February 10, 2012

Barrett wants officers trained to deal with illegal aliens in every county (Audio)

Congressman Barrett is calling for an expansion of a federal immigration program known as 287G. The program trains local law enforcement officers to enforce federal immigration law. Currently, only three counties in South Carolina are participating and Barrett wants it to help counties statewide.

Barrett says immigration issues are something that all officers may have to deal with at some point.  The program allows local governments to enter into agreements with the Secretary of Homeland Security for special law enforcement training  in immigration law. 

According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, state and local authorities in South Carolina spend around $186 million on illegal aliens each year for emergency medical care, education and incarceration.

(Barrett on officer training  MP3  2:30)
Barrett on officer training

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Court stops SC restrictions on alternative party candidates

Alternative parties  in South Carolina will have more freedom to field candidates, if a federal court injunction stays in place. 

A federal court Monday issued an injunction against the SC Election Commission, at the request of the ACLU. Evoking the Voting Rights Act, the court has actually restored freedom that was allowed until April of 2008.  That year, the commission instituted multiple Statement of Intention of Candidacy forms before the primaries. This meant that non-mainstream parties could not support a candidate who was already on the ballot, unless they had done the pre-primary paperwork.

This is important, argued ACLU attorney Laughlin McDonald, because it impaired third party freedom of speech and barred “fusion” of parties. If an alternative party also wanted to list a candidate who is on the ballot, they would be stopped, according to current SCEC requirements.

“It basically made it very difficult, if not impossible for alternative parties to cross-nominate candidates who had been nominated by one of the parties that held a primary. Not only that, it would have an adverse impact on those alternative parties that wanted to give minority voters and others an opportunity to participate in the general election process,” McDonald says. [Read more...]

Georgetown teen admits murder was to silence informants

A Georgetown teen was sentenced to life in prison in federal court in Charleston Monday for murdering one man and injuring another in a November 2008 multiple shooting.  The U.S. Attorney’s office for SC reports that 18-year-old Edward McCain admitted that he intended to kill both men on November 14, 2008.

McCain arranged for the victims to park their car on a street in Georgetown, then approached the car and fired at least six shots into the vehicle, striking both men. One of the men was killed , while the other suffered serious injury. McCain admitted that he intended to kill both men so that they could not pass information on to law enforcement authorities regarding his drug trafficking activities. Because McCain was 17 at the time of the shootings, he was not eligible for the death penalty

Wilson explains Ft. Jackson investigations

Five soldiers at Ft. Jackson were arrested over allegations they had poisoned part of the food supply on base. Those allegations proved false, but other issues surfaced. The five men are reportedly Muslims and part of the Arabic translation training program, called ‘Lima 09.’ Congressman Joe Wilson represents Ft. Jackson in his district and also serves as a member of the U.S. Armed Forces Committee.

Wilson gives an update on the investigation: “The good news is that has turned out to not be the case. Additionally, there were allegations they were disloyal, that was not proven either. But, sadly, there were some petty crimes, like stealing, sufficient enough for them to be removed from the program,” says Wilson.

Wilson says there is some good news: “Our troops are safe. And, then that we have the military leadership at Ft. Jackson backed up by MPs, CID, the Criminal Investigation Division, the FBI. It has been taken seriously, it has been acted on,” says Wilson. [Read more...]

Unemployment checks, highway money on hold (Audio)

Unemployment benefits expired Monday for more than 23,000 South Carolinians and nearly 1.2 million Americans because Kentucky Senator Jim Bunning has placed a hold on the emergency extension legislation. That legislation passed the House unanimously last week.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina says the Temporary Extension Act is an emergency 30-day extension that’s critical to millions of families.

(Clyburn on Bunning  MP3  2:05)
Clyburn on Bunning

The Temporary Extension Act would also provide health insurance for the unemployed through the COBRA program, provide money for highway projects, delay a cut in Medicare physician payments, and give loan guarantees to small businesses.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has already stopped one South Carolina project as a result of Senator Bunning’s hold on the legislation. Work on the $262,000 Fort Sumter Historic Site entrance road and parking area was immediately halted. Workers have been furloughed until the extension is passed.

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