HAPPY FLAG DAY!

Happy 235th Birthday!

When Freedom from her mountain height,

Unfurled her standard to the air,

She tore the azure robe of night,

And set the stars of glory there.

--Joseph Rodman Drake

1819

Anonymous Bloggers

We understand that some have tried to criticize S.H.I.E.L.D. for being anonymous and therefore, not a "credible" source for information.  While it can be argued that anonymity is for those who are "cowards", we have more important reasons as to why we feel our anonymity is critically important.

One of the reasons why we felt it was important to remain anonymous is because of the very fear of what has been playing out in recent days to other bloggers using the terrorizing technique called "SWAT-ing".

Patterico
Erik Erickson

Aside from the fear of retaliation, one of the main reasons why we choose to be anonymous is because we want to present information along with their accompanying links to back them up in hopes that the reader will take the initiative to do more research on their own.  We hope SHIELD will be one source that, when combined with other information, will allow our readers to make an educated and informed decision.  We want our readers to focus on the facts, not the persons who are writing them.  Otherwise, we end up with nothing more than ad hominem attacks and childish bantering which does nothing but cause a distraction from the facts of the issue at hand. 

We attempt to cover a wide range of topics and understand that some of the issues may be of interest to some people and not to others.  We look at the entries simply as a springboard that will direct people in the right direction as they continue their own research and come to their own conclusions. 

All politicians and candidates running for political office are subject to scrutiny, regardless of party affiliation.  We understand that the (negative) exposure might not make some people happy, but we go by the words of Thomas Paine when he said,

Every man who acts beyond the lien of private life,
must expect to pass through two severe examinations. 

First, as to his motives;

secondly, as to his conduct.

On the former of these

depends his character for honesty;

on the later for wisdom.

Kirk Adams' Campaign Finance Members

donated to Senator Steve "Side-kick" Gallardo.

John Mangum  $100.00

Don Isaacson  $200.00

Stan Barnes     $424.00

Adams doesn't know much about the Constitution either.

 Just saying......

Eliseo Medina: SEIU

We have mentioned Eliseo Medina before but never formally introduced him.  He is a key player in the national Comprehensive Immigration Reform movement.


Medina is a former Executive director at the Service Employees International Union and is currently the treasurer.  The Los Angeles Times has referred to him as "one of the most successful labor organizers in the country" and he was named one of the "Top 50 Most Powerful Latino Leaders" in Poder Magazine.

Medina's career as a labor activist began in 1965 when, as a 19-year-old grape-picker, he participated in the historic United Farm Workers' strike in Delano, Calif. Over the next 13 years, Medina worked alongside labor leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez and honed his skills as a union organizer and political strategist; eventually rising through the ranks to serve as the United Farm Workers' national vice president.

His interests in strategic organizing brought him to SEIU in 1986, where he helped revive a local union in San Diego--building its membership from 1,700 to over 10,000 in five years. He was a key strategist in the Los Angeles strike by SEIU Local 1877's building service workers, who in April 2000 won the largest wage increase in the 15-year history of SEIU's Justice for Janitors campaign. He also helped more than 100,000 home care workers in California advocate for the best quality care for the people they serve remain independent in their homes by securing funding to improve their quality of life.

In 1996, Medina was elected to serve as international executive vice president of SEIU. He made history by becoming the first Mexican American elected to a top post at the 2.1 million-member SEIU. His work has helped make SEIU the fastest-growing union on the West Coast and the largest union in California. Since 1996, more than 1.2 million workers across the country have united with SEIU, the nation's largest union of health care workers and the union with the largest membership of immigrant workers.

Medina has also headed SEIU's efforts to help workers in 17 states across the southern and southwestern United States--including Arizona, Texas, Nevada, Colorado, Louisiana, Florida, and Georgia--unite in SEIU so they will have the strength to improve their jobs and the services they provide in their communities.

Randy Parraz knows Medina well.  Parraz said that he first met Mr. Medina in 2001 during Antonio Villaraigosa's first run for Mayor of Los Angeles.  Parraz was part of a "nonpartisan grassroots effort" spearheaded by Mr. Medina and SEIU to register and mobilize thousands of Latino workers/voters to participate and VOTE.

Sounds like Parraz has had a little more practice in "nonpartisan grassroots efforts" since then.

Medina was also seen encouraging the protesters at the Supreme Court building during the SB1070 hearing with words and the SEIU purple signs.

You can see his complete agitating speech at the Supreme Court here.

