A Blog Called Hope

Check out the DNC’s latest spot which hit the airwaves today. Chairman Lynch joined other state party leaders calling attention to the ad by issuing this statement.

Administration officials and Republican leaders still claim that following U.S. laws is too inconvenient, and that due process regulations under the FISA laws prevent the government from doing its job effectively. In a letter to Mukasey, Senators Whitehouse and Casey call upon Mukasey to correct his misleading statements.

“I was disappointed to hear our Attorney General convey the erroneous and grossly misleading impression that FISA due process safeguards prevented the U.S. government from intercepting Al Qaeda communications that may have stopped the horrific 9/11 attacks. Not only did the Attorney General not get his facts straight, he was only the latest Administration official to inappropriately use the tragic events of September 11th to advocate for a policy change. It is time for senior Administration officials to stop blaming legal safeguards which only serve to protect the rights of American citizens.”

Most curiously though, and a point which never receives sufficient examination, if the FISA legislation is seen by Republicans to be so crucial in protecting the lives of Americans, then why does Bush keep threatening a veto if it doesn’t included telecom immunity provisions?  Could it be that Republicans are using scare tactic yet again to try and push through horrible policies?  Yup!

So, what does everyone think about the PA primary tonight? Will Clinton win big? Will Obama cut her lead even more? What will the delegate math be when the polls close and the votes are counted? What will it all mean going into Indiana and North Carolina?

Also, the Young Democrats of RI will be watching the primary returns tonight at the Cactus Grille, 800 Allens Ave. in Providence.  Swing by for their 8pm meeting and watch the results.

Well, this is very good news…

Several of the GOP’s most highly touted candidates posted mediocre fundraising numbers in this year’s first quarter, raising questions about their ability to seriously compete in races that were once at the top of the Republican radar screen.

It’s apparent, by the lack of fundraising, that citizens throughout the country are finally rejecting the Republican agenda and their panacea for every social and economic problem that exists: tax cuts and war.
Steve Greenberg is running against Rep. Melissa L. Bean (D-IL). And as a messenger of hate and division, he is advocating more war in Iraq, “free market” solutions for health care, punitive immigration policies, and school voucher programs which would devastate public schools. And it is clear that the 8th District in Illinois is rejecting these policies because he only raised $113,000 in the first quarter and is practically broke.

Lou Barletta is another Republican hopefully that is only a disappointment for the RNCC. As the Mayor of Hazelton, PA and as a “champion” of immigration reform, he passed some of the toughest immigration laws the nation has ever seen and has even said that illegal immigrants are “destroying” Hazelton. All his harsh rhetoric has yielded him a paltry $143,000 in the first quarter of 2008, a third of what his opponent Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski (D-PA) raised in the same time.

Another Republican challenger destined to fail is Dean Andal, former California Assemblyman. He thinks the U.S. should devote more funds to the already bloated defense budget, has endorsed a school voucher program, and is completely unconcerned with any environmental issues (he received a 9% approval rating by California League of Conservation Voters). Rather, he would love to deregulate everything and give huge tax cuts for businesses. He barely raised $100,000 in the first quarter of 2008 for his run against Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-CA).

This is good news for Democrats indeed and is indicative of the failure of Republicans to understand the true concerns of working American families. We don’t need more tax cuts for businesses and the rich, we don’t need more deregulation, we don’t need deceptive “free market” solutions that never work, we don’t need to abandon public schools, we don’t need punitive immigration policies, we don’t need division and spiteful rhetoric, we need people who will stand up and help America’s working families by understanding what’s actually important. Republicans will never really understand that.

In commemoration of Earth Day, and to advance knowledge among those concerned with the effects of climate change, is the following list of the top 10 “green” scholarships. The list was composed by Chris Diehl.

BLADE Your Ride Scholarship

If reducing emissions and your carbon footprint is something that gets your engine revving, the BLADE Your Ride Scholarship was made for you. The award is available to undergraduate students with a passion for finding solutions to the global climate crisis who have at least a 3.0 GPA.
Deadline: June 30, 2008
Learn more about this scholarship.

Brower Youth Award

The folks at the Brower Youth Award think that recycling aluminum cans is just wonderful. But if you want to win their money, they want to see a little more. This scholarship is available to students who have demonstrated outstanding environmental leadership in the areas of conservation, preservation and restoration. And yes, a qualifying activity includes clean-up of toxic waste.
Deadline: May 15, 2008
Learn more about this scholarship.

