Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) Yells Out "You Lie" When President Obama Says His Health Care Bill Won't Mandate Coverage for Illegal Immigrants

Once again, the Republican Party shows that it has no class. During President Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress tonight regarding health care reform, Republican Congressman Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) yelled out "lie" when the President said his health care bill would not mandate coverage for illegal immigrants. I can't recall hearing any member of Congress interrupt President George W. Bush or President Bill Clinton during their address to Congress. Why should President Obama be continually subjected to such crass behavior at the hands of his opponents? We have lost all sense of decorum in this country. This is a travesty and this congressman is a disgrace.

I can't recall hearing Rep. Wilson calling Governor Sanford a liar and a cheat when he left his office to go for a booty call in South America. Sen. John McCain, during an appearance on CNN after the president's speech, said Wilson's outburst was "totally disrespectful -- [there's] no place for it in that setting or any other and he should apologize immediately." Now, that's the John McCain I liked before the presidential campaign. First Lady Michelle Obama, overhead in the visitors' gallery, shook her head from side to side.

FactCheck.org described the claims made by Rep. Joe Wilson as "false" and noted that one version of the legislation already includes an explicit bar on federal funding for illegal immigrants' health care. There is an http://act.ly/iqpetition going viral, asking @CongJoeWilson to apologize for yelling "YOU LIE" in President Obama's speech.

If you'd like to sign,please click here. 

UPDATE #1: Joe Wilson is being challenged by Rob Miller for SC-02. You can donate to Miller's ActBlue page here.

UPDATE #2: In less than two hours, challenger Rob Miller has raised over $11K. Joe Wilson is shaking like a leaf at the outrage being leveled at him and the prospect that this outburst could, and should, cost him reelection. He has issued the following apology:

“This evening I let my emotions get the best of me when listening to the President’s remarks regarding the coverage of illegal immigrants in the health care bill. While I disagree with the President’s statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the President for this lack of civility.”

UPDATE #3: True to form, Fox News stepped up to the plate and showed just have right wing they are. On Fox Business News, Karl Rove and host Neil Cavuto thought Wilson shouting at the President was hilarious. "Joe Wilson, good guy," said Rove. "Lovely," agreed Cavuto.

Sorry, but if he wasn't called out on his despicable behavior, he would not have apologized. These are the bottom feeders who are making decisions for Americans. Time for this moron to go back to South Carolina!

UPDATE #4: It turns out that Joe Wilson was once a member of Sons of Confederate Veterans. According to Crooks and Liars, this is an organization that, as the SPLC has detailed assiduously, has been taken over in the past decade by radical neo-Confederates who favor secession and defend slavery as a benign institution. Leading the takeover is a radical racist named Kirk Lyons, who's been an important legal figure on the far right for some years.

Joe Wilson, as a state legislator, was one of only seven Republicans to go against their own party and vote to keep the Dixie Rebel flag flying over the South Carolina capitol:

The flag came down that year after Republicans in both houses went for a compromise that would put it on Statehouse grounds at the Confederate Soldier’s monument. The “Magnificent Seven” of Senators who voted to keep the flag up included current Congressman Joe Wilson (who I served with in the 218th Infantry Brigade of the National Guard.) Source: Crooks and Liars

Joe Wilson's contact information:

Joe Wilson
South Carolina-2nd, Republican
212 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515-4002
Phone: (202) 225-2452

Wilson Joe Congressman
1700 Sunset Blvd
West Columbia, SC 29169 Map
(803) 939-0041

And email him at http://www.joewilson.house.gov/

To watch the video, CLICK HERE

Watch the entire speech:

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Canadian Government Grants White South African, Brandon Carl Huntley, Refugee Status after He Claims He Suffered Persecution Because of His Race

Brandon Carl Huntley, a white man from South Africa, was given refuge status in Canada after claiming persecution in his native country. This has undoubtedly angered many in South Africa where race remains a sensitive issue. The Immigration and Refugee Board issued its ruling late last week in Huntley's favor. I am sure this is the first time a white South African has been granted refugee status in Canada after claiming persecution by black South Africans. Funny, the tables have turned after years of apartheid and continuing economic and social woes in South Africa.

Huntley argued that whites are targeted by black criminals in South Africa and that the government does nothing to protect them. He claimed he was attacked seven times during attempted robberies and muggings. His attorney Russell Kaplan, a South African native who moved to Canada 20 years, said in an interview that tribunal panel chair William Davis ruled that Huntley would stand out like a "sore thumb" due to his color in any part of South Africa and that Kaplan's fears of persecution are justified based on the evidence he submitted.

In his its written decision, Davis said "I find that the claimant was a victim because of his race (white South African) rather than a victim of criminality." It also said that Huntley "has presented clear and convincing proof of the state's inability or unwillingness to protect him."

Sorry, but given the history of South Africa, I find it very hard to believe that this man was picked on repeatedly due to the color of his skin without any police intervention. I hope that the Canadian government will grant blacks from South Africa seeking refugee status the same consideration. We all know that South Africa has one of the highest crime rates in the world, as well as one of the highest unemployment rates, so to claim he's being persecuted because he is white is sensational, at best. It's ironic that Huntley made a refugee claim in 2008 after staying in Canada illegally for a year with a work permit.

