[S] Secure Communities

Dear Friends, As I have mentioned before, President Obama has deported more immigrants than his predecessor. Under a program called "Secure Communities", the Obama Administration has enlisted the help of local law enforcement agencies in its effort to deport illegal immigrants. The Obama Administration claims that the program is designed to deport illegal immigrants who have committed dangerous crimes and pose a safety risk to their communities. Initially a number of high profile local politicians supported the program. They agreed with the stated goals ane were assured that the program would not be used to deport illegal immigrants with minor violations such as traffic tickets. Unfortunately, the program has resulted in the deportation of many illegal immigrants who could not in any way be considered dangerous criminals. As a result, the Secure Communities program has lost most of its local support. The Mayor of Boston, Thomas Menino, who was an early supporter has now said that it is eroding public safety and trust between the police and the many immigrant communities in Boston. Mr. Menino wants to withdraw from the program but the Obama Administration is taking the position that they cannot. Unfortunately, we have another case of the Obama Administration being overzealous in an attempt to out Republican the Republicans. Of course, our immigration laws should be enforced but they should be enforced in a humane way and with great discretion. It seems incredibly unfair to deport a family because of a traffic stop and then defend Donald Rumsfeld who has committed war crimes. Why won't this President defend those that have no power instead of those with the power? Thanks for reading and please comment, The Unabashed Liberal

[U] United States Senate Race

Dear Friends, Elizabeth Warren is a great advocate for ordinary Americans. She developed the idea of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, worked hard and argued effectively to get it passed in Congress and then set it up. Unfortunately, President Obama did not nominate her to run the agency since the Republicans said they would not confirm her. President Obama nominated somebody that had worked with her and of course now the Republicans say they will not confirm him. The Republicans will not confirm anybody because they want the agency to fail. Ms. Warren is now considering running for the United States Senate from Massachusetts. I hope she does. She is smart, articulate and liberal. She makes it known where she stands and presents thoughtful and compelling arguments for her positions (oh that the President could and would do that). If she runs, I will gladly support her even though I do not live in Massachusetts. Thanks for reading and please comment, The Unabashed Liberal http://journalrecord.com/files/2010/11/elizabeth-warren.jpg

[F] Fire Fighters

Dear Friends,

I think that everyone would agree that having a fire department is an essential governmental service.  However, there is no way that we can expect to see the same level of fire protection that we have had in the past with the huge cuts in government budgets.

A report tonight from CBSMinnesota (here) indicates that Minneapolis will be laying off 10 firefighters as a result of drastic reductions in state aid to cities in Minnesota.  These cuts would be far worse except for the fact that Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton is a Democrat with a backbone and a true sense of fairness.  While he was forced to make cuts he didn't like, he fought for fairness and true liberal values.  Nevertheless, we will have more unemployed people and less fire protection here in the City of Minneapolis because of budget cuts.

Why is it that people think that government can provide the services they want without proper funding?

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal