The Waterkooler

It is the age old question: what do women want? Now, we have delved into the question of why men make more money than women in the workplace - or should I say the myth that men make more money! Because if it were in fact true that women do the same work as men for less money, then why would anyone hire men?

Of course, a more in depth analysis reveals that women are less competitive than men, women are less willing to work overtime, and are less willing to work dangerous, or risky jobs which pay more. Women, as it turns out, are just less preoccupied with making money than men.

So before you lobby your Congressman and Senator to pass that equality in the workplace bill, remember, if women want it they will get it! No one needs more legislation getting in the way - especially women. Less we live in a society where every woman will have to deal with the glances askew that privately ask, "did she earn that promotion or was it affirmative action giving her a leg up?" And you can ask all the hard-working minorites in your workplace how that feels.

There has been a lot of talk about this issue around the Waterkooler lately. Everyday conservatives and liberals can be seen pointing and gestering angrily at one another and we have to separate them lest they knock over the blessed fountain. There is no fighting at the Waterkooler. Play nice kids.

But the real issue sometimes gets buried beneath the politics. Both parties seem to make their point that the other is violating the constitution or following its great tradition and vice versa when it comes to filibustering judicial nominess and changing senate rules - both parties have done both things and accuse the other of doing something they never have. That's just politics. Pointing fingers at the other guy. But in case you somehow missed it, listen to why the Democrats are opposed to these judicial nominees in the first place. From the NYTimes:

"The two nominees Senator Frist is putting forth first are singularly unqualified: The first, Priscilla Owen, has openly favored big business and flouted abortion rights on the Texas Supreme Court."

Yes, God forbid we support businesses or oppose "abortion rights!"

Well, I could not have said better myself. There you have it ladies and gentlemen, in their own words - the Democratic Party: anti-capitalist, anti-Christian.

Yes, this whole thing is about abortion. As was the 2004 election, won by evangelicals who were promised a reversal of Roe vs. Wade. Sure the Iraq war was the big issue but judicial nominees was the behind the scenes issue that tipped the scales. Christians are mainstream. Abortion is an abomination and your country is telling you that something must be done. So America, what are you going to do?

Unless Congress takes quick action against identity theft, Americans will soon find all their personally identifiable information up for sale or in the hands of ID thieves.

That's the sentiment of U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.). He and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) want data brokers such as ChoicePoint and LexisNexis to be regulated in the same manner as credit bureaus.

"We must mandate that companies must reasonably protect this information collected on virtually every American," Nelson said. "As a result of what we've seen so far, if we don't do something none of us are going to have any identity left."

Their goal in co-sponsoring new legislation is to require notification to consumers when their data is compromised and crack down on the sale of Social Security numbers.

Nelson's comments came Tuesday as the Senate Commerce Committee began the first of a series of hearings on private data companies that currently have little oversight and few rules that protect public privacy. Hearings are already underway in other Senate and House committees.

"This is a very serious thing with several bills already introduced in Congress. It's going to be a very difficult thing to handle," Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alas.) predicted.

As they have in three previous appearances before Congressional panels this year, executives from ChoicePoint and LexisNexis headlined Tuesday's hearing. And, as before, they again apologized for their companies' well-publicized data breaches while touting their strengthened security measures.

"Even if they [ChoicePoint and LexisNexis] improve their business practices, there are still hundreds of smaller data brokers who have no incentive to change their ways since there is no law governing their behavior," Stevens said.

Tuned into the current Capitol Hill clamor for federal action, both companies said they support a data breach disclosure law as long as it pre-empts any existing state laws. If forced to accept regulations, the companies prefer to deal with one federal standard as opposed to a patchwork of state laws.

Data breach disclosure to consumers is an integral part of the proposed bill by Nelson and Schumer, as well as legislation sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).

"We desperately need a strong national standard that says whenever a data system is breached, everyone who is at risk of identity theft must be notified," Feinstein told the Senate Judiciary Committee last month.

While Feinstein's bill focuses solely on data breach disclosure requirements, Nelson supports giving the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the power to develop regulations on the sale of data by brokers. The bill would also allow the FTC to fine violators and give consumers and states the right to civil actions against data brokers who compromise a consumer's personal data.

