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First, we’re back! And what better time to get back into the mix than a day that features two of our favorite Oklahoma politicians: Sen. Harry Coates and Rep. Randy Terrill.
When OKPNS uncovered the truth about Coates and the pro-illegal immigration gang, the daily paper in Oklahoma City looked the other way. Now the paper has bitten the Seminole Senator. Right now the focus is on the alleged affair Coates had with the lobbyist, but insiders tell us at least one of the reporters for the paper may have had an enormous conflict of interest. We’ll be checking into that. Further, we’re told the paper had this story months ago, which leads us to wonder why the story came out AFTER a public body had awarded a contract on the new juvenile facility.
It’s fascinating that the liberal paper would turn on their former associate. Back when OKPNS was unmasking the lies and deception of the pro-illegal immigration crowd, Coates claimed we had gotten the documents as a result of being “hacked.” A sensational capitol press conference was held and an “investigation” was supposedly initiated. Not one single follow up inquiry was made by Coates’ friends in the press corps even though they knew then as now that there was no “hacking.”
Today Sen. Coates was probably reminded of the story of the frog and the scorpion. You may remember it: a scorpion approaches a frog to ask for a ride across a river. The frog is incredulous: “you’ll sting me to death,” the frog says. The scorpion counters that they would both drown, and the frog agrees. Mid-way across the river the scorpion viciously begins stinging the frog, and just before they go under the frog asks why the scorpion would do something so deadly to both. Replies the scorpion,”I kill things. I’m a scorpion.”
How’s that stinger feel now, Harry?
Sort of…In one of the more bizarre admissions we’ve seen in some time, The Oklahoman editorial Thursday touting the results of a study by the Center for Immigration Studies, a pro-immigrant group, suggesting tougher enforcement of immigration laws is leading many illegals to leave the country voluntarily. It’s a tacit admission that paper was wrong about Rep. Randy Terrill and HB 1804 all along; we’re just not sure if they actually realize what they’ve done.
The report says the illegal outflow began in August 2007, and in a spectacularly illogical conclusion, cites Congress’ refusal to deal with meaningful immigration reform as one of two reasons. We thinks not.
The second reason? Returning to life on this planet, the report claims “..that and stepped up efforts to penalize employers who hire illegal aliens were identified as key factors in the decline,” something the paper and their pro-illegal friends in the legislature have continued to battle to this very day. On this we agree, but you didn’t get “stepped up” efforts from a snoozing congress, do you?
Now let’s think this through: just where was it that stepped up efforts to penalize employers who hire illegal aliens? Could it be Oklahoma? We thinks so!
What seems more plausible is the role of HB 1804, Terrill’s immigration reform bill. The law was signed into effect on May 11, 2007, and the report says by August, the illegal tide was begin to flow the other way. It’s no coincidence: HB 1804 was much more than a little law in a small state, as the law and Rep. Terrill became part of the national conversation about illegal immigration. In short, HB 1804 became famous and popular nationwide as a symbol of the the common man and woman’s frustration with congress’ refusal to act on the issue. To remind you just how popular, State Sen. Harry Coates politely shared polling results with OKPNS readers. Terrill and HB 1804 were, to quote ZZ Top, “Yeah we bad, we’re nationwide.”
Perhaps printing this study is a signal that the editorial staff and the business leaders who continue to flood the legal system with frivolous lawsuits (tort reform, anybody?) that seek to elevate the rights of criminals over the rights of the law abiding have finally seen the light. Is it an admission of defeat, or can they not read between the lines? They’ve tried and failed to harm Terrill’s reputation and at the ballot box, and have failed miserably. Perhaps they’re ready to get on board with what’s good for America, and drop their anti-American pro-criminal stance. We sure hope so.
And speaking of Randy Terrill, capitol insiders say Devon Energy CEO Larry Nichols is hopping mad at Terrill for publicly lumping his company in with the spectacular failure by the business group that failed to defeat the Moore Representative.
Devon, through Nichols personally and the Devon PAC, contributed $10,000 to Terrill’s opponent, who he then stomped at the polls. Terrill then laughingly called out the business leaders who had wasted their reputations and money, something the Devon CEO probably did not anticipate. But as they say, politics is a full-contact sport, something at which Terrill excels.
Observers say Chesapeake’s Tom Price, whose poor political instincts are well documented, is the one responsible for talking Nichols, who has a sterling reputation for integrity, into the ill-fated venture.
