But Feinstein isn’t so forthright when it comes to the politics of immigration — specifically, the amazingly cynical way the Obama White House has used the issue as a club to beat up Republicans.

Consider the big crisis at the border in recent months in which children fleeing Central America arrived in Texas in the tens of thousands in the belief that they would get “permiso” to stay in the U.S. The president on June 28 told The New York Times of his intention to deal with the problem in a story headlined “Obama to Seek Funds to Stem Border Crossings and Speed Deportations.” On July 8, he wrote a letter to Congress asking for $3.73 billion in emergency funding to deal with the crisis and implement his plan.

No White House ‘fingerprints’ on legislation

But as Politico reported Monday, the president’s private actions didn’t match his public comments. His administration didn’t even want to be associated with a specific plan.

The White House fax arrived at the Senate on July 22 with no letterhead attached and an almost Onion-like heading: “Deliberative Pre-decisional Technical Assistance.”

Days before, on July 17, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson had met with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to discuss changes in law sought by President Barack Obama to speed the deportation of unaccompanied child migrants who had been crossing the Rio Grande from Central America in record numbers.

The three and a half pages of draft legislation — faxed to Feinstein’s office — represented the work of attorneys at the White House and Homeland Security trying to answer her demands that the administration be more specific.

A month later, that single fax still stands out as the closest Obama ever got to spelling out his legislative proposal.

Even then, as the obscure title suggests, there were no public commitments, no presidential fingerprints. And the White House still refuses requests from POLITICO to see the draft, the outlines of which were described by several people familiar with the document. …

Obama, trained at Harvard Law and surrounded by attorneys, never spelled out the changes in law he wanted — changes that would directly affect child migrants, who most often have no attorneys of their own.

She ‘was said to be too focused on other matters’

This is not the behavior of a president who wants to solve an issue. It is the behavior of a president who wants an issue to remain unresolved — or who wants to act unilaterally to address the issue using a dubious, expansive interpretation of his executive authority.

And who is enabling it? Feinstein.

Repeated requests by POLITICO to speak to the senator were rejected. Written questions were submitted in advance and went unanswered. The California Democrat, as chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, was said to be too focused on other matters. Instead her press office referred a reporter to the senator’s floor speech July 30 — a speech that said nothing about the fax.

Both parties can be said to have hypocritical streaks on immigration. Republicans are perceived to be the biggest roadblocks to comprehensive immigration reform, but their strongest faction — business interests — welcome changes that will bring more cheap workers to America. Some GOPers’ rhetoric on the issue simply doesn’t match how they use their power.

But there’s something breathtaking about Democrats’ cynicism. In 2009-10, Dems controlled Congress and the White House. They could have passed immigration reform if they wanted. But they didn’t, instead putting their energy behind passing the massive stimulus bill in 2009 and Obamacare in 2010. And after the House went Republican in November 2010, a reason for this inaction became obvious.

It allowed Dems to bash GOPers on immigration on an ongoing basis going forward.

Now, with the border kids, the pattern repeats itself — with the assistance of Dianne Feinstein, who has spent her entire career cultivating the image of a smart public servant who skips much of the usual posturing and preening seen in Washington.

On this issue, she’s not a California Dem. She’s just another Chicago Dem, playing cynical hardball with the lives of thousands of kids.

By Katy Grimes

A startling announcement early this morning caught many Californians off guard: Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano is resigning and moving to California to head the University of California system.

This is a real eyebrow-raiser, and just more proof that everything in California is political, including our college system.

UC regents obviously made this decision behind closed doors.

Some say Napolitano’s career with the Obama administration has run its course, particularly given her lack of success with always contentious immigration issues.  And where does a career politician go when that career has run its course? Right to California to become the first female president of the already broken University of California system.

There is the possibility the UC system job is an entre for Napolitano into California politics. She may even be eyeing U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein’s senate seat.

“I’m not sure if this counts as failing sideways or downwards, but Janet Napolitano, best known for implementing a wholly imaginary form of homeland security, is retiring to pursue her love of overseeing completely dysfunctional organizations,” Daniel Greenfield with Front Page magazine reported.

Napolitano certainly cannot be considered successful at Homeland Security, given the recent terrorism activities in the Boston Marathon bombing by the Tsarnaev brothers.

The decision

“’While some may consider her to be an unconventional choice, Secretary Napolitano is without a doubt the right person at the right time to lead this incredible university,” Sherry Lansing, the regent and former film industry executive who headed the search committee, said in a statement being released Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“In an era of tight budgets, public universities are seeking leaders who can bargain as peers with governors and legislators and also impress alumni and parents,” the Times said. “Napolitano will deal with Gov. Jerry Brown, who is a UC regent and has been pressing UC to move more quickly into online education and to improve graduation rates.”

Not everyone is happy with this decision. “It’s disappointing to see an individual with such a poor record on civil liberties and government transparency selected to run the University of California,” former California Senator and now  Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-CA, said. “University of California students can look forward to the same authoritarian management style Secretary Napolitano brought to the Department of Homeland Security, hardly a bastion of free speech and open government. While I am pleased to see her leave Homeland Security, Napolitano’s views are entirely incompatible with the UC system’s history of civil liberties and the decision to appoint her is perplexing,” according to the Sacramento Bee.

Who is Janet Napolitano?

Ever wonder if America is a police state? Wonder no more. Reports the Daily Mail:

“Two British tourists were barred from entering America after joking on Twitter that they were going to ‘destroy America’ and ‘dig up Marilyn Monroe’.

“Leigh Van Bryan, 26, was handcuffed and kept under armed guard in a cell with Mexican drug dealers for 12 hours after landing in Los Angeles with pal Emily Bunting.

“The Department of Homeland Security flagged him as a potential threat when he posted an excited tweet to his pals about his forthcoming trip to Hollywood which read: ‘Free this week, for quick gossip/prep before I go and destroy America’.

“After making their way through passport control at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) last Monday afternoon the pair were detained by armed guards.

“Despite telling officials the term ‘destroy’ was British slang for ‘party’, they were held on suspicion of planning to ‘commit crimes’ and had their passports confiscated.

We’re tyrannized over by a bunch of dumb thugs. They don’t understand that British English is different from American English. They don’t want you to have fun. They don’t want you to party. They want you to obey, pay taxes and shut up.

And note that the government spies on Twitter, as it does on Facebook. Big Brother not only is watching you, he’s reading everything you write.

Welcome to 1984 — in 2012.

Jan. 30, 2012

Here’s another viewpoint on “Big Sis” Janet Napolitano’s Heimat Security Police state:

Feb. 20, 2011