Your Moral Leader: June 2011

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Will Rising Interest Rates Mean Lower Home Prices?

I cover the mortgage and real estate industries:

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

How To Get Approved For A Mortgage

I've been covering the mortgage industry since 2007:

June 28, 2011

Housing Troubles To Continue For At Least Three More Years

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Learn Good Posture Through Alexander Technique

From the New York Times:

If you want a more systematic, long-term approach to posture change, consider the Alexander technique, a method that teaches you how recognize and release habitual tension that interferes with good posture.

Not all doctors in the United States are familiar with the technique, but recent research suggests that it can help with lower back pain as well as posture. A study published in TheBritish Medical Journal found that lessons in the technique helped patients with chronic back pain. A 2011 study published in Human Movement Science concluded that the Alexander technique increased the responsiveness of muscles and reduced stiffness in patients with lower back pain.

Try one session to see if it’s for you. If so, consider committing to 10 lessons. Individual lessons cost $60 to $125, depending on the teacher’s experience. Insurers will not reimburse you; group lessons may be more affordable. To find a teacher, go to the Web site of the American Society for the Alexander Technique.

Still slouching? A study published in The European Journal of Social Psychology found that subjects who were told to sit up straight with good posture gave themselves higher ratings and had more self-confidence on a given task than those who were told to slouch.

Moral: Sitting pretty yields immediate, not just long-term, benefits.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Sunk In Debt, American Consumers Can't Spend

Thus businesses have few reasons to hire workers.

I report on economic, real estate and refinancing issues here:

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Reverse Mortgages Aren't Going Away Any Time Soon

I write about real estate, mortgages and how to refinance:

June 25, 2011

June 24, 2011

JP Morgan Chase And Agriprocessors

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32).

Saturday, June 25, 2011

The Regrets Of A Convert

From TorahMusings.com:

Abraham Isaac Carmel was a Catholic priest who converted to Judaism. Prior to his death in 1982, he came to the US for medical treatment and taught English literature in Yeshiva of Flatbush high school. Excerpts from an unfinished book about his frustrations as a convert were published as “My Chosen People” in Tradition (23:2, Winter 1988 – link) and reprinted in The Conversion Crisis: An Ongoing Discussion. I highlight here an issue that I think is applicable well beyond a convert’s experience and speaks to the dilemma facing anyone trying to contribute professionally to the Jewish community.

Teaching is a rewarding task, but in America a teacher is a long way down the community ladder. He has no prestige or vital influence. American Jews in particular find it difficult to respect a person who is without financial backing. You are not quite kosher. If I were planning my life again, I would give more attention to material things and, above all, security. Idealism should be linked to a sense of financial adequacy.

Respecting The Gadolim Is Respecting God

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32).

Luke Ford: Lust For Power

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32).

Do Jews Have More Confidence Than Non-Jews?

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32).

Why Is Luke Ford A Republican?

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32).

Articulating To World Why You Observe Jewish Holidays

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32).

How Do You Thank Your Uncle For Not Molesting You?

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32).

The Happy Man Is Content With His Lot

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32).

Rabbi Rabbs Wants To Move To The Beach

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32).

Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32) XIII

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32).

Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32) XII

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32).

Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32) XI

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32).

Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32) X

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32).

Friday, June 24, 2011

Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32) IX

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32).

Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32) VIII

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32).

Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32) VII

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32).

Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32) VI

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32).

Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32) V

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32).

Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32) IV

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32).

Immigration News

A Need for More Immigrant Workers?
Unemployment and Underemployment in the 1st Quarter of 2011

WASHINGTON (June 23, 2011) – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith recently introduced H.R. 2164, which requires all employers to verify the legal status of their new hires. Rep. Smith argues that the bill will reduce the employment of illegal immigrants. He also argues that there are plenty of less-educated Americans available to fill jobs vacated by illegal immigrants. Smith’s bill stands in stark contrast to President Obama’s approach, recently repeated in El Paso, that would allow illegal immigrants to remain permanently in their jobs and increase the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country each year.

To shed light on these differing approaches, the Center for Immigration Studies is publishing a detailed analysis of the employment situation for less-educated workers in the first quarter of this year – workers who are the most likely to compete with illegal immigrants for jobs. The report is online at http://www.cis.org/no-need-for-more-immigrant-workers-q1-2011.

