Pandering for the Hispanic Vote; Number of deportations drops by one third

President Obama is shoring up his Hispanic base by allowing more illegals to stay in this country.

Via LA Times:

The number of deportation cases filed by federal immigration officials dropped by nearly a third in the first three months of the fiscal year, according to a report by the Syracuse University Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.

The drop recorded in the last three months of 2011 may reflect the Obama administration’s plan to focus its deportation efforts by weighing a variety of discretionary factors, including whether the person is a veteran, came to the U.S. as a child or is a college student, according to the report. But experts said it’s too soon to say if deportations overall will decline.

From October through December, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement initiated 39,331 deportation cases in immigration court, down from 58,639 the previous quarter, the report says.

Filings are typically lower during the holiday months, but even adjusted for the seasonal drop-off the numbers are significantly lower, according to the authors.

Keep on reading…

Gallop: Romney leads Obama by 4

Obama leads Santorum by 1. All results are withing the +/-4% margin of error.

Via The Hill:

Mitt Romney leads President Obama by 4 percentage points in Gallup’s latest national head-to-head polling.

If the election were held Thursday, 50 percent said they would support Romney, versus 46 percent who would support Obama, according to Gallup. The president holds the edge on former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), 49 percent to 48 percent.

The poll has a 4 percent margin of error, so the results mean Obama is statistically tied with both candidates. Read more...

Flashback to 2008: Candidate Barack Obama nods in approval when man says he is happy about $4 a gallon gas (video)

 From a June 2008 campaign stop in Wisconsin:



By a July campaign stop in Missouri, Candidate Obama had a plan to lower gas prices. He wanted us to air up our tires.



Candidate Obama's supporters didn't think high gas prices would be a problem. They thought Obama would buy their gas for them.



How is that 'Hope and Change' working out for you?

Michelle Obama leaves the slopes of Aspen and immediately heads to a 1% fundraiser to criticize the rich

The hypocrisy is astounding.

(Washington Examiner) — First lady Michelle Obama has joined her husband’s bandwagon to hit the rich and spread the wealth, questioning how well-off families can feel good if others are struggling.

To about 300 supporters wealthy enough to pay $300-$10,000 to attend the mid-day event, the first lady said, “If a family in this country is struggling, we cannot be satisfied with our own families’ good fortune.”

She also rapped the rich, as has her husband. “Who do we want to be?” Obama asked. “Will we be a country where success is limited to the few at the top? This country is strongest when we are all better off.”

Fundraising in Cincinnati, Ohio as her husband raised cash in Florida, she also said that the change President Obama offered in 2008 “does not come easy.” And she added, “change is slow, but we will get there,” according to a pool report of the event.

Humorous: RNC AD- Obama's Got America Singin' the Blues (video)

Obama's Got America Singin' the Blues

Most ethical, open and honest government in history scrubs Gleick’s grants from EPA website

 Peter Gleick

Global warming alarmist Peter Gleick of the Pacific Institute, has admitted he lied and impersonated another to steal procure documents from the conservative Heartland Institute. When the documents weren't damning enough, he allegedly faked one that was. Gleick is fighting to keep his job among calls for his prosecution. It seems Obama's EPA gave Peter Gleick several grants. Here is a list. You will find the pages linked are no longer on EPA's server.


Via Junk Science:

• $25,000 to evaluate indoor air interventions to reduce diesel particulate matter in West Oakland, Ca.
• $100,000 for “The identified issue for this project is exposure to diesel emissions and other environmental hazards associated with inappropriate land use within West Oakland.”
• $223,675 to “make use of a broad-based multistakeholder group (i.e. the West Oakland Toxic Reduction Collaborative) to assess conditions, develop solutions and support and leverage their implementation as related to environmental and public health burdens from air and other toxics.
• $120,000 for “This amendment extends the project and budget ending dates from August 31, 2003 to December 31, 2003. There is no change in the approved EPA funding amount of $50,000 for your diesel truck emission reduction initiative. The conditions numbered 1 through 7 in the award remain in full force and effect.” 

Here is a list containing the $100,000 one courtesy of Google Cache. Here is a pdf of the $25,000 one.

Chart of the Day: America’s Per Capita Government Debt Worse Than Greece

Oh, my.


Via Weekly Standard

Obama doesn't have “silver bullet” for high gas prices, but he does like algae

Algae? Really? How about drilling for more oil and building a pipeline to bring in Canadian oil. We don't need a new miracle technology for those.

Via Beltway Confidential:

President Obama admitted today that he does not have a “silver bullet” solution for skyrocketing gas prices, but he proposed alternative energy sources such as “a plant-like substance, algae” as a way of cutting dependence on oil by 17 percent.

“We’re making new investments in the development of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel that’s actually made from a plant-like substance, algae — you’ve got a bunch of algae out here,” Obama said at the University of Miami today. “If we can figure out how to make energy out of that, we’ll be doing alright. Believe it or not, we could replace up to 17 percent of the oil we import for transportation with this fuel that we can grow right here in America.”

The Department of Energy (DOE) currently spends about $85 million on 30 research projects “to develop algal biofuels,” according to the White House, which announced that Obama is committing another $14 million to the idea.