The biggest story of 2009: the emergence of the Virtual Newsroom

Jeffrey Lord writing at the American Spectator today chronicles the demise of the media as we have known it and announces the story of the year—the rise of the virtual newsroom.  It’s a lengthy but thought-provoking poke in the face to the mainstream media and the progressives and liberal ideas they have promoted throughout my lifetime. I still seethe when I think how the American public (including me) was duped about the Vietnam War and how the far left and Walter Cronkite are responsible for the hell-hole of a Communist Vietnam today.

After giving us some historical background on how the old media controlled the news and promoted a progressive (left wing/socialist whatever you want to call it) political and cultural agenda, how conservatism crept in and how the conservative virtual newsroom is in its ascendancy, he wraps up with this:

[Progressives] accustomed to velvet-gloved treatment from their progressive buddies in the Old Media, they simply never factored the existence of the Virtual Newsroom into the equation.

Newsflash to progressives. The Virtual News room is here to stay. Not only is it not going away — in spite of whatever shenanigans may be going on behind the closed doors of the FCC — it is gaining in both size and strength.

And gaining in something else that simply terrifies progressive activists everywhere: the power to seriously influence events.

Which is why, when all is said and done by December 31, it is already clear that the story of the year in 2009 is not President Obama, health care, Iraq or even Tiger Woods.

The story of 2009 is the emergence of a new and powerful player increasingly dominating American politics, culture, education, religion and who knows what else.

That player is the media that is the Virtual Newsroom. And the conservatives who run it.

We are proudly a tiny part of that Virtual Newsroom where the progressives’ ’presumption of good intentions’ relating to immigration is no longer automatically left unchallenged!

Another refugee homeless in Greensboro, NC

This time it’s a Montagnard man as reported by “Chosen Fast” a blog for the homeless in NC:

On 11/28/2009, the News & Record ran a story about a homeless refugee in Greensboro, quoting State Refugee Coordinator Marlene Myers: “It may be the first case like this.” But it’s probably not. [My post on the Burmese homeless man is here.]

Four days earlier, on 11/24/2009, a Greensboro police sergeant had contacted the state agency (and others, including me), seeking direction on how to help a (different) homeless refugee.

“…The City has received complaints about him sleeping there. We hope to get him some help rather than resort to arresting him for trespassing under the bridge…”

On 12/02/2009, a state rep responded, confirming that the man was a Montagnard refugee, and had received resettlement assistance from 2002-2004. She also offered contact info for a group that had worked with the man previously, but by the time she sent her email, the (concerned and resourceful) sergeant already had help on the scene.

This blog, Chosen Fast, looks like a very useful resource. I note in the sidebar that the Salvation Army is giving away free coats.  Gee, I wonder if any “social justice” groups are complaining about that!

Vamos Unidos USA goes after the Salvation Army

You just can’t win with socialist immigration agitators.  The Salvation Army is under fire for asking for identification as it gives out toys to needy children in the holiday season.  Here is the latest attack from Los Angeles by a shady little group called Vamos Unidos USA which implies that the ID requirement is a plot to ferret out illegal aliens.

A national immigrants rights group expressed concern Wednesday over a toy-distribution policy by the Salvation Army which it said could discourage some needy immigrant families from seeking free holiday presents.

Salvation Army officials in Los Angeles say they have long required families of children who receive free toys to present identification when they register to take part in the giveaways, as a means of preventing double-dipping. But a similar policy in Houston – in which Social Security numbers were requested – recently caused some misunderstandings and accusations that the group was checking immigration status.

Members of Vamos Unidos USA say that while they haven’t seen a similar trend in Los Angeles, they want to stop it from happening anywhere and discourage the Salvation Army and other charities from asking for any form of identification that suggests the recipient could face possible discrimination.

“The fact the Salvation Army and some of the other charities have the same policy, the fact that they did not come out from the get-go and say their whole intent to ask for identification was to prevent fraud, led us to believe that there was more to the story,” said, Juan Jose Gutierrez, president of Vamos Unidos USA.

The Salvation Army doesn’t care what sort of ID is used, they just want to be sure that as many kids as possible get toys!

“The reason we ask for some form of documentation is we have limited resources and we want to make sure that more toys get to more children,” he said. “We want to make sure families who register in one part of town don’t register in another part of town. We don’t have enough toys. We don’t want one child to have seven toys, we want seven children to have a toy each.”

