reviewed carefully by an immigration officer, who
is to use discretion.
Speaking Sunday, Mr. Abbott said
he believes the fiscal impact on states will be enough to earn a day in court.
And Kris W. Kobach,
secretary of state in Kansas and one of those who has been instrumental in
devising legal attacks on Mr. Obama’s immigration enforcement policies, said
there are other potential challengers as well.
Mr. Kobach said a U.S.
citizen who could show he lost in a job competition to one of the newly
legalized workers under the amnesty could also go to court — if he could prove
that he lost the job specifically because of competition with an illegal
immigrant.
“The trick, of course,
is establishing that,” he said.
Mr. Kobach also said
immigration agents who enforce the law could have standing to sue over the new
policy.
He is leading a
previous case filed by immigration agents that challenged Mr. Obama’s 2012
amnesty for “dreamers.” In that case a judge ruled that the administration did
likely break the law — but the judge also ruled he didn’t have jurisdiction
over the case since another part of the law said the agents needed to take
their complaints to a personnel board, not the federal courts.
Mr. Kobach and the
agents are fighting that case in the personnel board, and both he and the Obama
administration have also appealed the initial judge’s ruling to
the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
That case is
tentatively slated for oral arguments on Feb. 2.
In the Texas case,
Judge Hanen has
set a pretrial conference for March 31.
To win their case,
opponents must not only win standing but must also show the president acted
outside his powers.
They argue Mr. Obama has
gone broader than previous presidents in using his prosecutorial discretion,
and they said the president gave them ammunition last month when he twice said
during a speech he had taken action to “change the law” in halting deportation.
The states, in their lawsuit, pointedly cited Mr. Obama’s comments as a
prominent part of their complaint.
Mr. Legomsky, though,
said that while the comments may present a political problem for the president,
“from a legal standpoint it’s totally irrelevant.”
The professor said
deferred action is explicitly authorized in statutes, regulations and in a long
line of court cases, giving Mr. Obama solid legal backing.
The states aren’t the
only ones to file a challenge to the latest Obama action. Maricopa County,
Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio filed a lawsuit just minutes after Mr. Obama
announced his policy Nov. 20. That lawsuit is pending in District Court in
Washington, D.C.
Both the states and
Sheriff Arpaio have sought preliminary injunctions in their cases, hoping to
head off Mr. Obama’s policy before it can get up and running. The administration envisions
taking applications within 180 days.
Sheriff Arpaio’s
lawsuit is being heard in Washington by Judge Beryl A. Howell, an Obama
appointee.
Her immigration record
differs from that of Judge Hanen.
Earlier this year she issued a ruling in an open records case seeking documents on
the construction of the border fence, and in her decision she speculated that
construction of the fence could have a “disparate impact on lower-income
minority communities.”
Demonstrators picket against the possible arrivals of undocumented migrants who may be processed at the Murrieta Border Patrol Station in Murrieta, California July 1, 2014.
CREDIT: REUTERS/SAM HODGSON
BY RICHARD COWAN
WASHINGTON Thu Dec 4, 2014 7:27pm EST
(Reuters) - U.S.
Republicans, outraged with PresidentBarack Obamafor easing deportations of millions of
undocumented residents, plan legislation in 2015 strengthening the U.S.-Mexican
border to discourage illegal immigration.
The
move, likely to come early next year according to House Republican leadership
aides, may lead to other steps the House of Representatives could contemplate
to repair parts of U.S. immigration law.
When
legislation materializes, it would follow a year and half of congressional
inactivity in the aftermath of the passage of a sprawling Senate bill backed by
Obama but killed by the House.
"I
think there is the realization...that this issue is not going away," said
Republican Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, who has labored to write broad
immigration legislation.
House
Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul likely will oversee the
effort, according to leadership aides. McCaul has pushed legislation imposing
tough standards for border apprehensions.
Given the
House's rejection of the Senate's work in 2013, a strategy is emerging for 2015
to have the House take the lead in the hope of making better progress.
The 2013
Senate bill's pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented residents was
a lightning rod for opposition.
"I want
it to start in the House," said Republican Senator John McCain, a leading
immigration reform proponent.
McCain said
bills improving border security, establishing an online system for companies to
check their workers' immigration status and expanding visas for high-tech
foreign workers could be first out of the gate. The latter two are important to
U.S. businesses.
Senior House
Republican aides said it was unclear what bills might move next year beyond
border security.
Republicans
hope to gain more control of the immigration debate as they will hold majorities
in the House and Senate for the first time since 2006.
They need to
improve their standing with Hispanic-American voters as the party strives to
capture the White House in 2016.
DIFFICULTIES ABOUND
Passing tougher immigration measures will
be difficult, though, as Democratic votes will be needed.
Obama warned business leaders this week
that "it's going to be hard, I think, for me and for other Democrats"
to support piecemeal legislation that deals with the concerns of business but
does not address undocumented Americans.
One leading Democrat on immigration,
Representative Zoe Lofgren, was asked if she could support a Republican border
security bill, for example.
"It depends on what it is,"
Lofgren said, adding Republican Representative "Steve King wants to do a
(border) wall with electrified wire...I don't think that's a winning
vote."
Ultimately, Republicans must address the
approximately 12 million undocumented residents living in the United States for
extended periods, McCain and Diaz-Balart said.
Many Republicans argue that allowing them
to stay in the U.S. rewards law-breakers.
Meanwhile, House Republican leadership is
more conservative with the recent election of Representative Steve Scalise to
the third-ranking position. Scalise opposes giving legal status to undocumented
residents.
Furthermore, the House immigration debate
could unfold as a seasonal spike of illegal migration from Central America gets
underway. Last summer's arrival of tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors
stoked tensions between Republicans and immigration advocates.
For legislation to succeed in 2015, "a
lot of things have to line up and they're not lined up now," said one
Republican congressman who asked not to be identified.
(Editing byCaren Bohan,Sandra Malerand Alan Crosby)
With a "Lame Duck" Congress the President has decided to act on Illegal Immigration by himself without Congress. This issue is so big that it demands an act of Congress to validate this kind of law and not the cowardly act of a predigest President. Obama is on very thin ice with this one and his executive powers are in question! In 2015 Obama will find a very different climate In Washington and if we are lucky a Congress which will Impeach him based on his criminal actions!
It must be nice to have a job where the rules don't apply. A job where the job description is not a solid guide line, but flexible. A job where the oath of office is not binding. A job where we let our prejudges effect our decisions. Evidently this is President Obama's view of the Presidency. He is unable to enforce boarder security, so intends to change the law instead of enforcing the law! Well; we will see Mr. President. This is Felicity for the "Noodleman Group".
It's easy! Just copy and paste me into your email!
* “The Noodleman Group” is pleased to announce that we are now carrying a link to the “USA Today” news site.We installed the “widget/gadget” August 20, and it will be carried as a regular feature on our site.Now you can read“Noodleman” and then check in to “USA Today” for all the up to date News, Weather, Sports and more!Just scroll all the way down to the bottom of our site and hit the “USA Today” hyperlinks.Enjoy!
With the Yule holiday season fast approaching or in some cases already upon us I thought it might be fun to take the lighter approach to THE HOLIDAYS and the remainder of the shopping season. We will explore some mad and crazy last minute gift ideas, ten things to hate about the holidays, and last but not lease remember the true meaning of of Christmas. We would also wish our Hebrew friends and readers the best of Chanukah's (December 16 -24)! 