Among the findings:

In the first quarter of 2011, the standard unemployment rate (referred to as U-3) for U.S.-born workers who have not completed high school was 22 percent.
Using the broader measure of unemployment (referred to as U-6), that includes those who want to work but have not looked in the last four weeks and those forced to work part-time, the rate for U.S.-born workers who have not completed high school was 34.6 percent.
The U-6 unemployment rate for U.S.-born workers who have only a high school education, but no additional schooling, is 21.5 percent. The situation for younger workers with only a high school education is even worse.
Looking at all less-educated U.S.-born adults (ages 18 to 65), 26.9 million were not working in the first quarter of 2011. Less-educated is defined as having either failed to complete high school or having only a high school education.
If we include all less-educated adult citizens, both U.S.-born and naturalized, 28.7 million were not working in the first quarter of 2011.
If only one-fourth of the less-educated adult citizens currently not working took a job, it would equal the roughly 7 million illegal immigrants currently estimated to be holding non-farm jobs.
The above figures do not include the 7.2 million American teenagers (16-17) not working. It also does not include the 17.1 million working-age citizens with some college, but not a bachelor’s degree, who are not working.

Discussion

Rep. Smith’s recently introduced bill (H.R. 2164) would for the first time require all businesses to verify the legal status of workers using the online E-Verify system. The bill seems likely to pass the House, and has already been endorsed by key business associations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Restaurant Association, the National Association of Home Builders, and the National Federation of Independent Business. Those who oppose the bill argue there are not enough American workers available to fill the estimated 8 million jobs held by illegal immigrants, 90 percent of which are non-agricultural. In a recent blog for The Hill newspaper, Rep. Smith argued that a very large number of potential workers are available and that passing H.R. 2164 would be helpful in putting some of them back to work.

Smith’s views stand in stark contrast to President Obama's views on the issue, which were most recently outlined in his May 10th speech in El Paso. In that speech the president argued that because the border was more secure, it is now time to legalize illegal immigrants and to increase the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country. The president stated that amnesty and more legal immigration are needed for both humanitarian and economic reasons. The president seems to assume that jobs are plentiful.

The findings of this analysis indicate that the employment situation for the less-educated Americans, who are the most likely to compete with illegal immigrants, is bleak. An enormous number of less-educated workers are current looking for work and cannot find it and many more have given up looking for a job altogether.

Data and Methods

The data for all the Tables in this study come from the public-use files of the January, February, and March 2011 Current Population Surveys (CPS), which are collected monthly by the Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Each CPS includes about 131,000 respondents. The government publishes employment statistics that are both seasonally adjusted and unadjusted from the survey. The figures in this analysis are seasonally unadjusted because they are computationally simpler and easy for other researchers to replicate. Seasonal adjustment impacts the data only slightly. In general, BLS does not provide separate estimates for the foreign-born (immigrants) and the native-born broken down by characteristics like education, race, and age. However, all CPS respondents are asked these questions. The Census Bureau defines the foreign-born as persons who are not U.S. citizens at birth, which includes naturalized citizens, legal immigrants who are not citizens (green! card holders), temporary visitors and workers, and illegal immigrants.

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The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent non-partisan research institution that examines the impact of immigration on the United States.

Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32) III

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32).

Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32) II

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32).

Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32)

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32).

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Thoughts On Scientology

Jeff emails: http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/06/scientology_vid.php

This is going to be a big week of Scientology reporting here at the Voice. (Wish we could tell you more, but, well, you'll just have to keep an eye open...)
But to start things off, we have this hilarious pile of fluff that was dug up and posted to YouTube this weekend. Make sure you watch it quick, before David Miscavige's minions have it yanked down.

WWP:

http://forums.whyweprotest.net/threads/village-voice-davey-standing-tall-lol.90043/

Also a San Francisco <3<3<3 Janet Reitman and Inside Scientology flash raid. She is Jewish and hawt.

http://forums.whyweprotest.net/threads/san-francisco-flash-raid-saturday-june-18-2011.89981/#post-1787325

An interesting Jewish aspect is that there have only been two books by investigative reporters, and they have both been written by Jewish women - Paulette Cooper's The Scandal of Scientology in 1971 and now Janet's book. Janet is speaking at the Jewish community Center in San Francisco on September 13. Details on Janet's events page.

