Federal Judge rules ObamaCare unconstitutional

U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson has ruled today that the Obama administration’s health care overhaul is unconstitutional, siding with the more than half of the states in the union suing to block the federal over-reach. Obama signed the 10-year, $938 billion health care bill into law in March 2010.

Arizona is a party to the lawsuit.

The federal judge accepted without trial the states’ argument that the new law violates people’s rights by forcing them to buy health insurance.

Read Judge Vinson’s 78-page ruling here.*

Obama’s lawyers had argued that the states did not have standing to challenge the law and that the case should be dismissed. Two other federal judges have upheld the insurance requirement, but a federal judge in Virginia also ruled the insurance provision violates the Constitution.

In his ruling, Vinson, a Reagan appointee, went further than the Virginia judge and declared the entire health care law unconstitutional

Expect the next stop to be the U.S. Supreme Court.

FOX News carries a complete report.

Michelle Malkin reports that Sen. Jim DeMint tweets that all 47 GOP Senators are now on board as co-sponsors of his ObamaCare repeal bill. Read the Department of Justice’s retort here as they ready their appeal.

The Washington Times reports that in ruling against Obama’s federally mandated health care, Judge Vinson used Obama’s own position from the 2008 campaign against him, when he argued that there are other ways to tackle health care short of requiring every American to purchase insurance.

“I note that in 2008, then-Senator Obama supported a health care reform proposal that did not include an individual mandate because he was at that time strongly opposed to the idea, stating that ‘if a mandate was the solution, we can try that to solve homelessness by mandating everybody to buy a house,’” Judge Vinson wrote in a footnote toward the end of the ruling.

* H/T Scribd

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Ambitious Babeu hosting his own Lincoln Day fundraiser

Republican activists are familiar with true Lincoln Day festivities. Various county GOP organizations throughout the state hold these events each year to commemorate Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican President of the United States, and support the county parties.

This event, complete with an elaborate invitation, is cloaked as a Lincoln Day dinner, but the intended beneficiary is none other than the ubiquitous Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu. His email says, “We continue our aggressive fund-raising schedule the first six months of 2011 in preparation to lead our Pinal GOP to additional victories in 2012.”  And to make certain recipients of the invitation don’t make the mistake of thinking this event honors Republican Lincoln, Babeu identifies himself as “Independent.”  The contact person is listed as the “Honorable Cheryl Chase,” formerly a Democrat legislator representing Dist. 23.

It’s a safe bet Babeu doesn’t intend an indefinite stay in Pinal County. The tag on the donation form declares: Proudly paid for by the Paul Babeu for Sheriff Committee. How long would it take to shift those funds into another campaign account?  Especially if a new congressional district opens?

Babeu, it should be remembered helped deceive Arizona voters by assisting the reelection efforts of John McCain over conservative former Congressman J.D. Hayworth, with this misleading “Complete the danged fence” commercial.  Listen as Babeu declares, “Senator, you’re one of us.”

As soon as the election was over, in a stunning display of total disregard of the voters he lied to, McCain began talking amnesty again.  What a surprise.

How does the chaos in Egypt affect the U.S.?

Many of us are trying to get a handle on how the United States emerges in the catastrophic events taking place in Egypt. Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center provides some clarity in deciphering the complexities of the international crisis erupting in the Mideast. The Special Report is titled The Revolt in Egypt and U.S. Policy. Seeing Red AZ doesn’t claim to be an authority on the upheaval, but like many of you, we are becoming increasingly concerned by the events that are unfolding as anti-government protestors have taken to the streets in Cairo.

Associated Press reports that Hammam Saeed, the leader of Jordan’s powerful Muslim Brotherhood warned yesterday that unrest in predominantly Muslim Egypt will spread across the Mideast and Arabs will topple leaders allied with the United States. His comments were made at a protest outside the Egyptian Embassy in Amman, inspired by massive rallies in neighboring Egypt demanding the downfall of the 30-year reign of President Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak’s sons are reported to have fled to London.

