The comedy continues..
The Los Angeles City Council passed a resolution Wednesday that cuts some of its business ties to Arizona.
The council's move comes amid controversy over Arizona's tough immigration law -- SB 1070. Thirteen of the council's members approved the resolution.
That makes LA the nation's largest city to boycott Arizona over SB 1070.
What this means is that the Los Angeles City Council voted to terminate any contracts with the State of Arizona that canbe broken without getting the city sued.
There's apparently about $56 million in Arizona-related investments, plus 15 contracts with Arizona-based companies that are worth a combined total of $7.7 million. It's likely the latter that could be affected.
Check out the overwrought, crazed rhetoric from Councilman Ed Reyes, who co-introduced the bill with councilwoman Janice Hahn:
"Los Angeles the second-largest city in this country, an immigrant city, an international city. It needs to have its voice heard," said Councilman Ed Reyes. "As an American, I cannot go to Arizona today without a passport. If I come across an officer who’s having a bad day and feels that the picture on my ID is not me, I can be... deported, no questions asked. That is not American."
Needless to say, Councilman Reyes has no clue as to what the law actually says. But if he were deported, would anyone miss him?
What we're seeing today, as Arizona Governor Jan Brewer said is the spectacle of supposedly law abiding citizens from out of state attempting a boycott in favor of illegal activity in Arizona.
Still I suppose it's a nice distraction from the City Council actually coming up with a solution for Los Angeles' major budget shortfall ( think of L.A. as Athens, frying in Greece). Or for that matter, dealing with its own illegal alien problem, one of the contributing causes to that shortfall.
You can't make this stuff up. Nope.
8 comments:
http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2010/05/los-angeles-to-boycott-arizona-maybe-its-time-for-arizona-to-cut-off-their-lights/
Maybe the LA council members forgot who supplies the city with electricity. 44% to 50% of the city’s electricity comes from neighboring states including Arizona. The Hoover Dam in Arizona has been providing electricity for Los Angeles since 1936. Los Angeles receives about 6% of its electricity from hydropower, most coming from Hoover Dam in Arizona. Another estimate says approximately 10-12 percent of the city’s electricity comes from hydroelectric power plants, with Hoover Dam, located along the Colorado River in Arizona, making up the bulk of this supply.
Los Angeles Department of Power and Water (LADWP) currently generates 50 percent of its electricity from coal power plants (another estimate says 44%) located in Nevada, Arizona and Utah making it one of the dirtiest publicly owned utilities in the country.
Arizona needs to show those idiots who the boss is.
Turn out their lights.
Maybe the L.A City Council should get their power from Mexico..
Anyway, if the Council doesn't figure out some way to fix L.A.'s budget shortfall, the lights are going to go out anyway!
Why would anybody want to have anything to do with a crazy state like Arizona? The US should build a wall to protect our country from Arizona.
Or even better, you could leave the US and then you wouldn't have to worry about it, would you?
I'm confused. Freedom Fighter, are you advocating this new AZ law? Really?
Because what that Councilman Ed Reyes said is CORRECT.
How would you feel if you were stopped on the streets of NYC, asked for your papers, and if you didn't have them, were then detained, and if you still couldn't provide them, you were sent back to Canada 'where you belong'?
This hits too close to home. I do not condone stopping people and asking for their papers. How does this make ANY immigrant in America feel? UNWELCOME.
Yes, Shine, I like this new law...especially as it mirrors Federal laws requiring non-citizens to carry papers with them and show them on demand to law enforcement that have been on the books since the 1940's.
What's more, a request for papers can only be made in the course of normal law enforcement (like a traffic stop)and there must be justifiable cause.
So the only way Ed Reyes would need a passport is if he isn't a citizen. And the only way he would be deported is if an officer had justifiable cause to suspect he was an illegal alien. A simple showing of a valid driver's license would be all that would be required.
So Ed Reyes is in fact an idiot.
I also question your premise that we have an 'immigration problem'. What we have in fact is an illegal alien problem, and it is a national security issue in a post 9/11 world IMO.
Regards,
Rob
I am reserving further judgment of the law at this moment.
Your point about immigration is noted, although 'illegal immigration' could also be the term used to qualify this situation.
However:
1) Due to racial profiling and the behavior of police in general, I have little faith in the reality of "justifiable cause". Ask anyone who isn't caucasian what it is like to be looked at with suspicion by police.
2) HEADLINE: Puerto Rican Man Almost Deported To Mexico
http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/puerto-rican-man-almost-deported-to-mexico/question-1031239/
After being arrested in relation to a car theft, the man showed his ID and birth certificate to prove his American status.
"The police claimed the documents were fake because they thought Caraballo looked Mexican, not Puerto Rican. "
Police are extremely fallible, and we should be wary about what powers we give them, and how they should enforce our laws.
Hi Shine,
The fact is, any law can be abused by a prejudiced judge, policeman or prosecutor, no matter what law it is.
Or people can be influenced by simple greed. We have a sitting Democrat Congressman, Alcee Hastings who was impeached as a judge for taking bribes.
That's the reason we have an appeals process, to try and safeguard against this as much as possible.
The alternative is to have no laws at all.
I note that in the example you gave, the man in question was not deported once his documents were examined in detail and were proven genuine...although you don't mention whether he actually was guilty of car theft!
Regards,
Rob
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