Sunday, February 2, 2003

Shuttle Columbia Lost Houston, Texas (CNN - February 1 - 8:04 AM PST) -- The space shuttle Columbia, with seven astronauts aboard, broke up as it descended over central Texas Saturday toward a planned landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. -- Police in Nacogdoches, Texas, reported "numerous pieces of debris" both inside the city limits and in Nacogdoches County. -- More on this ongoing story.... Watch for a Special Presentation about ABP on KSAZ-10, Phoenix Feb. 4 Past Features   American Border Patrol Updates

Media Watch

Glenn Spencer on "From The Heartland" with John Kasich Saturday, February 8 -- 5 PM Pacific - Fox News Channel -  Check your local listings

The Nation (Thailand) US jails Thai for fake papers A 45-year-old Thai who overstayed his visa in the United States and used a fake social security card is now paying the price. -- Ekkaphol (not his real name) was sentenced to 90 days in jail, 10 days of community service, and was put on probation after he was found using a fake card social security card to apply for a truck driving license. -- "I want to plead for justice because I really didn't intend to do wrong. I just wanted to work legally in the US and pay tax but didn't know how do it properly," Ekkaphol said. [See: Illegal immigration is a crime]

News Note

India Times Pak dares US to deport immigrants Islamabad, Pakistan -- In a significant development, Pakistan has warned of devastating consequences for Pak-US relations in the event of Washington deciding to resort to mass deportation of Pakistanis residing illegally in the US. -- "Such an eventuality (large-scale deportation of Pakistanis) if it did occur would have devastating consequences for Pak-US relations," Pakistan foreign minister Mehmood Ahmed Kasuri said.

Associated Press Nine illegals plead guilty to having fake work docs Nine illegal immigrants arrested on the USS John F. Kennedy have pleaded guilty to using fake work documents and now face deportation to their native Mexico. The nine, who cleaned diesel tanks on the warship, pleaded guilty Friday. Six more suspected illegal workers were arrested Thursday night at Mayport Naval Station, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. -- Immigration officials arrested 11 Mexican men on the Kennedy last month on charges of possessing false documentation. Fifty-four other workers whom the INS identified as illegal scattered before they could be caught.

News Note

Chicago Tribune (Free Registration)  El Paso -- 'Ground zero' of health-care crisis ...Adding to the plight of the uninsured in El Paso and throughout the border region are the high proportion of Hispanics and immigrants, who are less likely to be insured; the region's extreme poverty, giving residents fewer financial resources to pay for medical care; and a pronounced shortage of physicians, so severe that one report estimated El Paso would need 300 more doctors to reach the same level as the rest of Texas.

L.A Times (Free Registration)  Times editorial backs Santa Ana reconquista Nativo Lopez In six years on the Santa Ana school board, Nativo V. Lopez has given the public ample reason to wonder whether he's the man for the job. That's a question the voters should answer in two years, when Lopez's current term expires. -- We wouldn't endorse him for re-election, but the recall campaign is another matter. We recommend a "no" vote in Tuesday's recall election. [More on the effort to recall this agitator]

We Get E-Mail

Re: Georgia gets it's own invader-cheerleading legislator Sam Zamarripa is already throwing around the "R" word! Amazingly, he defeated a Black woman to represent a Senate district that is 63 percent Black. Apparently, anyone who resists his agenda is going to be called racist (presumably, even if they are black!)

Newsday 2 charged in murder of rival gangster Nassau homicide detectives charged two suspects Thursday night in the killing of Jaime Alvarenga, 14, who died after being stabbed three times on Jan. 17 near the Hempstead train station. -- Henry Portillo, 26, and Elmer Romero, 20, were arrested in front of their apartment complex at 299 Jackson St. in Hempstead at about 8 p.m. Homicide Squad Det. Sgt. Dennis Barry said the two suspects were seen with Alvarenga the night before he died and a two-week investigation led police to believe they had stabbed Alvarenga.