Here is what I don’t get, do these socialist groups like Vamos Unidos think that when they have gotten rid of all private initiative/charity and everything is run by the government that they will get more breaks and opportunities for ’their people?’ 

Who the heck is Vamos Unidos anyway?   Searching around just now I see they are not a legitimate 501(c)3 organization or they would be in Guidestar.  I found this website for a group by that name—apparently they demand rights for street vendors and NYC is a prime area for their ‘work.’  By the way, wasn’t that Pakistani guy who was arrested on terrorism charges a few months back a street vendor?  I wonder if the Vamos folks know the DRUM community organizers?  Sure they do, here  they are listed together as part of “Communities organizing for Justice.”   Readers, you might want to keep this list handy—a useful guide to who’s who among the socialist community organizing immigrant groups.    It includes some groups we have written about previously including the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition.

RESIST! 

Here is more evidence they are part of the socialist movement—they are given funding by RESIST.  Check out this site for an organization that came out of the anti-war movement in the ’60’s, it is an eye-opener. 

Now, check out RESIST’s latest available Form 990 .   Their grantees are listed near the end of the tax return and it will give you a good idea of the number and variety of far left/social justice groups operating in your cities.   Also, they listed their top three donors and one is surprise surprise (not!)—the Tides Foundation.

Next time you see a little article like this one—immigrant group questions Salvation Army—and think it’s just a group of immigrants acting spontaneously, look deeper.  Immigrant activists are well-connected socialists working to “change” America for the worse!

Another thought a short while later:  I wonder if this attack on the Salvation Army is payback for their refusal to go along with the National Association of Evangelicals on amnesty, here.

Some Burmese refugees evicted in Pittsburgh

This is an article over a month old, but I’m just seeing it now thanks to Madeleine.  I’ve written two posts on the difficulties Burmese refugees are having in Pittsburgh with the all-too-familiar twin problems of employment (or lack of it) and lousy living conditions.

I wish I had seen this story before I wrote the post on the Burmese demonstrating here, because this gives us more background on why they would picket Catholic Charities.

Although the U.S. government has welcomed them, many immigrants who’ve relocated to the Pittsburgh region are struggling just to get by.

KDKA Investigator Andy Sheehan has found a group of refugees from Burma who have yet to find the American Dream.

They fled one of the most brutal regimes in the world in search of American freedom, but so far, the promise of a new life has eluded them.

A family of eight is living in a two-bedroom apartment and after three years of working, they say the money they make is not enough to support themselves.

Through an interpreter, an immigrant told Sheehan life was better back in the refugee camp.  [We heard this in Bowling Green, KY, too]

Two families were evicted for “over-occupying.”   Well, who set them up that way, the resettlement agency?  I just want to remind readers that the US State Department has an Operational Guidance requirement that sets guidelines for how many people can be resettled together.  If the “over-occupying” happened later, then I’m guessing it’s similar to what we heard in Bowling Green, KY—one family can’t pay rent and moves in with another!

The U.S. has taken in more than 10,000 Burmese refugees with the promise of housing, jobs and eventual citizenship. However, the 400* or so who have settled in the Pittsburgh area have not fared well.

Two families are being evicted from their apartments at the Prospect Park housing complex in Baldwin.

Apartment complex managers refused to come to the door when Sheehan attempted to ask them about the evictions, but the Burmese interpreter, Paw, says Prospect Park has rejected his pleas to let the families stay on.

“You know I talk with the landlord, they told me because they over-occupy,” Paw said.

What do you know?  It’s the Prospect Park housing complex—a favorite of Catholic Charities.  Check out this post I wrote about the dilapidated apartments, here, last March (follow links back and see a photo of the apartment building).  Almost makes you wonder if there is some sort of insider deal going on with the landlord.

So where have the evicted families gone, are they homeless like the Burmese man in Greensboro, NC?

*  Checking the stats it appears that all the Burmese brought to PA in the last few years must have been resettled in Pittsburgh.    I don’t have numbers for 2009, but in 2008, 414 were resettled in PA, in 2007, 170, in 2006 the number was only 16.   Virtually all of the Burmese refugees have not been in Pennsylvania very long.

