Hi Gang:
I just saw this item posted on Pajamas Media and felt compelled to weigh in! When you read the commentary posted by Jack Dunphy about the new policy as announced by the Los Angeles Chief of Police, Charlie Beck, I know that you will either think that this is a delayed statement that should have run on April 1st or that Rod Serling has taken over the LAPD!
I will not rehash the entire article here- but just understand that under the newly announced policies of the LAPD, an unlicensed driver who is a citizen of the United States- or, I presume is a lawfully admitted immigrant, will have his or her car impounded for 30 days to drive home the point that in order to drive home, you must have a driver’s license in Los Angeles. This makes perfect sense- here is where the news, pardon the pun, veers off the road- Illegal aliens will not have their cars impounded because they could not have gotten a driver’s license in the first place- since they are illegal aliens- so, according to Chief Beck, as a matter of fairness no immediate action will be taken to divest these law violators of their cars! They will, of course be issued a summons- but then I wonder what name should go on a summons issued to someone who has no documentation to attest to who he (she) is!
You cannot make this stuff up!
The chief law enforcement officer who took an oath to enforce the law apparently thought he was signing up to work in a restaurant- I like the salad so I will have salad but because I don’t like the soup, I won’t have any! I have said this before and I will say it again- the laws of our nation are not to be treated like a menu! Law enforcement officers, even those at the top of the proverbial food chain, do not get to pick and choose which laws they like and are therefore willing to enforce!
The reason for requiring a driver’s license to drive a car is not a formality but is the way that the motorist has to demonstrate minimal skills to drive a car. I would argue that the level of proficiency that is required to obtain a license is absurd in the first place- In New York, for example, a would-be motorist drives a car at 20 miles per hour, on a sunny day on dry roads, down a quiet street, makes a couple of U-turns in a narrow street that requires backing up in the middle of the process, park the car and then return to the starting point. Now this driver has a license that authorizes him to hurtle down some four land interstate at 65 miles per hour at 3:00 AM in the middle of a driving rainstorm!
However, in the opinion of Charlie Beck an illegal alien who is, by law, prohibited from obtaining a driver’s license is not really to blame- he has been prevented from obtaining his license because he violated other laws, the immigration laws that are supposed to protect our nation and our citizens from aliens whose presence would represent a threat to our safety and well being!
Among the categories of aliens is to be excluded from the United States include aliens with dangerous communicable diseases, aliens suffering from extreme mental illness and are prone to violence, aliens who are convicted felons, aliens who are drug traffickers, members of violent gangs, money launderers, human rights violators, war criminals, fugitives from justice in other countries, human traffickers, spies and terrorists.
If you doubt what the laws about the exclusion of aliens are about, here is a link to Title 8 of the United States Code, Section 212- these are the grounds under which an alien would be ineligible to be lawfully admitted into the United States:
The motto of the LAPD is “To Protect and to Serve.” How does Charlie Beck expect to protect the citizens who live within his jurisdiction when there are millions of illegal aliens who reside within his jurisdiction whose true identities are unknown and unknowable and hence there is no way of knowing their backgrounds or possible affiliation with criminal or terrorist organizations? Think about how many illegal aliens belong to extremely violent gangs in Los Angeles!
I wonder what will happen when one of these illegal aliens who gets stopped, his illegal status is verified by the cop who encounters him and then, because this illegal aliens motorist has not had his car impounded has a terrible accident later that day or a few days later.
While Beck may not think illegal aliens are responsible for their situation- perhaps he thinks they came to the United States inadvertently- I would suggest that LAPD Chief Beck is responsible for creating the situation that enabled the illegal alien in question to keep on driving! I am certain that there are litigating attorneys who would agree with my position!
Several years ago I was called upon to testify before the New York State Senate on the issue of providing driver’s licenses to illegal aliens. Driver’s licenses do more than convey the authority to operate motor vehicles- driver’s licenses are the de facto national identity document for our country. Driver’s licenses are essential for paying with anything other than cash, driver’s licenses provide access to airplanes, trains and office buildings- both corporate as well as governmental. Driver’s licenses are also involved in the process for registering to vote. Driver’s license provide evidence as to the identity of the bearer of this document and provide the bearer with a level of credibility.
