Illegal alien murders U.S. citizen in N. Idaho

The Idaho Affiliate of the American Family Association

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Bryan Fischer, Executive Director

PENTICO JUDGE ESSENTIALLY WIPES OUT GUILTY VERDICT

While the local media presented the outcome of Chris Pentico’s sentencing hearing yesterday as a win for the government, it was actually the other way round.

Judge Kevin Swain, his courtroom packed with more engaged voters than he has probably ever seen in one place at one time, gave Chris Pentico a withheld judgment yesterday and 30 days probation, which means that Chris’s guilty verdict (on trespassing in the governor’s office) goes away as long as he doesn’t rob a convenience store or something in the next month.

I’m quite sure the outpouring of support for Pentico startled the judge, who was forced to move the sentencing hearing to a larger chamber and had no idea that his mishandling of Pentico’s trial had turned

him into a martyr for the cause of those who complain about government overreach.

It’s troublesome that Judge Swain (right) never required Chris’s accuser to appear. It is a fundamental right under our system of justice for the accused to have the opportunity to cross-examine his accuser in open court. His accuser, apparently, was the governor’s aide Clete Edmundsen, who made the call ordering Pentico’s detention. But Edmundsen never appeared in court to answer questions from Pentico’s attorney as to the basis on which he ordered up the arrest.

But surely a judge has a duty to allow the defense to explore whether the original detention was for just cause. What exactly had Pentico done that justified being handcuffed on a public sidewalk and charged with a crime? Had he done anything other than annoy people through his persistence? Is making people “uncomfortable” or “nervous” now sufficient grounds for police to slap you in cuffs? Should this arrest even have taken place at all? Further, why was the charge amended not once but twice, as prosecutors fumbled around after the fact to find some place in the code to land in going after Pentico?

Perhaps the public attention drawn to this case prompted Judge Swain to re-examine his earlier handling of the trial, and he did everything short of simply reversing himself on the verdict yesterday. He essentially made it possible for his guilty verdict to be wiped from the slate, which is as close as a judge can come to a do-over.

Surely there is a better way for our elected representatives to handle an annoying constituent than slapping him in cuffs and forcing him to spend $8,000 to defend himself.

Clayton Cramer's BLOG: Chris Pentico's sentencing

ILLEGAL ALIEN MURDERS U.S. CITIZEN IN COEUR D’ALENE

Timothy Wolfe of Worley is dead, and an illegal alien has been charged with first degree murder for pulling up alongside the man as he was walking on the street and shooting him in the face.

The shooting followed an altercation in a local bar, which is a reminder that drinking in such places until the wee hours of the morning is generally not a good idea in the first place. There are many

things that can happen as a result, and most of them are bad.

The suspect, a Juan Villanueva, was escorted from the bar following the altercation, but returned with a handgun and shot Wolfe as he was walking with friends to his car. Detectives found him hiding in the restroom in the restaurant where he worked.

Villanueva is an illegal immigrant from Honduras, and prosecutors believe he was preparing to flee back to Honduras when police apprehended him.

Worley leaves behind a one-year old daughter.

The Idaho legislature this year failed for the second year in a row to pass a law that would require employers to use the E-Verify system to confirm that a prospective employee has the legal right to be in the United States.

Had this law been in force and properly used, Villanueva could have and should have been back in Honduras last Saturday night instead of prowling the streets of Coeur d’Alene looking for somebody to shoot.

CDA police report on Villanueva shooting

IVA IN THE BLOGSOPHERE – ON LESBIAN FOR THE SUPREME COURT

People for the American Way takes note of my column on its “Right Wing Watch” page. As PAW points out, the IVA has been virtually the only conservative voice to suggest that a lesbian sexual orientation raises virtually insurmountable problems for a potential Supreme Court nominee. Most conservative voices have been trying to finesse the issue of sexual orientation in the current debate.

So Much For the Right's Acceptance of a Gay SCOTUS Nominee | Right Wing Watch

If you value the work of the IVA, please consider a donation today. Information on how to donate, including making a secure online donation, may be found here. Thank you!

