Politics of personal destruction used to elevate Sotomayor

Opposition research to undermine plaintiff: firefighter Frank Ricci

Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor’s advocates are pulling out all stops in their efforts to have her sail through her upcoming confirmation hearing. As an example, the liberal advocacy group People for the American Way is urging reporters to scrutinize what they called the “troubled and litigious work history” of Frank Ricci, the Connecticut firefighter at the center of Sotomayor’s most controversial ruling.

“To go after so sympathetic a plaintiff as Frank Ricci . . . is a new low in the politics of personal destruction,” said Roger Pilon, the director of the libertarian Cato Institute’s Center for Constitutional Studies. “If they were smart, they’d keep a low profile.”

The 35-year-old Ricci was the lead plaintiff in the case Ricci v. DeStefano, challenging New Haven’s refusal to promote white firefighters after black and all but one Hispanic firefighters failed to score high enough on a promotion exam.

Sotomayor and a majority of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the city’s claim that it was justifiably concerned about a potential civil rights suit being filed by the black firefighters.

Last month, however, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 2nd Circuit by a 5-4 vote.

Read the complete McClatchy news report here.

An overwhelming majority of Americans oppose the position that Sonia Sotomayor took on the affirmative action case — with 71 percent favoring the promotion of the white firefightersand the one Hispanic, who scored well on the test. Only 19 percent side with the city — and Sotomayor — in abandoning the test and awarding no promotions.

In addition, a strong public majority — 55 to 36 percent — favors abolishing affirmative action entirely, according to a recent Quinnipiac University poll.

This brief video explains the 20 firefighter’s reverse discrimination lawsuit.

Obama and Napolitano lay out welcome mat to greater influx of illegals

With Barack Obama ensconced in the White House — when the global traveler is actually in Washington DC –  and Janet Napolitano as Homeland INsecurity Secretary (DHS), new federal standards have been announced intended to tie the hands of local police in enforcement of  immigration laws.

Think of it this way: Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has essentially had a federal program crafted specifically to restrain him.       

Former Arizona Gov. Napolitano says that targeting people who commit minor offenses is not the goal of the program. It is arresting and deporting illegal immigrants who commit violent crimes and major drug offenses, the daily reports.

In other words, come on in, the door is open and the welcome mat is out. The federal government of the United State has no intention of enforcing border security or protecting national sovereignty, less than eight years after September 11^th.

For his  part, Arpaio has vowed to continue conducting crime-suppression operations and says he will continue booking suspected illegal immigrants who commit minor crimes in jail, where immigration status has been automatically checked as part of the federal 287 (g) program.

According to the administration, the culprits to be curbed are not those illegally entering the U.S., but the law enforcement professionals who apprehend them.

A DHS spokesman made this odd statement:  “The focus is going to be on criminal aliens.”

Isn’t that anyone who breaks into our country in violation of the law? The fact is, illegals engage in continued criminal activity once the initial act of stealthy crossing into this country has occurred.  There is a booming market in forged, counterfeit and stolen identification, birth certificates, Social Security numbers and driver’s licenses, the necessary components to facilitate their lives in the U.S. after arriving.

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has referred 30,000 suspected illegals to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the program, about 26,000 of whom were identified after being booked into jail for crimes ranging from felonies to misdemeanors.

Arpaio’s crime sweeps have been hailed by the voters who repeatedly reelect him and other advocates of stricter enforcement.

“DHS has already negotiated agreements with numerous state and local agencies – many just within the last few years. It is counterproductive to bully them now with this kind of ultimatum and undermine their successful programs,” said U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, (R-TX), a strong supporter of the 287 (g) program. “This is another example of the administration making it harder to find and deport illegal immigrants,” he said.

U.S. Supreme Court reverses high-profile decision by Sonia Sotomayor

In a 5 to 4 vote today, the United States Supreme Court narrowly ruled in favor of white firefighters in New Haven, Connecticut, who said they were denied promotions because of their race. The decision reverses a decision by Judge Sonia Sotomayor and others that has come to play a large role in the consideration of her nomination for the high court. The Washington Post reports.

An overwhelming majority of every ethnic and gender demographic — 71 percent — in a recent poll of Americans oppose the position that Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor took on the affirmative action case.

In the case, Ricci v. DeStefano, Sotomayor sided with the city of New Haven, which threw out the results of a test used to promote firefighters when no blacks achieved a score high enough to merit promotion. Watch this brief video regarding the firefighter’s reverse discrimination suit.

The answer was right there all along

The answer stares at us from the first sentence of the article in the daily newspaper – giving the soft, human interest version of the nearly two decades old Flores v. Arizona case —  in which the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a ruling this past week.

Under the headline Mom at head of suit still worried about Arizona’s English learners, we read this:

The Flores in Flores vs. Arizona is a quiet, 42-year-old mother of three daughters who’s lived in Nogales for decades and still speaks much better Spanish than English.

Her 23-year-old daughter, Miriam, originally the center of the case, is now attending Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, with the hope of becoming a nurse.  Obviously she is proficient in English.

The question is, why is the mother, who has “lived in Nogales for decades,” still not conversant in the language she cared so deeply about that she allowed herself to be the focal point of the test case? Is there any incentive for her to do more for her younger daughters than she did for Miriam?

Major victory in Flores ELL case as U.S. Supreme Court decides in favor of state of AZ

In a 5-4 decision, the U. S. Supreme Court has taken a major step toward ending a 17-year legal battle today.

The justices reversed the decision of the lower courts and sent the case, known as Flores v. Arizona, back with instructions to consider improvements the state has made in the way schools teach English language learners.

Read the decision in Horne, Superintendent, Arizona Public Instruction v. Flores et al here.