Tony Ortega has an early review in The Village Voice.

What a remarkable article. I did a double-take on "Orthodox Milton scholar" at first.

"My book reclaims the epistemic openness of Judaism, to elicit connections, often unexpected, between conversations about literature, film, psychoanalysis, philosophy and ancient Jewish traditions. I am always looking for more people to talk to; but I suspect I am not the only one. "

"God's presence dwells in Judaism, not through mystical union with the divine, but through acts of care for others. These are the unseen orthodox, often unpretentious and unassuming, made invisible by those - who with the media's help -- turn themselves into orthodoxy's representatives. "

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/06/open-minded-torah-a-conversation-with-william-kolbrener/237158/

I Am John Galt

Mo emails: Hi Luke!

I have been so focused on things cultish that I have missed a lot of cool stuff on your blog. When I saw your article on the Texas boom I thought, "Luke is more deliciously right-wing than I had imagined."

This brought to mind Don Luskin. He wrote a great blog called The Conspiracy To Keep You Poor and Stupid up until last year. He stopped in order to finish his new book I Am John Galt which he has written with Andrew Greta. He is a great guy. I relished his reports on the Conspiracy from his DC lobbyist mole friend "Mick Danger." He is often on Larry Kudlow and writes for a lot of bzns publications.

You can check out his blog I Am John Galt for more. Glenn Reynolds and Virginia Postrel did a show recently on PJTV on the Obama Libertarian Renaissance. Andrew Klavan and Bill Whittle also did a show. I was astounded to learn Bill has never read Ayn Rand. (Full disclosure: I haven't either. I am a non-fiction junkie. I only read novels when someone physically places a copy in my hands.)

IAJG is a great book, and I hope it stokes the libertarian renaissance. Don and Andrew pick about eight Rand characters and use them to reflect on contemporary heroes like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and above all John Allison of BT&T Bank, whom they identify with John Galt. Also parasites destroying the world the heroes create - Barney Frank slave of Fannie Mae, and the creepy Paul Krugman. Don lead the Krugman Truth Squad that pretty much crashed him. After Krugman called Don a stalker his wife and daughter got death threats.

I have a heroic sister who has worked at the Fed for years. I called her he other day and asked her what's up at work. She said, "Oh, we're busy destroying the banking system."

IAJG is such a moral book it is almost embarassing. But we need it when we have a government that is doing such destricutive things. The book is not just excellent story-telling and analysis. Above all it is a call to individual moral reform.

The question Don and Andrew pose is "In the light of these heroes and villains and the unfolding catastrophe that is all around us, who are you going to be - a John Galt who creates or a Wesley Mouch, who destroys the entire housing market?" Don writes: It's so simple. You want to know where socialism comes from? It comes from socialists.

This is chatty enough so I will end. I will mention one issue about the cult that presses on me: Why are Republican politicians like Sharron Angle, Mike Shurtleff, and others promoting Narconon and Applied Scholastics quackery for government funding?

While I have made headway on the Catholic front in the fight for great justice, the right-wing new media and the dextrosphere have been a stone wall. The only person who has written anything is David Frum. Coerced abortions, disconnected families, subversion of the government by front groups, government funding of quackery - these are all conservative issues.

I have been looking for Republicans who have criticized the cult for three years and found nothing. I was astounded to learn recently from Ben Domenech that Mitch Daniels had said that the cult is not a religion but a commercial enterprise aimed at making money. This was in 1995 or so when Mitch was with Eli Lilly, and Ben raised this precious info from the dead. The cult sued him for libel and lost. Too bad he isn't running we mighta coulda had our first SP President. Janet's book is great on illuminating the cult celebrity-politico complex.

PS: The most overt political anon ever undertaken by an anon was in Texas where anonymoushouston introduced a resolution for the Texas Republican platform that the state deal with the cult as a business and not a religion. It failed of course. But that was in 2008

Looser Mortgage Rules Will Mean More People Will Get Mortgages

But isn't this what caused the great recession of 2008? People with shaky credit got mortgage loans. When times turned tough, they defaulted on their mortgage loans in record numbers.

