THEY NEED OUR HELP

Chairmen of the bored: Idle days take toll on disabled vets
By CHRIS VAUGHN
McClatchy Newspapers
Article Launched: 05/24/2008 01:45:12 AM PDT


FORT WORTH, Texas — John Chrzanowski heads to the horse barn first thing in the morning most days.
He brushes, cleans out horseshoes, saddles and then grimaces to get up on top of his favorite, a sand-colored palomino named Sally, to ride around his property east of Dallas. Horses are new to Chrzanowski, who grew up in a Detroit suburb and spent most of his adult life as an Army infantryman.
But a roadside bomb in Iraq ended his combat tour early and left him a very different man, scarred and unfit for continuing duty.
What he was left with is a wife, a baby girl and five horses, all that he has to spend his time on. Every day is a day off.
He would prefer something else to occupy his mind, somewhere to go other than doctor's appointments and the feed store. He's 24 years old and can't fathom the rest of his life spent in leisure.
But no one, not even defense contractors who profit from the war, has expressed interest in hiring him.
"There really isn't much out there for a 24-year-old grunt fresh out of the Army with no college education," he said.
This kind of fallout from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has largely been overshadowed by the more outrageous tales of lapses in military medical care, inadequate death benefits and bureaucratic bungling in the Veterans Affairs Department.
When severely disabled veterans get forced out of the military, as thousands have since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, they face the very sobering
realization that they may have nothing more to look forward to than a government check for the rest of their lives.
Government statistics from the Labor Department issued last month state that the unemployment rate in 2007 for disabled veterans from all wars was 3.4 percent and that almost 9 out of 10 disabled Iraq war veterans were working, both of which indicate there is not a problem at all.
Experts in the field, however, say that is not their experience. One recent report prepared by a disability advocacy group for the Army said there are no reliable statistics for the most severely injured, but that their unemployment rate was "staggering."
The government statistics "seem counterintuitive to me," agreed Dave Autry, a spokesman for the Disabled American Veterans group in Washington, D.C. "I don't think those numbers are really reflective of what's happening. Historically, severely disabled veterans have fared less well in the work force, and the higher the disability rating, the higher the unemployment."
Frederick Williams, a former noncommissioned officer in the 1st Cavalry Division with burns, shrapnel wounds and partial deafness and blindness, found out what it was like when he started calling and applying for jobs in Killeen.
He never received a single phone call from the private sector and never received a job offer from any government agency. Eventually, Williams, 46, a Louisiana native, landed a job with a nonprofit company that hires only severely disabled people, a job he loves.
But he hasn't forgotten how the private sector snubbed him.
The American people "don't owe us anything," he said. "This was our decision. But we did stuff they did not want to do, so morally, they should think about that and give us a chance. If we're OK to fight for you, it might be OK for us to work for you."
A week before Christmas last year, the Chrzanowskis closed on a two-story house and 16 acres in Hunt County, a bit north of Greenville.
Neither of them knew much about North Texas. Chrzanowski knew even less about life in the country.
He grew up in a place called St. Clair Shores, a small city outside Detroit and just across Lake St. Clair from Canada.
His wife, Tanis, called Corpus Christi home, 1,300 miles away and a lot closer to the United States' other border.
But after the Air Force had brought Chrzanowski to Texas on June 21, 2005, in the belly of a C-17 transport, so bandaged up he looked like the Michelin man, he couldn't very well leave.
"I wanted to go to Georgia," he said. "But I married a Texan, and they don't take kindly to leaving Texas."
The two met outside a barracks on Fort Sam Houston, where hundreds of sick and injured soldiers and Marines were going through rehabilitation and recovery.
Tanis, a medic in Iraq, had ended up at Brooke Army Medical Center because of a medical problem. Seven months later, they wed in a small and short ceremony at the Bexar County Courthouse, celebrating afterward at a Mexican restaurant on the River Walk with a handful of family members. (Seven months after that, they would ask a Catholic priest to bless their marriage to make it more official with God.)
Chrzanowski went under for 13 surgeries and endured thousands of sessions with rehab specialists. His medical charts coldly described his injuries — 62.5 percent of his body with third-degree burns, 15 percent with second-degree burns.
Only the top of his head, his face and the top of his feet escaped.
Two, sometimes three times a day he would go to rehab, trying to release and stretch the yards of scar tissue that formed all over his body. He still cannot find the words for the pain, only that it was "beyond any human comprehension."
"Bless them, the rehab people never give up on you," he said. "You could cuss them, and they'd always come back."
Twenty-three months after his flight landed in San Antonio, the Army cut Chrzanowski loose and retired him for medical reasons. They also made him a corporal.
"Pity promotion," he said.
Chrzanowski sometimes breaks things around the house so he can fix them.
He bought a boat so he could go fishing. He rides around in his tractor looking for a fence to mend.
When it's too hot outside, or too cold, or too windy, he has to come inside. He will forever be limited in how much exposure he has to extreme weather.
Maybe he will turn on the History Channel or play with his 10-month-old daughter, Audrey.
"I was raised in an old-fashioned family," he said.
"A man goes to work in the morning and comes home in the evening. He provides for his family. But when every day is Saturday ..." His voice trails off.
He won't say it but the truth is that Chrzanowski is bored, physically and mentally. It has been eight months since he has done anything but hang out with his wife and daughter every single day.
But trying to land a job has so far proved fruitless. He worked with job-placement centers, and he sent his resume to businesses in Greenville, McKinney, Bonham and Sherman. He applied for several jobs with area defense contractors L-3 Communications and Raytheon.
If the applications asked about his disability status, he told the truth. If the application didn't ask, he didn't advertise it.
But nothing has come of his job hunting, not an interview, not a phone call.
In the last couple of weeks, Chrzanowski has started to think about college, perhaps at Texas A&M at Commerce. He can see himself getting a degree in social work and helping returning veterans with problems they might have.
"I still would like to serve my country," he said.
He doesn't think he's college material, though. He is worried about whether he can learn in a classroom and do well, and he is concerned that he won't be able to take notes in class because of his hands.
Chrzanowski won't bow, he won't beg and he balks at anyone's pity. He didn't work so hard to live, to father a daughter, to get up on a horse to have it any other way.
"I refuse to let my enemies win," he said. "I can still do everything I could the day before I got hurt. It just takes me a little longer."
Reluctantly, Williams made a phone call one day to a business his wife had heard about.
He was sick of rejection, mad at just about everyone, but he called anyway and left a voice mail.
Later that day, the man called back.
Williams has not been the same since.
When he retired from the military, Williams began to fill out a lot of applications. He called a lot of businesses and talked to managers or human resources directors. He interviewed with a couple of places on Fort Hood.
He dutifully rattled off, either orally or in writing, his limitations — "I can't stand too long. I can't lift much. I can't hear well. I sometimes have memory problems. I can't travel a lot. I have VA appointments." On and on it went.
It was full disclosure to Williams. He wanted to be honest.
For nine months, though, nothing happened.
At first, Williams got mad.
"As much as I gave this country and they won't even give me a chance," he would mumble.
Then, he just flat gave up. He sunk into a depression and found himself needing therapy more and more. "I felt like I was a burden to my family," he said. "I always told my kids, 'Work hard, and you'll get things out of life.' But what kind of example was I."
When the project manager called him back that day in late 2006, Williams once again went through all his special needs.
"He said he'd work with me," Williams said.
Silence.
"What do you mean you'll work with me?" Williams finally said.
Williams is now a valued member of the team at TRDI Inc., a nonprofit company that has a government contract to monitor security at Fort Hood's airfield.
Surrounded by fellow disabled veterans, Williams watches TV screens much of the day, looking for unauthorized vehicles or people in a secure area.
He enjoys a newfound type of camaraderie, almost as good as the Army, he said, because they "ain't got to run."
"I've been in a place where you can't go any lower," he said. "To find a job after what I've been through ... I've overcome it all."