Both Nelson and Feinstein base parts of their legislation on a recently enacted California law requiring data brokers to inform residents if their personal data is exposed to possible ID theft.
Both ChoicePoint and LexisNexis admitted last month to unreported data breaches prior to the passage of the California law.

They live a life of luxury. They eat shrimp cocktails and steak frites. They sleep on Burberry beds in their Greenwich Village apartment and until a few weeks ago, they wore matching crystal-studded collars - but then chewed off all the stones.

Oh, and they are illegal - in NY at least, where they are all the rage. What are they? They are Savannahs, a new breed of designer cat. They weigh 35 pounds, look like leopards and walk on leashes and cost $4,000 - $10,000.

In Chicago, Cynthia A. King, a Savannah owner and breeder, said: "I had to wait
two years to get my kittens, and I had cash I was waving in the air. For a
first-generation pet, we're talking a $5,000 minimum expenditure. That's how
popular they are."

A 35 pound cat that likes to take walks through the city? Cool.

There are three main reasons for which the The Real ID Act has come under fire.

1. Critics claim it would turn drivers licences into defacto national ID cards, an idea that has been repeatedly rejected in this country due to civil liberties concerns.
   
2. Critics claim it would create a national database that would be vulnerable to identity theft and privacy abuses.
   
3. Critics claim it would make it more difficult for asylum seekers presently in the country.
   

THE DMV
The Real ID legislation would change the rules for state issuance of drivers licenses, but it does not mandate that drivers licences become a national ID. In fact it does the opposite. The legislation distinguishes between a drivers license and an identification card and spells out the requirements for each. As such, despite the claims to the contrary this legislation will not prevent ILLEGAL ALIENS from obtaining a drivers license!

Read the definitions in the bill here: Drivers Licence: Definitions

Simply put, the legislation merely states that anyone getting aboard a commercial airplane or entering a federal building or a nuclear power plant or other "official federal purposes" must have identification that meets or exceeds federal standards.

What this means is that a state-issued drivers license won't cut the mustard when trying to board an airplane. The drivers license will cease to be a valid form of identification to any federal agent. But, if you so desire, you would still be able to obtain a license from the DMV that would meet federal identification purposes.

What will happen when you go to the DMV? You will have the option of getting a one-year licence that will allow you to drive but will not be accepted by federal agents as proof of identity. Or, if you have your birth certificate and social security card and your electric bill, you can get an enhanced licence that will be acceptable to federal agents as proof of identity.

A National Database?
So, would the Real ID Act create a national database? According to the legislation, no. But it does require states to keep databases and we know that DMVs and other such warehouses of information are prime targets to hackers. The legislation addresses this by requiring states to enhance their data security and physical security, but does not lay out specifics. The burden rests entirely on the states.

State DMVs Targeted by Identity Thieves
In recent months three state DMVs have been penetrated by identity thieves. In March, burglars rammed a vehicle through a back wall at a DMV near Las Vegas and drove off with files, including Social Security numbers, on about 9,000 people. Last week Florida police arrested 52 people, including 3 DMV examiners, in a scheme that sold more than 2,000 fake driver’s licenses. Two weeks ago Maryland police arrested three people, including a DMW worker, in a plot to sell about 150 fake licenses. These criminal schemes come in the wake of a rash of data broker scandals that have compromised the personal information of millions of Americans.

HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL ID DEBATE National ID cards have long been advocated as a means to enhance national security, unmask potential terrorists, and guard against illegal immigrants. They are in use in many countries around the world including most European countries, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Currently, the United States and the United Kingdom have continued to debate the merits of adopting national ID cards. The types of card, their functions, and privacy safeguards vary widely.

• 1977, the Carter Administration reiterated that the SSN was not to become an identifier
• 1981 the Reagan Administration stated that it was "explicitly opposed" to the creation of a national ID card
• 1999 Congress repealed a controversial provision in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 which gave authorization to include Social Security Numbers on driver's licenses

In response to the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, there has been renewed interest in the creation of national ID cards. Soon after the attacks, Larry Ellison, head of California-based software company Oracle Corporation, called for the development of a national identification system and offered to donate the technology to make this possible. He proposed ID cards with embedded digitized thumbprints and photographs of all legal residents in the U.S. There was much public debate about the issue, and Congressional hearings were held. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich testified that he "would not institute a national ID card because you do get into civil liberties issues."

