In its developing battle with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio over alleged violations of the civil rights of Hispanics, the Justice Department appears to have blinked, backing away from an earlier threat to take the Arizona lawman to federal court immediately.

Now, the DOJ suddenly wants to talk.

Still, the Civil Rights Division under the direction of Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez has made it clear that the DOJ has no intent of proving its charges, as Arpaio has demanded.

In an email sent to WND on Jan. 5, the DOJ stated, “If MCSO wants to debate the facts instead of fixing the problems stated in our findings, we will do so by way of litigation.”

Yet, in a six-page letter delivered to Arpaio’s office Wednesday, Perez appeared to have softened his position by offering to talk, rather than going to court immediately.

“We stand ready to meet, answer questions and discuss a resolution with you and your client immediately.” Perez wrote to the sheriff’s office’s outside counsel, Joseph J. Popolizio.

In the proposed meetings, nevertheless, Perez made it clear the DOJ has no intent of showing or debating any of its alleged evidence.

“The nature and extent of the document request suggests that your real goal is not ‘transparency’ and ‘cooperation,’ but rather further delay,” Perez wrote.

Arpaio was not amused.

“I’ll be happy to meet with DOJ anytime,” Arpaio told WND. “But I believe we have a right to see the evidence DOJ says they have against us and to defend ourselves against the charges.”

Arpaio bristled that Perez presumed the charges were valid, simply because the DOJ investigated his office.

“What about our right to see the evidence and confront our accusers?” Arpaio asked.

As WND reported, some Arpaio supporters point to evidence that the Obama DOJ has launched a political campaign against the sheriff in retaliation for his decision to constitute a Cold Case Posse to investigate Obama eligibility for the Arizona ballot this fall.

Before assuming his current position with the DOJ, Perez was a board director for Casa de Maryland, a Hispanic advocacy group affiliated with the radical national organization La Raza.

In 2007, as Maryland’s labor secretary, Perez joined students to urge the Maryland legislature to approve a bill granting in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens, according to the Washington Post.

La Raza even today holds the extreme view that the United States should, as a minimum, concede back to Hispanic rule major portions of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

WND has also reported that the DOJ appears to be coordinating its actions with Randy Parraz, a California-born activist/attorney who has relocated in Arizona with the announced goal of masterminding a Saul Alinsky series of 1960-styled political protests designed to force the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to ask for Arpaio’s resignation.

“I have no intention of resigning,” Arpaio affirmed to WND.

Arpaio has announced his attention to seek a sixth term as Maricopa County sheriff in the upcoming November elections…..

Read more from Dr. Jerome Corsi, WND.com.

In his State of the Union Address, Obama proposed job training programs to end unemployment. There’s just one problem It’s been tried and failed miserably. Here’s what one of the scholars at the Heritage Foundation had to say about the matter:

More Job Training Programs on Top of All the Other Redundant and Ineffective Programs – David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D.

Tonight, President Obama called for the federal government to engage in new job training and employment initiatives, especially for the hard to employ.

Before Congress signs off on any new initiatives, we must recognize that President Obama wants to add several new programs on top of the 47 job-training programs already operated by the federal government. Further complicating the matter, the U.S. Government Accountability Office has concluded that there is little evidence that these programs are effective.

[Read more...]

One of the attorneys who fought a court case over Barack Obama’s eligibility to be president all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court says he fears that even if the U.S. Supreme Court declared Obama unqualified, he’d simply ignore the ruling and continue issuing orders.

The comments came today from Leo Donofrio, who led the pack in filing lawsuits over Obama’s 2008 election and his subsequent occupancy of the White House.

He was commenting on today’s hearing before a Georgia administrative law judge on complaints raised by several state residents that Obama is not eligible to run for the office in 2012. That hearing went on after Obama and his lawyer decided to snub the court system and refuse to participate.

A decision from the judge, Michael Malihi, is expected soon.

The Georgia residents delivered sworn testimony to a court that, among other things, Obama is forever disqualified from having his name on the 2012 presidential ballot in the state because his father never was a U.S. citizen. Because the Constitution’s requirement presidents be a “natural born citizen,” which is the offspring of two citizen parents, he is prevented from qualifying, they say.

The historic hearing was the first time that a court has accepted arguments on the merits of the controversy over Obama’s status. His critics say he never met the constitutional requirements to occupy the Oval Office, and the states and Congress failed in their obligations to make sure only a qualified president is inaugurated, while his supporters say he won the 2008 election and therefore was “vetted” by America.

In Georgia, the law requires “every candidate for federal” office who is certified by the state executive committees of a political party or who files a notice of candidacy “shall meet the constitutional and statutory qualifications for holding the office being sought.”

State law also grants the secretary of state and any “elector who is eligible to vote for a candidate” in the state the authority to raise a challenge to a candidate’s qualifications, the judge determined.

Citizens bringing the complaints include David Farrar, Leah Lax, Thomas Malaren and Laurie Roth, represented by Taitz; David Weldon represented by attorney Van R. Irion of Liberty Legal Foundation; and Carl Swensson and Kevin Richard Powell, represented by J. Mark Hatfield. Cody Judy is raising a challenge because he also wants to be on the ballot.

Donofrio’s case – like all the others that have reached the Supreme Court – simply was refused recognition….

Read more from Dave Tombers, WND.com.