THE GENERAL WARNED US

General Eisenhower Warned Us




It is a matter of history that when Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, General Dwight Eisenhower, found the victims of the death camps he ordered all possible photographs to be taken, and for the German people from surrounding villages to be ushered through the camps and even made to bury the dead.

He did this because he said in words to this effect:



"Get it all on record now - get the films - get the witnesses -because somewhere down the road of history some bastard will get up and say that this never happened"

This week, the UK removed The Holocaust from its school curriculum because it"offended"the Muslim population which claims it never occurred. This is a frightening portent of the fear that is gripping the world and how easily each country is giving into it.



It is now more than 60 years after the Second World War in Europe ended. This e-mail is being sent as a memorial chain, in memory of the,



6 million Jews,

20 million Russians,

10 million Christians

and

1,900 Catholic priests







who were, murdered, raped, burned, starved, beat, experimented on and humiliated, while the German people looked the other way!



Now, more than ever, with Iran , among others, claiming the Holocaust to be "a myth," it is imperative to make sure the world never forgets.





This e-mail is intended to reach 400 million people! Be a link in the memorial chain and help distribute this around the world.



How many years will it be before the attack on the World Trade Center ,



"NEVER HAPPENED"





because it offends some Muslim in the U.S. ??????

TO HELL WITH THE DAMN DEMOCRATES

The world of our fathers and grandfathers, and for those over 55, is dieing, rapidly and not enough people seem to be paying attention..

The plot to throw you out of work and stick you with higher taxes


Wes Vernon
Wes Vernon
May 12, 2008


Hey! You don't mind paying another 53 cents a gallon to fill up your car's tank, do you? Obviously you're feeling a little guilt-ridden at getting away with paying a measly three-to-four bucks (and climbing) for each gallon as it is. So what's another 53 cents? Especially if you're out of a job. No big deal, right?

The threat is real

Some of your brilliant lawmakers here in Washington believe that neither letting you have your cake nor letting you eat it too is a great way to get your vote. Don't laugh. They mean it.

The trial lawyers who fill the liberal campaign coffers, as well as Ivory Tower elites (who devise the intellectual pretzel-shaped rationalizations) and the mainstream media (who provide the 24/7 brainwashing), will seek to instill within you all the guilt necessary lest you entertain the quaint notion that you are best positioned to decide how to spend your hard-earned money.

Warner-Lieberman

There is pending in the United States Senate a monstrosity that gives some serious meaning to the facetious wisecrack that Americans are safer when Congress is out of session. As usual, Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member and former Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW), is doing much of the heavy lifting in the name of down-to-earth sanity in citing the monstrosity's many flaws.

S-2191, the Lieberman-Warner "cap and trade" bill (scheduled for Senate debate shortly after Memorial Day) would require companies to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 2005 levels by the year 2012. By 2020, those emissions are mandated to return to 1990 levels. And industrial America is expected to reduce emissions to 65% below 1990 levels by the year 2050. This is all in the name of the hoax known as "man-made global warming." That's the "cap."

Gore's mansion sets the example

The theory behind "cap and trade" is that companies cutting their emissions below their legal limit can sell their excess emissions rights to other parties. That's the "trade." Every time Al Gore's environmental hypocrisy is nailed, he replies he purchases emissions "credits" from other parties in order to operate his huge energy-hog mansion in Nashville. That's the model for this bill

The small print: the cap and trade "problem"

For starters, just by its very nature, Warner-Lieberman supplies more weight to the already horrific pressures to make your personal wallet or purse considerably lighter. The congressional Budget Office (CBO) says the bill would create $1.2 trillion in government spending over the next 10 years alone.

But while government spending goes up, household income will go down, possibly by nearly $3,000 in 2020 and more than double that amount by 2030. Senator Inhofe figures families in his state of Oklahoma will be stuck with paying $3,298 for the increased cost of gasoline and energy.

Poor families would get the worst of it. Liberal politicians — who claim their hearts bleed for the poor — apparently figure they, themselves, won't be adversely affected by the higher energy bills that will hit low income families, who already pay 5 times as much of their monthly budgets on energy (19%) as do wealthier families (4%).

