Comment worth noting: '7delta' answers Hetfield of HIAS, Inc.

04/21/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Not intentionally though…..
Editor: Yesterday while I was away in Washington, DC, ‘7delta’ left an important comment to my post of two days ago about the legislation making its way through the South Carolina legislature, read about it here, that would among other things make the Volags (the federal refugee contractors) responsible for any criminal activity any of their ‘clients’ might be responsible for in the state.
The ‘religious’ federal refugee contractors are screaming bloody murder saying that such a RESPONSIBILITY for their charges (their refugee clients) abridges their (the Volags) religious freedom.

Hias and Hetfield — Hetfield never mentions to readers of the Washington Post that his organization receives millions of your tax dollars every year to place refugees in your towns in a process completely lacking in transparency. The WaPo does its readers a great disservice by not adding such a disclaimer.

It was really no surprise to see that Mark Hetfield, the President of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, penned an op-ed on this very subject in the Washington Post (which I read in the train station yesterday).
By the way, a few years ago the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society dropped the word ‘Hebrew’ from its name and is now HIAS, Inc. I’m speculating that perhaps the many Muslim refugees they resettle now might have objected to the ‘Hebrew’ word, or it is meant to reflect the fact that the UN/US isn’t resettling Jews and the organization wanted to remain relevant (and able to collect your tax dollars for their ‘religious charitable work.’).
Here is just one paragraph of the Hetfield WaPo defense (LOL! they are on the defense in many ‘pockets of resistance’ these days).

As the shocking rise in anti-Muslim bigotry collides with increasing concern about terrorism at home and abroad, legislation attacking refugees has spread rapidly spread across the country. But South Carolina’s bill could set a unique and dangerous precedent. If South Carolina passes this disastrous legislation, it risks not only endangering those seeking refuge on our shores and tarnishing our country’s proud tradition of assisting those forced to flee their homes, but also jeopardizing the promise of religious freedom that is the core of American civic life.

Continue reading here.
Note how deceptively Hetfield writes, this bill doesn’t ‘attack’ refugees, it places responsibility for them on Hetfield (as a contractor) and he doesn’t like that one bit.
‘7delta’s’ timely comment works very well to answer Hetfield, but before you read it, I need to mention another comment to the same post from a reader identified as ‘o’reilly.’ This made me laugh:

I don’t know why the agencies would object to this provision. They constantly brag about the layers and layers of checks that are done before bringing the “refugees” to the U.S.

If they don’t have faith in those checks, why should we?

Here then is ‘7delta’ inadvertently answering Hetfield (I’m grateful for people like ‘7delta’ who do such thoughtful, careful work which I don’t have the patience to do!) in a response to another reader ‘Conprof’ who said:

Thank you to our brave SC Senator Kevin Bryant a legislator who understands the U.S. Constitution and what it means to have religious freedom; it does not mean one can do anything and everything, no matter how dangerous, ill-advised, exploitive, or illegal, in the name of religion.

(Edited from the original only by adding paragraph breaks and highlighting important points)

The Constitution isn’t a suicide pact. SCOTUS ruled early on in this country’s history that religious claims did not exempt any person or group from having to abide by our laws and to assimilate into our culture.

There is no right or Constitutional protection to be detrimental or harm another person or their rights, or to undermine society or the government, morally or physically. No human or animal sacrifices, polygamy, patricide, etc….or honor killings, beheadings, mass murder in the name of any god or coercion, threats, whining about discrimination for being required to abide by our laws or making false claims about objections to their laws being forced by legislative means, treaty or acquiescence as being hate or phobic, or the use of violence to force us (non-believers) to accept and abide by their political religious laws that are contrary to ours.

Of course, the SCOTUS ruling was not addressing government misusing religion as a means to cause its version of harm, AKA fundamental transformation, but the principles remain the same. In this case, SCOTUS was correct.

