Colorado Supreme Court Upholds Illegals’ Privacy Rights—Correctly

By Julian Dunraven, J.D., M.P.A.

Honorable Friends,

This evening, two of my honorable friends here at the PPC, Ben DeGrow and El Presidente, have called my attention to the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision in The People v. Gutierrez, in which a 4-3 majority ruled that the state violated the 4th Amendment privacy rights of the defendant in seizing his tax records without a proper warrant showing probable cause. The defendant also happened to be an illegal immigrant. Former Congressman Tom Tancredo, as quoted in The Washington Times, is outraged by the decision and would like our honorable friends at Clear the Bench Colorado (CTBC) to add this case to their ever lengthening list of judicial offenses. Holding the judiciary accountable is a laudable goal, but also one that requires a good deal of thought to accomplish in the interest of fairness and justice. It requires more than cursory analysis and gut reactions. It requires asking whether the Court remained faithful to the Constitution. Contrary to Mr. Tancredo’s objections, I believe CTBC can point to this decision as one in which the Mullarkey majority finally acted correctly.

Facts:

First of all, it is important to understand that anyone in this country, legal or otherwise, has 4th Amendment protections. The 4th Amendment is not limited to citizens, but considered one of the basic rights of humankind. The British once made the mistake of applying its protections only to British citizens, and the colonists responded with the American Revolution. For that reason, the 4th Amendment states:

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

Also, it is important to understand that the U.S. expects all people in this country to pay taxes, regardless of immigration status. To accommodate both legal and illegal immigrants who often lack Social Security Numbers (SSN), they are permitted to file taxes with Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITIN).

Now that we have clarified those basic points, allow me to give you a few facts about this case. The Weld County Sheriff’s Department investigated an undocumented immigrant named Servando Trejo on charges of identity theft. Trejo admitted to being an illegal immigrant and that he used a false name and SSN to obtain work. He further informed police that he had filed income taxes using an ITIN rather than the false SSN. He then filed his taxes through Amalia’s Tax Service in Greeley. He said that Amalia’s had helped him obtain the ITIN and implied that all illegal immigrants in the area know to use Amalia’s.

The owner of Amalia’s, told investigators that she often prepared taxes for illegal immigrants. She further speculated that most people applying for ITINs were illegal immigrants and that most of her clients using ITINs have SSNs belonging to someone else.

On the basis of this information, the police secured a warrant to search Amalia’s Tax Service for all tax returns filed in 2006-2007 with ITINs which did not match SSNs on wage earning documents such as W2 forms. They speculated that this would be an effective method to fish for those engaged in identity theft, even calling it “Operation Numbers Game.” Unfortunately, the files were not kept by date, but by client. Thus, the police seized all 5000 client files. They proceeded to examine each file, irrespective of the date limitation in the warrant. One file with a mismatch between SSN and ITIN belonged to Ricardo Gutierrez, who was subsequently charged with identity theft. He argued, however, that the police violated his 4th Amendment rights in obtaining this evidence and should be barred from using it. The Colorado Supreme Court agreed with him.

The Right to Privacy and Probable Cause:

The Court’s reasoning is fairly simple. Most people expect their tax records to be fairly confidential. After all, they contain so much information about income, investments, property, family, et cetera as to paint a fairly basic picture of our lives. We do not want just anyone to have access to that. We do not even want any government agency to have access to that at will. Thus, the 4th Amendment, bolstered by Congress’s specific legislation, ensures that our tax papers enjoy the same privacy as we would have in our own home.

Of course, this means that, to invade our privacy, the police need specific warrants. They cannot simply say, “We want all tax records,” and hope they find something interesting. They have to have some reasonable and specific suspicion first, and identify us as particular suspects before they go rummaging about our things. This is the nature of probable cause, and exactly what the police failed to achieve in this case. Instead, they went fishing.

