Congressman Tom Tancredo's (R-CO)
Tancredo: Block Aid to Louisiana Politicians
Tue Sep 13, 2005 01:32
64.140.158.109
Will.Adams@MAIL.HOUSE.GOV WROTE:
Congressman Tom Tancredo's (R-CO) Weekly Capitol Update Mon, 12 Sep 2005 VISIT COLORADO'S SIXTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT'S WEBSITE: http://www.house.gov/tancredo /
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If you would like to contact Congressman Tancredo, please do so through our website at http://www.house.gov/tancredo/contact_tom.htm
******************************************************************
RELEASES:
******************************************************************
Tancredo: Block Aid to Louisiana Politicians
Congressman Says Incompetence, Corruption Show Local Officials Cannot be Trusted with Federal Aid
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) wrote a letter to Speaker Hastert, urging him to direct federal hurricane relief aid through channels other than Louisiana public officials. Citing incompetence and a history of corruption, Tancredo said a bipartisan select committee of the House should administer the aid and provide accountability for the $52 billion requested. The letter is reprinted below:
Dear Mr. Speaker,
Given the abysmal failure of state and local officials in Louisiana to plan adequately for or respond to the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the city of New Orleans, and given the long history of public corruption in Louisiana, I hope the House will refrain from directly appropriating any funds from the public treasury to either the state of Louisiana or the city of New Orleans. Instead, reconstruction and relief funds dedicated to the people of New Orleans should be administered by a private organization or a select committee similar to the historic Truman Commission.
Public corruption is a well known problem in Louisiana. The head of the FBI in New Orleans just this past year described the state's public corruption as "epidemic, endemic, and entrenched. No branch of government is exempt." Over the last thirty years, a long list of Louisiana politicians have been convicted of crimes; the list includes a governor, an attorney general, an elections commissioner, an agriculture commissioner, three successive insurance commissioners, a congressman, a federal judge, a State Senate president, six other state legislators, and a host of appointed officials, local sheriffs, city councilmen, and parish police jurors. Given the documented public corruption in the state, I am not confident that Louisiana officials can be trusted to administer federal relief aid.
Clearly the federal response from FEMA in the aftermath of the hurricane was hampered by bureaucratic ineptitude. Making matters worse, the Mayor of New Orleans and the Governor of Louisiana have demonstrated mind-boggling incompetence in their lack of planning for and response to this disaster. According to one recent media report, "A year ago, as Hurricane Ivan approached, New Orleans ordered an evacuation but did not use city or school buses to help people evacuate. As a result many of the poorest citizens were unable to evacuate. Fortunately, the hurricane changed course and did not hit New Orleans, but both Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin acknowledged the need for a better evacuation plan...[but] did not take corrective actions. In 1998, during a threat by Hurricane George, 14,000 people were sent to the Superdome and theft and vandalism were rampant due to inadequate security. Again, these problems were not corrected."
The city of New York, by comparison, had no advance warning of 9/11. Yet Mayor Giuliani and Governor Pataki displayed tremendous leadership in managing a chaotic situation in the city. Their leadership inspired confidence in their ability to manage the emergency and coordinate federal aid. In contrast, despite knowing days in advance about the coming hurricane, Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin seem to have done little beyond encouraging residents to leave the city or gather at the Superdome. City school and transit buses could have carried 12,000 persons per run out of the city, yet they sat idle in parking lots under water - while both the Mayor and Governor criticized the federal response.
In the coming days, tens of billions of dollars will likely flood Louisiana to address the costs of rescue, clean up, and rebuilding. The question is not whether Congress should provide for those in need, but whether state and local officials who have been derelict in their duty should be trusted with that money. Their record during Hurricane Katrina and the long history of public corruption in Louisiana convinces me that that they should not.
Sincerely,
Tom Tancredo, M.C.
cc:
The Honorable Tom DeLay, Majority Leader
The Honorable Jerry Lewis, House Appropriations Committee Chairman
The Honorable Ted Stevens, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman
###
Tancredo Proposes Oversight for Katrina Funds
Congressman Says Taxpayers Deserve Accountability for Record $62 Billion of Relief
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) introduced a resolution today that would create a bipartisan select committee of House members to oversee the administration of hurricane relief and reconstruction funds.