I cover real estate, refinance and mortgage loans here:

Billionaire Golfers Call For Open Borders

Report:

Larry Auster makes an important point arising from his appalled contemplation of New York Mayor Michael (“Billionaire Golfers for Open Borders“) Bloomberg and his incessant calls forincreased immigration:

My theory: Bloombrain represents a florid extreme of the collective liberal Jewish narcissism I have spoken of previously. Such narcissists see every issue through the filter of Jewish experience and sensibililty. Since Jewish immigrants to America and their offspring became successful entrepreneurs and professionals, the same must be equally true of all immigrants, even Mexicans with 90 IQs.
And the Jewish narcissists believe this, not just because they blindly assume that everyone is just like them, but because, in their insane fears of an outbreak of white Christian anti-Semitism in the most philo-Semitic country in world history, they feel that everything about immigration must be shown to be wonderful. If it’s not true that all immigrants can be as successful as the Jews, then there’s something wrong with immigration itself, and since the Jews, far more than any other U.S. ethnic group, identify themselves with the immigration experience, they believe that if something is shown to be wrong with immigration, then America’s proto-Nazi white Christian majority will think there’s something wrong the immigration that brought the Jews here, and will turn on the Jews. As crazy as it sounds, that is the way the liberal Jewish mind works, as I have shown at more length here.
In any case, Bloombrain’s statements about immigration have nothing to do with the real world, and everything to do with a fantastical tribal drama enacting itself in Bloombrain’s head.

Anyone who gets involved in the struggle for patriotic immigration reform has to deal with these “insane fears”. They are a key reason politicians and Beltway immigration reform groups are afraid to to raise the issue of an immigration moratorium even after three years of record unemployment and why the Republican Party is afraid to appeal openly to its white base—what we call the “Sailer Strategy“. Their intractibility is one reason I’ve begun to conclude, with terrible sadness, that it’s that it’s all going to end in tears.

Catfight! Dueling Jewish Journal Bloggers Ilana Angel, Tamara Shayne Kagel

Tamara Shayne Kagel blogs:

So I was just about to post regarding the dinner I just had with my new inamorato and my parents, when I noticed Ilana Angel had already posted on me. We met for lunch yesterday and I knew she would write about it but I’m still a bit shocked at how much my earlier pieces must have gotten to her – she mentioned to me thatmy letter to her made her cry. In just this new piece she says of me: dumb, ridiculous, offensive, having an unhealthy view of my body, a broken spirit, clearly has issues, doesn’t appreciate my body, issues with weight, dumb views, in need of therapy, struggles with being good enough; and when that ceased to be enough she said my writing was painful to get through, ramblings, silliness, garbage, and she criticizes me for commenting on her life (not like she has done anything of the same to me). She’s made sorority rush look like a koombaya drum circle. She even got a crack at my nail polish in – Actually, she’s right I desperately need a manicure, but you try fitting that in when you’re four weeks away from taking the California Bar, trying to hold down a writing career, leaving for France the next day for a wedding, in a new relationship and meeting up with Mommy bloggers who write mean things about you on the internet so they can feel better about themselves! Sheesh!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Homeowners In Distress - Do They Deserve A Government Bailout?

I write about real estate, refinance and the mortgage industry:

June 19, 2011

June 16, 2011

Monday, June 20, 2011

Immigration News

Support the Center for Immigration Studies by donating on line here: http://www.cis.org/support.html

[FYI --
1. New Online Feature: Center for Immigration Studies' Website Index

2. This Year’s Most Important Jobs Bill (Op-Ed)
3. Baptists Call for Amnesty (Blog)
4. Russian Ad: 'Come Work in the Best Strip Clubs in the U.S., on a J-1 Visa' (Blog)
5. Arizona Fires: Too Hot for Feds to Handle? (Blog)
6. Birth Tourism Fraud from China: 'The return on investment is higher than robbing a bank' (Blog)
7. Trying Again on Driver's Licenses (Blog)
8. DoJ Judge: It's OK to Fire a Good Man for Doing a Good Deed (Blog)
9. A Look Back to 1953 (Blog)
10. You Can Tell the Feds How to Change Our Immigration Policy (Blog)