News Note

The Arizona Republic Day laborer center opens in Phoenix Finding work on the streets is still a tough way to make a living, but now at least it's safer for day laborers in north Phoenix. -- The city-sponsored Macehualli Day Work Center opened Saturday. -- Day laborer centers are used nationwide to give workers and employers a safe place to negotiate work terms and to satisfy business owners and residents who complain of workers hanging out on the streets. [Not a word about the illegals who will be using the place.]

Washington Post Task Force to Tackle Gangs Several Northern Virginia law enforcement agencies will share a $520,000 federal grant to create a regional task force to help solve and deter gang-related crimes. -- Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.) announced the funding in a letter Jan. 15 to Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott K. York (R-At Large), saying he is "extremely concerned about the rise in gang-related activity in our community." -- Police said there is particular concern about one of the area's most violent gangs, Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13. The Salvadoran gang, which has roots in Los Angeles, has been linked at least four slayings in the Washington area in recent years. [MS-13 gang info]

The Arizona Republic Crowd hostile to Hispanic group's plea Hispanic leaders and parents calling for a more ethically diverse faculty and staff were booed at the Paradise Valley United School District School Board meeting. -- While the Arizona Hispanic Community Forum members were addressing the board at length during Thursday's meeting, a tense atmosphere developed during the public comment period. -- The meeting was packed and a small but vocal group groaned, laughed or made comments such as "Go back to Mexico" and "Gimme a break."

The Arizona Republic LTE Hispanic 'paradise' a sellout Regarding the Jan. 23 editorial, "The new majority," about the coming Hispanic "paradise": Will it be the same as all the other Hispanic "paradises"? -- Maybe if your paper stood up for Americans once in a while, America might last a little longer than 2007. Maybe you should watch the news from Bogota, Caracas, La Paz, Quito, Lima, Guatamala City, San Salvador and all the rest to see how great it is going to be! -- I'm sickened by what kind of country my kids and grandkids will have to live in...

Boston Globe Sham ID program aids, abets Mexican interlopers The line at the Progreso Latino community center stretched down the hallway on a recent Saturday as throngs of Mexicans poured into a nondescript building that became, for a few hours, a satellite office of the Mexican consulate. -- Nearly everyone in line admitted they were in the country illegally, drawn to the center by the promise of an identification card from the Mexican government.

Terry Anderson - Houston Chronicle Black Americans....LAST Again! The black community has made great strides in the last few decades. Racism has certainly not been eradicated, but it is no longer accepted with a wink and a nod as it once was. We are proud to see Secretary of State Colin Powell, even when we do not agree with everything he does. The same with Condoleezza Rice, the president's national security adviser, and many others.... [Listen to the Terry Anderson Show - Sundays, 8 PM Pacific]

Denver Post Invasion soars in '90's, Colorado illegal population up 364% The number of undocumented immigrants living in the United States doubled to nearly 7 million during the 1990s, with Colorado experiencing the third-largest percentage growth of illegal immigrants, the Immigration and Naturalization Service reported Friday. -- Those figures are still lower than many estimates, including a 2000 Census Bureau count that put the number of illegal immigrants nationwide at 8 million, following a record wave of newcomers drawn by the country's decade-long economic boom.

Indianapolis Star Bogus Mexican 'Howdy Doody' ID cards stir debate At 100 a day, the new Mexican Consulate in Union Station is churning out identification cards that have caused an uproar nationwide. --- Opponents say that giving legitimacy to illegal immigrants will encourage more to unlawfully cross U.S. borders. -- "This eviscerates the federal government's control of our borders," said David Ray, a FAIR spokesman. "It is the latest gimmick by Mexico to get amnesty for its illegal aliens." [Also see: Bush administration slammed over sham Mexican IDs]

News Note

Associated Press  ACLU again attempts to defend foreign intruders Stratford, Wisconsin - The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin is investigating the Stratford Police Department's role in the deportation of four residents [deemed to be illegals] to Mexico. -- Police reports show the four were arrested Jan. 20 after an officer saw one of them driving erratically. The officer followed the vehicle to a Stratford address and went inside the home to get out of the cold while he waited for the man to provide identification....