Google the two search terms "Russell Pearce" and "Fact Check", and you will come up with 21,200 results in less than a second. (I am proud to say that the first two are from this blog.) If Arizona's Tea Party Senate President continues affixing his signature to rants like this (see below the jump for the entire text), the results number will mushroom and the two terms will become inextricably linked.
Pearce, in his position as the "Honorary National Chairman" of the semi-tax exempt (501(c)(4)) Ban Amnesty Now organization, sent out another wild (and wildly inaccurate) rant claiming that President Obama "secretly enacted the nightmarish DREAM Act", painting him as a dictator and juxtaposing his picture with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, and noting that the claims must be "100% true" because "news reports online" said so.
That line - coupled with the fact that I thought I would have heard about something as newsworthy as Obama using an Executive Order to enact the DREAM Act - had me scrambling to search engine land. However, I did go back to finish the nearly-hysterical fund-raising letter, and learned that it contradicts its own claims: it was not a "Stroke of a pen" by the President, and it did not enact the DREAM Act.
The origins of the anti-DREAM Act rants: apparently, Sen. Pearce saw this report from WorldNet Daily. That story was based upon a Fox News panel from last week. And, that panel was based upon this pretty vanilla June 17 memo from Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") Director John Morton.
In it, he reiterates long-standing tenets of prosecutorial discretion and how they can be applied in the context of enforcement of immigration laws. He does not direct ICE agents to exercise that discretion in any certain way - that would be contrary to the entire concept - but, he does suggest that many factors be taken into consideration when deciding whether to pursue enforcement action (both negative and positive).
(more later)
ICE memo: http://bit.ly/lqVx20
other BAN stories: http://bit.ly/kkVp3z
Fox panel video, transcript: http://fxn.ws/kaKWzv
WND story: http://bit.ly/iMOYnV
Showing posts with label Ban Amnesty Now. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ban Amnesty Now. Show all posts
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Arizona Senate President Russell Pearce's Nightmare Spam Act: "For Just $250", He'll "FAX Every Member of Congress and Obama Every Day for 5 Days"
It is not every day that you get an e-mail from the President of the Arizona State Senate, offering to help me petition Congress. But, that is just what Russell Pearce (R-LD18) and his anti-illegal immigration group sent me (and the more than 800,000 people*1 presumably on their e-mail lists) yesterday.
Pearce is not only the President of the State Senate and the "Tea Party Senate President", but is also the "Honorary National Co-Chairman of BanAmnestyNow.com". In that role, he signed and blasted out an e-mail with the subject line "Fax Congress and Help Me Secure the Border." Along with the usual rundown of the battles he has won and is fighting (and the proven-false statistic thrown in), and the request for money to keep fighting ("...to protect American and American families."), Pearce repeatedly asks his supporters to click on the link to "FAX Congress". (text of e-mail below the jump)
Click on the link, and you are sent to B.A.N.'s "Contribution" section, and a page to "Send Blast Faxes To Congress", for the stated purpose of "Stop(ping) Congress From Passing the DREAM Act!" It is a convenient way to donate to B.A.N. while letting them do the hard work of exercising your Constitutional right of petitioning Congress and the President.
The options are enticing and run the gamut from hitting just the Senators from one party or the other ($19), all 100 Senators ($29), all 435 Representatives ($99), and all 535 MOC's plus President Obama ($119). All well and good, and a fine way to exercise our free market rights and our free speech rights simultaneously.
But, wait. B.A.N. offers this "SPECIAL- FAX Every Member of Congress and Obama Every Day for 5 Days - Let them know you mean business for just $250". That's right. Because nothing lets a Congressperson know you mean business like placing your name in the "From" line with Pearce, Arpaio, Tancredo, Buchanan and McCaffrey and sending the same generic message over and over and over (and over and over). (Let's not even discuss the propriety of a State Senate President and a tax-exempt political organization adding to our national debt by wasting Congressional resources.)
By the way, the proposed fax does not explicitly address the "DREAM Act" that must be stopped. Instead, it is a laundry list that includes "opposition to the dangerous and divisive amnesty schemes proposed and promoted by Barack Obama and others in Washington." It requests the recipients' to "join us in our mission to save our great nation."
Pearce's e-mail seems to suggest that the pay-for-faxes and contributions help him and B.A.N. to travel "to the recent court hearings in liberal San Francisco" to "defend SB-1070 in the courts" and to pass similar laws in all 50 states.
It is hard to figure out where the line is drawn between Pearce's legitimate private life fundraising for a tax-exempt organization (which he may or may not receive support from), his political campaign committee's activities, and his government-paid expenses. For example, it would appear that Pearce's campaign committee reimbursed Pearce on November 5 for airfare and lodging, in the amount of $551.17. (The hearings in "liberal San Francisco" took place the week before.)