And don't forget the pain at the pump. A study by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) projects that gasoline prices will soar by 53 cents a gallon by the time the full effects of Lieberman-Warner kick in.

Jobs? Forget it. You will be lucky just to keep the one you have because if you lose it, you'll have a harder time getting another one. Senator Inhofe cites an Independent Energy Information Administration (IEIA) study as forecasting a 9.5% drop in manufacturing and higher energy costs under L/W, and that it will be worse unless we build 350 nuclear plants by 2030. (Note: This column has advocated building nuclear plants as a substitute for begging on our hind legs from the oil-rich countries that hate us.)

Under Lieberman/Warner, America stands to lose jobs in the millions.

The politics of it all

Here is another instance where Senator John McCain needs to be brought up to speed if he is effectively to distinguish himself from his hard-charging opponents. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee sees cap and trade as a more politically acceptable alternative to the carbon tax which the senator (correctly) believes would raise the gas tax, which McCain opposes. Someone should break it gently to the senator that cap and trade would also raise the gas tax.

Mr. McCain told Ramesh Ponnuru of National Review that cap and trade appeals to him because it does not involve channeling tax dollars to the federal government. Wrong again. The feds would still auction off the permits. Also, states could auction off credits. They would be mandated to spend the proceeds on "environmental" purposes blessed by Washington. This is just another carbon tax made to look like what it is not.

Capitol Hill games

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), current Chairman of the Senate EPW concedes that she may have to yank the Lieberman-Warner bill off the Senate floor if any "weakening amendments" are piled onto it during the June debate.

A "win-win," the chairman believes

In truth, though Senator Boxer is sure to put on a great show of fighting mightily for the measure in Senate debate, she is really not interested in passing Lieberman-Warner (S-2191) in 2008. She has been quoted as saying the media and UN climate alarmists are doing such a great job of burying the public with the myth of man-made "global warming" that she would actually rather let the issue simmer out there for a couple of election cycles — hopefully to knock off members of Congress who are willing to break up the charade by pointing out that the Goebbels-like "climate change" propagandists are the proverbial emperors with no clothes. Recall that Joseph Goebbels was the Nazi propagandist whose motto was that a lie repeated often enough becomes "truth." Such is the methodology of the "global warming" potentates.

Politics over policy

"We will hold those who weakened it accountable in November," intoned Boxer. Of course! This debate (like so much of what passes for discourse in the Washington world of fakery) is aimed at emitting hot (political) air to make electoral points at the ballot-box, while building support for a con game of picking the pockets of unsuspecting Americans.

The unserious California lightweight is no stranger to this tactic. A couple of years ago, as our brave men and women were dodging bullets and fighting the war on Islamofascism, Boxer trashed Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, then used war and peace as her political playpen by sending out partisan fundraising letters referencing her sense of victimization because Rice dared to contradict her.

Change?

Some analysts believe this sneaky Kyoto Redux (as it should be called) spells t-a-x h-i-k-e to the tune of $438 billion. The Kyoto Treaty is discredited? No problem. Just call it something else.

Forget about "change," dear reader. These Mickey Mouse games will go on — and on — regardless of what happens in November.

YES, I DID SIGN THIS

>> Back to main petition page



Supporting the Contract with Conservatives

The party of Ronald Reagan -- a collection of social and fiscal conservatives -- saw all their work come together with the Republican Revolution of 1994. Republicans came to power through their dedication to core, conservative principles.

Since that time, the conservative base has seen the Republican Party go astray. From runaway spending, to big government programs, to assaults on our First Amendment rights to amnesty for illegal aliens, conservatives have become disheartened, and the time has come for dramatic change.

America can thrive under conservative leadership and government. The Republican Party is best equipped to deliver this kind of leadership, but too often, it has not. The time has come when conservative voters can no longer be taken for granted. Conservatives need something more than simple assurances. For our time, effort, money, and votes, we need a pledge. We need a pledge from our presidential nominee to uphold the core Republican values that built this party, and which have taken a backseat to politics in recent years.