The two primary arguments offered by those politicians who favored issuing driver’s licenses to illegal aliens stated that illegal aliens would drive anyway so if they could get licenses they would be able to get insurance and learn to drive more safely and that since the presence of millions of illegal aliens in our country was the result of a failure of the federal government to secure our borders that the State of New York had no business getting involved in a federal matter.
I responded by saying that it was infuriating that law makers would take such a cavalier position on individuals who would violate our laws and then claim it would somehow improve safety if we provided them with licenses! I said that there are those who have found ways of violating virtually every law on the book- you can find them in prisons across our nation! The solution to those who violate the laws is not to facilitate their transgressions. I made the point that if we followed the supposed reasoning that illegal aliens would drive anyway that convicted felons will carry firearms, anyway! I suggested that perhaps we should therefore provide those convicted felons with carry permits- after all, if we could improve their accuracy at a pistol range, they would be less likely to hit innocent bystanders when they were engaged in a shootout and that we could also attempt to convince these convicted felons to use trigger locks between drive-by shootings and bank robberies- claiming that these two achievement would enhance community safety!
I did concede that the presence of the millions of illegal aliens in our country did represent a monumental failure of the federal government to secure our borders- however, I noted that most of the illicit narcotics peddled on street corners across our nation came across those very same borders because of the same failures of our federal government to secure those borders. I asked how many members of the New York State Senate would be willing to order an immediate end to all narcotics investigations conducted on the state or city level in New York State since the parallels as to how the drugs and how the illegal aliens ultimately got here, were unmistakeable? Nearly all of the politicians who had advocated for the issuance of driver’s licenses for illegal aliens got up and walked out of the hearing! it looked like a fire drill!
Sadly they returned later on!
Believe it or not, there are members of the New York State Senate who are, once again, proposing that illegal aliens be given driver’s licenses!
Driver’s licenses are so essential, in fact, that the 9/11 Commission determined that these were the documents of choice by the terrorists who so savagely attacked our nation on September 11, 2001. When an individual who is the subject of criminal warrants or is on a terrorist watch list or a “No Fly” list is able to secure a driver’s license in a false name, that person- including terrorists can use that change in identity the way that a chameleon changes coloration- in order to hide in plain sight- perhaps even among his intended victims! Yet the LAPD Chief thinks it is unfair that illegal aliens are unable to obtain driver’s licenses?! These illegal aliens are individuals whose presence in our country represents a violation of laws and presents a potential threat to the well being of the citizens of our nation and the folks who live in the city he is supposed to protect- yet he believes it is “unfair” that these individuals are not provided with an opportunity to get driver’s licenses?
On December 22, 2009 I participated in a debate on Fox & Friends about a jobs program in San Francisco that provided illegal aliens who had been charged with narcotics related crimes the opportunity to have their criminal histories expunged so that they could get jobs in San Francisco- this prevented them from being potentially identified as being criminal aliens and being deported (removed) by ICE. Here is a link to that brief debate:
http://video.foxnews.com/v/3934228/sanctuary-city
I don’t know what they are drinking in San Francisco, but apparently LAPD Chief Beck has discovered the same elixir and is also drinking lots of it!
The securing of our nation’s borders and the effective enforcement and administration of our nation’s immigration laws are, arguably, among the most important of all missions that are supposed to be carried out by our federal government.
Nothing less than the security of our nation and safety of our citizens hang in the balance!
A country without secure borders can no more stand than can a house without walls!
I
f
our country is to survive and if our children and their children are to get their share of the “American Dream” the citizens of this nation must take their citizenship seriously!
We the People must be the best citizens we can be, citizens who are worthy of the gallantry demonstrated by our valiant men and women in the military, law enforcement and firefighters, who routinely go in harm’s way in defense of this nation and our citizens.
My goal in writing this and other commentaries is to point out our nations many failings before more victims pay the ultimate price for the incompetence and ineptitude of our government.
The first step in problem-solving is to first identify the problems and vulnerabilities and then devise strategies to overcome them.
If you find yourself to be in agreement with this commentary, I ask that you forward it to as many of your friends and family members as possible and encourage them to do the same. We need to create a “Bucket Brigade of Truth!”
The practice of good citizenship does not end in the voting booth, it only begins there.