Sign seen in the window of the SEIU office in Washington DC:

Medina lives in Washington DC and has visited the White House at least 23 times over the last 3 years.  Obama received help during the 2008 campaign from SEIU and stated that before bringing up immigration, he would talk to Eliseo Medina of SEIU.  Medina is considered one of Obama's "advisers" who claimed in 2009 that "granting citizenship to millions of illegal immigrants would expand the progressive electorate and help ensure a progressive governing coalition for the long term...We reform the immigration laws, it puts 12 million people on the path to citizenship and eventually voters.”

Obama also said in 2008 that if he was elected President:

"Before debating health care, I'd talk to Andy Stern and SEIU members.  Before immigration debates took place in Washington, I'd talk with Eliseo Medina and SEIU members."

Medina's comments on SCOTUS and SB1070 hearing April 2012:

“The Supreme Court will have its say but we will have the final word. It is up to us, the people, to uphold our national values; to protect the rights of workers; to protect our right to vote; to fight discrimination and hate.

The vote is the great equalizer...When we vote, we can get rid of the nativist politicians who write these laws and we can get rid of the politicians who appoint judges that uphold racist or unjust laws. The power is in our hands and we will make the difference.

We also are serving notice to the governors and state Legislatures of Arizona, Alabama and any other misguided state that contemplates similar laws: It’s time to leave your racist past behind and come into the 21^st Century. You can come willingly or you can come kicking and screaming, but you will come into the 21^st Century. Because we have come too far to give up now.”

The Big Black Sharpie: Jeff Flake In His Own Words

As you read the lengthy timeline, notice how often Flake leaves out the word "illegal" when referring to illegal immigration and instead chooses to use terms like "undocumented" or just "immigration".  He even refers to organizations who support enforcement of illegal immigration bills as being "anti-immigrant".   The most jaw-dropping claim of all is when Flake refers to SB1070 as an "imprudent immigration bill". 

Pay particular attention to the order of events and comments from 2010 to the present.

2003
Flake, McCain, Kolbe introduce a Comprehensive Immigration Bill to the liking of immigration activist, Frank Sharry

2005
2nd Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference
Georgetown University
Sponsored by the Migration Policy Institute, Urban Institute and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network 

Summary of Flake's remarks:

Immigration issues have been magnified and will continue to receive attention for many of the humanitarian reasons that have already captured the public.  His response, the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act, attempts to address many of the important and relevant topics in the United States today.  These include:

National Security: A sealed border alone will not prevent future immigrant flows.

Lessons from 1986:  Employer sanctions were unsuccessful and did not acknowledge the need for more workers in the future.

Dealing with Undocumented Population:  Not "amnesty" because those here illegally would pay a "fine".

Flake discussed signs that the politics are changing and improving on the subject.  Organizations favoring border controls have switched tactics.  They are now downplaying the number of undocumented immigrants and in some cases, are grossly underestimating the amounts because they realize that there is no easy answer to deal with such large numbers.  The rhetoric has also changed.  Some anti-immigration organizations are now falling back on far-fetched tactics such as claiming that immigrants are causing an increase in incidents of leprosy in the US. 

(side note:  in all of our research, we have only seen ONE article that discussed the possibility of this "far-fetched" example sited)

Also, while immigration was the cornerstone issue used in numerous Republican party primary challenges in the 2004 elections, the authors of this legislation -including himself and Kolbe, both of AZ, won reelection by nearly 20 points.  As congressional action revolves around reelection, more congressional leaders may be willing to stake out a position on the issue once they learn that advocating responsible immigration reform is a winning strategy.

(Like the story of the boiling frog.)

Flake discussed 3 key elements to ensure action on Comprehensive Immigration Reform:

1.  President's active involvement
2.  Increase the involvement of outside groups including businesses, labor and immigration advocates
3.  Movement on the Senate side, particularly because the House is more polarized on this issue.

(sounds like they have learned how to use the three key elements over the last few years.)

Politics in the Republican Party and Arizona. Congressman Flake described....

in Arizona, the battle is fought in the primary. Many Congressmen take the safe road on immigration issues and utilize popular rhetoric such as “secure the border” because it resonates well in their district. But the state and its political leaders also recognize that Arizona desperately needs workers, not just in agriculture and construction, but throughout the economy. The key to making headway, in Arizona and elsewhere, is the national security argument. To secure the border, Mr. Flake says that we need a legal framework for people to come and go and work.