The House approved a record $51.8 billion in relief funds this afternoon. Altogether, $61.2 billion have been appropriated, which is greater than the total annual discretionary spending for the Commerce, Justice, and State Departments combined. Speaker Hastert and Majority Leader Frist announced that they will create a joint committee that is "tasked with reviewing, at all levels of government, the immediate preparation and recovery from Hurricane Katrina." The committee appears to provide no oversight for the billions of dollars of relief aid that has been appropriated. Tancredo voted against appropriating the Katrina relief funds because of the lack of oversight.
"There is no question that billions of dollars are needed-and are needed immediately-to provide relief and reconstruction for Louisiana. But the urgent need of resources does not excuse us from our duty to safeguard the American taxpayers' money," said Tancredo.
Tancredo continued, "I'm concerned that the federal government has created a situation that is ripe for fraud and abuse. Billions of dollars are being handed out to a place where there is severely compromised infrastructure, where local officials have been incompetent in their early response to the emergency, and where there is little if any oversight in administering the funds. Resources are urgently needed, but the U.S. Treasury should not be left unguarded."
"It is our duty to get relief to persons affected by Hurricane Katrina. But it is political malpractice to spend taxpayers' money without making sure that the aid is getting to the right people," said Tancredo.
Tancredo's resolution would create a 15-member select committee of the House which would be charged with providing oversight for relief aid, accountability of contractors and government officials, and with recommending penalties for corruption and contract abuse related to Hurricane Katrina.
###
Tancredo: DHS Can't Handle Immigrant Influx
Katrina Showed DHS is Overwhelmed, Tancredo Bill Would Rebalance Legal Immigration
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) proposed lowering the current level of legal immigration to bring it in line with the historic level of immigration and to ease the strain on the Department of Homeland Security. DHS encompasses both Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"If there were ever a wake up call alarming us to the fact that DHS is overwhelmed, Katrina provided it," said Tancredo. "It is a department that needs more resources and a new focus. In the meantime, DHS needs relief and reducing the immigration backlog is a simple and effective way to do that."
Tancredo's bill, the Restoring Immigration to a Genuinely Healthy Total (RIGHT Act of 2005, H.R. 3700), would reduce legal immigration to about 324,000 persons per year. Currently, annual legal immigration tops one million, and the backlog of unprocessed applications is in the millions.
The RIGHT Act would also close several loopholes in immigration law. It would prevent automatic citizenship to persons whose parents are not citizens, require employers have to sign affidavits against employment based immigrants becoming a public charge, and revoke citizenship of persons who vote in foreign elections.
"Legal and illegal immigration is out of control and unsustainable. My bill would bring legal immigration back into balance," said Tancredo.
###
Tancredo Issues Statement on Anniversary of Terrorist Attacks
Border Security Essential to Avoid Future Tragedy
WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) issued the following statement on the anniversary of September 11th:
"My prayers are with those who have suffered from this terrible event in our nation's history, and I realize how much work must be done to prevent another 9/11. It is disturbing to see that a number of hijackers entered our country through fraudulent visas and violated U.S. immigration laws while being undetected by the INS. At least six of these terrorists overstayed their visas, and one received a student visa, yet did not enroll in or attend a single class. We cannot betray the memory of our fellow Americans with insufficient resources for border and immigration agents."
In August 2004, the 9/11 Commission stated: "No agency of the U.S. government thought of border security as a tool in the counterterrorism arsenal. Indeed, even after 19 hijackers demonstrated the relative ease of obtaining a U.S. visa and gaining admission into the United States, border security still is not considered a cornerstone of national security policy...and few aliens were ever denied a nonimmigrant visa on grounds of terrorism in the pre-9/11 era."
Congressman Tancredo has introduced the REAL GUEST Act of 2005 that will ensure the existence of a fully implemented and functional biometric entry and exit system to greatly aid in the tracking and detection of non-immigrants as well as boost Immigration and Customs Enforcement with an additional 10,000 agents.
Tancredo: Fire FEMA boss Brown
By M.E. Sprengelmeyer, Rocky Mountain News
September 9, 2005
WASHINGTON - Rep. Tom Tancredo on Thursday became one of the first congressional Republicans to call for the ouster of embattled Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael Brown.