The large scale apathy demonstrated by citizens of this nation has emboldened elected representatives to all but ignore the needs of the average American citizen in a quest for massive campaign funds and the promises of votes to be ostensibly delivered by special interest groups. There is much that we cannot do but there is one thing that We the People absolutely must do- we must stop sitting on the sidelines!
The collective failure of We the People to get involved in make our concerns known to our politicians have nearly made the concerns of the great majority of the citizens of this nation all but irrelevant to the politicians.
I believe our nation’s is greatly benefited by the rich diversity of our people which is why I could never imagine living anywhere except New York City, arguably the most diverse city in our nation if not, in fact, the world. However, my idea of diversity most certainly does not include members of MS-13, the Mexican drug cartels or members of other transnational gangs or members of al-Qaeda!
If this situation concerns you or especially if it angers you, I ask you to call your Senators and Congressional “Representative. This is not only your right- it is your obligation!
All I ask is that you make it clear to our politicians that we are not as dumb as they hope we are!
We live in a perilous world and in a perilous era. The survival of our nation and the lives of our citizens hang in the balance.
This is neither a Conservative issue, nor is it a Liberal issue- simply stated, this is most certainly an AMERICAN issue!
You are either part of the solution or you are a part of the problem!
Democracy is not a spectator sport!
Lead, follow or get out of the way!
-michael cutler-
Please check out my website:
Nothing less than the security of our nation and safety of our citizens hang in the balance!
A country without secure borders can no more stand than can a house without walls!
I
f
our country is to survive and if our children and their children are to get their share of the “American Dream” the citizens of this nation must take their citizenship seriously!
We the People must be the best citizens we can be, citizens who are worthy of the gallantry demonstrated by our valiant men and women in the military, law enforcement and firefighters, who routinely go in harm’s way in defense of this nation and our citizens.
My goal in writing this and other commentaries is to point out our nations many failings before more victims pay the ultimate price for the incompetence and ineptitude of our government.
The first step in problem-solving is to first identify the problems and vulnerabilities and then devise strategies to overcome them.
If you find yourself to be in agreement with this commentary, I ask that you forward it to as many of your friends and family members as possible and encourage them to do the same. We need to create a “Bucket Brigade of Truth!”
The practice of good citizenship does not end in the voting booth, it only begins there.
The large scale apathy demonstrated by citizens of this nation has emboldened elected representatives to all but ignore the needs of the average American citizen in a quest for massive campaign funds and the promises of votes to be ostensibly delivered by special interest groups. There is much that we cannot do but there is one thing that We the People absolutely must do- we must stop sitting on the sidelines!
The collective failure of We the People to get involved in make our concerns known to our politicians have nearly made the concerns of the great majority of the citizens of this nation all but irrelevant to the politicians.
I believe our nation’s is greatly benefited by the rich diversity of our people which is why I could never imagine living anywhere except New York City, arguably the most diverse city in our nation if not, in fact, the world. However, my idea of diversity most certainly does not include members of MS-13, the Mexican drug cartels or members of other transnational gangs or members of al-Qaeda!
If this situation concerns you or especially if it angers you, I ask you to call your Senators and Congressional “Representative. This is not only your right- it is your obligation!
All I ask is that you make it clear to our politicians that we are not as dumb as they hope we are!
We live in a perilous world and in a perilous era. The survival of our nation and the lives of our citizens hang in the balance.
This is neither a Conservative issue, nor is it a Liberal issue- simply stated, this is most certainly an AMERICAN issue!
You are either part of the solution or you are a part of the problem!
Democracy is not a spectator sport!
Lead, follow or get out of the way!
-michael cutler-
Please check out my website:
–
Pajamas Media – http://pajamasmedia.com –
Posted By Jack Dunphy On March 23,
2011 @ 11:29 pm In Crime,Homeland Security,Immigration,US News
| 262
Comments
2011 @ 11:29 pm In Crime,Homeland Security,Immigration,US News
| 262
Comments
Anyone surprised by this hasn’t been paying attention.