2006
STRIVE Act
Democratic Congressmen Gutierrez and Flake Unveil Bipartisan Comprehensive Immigration Reform Legislation

The Migration Institute convened again with Flake, his Chief of Staff, Margaret Klessig, Senator McCain, etc.  Policy recommendations by the Task Force (which Flake and McCain were both members) included empowering the Executive Branch by:

****Naming a White House coordinator for immigration policy, issue an executive order establishing an inter agency cabinet committee for immigration policy, and strengthen the capacity of executive branch agencies to implement major new immigration mandates.

 
2007
Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform breakfast along with Jason "Carl Pizza Patron Jr" LeVecke, where he encouraged people to contact their Congressmen to pass CIR.
(Click on the link to hear his comments)

(This is the time when Flake should have term-limited himself.  If only...Unfortunately, he was just getting started.)


2009:
March- Flake introduced H.R. 1791, the Stopping Trained in America Ph.D.s from Leaving the Economy Act of 2009 (STAPLE Act), which would ease "non immigrant" and immigrant visa restrictions for foreign students who have earned a Ph.D. in the United States.

May -  Immigration is "key issue" Flake says.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake...said he is pushing for comprehensive immigration policy reform to end the costly and bitter debate.  "I think Arizonans realize by and large that you have to deal with immigration in a comprehensive fashion," Flake said. 'You just can't say we're going to enforce current law without dealing with border issues and the population that's here illegally now. It's a very complicated issue."

Flake said he expects to be at the forefront when President Obama convenes a summit at the White House in coming weeks.

"It's a bipartisan summit and I assume I'll be involved in that," Flake said.

(A summit was held at the White House on June 17, 2009.)


November - Flake speaks to students at ASU:    The Republican position on immigration, or at least the TONE, has not been good for us politically. Because the tone has been HARSH. And when you look at the vast demographic out there, Hispanic American in particular, you have a HARSH TONE, even if your policy isn't any different than anyone elses, it doesn't serve you well politically.

You can explain it both policy wise, you have 12 million people who are here illegally now, you've got to have a mechanism to deal with that. Bring them out of the shadows. You have to go about immigration in a smart way and a HUMANE way

2010
April -  (posted on Flake's own website)-    
   
Republican Congressman Jeff Flake, called on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

“Congress needs to act on a plan that increases border security and interior enforcement, creates a temporary worker program, and deals with the millions of immigrants in the country illegally. If Congress again fails to act, you’re going to see more states move ahead with imprudent immigration bills, similar to Arizona’s new law.”


August -

"I think those who DON'T agree with my position, who think that it ought to be something different, at least I think they give me a little credit for STICKING with my position."

2011
January 31st- on Comprehensive Immigration Reform

" 'Comprehensive' has gotten a bad word. But until we have a better one I'll use that.  While we need to enhance border security, that's not enough. You have to have a viable mechanism to deal with the people who are here. My party hasn't come to grips with that.' He explains that his own state of Arizona passed a controversial law that allows for us to 'more easily round people up. But that's not the problem. The problem is what to do about them after we get them.' On a political level, he says the 'tone and tenor of the debate' needs to improve on the Republican side.  But the substance remains the nub of the problem. He says the problem is 'more complicated' than his party would like to admit...But given the current politics, I'd like to be optimistic (about reform legislation), but I'm not."

February 15th - Flake announces run for Senate

February 17th - Flake participates in a meeting with the POTUS at the Oval Office

March 23rd - Flake does a 180 on his decade-old Comprehensive Immigration Reform stance

"In the past I have supported a broad approach to immigration reform - increased border security coupled with a temporary worker program. I no longer do...I've been down that road, and it is a dead end. The political realities in Washington are such that a comprehensive solution is not possible, or even desirable given the current leadership. Border security must be addressed before other reforms are tackled."

April 13 - Flake sponsors HR 1507, the Border Security Enforcement Act of 2011 intended to increase security at the border by deploying 6000 National Guard troops.


June-

"We've all wanted, and I believe still, ultimately you'll need a comprehensive solution to this problem that has a temporary worker plan, some mechanism to deal with those who are here illegally, and interior enforcement.  Until we get better security on the border, nobody's going to trust the federal government to move ahead on any of the other items."

(Wait...didn't he JUST say three months earlier that he no longer supported a "broad approach to immigration reform" that included a temporary worker program?)

Full video footage can be found here.


2012

May -  Flake applauds the passage of HR 1299. 

If the legislation becomes law, it would require the Secretary of Homeland Security to submit a comprehensive strategy to Congress within 180 days of the bill being enacted to gain and maintain operational control of US borders within five years.