The warrant the police obtained was not limited to their original suspect. They did not even limit themselves to the dates the warrant specified. They examined all files of every individual client despite the fact they had no basis to suspect any of those individuals of wrongdoing. For these reasons, the warrant was overly broad, utterly eviscerating the purposes of the 4th Amendment. No reasonable police officer could have thought such a blatant fishing expedition would be valid. If it were, police might as well start randomly inspecting homes to see if they find any evidence of illegal activity. Dreadful thought.

In the dissent, Justice Coats makes the point that the police did have probable cause to suspect that the owner of Amalia’s knowingly aided and abetted instances of identity theft if she knew some of the SSNs were false. As such, the police could have obtained a warrant to search for mismatched ITINs and SSNs which would indicate a pattern of fraud on the part of Amalia’s. This would have allowed them to conduct the search exactly as they did—but this time without violations of the 4th Amendment.

However, this is not what happened. Neither the police nor the district attorney even suggested any wrongdoing on the part of Amalia’s. They were interested only in fishing for possible but unknown wrongdoing on the part of Amalia’s unidentified clients. Justice Coats fails to recognize that fact and Justice Bender’s majority opinion is correct to distinguish it. Although a search for fraud on the part of Amalia’s Tax Services would have provided the same information as an unspecified search of unknown clients in an attempt to find evidence of wrongdoing, the former has probable cause to support it while the latter is supported by nothing but the arbitrary will of law enforcement. Though the distinction is fine, it is also of vital importance. And that, my honorable friends, is the difference between a republic of laws and the tyranny of a police state.

Bomb Threat In Greeley, Letter In Spanish Demands Release Of Illegal Immigrants

Developing . . . "intent to kill the most number of Americans”

And here I thought it was "right wing extremists" we had to look out for:

A bomb threat demanding the release of immigrants being held for deportation was received by the Weld County Sheriff's Office on Thursday.

The threat was a handwritten letter in Spanish threatening judicial and law enforcement officers with the bombs with the “intent to kill the most number of Americans,” according to a press release.

Currently, there are 58 inmates with immigration holds being held in the Weld County Jail.

In the letter, the writer threatened to place bombs in and around Greeley after April 20 unless the immigration holds are released.

“Sheriff (John) Cooke wants the public to know that the Sheriff's Office is working diligently to locate and arrested the person or persons responsible for threatening harm to our community,” the press release said.

Undersheriff Margie Martinez said Thursday the sheriff’s office wants the public to “be aware but don’t panic.” Cooke said persons with information about the letter should call (970) 350-9600 or (970) 356-4015.

April 20 is the 10th anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings.

Michelle Malkin has more.

Berg v. Obama Denied Certiorari

By Julian Dunraven, J.D., M.P.A..

(For earlier posts on this case click here.)

Honorable Friends:

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear Berg v. Obama. Despite this denial, there is still a chance it may be heard by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, where it is still pending. Berg reports that his brief is due by 20 January 2009. Ironically, that is inauguration day. Though it saddens me to say so, as this case will not even be heard, much less resolved, by the time Obama is sworn into office, I cannot imagine any court would presume to review the qualifications of a sitting president. Thus, I do not expect that there will be any further developments in this case. As such, the question of Obama’s constitutional qualifications falls to the U.S. Senate. The Senate has accepted Obama as fully qualified for office, and he will thus become the next President of the United States on January 20th.

Could Obama Be Disqualified From The Election? The Federal Courts Will Decide

By Julian Dunraven, J.D., M.P.A.

(For updated information on the Motion to Dismiss, click here)

Honorable Friends,

For those of you unaware, Pennsylvania attorney Philip J. Berg has filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania alleging that Barack Obama is not eligible for the Office of the President because Obama lost his U.S. citizenship when his mother married an Indonesian citizen and naturalized in Indonesia. Berg further alleges that Obama followed her naturalization and failed to take an oath of allegiance when he turned 18 years old to regain his U.S. citizenship status. The case is Berg v. Obama.