The Arizona Senate President using his position and prestige to solicit monies for a massive Congress-bombarding operation would seem to be a major effort at erasing those lines altogether.
(NOW how much would you pay for a fax? BUT WAIT, here's more:)
BONUS POINTS:
1) Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio removed himself as Pearce's "Honorary Co-Chair" of B.A.N. last October after B.A.N. sent out an e-mail over Arpaio's signature calling for an army of volunteers to monitor polling places. However, Arpaio's name remains on the fax that Pearce is hawking, and is still all over the website.
2) Pearce sticks to his guns; however, this time his "guns" are false statistics. His e-mail repeats the oft-discredited statistic that "more than 9,100 Americans are killed each year by illegal aliens." Arizona Republic's Fact Check thoroughly demonstrated that Pearce and Iowa Rep. Steve King could not validate their "fact". (And Arizona's Politics took the Republic to task for claiming that theevidence was "inconclusive"; Pearce's claim deserved - and deserves - a "double F" for False Fact.)
3) Pearce's e-mail to stop the Dream Act came mere hours before Obama mentioned two specific immigration-related measures in the State of the Union address: the Dream Act and the STAPLE Act. The latter bill was re-introduced in Congress the day before by Arizona Rep. Jeff Flake (R-CD6).
4) Pearce and his B.A.N. buddies really need to be more careful and proofread and/or update their appeals. Not only do they bounce back and forth and back again about the main topic, but they have not even updated their Senate numbers to reflect the gains that the GOP made in November's election.
5) What is up with Pearce self-identifying as the "Tea Party Senate President"?
Pearce is not only the President of the State Senate and the "Tea Party Senate President", but is also the "Honorary National Co-Chairman of BanAmnestyNow.com". In that role, he signed and blasted out an e-mail with the subject line "Fax Congress and Help Me Secure the Border." Along with the usual rundown of the battles he has won and is fighting (and the proven-false statistic thrown in), and the request for money to keep fighting ("...to protect American and American families."), Pearce repeatedly asks his supporters to click on the link to "FAX Congress". (text of e-mail below the jump)
Click on the link, and you are sent to B.A.N.'s "Contribution" section, and a page to "Send Blast Faxes To Congress", for the stated purpose of "Stop(ping) Congress From Passing the DREAM Act!" It is a convenient way to donate to B.A.N. while letting them do the hard work of exercising your Constitutional right of petitioning Congress and the President.
The options are enticing and run the gamut from hitting just the Senators from one party or the other ($19), all 100 Senators ($29), all 435 Representatives ($99), and all 535 MOC's plus President Obama ($119). All well and good, and a fine way to exercise our free market rights and our free speech rights simultaneously.
But, wait. B.A.N. offers this "SPECIAL- FAX Every Member of Congress and Obama Every Day for 5 Days - Let them know you mean business for just $250". That's right. Because nothing lets a Congressperson know you mean business like placing your name in the "From" line with Pearce, Arpaio, Tancredo, Buchanan and McCaffrey and sending the same generic message over and over and over (and over and over). (Let's not even discuss the propriety of a State Senate President and a tax-exempt political organization adding to our national debt by wasting Congressional resources.)
By the way, the proposed fax does not explicitly address the "DREAM Act" that must be stopped. Instead, it is a laundry list that includes "opposition to the dangerous and divisive amnesty schemes proposed and promoted by Barack Obama and others in Washington." It requests the recipients' to "join us in our mission to save our great nation."
Pearce's e-mail seems to suggest that the pay-for-faxes and contributions help him and B.A.N. to travel "to the recent court hearings in liberal San Francisco" to "defend SB-1070 in the courts" and to pass similar laws in all 50 states.
It is hard to figure out where the line is drawn between Pearce's legitimate private life fundraising for a tax-exempt organization (which he may or may not receive support from), his political campaign committee's activities, and his government-paid expenses. For example, it would appear that Pearce's campaign committee reimbursed Pearce on November 5 for airfare and lodging, in the amount of $551.17. (The hearings in "liberal San Francisco" took place the week before.)
The Arizona Senate President using his position and prestige to solicit monies for a massive Congress-bombarding operation would seem to be a major effort at erasing those lines altogether.
(NOW how much would you pay for a fax? BUT WAIT, here's more:)
BONUS POINTS:
1) Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio removed himself as Pearce's "Honorary Co-Chair" of B.A.N. last October after B.A.N. sent out an e-mail over Arpaio's signature calling for an army of volunteers to monitor polling places. However, Arpaio's name remains on the fax that Pearce is hawking, and is still all over the website.