Los Angeles Police Department officers manning sobriety
checkpoints will no longer, as a matter of department policy, impound
cars driven by unlicensed drivers. That is unless
[1] the unlicensed driver is a United States citizen or
lawful resident, in which case he can say adios to his car
for 30 days, as authorized by California law.
checkpoints will no longer, as a matter of department policy, impound
cars driven by unlicensed drivers. That is unless
[1] the unlicensed driver is a United States citizen or
lawful resident, in which case he can say adios to his car
for 30 days, as authorized by California law.
I can see you out there shaking your heads and saying, “Wait a
minute . . . .” Yes, you read it correctly: Two drivers are
stopped at a sobriety checkpoint in Los Angeles and both are found to
be sober, but lacking a driver’s license. The first, a U.S.
citizen, receives a citation and stands by and watches as his car is
towed away to the impound yard, where it will remain for a month so
as to impress upon him that driving is a privilege, not a right, and
that the people of the state of California extend that privilege only
to those who have demonstrated some minimal level of proficiency as
signified by possession of a driver’s license.
minute . . . .” Yes, you read it correctly: Two drivers are
stopped at a sobriety checkpoint in Los Angeles and both are found to
be sober, but lacking a driver’s license. The first, a U.S.
citizen, receives a citation and stands by and watches as his car is
towed away to the impound yard, where it will remain for a month so
as to impress upon him that driving is a privilege, not a right, and
that the people of the state of California extend that privilege only
to those who have demonstrated some minimal level of proficiency as
signified by possession of a driver’s license.
The second unlicensed driver, an illegal immigrant from, let’s
just say Mexico, is also issued a citation, but he is given a
“reasonable period of time” to give custody of his car to a
licensed driver, who will presumably drive it to the unlicensed
driver’s home — or just around the corner and out of the cops’
view — where the unlicensed driver will be free to jump back behind
the wheel and ply the roadways until he has the misfortune of running
into another one of those bothersome sobriety checkpoints, where the
process can begin anew. Lather, rinse, repeat.
just say Mexico, is also issued a citation, but he is given a
“reasonable period of time” to give custody of his car to a
licensed driver, who will presumably drive it to the unlicensed
driver’s home — or just around the corner and out of the cops’
view — where the unlicensed driver will be free to jump back behind
the wheel and ply the roadways until he has the misfortune of running
into another one of those bothersome sobriety checkpoints, where the
process can begin anew. Lather, rinse, repeat.
The change in policy was announced last week by LAPD Chief Charlie
Beck, who called it a question of “fairness.” “I’m tired of
casting the net so wide,” Beck told reporters. “This is the right
thing to do. There is a fairness issue here … and we’re trying to
balance the needs of all segments of our community and keep the roads
safe.”
Beck, who called it a question of “fairness.” “I’m tired of
casting the net so wide,” Beck told reporters. “This is the right
thing to do. There is a fairness issue here … and we’re trying to
balance the needs of all segments of our community and keep the roads
safe.”
Yes, we must balance the needs of all segments of our community,
including those that rightfully ought to be segments of some other
community in some other country.
including those that rightfully ought to be segments of some other
community in some other country.
And it got worse. From a Los
Angeles Times story [2] that ran on
March 12:
Angeles Times story [2] that ran on
March 12:
The new rules, Beck said, were an attempt to mitigate
somewhat “the current reality, which is that for a vast number of
people, who are a valuable asset to our community and who have very
limited resources, their ability to live and work in L.A. is severely
limited by their immigration status.”
Do you see? The chief thinks that illegal immigrants’ ability to
live and work in Los Angeles is too “severely limited,” so he now
enlists his officers in the cause of easing those limitations. Thus
illegal immigrants in Los Angeles have achieved through Chief Beck’s
sense of “fairness” what they could not through legislation.
Almost six years ago I reported, over at National
Review Online [3], on the efforts by
then-California State Senator Gil Cedillo to grant driver’s
licenses to illegal immigrants and to exempt them — and only them —
from the provisions of the California Vehicle Code that authorize
police officers to impound cars driven by unlicensed drivers. Cedillo
failed to see his signature legislation enacted, but he must be
pleased to see one of his goals realized through Beck’s policy
decision. (Cedillo was term-limited out of the state senate last year
but, displaying the tenacity unique to Democrat politicians,
continues to pursue his immigrant-friendly
agenda [4] from a seat in the state assembly.)
live and work in Los Angeles is too “severely limited,” so he now
enlists his officers in the cause of easing those limitations. Thus
illegal immigrants in Los Angeles have achieved through Chief Beck’s
sense of “fairness” what they could not through legislation.