Perhaps the worst thing about the Real ID Act is that it was never debated on its merits. Instead, it was tied to a must pass military bill for Iraq. Senators Sam Brownback, R-Kan., Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., and 10 other Senators urged Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to keep the Real ID proposal off the Supplemental Appropriations bill:

The REAL ID Act would make major shifts in immigration and asylum policy, and therefore should be considered carefully and deliberately. Accordingly, we urge you to ensure that the Senate follows normal parliamentary procedures when it takes up the REAL ID Act. Because of its magnitude, this legislation should be referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee on a schedule that provides adequate time for full and careful consideration. Legislating in such a complex area without the benefit of hearings and expert testimony is a dubious exercise and one that subverts the Senate's deliberative process.

Sen. Richard Durbin also expressed concern this week that REAL ID would repeal earlier legislation that contained "carefully crafted language—bipartisan language—to establish standards for States issuing driver's licenses."

Research: epic.org

Washington National Office
1718 Connecticut Ave. N.W.
Suite 200
Washington, DC 20009
tel: +1 202 483 1140

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, recalling how her father took up arms to defend fellow blacks from racist whites in the segregated South, said Wednesday the constitutional right of Americans to own guns is as important as their rights to free speech and religion.

In an interview on CNN's "Larry King Live," Rice said she came to that view from personal experience. She said her father, a black minister, and his friends armed themselves to defended the black community in Birmingham, Ala., against the White Knight Riders in 1962 and 1963. She said if local authorities had had lists of registered weapons, she did not think her father and other blacks would have been able to defend themselves.

Hillary Clinton & Newt Gingrich Support Legislation That Could Increase Medical Privacy Risks, Says FTCR

Sen. Hillary Clinton joined former House Speaker Newt Gingrich today in support of medical information technology legislation that could lead to increased risk of invasions of privacy and possibly identity theft if appropriate protections are not provided, according to the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR).

The legislation, introduced today by Representatives Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) and Tim Murphy (R-Pa.), will create huge databases containing a patient's medical information including illnesses and genetic predispositions, alcohol and drug addiction, the medications the patient receives, and most likely, personal identifier information like
Social Security Numbers. The bill requires health information networks funded through new technology grants to allow patients to "opt out" of including their information in medical databases but fails to hold database operators accountable when information is inappropriately accessed.

"While better medical technology can save lives and money, this legislation puts consumers at risk of invasions of privacy and possibly identity theft." said Jerry Flanagan of FTCR. "At a time when information brokers buy and sell our private information to the highest bidder, database managers must be held accountable when identity thieves take advantage of lax security precautions and make our private information public."

To dramatize the risk of privacy invasions and identity theft, in the Fall of 2003 the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights purchased on-line for $26 each the Social Security Numbers of top Bush Administration officials including then Attorney General
John Ashcroft, then
CIA Director George Tenet, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, and FTC Commissioner Timothy Muris. Once an identity thief has obtained a consumer's Social Security Number, the identity thief may open credit accounts in the consumer's name or gain access to bank accounts.

"In light major security breaches at information warehousers like ChoicePoint, any legislation to expand the use of medical databases must have significant protections built-in so that patients are not forced to face new threats to their privacy," said Flanagan.

------

The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR) is a leading nonpartisan consumer advocacy organization. For more information, visit FTCR on the Web at http://www.ConsumerWatchdog.org.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced yesterday that it will "add the voice of the Catholic Church" to the call for major immigration legislation, including a guest-worker program and a path to citizenship for illegal aliens in the United States.

The campaign calls for faster family reunification, a guest-worker program that eventually leads to citizenship, better protections for both immigrant and native-born workers, and a path to citizenship for those in the country illegally.

Chris Simcox, co-founder of the Minutmen Project, will give testimony to Congress next week, but Homeland Security does not want to talk to him in his own state of Arizona during a press conference on the need for more bordor patrol there.

"[Homeland Security] pulled 50 agents off the line to provide security. While they blocked me, there is no doubt that at the same time, hundreds of illegal aliens had no difficulty gaining access to the United States."