Echoing criticism leveled by numerous Democrats this week, the Littleton congressman said he had lost confidence in Brown, a former Colorado lawyer who has been under fire for his agency's response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster.
Tancredo has been harshly critical of state and local officials in Louisiana, too, saying they deserve 90 percent of the blame for the mismanaged relief efforts.
But he said the FEMA director should be removed from his post "as part of what I would hope would be a thorough housecleaning from this whole event. I certainly believe he has demonstrated a lack of leadership to the extent I think a replacement is necessary.
"But believe me," Tancredo added, "it's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg in terms of the sort of personnel shifting that needs to go on."
Democrats, including Sen. Ken Salazar, of Denver, Rep. Mark Udall, of Eldorado Springs, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, from California, already have called on President Bush to remove Brown.
Until now, the White House has rebuffed the requests and Brown has said he's continuing to do his job despite the criticism.
"It really hasn't surprised me that we've gotten into the blame game," Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., said Wednesday. "I don't think this is the time to fire people. I think it's the time we need to help people."
Earlier this week, Tancredo harshly criticized Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, both Democrats, saying they had "demonstrated mind- boggling incompetence," and urged Congress not to give emergency relief funds directly to their agencies without strict federal oversight.
Tancredo now questions whether Brown has the confidence to remain on the job overseeing the federal disaster response.
"I don't know how much trust there is in him, and I think at this point in time you desperately need people leading the effort here who are deemed to be capable and have the trust of the people who work for them," Tancredo said.
************************************
Tom Tancredo's Excellent Suggestion
The American Thinker Clarice Feldman 9/7/05
Congressman Tom Tancredo has made an immenently sensible suggestion about the handling of hurricane relief funds to Louisiana.
WASHINGTON, DC. - Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) wrote a letter to Speaker Hastert, urging him to direct federal hurricane relief aid through channels other than Louisiana public officials. Citing incompetence and a history of corruption, Tancredo said a bipartisan select committee of the House should administer the aid and provide accountability for the $52 billion requested.
Among the reasons he cites for this rechanneling of funds are these:
Over the last thirty years, a long list of Louisiana politicians have been convicted of crimes; the list includes a governor, an attorney general, an elections commissioner, an agriculture commissioner, three successive insurance commissioners, a congressman, a federal judge, a State Senate president, six other state legislators, and a host of appointed officials, local sheriffs, city councilmen, and parish police jurors. Given the documented public corruption in the state, I am not confident that Louisiana officials can be trusted to administer federal relief aid.
Clearly the federal response from FEMA in the aftermath of the hurricane was hampered by bureaucratic ineptitude. Making matters worse, the Mayor of New Orleans and the Governor of Louisiana have demonstrated mind-boggling incompetence in their lack of planning for and response to this disaster. According to one recent media report, "A year ago, as Hurricane Ivan approached, New Orleans ordered an evacuation but did not use city or school buses to help people evacuate. As a result many of the poorest citizens were unable to evacuate. Fortunately, the hurricane changed course and did not hit New Orleans, but both Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin acknowledged the need for a better evacuation plan...[but] did not take corrective actions. In 1998, during a threat by Hurricane George, 14,000 people were sent to the Superdome and theft and vandalism were rampant due to inadequate security. Again, these problems were not corrected."
If you care at all about relieving the misery of the poor in Louisiana, you will urge Congress to adopt it.
**************************************
Minutemen Readying New York Patrol along State's Border with Canada
By JOSEPH STERNBERG Staff Reporter of the Sun
7 September 2005
The New York Sun
Civilian border patrols, like those that have generated fierce debate in the Southwest, are planned to start along New York's border with Canada on October 1.
The leader of the Minuteman Civilian Defense Corps, Chris Simcox, will be keynote speaker at a four-hour meeting planned for Saturday in Babylon, on Long Island. The meeting is intended to organize and train volunteers to patrol the Canadian border in New England and New York. Mr. Simcox's group started patrols in Arizona in April and plans to launch a nationwide effort in October, according to a spokeswoman for the Minutemen, Connie Hair.