2) Pearce sticks to his guns; however, this time his "guns" are false statistics. His e-mail repeats the oft-discredited statistic that "more than 9,100 Americans are killed each year by illegal aliens." Arizona Republic's Fact Check thoroughly demonstrated that Pearce and Iowa Rep. Steve King could not validate their "fact". (And Arizona's Politics took the Republic to task for claiming that theevidence was "inconclusive"; Pearce's claim deserved - and deserves - a "double F" for False Fact.)
3) Pearce's e-mail to stop the Dream Act came mere hours before Obama mentioned two specific immigration-related measures in the State of the Union address: the Dream Act and the STAPLE Act. The latter bill was re-introduced in Congress the day before by Arizona Rep. Jeff Flake (R-CD6).
4) Pearce and his B.A.N. buddies really need to be more careful and proofread and/or update their appeals. Not only do they bounce back and forth and back again about the main topic, but they have not even updated their Senate numbers to reflect the gains that the GOP made in November's election.
5) What is up with Pearce self-identifying as the "Tea Party Senate President"?
Friday, October 29, 2010
FACT CHECK: Illegal Immigration Urgent Alert - Calling Politicians' Statements "Facts" Doesn't Make 'Em So
Four days, four facts. This e-mail from Ban Amnesty Now is SCREAMING for us to "STOP Illegals from Stealing the Election!" It cites four "facts": one is exaggerating a Washington Post article about illegal immigrants campaigning door to door, another claims that "illegal voters" have been registered across the nation, and the other two are opinions expressed by politicians (AZ Gov. Brewer and KS Secy of State candidate Kobach). It accuses President Obama of fighting to disenfranchise U.S. citizens.
The entire e-mail is after the jump. Here are the highlights.
Fact 1: "Thousands of illegal aliens have already organized and taken to the streets...."
Well, there was an Associated Press reporter who cited one woman and said "The 42-year-old is one of dozens of volunteers - many of them illegal immigrants - canvassing neighborhoods in the Seattle area trying to get naturalized citizens to cast a ballot for candidates like Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, who is in a neck-to-neck race with Republican Dino Rossi." (emphasis added) I could find no evidence to swell that less than "dozens" into "thousands"; it may be B.A.N.'s opinion, but cannot be cited as fact without some evidence.
Facts 2 & 4: “The illegal registration of alien voters has become pervasive.” And, "The same pro-amnesty criminals working in states like Washington to turn out pro-amnesty voters have been working to register illegal voters all over the nation!"
The first quote is from Kris Kobach, identified as the attorney who helped write SB1070. No evidence, all opinion. Not fact.
The second cites rumors flying around the internet that "more than 65%" of voter registrations submitted by Mi Familia Vota y One Arizona were invalid and that many belonged to "non-citizens". Arizona's conservative Secretary of State Ken Bennett himself labeled those as "rumors...without merit" and provided the real numbers.
Fact 3: The U.S. and Mexico Presidents (Obama and Calderon) are not only conspiring to fight SB1070, but to keep the border insecure and to send illegal immigrants north to register and vote in U.S. elections.
The source for this "fact" is Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. No evidence to back it up. Opinion, not fact.
This "Ban Amnesty Now" screed/fundraiser gets a (low) "F" grade. "F" for full of.........opinions, but not facts. Read it in its entirety after the jump.
The entire e-mail is after the jump. Here are the highlights.
Fact 1: "Thousands of illegal aliens have already organized and taken to the streets...."
Well, there was an Associated Press reporter who cited one woman and said "The 42-year-old is one of dozens of volunteers - many of them illegal immigrants - canvassing neighborhoods in the Seattle area trying to get naturalized citizens to cast a ballot for candidates like Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, who is in a neck-to-neck race with Republican Dino Rossi." (emphasis added) I could find no evidence to swell that less than "dozens" into "thousands"; it may be B.A.N.'s opinion, but cannot be cited as fact without some evidence.
Facts 2 & 4: “The illegal registration of alien voters has become pervasive.” And, "The same pro-amnesty criminals working in states like Washington to turn out pro-amnesty voters have been working to register illegal voters all over the nation!"
The first quote is from Kris Kobach, identified as the attorney who helped write SB1070. No evidence, all opinion. Not fact.
The second cites rumors flying around the internet that "more than 65%" of voter registrations submitted by Mi Familia Vota y One Arizona were invalid and that many belonged to "non-citizens". Arizona's conservative Secretary of State Ken Bennett himself labeled those as "rumors...without merit" and provided the real numbers.
Fact 3: The U.S. and Mexico Presidents (Obama and Calderon) are not only conspiring to fight SB1070, but to keep the border insecure and to send illegal immigrants north to register and vote in U.S. elections.
The source for this "fact" is Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. No evidence to back it up. Opinion, not fact.
This "Ban Amnesty Now" screed/fundraiser gets a (low) "F" grade. "F" for full of.........opinions, but not facts. Read it in its entirety after the jump.
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