Simcox is considering seeking advice from an attorney and even the American Civil Liberties Union because he believes his First Amendment rights as a member of the press were denied.

Simcox said he believes Nicley refused him admittance because of his connection with the Minuteman Project, which involved volunteers watching the border in Cochise County throughout April. Simcox was a co-organizer of the event with Californian Jim Gilchrist.

"After the Vietnam War, a lot of us didn't just crawl back into our literary cubicles; we stepped into academic positions. With the war over, our visibility was lost, and it seemed for a while--to the unobservant--that we had disappeared. Now we have tenure, and the work of reshaping the universities has begun in earnest."

--Jay Parini, Chronicle of Higher Education more

---

Masters student Scott McConnell was enrolled at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y. Scott was studying to be a teacher. He was doing well, with a 3.78 grade point average and had just written a paper that was critical of multiculturalism and supportive of corporal punishment in the classroom.

His professor gave him an "A" on the paper. The school, however, expelled him from the program.

"I have grave concerns regarding the mismatch between your personal beliefs regarding teaching and learning and the Le Moyne College program goals. Based on this data, I do not believe that you should continue in the Le Moyne M.S.T. (Masters of Science for Teaching) Program. You will not be allowed to register for any additional courses. Your registration for Spring 2005 courses has been withdrawn."

Well, that's the tolerant, open-minded liberal left for you. They are supportive of diversity and free speech - as long as that speech does not diverge from their leftist dogma.


In a related story, read what it takes to get an "A" at an elite private university.


Speaking of openmindedness, this from the Opinion Journal:

I'm Open-Minded, You're a Stupid Jerk
There's something amusing about the obnoxious way in which some people trumpet their own open-mindedness and tolerance. Consider these two passages from an essay by Garrison Keillor in The Nation:

I enjoy, in small doses, the over-the-top right-wingers who have leaked into AM radio on all sides in the past twenty years. They are evil, lying, cynical bastards who are out to destroy the country I love and turn it into a banana republic, but hey, nobody's perfect. . . .

The reason you find an army of right-wingers ratcheting on the radio and so few liberals is simple: Republicans are in need of affirmation, they don't feel comfortable in America and they crave listening to people who think like them. Liberals actually enjoy living in a free society; tuning in to hear an echo is not our idea of a good time.

If this were true, nobody would listen to NPR, watch "Fahrenheit 9/11"--or, for that matter, read The Nation.

A small-town police chief used a criminal trespassing charge to try to turn back one illegal immigrant, saying he was frustrated that lax federal enforcement means ''if you make it past the border patrol, you're free and clear.''

''It's basically a situation here where right now if you make it past the border patrol, you're free and clear,'' Chamberlain said. ''What I'm hoping to do is find a way that if the feds aren't going to help us out, then local enforcement can take care of it.''

A week of unlikely winners...

Vegas: Las Vegas Area Woman Wins Aristocrat's Millioni$er(R) $1 Million Jackpot Twice in Less Than a Year

Louisville: Matching Giacomo's unbelievable victory in Saturday's Kentucky Derby (gr. I) at 50-1 was Christopher Hertzog's loss of his $864,253 Derby Superfecta ticket Saturday and then having it found 24 hours later at Turf Paradise racetrack in Phoenix, Arizona.

Betting on that Fortune Cookie

Website Domain Auction To Help Stop Illegal Immigration.
www.StopIllegalImmigration.com to be auctioned to highest eBay bidder on July 4th.

(Los Angeles, California) - It's one of the hottest political topics in America today -- Illegal Immigration. And it is sure to continue to be a hot-button topic until the problem is solved.

According to FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, one estimate is that as many as 11 million illegal immigrants are now in the U.S.

But now Adam Christing, a California small business owner, is aiming to help stop illegal immigration by auctioning off the website URL www.StopIllegalImmigration.com
to the highest eBay bidder. Christing will be donating 20% of the money generated by
eBay sale of StopIllegalImmigration.com to the group Americans for Legal Immigration
(ALIPAC). Americans for Legal Immigration supports the right of people to legally enter the U.S. (www.alipac.us)

According to William Gheen, the president of ALIPAC, "We support those that obey our laws and legally immigrate to the US. While at the same time 6 to 10,000 people walk right across the border every night illegally and more must be done to address America's illegal immigration crisis."