“This is a major step to stop federal trial judges from micromanaging state education systems,” said state schools superintendent Tom Horne, who along with former Speaker of the AZ House of Representatives, Jim Weiers, asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on the case. “This affirms that important value that we the people control our government and our elected representatives and not ruled over by an aristocracy of lifetime federal judges,” the daily reports.

The State of Arizona had previously been ordered by Federal District Judge Raner Collins to deposit millions of taxpayer dollars into a fund for the children of illegal aliens in public schools. The required payments began accruing at the rate of $500,000 a day and rose incrementally to $2 million a day. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wiped out the $21 million fines, and additionally ruled that English-learner students must pass the AIMS test to graduate from high school.

The Arizona Senate Republicans report that test results have proven that Structured English Immersion works and is the best way to teach English learners a command of the language. These test results also vindicate the Legislature’s fight to help students learn English. There is strong evidence that Arizona’s program leads the nation.

One billion robocalls net $10 million in telemarketing scam

The perpetrators of a mega telemarketing scheme many of us have been exposed to, have been identified and targeted by the Federal Trade Commission ((FTC) in a suit filed in in federal court.

Four people are alleged to be responsible for more than $10 million in telemarketing scams. The deceptive “robocalls” are part of an effort aimed at consumers to sell them vehicle service contracts for between $2,000 and $3,000, under the guise that they are extensions of original warranties, which are falsely portrayed as “about to expire.”

Court documents name Christopher Cowart, James and Maureen Dunne, and Damian Kohlfield as those responsible for the automated “robocall” schemes that have sent out more than 1 billion telephone calls since 2007, according to a FOX News report.

“This is one of the most aggressive telemarketing schemes the FTC has ever encountered,” said Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz. “I’m not sure which is worse, the abusive telemarketing tactics of these companies, or the way they try to deceive people once they get them on the phone. Either way, we intend to shut them down.”

Napolitano crony likely Obama pick for U.S. Attorney

In a clear example of political payback, Phoenix lawyer Dennis Burke, 46,  is said to have the inside track for the coveted position of U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona.

Burke has been at Janet Napolitano’s side for years, serving as her Chief-of-Staff when she was Governor and as Chief Assistant Attorney General during her term as Attorney General. When Napolitano was United States Attorney, it was Burke who was at her right hand.

He also joined Napolitano in positioning himself on the Obama team.  When he stepped down from his post in the Governor’s office last year amid speculation he might run for AG,  he said he was leaving to ramp up his involvement in “political campaigns” Turns out the gig was a singular campaign — that of Barack Obama.

Following Napolitano appears to have paid off for perennial second banana Burke.

The daily reports on what appears to be the imminent appointment here.

Gov. Brewer holds press conference on the AZ Supreme Court North steps

11:00 AM today

The governor follows through on her threat to take her budget issue to the AZ Supreme Court.

 Brewer’s media advisory can be read here.

UPDATE:

Republican Gov. Jan Brewer today made good on her promise and filed a special-action lawsuit asking the state Supreme Court to order GOP legislative leaders to send her the budget bills that were approved on June 4. These are the bills that she intends to veto in the final hours of the session, leaving the legislature with no options as she goes forward with her tax increase.

Senate President Bob Burns and House Speaker Kirk Adams have said they delayed sending the bills to her in hopes of negotiating a compromise.

The daily reports that the state faces a shortfall of up to $4 billion in the fiscal year beginning July 1. Tax collections have taken a beating with the housing industry’s collapse, rising unemployment and tightened consumer spending.

The 55-page filing names as defendants the full House and Senate, and specifically cites House Speaker Kirk Adams (R-Dist.19), Senate President Bob Burns (R-Dist.9) and Secretary of the Senate Charmion Billington. 

“I feel what I’m doing is right,” Brewer said from the steps of Supreme Court. “It’s right for the people of Arizona.”

Read the Governor’s Request for Expedited Consideration filed today with the Arizona Supreme Court.

Rep. Doug Quelland appeals ouster

Rep. Doug Quelland (R-Dist.10) has formally filed an appeal with the state’s Office of Administrative Hearings, challenging the findings of the Citizens Clean Elections Commission (CCEC) which last month ordered him to resign his elected office.

The unelected CCEC panel which previously ousted another elected Republican office holder, determined Quelland’s culpability absent any court proceedings, and demanded payment of  $45,500 in fines when it accused him of violating campaign finance laws during his 2008 campaign — a charge he vehemently denies.

Quelland has hired attorney Tim Casey to represent him during the appeal process and promised his defense would be “nuclear.”

Pending the outcome of his appeal, Quelland can retain his seat, which represents northwest Phoenix and parts of Glendale. The daily covers the matter here.

In a separate matter, we have previously covered the matching funds provision of this problem-plagued scheme and the order of a U.S. District judge who ruled that a key provision of Arizona’s public campaign financing system violates constitutional free speech rights.

Of course it works

From the pages of the daily: The U.S. Supreme Court this month will determine if Arizona has satisfied a federal court order to spend enough money to help English-language learners succeed in school.

But no matter what the court decides in Flores vs. Arizona, one thing is not likely to change: the type of program – a unique, four-hour-a-day English-immersion course – that every English learner from kindergarten to high school must take.

The controversial course has been in place only two years. But some early signs are positive: Many schools report that a record number of students tested proficient in English at the end of this school year and will enter mainstream classes. This was the first year the course was mandated in all districts.

The question is: Why should English immersion programs be either “controversial” or costly? The front and jump page article details the ever-increasing costs of implementing the curriculum.

Immersion was the successful method used by generations of English language learners who arrived on America’s shores and instinctively understood the pathway to success was speaking the language of their chosen country.  No one called it English immersion.  It was simply what happened when children attended school. They learned and succeeded.