No family Thanksgiving at the White House for Auntie Zeituni

The Associated Press has a story, linked on Drudge, that updates us about President Obama’s Aunt Zeituni Onyango.  She is the Aunt who was living illegally in the US and almost became an election-eve nightmare for candidate Obama.  According to this story, only George Bush saved Onyango and Obama from a major political trainwreck days before the November 2008 election.  

We reported previously, here, here and here, about Auntie’s deportation order and her life in Boston subsidized housing.  Actually we have a bunch more posts on her case, but those three links should give you adequate background.

From time to time Rush Limbaugh will point out how Obama (now rich from his Bill Ayers written book), the defender of the poor and downtrodden, has left his impoverished brother in a tiny hut in Kenya and this story about Obama having nothing to do with Aunt Zeituni further demonstrates the point.   Leftwing leaders talk a good game about helping the poor but don’t do a whole hell of a lot personally.

At this point Aunt Zeituni is not a political liability to Obama because she is not hiding out, she is pursuing remaining legal options.*  Therefore, Obama’s apparent abandonment of her only serves to make Obama look like a chicken and a cheapskate.

How many readers, even those of you who think she was wrong for skirting the law, would object to Obama paying for her housing and food rather than the US and Massachusetts’ taxpayers footing the bill?   And, heck, he should have had her to Thanksgiving dinner!   (Since she says she hasn’t seen Obama since his inauguration we assume she was not among the “extended family” at the White House dinner.)

Here is the AP story:

BOSTON – President Barack Obama’s aunt buried her face in her hands and sobbed as she described her anguish over no longer having contact with him and his family after the revelation she had been living illegally for years in the United States in public housing.

Zeituni Onyango (zay-TUH’-nee awn-YAHN’-goh) told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview that she is troubled that her immigration woes have made her a political liability to her nephew.

Onyango, the half sister of Obama’s late father, said she has exiled herself from the family after attending Obama’s inauguration because she didn’t want to become fodder for his foes. Obama and his family have not reached out to her either, she said.

“Before, we were family. But right now, there is a lot of politics, and me, I am not interested in any politics at all,” said Onyango, whose appeal for asylum from her native Kenya is before an immigration judge in Boston.

There is no way Obama didn’t know her immigration status when they were previously so close.

Onyango said she previously had no trouble visiting Obama when he was a state senator in Illinois or after he became a U.S. senator, though she declined to discuss details of how often she had contact with Obama and his family. Her tiny apartment in a modest subsidized public housing complex for seniors and the disabled is adorned with photographs of her with Obama at the Illinois Statehouse, the president’s official portrait, his family, the inauguration, her children and African wildlife.

George Bush is her number one man!

Onyango reserved special words of kindness for former President George W. Bush for a directive he put in place days before the election requiring federal agents get high-level approval to arrest fugitive immigrants, which directly affected Onyango. The directive made clear that U.S. officials worried about possible election implications of arresting Onyango.

She said she wants to thank Bush in person for the order, which gave her a measure of peace but was lifted weeks later.

“I loved President Bush,” Onyango said while moving toward a framed photo of Bush and his wife standing with Barack and Michelle Obama at the White House on inauguration day. “He is my No. 1 man in my life because he helped me when I really needed that help.”

I’ll betcha George Bush would have invited her to his Thanksgiving dinner if she had been his Auntie.

* She will have a hard time convincing a judge she would be persecuted in Kenya where the Obama’s are rock stars!

Somalis using Obama photo for target practice

Here is an AP story that appeared in the Boston Globe BEFORE OBAMA’S ANNOUNCEMENT LAST NIGHT that is really a re-hash of the missing Somali (former refugees) youth story from Minnesota.  You can just imagine what the Jihadists are doing to Obama’s photo this a.m.*   Entitled “Somali camps may pose threat to US,” it begins:

MOGADISHU, Somalia – The recruits gather in scorching desert hideouts in Somalia, use portraits of President Obama for target practice, learn how to make and detonate bombs, and vow allegiance to Osama bin Laden.

Training camps in the lawless nation of Somalia are attracting hundreds of foreigners, including Americans, and Somalis recruited by a local insurgent group linked to Al Qaeda, according to local and US officials. American officials and private analysts say the camps pose a security threat far beyond the borders of Somalia, including to the US homeland.

In interviews, former trainees gave rare details on the camps, which are scattered along desert footpaths, rutted roads, and steamy coastal dens. They say the recruits are told the United States is the enemy of Islam.