However, the whole narrative and practice about the separation of church and state has been abusive and unconstitutional since SCOTUS misrepresented it in the 1960’s to remove prayer from schools. As a co-equal branch of the federal government, it did exactly what it claimed to correct; it interfered with the individual’s 1st Amendment protections by placing the federal government in the position to arbitrate exactly what it is expressly prohibited from doing in the 1st Amendment, as well as usurping the sovereignty of States to determine its own laws and practices that are not reserved to the limited authorities granted to the federal government.

As for the religious volags claiming their 1st Amendment rights are being violated, their claims are in complete opposition to what the Bible says about the responsibilities of the individual, the body of the church and the government.

Their pretzel logic must take some serious twisting of God and reality for them to reach the conclusion that God meant they should engage in a lucrative enterprise that invites in a belief system that is the antitheses of Christianity and other religious disciplines, eliminates their right to “share the Gospel”, rejects man’s unalienable rights, has no concept of free will, and whose main obligation is to force all others into submission to its political laws, veiled as a religion, or to operate a “charity” as a business, not aided voluntarily by individuals, but well funded from the government treasury, an authority that is neither morally or Constitutionally possessed by the central government.

I’m afraid these religious people have it backwards. They are aiding and abetting subversive operatives within a corrupt government and the foreign agents of chaos certain aspects of western governments are using, yes using, to bring about the carnage and fear necessary to usher in a new governmental system the subversives are ready to implement.

To be clear, that’s overthrowing the government, no matter how much they soft soap it or tell us it’s for our protection. These religious people are infringing on ALL Americans’ rights, aiding and abetting government lawlessness, subversion and treason, and in the process, destroying their own rights. They are complicit in the inevitable and calculated destruction of the people who adhere to this antithetical belief system they are bringing here too, since these people are pawns, dispensable, easily manipulated pawns, due to their supremacist beliefs and singularly focused plan “to destroy the west by our own miserable hands and theirs”.

Because of the adherents obligation to use deceit to advance their cause and their self-serving focus, they are, by all appearances, unquestioning about why they are being allowed to advance. Neither do they appear capable of discerning the deceit manipulating them. These “refugees” will not win their battle..it won’t and can’t be allowed by the very people who are using them to secure their own power. The blood of the small numbers of forced-adherents who may genuinely want an escape from the horrors this foreign political system inflicts on them in their native country will also be on the hands of these volags, as will the the blood of all Americans and all others who are, and will be, victims of the religious volag’s “compassion.” Men and women of God? Whom do they really serve? It’s certainly not the God of the Bible.

There was a time when atheists and other belief systems in the U.S. understood the importance of the Christian belief of Natural Law and the freedoms it protected through the Rule of Law. They supported it, because it protected their right to not be forced into a state religion or to be persecuted by the force of law a state religion creates. They were even protective of the fact this country operated under the Christian philosophy of free will and personal liberty. It was in their best interest. Many probably still get it to various degrees. However, the “activists” today are willingly, ignorantly and loudly cutting off their own noses to spite their faces and are, oddly enough, onboard with bringing in a belief system that will do it for them, without exception. And now, we have errant Christians aiding all the subversives, whether they realize it or not.

Maybe these Christians would like to revisit the scriptures about “the falling away of churches” and what the Bible says about errant doctrine. Ignorance of man’s and God’s law is no excuse. Ignorance of evil isn’t either. Good intentions pave the road to hell when the drivers don’t bother with reading the road map accurately. Claims of religious motivation will not protect them from the consequences of their own actions. They have to decide which is more important, man’s errant judgment about speaking and knowing the truth or God’s judgment for not knowing or abiding by His truth.

Sorry for the length, but this whole “religious” angle from both government and the volags really annoys me. If I can research original documents and sources to learn the truth, so can they. Heck, I’ll even save them time by pointing them to official sources, so they don’t have to sift through thousands and thousands of sources like I did. They have no excuse for not knowing. They are responsible.

