I just called Mr. Tedisco's office and invited him to the meeting. Left a message in his voicemail.
I spoke w/ Mr. Amedore last evening. While he will likely not be available to attend the meeting, he assured me that the issue is also being addressed at the state government level.
More opposing Spitzer plan Officials back denying licenses to illegal immigrants BY STEPHEN WILLIAMS Gazette Reporter
Saratoga County Clerk Kathleen Marchione will have the backing of county government if she refuses to follow a new state rule that could grant driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, county supervisors said Tuesday. The county’s Legislative and Research Committee, meeting in Ballston Spa, approved a resolution criticizing the changes planned by Gov. Eliot Spitzer and supporting Marchione’s position that she won’t follow them. It said the county CAPITAL REGION should defend her if she is sued. Elsewhere in the Capital Region, minority Republicans in the Schenectady County Legislature failed to get action on their proposal to direct the county clerk not to issue driver’s licenses to people who do not have a Social Security number. And in Fulton County, County Clerk Bill Eschler announced Tuesday his office won’t process driver’s license applications from illegal immigrants, prompting a round of applause from the members of the Board of Supervisors. Security is the overriding reason to oppose Spitzer’s plan to allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses, Eschler said, moments before the county board voted unanimously to formally oppose the plan. During the Saratoga County session, committee Chairman Alan R. Grattidge, RCharlton, said, “From discussions I’ve had with a number of residents and officials, this is a bad policy, and something should be done about it.” The committee vote was 4-1, with Supervisor Cheryl Keyrouze, D-Saratoga Springs, voting against it. She said the committee shouldn’t act until hearing a defense of the new policy from a Spitzer representative. “The whole reason to do this is to make our roads safer,” Keyrouze said. The change made by Spitzer would drop the requirement that people seeking licenses provide a Social Security number, allowing illegal immigrants potentially to get a license. They would still need to provide a passport and pass new anti-fraud screening. The plan has led to a groundswell of opposition from upstate county clerks, most of them Republicans, who administer local state motor vehicles offices. The clerks say an undocumented immigrant could use a driver’s license as a key identity document in the United States without having had their identity firmly established, and they have raised the threat of foreign-born terrorists using the system. “By providing driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants and potentially to terrorists, it undermines the public safety of New Yorkers,” Marchione said. Marchione, who is current president of the New York State County Clerks Association, is among 13 county clerks who have said they’ll refuse to follow the new rule. “I’ve never stepped out like this before and said I’m not going to do something,” Marchione said. She said she was pleased the county would defend her. Spitzer announced the change on Sept. 21, saying an estimated 250,000 illegal or undocumented immigrants drive in New York, and bringing them into the licensing system will cut costs tied to unlicensed and uninsured driving, and help to identify them. “It is unlicensed drivers — not immigrants — that are a threat to public safety,” Spitzer’s office said in a statement. At a meeting last week, county clerks across the state voted to object to the policy. In most upstate counties, county clerks run motor vehicles offi ces as agents of the state commissioner of motor vehicles. Spitzer contends refusing to follow the new state rule would put those clerks “in fl agrant violation of state law.” Spitzer’s office has said a clerk refusing to follow the rule could be sued for a constitutional violation by either the state or by an applicant denied a license. The governor’s plan repeals a requirement established in 1995 that license applicants provide a Social Security number. Because of that rule, Spitzer says 152,000 people who once had licenses were unable to renew them; 1,000 of those people were in Saratoga County. Spitzer said outreach to those people previously denied would start immediately, with the system opened to new applicants in six to eight months. Saratoga County’s Marchione said about 80 percent of the state’s illegal immigrants are believed to live downstate and 20 percent upstate, but the impact will be statewide. “This is an ill-conceived proposal that needs a lot more thought,” she said. The resolution adopted by the committee will be considered for adoption by the full Saratoga County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday Meanwhile, minority Republicans in the Schenectady County Legislature were upset Tuesday night that their anti-Spitzer resolution failed to make it to the fl oor for a vote. Legislator Carolina Lazzari, R-Rotterdam, who is seeking reelection in District 4, sponsored legislation barring the county clerk from issuing a driver’s license to anyone without a Social Security number. She dropped off her legislation Thursday and asked the Legislature’s Codes Committee to review it. She thought it would be discussed at Tuesday’s regular meeting. Not so, said majority Democrats. Lazzari would have had to request that the Codes Committee bring it to the floor Tuesday night, as is the practice for late-minute resolutions. Chairwoman Susan Savage, DNiskayuna, said the Legislature would likely take up the Lazzari’s legislation at the November meeting. Spitzer’s administrative policy takes effect Dec. 1. Eschler, the Fulton County clerk, predicted the controversy will be decided in the courts. “It’s a different world out there and we’re going backward, not forward,” Eschler said. “This is not a done deal. It’s probably going to go legal.” Eschler said it’s estimated that as many as 2 million illegal immigrants may apply for licenses in New York. He also predicted that they would come to Fulton County and other rural areas to apply. The county clerk said there are other problems with Spitzer’s proposal, including the fact that it’s unenforceable. Another issue is that local clerks in Department of Motor Vehicles offices are not trained to identify and verify the accuracy of foreign passports and other documents that could be used in the application process, he said. But security is No. 1, Eschler said. “I don’t know what the governor is thinking. I have no idea what his reasoning is,” he said. “This is a no-brainer. If you put the pluses and the minuses together, they’re not even close.” Bleecker Supervisor David Howard said he envisions abuses arising out of the plan. He said a license is a gateway to social service programs and voter registration for people who aren’t even supposed to be in the country.