According to the AP report, Saeed said Arabs have grown disgruntled with U.S. domination of their oil wealth, military occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan and its support for “totalitarian” leaders in the region.  “The Americans and (President Barack) Obama must be losing sleep over the popular revolt in Egypt,” he said. “Now, Obama must understand that the people have woken up and are ready to unseat the tyrant leaders who remained in power because of U.S. backing.”

Meanwhile, thousands of passengers are stranded in Cairo’s airport as flights were canceled, leaving them unable to leave because of a government-imposed curfew.  Reuters reports that crime is rampant as police disappeared from the streets when the army was sent in to take over security in Cairo. Witnesses have since seen mobs ransacking supermarkets, commercial centers, banks, private property and storming government buildings in Cairo and elsewhere, while Egyptians armed with sticks and razors have formed vigilante groups to defend their homes from rampaging looters. The simplistic Disney song titled It’s a Small World, After All, takes on new meaning, reminding us we can’t afford to be complacent.

The crackdown on protesters has drawn stern criticism from the Obama administration along with a threat to reduce a $1.5 billion foreign aid program if Washington’s most important Arab ally escalates the use of force.

FOX News has more here.

The New York Times and its Arizona misstep

The once venerable New York Times hasn’t been in dancing mode for some time as  subscriptions have slumped and layoffs have caused its staff to dwindle to anorexic proportions.*  Still, it put on its fanciest dancing shoes to take a spin around the facts in a convoluted article that jumbled together a mish-mash of reports out of Arizona.

In Talk of Bipartisan Progress Fading in Arizona, three reporters in three different cities, worked up a lather in a disjointed marathon that began with the Tucson shooting and ended up with those wretched Tea Partiers calling for Pima County Sheriff Dupnik’s ouster for his bizarre and case-compromising statements following the carnage that left dead and wounded in its wake.

From there, the trio of reporters move into lengthy tango steps, beginning with the left’s favorite word “controversial” when placed before any legislation they find distasteful — such as addressing birthright citizenship, or requiring verification of citizenship of presidential candidates on the Arizona ballot. No doubt they didn’t care too much for SB 1070, which is strongly supported by the majority of Arizonans and is being emulated in legislatures across the nation.

They take a swing around the dance floor in an amague with last fall’s losing candidate for state treasurer, Andrei Cherny, now given the consolation prize of Democrat Party chairman. Cherny refers to the birthright citizenship bill as  “a direct assault on the very idea of America.”  And state Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a former Green Party candidate who has had more success as a Democrat, and always ready to pucker up to the microphone, tosses in a quote or two.

But it was the deep dip gancho at the conclusion of the dance that tells any Arizonan reading this bunk that the NYT is clearly out of its league as they take on the zany Anthony Miller scenario. Seeing Red AZ readers will recall that McCain operative Miller got crossways with conservative members of legislative district 20, culminating in his resignation as chairman. The secretary and communications director followed him out the door. Miller turned the political differences into a racial battle, and in a clear reference to the attempted murder of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, said he wasn’t going to take a bullet for anyone, though no threat was ever made. Turning the situation on its head gave him his 15 minutes of fame, which the Times is working to resuscitate for an additional 12 seconds.

The Times should write about issues closer to home such as corrupt unions, their own sordid politicians and dishonest Imams forcing their offensive mosque within blocks of ground zero.  Short of that we invite the Times staffers to check in with editorialist Doug MacEachern whose Quick Hit in the Republic coincided with their theme of civility.  In a few dozen words he did a far better job than the Gray Lady did using nearly a thousand.

*Last year, by the newspaper‘s own assessment, “circulation at The New York Times dropped 5.2 percent on Sunday, to 1.4 million copies, and 8.5 percent on weekdays, to 950,000.”

Illegal Update

Just a few more good people coming to do the work Americans refuse to do

Although the local media constantly inform us that illegal infiltration of our porous border is near standstill levels, we find at least 55 illegals haven‘t gotten that message, and were apprehended by law enforcement officials today.