US and Somali officials say Somalia’s Al Shabab jihadist, or holy war, movement is growing, and uses foreign trainers with battlefield experience from other conflicts.

The threat posed by the training camps was underscored in federal court documents unsealed Nov. 23 in Minneapolis, home to a large ethnic Somali community. An indictment against several Somali-Americans who allegedly fought in Somalia said trainees at one camp included dozens of ethnic Somalis from Somalia, other African countries, Europe, and the United States.

[....]

“The message is simple,’’ Dahir Muhiyadiin, 18, said three months after finishing his training at a camp run by Somalia’s main insurgent group. “We are taught how the Western infidels want to eradicate pure Muslims, about how the US government does nothing as Israel harasses our Muslim Palestinians.’’

*Remember too how the American Al-Shabaab laughed at Obama here.

Good debate at Jihad Watch on why the Left loves Islamists

At Jihad Watch yesterday Robert Spencer has posted a piece by Chuck Hustmyre in which Mr. Hustmyre attempts to explain something that has puzzled me ever since I saw it first hand in Washington, DC in March 2007 when International ANSWER’s demonstration was sponsored by the Muslim America Society.   I don’t understand why Far Leftwingers and Communists like the ANSWER coalition work in tandem with radical Islamists who truly hate the lifestyles of Leftists.

Here is a bit of what Mr. Hustmyre says:

Consistent with the Arabic proverb that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, the American Left has formed an alliance with fundamentalist Islam to transform this country into something far removed from its Judeo-Christian origins and ideals.

The mistake the Left is making is that its so-called progressive goals have nothing in common with the medieval tenants of fundamentalist Islam. Militant Muslims have no respect for American progressives, any more than they respect the very existence of Israel.

Fundamentalist Islam is using the American Left to advance its own agenda. Militant Muslims want Islam and sharia law to dominate the West. Their goal is to subvert the U.S. Constitution and our way of life to the will of Allah. The word Islam means submission.

What members of the American Left seem blind to is the fact that in countries where Islam dominates, their progressive ideas would be crushed and many of them would be thrown in jail simply because of their lifestyle choices.

Yet, the American Left continues to serve as apologist-in-chief for fundamentalist Islam.

Why?

Because deep down American Leftists are terrified of Islamic fundamentalists.

I agree with a lot of what Mr. Hustmyre says, especially the part about the ‘enemy of my enemy is my friend,’ but commenter Natalie, I think, comes closer to my view and one I have expressed on our pages previously (especially relating to SEIU organizing Somalis).

I disagree with the article. I don’t think it’s a love-fear relationship at all. Both sides are using each other to advance their own individual agendas and think that once they’re in power, they’ll be able to eliminate the other. I don’t think the Left fears Islam at all–they are very arrogant and overly confident and think that they can handle the Islamists who would actually love to see them dead.

If, God forbid, the Radical Left and the “Fundamentalist Muslims” should win, I have predicted that the first to be eliminated will be the Leftists (oh, maybe Jews first, then Leftists)—the Islamists will eat them alive.

Did you know there was a Congressional Refugee Caucus?

I didn’t know it until the other day when I saw that the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (one of the Top Ten Federal government  refugee contractors) was asking visitors to its website to lobby their Member of Congress to join the caucus.  

As I have complained many times on these pages, I hate to see supposed non-profit groups (especially “religious” ones) receiving your tax money and then turning around and spending time and resources on lobbying.  Meanwhile, as we chronicle here almost daily, refugees are suffering when resettlement agencies leave them in a lurch.

Here is what HIAS says on its “Advocacy” page:

Urge your Representatives to join the Congressional Refugee Caucus

This bipartisan caucus was formed in 2003 to give greater visibility to refugees, internally displaced persons, and asylum seekers to mobilize support within the House of Representatives for refugee resettlement and overseas protection and assistance. As a member of the Caucus, your Representative will help the U.S. Government keep abreast of actions needed to sustain U.S. leadership in responding to the global refugee crisis and represent our refugee community members.

I then went looking for more information on this “2003″ caucus and found this reference which tells us it was newly formed and registered only this year and that it has no members listed.  Why the discrepancy?