For more Comments worth noting/guest posts visit our special category by clicking here. Other comments from reader ‘7delta’ may be found here.
HIAS is responsible for a report that recommended we (RRW and anyone else in “pockets of resistance” like this one in SC) be subjected to an investigation by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

South Carolina state Senator makes some of the most important statements of entire refugee debate

04/19/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Most of you are probably aware that a bill is working its way through the South Carolina legislature that would put responsibility on those agencies which resettle refugees for acts of a criminal nature that might be perpetrated by refugees they place in the state.

kevin-bryant — SC Senator Kevin Bryant exposes ‘church’ refugee resettlement agencies as federal contractors with no special religious freedom protections for the agency itself. “My role in the government is to protect South Carolinians.”

Mother Jones (of course) takes a whack at the “anti-refugee” bill, but in the course of reporting on it, they inadvertently allow a State Senator to scoff at one of the most important arguments ‘religious’ resettlement contractors use to promote their role (as middlemen) in the UN/US State Department Refugee Admissions Program—that they do it out of religious conviction and not as paid federal contractors.
To set the stage, here are some of the opening paragraphs, emphasis is mine (hat tip: Joanne):

A South Carolina bill that would create a registry of refugees and would hold their sponsors liable for any crimes they commit has sparked a debate over religious liberty in South Carolina.

The bill, which would require all recently resettled refugees to register with local law enforcement, would also hold each refugee’s sponsors liable if he or she commits a violent crime or an act of terrorism. “We are protecting South Carolina citizens’ safety,” State Senator Kevin Bryant, one of the bill’s lead sponsors, told members of the local press. “And if we have to do something that would de-incentivize the sponsoring of refugees, well, we’ve got to choose our own citizens over those that are not citizens of this country.”

The contracting agencies say the bill violates their religious freedom:

Some religious groups have denounced the bill as a violation of their First Amendment freedoms because it infringes their belief in caring for those in need. “We’re a Christian organization,” says Ted Goins, the president of Lutheran Services Carolinas, one of the state’s two main sponsors of refugee resettlement. “We get our marching orders from a Biblical perspective [as if there is no government cash involved!—ed]. It says we’re to love our neighbors as ourselves. Refugees are our neighbors.” [A bit of irony here as several “Lutheran” agencies around the country have dropped the word Lutheran from their names, see Michigan earlier this month.—ed]

[….]

As the anti-refugee bill makes its way through the legislature, more religious leaders have publicly condemned it. A coalition of bishops from four different denominations sent a joint letter to Gov. Haley and lawmakers criticizing it.

Blah, blah, blah from the coalition of bishops, then see what Senator Bryant said. But first know that the US State Department strictly forbids any of its contractors (Catholics, Protestants, Evangelicals, Jews and Lutherans) from proselytizing! Go here to see what duties the contractors must perform in order to be paid for their work (or have their contract yanked). This is just one small portion of the State Department rules:

The Department of State has cooperative agreements with nine domestic resettlement agencies to resettle refugees. While some of the agencies have religious affiliations, they are not allowed to proselytize. The standard cooperative agreement between the Department of State and each of the domestic resettlement agencies specifies the services that the agency must provide to each refugee. [This is effectively a contract since the federal government follows up with audits to assure compliance.—ed]

Continue reading to learn what else is required of them. They might use the phrase “cooperative agreement,” but there is no doubt this is a contract for services.
Now, this is what Senator Bryant says:

“As a Christian, I would never put myself in a contract that prohibited me from sharing the Gospel,” Sen. Bryant says in an interview. The Republican from Anderson County says that because the bill holds resettlement groups, not individuals, liable, it does not infringe on religious liberty. He says because resettlement groups sign a contract with the federal government in which they agree not to proselytize to refugees—more or less promising to act in a nondenominational capacity—they have given up all claims to religious liberty.

Bryant separates church and state and it’s about time the ‘religious’ resettlement contractors who are paid millions of your tax dollars every year to resettle refugees (payment by the head) did the same! (I repeat for the umpteenth time—where is the ACLU?)