It sounds crazy, I know. It becomes even stranger when you realize that Berg is a lifelong Democrat, the former Democratic Chairman of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, an 8-year member of the state democratic committee, and former Deputy Attorney General of Pennsylvania. This is not a simple crank, and after reviewing the court documents, I believe the case is fairly strong, and has amazing implications.

It revolves around Article II Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution which provides in pertinent part that:

“No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States.”

To better understand the case, I recommend reading the complaint, Obama’s Motion to Dismiss, Berg’s Response in Opposition to the Motion to Dismiss, and Berg’s Motion for Summary Judgment. You can also read news about the case or donate to the cause by visiting Berg’s webpage.

Of course, the case is still developing and it is doubtful there will be any resolution before the election. If Obama loses the election, the case may be deemed moot and dismissed. If he wins, however, and Berg turns out to be correct, it would mean that we not only elected a man unqualified to hold office under the Constitution – we would have elected an illegal immigrant, who would then be disqualified from serving.

You might be wondering how our officials could have missed something so major. It is easy to do though if you think about it. Obama’s mother certainly used to be an American citizen. When he returned to the U.S. from Indonesia, how many government officials would even think to ask, “While away, did you or your parents happen to renounce your U.S. Citizenship?” It simply would not happen. Our officials would have proceeded as if Obama was a child of a U.S. Citizen. No one would know the truth unless he or his mother willingly revealed the information, or unless they were specifically examining Obama’s background in great detail.

I cannot even imagine the pressure this judge must be feeling, along with the Justices of the Supreme Court who will ultimately hear the appeal. Can you begin to hear the enraged screams of the rioters? Our courthouses will have to turn themselves into fortresses.

El Presidente and I will certainly be keeping a close watch on this fascinating case and provide updates as it develops. For now, however, I will leave you with the most interesting part of Berg’s argument thus far, taken from his Response in Opposition to the Motion to Dismiss and appended below.

* * * * * * * * * *

Even if Obama was, in fact, born in Hawaii, he lost his U.S. citizenship when his mother re-married and moved to Indonesia with her Indonesian husband. In or about 1966, when Obama was approximately five (5) years old, his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, married Lolo Soetoro, a citizen of Indonesia, whom she had met at the Hawaii University, and moved to Indonesia with Obama. Obama lost his U.S. citizenship, when his mother married Lolo Soetoro, and took up residency in Indonesia. Loss of citizenship, in these circumstances, under U.S. law (as in effect in 1967) required that foreign citizenship be achieved through “application.” Such type of naturalization occurred, for example, when a person acquired a foreign nationality by marriage to a national of that country. Nationality Act of 1940, Section 317(b). A minor child follows the naturalization and citizenship status of their custodial parent. A further issue is presented that Obama’s Indonesian stepfather, Lolo Soetoro, either signed an acknowledgement acknowledging Obama as his son or Lolo Soetoro adopted Obama, giving Obama natural Indonesia citizenship which explains the name Barry Soetoro and his citizenship listed as Indonesian.

Obama admits in his book, “Dreams from my father” Obama’s memoir (autobiography), that after his mother and Lolo Soetoro were married, Lolo Soetoro left Hawaii rather suddenly and
Obama and his mother spent months in preparation for their move to Indonesia. Obama admits when he arrived in Indonesia he had already been enrolled in an Indonesia school and his relatives were waiting to meet him and his mother. Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian State citizen, could not have enrolled Obama in school unless Lolo Soetoro signed an acknowledgement acknowledging Obama as his son, which had to be filed with the Government. Under Indonesian law, when a male acknowledges a child as his son, it deems the son, in this case Obama, as an Indonesian State citizen. Constitution of Republic of Indonesia, Law No. 62 of 1958 Law No. 12 of 2006 dated 1 Aug. 2006 concerning Citizenship of Republic of Indonesia, Law No. 9 of 1992 dated 31 Mar. 1992 concerning Immigration Affairs and Indonesian Civil Code (Kitab Undang-undang Hukum Perdata) (KUHPer) (Burgerlijk Wetboek voor Indonesie) states in pertinent part, State citizens of Indonesia include: (viii) children who are born outside of legal marriage from foreign State citizen mother who are acknowledged by father who is Indonesian State citizen as his children and that acknowledgment is made prior to children reaching 18 years of age or prior to marriage; Republic of Indonesia Constitution 1945, As amended by the First Amendment of 1999, the Second Amendment of 2000, the Third Amendment of 2001 and the Fourth Amendment of 2002, Chapter X, Citizens and Residents, Article 26 states, “(1) Citizens shall consist of indigenous Indonesian peoples and persons of foreign origin who have been legalized [sic] as citizens in accordance with law. (2) Residents shall consist of Indonesiancitizens and foreign nationals living in Indonesia.”