Is this the reason why Flake is strategically moving over to the Senate? Remember, he himself said that there needs to be movement on the Senate side in order to ensure action on CIR.  One might imagine that his decade-long reputation for being a strong proponent of comprehensive immigration reform and willingness to cross party lines on the issue might be considered an asset over in the Senate.  Especially if he only needed to convince a few more Republicans (and for Flake, preferably freshmen Republicans since they would be easier to sway) in order to get to the 60 votes necessary to pass CIR. 

We already know that Flake doesn't mind being the token "Republican" on or off the court when it comes to playing with Democrats.

We would also like to know what was discussed in his meeting in the Oval Office just a month before his unexpected and unbelievable reversal.  Why the sudden interest in "securing the border"?  Was his proposed border security legislation two months after he announced his Senate run just political theater intended to fool the electorate into believing he really had changed his mind on the issue?

When he said, "The political realities in Washington are such that a comprehensive solution is not possible, or even desirable given the current leadership"  he's not saying he's opposed to CIR, period.  He's just saying it's not possible NOW given who is in office.  That dynamic, however, can change in November.  Does he ignorantly think we are really just that gullible?  Especially when just a few short years ago, he claimed,

"Many Congressmen take the safe road on immigration issues and utilize popular rhetoric such as “secure the border” because it resonates well in their district...The key to making headway, in Arizona and elsewhere, is the national security argument."

Shame on you, Mr. Flake.

Jeff Flake on Jon Kyl's retirement:

"To see someone at the top of their game and to just walk away, doesn't happen that often in Washington..."

Yeah.  We know.

Just think...we're only talking about Flake's comments regarding (ILLEGAL) immigration. We haven't even brought up his statements on cap and trade or his flip flop on sanctions.

Jeff Flake: Fool Me Once, Shame On You...

Fool me twice, shame on me.


Jeff Flake gave us lip service when he first ran for Congress claiming he would term limit himself to three terms.

That obviously didn't happen. 


Now, Jeff Flake, who has spent the last decade leading the charge to pass comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) while in the House, claims to have SUDDENLY had a change of heart about CIR, now that he is running for the Senate.

Only this time, we aren't buying it.

We've covered Flake's flaky-ness on this issue before.  You have to suspect SOMETHING isn't quite right when Angela Maria Kelley, vice president for immigration policy and advocacy at the Center for American Progress, says this about Flake's recent 180 degree turnaround:

It's kind of hard for him to walk away from this when he has his fingerprints all over the issue.  It's not like he just gently engaged it - he was a full-throttle supporter of comprehensive reform. So it's hard for him to erase what in fact has been written in Sharpie pen.

Turns out, Ms. Kelley was right.  Flake was even more involved in CIR than we could have ever imagined.  She should know.  Prior to joining the Center for American Progress in 2009 (whose major funders include George Soros and Peter Lewis), Kelley was a director at the National Immigration Forum where she "headed its legislative, policy, and communications activities" and was "a frontline negotiator as Congress debated proposed comprehensive immigration reform legislation." 

Another former Executive at the National Immigration Forum is Frank Sharry.  We've discussed Sharry several times before, and we will mention him again later.

The current Executive Director of the NIF is Ali Noorani.  After the Russell Pearce recall election, Noorani tweeted on December 11th,

Ali Noorani‏@anoorani

Mesa Compact follows Pearce recall. AZ slowly comes to its #immigration senses. http://www.alternet.org/story/153375/after_recall%2C_arizona_moves_towards_humane_treatment_of_immigrants

(Who would have thought that Ali Noorani from the NIF would link to an article that discussed how Lewis used the LDS church and endorsed a Utah-style Compact?)

It's clear that with all of the various CIR bills that Flake was involved with over the years, he would have had the opportunity to work closely with Ms. Kelley.  We know at the very least, Flake was in the same room as Frank Sharry in 2003 when he, McCain and Kolbe all gave a press conference to introduce one of their CIR bills.  Sharry said, "This is huge!"  to have a Senator and two Representatives from Arizona, no less, behind a CIR bill.  Kelley was so instrumental in the immigration operation that Sharry referred to her as "The General".

Another close associate and policy director of Jeff Flake was his own Chief of Staff, Margaret Klessig.  Klessig played an important roll on an Immigration Task Force Committee as did her boss, Jeff Flake, along with Senator McCain, Leon Panetta, the late Ted Kennedy, Janet Murguia from La Raza, Tamar Jacoby and Frank Sharry in 2006.  This committee was organized by the Migration Policy Institute and funded through donations made by a slew of leftist slush funds such as the Open Society Institute, the Carnegie Corporation, JM Kaplan Fund and the Ford Foundation. Klessig has since joined a group called ImmigrationWorks USA as their Chief of Staff.  The founder of Immigration Works USA is Tamar Jacoby.  It was Flake who said that Tamar had "put out some really good work with regards to immigration reform."