The Contract with Conservatives is that pledge. It is a pledge to uphold the major conservative ideals that have been pushed aside over the past decade.

We, the undersigned, will support our presidential nominee and other candidates for high office, only if they uphold the Contract with Conservatives.

It is time to get back to basics. The conservative base will work for candidates who pledge to uphold conservative values.

Contract with Conservatives

Immigration Reform

* Secure America's borders
* Enforce employment laws
* No amnesty

The American people have spoken, and the clear message is that immigration reform starts with secure borders. In a post-9/11 world, we should expect nothing less. In addition, the American people do not support amnesty. Candidates must repudiate amnesty and show respect for the American people by showing respect for the law. Illegal aliens should not be given special consideration for citizenship and should not be put ahead of those seeking to come to America legally. Conservatives will work for candidates who pledge to put border security first and who pledge to not put illegal aliens ahead of those seeking citizenship through legal means.

Tax Reform

* Make President Bush's tax cuts permanent
* Reduce taxes, both on business and individuals
* Simplify the tax code by moving to a flat tax or the Fair Tax
* No favorites -- All tax cuts should be across the board

The tax code must be simplified, and all taxes should be reduced. The tax code should focus on its core function -- a means of raising revenue. The tax code should not be a vehicle for social engineering, and the reduction of taxes should not pit one socio-economic group against another. Conservatives will support candidates who pledge to cut taxes and simplify the tax code, while not engaging in class warfare.

Size and Scope of Federal Government

* Reduce the size of the federal government
* Reform entitlement programs
* Respect states' rights and limit the reach of the federal government as stated in the Constitution
* Cut spending
* Support a balanced budget amendment
* Eliminate earmarks and support stand-alone spending bills

It is not enough for the federal government to only grow by a few percentage points. In the end, it still leads to bigger government. The federal government must SHRINK. The Republican Revolution was built on this core Republican principle, and conservatives will support candidates committed to shrinking the size and scope of the federal government. The pork must go! Earmarks and pork-barrel spending must be eliminated. These practices lead to corruption and are not conservative. The federal government should do only those core jobs enumerated in the Constitution. Other governmental responsibilities should fall to the states. Conservatives will support candidates who pledge to cut spending, shrink government, and eliminate earmarks.

Judges

* Vigorously nominate and support the confirmation of judges who follow the law, not those who legislate from the bench
* Wage a real fight against left-wing attempts to block judicial nominees

Nominating a conservative judge simply to let him or her languish without an up-or-down vote is not acceptable. Judicial nominees, who follow the law rather than make new laws from the bench, deserve full and enthusiastic support. Conservatives will support candidates who pledge to nominate strict constructionists and who will not wilt in that support even under left-wing attacks.

Life

* Respect the rights of the unborn and promote laws which will protect innocent human life
* Support the overturning of Roe v. Wade
* Block any efforts to fund or promote embryonic stem cell research

Conservatives believe in a culture of life. This culture must be embraced and advocated by our Republican leaders. Conservatives will support candidates who pledge to promote a culture of life and who work for the overturning of Roe v. Wade. No candidate can say they are "100% pro-life" and also support embryonic stem cell research. This research results in the destruction of innocent human life. Research proves that adult stem cells are as good or better for curing diseases, and thus the use of embryonic stem cells is moot. Conservatives will support candidates who pledge to support life at every stage.

Free Speech

* Repeal the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act
* Embrace First Amendment rights

The Campaign Finance Reform Act is an assault on free speech and must be repealed. The law resulted in a rise in soft money advocacy through the actions of 527 organizations while other groups were not allowed to exercise their First Amendment rights to support a candidate of their choice. This is wrong. Conservatives will support candidates who pledge to repeal this law and support the free speech rights of all Americans.

Sincerely,

FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS ERODED

Don't let open borders groups censor the media!
NumbersUSA : March 3 , 2008 -- by Roy Beck


DEAR FRIENDS,

"If you can't beat them, shut them up" seems to be the new motto of groups that have been continually losing in their attempts to pass an amnesty for illegal aliens.