UPDATE:

In the past two days deputies from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office arrested 83 illegal aliens and seized 725 pounds of marijuana, 66 grams of methamphetamine and one stolen car.

These swell folks were carrying the drugs in backpacks in the southwest desert area of Maricopa County.

One of the suspects taken into custody was a woman who has been deported 17 times in the past eight years. She is suspected of holding other illegals located in a drop house raid. Deputies said they also found 66 grams of methamphetamine in the house.

A spike in human-smuggling arrests in January by patrol deputies prompted the sheriff’s office to launch the 18th crime-suppression operation, Sheriff Joe Arpaio said. Undercover surveillance led to the arrest of 56 suspected illegal aliens in the days leading up to the sweep. It must have pained the adamantly pro-open borders Arizona Republic to report this. To aid you in reading in Republicese, Seeing Red AZ has included this helpful glossary.

The office’s newly formed Illegal Immigration Enforcement Posse joined in the sweep and 200 deputies and volunteers targeted human smuggling, drop houses and illegal drugs across the Phoenix area.

Actor Steven Seagal, a member of the Illegal Immigration Enforcement posse, participated in four arrests.

AZ addressing unsustainable costs of birthright citizenship

Once again the daily newspaper is reviling Arizona’s legislative efforts to address the massive problems we face with illegals crossing into our state and the issue of birthright citizenship.

Yesterday, Arizona lawmakers in both chambers introduced legislation (HB 2561 and SB 1309) seeking to challenge the right to U.S. citizenship for children born in the state whose parents are here illegally.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, states have enacted a record number of laws and resolutions addressing the crisis caused by illegal immigration.

Last week, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors released figures from the Department of Public Social Services showing that in November 2010, $53 million in welfare benefits ($22 million CalWORKs + $31 million in Food Stamps) were issued to parents who reside in the U.S. illegally and collect benefits for their native-born children in LA County. The report represents an increase of nearly $3 million from November 2009 — approximately 22% of all CalWORKs and Food Stamp issuances in the county.

“When you add this to $550 million for public safety and nearly $500 million for healthcare, the total cost for illegal immigrants to county taxpayers exceeds $1.6 billion dollars a year — not including the hundreds of millions of dollars for education,” said L.A. Supervisor Michael Antonovich.

California is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Take a moment to view the sobering government document here.

On the national front, U.S. Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and David Vitter (R-LA) have introduced a resolution that would amend the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, disallowing automatic citizenship to persons born in the United States to parents here in violation of the law. The requirement would ensure that a least one parent is a legal citizen, legal immigrant, active member of the Armed Forces or a naturalized legal citizen.

“Citizenship is a privilege, and only those who respect our immigration laws should be allowed to enjoy its benefits,” Paul said. “This legislation makes it necessary that everyone follow the rules, and goes through same process to become a U.S. citizen.”

Among the world’s industrialized nations, only the United States and Canada still offer birthright citizenship to tourists and illegal aliens. The revealing list can be seen here, including the nations that have repealed such laws in recent years. Then read about the shocking growth industry known as “birth tourism.”  

Tea Party candidate Jeff Smith wins LD 22 chairmanship redux

Election intrigue played out last night in Legislative District 22 as the precinct committeemen held their third election for chairman.  Much to the delight of the conservatives, Tea Party candidate and former Jeff Flake congressional rival, Jeff Smith emerged victorious, taking the special run-off election 128 – 118.  He was challenged by Adam Armer.

The initial election for district officers was held in November but the voting was deemed illegal since the process did not conform to the county rules requiring that proxy carriers be registered Republicans from the same precinct as the person whose proxy they carry.

The second election ended in a tie and the parties opted for a third election.

The district’s previous chairman Chad Heywood worked as an aide to Congressman Jeff Flake. This election is regarded as another repudiation of the political class exerting control over the grassroots activists.