Read the Editorial in The Oklahoman: “A new analysis of census data argues enforcement activities other than deportation apparently are working in getting illegal immigrants to return home voluntarily.“
Related:
Tulsa World: Judge orders reopening of Terrill bankruptcy
“Am I crazy, it is 10:30 and I have had lots of wine but I really like this argument!” Otie Ann Fried – Fried Kilpatrick Guinn Consulting
The FBI looks like they’ve had a little too much wine, too!
Oklahoma’s feeble chambers of commerce, who ironically have filed a frivolous lawsuit that would have the effect of allowing some businesses to break the law and hire illegal immigrants, may have succeeded in finding an ally: the FBI.
Oklahoma has embarrassed the federal government on the illegal immigration issue. Both parties in Washington have dawdled as the situation grows more and more explosive. Now comes the revelation that the FBI is joining the incompetency parade regarding a backlog of background checks.
Somewhere Dirty Harry is celebrating: perhaps he’s hoping the FBI will join the “investigation” into his “stolen documents.”
Dirty Harry addressing the media on April 10th about his “stolen documents.”
And speaking of bumbling Investigations: 2 Months and No Arrests!
Two months ago yesterday, the capitol press corps breathlessly reported Coates’ press conference in which the Seminole Senator reported he had been the victim of a “crime.” The next day’s headlines screamed about the “crime” and senate officials reported the investigation would take two weeks, but we’re now at two months into the investigation.
Now we all know the truth: Dirty left the docs in the crapper, OKPNS informed the public about the hapless plot, and the multi-million dollar repeal effort sputtered to a halt. Now those who enjoy exploiting illegal immigrants for low wages are pinning their hopes of continued lawlessness on the judicial system. How’s that for irony?
So two months after Dirty Harry lied to the press and the press fed the lies to the public, it seems to be forgotten as the same folks who lied to us and profess to hate frivolous use of the legal system are doing just that.
Don’t hold your breath hoping that anybody in the capitol press gang does a follow up story on Dirty’s phony claims. It’s just not going to happen. It took a miracle that the public found out about the plot in the first place, and we can be sure that the capitol press corps will do their best to make sure that never happens again!
Related:
EXCLUSIVE: Candid Emails Reveal Depths of 1804 Repeal Conspiracy; Ambush Planned for Rep. Terrill
Sources tell OKPNS that a federal judge has enjoined three private employment provisions of HB 1804, the landmark immigration reform bill passed by Rep. Randy Terrill. Details are sketchy, but Rep. Terrill is scheduled to hold a press conference later this afternoon.
Developing……
Related:
Tulsa World: Judge halts parts of House Bill 1804
The Oklahoman: Judge blocks some parts of HB 1804
Democrats in Oklahoma are decrying the growing disparity between the richest and the poorest families in the nation, and especially in Oklahoma. They are citing a report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which reports that nationally,
For very high-income families — the richest 5 percent — income growth since the late 1990s has been especially dramatic, and much faster than among the
poorest fifth of families
and in Oklahoma,
The richest 20 percent of families have average incomes 7.3 times as large as the poorest 20 percent of families.
The purpose of the Center, of course, is not to accurately report the status of the nationa or state-level economic conditions, but instead:
The Center conducts research and analysis to inform public debates over proposed budget and tax policies and to help ensure that the needs of low-income families and individuals are considered in these debates. We also develop policy options to alleviate poverty.
So what has caused the growth in recent years of this “inequality” between the rich and the poor? Could it be that the United States has been importing poor people for the past two decades by the millions? Actually, yes, as the Center unwittingly addresses the problem issue it has raised, on the “About Us” page:
Part of the Center’s work on means-tested programs involves seeking to improve the access of low-income legal immigrants to these programs, both by expanding eligibility and by removing barriers that prevent already-eligible immigrants from obtaining benefits. The Center is relied on as a source of analysis and innovative policy options by a variety of organizations that work on immigrant issues, as well as by federal and state policymakers.
Hmmm….
Vince Orza, the Dean of the Meinders School of Business at OCU, and who recently sold his restaurant business, Eateries, which, “operates and franchises about 60 Garfield’s Restaurant & Pub locations in nearly 20 states…[and Garcia’s Mexican Restaurants in Arizona and five other states and a Pepperoni Grill restaurant in Oklahoma,” talks to the Flashpoint team about the need for illegal immigrants to keep coming to America to do the jobs Americans don’t want to do.