The weekend meeting will focus on recruitment and training for the October patrols, Ms. Hair said. It is being held on Long Island instead of in a border town because the New York metropolitan area is a population center, because
Congressman Tom Tancredo's (R-CO) Weekly Capitol Update Mon, 12 Sep 2005 VISIT COLORADO'S SIXTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT'S WEBSITE: http://www.house.gov/tancredo /
************************************************************************
If you would like to contact Congressman Tancredo, please do so through our website at http://www.house.gov/tancredo/contact_tom.htm
******************************************************************
RELEASES:
******************************************************************
Tancredo: Block Aid to Louisiana Politicians
Congressman Says Incompetence, Corruption Show Local Officials Cannot be Trusted with Federal Aid
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) wrote a letter to Speaker Hastert, urging him to direct federal hurricane relief aid through channels other than Louisiana public officials. Citing incompetence and a history of corruption, Tancredo said a bipartisan select committee of the House should administer the aid and provide accountability for the $52 billion requested. The letter is reprinted below:
Dear Mr. Speaker,
Given the abysmal failure of state and local officials in Louisiana to plan adequately for or respond to the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the city of New Orleans, and given the long history of public corruption in Louisiana, I hope the House will refrain from directly appropriating any funds from the public treasury to either the state of Louisiana or the city of New Orleans. Instead, reconstruction and relief funds dedicated to the people of New Orleans should be administered by a private organization or a select committee similar to the historic Truman Commission.
Public corruption is a well known problem in Louisiana. The head of the FBI in New Orleans just this past year described the state's public corruption as "epidemic, endemic, and entrenched. No branch of government is exempt." Over the last thirty years, a long list of Louisiana politicians have been convicted of crimes; the list includes a governor, an attorney general, an elections commissioner, an agriculture commissioner, three successive insurance commissioners, a congressman, a federal judge, a State Senate president, six other state legislators, and a host of appointed officials, local sheriffs, city councilmen, and parish police jurors. Given the documented public corruption in the state, I am not confident that Louisiana officials can be trusted to administer federal relief aid.
Clearly the federal response from FEMA in the aftermath of the hurricane was hampered by bureaucratic ineptitude. Making matters worse, the Mayor of New Orleans and the Governor of Louisiana have demonstrated mind-boggling incompetence in their lack of planning for and response to this disaster. According to one recent media report, "A year ago, as Hurricane Ivan approached, New Orleans ordered an evacuation but did not use city or school buses to help people evacuate. As a result many of the poorest citizens were unable to evacuate. Fortunately, the hurricane changed course and did not hit New Orleans, but both Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin acknowledged the need for a better evacuation plan...[but] did not take corrective actions. In 1998, during a threat by Hurricane George, 14,000 people were sent to the Superdome and theft and vandalism were rampant due to inadequate security. Again, these problems were not corrected."
The city of New York, by comparison, had no advance warning of 9/11. Yet Mayor Giuliani and Governor Pataki displayed tremendous leadership in managing a chaotic situation in the city. Their leadership inspired confidence in their ability to manage the emergency and coordinate federal aid. In contrast, despite knowing days in advance about the coming hurricane, Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin seem to have done little beyond encouraging residents to leave the city or gather at the Superdome. City school and transit buses could have carried 12,000 persons per run out of the city, yet they sat idle in parking lots under water - while both the Mayor and Governor criticized the federal response.
In the coming days, tens of billions of dollars will likely flood Louisiana to address the costs of rescue, clean up, and rebuilding. The question is not whether Congress should provide for those in need, but whether state and local officials who have been derelict in their duty should be trusted with that money. Their record during Hurricane Katrina and the long history of public corruption in Louisiana convinces me that that they should not.
Sincerely,
Tom Tancredo, M.C.
cc:
The Honorable Tom DeLay, Majority Leader
The Honorable Jerry Lewis, House Appropriations Committee Chairman
The Honorable Ted Stevens, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman
###
Tancredo Proposes Oversight for Katrina Funds
Congressman Says Taxpayers Deserve Accountability for Record $62 Billion of Relief
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) introduced a resolution today that would create a bipartisan select committee of House members to oversee the administration of hurricane relief and reconstruction funds.