(Here is an Associated Press story about this national censorship campaign.)


Led by the National Council of La Raza and the Anti-Defamation League, the open-borders groups have started a concerted campaign to persuade Cable TV executives to either bar me and our Director of Government Relations Rosemary Jenks from their shows, or to always introduce us as representing an "extremist" organization with ties to hate and racist groups.

Their characterization of NumbersUSA and our members is without any connection to reality, facts or even common decency. But if all of us remain silent in the face of this campaign of character assassination, we might indeed be silenced on TV and beyond.

Please consider sending an email to Cable TV executives urging them to resist the national censorship campaign.

So broad is the attempt at censorship that the open-borders groups suggest that virtually no spokesman or group fighting illegal immigration or asking for less overall immigration should be allowed on TV. And they want Lou Dobbs off CNN, and Pat Buchanan off MSNBC, and Sean Hannity off Fox.

LA RAZA SUGGESTS THAT NO PRO-ENFORCEMENT GROUP HAS A LEGITIMATE RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH

The total censorship advocacy of La Raza and its friends can be seen in the fact that their website lists NumbersUSA as "the most reasoned" of all groups on the restriction side of the immigration issue ... but then it says even NumbersUSA should not be allowed on TV, or quoted by the Washington Post.

In other words, no group that stands for enforcing immigration laws should be allowed on TV, because all of them are less reasonable than NumbersUSA, which La Raza describes as being an "extremist group targeting Latinos."

These comments from La Raza are so desperate and disconnected from reality that when they began last month I dismissed them and chose not to bring them to your attention.

NUMBERSUSA HAS ALWAYS CAUTIONED

AGAINST ANTI-IMMIGRANT EXPRESSIONS

Those of you who have used NumbersUSA's activist tools for our 11 years of existence know that, for instance, we have NEVER talked about the ethnicity or race of immigrants and illegal aliens. We have ALWAYS called for immigration policies that do NOT take race into consideration and that do NOT favor one ethnicity over another.

You also know that beginning with my 1996 video, "Immigration by the Numbers," and with the founding of our website in 1997, we have always admonished Americans to refrain from getting angry at immigrants. We have warned against "immigrant bashing." We have always rallied citizens to express their anger against the public officials who have created the immigration nightmare.

Frankly, the Anti-Defamation League is itself engaging in incredibly reckless defamation of NumbersUSA and many other immigration-reduction groups and leaders.

What we have here is several groups that favor very high immigration -- such as La Raza, ADL and the Southern Poverty Law Center -- who seek to advance their cause by throwing the most incendiary type of labels at their opponents.

And they really believe they can get by with it. They have already begun to achieve meetings with TV executives to make their case for keeping off the air all immigration-restriction groups, and especially the two largest national groups, NumbersUSA and FAIR (the Federation for American Immigration Reform).

'WE CAN STOP THE DEBATE' WEBSITE LAYS OUT THE CASE FOR CENSORSHIP

I can tell you that the majority of text on the La Raza website about the groups, about NumbersUSA and about me is simply not factual.

The website is called "We Can Stop The Hate dot org." But it might as well be called "We Can Stop The Debate."

According to the ADL's Stacy Burnett on the website, anybody who uses words like conquest, invasion, swarms, hordes, crime and disease in connection with illegal immigration -- or who even suggests that immigration is an economic threat to a community -- is guilty of hate speech.

La Raza says such talk is "used to justify extreme action, sometimes even genocide, since the people using those labels claim that the 'larger public interest' is at risk."

The website also says that more than 40 million Americans are members of hate, racist and extremist groups that apparently are fanning the passions of genocide toward immigrants.

Wow! And I thought we were just trying to reduce the numerical level of immigration and to enforce immigration laws that have been on the books for decades.

Don't you find that 40 million figure a little hard to believe? What groups can they possibly be counting?

This stuff sounds so nuts that you can see why I dismissed it at first, but the website is rallying its own supporters to a relentless campaign to pressure TV executives to erase nearly all opposition to amnesties from TV.