Americans for Legal Immigration has a 4-point platform:

1. Secure U.S. borders.

2. Stop giving taxpayer benefits and incentives to illegals.

3. Crack down on employers who intentionally hire illegals.

4. Enforce our existing immigration laws when illegal aliens are arrested
for crimes.

The bidding for domain: www.StopIllegalImmigration.com begins on eBay on June 25th and closes on July 4th. For more information about the website and the auction visit: www.StopIllegalImmigration.com

For more information or to arrange an interview contact:
Todd Brabender - 785.842.8909 or
Adam Christing - 310.770.0116

Local Washington DC talk show host, Michael Graham of WMAL, was detained in Maryland Monday at an REAL ID protest rally. The rally was attended by hundreds of illegal immigrants and advertised in the Washington Post yet Graham was detained for not having proper identification and told that he was "not invited" to the event.

Michael showed his ABC press pass when confronted at the gate where he was then asked for addition identification. The confrontation led to Michael being detained by the organizers of the event and local police, who said they were there to protect the illegal aliens at the event.

Oganizers say Graham was detained because he was wearing a black T-shirt with the letter INS printed on them. Michael says he was merely making a "political statement at a political rally." He says he was protesting the fact that there were no federal immigration officials at the event to deport the hundreds of illegal aliens there.

Maryland is one of 10 states that issues licenses even if applicants don't prove they are legal residents. Speakers at the event told the illegal aliens in attendance that the time had come to "take the law into their own hands." Although they are not citizens, the illegals claimed that the US government has to answer to them.

Montgomery County police are investigating whether or not to press charges on Michael for inciting violence at a public event.

Meanwhile, on his talk radio show, Michael has been playing audio that he recorded from the event in which men with megaphones were chanting "No licence, no justice; no justice, no peace! No licence, no justice; no justice, no peace!"

It was one of few statements spoken in English, thanks to Spanish to English flyers that were being handed out at the event.

No one is investigating whether or not the police should arrest the hundreds of other federal criminals who were unlawfully present in the country.

Security people stopped Graham and asked for identification.
"Funny for them to ask me for ID," he tells me.
He flashed his ABC credentials and tried to walk in. They jumped him. A struggle ensued. Someone alerted the police officers standing nearby. "Finally," Graham figured, "they're going to pull these illegals off of me." But no. They took him into custody and asked him to leave.

"Makes sense, actually," he says, "if you consider the whack jobs who run the Montgomery County Police."
Monday morning he made verbal mincemeat of the county, the cops and CASA, the group that organized the rally, which he referred to as a front group for illegal aliens. Actually, CASA is a well-respected advocacy group for immigrants of all kinds. They are known, for instance, for rescuing enslaved domestic workers.

Everything was going according to script until the Montgomery County police went to extremes. Lt. Eric Burnett told Graham's boss, WMAL president Chris Berry, that police were planning to "file a complaint against Graham."

I asked Burnett about the charges. Failure to shut up?
"Graham was acting unprofessional as a reporter," Burnett said.
But as Chris Berry says, Michael Graham is an entertainer, not a reporter. The cops did their job on Sunday. Now they are just giving Graham more material.

Make his day:
Arrest him.

Presented in conjunction with the San Francisco Sex Worker Film and Arts Festival, the class Wednesday at an erotic art gallery was billed as away for working girls and guys to polish their skills in a supportive atmosphere.

Drivers Licences Harder to Get

Air travelers to supply birth dates

NYTimes: Ugly Children Get Short Shrift

Should Wal Mart Pay More?

Wash Times: Debating Darwin in Kansas

Evolution War of Words

Ann Coulter inspires another attack.

Ann responds.

Two groups filed suit Tuesday in U.S. District Court to block a Montgomery County health curriculum that includes discussions of homosexuality and a video that has a demonstration of how to use a condom.

Controversy over the new sex ed curriculum includes misleading statements about the effectiveness of condom usage and statements that lump oral and anal sex together with vaginal sex all in one category - and apparently that category is "safe and acceptable."

The curriculum advises teachers who are asked religious or moral questions about homosexuality to quote from Canadian churches that have accepted homosexuality and to remind students that many religions are bigoted and even says that "Jesus never discussed homosexuality." Yeah, he never discussed incest and pedophilia either!