Common Knowledge Think Green Scholarship - An Inconvenient Truth

You saw the movie. Now it’s time to put those lessons to the test. To be eligible for this award, you must register at the Common Knowledge site and participate in a quiz based on your knowledge of the movie, An Inconvenient Truth. No, Al Gore won’t be able to help you.
Deadline/Last quiz: April 20, 2008
Learn more about this scholarship.

NPG Scholarship Essay Contest

The environment is going down the tubes. The reason? You, me and the other six billion people sucking the earth dry. Agree? Then this scholarship is for you. To apply, you must submit an essay of 500 to 750 words addressing the possible link between overpopulation and scarce natural resources.
Deadline: April 18, 2008
Learn more about this scholarship.

Apprentice Ecologist Initiative Scholarship

The sponsors of this scholarship are looking for students who have an original idea about cleaning up the environment and who want to be the leader when it’s time to take action. A $500 scholarship will be awarded to the author of the top Apprentice Ecologist essay.
Deadline: December 31, 2008
Learn more about this scholarship.

Park Espenschade Memorial Scholarship

Park Espenschade was a member of the Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology (IEST). Upon his death in 1976, this scholarship was created “to honor his enthusiasm, energy, devotion and commitment to the education and training of young people in the environmental sciences,” according to the IEST Web site. You must be pursuing a major or minor in science or engineering and have a minimum 3.0 GPA to qualify.
Deadline: January 15, 2009
Learn more about this scholarship.

Windstar Environmental Studies Scholarship

If your country roads can’t take you home anymore because they’ve been torn down to build condos, you might want to consider applying for this scholarship. Windstar, founded in part by John Denver, is sponsoring this scholarship for students who are majoring in environmental studies or environmental engineering at an accredited college or university. You must have a minimum 3.0 GPA to qualify.
Deadline: June 1, 2009
Learn more about this scholarship.

Environmental Law Institute Research Internship

Aggressively saving the environment doesn’t always mean having to chain yourself to a tree. You can save the world by defending the law as well! The Environmental Law Institute Research Internship is open to students who have a strong desire to gain knowledge of the environmental field. Interns will work directly with staff attorneys, scientists and economists and will cover areas such as land use policy, environmental regulation and biodiversity.
Deadline: Varies
Learn more about this scholarship.

EPOC Environmental Scholarship (Connecticut Residents Only)

If there’s one thing Connecticut needs more of, it’s Licensed Environmental Professionals. If you want to become one yourself, Environmental Professionals’ Organization of Connecticut (EPOC) has a scholarship opportunity for you. You must be enrolled in an environmental-related program to be eligible (click the link to find a list of qualifying programs).
Deadline: Varies
Learn more about this scholarship.

Environmental Scholarship Program (Alabama Residents Only)

The state of Alabama is beautiful (especially in the springtime) and the citizens of that state want to keep it that way. To ensure that end, the Legacy, Inc., is sponsoring their Environmental Scholarship Program for students who plan to pursue an environmentally-related career. Open to Alabama residents enrolled at Alabama universities only.
Deadline: May 2, 2008
Learn more about this scholarship.

Senator Jack Reed, as a member of the Senate Banking Committee (and provided oversight of U.S. housing policy), has secured over $10 million “in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).”

“This federal funding will help revitalize neighborhoods throughout Rhode Island and provide more seniors and working families with access to safe and affordable housing. This federal infusion of $10.4 million can be used for a variety of housing needs, from helping first-time homebuyers with down payments and closing costs to rehabilitating homes in downtown areas,” said Reed, who is also a member of the Appropriations Committee, which provides all federal spending on HUD programs. “Hard working families deserve a shot at the American dream, and that’s why I will keep working to provide Rhode Island with a flexible source of funding for a host of economic development and community enhancement activities.

The funds are provided through four different HUD programs:

• The Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) - $5,156,870
• Home Investment Partnership Program (HOME) – $4,920,821
• Emergency Shelter Grant Program (ESG) – $350,005
• American Dream Downpayment Initiative (ADDI) - $39,150

Even with housing costs in Rhode Island falling for the past two years, since the late 1990s housing prices have tripled in various cites in RI. It’s good to see more funds coming into the state to help with affordable housing projects.