BONUS BYTES

After having a full week to re-think his willingness to vote for a lesbian nominee to the Supreme Court, Sen. Jeff Sessions has disappointed social conservatives by making an even stronger statement of support yesterday. Said Sessions, “I can vote for a gay nominee ... That’s not the test really; the thing I’m concerned about is high legal quality.” This is dangerously naïve, for it raises a host of questions about how such a Justice would rule on marriage and family issues, adoption policies, discrimination policies, hate crimes laws, religious liberty issues, etc. etc. He says that a prospective jurist must not have “any agendas, personal social, religious or otherwise.” But since when has an open lesbian not had a “personal” and “social” agenda to see her lifestyle sanctioned by society? (Sessions: 'I can vote for a gay nominee' - POLITICO.com)

Good for Donald Trump. He said this morning that Carrie Prejean can keep her Miss California crown despite the criticism she received for defending the view of marriage every civilization since the dawn of time has held – that marriage is the union of a man and a woman. Said Trump, there’s no reason to take her crown away, in part because, “It’s the same answer that the president of the United States gave.” Touché. (Donald Trump on Miss California: Same as Barack Obama - POLITICO.com)

If you want to know why the GOP is in such trouble, look no further than Florida, where the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has already endorsed Charlie Crist for Senate rather than back his staunchly conservative challenger, Marco Rubio. The is the first time the NRSC had

endorsed a candidate in a contested primary, and comes less than a week after the NRSC said they would stay out of this primary contest altogether. Crist is not a social conservative and is hardly even a fiscal conservative: he actually campaigned publicly alongside President Obama for the gut-busting $787 billion stimulus package. Genuine conservatives in Florida have pledged themselves to oppose Crist and support Rubio, which will lead to a bloodbath in the primary, while the party elites back the guy who doesn’t even believe in the party platform. John Cornyn, who heads up the NRSC, is himself a conservative but has made it clear that he will actively recruit Republicans in Name Only for senate races rather than restricting himself to candidates who truly believe in the principles found in the party platform. Either the party platform should meaning something to GOP leadership or they should give to somebody who takes it seriously. God help the GOP, because they are doing nothing to help themselves. (The American Spectator : NRSC Endorses Crist For Senate; Conservatives may buck Charlie Crist - Josh Kraushaar - POLITICO.com)

From a biblical worldview perspective, predatory animals that endanger livestock and humans can and should be removed wherever necessary. It’s sheer folly to insist that families and ranchers simply learn to live with killer animals. The folks in Anchorage, Alaska are probably about ready for a return to biblical values there, as bears are emerging from their dens and once again strolling through Anchorage neighborhoods, mauling children and literally going from driveway to driveway rooting through garbage cans. One 15-year-old girl was mauled in a city park last year, and nearly bled to death. Grizzly bears have camped in people’s back yards defending moose kills, and Fish and Game officials do nothing more than tell families to stay inside the house until the bear is done eating. Altogether, there are at least 65 brown bears and about 250 black bears who call Anchorage home. Said an official with the Department of Fish and Game, charged with “overseeing” (!) the bear problem, “People think, ‘Holy cow, we are under assault!’” Bears are innocent until proven guilty – F & G officials won’t take one out until it actually hurts someone. Said an official, “We don’t kill bears in retribution.” His solution? Rather than pull out his gun, he says, “I am still going to hammer on people about garbage this year,” and stiff fines are planned for folks who don’t dispose of garbage in bear-resistant cans. One man keeps a loaded shotgun to defend his dog from a 300-pound black bear that hangs around his house. “I am not going to let him eat my Schnauzer,” he said. (Bears stress out Alaska - Washington Times)

Trustees for Social Security and Medicare are scheduled to release their annual reports on the

finances of both programs today, and are expected to say that the programs will run out of money sooner than last predicted. Last year, Social Security was forecast to start paying out more in benefits than it collects in 2017 and run completely of our money altogether in 2041. Medicare was projected to start paying out more than it collects this year and be completely broke by 2019. But the severe job losses in the current recession with its corresponding slump in tax revenues means the timetable has been accelerated. Social Security is now expected to take in just $3 billion more than it spends this year, when last year’s forecast was that it would run an $86 billion surplus. There’s a bad moon on the rise. (Social Security and Medicare Seen Failing Faster - FOXNews.com)

Pat Buchanan quotes Australia’s Robert Menzies to the effect that, “The duty of an opposition ... is to oppose selectively ... The opposition must choose the ground on which it is to attack.” He suggests the GOP focus on three fronts in trying to recapture seats in 2010: pointing out the problems with the stimulus package, opposing economy-busting cap and trade plans, and opposing the government take-over of health care, which will increase the cost of care, reduce its quality, and lead inevitably to rationing. If Cornyn’s roll-over on the Charlie Crist situation is any indication, the Republicans may not have the stomach even for these fights. (CNSNews.com - Wanted: A Fighting Party)