The curriculum for eight graders includes a lesson which teaches that sex play between same sex friends is normal and there is nothing wrong with boys or girls who are sexually active with their same-sex friends.

Eighth graders, folks.

This self-proclaimed "abstinence" program is nothing of the sort. In fact, for bisexuals, homosexuals, and transgendered people, the curriculum stipulates that sex is an integral part of their identity and therefore abstinence would deprive them of an essential aspect of their personhood.

Clearly, homosexuality is part of the culture we live in. Teaching respect for persons with same-sex attraction is appropriate and right. But the new curriculum goes beyond the ethic of tolerance by demanding affirmation of a homosexual orientation and behavior, and in fact violates the value systems of many families.

In the video, which is titled "PROTECT YOURSELF", there could not be a more misleading message given to students than telling them that condoms are 98% effective. The implication given by the video is that condom usage would protect them from both sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy 98% of the time. The youth were told the condoms should be used for vaginal, oral, and rectal sex. It is clear that the video is implying "safe" protection with each form of sexual activity. The messages of the video minimized the risks of sexually active life styles.

First, the 98% number comes from a study of pregnancy rates among mature women (average age of 35) and does not reflect pregnancy rates among teenagers who use condoms, which are much higher.

Moreover, the curriculum completely obfuscates the dangers of anal sex. One of the questions students are supposed to answer after watching the video is, "When used correctly, how effective are condoms?"

Effective at what? And under what circumstances? The effectiveness of condoms at preventing HIV during anal intercourse is not the same as the effectiveness of condoms at preventing pregnancy with vaginal intercourse. The effectiveness of condoms at preventing HPV? Completely and totally ineffective. The effectiveness at preventing sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea or Chlamydia transmission from men to women and genital herpes, trichomoniasis, chancroid or syphilis? Well, that is still undefined.

Of the dangers of the homosexual lifestyle, the curriculum says nothing. Yet the dangers are well-documented.

Studies have repeatedly confirmed that homosexuals are at substantially greater risk of psychiatric problems than heterosexuals, including suicide, depression, bulimia, antisocial personality disorder, and substance abuse. 1 On the physical side, those who engage in homosexual activity put themselves at risk of a host of debilitating diseases.

The MCPS would not advise a teenager to take a train that is safe only 90% of the time and 10 percent of the time places them in a life-threatening situation. MCPS should also not endorse that all forms of sexual intercourse are equally safe when the increased dangers of rectal sex are well known. MCPS should not tell our children to "protect yourself" with a condom when it has not been shown to work for diseases like herpes and HPV which are lifetime afflictions.

I am deeply disturbed to know that my taxes have been used for such a dangerously misleading message. A video that should have been produced would tell the whole truth about condoms. I would have recommended a title such as "IS SAFE SEX REALLY SAFE-----DEBUNKING THE PROTECTION MYTHS"

On homosexuality, the curriculum refuses to acknowledge an increased danger of disease and in fact will not allow parents attending classes to bring the subject up. The school board tried to prevent parents from attending class at all, tried to prevent parents from seeing the video (when they threatened to sue Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum, the organization that posted the video on their website) and have done everything they can to keep parents in the dark about their "abstinence" sex ed program.

Although the Montgomery County Public Schools were forced to get permission forms from parents, the forms do not go into detail about the nature of the "abstinence" program they are signing. If it were not for Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum none of us would know anything about this "abstinence" curriculum at all.


Read the Washington Post article here.

See the video and learn more here.

Read the lesson plan here.

The world's best known Internet search engine, Google.com, stands accused of liberal political bias after allegedly refusing a conservative group's ad, which had text nearly identical to an advertisement the company previously accepted from a liberal group. Google denied the charge Tuesday and said it treats all of its users and customers fairly.

Yeah right. Rightmarch.com found out the truth about Google when they saw an ad on Google that read:

"The Truth About Tom DeLay - Learn about DeLay's many scandals and help us clean up the House! dccc.org."

Nothing wrong with that, but when Rightmarch.com tried to run this ad:

"Truth About Nancy Pelosi - Learn about Pelosi's many scandals and help us clean up the House! RightMarch.com"

Google refused to run the ad.