Almost six years ago I reported, over at National
Review Online [3], on the efforts by
then-California State Senator Gil Cedillo to grant driver’s
licenses to illegal immigrants and to exempt them — and only them —
from the provisions of the California Vehicle Code that authorize
police officers to impound cars driven by unlicensed drivers. Cedillo
failed to see his signature legislation enacted, but he must be
pleased to see one of his goals realized through Beck’s policy
decision. (Cedillo was term-limited out of the state senate last year
but, displaying the tenacity unique to Democrat politicians,
continues to pursue his immigrant-friendly
agenda [4] from a seat in the state assembly.)
And Chief Beck wasn’t being hyperbolic when he referred to
illegal immigrants being a “vast number of people” in Los
Angeles. I once attended a meeting at which Beck was asked why he had
spoken out against [5] Arizona’s then-pending S.B. 1070.
“I was asked to,” he said. And he went on to say that if a
similar law were to pass in California (as unlikely a contingency as
can be imagined), LAPD officers “would be doing nothing else” but
dealing with immigration issues. And why would this be so?
“Because,” he said,” there are 600,000 illegal immigrants
living in Los Angeles.” That would be 15 percent of the city’s 4
million residents.
illegal immigrants being a “vast number of people” in Los
Angeles. I once attended a meeting at which Beck was asked why he had
spoken out against [5] Arizona’s then-pending S.B. 1070.
“I was asked to,” he said. And he went on to say that if a
similar law were to pass in California (as unlikely a contingency as
can be imagined), LAPD officers “would be doing nothing else” but
dealing with immigration issues. And why would this be so?
“Because,” he said,” there are 600,000 illegal immigrants
living in Los Angeles.” That would be 15 percent of the city’s 4
million residents.
He didn’t cite his source for that figure but it doesn’t
strike me as an exaggeration. Indeed the Census Bureau reports
[6] that in a single zip code near downtown Los Angeles,
70 percent of the 21,000 residents are foreign born. And these are
the people, as we are constantly reminded, who are “living in the
shadows.” But from within those shadows, they and their enablers
are able to influence a policy decision by the chief of police in the
second largest city in America. Living in the shadows? More like
casting a very long one.
strike me as an exaggeration. Indeed the Census Bureau reports
[6] that in a single zip code near downtown Los Angeles,
70 percent of the 21,000 residents are foreign born. And these are
the people, as we are constantly reminded, who are “living in the
shadows.” But from within those shadows, they and their enablers
are able to influence a policy decision by the chief of police in the
second largest city in America. Living in the shadows? More like
casting a very long one.
I’ll admit that on occasion I’ve stopped an unlicensed driver
and let him go without impounding his car. I’m not about to turn a
carload of children out on the street when their parent seems to be
an otherwise law-abiding illegal immigrant. But there is a difference
between a cop on the beat cutting someone a break and the city’s
police chief coming out and saying that state law is too great an
imposition on illegal immigrants, then directing his officers to
ignore it.
and let him go without impounding his car. I’m not about to turn a
carload of children out on the street when their parent seems to be
an otherwise law-abiding illegal immigrant. But there is a difference
between a cop on the beat cutting someone a break and the city’s
police chief coming out and saying that state law is too great an
imposition on illegal immigrants, then directing his officers to
ignore it.
According to a study by the AAA
Foundation for Traffic Safety [7] (.pdf), 20 percent
of fatal traffic accidents in the United States involve at least one
unlicensed driver, and accidents involving unlicensed drivers are
more than twice as likely to cause a fatality. It is only a
matter of time before some beneficiary of Chief Beck’s new policy
kills someone with a car that could have been impounded. I’ll
be curious to hear his thoughts on “fairness” then.
Foundation for Traffic Safety [7] (.pdf), 20 percent
of fatal traffic accidents in the United States involve at least one
unlicensed driver, and accidents involving unlicensed drivers are
more than twice as likely to cause a fatality. It is only a
matter of time before some beneficiary of Chief Beck’s new policy
kills someone with a car that could have been impounded. I’ll
be curious to hear his thoughts on “fairness” then.