Bryant, a born-again Christian, says he has been able to separate his faith from his work on this bill. He says he would rather donate to organizations who help refugees in the Middle East and North Africa. “My role in the government is to protect South Carolinians. My role as a Christian is to personally support different ministries that reach out to refugees,” he says. “I think we need to separate the commands of Christ from the role of government.”

Read the whole Mother Jones article by clicking here.
Confusion works against the taxpayer!
I believe that much of the reason the Refugee Admissions Program has escaped scrutiny for over 30 years is the confusion that was created when the federal government hired ‘church’ groups to be federal refugee contractors. Most people who hear about the program for the first time are shocked to learn that ‘Christian’ (and one Jewish group) are being PAID taxpayer dollars to do their supposed charitable work.

Two (more) state legislatures attempting to wrest some control from feds for refugee resettlement

03/26/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

South Carolina moved one step closer recently to advance a bill to try to get some control over who is being resettled in the state, and in Michigan bills were introduced to do the same.
I know it should be my job to explain the ins and outs of the various bills and attempt to predict what will happen with them, but honestly I don’t have the will power (or the legal skills!) to sort through it all. So, instead, I’ll give you a couple of news accounts from this week (AB–After Belgium) for you to read yourself.
South Carolina…

Mark Wineka/Salisbury Post Ted Goins, president and chief executive officer of Lutheran Services Carolinas, headquartered in Salisbury, oversees an organization of more than 1,600 employees and an annual budget of about $115 million. — Ted Goins, CEO of Lutheran Services Carolinas told Think Progress: “South Carolina has a long history of welcoming those seeking refuge…” Well, actually no it doesn’t, it is one of the least refugee-populated states in the US (up until now).

First, check out what Think Progress says about the South Carolina initiative. The closest they come to mentioning that Lutheran Social Services is a government contractor is to say they have been “tasked” with the job of getting refugees established in the state. No mention of the millions of your tax dollars paying them for their ‘task.’
Needless to say, if the South Carolina bill would become law, it will have a chilling effect on resettlement in the state as the Lutheran federal contractor could be held liable for crimes committed by their clients.
It is good to read publications like Think Progress from time to time. You know it is a publication of the Center for American Progress (Soros, Clinton, John Podesta).
There is another article with wailing and moaning about the bill here. For once, the contractors are on the defense.
Then there is the new effort in Michigan.
See Leo Hohmann writing at World Net Daily yesterday for the skinny on that pushback.
After telling us all the troubles Michigan is having with a rapidly expanding Muslim population, he reports that a citizens group (a pocket of resistance) has formed to push back. Here is WND:

Dearborn_Mosque_Michigan — Mosques are mushrooming in Michigan, this one in Dearborn.

That is sparking an organized backlash from Michigan residents.

A citizens’ group called Secure Michigan has formed as a watchdog over the refugee resettlement program in the state. Secure Michigan issued a statement Tuesday after the jihadist attack on Brussels, Belgium, that killed 34 people and injured 200. The statement urged Michigan GOP Gov. Rick Snyder to renew his opposition to President Obama’s Syrian refugee program.

Obama wants to resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees in the U.S., about half of them in Michigan.

All of this has put pressure on state lawmakers to do something to slow down the flow of Third World refugees into Michigan.

State Rep. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, has answered the call. He introduced legislation to make refugee placements in Michigan both safe and more transparent, while also giving local government a voice in the process as required by federal immigration law.

“House Bills 5528 and 5529 will protect both our communities and refugees entering our communities.

Continue reading here. Then see our complete archive going back to 2007 on Michigan, here. For more on South Carolina over the years, go here.

Another South Carolina County Council says no to refugee resettlement

11/10/2015 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Sorry I’m in a hurry and can’t do this story justice, but wanted to get it posted while it is still breaking news. Berkeley County, SC elected officials passed a resolution last night stating their displeasure at the possibility of refugees being resettled there. Although, remember readers that the US State Department still has the power to foist the program on any community they wish because there isn’t much towns and cities can do to deter them other than to express their views and hope the federal government and its contractors will go somewhere else.