He draws a parallel between his own Italian grandparents, along with other immigrant communities like the Vietnamese who often came here as refugees, without papers, and the current migrants coming here illegally from Mexico. While he does acknowlege that the opponents of illegal immigration have a point, in that these illegal immigrants are receiving health benefits not afforded to the 47 million Americans who also don’t have insurance (or the previous immigrant groups in the country), he does not address the issue in this video that previous immigrant groups did not set up territorial consulates inside the U.S., or promote reconquista-type campaigns.
See Vince on the first two episodes of Flashpoint by clicking here or on the image below.
According to a study commissioned by the Oklahoma Bankers Association, Oklahoma’s immigration reform bill, HB 1804, could have the unintended consequence of driving away legal immigrants, which they are referring to as “foreign-born workers.”
The study, as reported by The Oklahoman, indicated:
Oklahoma’s tough anti-illegal immigration law could slash the state’s economic output by $1.8 billion in the measure’s first year as it drives away thousands of foreign-born workers.
According to the study’s authors, there is only “anecdotal evidence” that legal immigrants might be leaving the state, but that did not stop the Oklahoma Banker’s Association from publishing the study.
In reality, there is actually no evidence that even the illegal workers are leaving the state in substantial numbers, and, as OKPNS has previously reported, even many of those who did leave appear to be coming back, due to lack of enforcement of the the law.
Andrés Chao, who is the consul at the Mexican Consulate in Little Rock, AR, extablished in 2007 at the invitation of Gov. Mike Huckabee. Tulsa, Oklahoma is in the official “jurisdiction” of this Mexican consulate, so Chao was in the city this week, “to meet with Mayor Kathy Taylor, Police Chief Ron Palmer, and other city officials. While Chao has already visited Tulsa several times since it was opened the Mexican consulate in Little Rock, Arkansas, Chao told The Week in the South that this will be their first ‘official visit’ with the leaders of the city,” according to the Spanish-Language periodical, La Semana del Sur. The magazine conducted a phone interview with the Consul on March 14th, and quoted Chao as saying (Translated by Google from Spanish):
This will be the first time that I will meet with the mayor and police chief. I want to know because Tulsa is part jurisdiction of this consulate. I would like to talk to them about the situation of the Mexican immigrant community… and to open channels of communication. This will be my first official visit to the mayor and the chief of police.
The magazine also states, “Chao also plans to schedule future ‘mobile consul’ events in Tulsa to offer in-person help to those who can not travel to Little Rock.”
It is not clear at this time how Mexican citizens are able to travel to Tulsa, which is ten hours from the Mexican border, but not to Little Rock, AR, which is four hours from Tulsa.
VDare blogger, and Oklahoma City native, Allan Wall reported last year, when the consulate was being built:
Oklahoma does not (yet) have a Mexican consulate/illegal immigration encouragement station. But Chao is consul in the nearby state of Arkansas, in the new Little Rock consulate So, being next door to the Sooner State, he can still do some damage. [El Nacional July 5, 2007--México abre nuevo consulado en EU]
Now, here’s the 65-thousand-peso question: If cities in Oklahoma have now come under the “jurisdiction” of a foreign government, why are we having to struggle through language translators to get information about it? Shouldn’t this be all over the English-language press, as well?
(Hat-Tip, Voice of Tulsa)
More information about the Mexican Consulte in Arkansas on WorldNetDaily.
Devona Walker, of NewsOK.com is reporting today:
The federal government has increased fines for hiring illegal immigrants by as much as $5,000, effective today, as part of an effort to ramp up worksite immigration enforcement, but some say the nominal increase isn’t likely to change how some companies do business.
NewsOK is quoting Muzaffar Chisti, director of the Migration Policy Institute’s New York office at New York University, who is skeptical that this change will make a big difference:
It’s not clear to me that this will put a huge dent in the practice of hiring illegal workers. This will be nothing more than the cost of doing business. It will not be a determining factor. But if they start imposing criminal fees and employers start getting jail terms then you will see a dent.
Larger companies, as a rule, have more choices in picking employees than smaller companies. If the employers start going to prison, they will eventually say, ‘It’s not worth it, let’s just pay a dollar or two more to get U.S. workers.’
People have good reason to be skeptical that this is nothing more than symbolic language to make it appear as if they are getting serious on (illegal) immigration.
Toughly-written legislation in Oklahoma, such as HB 1804, has not produced the illegal immigration mass-exodus “shock and awe” that some had expected. It is unclear whether the new legislation at the federal level will have an impact, either.