Furthermore, under the Indonesian adoption law, once adopted by an Indonesian citizen, the adoption severs the child’s relationship to the birth parents, and the adopted child is given the same status as a natural child, Indonesian Constitution, Article 2.

The laws in Indonesia at the time of Obama’s arrival did not allow dual citizenship. If an Indonesian citizen married a foreigner, as in this case, Obama’s mother was required to renounce her U.S. citizenship and was sponsored by her Indonesian spouse. The public schools did not allow foreign students, only citizens were allowed to attend as Indonesia was under strict rule and decreed a number of restrictions; therefore, in order for Obama to have attended school in Jakarta, which he did, he had to be a citizen of Indonesia, as the citizenship status of enrolled students was verified with Government records.

Obama was enrolled by his parents in a public school, Fransiskus Assisi School in Jakarta, Indonesia. Plaintiff has received copies of the school registration, attached as EXHIBIT “4”, in which it clearly states Obama’s name as “Barry Soetoro,” and lists his citizenship as Indonesian. Obama’s father is listed as Lolo Soetoro, Obama’s date of birth and place of birth are listed as August 4, 1961 in Hawaii, and Obama’s Religion is listed as Islam. This document was verified by television show Inside Edition, whose reporter, Matt Meagher, took the actual footage of the school record. At the time Obama was registered the public schools obtained and verified the citizenship status and name of the student through the Indonesian Government. All Indonesian students were required to carry government identity cards, or Karty Tanda Pendudaks, as well as family card identification called a Kartu Keluarga. The Kartu Keluarga is a family card which bears the legal names of all family members.

Since Obama’s birth was legally acknowledged by Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian citizen, and/or Obama was adopted by Lolo Soetoro, which the evidence attached hereto supports, Obama became an Indonesian citizen and bears the status as an Indonesia natural child (natural-born). For this reason, Obama would have been required to file applications with the U. S. State Department and follow the legal procedures to become a naturalized citizen in the United States, when he returned from Indonesia. If Obama and/or his family failed to follow these procedures, then Obama is an illegal alien.

Regardless of whether Obama was officially adopted, (which required a Court process), by his Indonesian stepfather, Lolo Soetoro, or his birth was acknowledged (which only required the signing of a birth acknowledgement form), by Lolo Soetoro, one of which had to occur in order for Obama to have the name Barry Soetoro and his citizenship status listed as “Indonesian”, in either and/or both cases Obama’s name was required to be changed to the Indonesian father’s name, and Obama became a natural citizen of Indonesia. This is proven by the school records in Jakarta, Indonesia showing Obama’s name as Barry Soetoro and his citizenship as Indonesian. Again, the registration of a child in the public schools in Jakarta, Indonesia was verified with the Government Records on file with the Governmental Agencies.

The Indonesian citizenship law was designed to prevent apatride (stateless) or bipatride (dual citizenship). Indonesian regulations recognize neither apatride nor bipatride citizenship. In addition, since Indonesia did not allow dual citizenship neither did the United States, Hague Convention of 1930.

In or about 1971, Obama’s mother sent Obama back to Hawaii. Obama was ten(10) years of age upon his return to Hawaii.

