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Will Immigration Foes Keep Families of Foreign-Born U.S. Armed Service Members from Getting Papers?
Posted by Joshua Holland, AlterNet on November 15, 2009 at 11:50 AM.

Conservatives are facing a tough issue with the Military Families Act. The bill, introduced by Senate Dems, would allow the immediate family of foreign-born, active-duty members of the armed forces to apply for permanent resident status, "even" if the service member was killed in the line of duty. (It seems bizarre to say "even" if he or she was killed given that the greatest sacrifice a person can make for one's country is to give one's life for it, and, philosophically speaking, you'd think their families would have a greater claim to a green card than anyone else.)

According to The Hill:

A report released this month by the Immigration Policy Council cites a high, continuing need for immigrants in the U.S. military, not only for basic recruitment needs but also for translators and interpreters.

As of June 30, the report notes there are 114,601 foreign-born individuals serving in the armed forces, or almost 8 percent of the 1.4 million total military personnel on active duty. In the current fiscal year, the report notes more than 10,500 military service members were granted U.S. residency.

So far, no Republican has signed onto this or previous bills that would grease the wheels for military families. And if you expected that their base might be flexible, or at least pragmatic, on this issue because of the context: these aren't people who snuck across a border in the middle of the night -- we're talking about extending legal status to the kin of active service members in the midst of two occupations and at a time when our armed forces are stretched thin and suffering from the strain of repeated deployments.

But compromise does not a hard-liner make, regardless of the issue in question. Predictably, F.A.I.R., the hard-line anti-immigrant group, calls the measure "military amnesty "; Numbers USA warns of the uncontrollable "chain migration" that would result from its passage (the two groups are connected).

G. Gordon Liddy "Convinced" Obama is a Muslim
Posted by Matt Corley, Think Progress on November 15, 2009 at 7:51 AM.

On his radio show today, G. Gordon Liddy hosted former Republican presidential candidate Gary Bauer to discuss his Human Events column on the Fort Hood massacre, in which Bauer — echoing his close personal friend Bill Kristol — declared that “[p]olitical correctness has been radical Islam’s greatest asset in its war against America. Let’s execute it.” “Accommodation of Islam pervades our schools,” added Bauer in his column.

In the beginning of their discussion, Liddy said that political correctness towards Islam “precedes the Obama administration” because President Bush proclaimed that “Islam is a religion of peace.” “You know that’s just not true,” said Liddy. Later in the conversation, after Bauer complained that Obama’s Homeland Security adviser John Brennan would lead the investigation into what the U.S. intelligence community knew about Nidal Malik Hasan before his attack, Liddy announced his belief that President Obama “is a Muslim”:

LIDDY: I’m convinced that despite his protestations to the contrary, that Barack Obama is a Muslim. I don’t believe that he’s a Christian at all. I believe he’s a Muslim.

BAUER: Well, you know the church that he famously or infamously attended was, was odd in many ways. Not only the rantings of its pastor, the clear racist rantings of its pastor, which the President chose to listen to year after year with his family and his children. You know something that still in my view has never been adequately explained. But it was also a church that had some real strange ideas about Islam and Christianity. I’ve seen a number of suggestions that there were many people in the congregation that considered themselves both Christian and Muslim. Something that I’m sure both real Christians and real Muslims would deny is possible.

Not only did Bauer not disagree with Liddy’s claim that Obama is lying about his Christianity, he went on to praise Liddy’s contribution to America’s political debate. “You do an outstanding job on your show bringing people the information they need,” said Bauer. “I commend you for the good work you do every day.” Listen to it here:

It’s not surprising that Liddy would hold such a fringe view. After all, he is a prominent birther who thinks that Obama is an “illegal alien.” Bauer, on the other hand, has previously written that he doesn’t want to “question the sincerity of Obama’s faith.” But in playing along with Liddy, that’s exactly what he has done.