Let’s review. On March 27th, Governor Carcieri issued an executive order which does the following:

1. Compels the Executive Branch to verify the legal status of every employee by using the federal E-Verify program and “take appropriate action against those that are not eligible for employment, consistent with federal and state law.”
2. Compels the use of the same E-Verify program for any contractor or subcontractor providing goods and services to the Executive Branch.
3. Notifies those persons who have had their specific social security numbers used fraudulently by another “in order receive any benefit, including but not limited to child care, health care, any government issued identification card, including driver’s license and non-driver’s license identification, welfare or employment.”
4. Trains state police officers in order to allow them to “assist ICE personnel in the enforcement of federal immigration laws.”
5. Trains ACI corrections officers to do the same at the ACI.
6. Encourages all local police officers “to support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by investigating and determining the immigration status of all non-citizens taken into custody, incarcerated, or under investigation for any crime and notifying federal authorities of all illegal immigrants discovered as a result of such investigations.”
7. Facilitates coordination between local and state law enforcement and the ICE to deport criminal aliens.

While some of these provisions seem to make sense on the surface, most of them are ill-advised. The E-Verify program, a voluntary pilot program started in the 1990s, is rife with inaccuracies having a 4.1% error rate. This means that one out of 25 employees would not receive confirmation regarding their eligibility to work in the United States. They would then have to appeal to the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to amend the database in order to be able to continue working. This unavoidable temporary state of unemployment may be disastrous for a number of government employees who would be prevented from their employment due to provisions on Carcieri’s order.

Some will probably say that a 4.1% error rate isn’t really that big of a deal. And if that’s the case, then why worry about the “illegal” population at all, it only being between 2% and 4% of the total Rhode Island population.

Additionally, training state and local police officers to become immigration officers is a VERY bad idea because it prevents the police from doing their job as effectively as they could. Regardless of whether or not police officers WILL verify the status of informants, witnesses, or victims of crime, the perception is enough to encourage the entire unauthorized population in the state to avoid talking to the police. Just the fear of deportation will be a sufficient enough reason for the undocumented population to not provide information to the police that may help them solve crime. The idea is so bad that there is significant police opposition.

Even the Governor’s DCYF Director, Patricia Martinez, is criticizing Carcieri on this issue.

I think the executive order along with what has happened in the media has really created an environment that is unfortunate,” Martinez said, speaking to The Journal yesterday after the annual Kids Count breakfast. “Whether it was the purpose or not, you talk to people in church, you talk to people in the supermarket, you go to the little hair salons, people are afraid. And not because they are undocumented, but it’s just because you are going to be stopped just because you look different, just because you have an accent, just because now it has created this hatred.”

The Rhode Island Democratic Party has been vocal in its opposition to the Governor on most issues, including his narrow-mined approach to “solving” illegal immigration.

We need sensible immigration policies in this country, but yesterday’s actions by the governor did nothing to move the ball forward. Maybe it’s time to remind Governor Carcieri that when his ancestors came to Rhode Island, along with thousands of other Italian immigrants, they were treated as second-class citizens. Is it his intention to return us to those dark times where immigrant bashing was fashionable and accepted?

It seems that the goal of the Governor’s policy is to deny employment opportunities for undocumented workers and thereby reduce a major “pull” factor for immigration to the state of Rhode Island. Very little thought is focused on the numerous other “pull” factors that facilitate the movement of peoples around the globe, specifically family networks.

One big problem with the entire immigration debate is the distinction of legal versus “illegal.” It’s a difficult situation to exclude the children of the unauthorized population from obtaining an education, from receiving needed child care, or from receiving treatment in hospitals. And for those children of authorized immigrants who were born in the United States, the point is moot because they are citizens regardless of the status of the parents. It’s apparent that the Governor assumes that the “illegal” population in Rhode Island is consuming vast amounts of limited resources, “draining money” from state and local governments through their dependence on the state’s welfare system. That simply is not true. And to prevent greater long-term economic consequences, it may be beneficial to provide certain benefits now (i.e. education, child care, food stamps, etc.) to prevent future economic distress.

What most people fail to recognize, specifically those who are opposed to immigration of the “illegal” kind, is that the immigrant population with which they are most concerned, the Latin American population, is most likely to work in low-wage jobs regardless of immigrant status. The economic reality of low wages ensures their reliance on welfare benefits. A better avenue to pursue, rather than blaming immigrants for being poor, would be to ensure that employment pays a sufficient wage to allow the workers to be able to provide for their families without additional government help.

The issue is complicated, and the Governor’s Executive Order doesn’t help.

General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker are to submit their progress report and testify to lawmakers on Capitol Hill April 8 and 9. With the recent increase in violence in Iraq, including a failed “definitive assault” against Sadr’s forces in Basra and increased mortar attacks on U.S. compounds in the Green Zone, the forthcoming testimony will be critically examined by Democrats who wish to see an end to the war in Iraq.