As a result of Obama’s Indonesia “natural” citizenship status, there is absolutely no way Obama could have ever regained U.S. “natural born” status, if he in fact ever held such. Obama could have only become naturalized if the proper paperwork was filed with the U.S. State Department, in which case, Obama would have received a Certification of Citizenship.

Plaintiff is informed, believes and thereon alleges Obama was never Naturalized in the United States after his return. Obama was ten (10) years old when he returned to Hawaii to live with his grandparents. Obama’s mother did not return with him, and therefore, unable to apply for citizenship of Obama in the United States. If citizenship of Obama had ever been applied for, Obama would have a Certification of Citizenship.

Furthermore, Obama traveled to Indonesia, Pakistan and Southern India in 1981. The relations between Pakistan and India were extremely tense and Pakistan was in turmoil and under martial law. The country was filled with Afghan refugees; and Pakistan's Islamist-leaning Interservices Intelligence Agency (ISI) had begun to provide arms to the Afghan mujahideen and to assist the process of recruiting radicalized Muslim men--jihadists--from around the world to fight against the Soviet Union. Pakistan was so dangerous that it was on the State Department's travel ban list for US Citizens. Non-Muslim visitors were not welcome unless sponsored by their embassy for official business. A Muslim citizen of Indonesia traveling on an Indonesian passport would have success entering Indonesia, Pakistan and India. Therefore, it is believed Obama traveled on his Indonesian passport entering the Countries. Indonesian passports require renewal every five (5) years. At the time of Obama’s travels to Indonesia, Pakistan and India, Obama was twenty (20) years old. If Obama would have been a U.S. citizen, which he was not, 8 USC §1481(a)(2) provides loss of nationality by native born citizens upon "taking an oath or making an affirmation or other formal declaration of allegiance to a foreign state...after having attained the age of eighteen years”, in violation of 8 U.S.C. §1401(a)(1) Since Lolo Soetoro legally acknowledged Obama as his son and/or adopted Obama, Obama was a “natural” citizen of Indonesia, as proven by Obama’s school record attached as Exhibit “4”.

Blogs4Borders Video Blogburst 081108

The last 3 episodes from Freedom Folks:

07/28/08

08/04/08

08/11/08

Freedom Folks--Blogs4Borders Video Blogburst 072108

This week's video blogburst, and last week's edition as well.

The great team at Freedom Folks is making a trip to the latest pro-amnesty rally in Iowa, and could use a little help.

Blogs4Borders Video Blogburst 070708

A little late, but Freedom Folks has this week's edition.

Blogs4Borders Video Blogburst 063008

Freedom Folks has this week's edition of Blogs4Borders.

Blogs4Borders Video Blogburst 062308

Freedom Folks has the latest edition.

Blogs4Borders Doubleheader

Cuz I missed last week--Freedom Folks with the past two Blogs4Borders video blogbursts--060908 and 061608.

Blogs4Borders Video Blogburst 060208

Freedom Folks has this week's edition of Blogs4Borders.

Blogs4Borders Video Blogburst 052608

Freedom Folks has this week's edition.

Blogs4Borders Video Blogburst 051908

Freedom Folks has this week's edition, with Chris Simcox speaking at Depaul University in Chicago.

Liveblogging Sen. McCain's Conference Call-Envisioning A First Term

McCain 2013 ad:


Scroll for updates . . .

I joined with several other bloggers in a conference call with Sen. John McCain, and today's topic was the GOP presumptive nominee's vision of how his first term would elapse, something he described in a speech today in Ohio:

John McCain, looking through a crystal ball to 2013 and the end of a prospective first term, sees "spasmodic" but reduced violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden dead or captured and government spending curbed by his ready veto pen.

The Republican presidential contender also envisions April's annual angst replaced by a simpler flat tax, illegal immigrants living humanely under a temporary worker program, and political partisanship stemmed by weekly news conferences and British-style question periods with joint meetings of Congress.