The clerks say an undocumented immigrant could use a driver’s license as a key identity document in the United States without having had their identity firmly established, and they have raised the threat of foreign-born terrorists using the system. “By providing driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants and potentially to terrorists, it undermines the public safety of New Yorkers,” Marchione said.
SET UP FOR NATIONAL ID CARDS.........what are we willing to give up???.....life, liberty, pursuit of happiness????......tyranny is not a good road to travel....
Quoted Text
Main Entry: tyr·an·ny Pronunciation: 'tir-&-nE Function: noun Inflected Form(s): plural -nies Etymology: Middle English tyrannie, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin tyrannia, from Latin tyrannus tyrant 1 : oppressive power ; especially : oppressive power exerted by government 2 a : a government in which absolute power is vested in a single ruler; especially : one characteristic of an ancient Greek city-state b : the office, authority, and administration of a tyrant 3 : a rigorous condition imposed by some outside agency or force 4 : a tyrannical act
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
In the Preamble to the U. S. Constitution, it states that the Constitution — the law determining the fundamental political principles of our federal government — was created, in part, to “ensure domestic tranquility and provide for the common defense.” On Jan. 1, Gov. Elliot Spitzer swore to “support the Constitution of the United States.” In the past few weeks we have seen that, due to a political strategy, he is willing to turn his back on the Constitution. The result of this will be less domestic tranquility and defense. By giving illegals the ability to get a valid driver’s license, he opens the door for voter fraud, since licenses are used frequently to identify people when they go to the polls. Remember, you can register to vote at DMV offices. The ability to obtain a driver’s license is at issue. Why can immigrants — legal or illegal — take the written driving test in over 11 different languages? Arabic, one of the languages you may take the test in, is the language the terrorists use. Another issue is acceptance of Social Security cards by the various DMV offi ces as proof of citizenship. People can buy illegal Social Security cards in Mexico City, and on any corner in New York City, Syracuse, Albany and Buffalo. It appears Social Security cards with valid numbers — of men and women in prison — are sold to buyers who wish to infi ltrate the United States from all over the world, including the Middle East. Gov. Spitzer and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver would benefit greatly by giving non-citizens, including those illegally here, the ability to vote. New York has been a portal for terrorists to enter and get identification with which to cause great harm. We should make it more difficult to get a driver’s license, so that we truly are more secure. GEORGE B. MARTIN Clifton Park
Create special driver’s license for illegal aliens
I agree with the governor’s proposal to document all New York drivers to improve highway safety, and perhaps reduce our auto insurance costs [Sept. 22 Gazette]. I agree that offering a driver’s license will bring many illegal immigrants out of the shadows. I do not agree with destroying the identification value of a New York state driver’s license. It doesn’t have to be that way. A new class of licenses should be issued for all non-citizens. Basically the new class would permit the right to drive but could not be used to provide the same identification value. The new class of license would clearly identify applicants as other than U.S. citizens. Registration should require fingerprinting as part of the application. Known criminals would be licensed and law enforcement would have a valuable new law enforcement tool. If such a new class of license had been in the governor’s proposal, I would not have given him a failing grade and have become so disappointed in his judgment. He was elected to represent the voters — not illegal immigrants and perhaps terrorists. Gov. Spitzer’s new plan providing illegal immigrants with valid IDs has stirred up a hornet’s nest. It will be a long time before he, or the electorate, forget the stinging rebuke he is getting — and defi - nitely deserves. WALLACE J. HUGHES Charlton
Monroe County defies Spitzer on driver’s licenses The Associated Press
ROCHESTER — The legislature in Monroe County — in defiance of Gov. Eliot Spitzer — has ordered its county clerk to require anyone seeking a driver’s license to provide a valid Social Security number. It is the most confrontational action so far by county officials opposed to Spitzer’s executive order allowing illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses. The Democratic governor countered Wednesday that county clerks have no choice but to follow his directive — a view that Monroe County may now be helping force toward court. “I hate to say it — the clerks have to enforce it,” Spitzer said during a visit to Buffalo. “The clerks who issue driver’s licenses are agents of the state. They do not make state law on this. State government does.”
Is this Spitzer an arrogant bastard or what? I'm tellin' ya, at least the reps have the brains to distance themselves from Bush. The dems clearly aren't that smart.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Tedisco seeks to shield clerks rebelling against license edict BY BOB CONNER Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Bob Conner at 462-2499 or bconner@dailygazette.net.
Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco proposed legislation Thursday to protect county clerks from what he called “bullying” by Gov. Eliot Spitzer. Appearing with several local county clerks and members of his Assembly Republican Conference who oppose the Democratic governor’s policy of letting illegal immigrants qualify for driver’s licenses, Tedisco said his bill would cover defense costs for clerks if they are sued by Spitzer for defying him. Tedisco said his bill also would prevent the governor from removing those clerks. Tedisco, of Schenectady, and his allies repeatedly brought up the specter of terrorism and the 9/11 attacks, although most of the hijackers were not in this country illegally. “Did the governor forget that we’re at war?” asked Assemblyman Roy McDonald, R-Saratoga. “He’s exposed average people to unnecessary danger.” Three of the 19 hijackers appear to have been in this country illegally because their visas had expired. According to Saratoga County Clerk Kathleen Marchione, president of the state County Clerks Association, Spitzer’s policy will remove from illegals’ drivers licenses information about when their visa expires, thus removing a law-enforcement tool. While other states have tightened requirements for driver’s licenses in the wake of the terrorist attacks, she said Spitzer would move New York in the opposite direction. Her association voted last week to oppose the governor’s policy, and many of the clerks, including Marchione, said they would defy it. Spitzer spokeswoman Kathleen Pritchard said terrorists don’t need a driver’s license to get on a plane or into a building. Clerks who declined to comply with the directive from the governor and the commissioner of motor vehicles would be “violating their oaths of office,” she said, “and put themselves in a position where they could be subject to a suit by the state or a license applicant.” But Pritchard said that Spitzer has not directly threatened a lawsuit, while Tedisco has, and that the Republican leader is being hypocritical. Tedisco said at the news conference that “Perhaps the biggest bully in the state of New York isn’t in our schools. He’s on the second floor,” referring to the part of the Capitol where the governor has offices. This prompted the Empire State Pride Agenda, a gay-rights group and Spitzer ally, to issue a statement saying “Tedisco is using the serious problem of bullying in schools for blatantly partisan purposes. “His comments are inappropriate and unacceptable behavior for an elected official.” For his part, Tedisco said the governor was calling his opponents “rabid right-wingers,” but in fact a number of Democrats have joined Republicans in opposing the policy. One of those Democrats, Oneida County Clerk Sandra DePerno, was at the news conference with the Republicans.
Bumble Spitzer really is that arrogant and he thinks that he can do whatever he wants just like when he was the Attorney General. He threatens lawsuits and uses every dirty trick in the book to get his way and now we've seen his true colors.
How long before the cries of "Impeach Spitzer" begin? His approval rating has fallen from 71% shortly after his inauguration to 49% in a poll released last month. And, that was prior to his licenses for outlaws campaign.
How long before the cries of "Impeach Spitzer" begin? His approval rating has fallen from 71% shortly after his inauguration to 49% in a poll released last month. And, that was prior to his licenses for outlaws campaign.
Rally held in support of Spitzer's license plan Updated: 10/12/2007 11:19 AM By: Web Staff
TROY, N.Y. -- We've heard a lot of negative reaction recently to Governor Spitzer's plan to give illegal immigrants driver's licenses, and today we're getting to hear from the other side.
Advocates of workers' rights and members of religious congregations are rallying in support of driver's licenses for immigrants outside of the Rensselaer County Courthouse in Troy right now.
Rally in support of Spitzer's license plan
Advocates of workers' rights and members of religious congregations are rallying in support of Governor Spitzer's plan to give driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.
The group agrees with the governor, who says increasing access to driver's licenses, along with increased anti-fraud security measures, is good for public safety and homeland security.
This comes a day after the Assembly Republicans introduced legislation that could protect county clerks if they defy the governor's order.
I received a "memo from Governor Spitzers office" in my email. I receive them from time to time, I guess as an elected official. This one was in defense of his licensing illegal alien plan. There was a spot at the end that asked my opinion.....This is what I wrote.... Dear Governor Spitzer and Staff: I am tired of eloquent speakers and politically correct verbage. I will be blunt and to the point in the hopes you and your staff will understand clearly. You are, in my opinion, the laregest froup of educated idiots in recent history. State government is akin to 3rd grade students except for the lack of 3rd grade intelligence. Sue the President....Is this before of after you sue all but four County Clerks in the state? (Forgive me if I have the figure of four wrong, it might be three or might be five) Whats the difference. In an already grossly overtaxed state and county (Schenectady, which is the eighth highest taxed county in the state.) I can't begin to imagine the cost of this stupidity. I am sick to death of this nonsense. Illegal aliens are just that, ILLEGAL. Most of you are attorneys and should understand the term illegal. I have to assume they taught it in your first year of law school. Why would you want to validate a person whose first act upon arriving to our country is outside the parameters of our law, a.k.a. ILLEGAL. Are you stupid or dense?
Logged