Sheriff's Deputy Jonathan Bleiweiss, 29, Accused of Sexual Abuse, Was Fighter for Gay Rights in his Agency and Local Community

Jonathan Bleiweiss, 29, was considered a pioneering sheriff's deputy who fought discrimination within his agency earlier in this career. But documents released yesterday portray the openly gay officer as a manipulative sex offender who preyed on illegal immigrants too scared to contact authorities. According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, he would act like a jilted lover when the men would not return his calls or text messages, according to those records, based on victims' accounts. He was arrested Monday and faces 14 charges, among them three counts of sexual battery by a person in authority, four counts of battery and one count of stalking. He's accused of intimidating at least eight men in his Oakland Park patrol district into performing sex acts with him during traffic stops.

Investigators said they opened the case in April, after learning a deputy was committing the assaults. Officials on Tuesday declined to say when Bleiweiss became a suspect.He was removed from road patrol in mid-July, only after there was substantive proof to make a case, said Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright. The court documents state the men positively identified Bleiweiss from a photo lineup starting in July.

Court records show most of the alleged attacks followed a pattern: The victims were fondled during pat-downs following early-morning traffic stops. Some were coerced to give up cell phone numbers and agreed to meet for future sexual encounters. In all cases, the men told investigators they felt they could not refuse the uniformed deputy's demands without a reprisal.

According to the affidavit, an illegal immigrant from Mexico told an investigator he endured five different incidents with Bleiweiss between April 22 and June 7.The man said Bleiweiss fondled him and whispered Spanish obscenities before molesting him. After the incident, Bleiweiss allegedly continued to call and text message the man days later, pressuring him to meet up again."Que pasa, amigo?" read one message after the man did not reply. The man said he pleaded with Bleiweiss to stop assaulting him during other similar encounters, insisting he only liked women. A second man, also from Mexico, said he was assaulted on three separate occasions. Source: South Florida Sun Sentinel

I do not condone illegal immigration under any circumstance, but it is common knowledge that they are walking targets who are reluctant to report any attacks out of fear of being deported. The bigger issue for me is that fact that Mr. Bleiweiss, if found guilty in a court of law, has essentially pulled the wool over everyone's eyes. His behavior affects the community at large, as well as the gay community. It also reinforces the distrust many Latinos and blacks have of law enforcement.

Bleiweiss was nominated in January by Sgt. John Nash for Employee of the Year in the Oakland Park district. In his nomination letter, Nash included a long list of Bleiweiss' heroics, including making well over 100 arrests in the city. Bleiweiss was also lauded for organizing a 30-person Broward Sheriff's Office AIDS Walk team for two years in a row. A story in the South Florida Blade, a gay weekly, detailed the deputy's accomplishments as an officer and a gay community leader. Bleiweiss told the weekly that early in his career he worked with a sergeant who routinely made jokes about him and his sexuality, and once referred to him as a "sex offender." Source: South Florida Sun Sentinel

Um, well, according to the charges, it would seem that he is a sex offender. The truth manifests itself sooner or later. His attorney, Eric Schwartzreich, stated that the allegations against his client were made by undocumented aliens and seemed to cast some doubt on the veracity of their claims. So, since one is an illegal immigrant, the natural inclination would be for that person to make up such a horrific story about this sheriff's deputy, right? What are your thoughts on this arrest and do you think it will have an impact on the local gay and law enforcement communities in Oakland Park?

Photo credit: South Florida Sun Sentinel

Michael Savage, Right Wing Radio Host, Westboro Baptist Church's Fred Phelps and Others, Banned from Entering U.K. for Allegedly Stirring Up Hatred

Right wing radio broadcaster Michael Savage and the pastors of Westboro Baptist Church have been banned from entering the United Kingdom for allegedly stirring-up hatred and fostering extremism, according to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith. You will recall that Michael Savage, whose real name is Michael Alan Weiner, was one of those right wing nutjobs, engaging in hate-mongering last week when they said the illegal aliens from Mexico were bringing the swine flu across the border into the United States.

It's actually a little comical that he has been declared "persona non grata" by our allies. He has authored books such as “Liberalism is a Mental Disorder” and was one of 22 foreigners named by Smith as ineligible to visit Britain. She published a list of those banned between October 2008 and March 2009 for “fostering extremism or hatred.

The other nutjob, Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church, which preaches against homosexuals, and fellow church spokeswoman Shirley Phelps-Roper, were also banned for “unacceptable behavior” that might stir up “inter-community violence” in the U.K.

Phelps and Savage find themselves in a crowd of hardline nuts. Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government is reportedly government now is banning about five people a month under the current policy, more than double the previous rate. Preachers Abdullah Qadri Al Ahdal, Yunis Al Astal, Safwat Hijazi and Amir Siddique were also banned, the U.K. said. Also on the list were Mike Guzovsky, the leader of a violent group, and the creator of a white supremacist Web site Stormfront, Stephen Donald Black.

“Coming to the U.K. is a privilege, and I refuse to extend that privilege to individuals who abuse our standards and values to undermine our way of life,” Smith said in an e-mail today. “I will not hesitate to name and shame those who foster extremist views. They are not welcome here.” Source: Bloomberg

So, I guess Savage will rant on the radio this morning about his new status. Hah. This is too funny. Let's see how he feels now that the shoe is on the other foot, now that he's no more welcome in England than an illegal immigrant.