The House approved a record $51.8 billion in relief funds this afternoon. Altogether, $61.2 billion have been appropriated, which is greater than the total annual discretionary spending for the Commerce, Justice, and State Departments combined. Speaker Hastert and Majority Leader Frist announced that they will create a joint committee that is "tasked with reviewing, at all levels of government, the immediate preparation and recovery from Hurricane Katrina." The committee appears to provide no oversight for the billions of dollars of relief aid that has been appropriated. Tancredo voted against appropriating the Katrina relief funds because of the lack of oversight.
"There is no question that billions of dollars are needed-and are needed immediately-to provide relief and reconstruction for Louisiana. But the urgent need of resources does not excuse us from our duty to safeguard the American taxpayers' money," said Tancredo.
Tancredo continued, "I'm concerned that the federal government has created a situation that is ripe for fraud and abuse. Billions of dollars are being handed out to a place where there is severely compromised infrastructure, where local officials have been incompetent in their early response to the emergency, and where there is little if any oversight in administering the funds. Resources are urgently needed, but the U.S. Treasury should not be left unguarded."
"It is our duty to get relief to persons affected by Hurricane Katrina. But it is political malpractice to spend taxpayers' money without making sure that the aid is getting to the right people," said Tancredo.
Tancredo's resolution would create a 15-member select committee of the House which would be charged with providing oversight for relief aid, accountability of contractors and government officials, and with recommending penalties for corruption and contract abuse related to Hurricane Katrina.
###
Tancredo: DHS Can't Handle Immigrant Influx
Katrina Showed DHS is Overwhelmed, Tancredo Bill Would Rebalance Legal Immigration
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) proposed lowering the current level of legal immigration to bring it in line with the historic level of immigration and to ease the strain on the Department of Homeland Security. DHS encompasses both Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"If there were ever a wake up call alarming us to the fact that DHS is overwhelmed, Katrina provided it," said Tancredo. "It is a department that needs more resources and a new focus. In the meantime, DHS needs relief and reducing the immigration backlog is a simple and effective way to do that."
Tancredo's bill, the Restoring Immigration to a Genuinely Healthy Total (RIGHT Act of 2005, H.R. 3700), would reduce legal immigration to about 324,000 persons per year. Currently, annual legal immigration tops one million, and the backlog of unprocessed applications is in the millions.
The RIGHT Act would also close several loopholes in immigration law. It would prevent automatic citizenship to persons whose parents are not citizens, require employers have to sign affidavits against employment based immigrants becoming a public charge, and revoke citizenship of persons who vote in foreign elections.
"Legal and illegal immigration is out of control and unsustainable. My bill would bring legal immigration back into balance," said Tancredo.
###
Tancredo Issues Statement on Anniversary of Terrorist Attacks
Border Security Essential to Avoid Future Tragedy
WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) issued the following statement on the anniversary of September 11th:
"My prayers are with those who have suffered from this terrible event in our nation's history, and I realize how much work must be done to prevent another 9/11. It is disturbing to see that a number of hijackers entered our country through fraudulent visas and violated U.S. immigration laws while being undetected by the INS. At least six of these terrorists overstayed their visas, and one received a student visa, yet did not enroll in or attend a single class. We cannot betray the memory of our fellow Americans with insufficient resources for border and immigration agents."
In August 2004, the 9/11 Commission stated: "No agency of the U.S. government thought of border security as a tool in the counterterrorism arsenal. Indeed, even after 19 hijackers demonstrated the relative ease of obtaining a U.S. visa and gaining admission into the United States, border security still is not considered a cornerstone of national security policy...and few aliens were ever denied a nonimmigrant visa on grounds of terrorism in the pre-9/11 era."
Congressman Tancredo has introduced the REAL GUEST Act of 2005 that will ensure the existence of a fully implemented and functional biometric entry and exit system to greatly aid in the tracking and detection of non-immigrants as well as boost Immigration and Customs Enforcement with an additional 10,000 agents.
Tancredo: Fire FEMA boss Brown
By M.E. Sprengelmeyer, Rocky Mountain News
September 9, 2005
WASHINGTON - Rep. Tom Tancredo on Thursday became one of the first congressional Republicans to call for the ouster of embattled Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael Brown.
Echoing criticism leveled by numerous Democrats this week, the Littleton congressman said he had lost confidence in Brown, a former Colorado lawyer who has been under fire for his agency's response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster.