"At this time, Google policy does not permit ad text that advocates against an individual, group or organization," Google wrote Greene on the administration page of his ad account. "As noted in our advertising terms and conditions, we reserve the right to exercise editorial discretion when it comes to the advertising we accept on our site."

The conservative ad never got on. The liberal ad is still running.

Congress nears passage of controversial Real ID legislation.

Read the bill here

The "Real ID" program aims to take driver's licenses out of the hands of anyone who cannot prove they are in the United States legally. By so doing, supporters argue that illegal aliens would not be able to board airplanes or gain access to government buildings by using a state driver's license as identification.

"Eighteen of the 19 (Sept. 11) hijackers could've used their passports but chose instead to use state-issued ID and driver's licenses and it allowed them to get on the planes without detection," said Jeff Lungren, spokesman for the House Judiciary Committee.

Chairman of the House Judiciary, Congressman James Sensenbrenner, says,

"This legislation is aimed at preventing another 9/11-type attack by disrupting terrorist travel and bolstering our border security. Giving drivers' licenses that can be used as identification to anyone, regardless of whether they are here legally or whether we know who they really are, is an open invitation for terrorists and criminals to exploit. The REAL ID will help shut down 'Smugglers Gulch' along our border so law-abiding American citizens are better protected from terrorists, drug smugglers, alien gangs, and violent criminals seeking to operate in the U.S. The 9/11 Commission stated it well: 'It is elemental to border security to know who is coming into the country.'"

Critics of Real ID complain it would basically establish a national identification program and will be a bureaucratic nightmare for states to enforce and that a central database would be vulnerable to identity theft.

State officials are concerned that a move by Congress to discourage illegal immigration by requiring license applicants to produce four types of identification could lead to long waits and a cumbersome, confusing process to get a driver's license or an official state ID.

Other provisions of the bill would make it tough for illegal aliens who are seeking asylum.

"We're talking about very substantial changes that are going to seriously erode the ability of asylum-seekers to get safe haven in the United States," said Tim Edgar, who specializes in national security issues for the American Civil Liberties Union.

Brief Highlights of the REAL ID (as included in the conference report):

Strong security standards for the issuance of drivers' licenses

-- All states must require proof of lawful presence in the U.S. if their drivers' licenses are to be accepted as a form of identification to a federal official. The conference report clarifies that getting aboard a commercial airplane or entering a federal building or a nuclear power plant are among the official federal purposes. States must comply within 3 years of law's enactment.

-- The agreement clarifies that states can issue a second tier of drivers' licenses (approach taken by Tennessee and Utah) that would not be valid for official federal purposes and that do not have to meet the issuance standards. The terms of these cards would be a maximum of one year.

-- Temporary driver's license issued to a foreign visitor by a state must expire when the visitor's visa expires, with a maximum term of one year.

-- Does not create a national ID card or a national database. Does compel the states to improve the data security of information that states already hold about their citizens, and requires the states to improve the physical security of the buildings where data is stored.

Asylum Reform

-- Tightens the asylum system abused by terrorists by allowing immigration judges to determine witness credibility in asylum cases. In assessing witness credibility, requires the trier of fact "(c)onsider() ... the totality of the circumstances, and all relevant factors." With respect to statements, the trier of fact is to "(c)onsider() the circumstances under which the statements were made." Provides that corroborating evidence is not required if the applicant does not have the evidence and cannot reasonably obtain it.

Closing the 3-Mile Hole in the fortified U.S./Mexico Border Fence Near San Diego

-- Provides the Secretary of Homeland Security the ability to waive laws necessary to complete border fences and roads to improve national security. Allows for Federal judicial review of Secretary's actions, but only for constitutional claims such as takings of private property.

Inadmissability and Deportation of Terrorists

-- Ensures all terrorism-related grounds of inadmissability to the U.S. are grounds for deportation from the U.S. Conference report allows the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive some of the new grounds of inadmissability. Congress must be given periodic updates on who receives waivers.

Judicial Review of Removal Orders

-- Provides reforms to ensure the prompt removal from U.S. of terrorists and criminal aliens, after the proper judicial review. By restoring judicial review to its former, settled forum, all aliens ordered removed by an immigration judge will be able to appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals and then raise constitutional and legal challenges to the circuit court, the second-highest courts in the U.S.