PLEASE CONTACT TV EXECUTIVES AND CALL FOR CONTINUED OPEN IMMIGRATION FORUM -- INCLUDING OUR OPPONENTS

I am asking as many of you as have time to send an email to CNN, Fox and MSNBC executives to urge them to continue to keep their shows open to all sides of the immigration debate.

Unlike the open-borders, pro-amnesty groups, our side of the debate does not want to silence our opponents. We believe in freedom of the press, freedom of speech and in allowing American citizens to hear all points of view. Yes, we find the views of many of the open-borders leaders repugnant, but we would never suggest that they should be excluded from news stories and from talk shows.

Because these TV executives have not shown any sign of giving in to the censorship campaign, I don't want to burn up their fax machines with faxes at this moment.

So, I am asking you to send your own email to the executives, based on what you have read in this alert and what you read on We Can Stop The Hate dot org and on our own NumbersUSA website.
MSNBC

Phil Griffin

Senior Vice President of News

New York, NY

Email phil.griffin@nbc.com

Please remember that these executives are not our enemies. Although we may not always agree with their balance in covering immigration, these three cables have been far more open than broadcast TV and the nation's newspapers to allowing the majority of Americans' concerns about immigration to be expressed.

The La Raza Censorship Campaign is telling these executives that if they allow leaders from FAIR, the Minutemen, ALIPAC, or if they allow Rosemary and me, to continue to express our views on TV, the executives will be inculcating "good people" to hate all immigrants.

The La Raza website says it goes beyond the bounds of free speech to say that our nation's immigration policies threaten our communities and our values.

I say that statement itself threatens the values of our nation.

Let these executives know that you know about the effort at censorship and that you back them 100% in keeping the immigration forum open to all sides -- including the open-borders people who want to censor us.


•

WASHINGTON (AP) — A national Hispanic advocacy organization said Thursday it is fighting back against what it considers to be "hate speech" that has emerged from the debate over immigration.
National Council of La Raza President Janet Murguia announced plans to pressure television network executives and candidates seeking their parties' presidential nominations to clamp down on such remarks.
The group launched a website to counter the speech, www.wecanstopthehate.org, with clips of what it considers offensive comments made on television, as well as a tracking of hate crimes.
"Hate groups and extremists have taken over the immigration debate in an unprecedented wave of hate," Murguia said. Although some comments could be considered free speech, "there is a line that sometimes can be crossed when it comes to free speech," she said.
Some of the remarks the Hispanic group identified included referring to immigrants as an "army of invaders" or an "invading force," associating immigrants with animals, accusing immigrants of bringing crime and diseases such as leprosy to the U.S., and purveying a conspiracy theory that Hispanics are trying to take back parts of the United States once ruled by Mexico.
Murguia named as offenders Pat Buchanan, who appears on MSNBC as a commentator, CNN's Lou Dobbs and Glenn Beck of Headline News, a CNN network.
Beck once offered a joint solution for immigration and energy on his radio program, Murguia said. "He read a proposed ad for a giant refinery that produces Mexinol, a fuel made from the bodies of illegal immigrants coming here from Mexico to find work," Murguia said.
Murguia accused the television networks of cloaking members of hate groups as anti-immigrant experts on their programs. Among those she singled out was Jim Gilchrist, a co-founder of the Minuteman Project.
In response, Gilchrist called the National Council of La Raza a racial supremacist group that "dwarfs the combination of Black Panthers, KKK, American Indian Movement and Asian gangs."
"I'm exercising free speech and I'm giving my opinion," Gilchrist said. "My son-in-law is Mexican and two of my three grandchildren are half Mexican. The Minuteman Project is comprised of every race color and creed. ... She has a right to her opinion, but she's wrong."
CNN Worldwide's CEO agreed to meet with the group, said Cecilia Munoz, the council's senior vice president. CNN spokeswoman Janine Iamunno said CNN had no comment.
A message left on voicemail for an MSNBC spokeswoman was not immediately returned.
__