Tancredo has been harshly critical of state and local officials in Louisiana, too, saying they deserve 90 percent of the blame for the mismanaged relief efforts.
But he said the FEMA director should be removed from his post "as part of what I would hope would be a thorough housecleaning from this whole event. I certainly believe he has demonstrated a lack of leadership to the extent I think a replacement is necessary.
"But believe me," Tancredo added, "it's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg in terms of the sort of personnel shifting that needs to go on."
Democrats, including Sen. Ken Salazar, of Denver, Rep. Mark Udall, of Eldorado Springs, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, from California, already have called on President Bush to remove Brown.
Until now, the White House has rebuffed the requests and Brown has said he's continuing to do his job despite the criticism.
"It really hasn't surprised me that we've gotten into the blame game," Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., said Wednesday. "I don't think this is the time to fire people. I think it's the time we need to help people."
Earlier this week, Tancredo harshly criticized Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, both Democrats, saying they had "demonstrated mind- boggling incompetence," and urged Congress not to give emergency relief funds directly to their agencies without strict federal oversight.
Tancredo now questions whether Brown has the confidence to remain on the job overseeing the federal disaster response.
"I don't know how much trust there is in him, and I think at this point in time you desperately need people leading the effort here who are deemed to be capable and have the trust of the people who work for them," Tancredo said.
************************************
Tom Tancredo's Excellent Suggestion
The American Thinker Clarice Feldman 9/7/05
Congressman Tom Tancredo has made an immenently sensible suggestion about the handling of hurricane relief funds to Louisiana.
WASHINGTON, DC. - Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) wrote a letter to Speaker Hastert, urging him to direct federal hurricane relief aid through channels other than Louisiana public officials. Citing incompetence and a history of corruption, Tancredo said a bipartisan select committee of the House should administer the aid and provide accountability for the $52 billion requested.
Among the reasons he cites for this rechanneling of funds are these:
Over the last thirty years, a long list of Louisiana politicians have been convicted of crimes; the list includes a governor, an attorney general, an elections commissioner, an agriculture commissioner, three successive insurance commissioners, a congressman, a federal judge, a State Senate president, six other state legislators, and a host of appointed officials, local sheriffs, city councilmen, and parish police jurors. Given the documented public corruption in the state, I am not confident that Louisiana officials can be trusted to administer federal relief aid.
Clearly the federal response from FEMA in the aftermath of the hurricane was hampered by bureaucratic ineptitude. Making matters worse, the Mayor of New Orleans and the Governor of Louisiana have demonstrated mind-boggling incompetence in their lack of planning for and response to this disaster. According to one recent media report, "A year ago, as Hurricane Ivan approached, New Orleans ordered an evacuation but did not use city or school buses to help people evacuate. As a result many of the poorest citizens were unable to evacuate. Fortunately, the hurricane changed course and did not hit New Orleans, but both Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin acknowledged the need for a better evacuation plan...[but] did not take corrective actions. In 1998, during a threat by Hurricane George, 14,000 people were sent to the Superdome and theft and vandalism were rampant due to inadequate security. Again, these problems were not corrected."
If you care at all about relieving the misery of the poor in Louisiana, you will urge Congress to adopt it.
**************************************
Minutemen Readying New York Patrol along State's Border with Canada
By JOSEPH STERNBERG Staff Reporter of the Sun
7 September 2005
The New York Sun
Civilian border patrols, like those that have generated fierce debate in the Southwest, are planned to start along New York's border with Canada on October 1.
The leader of the Minuteman Civilian Defense Corps, Chris Simcox, will be keynote speaker at a four-hour meeting planned for Saturday in Babylon, on Long Island. The meeting is intended to organize and train volunteers to patrol the Canadian border in New England and New York. Mr. Simcox's group started patrols in Arizona in April and plans to launch a nationwide effort in October, according to a spokeswoman for the Minutemen, Connie Hair.
The weekend meeting will focus on recruitment and training for the October patrols, Ms. Hair said. It is being held on Long Island instead of in a border town because the New York metropolitan area is a population center, because
- US: Cover-up: toxic waters, New Orleans unsafe —Geoffrey Lean, The Observer (UK), Tue Sep 13 01:41
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