In a speech being delivered Thursday, McCain concedes he cannot make the changes alone, but he wants to outline a specific governing style to show the accomplishments it can achieve.

"I'm not interested in partisanship that serves no other purpose than to gain a temporary advantage over our opponents. This mindless, paralyzing rancor must come to an end. We belong to different parties, not different countries," McCain says in remarks prepared for delivery in the capital city of Ohio, a general election battleground. "There is a time to campaign, and a time to govern. If I'm elected president, the era of the permanent campaign will end; the era of problem solving will begin."

---

Sen. McCain gave a brief restatement of his Ohio speech--by 2013, we will have won in Iraq.

Jennifer Rubin asked about "appeasement" in the Middle East--McCain: naivete to want to sit down in face-to-face talks with Iran, a terrorist nation

Michael Goldfarb follows up on potential negotiations with Iran--McCain: renounce threats on Israel, nuclear ambitions, weapons shipments to Iraq

Jim Geraghty has another followup--McCain: holding Obama accountable for his misleading, flip-flopping statements on the campaign trail; weekly blogger conference calls even after election (as much as possible)

My question went unasked (lots of people on the conference call, McCain didn't get to it this time around)--what does McCain envision for the "temporary guest worker" program, and how does that help solve the overall illegal immigration problem?

I'm sending a follow-up email, and will post the response.

On Iraq:

"By January 2013, America has welcomed home most of the servicemen and women who have sacrificed terribly so that America might be secure in her freedom. The Iraq War has been won. Iraq is a functioning democracy, although still suffering from the lingering effects of decades of tyranny and centuries of sectarian tension. Violence still occurs, but it is spasmodic and much reduced.

"Civil war has been prevented; militias disbanded; the Iraqi Security Force is professional and competent; Al Qaeda in Iraq has been defeated; and the government of Iraq is capable of imposing its authority in every province of Iraq and defending the integrity of its borders.

"The United States maintains a military presence there, but a much smaller one, and it does not play a direct combat role."

On weekly news conferences and Q&A with Congress:

"I will ask Congress to grant me the privilege of coming before both houses to take questions, and address criticism, much the same as the prime minister of Great Britain appears regularly before the House of Commons," McCain said in excerpts of a speech he is to deliver later in Columbus, Ohio.

And some Republicans are flocking to McCain's brand ahead of the next election:

Soul searching Republicans are turning to an unlikely savior, one-time party heretic and now presumptive White House nominee John McCain, as they try to stave off an electoral disaster.

Stung by the Democratic seizure of three staunch conservative seats in Congress, Republican lawmakers fear a shellacking in November's general election, after losing control of both chambers of Congress in 2006.

The rise of McCain as their champion is not without irony, since the 71-year-old Arizona senator has quarreled with his own party for years on issues as diverse as immigration, campaign finance reform and global warming.

But it is precisely that independent streak that is drawing Republicans to his coattails, hoping he can cleanse them of the stain of gridlocked Washington.

Eric Cantor, Republican chief deputy whip in the House of Representatives, told reporters that the McCain brand was healthier than that of his party.

"John McCain is a demonstrated vote getter among independents, and his message and what he will be able to do in this election is extremely important."

House Republican minority leader John Boehner told Fox News that with McCain at the top of the ticket, his demoralized party might spring a surprise in November.

"I think that we're going to do a lot better than people think," Boehner said.

"John McCain appeals to almost all Republicans. He also appeals to a wide array of independents and conservative Democrats."

---

Michelle Malkin remains unconvinced.

I'll post other reactions as they come in this afternoon.

Amanda Carpenter has more--Sen. McCain dubs Sen. Obama's foreign policy "unacceptable".

Blogs 4 Borders Video Blogburst 051208

Freedom Folks has this week's edition of the Blogs 4 Borders Video Blogburst.