Another amnesty hoax: The butterfly con job

The 1970’s movie Butterflies Are Free depicted a young blind man seeking independence. Staged in San Francisco, the plot centered on his new-found romance with a hot, worldly hippie babe who lived in the apartment next door.

The free butterfly analogy is now being used again. This time — would you believe — by amnesty proponents? And just as hippies disdained constraints, so do the open borders advocates.

In today’s edition of the daily we are treated to the ultimate of free flying con jobs in the form of misinformation and deceit on the issue of amnesty, innocuously titled, Crossing borders, Work together to fix immigration.

Accompanying the usual amnesty-for-illegal-aliens-at-all-costs tripe are two pictures. One shows Julie Pace, the case-hardened immigration lawyer representing the Chamber of Commerce’s illegal labor profiteers, who filed a lawsuit against Arizona’s Fair and Legal Employment Act (commonly referred to as the employer’s sanctions law). The 2007 law – now before the U.S. Supreme Court — charged employers who knowingly hired illegal workers.

With her blonde locks and smile, Pace is depicted as an artist who “created a poster” (also shown) illustrating a butterfly along with the words “Left Wing, Right Wing, Come Together, Solve Immigration.”  Editorialist Linda Valdez opines that Pace’s “optimistic” message is “Our left and right wings cannot fly on their own, but can achieve a beautiful result when brought together.” 

Last year it was reported that Pace was concerned that SB1070 could cut into illegal hiring. She registered no such concern over the hiring of American citizens experiencing staggering unemployment rates, or victimized by those unscrupulous employers who prefer lower-wage, exploitable illegals.

This seemingly benign butterfly facade is a hoax that began last July.  We titled our report Illegals hypocritically demand rights of Monarch butterflies. We urge you to read that post again. Information is power.

At that time the AZ Republic reported that young protestors in the “Children’s March for Family Unity” carried signs in the shape of monarch butterflies or had depictions of the insect painted on their faces. An organizer for the illegal advocacy group Puente, explained the bright orange butterfly is a symbol of free migration and open borders.

“If you know about the monarch butterfly, they migrate through several countries without borders,” she said. “That’s how it is. That’s how it should be.”

The actual way “it should be” is for parents to teach their children respect for the law, and let them know that all nations have borders — even Mexico, which vigorously guards its own borders  — while it expects us to denude our sovereignty and national borders.

Game changer? AZ Rep. Judy Burges wants clarity for 2012 ballot

Rep. Judy Burges (R-Dist.4) is making headlines again. She has reintroduced a bill — HB 2544 — establishing legitimate citizenship requirements prior to submission of a presidential candidate’s name being placed on the Arizona ballot. Sixteen members of the Arizona State Senate have signed on as co-sponsors. The corresponding House bill lists 25 co-sponsors.

Rep. Burges’ 2010 efforts to move this legislation were addressed here as she made international news. The Canadian Free Press referred to the Skull Valley Republican as “clever.”

The eligibility issue which also is being taken up in a number of other states, specifically addresses the minimum constitutional qualifications for any candidate running for the office of president of the United States.

WorldNetDaily reports that Montana, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Texas are also working on proposals that would demand documentation of constitutional eligibility.

Read the complete WND report here.

Our southern neighbors are so inventive

Ancient Greeks and Romans used catapults as an effective tool of warfare and they were a force to be reckoned with in medieval times.  Even the Vikings employed them as a means of hurling large stones and shooting arrows in the centuries before mechanization.

Now, in such a rush to get their illicit product to Americans and their children, Mexican drug smugglers are utilizing the primitive catapult to launch projectiles consisting of drug packages across the border

The country is so infiltrated with drug related crime that numerous cruise lines are canceling their Mazatlan port stops in response to violence directed at tourists.

The impoverished residents, towns, villages and the resorts dependent for survival on tourism are not on the radar screen of the gangs that now appear to have increasing control of the country abutting Arizona’s border.