See how connected they all are?

Now that you know who the players are, let's look at what else they have been up to over the years.

In 2003, prior to Flake, McCain and Kolbe pushing their immigration bill, a documentary fluff piece was put together titled, "Kids Across the Hill" featuring many of those who worked diligently behind the scenes.

(SEIU's Eliseo Medina)
Those interviewed for the film included
1. Margaret Klessig
2. Jeff Flake
3. Angela Kelley
4. Becky Tallent (aide to both McCain and Kolbe)
5. Frank Sharry
6. Luis Gutierrez (Flake's co-sponsor of the STRIVE Act)
7. Alfredo Gutierrez (co-chair of the Arizona Boycott Committee and founder of lafronteratimes.com.  He called on businesses to cancel their meetings and conventions in Arizona until SB1070 was repealed)
8. Tamar Jacoby
9. Eliseo Medina (SIEU)
10. Cecelia Munoz, one of Obama's Czars who has ties to La Raza, Campaign For Community Change (The action arm for Center For Community Change and who funded PAZ to canvass for Jerry Lewis during the recall.  They also supplied the sign at the Supreme Court protest above), Occupy, Moveon and ACORN

Young 20-something staffers for Republican Arizona Congressmen Jeff Flake and Jim Kolbe race Senator Ted Kennedy and his Immigration Counsel Esther Olavarria to introduce a strong, bipartisan bill to Congress.

Will Kennedy's staff rally the unions, advocates and business community in time to draft a bill? Will Kolbe and Flake find a Democrat to sign on first?

Who were the partners and supporters for the documentary?  We mentioned a few of them earlier.  They include:

Open Society.  This is just one of the many grant making organizations for George Soros.  The link to soros.org on the documentary's website is currently "under construction".  Also, Cecilia Munoz, one of Obama's czars who we mentioned earlier, was a member of the board for the Open Society.
**UPDATE** The Blaze.com recently reported on the Soros funded Open Society.

Unbound Philanthropy.  The philosophy of the Unbound Philanthropy grants is "we envision a world where they (migrants) are engaged in their new communities with respect, compassion, fairness, and justice."  One of the board members is a former member of the Migration Institute who sponsored the Immigration Policy Conference which Jeff Flake was not only a member of their Immigration Task Force, but was also a guest speaker in 2005.

The Ford Foundation.  Offers grants to countless leftist causes.  Since 2010, donations were made to:

$800,000 Frank Sharry's organization "America's Voice"
$400,000 Casa de Maryland
$350,000 Catholic Legal Immigration Network (we'll discuss them in another entry as well)
$900,000 Catholics for Choice (participated in the faux outrage during the Fluke story)
$8.6 million Soros' Center for American Progress
$5.5 million Center for Community Change (who helped with Jerry Lewis' campaign.  See photo above)
$2.8 million Gamaliel (IAF organization Obama worked with in Chicago)
$400,000 ImmigrationWorks USA
$2.5 million Interfaith Worker Justice (another IAF affiliate)
$4.0 million Planned Parenthood, $5.0 million to MALDEF
$2.4 million Migration Policy Institute
$10.0 million La Raza
$1.0 million National Immigration Forum
$3.0 million PICO (another IAF affiliate)
$3.5 million Proteus Fund (See Gilbert Watch's account of this organization)
$6.5 million Urban Institute
$1.5 million University of Arizona
$11.5 million Tides Foundation


So, we have to ask:

Why would Jeff Flake be so willing to participate in a task force and project that not only involved radical immigration reform advocates, but was supported and funded by both George Soros and the Ford Foundation who have spent billions funding radical leftist organizations?

As Angela Kelley said,

It's not like he just gently engaged it - he was a full-throttle supporter of comprehensive reform. So it's hard for him to erase what in fact has been written in Sharpie pen.

We'll explore Flake's own words that are written in a big, black Sharpie pen over the last decade and the suspected motivation behind it... next.

Russell Pearce For Arizona Senate Video

Visit Gilbert Watch to view the first of a series of videos that answer questions about Russell's campaign and critical issues facing Arizona.

Russell Pearce for Arizona Senate: Video from Russell Pearce