-- Mark Krikorian]

1.
Center for Immigration Studies' Website Index
http://www.cis.org/CenterforImmigrationStudiesWebsiteIndex

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2.
This Year’s Most Important Jobs Bill
By Mark Krikorian
National Review Online, June 16, 2011
http://www.cis.org/node/2909

Excerpt: Rep. Lamar Smith has introduced what is probably the most consequential jobs bill of this Congress — the Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 2164), which phases in use of the E-Verify system for all new hires. (There was a hearing on the bill yesterday morning.)

Mandatory E-Verify schemes have been proposed before, but with the Supreme Court’s decision giving the green light to state mandates, business finally has a strong interest in a single national standard. Not only are perhaps a dozen additional states poised to pass E-Verify mandates over the next year (there are, I believe, 14 with full or partial mandates now), but county and city mandates are proliferating as well.

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3.
Baptists Call for Amnesty
By James R. Edwards Jr.
CIS Blog, June 20, 2011
http://www.cis.org/edwards/baptist-amnesty-resolution

Excerpt: The Southern Baptist Convention, which met last week in Phoenix, adopted a resolution endorsing the legalization of virtually all illegal aliens. This action followed the SBC's 2006 passage of a similar pro-amnesty resolution.

The resolution calls for 'our governing authorities to implement, with the borders secured, a just and compassionate path to legal status, with appropriate restitutionary measures, for those undocumented immigrants already living in our country.'

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4.
Russian Ad: 'Come Work in the Best Strip Clubs in the U.S., on a J-1 Visa'
By David North
CIS Blog, June 17, 2011
http://www.cis.org/north/EPI-J1-visa-report

Excerpt: To illustrate how loosely the State Department's J-1 foreign-worker program is being administered, the speaker at a Georgetown University Law School session this morning told of this internet advertisement, translated from the Russian:

Come work in the best strip clubs in the United States, on a J-1 visa.

The speaker was Daniel Costa, who has just completed a lengthy report on the misuses of the State Department's J-1 Exchange Visitor program for the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington think tank; the sponsor of the meeting was Georgetown University's Institute for the Study of International Migration; the setting was the GU Law School, a few blocks from the Capitol.

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5.
Arizona Fires: Too Hot for Feds to Handle?
By Jerry Kammer
CIS Blog, June 17, 2011
http://www.cis.org/kammer/arizona-fires-too-hot-to-handle

Excerpt: For at least two years now, Arizona journalist Leo W. Banks has been writing and speaking about the strange silence of the federal government on the connection between forest fires in southern Arizona and the smugglers of drugs and human beings.

Banks has contrasted the widespread public belief that the fires are caused by the smugglers – either accidentally or in an effort to distract the Border Patrol – with the refusal of federal officials to address the issue.

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6.
Birth Tourism Fraud from China: 'The return on investment is higher than robbing a bank'
By Jon Feere
CIS Blog, June 16, 2011
http://www.cis.org/feere/birth-tourism-fraud-from-china

Excerpt: A Chinese news article titled 'China's ‘Born in the USA' Frenzy' highlights the effort of one of its nationals engaging in birth tourism fraud in the United States. The practice is so troubling that even the Director of Immigration Policy at the Center for American Progress, Marshall Fitz, recently said the following on CNN in a debate with CIS's Executive Director Mark Krikorian

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7.
Trying Again on Driver's Licenses
By Dominique Peridans
CIS Blog, June 16, 2011
http://www.cis.org/peridans/trying-again-on-drivers-licenses

Excerpt: The Wall Street Journal noted last week that 'Gov. Susana Martinez is renewing her battle to make New Mexico the 49th state to prohibit illegal immigrants from getting driver's licenses.' If her efforts were to succeed, Washington would remain the only state to offer driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. We shall see.