May Day Denver Immigration Rally 2008; Updated--Pics, Video

**Update--from the blogs--Michelle Malkin has a May Day roundup; Freedom Folks was all over the Chicago events--an excellent pictorial, May Day Che Day, an encounter with a belligerent socialist, and finally a Blogs4Borders May Day special edition (video); Protest Shooter covered San Francisco

**Updated and bumped . . . morning event apparently canceled due to weather, heading out for the afternoon "Festival of Tolerance and Unity":

Arrived early and snapped a few pics of the main protest banners--but the basic message hasn't changed:

They even spell it out--no mincing words in Denver


In a cold rain/snow mix, the event organizers began to hand their signs


Putting the finishing touches as the crowd trickles in--"immigrants fighting for unity and tolerance"

Video from the opening portion of the rally that includes a nice guitar interlude--the best protest entertainment I've ever heard (I couldn't stick around for the 3 hour event--I do have other obligations!):


The protestors had particularly bad luck--a poor venue and location, bad time of day (rush hour), and a rather stiff round of "global warming" (see below for pics) to contend with this year. Turnout was down from the 75,000 in 2006 and the couple thousand from last year, with around 100 and a few trickling in as the event got going around 5pm, just as I was about to leave.

There was limited coverage from the local MSM, starting with an ode to "workers":

A small group of mostly Latino immigrants gathered at Fletcher Plaza in Aurora on Thursday to celebrate May Day and the rights of workers.

"We don't want to let this day pass without celebrating workers around the world," said organizer Homero Ocon, who immigrated to the United States nine years ago, got a green card and now owns a commercial painting company, Champion Painting, in Denver.

Ocon said he wanted to raise awareness of the difficulties that immigrants face but he primarily wanted to create some positive goals by gathering volunteers to clean up graffiti and paint the homes of the elderly, the poor and the disabled.

"We're going to change the face of what people think about immigrants," he said. "We're fighting for tolerance and unity."

It wasn't just about workers, however, as banners demanding amnesty and an end to workplace raids fluttered in the chill evening breeze:

Another organizer, Horace Kerr, said his goal for the May Day workers, which he termed "Cry of the People" was to make conditions better for immigrant workers.

"We want ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to stop the raids against immigrant workers," he said.

"We want the government to stop sending 'no-match' letters when a worker's name and Social Security numbers don't match. The next thing, there's an agent at the door and they take the worker away.

"We want the government to move quicker on processing documents for the workers. And we're against the expansion of the immigrant detention center in Aurora, which now holds about 400 people and will be expanded to hold 1,100 people.

"We struggle daily getting our basic rights to education and health care, which are sold to us as privileges," he said. "The American continent is such a rich continent, but it is filled with poor people."

As the gray and rainy evening progressed, a few more people drifted into the plaza at East Colfax Avenue and Elmira Street, drawn mostly by the amplified music and the cloth banners hanging from lampposts.

The chilly air caused the crowd to bundle and huddle together as police on Colfax drove by uninterested.

Love that last part, not that the police observing these events have ever been interested in more than keeping the peace. The activists clearly outnumbered the immigrants, "undocumented" or otherwise at this gathering.

Then again, maybe enforcement works.

Whoda thunk?

But not all government officials in the state are pro-enforcement, as evidenced by the Eagle County Commissioner's comments in this story on ICE raids in Avon, Co.

Gunny Bob of 850KOA spent three hours on the day's events--hour 1 (William Gheen of Americans for Legal Immigration), hour 2, hour 3 (May Day mayhem).

BTW, it appears Glenn Spagnuolo, Recreate '68, et al. are saving themselves for August's DNC, and that Tuesday's "No Borders" event.

---

Denver looks to have two events today--a "Festival of Tolerance & Unity" in Aurora this afternoon, and a rally at Lincoln Park at 10 am.

**Update--the "vacationing" global warming appears to have scuttled this morning's rally:

Last year


This year--with snow falling!


Denver's obscured skyline, with the Denver Convention Center in the foreground

---

First--the National Immigrant Solidarity Network, via Michelle Malkin:

Points of Unity

On May Day 2008, National Immigrant Solidarity Network is calling for a multi-ethnic, decentralized, multi-topic and multi-tactic national day of mobilization to support immigrant workers rights.