Congressman James Sensenbrenner supports the bill.

The ACLU does not.

What is an RFID? And what is the debate about?

California parents learned the answers to these questions this year when an elementary school decided to force children to wear RFID chips, spurring legislation to limit the uses of RFID chips in the state.

Also causing alarm recently, is the decision by Cisco to launch a wireless RFID server that can track people and equipment using existing Wi-Fi networks.

RFID, also known as contactless integrated circuits, transmits information wirelessly, allowing scanners to read cards from a distance, typically a few feet. The technology is widely used in building security and inventory-tracking systems, and is being considered for numerous other applications.

Concerns about RFID center on surreptitious scanning and tracking, since data on the chips can be picked up either by an authorized or an unauthorized reader without the knowledge of the person carrying the chip.

RFID chips could be used to track an individual’s spending habits, preferences and even physical movements. This information could be used for a host of unauthorised and unsolicited activities such as targeted marketing and dynamic pricing.

The potential for RFID to be used to target individuals - not just to check stock levels or ensure baggage does not get lost in transit - is made more serious by the issue of access. Not only will the deployer of an RFID tag, such as a retailer, be able to access the information contained in a tag, but anyone with the right equipment will also be able to do so.

Thieves could use the tags to locate the whereabouts of valuables and interested persons could obtain access to another’s medical records or passport details, or trace another’s spending habits or physical movements.

Headline: FDA approves implanted RFID chip for Humans

RFID's in passports? Rep James Sensenbrenner says no.

View Sensenbrenner's Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002 here

Read more about another CA RFID case here

More info on RFID's and how they are being used right now can be found here.

Border Patrol Expands

An organization of citizens in California, created last year to support the U.S. Border Patrol, will begin its own Minuteman-style vigil in August, using volunteers to spot illegal aliens in areas around San Diego, organizers said yesterday.

The Friends of the Border Patrol, led by Chairman Andy Ramirez, said 300 retired police officers, military personnel, pilots and other citizens have offered their services for the "FBP Border Watch," which the organization hopes to expand eventually from the Pacific Ocean to the Arizona state line.

"America was built on the spirit of volunteerism and community," said Mr. Ramirez, who previously headed Save Our State, which helped defeat efforts by California lawmakers to authorize drivers licenses for illegal aliens. "Citizens volunteering to defend our nation in time of war and crisis is a time-honored American tradition.

Meanwhile, the Main Stream Media saturates us with deportation sob stories about how nice and hard-working these criminals are.

A desperate Josué Suarez needed to land a job, but as an undocumented immigrant he lacked valid identification. So a year ago he went to the Department of Motor Vehicles, walked over to the counter and handed over a phony work permit as identification to apply for a non-driver's ID.

On March 3, he was deported to his native Honduras, a country he barely remembers after growing up on Long Island. Today, he and 14 other relatives sleep on the floor of a great-aunt's house in San Pedro Sula.

"They sent me to a country where I know nobody, where I have no life and no future. Every day is a new shocker for me," Suarez said in a telephone interview, adding that where he lives the toilet doesn't work and the water from the kitchen sink reeks. "I'm not going to drink water you can smell."

The number of noncriminal deportations has more than doubled in the last four years, according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Yes, you read that correctly folks: noncriminal. Apparently there are no laws that criminalize possession of "phony documents."

We know that illegals are 5 times more likely to engage in criminal activity, as studies show. It is common sense: You come hear illegally, your first act in this country is to break it's laws; you have to find illegal underground sources for illegal documentation, you live each day a lie, you become desensitized to the law. The simple fact is that illegals coming into this country are taxing our prison systems.

In 1980, our federal and state prisons housed fewer than 9,000 criminal aliens. By the end of 1999, these same prisons housed over 68,000 criminal aliens.1 Today, criminal aliens account for over 29 percent of prisoners in Federal Bureau of Prisons facilities and a higher share of all federal prison inmates.2 These prisoners represent the fastest growing segment of the federal prison population. Over the past five years, an average of more than 72,000 aliens have been arrested annually on drug charges alone.

Illegal Fact sheets