However, back at HIAS we learn who the members are.  And, in case you are at a loss as to what to tell your Member of Congress when you appeal for him or her to join, they have kindly drafted a letter for you.  Here it is: 

I am writing to urge you to join the Congressional Refugee Caucus, chaired by Reps. John Conyers (D-MI-14), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-16), Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL-21), and Chris Smith (R-NJ-04). This bipartisan caucus was formed in 2003 to give greater visibility to refugees, internally displaced persons, and asylum seekers around the world and to mobilize support within the House of Representatives for refugee resettlement and overseas protection and assistance.

The United States has a rich tradition of providing safety and freedom to men, women, and children fleeing persecution due to their religion, race, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. Every year, a limited number of carefully screened refugees enter the United States through the refugee admissions program administered by the Department of State. Refugee resettlement agencies provide initial housing, English classes, job training and placement, and other needed assistance needs as these newcomers transition to life in the United States.

The economic downturn has drastically impacted refugees resettled in the United States. Today, refugees experience great difficulty finding work and paying rent. Having experienced persecution and hardship, refugees arrive in hope of safety, security, and stability in the United States. If they are not provided the opportunity and the tools necessary to support their families, we are not fulfilling our humanitarian responsibility to help these individuals build new lives in the United States. This crisis is happening at a time when violence and vulnerability are increasing around the world. Please help the United States maintain its rich tradition of protecting victims of persecution and welcoming refugees who contribute positively to our country. The refugee caucus has been an important vehicle for taking action on behalf of refugees worldwide and monitoring our effectiveness in responding to humanitarian crises.

As your constituent, I sincerely urge you to become a member of the Bipartisan Congressional Refugee Caucus. Your voice as a member of the caucus will help the U.S. government keep abreast of actions needed to sustain U.S. leadership in responding to the global refugee crisis and represent our refugee community members.

Thank you for your attention to this important issue. If you are interested in joining the Congressional Refugee Caucus, please contact Andres Jimenez at (202) 225-5380 or via email at andres.jimenez@mail.house.gov. Also, please let me know if you would like more information about refugee resettlement or if we can be helpful in your support of refugee issues.

 

Here is what I recommend to our readers, if you see a problem with refugees, any problem, or maybe a story here at RRW, then send it to the Members of Congress listed as the present members of this “bipartisan” caucus.  Also send the information to Mr. Jimenez noted in this letter as well.  Oh, and don’t forget to copy anything you send to your own Representative and your two US Senators!

I believe what we are seeing is the construction of a coalition of supporters in Congress so that the Top Ten contractors can more easily appeal for more funding (from you) for them.  I think Members of Congress should get the complete picture of the refugee program, don’t you?

USA Today: Muslim honor killings on the rise in US

This is not news to us, we know it well, but what is so surprising is that it appears in USA Today, a major mainstream publication one would think might not be wandering outside accepted politically correct boundaries.

Muslim immigrant men have been accused of six “honor killings” in the United States in the past two years, prompting concerns that the Muslim community and police need to do more to stop such crimes.

“There is broad support and acceptance of this idea in Islam, and we’re going to see it more and more in the United States,” says Robert Spencer, who has trained FBI and military authorities on Islam and founded Jihad Watch, which monitors radical Islam.

Honor killings are generally defined as murders of women by relatives who claim the victim brought shame to the family. Thousands of such killings have occurred in Muslim countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan and Palestinian territories, according to the World Health Organization.

Read it all, but note that USA Today’s links are not very useful.  They don’t even direct readers to Robert Spencer’s must-read blog Jihad Watch.

Use our search function for other posts on this heinous crime.

Australia invests in program to teach refugees to respect the law

Confirming there is a problem with some refugee youths, the government of Victoria has extended a project to teach refugees some basic information about their new society.

From the Gov Monitor:

Deputy Premier and Attorney-General Rob Hulls today announced a $1.32 million funding boost to extend a successful refugee youth project from a pilot into a three-year program.

Mr Hulls said the funding would allow the pilot project run by iEmpower Pty Ltd to expand and reach a broader audience after its initial success working with 23 disengaged young refugees aged 18 to 24 years old.

“The expansion of this project is recognition of the pilot’s success in reaching young refugees and helping them connect, or reconnect, with the community,” Mr Hulls said.

“Through a series of workshops and individual sessions over five months, participants are taught about justice, tolerance and fairness in society.

“They develop basic skills, such as critical thinking and problem solving, and learn to build confidence in themselves, greater levels of resilience and self-reliance, and respect for the community and the rule of law.