Posts

Massachusetts Governor Declares State Of Emergency, Institutes Travel Ban (+video)

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: Paul and Linda MorrisGov. Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency in Massachusetts Friday afternoon for the blizzard that could bring up to 3 feet of snow.

He also announced he has signed an executive order to ban all travel on all roads in the state starting at 4 p.m. Friday.

There are some exceptions to the ban, including emergency workers, those who work in hospitals and media, and others required to be at their jobs.

The governor said rapid snowfall of 2-3 inches per hour will make for, “extremely dangerous conditions,” and will “make safe travel nearly impossible.”

This is the first time that a Massachusetts governor has issued an executive order like this since the Blizzard of 1978.

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama: Illegal Alien Homosexual Partners of US Citizens Should Not Be Deported

/3 Comments/in , /by

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Thursday that she has ordered written guidance be issued that same-sex couples’ relationships be considered “family relationships.” The move is the most tangible proof yet that the Department is taking action urging field offices not to pursue deportation cases against a foreign same-sex partner of an American citizen who would be able to obtain a green card if in an opposite-sex relationship.

The news came in a letter from Napolitano to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday, where she stated that “the phrase ‘family relationships’ includes long-term, same-sex partners” for purposes of exercising prosecutorial discretion in immigration enforcement matters, nearly two months after a DHS spokesman told BuzzFeed that such a policy was in place.

The written guidance had been requested repeatedly by lawmakers.

From Napolitano’s letter: “In an effort to make clear the definition ofthe phrase “family relationships,” I have directed [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] to disseminate written guidance to the field that the interpretation of the phrase “family relationships” includes long-term, same-sex partners. As with every other factor identified in Director Morton’s June 11 memorandum, the applicability ofthe “family relationships” factor is weighed on an individualized basis in the consideration of whether prosecutorial discretion is appropriate in a given case.”

Because of the Defense of Marriage Act’s prohibition on the federal government recognizing same-sex couples’ marriages, such couples — when one is not a U.S. citizen — are not able to obtain a green card, which is readily available to opposite-sex couples.

Read more from this story HERE.

Napolitano “pondering stepping down” as top aide is put on leave due to allegations of lewd behavior

/9 Comments/in , /by

Homeland Security boss Janet Napolitano’s embattled high-ranking immigration aide took a leave of absence following salacious new claims about the agency’s alleged sexually hostile environment toward men, while Napolitano herself indicated she is pondering stepping down.

Suzanne Barr, who has close Arizona ties to Napolitano, took a “voluntary leave,” according to Brian Hale, spokesman for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Barr’s leave, which began Tuesday, comes as two more male accusers claimed they personally witnessed Barr engage in lewd and hostile behavior with subordinates.

In a sworn affidavit obtained by The Post but with the accuser’s name redacted, an ICE employee described as an assistant attaché says at a party at the deputy chief of mission’s house in Colombia in 2009, “He said she got too close for comfort.Suzanne Barr approached me and offered to give me a b— job.”

ICE travel records obtained by The Post confirm Barr traveled to Colombia along with ICE director John Morton between Sept. 20 and Sept. 23, 2009, to meet with Colombian officials and ICE staffers.

An affidavit by another ICE employee states that just before Halloween in 2009, at a gathering in the ICE director’s office, Barr turned to another ICE employee and called him a “sexy mothaf–ker!” Barr also allegedly “looked at his crotch and asked, ‘How long is it anyway?’” prompting other employees to laugh nervously, according to the statement.

Read more from this story HERE.

So much for global warming: ice delays Shell’s Alaska drilling plans

/0 Comments/in /by

Heavier than expected ice in Arctic waters off Alaska will likely delay until August Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s (RDSa.L) long-anticipated exploration drilling in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, a company spokesman said on Friday.

Shell, which wants to search for oil in what are considered remote but promising frontiers, had planned to start the wells this month, said Curtis Smith, a company spokesman in Anchorage.

Sea ice is “the number one reason we won’t be drilling in July,” Smith told Reuters. “At this point, we’re looking at the first week of August.”

While sea ice cover is sparse in most of the Arctic, ice off Alaska is thicker than in recent years, and that ice is melting fast, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

Shell plans to drill two wells this year in the Beaufort at a prospect about 20 miles offshore, and three in the Chukchi about 70 miles offshore. Drilling must take place during the brief ice-free season, since federal approvals for the plans require that Shell cease all operations for the year by October 31.

Read more from this story HERE.

Photo credit:  Derek Keats