Martinez's efforts, however, are not as recent as the article may suggest. Governor of the 'land of enchantment' since the start of this year, Martinez made her position on illegal immigration rather clear in her campaign. Her logic, based on common sense and an obvious reading of the law, is consistent, and informs her position on illegal immigration and such specific issues as driver's licenses. As was reported by a local ABC affiliate, KOAT, in February, Martinez has stated what is indisputable to many, namely that, 'giving licenses to people who are here illegally is wrong.' On the issue, she is plain and simple.

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8.
DoJ Judge: It's OK to Fire a Good Man for Doing a Good Deed
By David North
CIS Blog, June 15, 2011
http://www.cis.org/north/fired-for-good-deed

Excerpt: This is a story of how a good man who blew the whistle on his own employer for immigration law violations was fired, and how a federal hearing officer said that was OK. Here are the facts and the law.

Fact #1. Daniel Cavazos, Jr. had worked for Wanxiang America Corp., a Chinese-owned auto parts manufacturer, apparently in the Middle West; he told the warehouse supervisor that he was planning to tell federal authorities that the firm was hiring illegal aliens. He was fired.

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9.
A Look Back to 1953
By Jerry Kammer
CIS Blog, June 15, 2011
http://www.cis.org/kammer/a-look-back-to-1953

Excerpt: Last week this blog noted a comment by economist Pia Orrenius that U.S immigration policy is effectively 'restricting high-skilled immigration, which tends to be legal, and is encouraging low-skilled immigration.'

Orrenius is co-author of Beside the Golden Door: U.S. Immigration Reform in a New Era of Globalization. Speaking at the Migration Policy Institute, she noted that low-skilled immigrants make up large numbers of both the 'unauthorized' population of 11 million and of the recipients of several hundred thousand green cards that are awarded annually on the basis of family connections with citizens or permanent residents.

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10.
You Can Tell the Feds How to Change Our Immigration Policy
By David North
CIS Blog, June 14, 2011
http://www.cis.org/north/how-to-submit-public-comment

Excerpt: There is an often overlooked opportunity for individual citizens to give advice to the government about specific parts of the nation's immigration policy, and I want to encourage (and help) the reader to participate.

Frequently various agencies of the executive branch ask for public comments on proposed regulations, fee levels, form changes, and information collection systems; you can be sure that big business and other big pro-mass-immigration groups are well aware of these requests, and respond regularly.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Behind The Headlines With Agriprocessors

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Shelach (Numbers 13:1-15:41).

Does Orthodox Judaism Throw Bachelor Down The Well?

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Shelach (Numbers 13:1-15:41).

Torah Shows Israelites Reluctant To Get Off Divine Welfare

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Shelach (Numbers 13:1-15:41).

The Rabbi Almost Died Surfing When Tumbled By A Wave

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Shelach (Numbers 13:1-15:41).

Even Descendants Of Slaves Morally Responsible

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Shelach (Numbers 13:1-15:41).

Who Wants To Ride A Wild Pony? I Prefer Sedate Ladies

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Shelach (Numbers 13:1-15:41).

Beauty Of Land Of Israel, And This Black Chick

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Shelach (Numbers 13:1-15:41).

Should Orthodoxy Throw The Bachelor Down The Well?

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Shelach (Numbers 13:1-15:41).

Throw The Jew Down The Well

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Shelach (Numbers 13:1-15:41).

The Redemption Of Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Shelach (Numbers 13:1-15:41).

Do Women Look Good In Pantsuits?

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Shelach (Numbers 13:1-15:41).

Is It A Scandal If An Orthodox Woman Wears Pants?

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Shelach (Numbers 13:1-15:41).

45 Reasons Luke Ford Is Not Married At Age 45

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Shelach (Numbers 13:1-15:41).

Cricket Interrupts My Torah Talk

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Shelach (Numbers 13:1-15:41).

Addiction Is A Progressive Terminal Disease

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Shelach (Numbers 13:1-15:41).

Why You Should Wear Your Sunglasses At Night

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Shelach (Numbers 13:1-15:41).

Parashat Shelach (Numbers 13:1-15:41) XII

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Shelach (Numbers 13:1-15:41).

Parashat Shelach (Numbers 13:1-15:41) XI

Luke Ford writes:

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and on YouTube.

This week we study Parashat Shelach (Numbers 13:1-15:41).

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