HOO-AH to Steve Russell (Lt. Col., U.S. Army Ret.)

HOO-AH to Oklahoma State Senator
Steve Russell (Lt. Col., U.S. Army Ret.)
for taking a stand for us Vets !!

SENATOR PROPOSES RESOLUTION OPPOSING OBAMA ADMINISTRATION’S POSITION ON ‘RIGHT WING’ EXTREMISTS AS POSSIBLE NATIONAL SECURITY THREATS

Senators Take Exception to Characterization of Veterans, Pro-Lifers, etc. as ‘Right-Wing Extremists’

Responding to a report of the Obama administration’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) characterizing returning veterans and others who uphold traditional American values as “right wing extremists” and a threat to American security.

The nine-page document from the DHS titled "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment," has caused an outcry from veterans groups, Republican lawmakers and conservative activists.

"It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration," said the report, which also listed as suspect gun owners and veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The outcry resulted in a demand from the head of the American Legion to meet with Ms. Napolitano, a request the DHS chief said she would honor next week when she returns to Washington from her current tour of the U.S.-Mexican border.

Sponsored by Senator Steve Russell, a retired Army Colonel and veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan, Senate Resolution 42 demands that President Obama’s Administration ‘retract this report and apologize to America’s returning war veterans.’ “To suggest that we would terrorize the very nation we risked our lives for should give all Americans pause,” said Russell.

“Yesterday afternoon I participated in a rally with thousands of good, law-abiding, God-fearing Oklahomans who voiced their concerns about the Federal government’s expenditures of our hard-earned dollars,” said Russell, referring to the Tea Party rally that was held on the steps of the State Capitol. “According to the Department of Homeland Security report, these people would also be considered threats to the national security.

“It is vital that we take a stand and express, in our constitutional right to peaceful assembly and our extreme displeasure and disagreement with the Administration on this important matter,” Russell continued.

“Taken at face value, this report from our Department of Homeland Security would qualify the vast majority of Oklahomans as threats to our national security,” Russell added. “If upholding traditional American values such as the sanctity of life, the right to bear arms and defending your country is extremist, then I stand so accused,” Russell concluded.

Senate Resolution 42 further states that the Oklahoma State Senate supports America’s military veterans, who have risked their lives preserving the nation instead of attacking it, and believes that the traditional American values under attack by the Obama Administration should be respected and revered by the federal government.

The Resolution will likely be heard in the Senate on Wednesday.

REAL ID Act: Maryland may have to delay federal Real ID program

State may have to delay federal
Real ID program

High costs and requiring legal residency may delay Maryland's progress with the Real ID program, even though the state has met fewer than half the requirements for the federal driver's license mandate.

"I think it's unlikely we'll do anything this year, and it's going to be a tremendous burden on this state," Sen. Brian Frosh, D-Montgomery, said at a hearing Wednesday. He serves as chairman of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee.

The federal law has tougher requirements for getting driving licenses, including being a legal resident.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued 18 benchmarks that states must meet to get a second extension, to May 2011, for Real ID implementation.

The Motor Vehicle Administration has met eight of those requirements. Most were already in place and therefore cost nothing to implement.

Four remain unfulfilled because the state doesn't check applicants' residency status, according to MVA administrator John Kuo.

MVA has the technology to check legal status, so it wouldn't cost more money if legal status were added as a requirement, Kuo said.

Between 35 percent to 50 percent of the out-of-country applicants are rejected for driver's licenses because they don't have enough proof they are Maryland residents or don't have proper documentation, the administrator said.

The General Assembly must grant approval to the residency requirement.

Some lawmakers say Real ID is a way to thwart terrorism and reduce illegal immigration. Others view the program as an invasion of privacy and fear it could lead to undocumented people driving without licenses.

In the 47 states that require drivers to have legal status, "I bet there are a lot of people driving without licenses," said Sen. Jennie Forehand, D-Montgomery.

The state can reject the Real ID requirements, but that would mean Maryland licenses couldn't be used to enter federal buildings or board planes.

Kuo said a two-tier system, in which those without legal status could obtain a driver's license but not be federally compliant, is an alternative. But he said that would put an administrative and fiscal burden on MVA.

Real ID is expected to cost Maryland $30 million to implement. The federal government has given the state $1.1 million, with another $700,000 coming this fiscal year.

Delegate Ron George, R-Anne Arundel, again plans to submit a bill requiring legal status for driving licenses, pointing to the large number of foreign applicants at the MVA.

DHS to collect biometric data from green card holders

U.S. Department of Homeland Security, has announced plans to expand its biometric data collection program to include foreign permanent residents and refugees.

Almost all noncitizens will be required to provide digital fingerprints and a photograph upon entry into the United States as of Jan. 18.

A notice in Friday's Federal Register, said expansion of the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology Program (US VISIT) will include "nearly all aliens," except Canadian citizens on brief visits. Those categories include permanent residents with green cards, individuals seeking to enter on immigrant visas, and potential refugees.

The US VISIT program was developed after the Sept.11, 2001, terrorist attacks to collect fingerprints from foreign visitors and run them against the FBI's terrorist watch list and other criminal databases. Another phase of the project, to develop an exit system to track foreign nationals leaving the country, has run into repeated setbacks.

The decision to track permanent residents has drawn criticism from privacy advocates, especially since DHS has acknowledged that green card holders do not necessarily pose a greater threat than "nonimmigrants."

"It's very disappointing. These are individuals who don't deserve the indignity of being subjected to biometric capture," said Barry Steinhardt, director of the technology and liberty program for the American Civil Liberties Union.

DHS officials said their primary reason for collecting data from permanent residents is to identify noncitizens with fraudulent documents. But Steinhardt called it a "pretext" to gathering more personal information.

"It's a mania for collecting information from individuals," he said. "It's part of a fruitless effort to match individuals who are legal permanent residents of the U.S. with various legal watch lists, which we know are fraught with error."

Anna Hinken, director of communications for US VISIT, said by expanding the program to green card holders, DHS is simply complying with its mandate to include all non-U.S. citizens in the system. Existing policy excludes Canadians on quick visits to the United States, she said.

Steinhardt said DHS should focus on finishing the exit portion of US VISIT before expanding the program.

"There's still the irony that the government keeps expanding the US VISIT program but never built the exit system that is supposed to be built," he said. "They know when people come in but don't know if they've left. Rather than expand the program to people who are lawfully residents here, they might want to consider possibility of actually building exit portion."

According to the Federal Register notice, US VISIT will gather biometric information at the 50 largest land ports, in addition to all sea and airports. The program is in transition from collecting two fingerprints to a full set of 10, a process Hinken expects will be done by the beginning of 2009. DHS is working to make US VISIT interoperable with the FBI's databases and make its biometric information available to local law enforcement officials.