[Vision2020] Fw: [Spam 6.21] Weekly Update: Judge Sotomayor's Radical Connections

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-----Original message-----

From: Tom Fitton info at JudicialWatch.org
Date: Fri, 05 Jun 2009 10:31:17 -0700
To: LFALEN at TURBONET.COM
Subject: [Spam 6.21] Weekly Update: Judge Sotomayor's Radical Connections

June 5, 2009

>From the Desk of Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton:
      Judge Sotomayor's Radical Connections
      Judicial Watch's investigation of Obama's Supreme Court nominee
Sonia Sotomayor continues. This week, our investigations team unearthed
some interesting and disturbing information related to Sotomayor's
connection to the radical organization, Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund
(PRLDF). Sotomayor served on the Board from 1980 until 1992, which is a
significant period of time.
      According to
[http://spectator.org/blog/2009/05/26/sotomayors-radical-legal-group] The
American Spectator: "Among radical left-wing groups, [the PRLDF] has a
fairly garden-variety agenda. A captive of identity politics, it pushes for
enforced multiculturalism, diversity, bilingual public education,
race-based gerrymandering of electoral districts, race-based employment
quotas, tenants' rights, and illegal immigrants' rights."
      Check out some of the group's activities during Sotomayor's tenure
as the "top policy maker" on the PRLDF's Board of Directors:

- In 1988, the Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund engaged in a battle with
the New York City Police Department over its "racist" promotion exam,
ultimately presiding over a radical redesign to allow more minorities to
achieve a passing grade. According to
[http://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/13/nyregion/despite-revisions-few-blacks-passed-police-sergeant-test.html?pagewanted=all]
The New York Times: "The new test, a four-part exam prepared with the help
of an expert designated by the Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund...involved
changes in format, including the addition of open-book questions and a
video portion."
- In 1990, the PRLDF attacked then-New York Mayor David Dinkins after the
mayor labeled three Puerto Rican "nationalists" who shot five members of
Congress in 1954
"[http://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/16/nyregion/praising-mandela-dinkins-shakes-fragile-coalition.html]
assassins." The radicals were members of a violent Puerto Rican terrorist
group FALN (Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional). The PRLDF said the
mayor's comments "lacked sensitivity." Reuben Franco, President of the
PRLDF said: "[Mayor Dinkins] doesn't recognize that to many people in
Puerto Rico, these are fighters for freedom and justice, for liberation,
just as is Nelson Mandela, who himself advocated bearing arms."
- In 1981, the PRLDF filed a complaint against New York City Mayor Thomas
Dunn following a City Hall directive requiring staff to speak English while
on the job. In 1990, the organization also opposed a law to require
merchants to post an English sign in the storefront explaining the nature
of business.                  Trust me, this is a very small sampling of a
very large universe of radical activity by PRLDF during Judge Sotomayor's
tenure. I've reviewed her responses to the U.S. Senate questionnaire in
preparation for her nomination. The judge does not disclose much at all
about her significant work the PRLDF. We aim to help fill in the gaps. And
I will have much more for you in the coming weeks as we continue to delve
deeply into Judge Sotomayor's history and affiliations.
      Judicial Watch Probes Overseas Trips by DC Mayor
      Washington, DC, Mayor Adrian Fenty found himself in hot water
recently related to two overseas trips that were bankrolled by foreign
governments. (Even the liberal Washington Post
[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/16/AR2009031602614.html]
took a swipe at the DC Democrat.) The first, a trip to China during the
Olympic Games in 2008. And the second, an "unannounced trip" to Dubai
February 15-22, 2009.
      Of course, these trips provoked a number of questions. What was
Mayor Fenty doing on these trips? Were these elaborate vacations or was the
mayor on official business? Why were two foreign governments so keen on
paying for Mayor Fenty to travel overseas?
      Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the
mayor's office earlier this year. Recently we obtained documents from the
Office of the Secretary for the District of Columbia that shed some light
on the matter.
      Included among the documents is the original
[http://www.judicialwatch.org/files/documents/2009/dc_fenty_response_0509.pdf]
"application to approve donations" from the Office of Partnerships and
Grants in the mayor's office detailing the $25,000 February 13^th in-kind
donation made by Yousef Al-Otaiba, United Arab Emirates Ambassador to the
United States and Mexico, to cover the mayor's travel expenses during the
Dubai trip.
      The documents describe the Dubai trip as follows: "Cultural and
economic exchange, including the Mayor's travel and accommodations for the
official portion of his trip to Dubai, UAE, during which he will be
representing the District of Columbia and acting in his official capacity
at meetings with UAE local government and business leaders."
      Mayor Fenty sustained heavy criticism for making the "unannounced"
trip to Dubai in February after he attended the Dubai Tennis Championships,
where a female Israeli tennis player was prohibited from competing in the
tournament. As a member of the DC City Council, Fenty had harshly
criticized then-Mayor Anthony Williams for taking overseas trips, many of
which were funded by foreign governments.
      The documents obtained by Judicial Watch, also detail a
[http://www.judicialwatch.org/files/documents/2009/dc_fenty_response_0509.pdf]
separate trip made by Mayor Fenty to China during the 2008 Summer Olympic
Games.
      Mayor Fenty's trip to China, which cost $11,300 according to the
documents uncovered by Judicial Watch, was paid for by the governments of
Shanghai and Beijing, as well as the Chinese People's Association for
Friendship, a Chinese government entity.
      One letter, signed by the Director General of Beijing's Foreign
Affairs Office states: "...The City of Beijing will, as always, attach
great importance to the sister-city relationship between our two cities,
and will further enhance this relationship in an effort to promote our
common prosperity and development." At the time, Mayor Fenty described the
Beijing trip as a "private vacation."
      The bottom line is this: Mayor Fenty works for the taxpayers of
Washington, DC, not the UAE or the Communist Chinese government. His
decision to take these donations through his office from foreign
governments demonstrates an appalling lack of judgment. The Mayor ought to
be taking vacations on his own dime.
      Judicial Watch Briefs: Border Security and Bailouts
      I will close this week with two brief takes on two very important
issues:
      Obama Administration Asleep at the Switch While Situation at Border
Deteriorates
      As I've told you in recent weeks, the Obama administration seems
completely tone deaf when it comes to the chaotic and dangerous nature of
the nation's southern border.
      Just a few weeks ago, Judicial Watch recently released a U.S.
Customs and Border Protection report titled,
[http://www.judicialwatch.org/documents/2009/CBP_Report_1_ExecSummary.pdf]
BorderStat Violence, FY 2008 Year in Review, which documents a sharp
increase in violence on the U.S. border with Mexico. Here's just one
statistic: Illegal incursions into the United States by members of the
Mexican military and/or police are up an astonishing 357%.
      And now this from
[http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/03/al-qaeda-eyes-bio-attack-via-mexico-border/?feat=home_features]
The Washington Times:
            "U.S. counterterrorism officials have authenticated a video by
an al Qaeda recruiter threatening to smuggle a biological weapon into the
United States via tunnels under the Mexico border, the latest sign of the
terrorist group's determination to stage another mass-casualty attack on
the U.S. homeland."
            In the face of what is obviously an indisputable crisis on our
border with Mexico, what has been the Obama administration's response?
      Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano recently
[http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/napolitano-says-thanks-but-no-thanks-dhs-has-funds-2009-03-25.html]
turned down an offer for increased funding from the Senate Committee on
Homeland Defense to address the problem of violence on the southern border.
The Obama administration also rejected an appeal from Texas Governor Rick
Perry and Arizona Governor Jan Brewer to deploy 1,000 National Guard troops
to help quell border violence. Instead, the Obama administration announced
a plan to temporarily send 360 federal agents to the border, a plan which
has little chance of succeeding. And then the president rolled out the
welcome mat to illegals by announcing support for an amnesty program.
      I hope it doesn't take a catastrophic terrorist attack to convince
the president that he must take drastic measures to secure the U.S. border
with Mexico.
      Lobbyists in the Obama White House
      The Obama administration finds itself in an inherently corrupt
situation now that the president has seized large stakes in private
corporations.
      From
[http://freep.com/article/20090603/BUSINESS01/906030335/GM+to+keep+its+in-house+lobbying+staff]
The Detroit Free Press:
            General Motors Corp. began canceling contracts with outside
lobbyists Tuesday but made clear its intention to maintain its in-house
advocacy corps, beginning a delicate balancing act between GM and its
soon-to-be majority shareholder: the White House.
      "It may cause some unique situations,'" said Dave Wenhold, president
of the American League of Lobbyists. Complicating the relationship are
President Barack Obama's own set of tough standards for dealings between
the administration and federal lobbyists.
      While setting rules that attempt to make dealings between the two
sides more transparent, he now finds himself in a position of controlling
more shares in GM than anyone else.
            As the nation's largest shareholder in GM, the company's
lobbyists are now working for the Obama White House! That means the
government will be lobbying itself! Ford, which has not yet been
nationalized, is at an obvious disadvantage. Ford won't have White House
officials acting as their lobbyists. And nor will the "foreign" auto
companies that employ tens of thousands of Americans.
      Does anyone remember the
[http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/ExecutiveOrder-EthicsCommitments/]
Executive Order signed by Barack Obama on January 21st effectively banning
lobbyists from serving in his administration? Not worth the paper it was
written on, obviously, as it seems this policy will not apply to the
president's auto companies.
      The fact is the White House has no business – none whatsoever –
seizing large stakes in private enterprises. This unprecedented government
intervention is a fundamental attack on our constitutional and economic
systems, and is a recipe for disaster.
      And as I reported to you just
[http://www.judicialwatch.org/weeklyupdate/2009/20-banks-forced-bailout] a
few weeks ago, there was nothing voluntary about the government's scheme to
"bailout" the nation's largest banks. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson told
these companies they had no choice but to take the deal. Details are still
emerging as to how the GM deal was made, but it has all the hallmarks of
government action unrestrained by law and ethics. I will have updates
regarding this ongoing crisis as events warrant.
   Until next week...

       Tom Fitton
    President
    Judicial Watch is a non-partisan, educational foundation organized
under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code. Judicial Watch is
dedicated to fighting government and judicial corruption and promoting a
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