1. No to anti-immigrant legislation, and the criminalization of the immigrant communities.

2. No to militarization of the border.

3. No to the immigrant detention and deportation.

4. No to the guest worker program.

5. No to employer sanction and “no match” letters.

6. Yes to a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

7. Yes to speedy family reunification.

8. Yes to civil rights and humane immigration law.

9. Yes to labor rights and living wages for all workers.

10. Yes to the education and LGBT immigrant legislation.

We acknowledges that there’ll be multiple call to actions from across the country to organize May Day 2008, and each coalition will present their sets of demands. We should respects each other organizing and encourage and supports everyone’s issues:

1) Multi-ethnic, Decentralized and Multi-topic mobilization: while everyone will pledge to support immigrant workers rights at May Day 2007, local groups can choose to includes any other topics for their mobilizations: civil rights, anti-war, Katrina, labor rights, health care…., etc.

2) Decentralized Multi-Tactic May Day organizing: We will encourage everyone to organize their actions at May Day, but will let local groups to decide what they want to do at the day: march, boycott, strike, lunch action, vigil, community event, conference or congressional lobby day, etc.Understanding the connections between our individual conditions of life and the lives of people everywhere in the word allows us to come together and organize across all borders. WE NEED to link the connections between: wars in Africa, south America, Asia, Iraq, Palestine & Korea with sweatshops in Asia as well as in Los Angeles, New York; international arm sales and WTO, FTAA, NAFTA & CAFTA with AIDS, hunger, child labors and child solider; multinational corporations and economic exploitation with racism and poverty at home–then we can win the struggle.Let’s all come together, on May Day 2008, to build a new immigrant rights
and civil rights movements!

Here is another list of demands, from Chicago May Day and Jesse Jackson's Rainbow-PUSH coalition (again via Michelle):

Our Demands

EQUAL RESPECT / EQUAL PAY FOR EVERY WORKER
Legalization for All NOW !
Second Chance for All NOW !
Defend the Right to Organize
Fight for a Living Wage
Legalization for Elvira Arellano and Flor Crisostomo

PEACE BY JUSTICE, SECURITY BY RESPECT
End the War in Iraq, bring the Troops Home
Respect for the Self-Determination of Nations
Clean Up for Vieques
Replace Globalization with Nobilization

KEEP FAMILIES TOGETHER
Stop the Separation of Families
Stop the Hate, Stop the Violence,
Stop the Guns, Stop the Drugs
Health Care for Every Family
Equal, Quality, Respectful Education
A Moratorium on Mortgage Foreclosures
Naturalize Foreign-Born Spouses of LGBT Couples
Refugee Rights for LGBT People Fleeing Persecution

FAIR TRADE MAKES FAIR BORDER,
Renegotiate NAFTA
Good Jobs on Both Sides of the Border

VOTE FOR THOSE WHO CANNOT VOTE
Vote for the Children
Vote for those without papers
Vote for those in and out of prison

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Freedom Folks has this week's edition.

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Freedom Folks has this week's edition.

Absolut Insanity--Updated; Updated Again--A "Genuine And Sincere" Apology?

**Update 4: Absolut’s new ad campaign: Celebrating “eight-inch member measurements”

**Update 3: Has Absolut learned an important marketing lesson? Michelle Malkin has the new "apology"; LA Times poll--62% offended by Absolut's ad

**Update 2: An Absolut-ly pathetic response from Absolut, via Gateway Pundit; Moonbattery has another response

**Update: Michelle Malkin has MSM reaction from the LA Times, and responses from the various readers who emailed/phoned Absolut about the ad

Gateway Pundit has the story and the details:



Hot Air and Michelle Malkin had reactions.

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Freedom Folks has this week's latest edition:

Election 2008: Is there a candidate for us?

100% Preventable! Americans continue to pay the bloody price for open borders.
When will the madness end?