I urge the County Council to make sure SC senior Senator Lindsey Graham and Rep. Trey Gowdy (chairman of the House subcommittee responsible for the Refugee program!) be informed of their opinion.
From The Post and Courier (thanks to all who sent it):

MONCKS CORNER — Berkeley County officials made it clear Monday that they do not want refugees resettled here.

The Republican-majority County Council, following the lead of a some Upstate counties, unanimously approved a resolution saying it does not approve of the Refugee Resettlement Project, a federal program designed to resettle refugees from the Middle East.

[….]

There are not currently any plans to resettle Syrian refugees in Berkeley County, officials have said. Some Republicans say it is hard to perform background checks on Syrian refugees because of the turmoil in their country.

Anne Richard for SC — Richard said in an earlier visit to South Carolina that they would not send refugees to communities that were not “welcoming.”

[….]

“I don’t know what they anticipate in South Carolina,” said state Sen. Lee Bright, a Republican who represents Greenville and Spartanburg counties. “They haven’t brought any Syrians (to Spartanburg) yet, but it’s one of those things where, once they’re here, it’s a little late. I’ve been hearing about a lot of grass-roots movements opposing this and I hope that continues.”

He said Monday he met with Richards [Asst. Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration, Anne Richard—ed] and “she basically said if it was an environment that was not welcoming, they would have to rethink it, so as far as that goes, if the county councils pass the resolution, they’re going to be less likely to be affected, at least based on what Anne Richards has said.”

We will see if the State Department honors that promise because they are scrambling now to find enough places to resettle 85,000 refugees in the next twelve months, 10,000 of whom will be mostly Muslim Syrians.
Go here for all of our many posts on South Carolina.

York County, SC resolution fails, but public gets educated!

11/03/2015 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Efforts to head off possible resettlement of refugees in York County, SC was slowed when a resolution put forth by one member of the council failed (although it was never put to a vote), but remember that we are up against powerful forces in some states.
In South Carolina the Republican Governor has already signaled her support of more refugees being resettled in a state which heretofore hasn’t been overloaded (unlike most states surrounding SC). And, the powerful Senior Senator of the State—Lindsey Graham—is openly advocating for the resettlement of Syrian refugees to America. I suspect that when Graham says “jump” the R’s (who desire upward political mobility) in the state do what he says.
So…. this effort is not wasted because it has obviously generated a discussion (and a controversy) that other local citizens are now learning about.
Here are a couple of short snips from The Herald:

….the ordinance worries refugees will receive federal assistance to resettle in the U.S., that they might not work or learn English, become burdens on the taxpayer and “build enclaves, preserving the language and culture of their countries of origin rather than fully integrate into the surrounding community.”

The motion drew support from speakers at Monday night’s meeting. Joe Newton of Norcross, Ga., spoke before the council wearing a “Stop Refugee Resettlement” T-shirt. He told the council that schools in the Atlanta area have been “overwhelmed” by previously settled refugees who speak 150 languages.

New refugees would “increase that to 200 languages, plus 18 dialects spoken by the Syrians,” Newton said.

Governor Haley could stand up for the Tenth Amendment and against federal dumping of the costs of this program on the states if she had any backbone.

She might not succeed (yet), but the state’s rights issue is one she, as a Republican, should be championing. This is a very reasonable proposal.

If it had been approved, the resolution would call for Gov. Nikki Haley to stop resettlement until its effects are studied separately by the State Law Enforcement Division and several state departments: Social Services, Labor, Education, and Health and Environmental Control. Resettlement should not resume until every refugee is cleared by the Department of Homeland Security, and “Each South Carolina State Senator holds several Town Hall meetings in his or her district … to determine that there is not substantial public opposition.”

More here.
Go here and see the locations of resettlement contractors in the US. If you are within 100 miles of any of them, your town is fair game. I suggest going on the offense and alerting your local elected government that this expensive and potentially risky resettlement of third worlders might be coming your way.
See our growing archive on South Carolina by clicking here. This post is filed in our ‘Pockets of Resistance’ category, here.