Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held the first of many hearings on comprehensive immigration reform. In the seven and a half hour hearing, senators debated 32 of the three hundred proposed amendments to the bill, and adopted 21 of the changes. The proposals ranged from plans to correct technical immigration issues, to Sen. Ted Cruz's amendment to triple the number of border control agents, to Sen. Jeff Sessions' proposal to construct a 700 mile, double-layered fence along our Southern border.

Thankfully, Senators voted down the most extreme amendments that were offered, but there's still cause for concern over the proposals they accepted. One of the most contentious changes agreed upon can from Republican Senator Chuck Grassley. It mandates that the Department of Homeland Security submit a plan to stop 90 percent of illegal border crossings in high-risk areas, before undocumented individuals already living here can even apply for so-called “provisional immigrant” status. This provision is only slightly better than Grassley's rejected, poison-pill amendment, which set unattainable benchmarks that DHS had to meet before any pathway to citizenship would be considered.

After losing the Hispanic vote in the 2012 election, Republicans have attempted to paint themselves as pro-immigration, but it's all an act. The racist and unrealistic GOP amendments in this legislation show they have no real desire to fix our nation's immigration problem. As the Senate Judiciary Committee debates the hundreds of remaining amendments over the coming months, we must prevent these poison-pill provisions from making immigration reform meaningless. Call your Senators and tell them to fight these racist amendments, and support provisions that actually fix our broken immigration system.

-Thom

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Thursday's Daily Stack

Hour One: Free market anarchist wants everyone to have a wiki gun
- Cody Wilson, Defense Distributed

Article: "‘World’s first 3-D printable handgun’ under fire" by Dylan Stableford.

Article: "Darrell Issa Acknowledges He Learned Nothing New From His Benghazi Hearing" by Ben Armbruster.

Case: "Marbury v. Madison", 1803.

Article: "First Amendment to the United States Constitution".

Article: "4th Amendment".

Article: "15th Amendment".

Article: "Heritage Study Author: ‘Hispanic Immigrants Will Have Low-IQ Children’" by Zack Beauchamp.

Article: "J Curve" (James Chowning Davies) by Wikipedia.

Article: "Toward a theory of revolution" by J. C. Davies.

Article: "Tuskegee syphilis experiment" by Wikipedia.

Case: "Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission" (2010).

Book: " What Would Jefferson Do?" by Thom Hartmann.

Article: "STUDY: In Supreme Court’s Past 65 Years, George W. Bush’s Two Appointees Most Likely To Side With Business Interests" by Nicole Flatow.

Site: "White Rose SOciety".

Article: "Chapter One: Bring My Job Home!" of "Rebooting the American Dream: 11 Ways to Rebuild Our Country" by Thom Hartmann.

Article: "Unequal Protection, Part I: Corporations Take Over" by Thom Hartmann.

Book: "Unequal Protection: How Corporations Became "People" - And How You Can Fight Back" by Thom Hartmann - new updated version out now!

Book: "Rebooting the American Dream: 11 Ways to Rebuild Our Country" by Thom Hartmann.

Case: "Plessy v. Ferguson", 1896.

Site: "Progressive Democrats of America".

Site: Move to Amend

Site: Governor Free Don Siegelman.

"Save the Post Office"
- Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR, 4th District)

Article: "Congressman Finally Takes Action To Remove Needless Requirement Bankrupting The Postal Service" by Annie-Rose Strasser.

Article: "Sign DeFazio's USPS Petition To The White House" by Sen. DeFazio.

Article: "HR 630, Postal Service Protection Act" by Sen. DeFazio.

Hour Two: Shouldn't we keep the NRA and Joe Camel away from our kids?
- Mike Papantonio, Ring of Fire Radio

Article: "Boy, 5, Kills Sister, 2, With Children's Rifle".

Article: "Counterinsurgency Cops: Military tactics fight street crime" by CBS.

Article: "NRA Youth Magazine Recommends Kids Build Indoor Home Shooting Ranges" by Zack Beauchamp.

Chained CPI
- Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR, 4th District)

Article: "Lawmakers Introduce Targeted Wall Street Trading Tax" by Sen. DeFazio.

Movie: "HEIST: Who Stole the American Dream?".

Book: "Cracking the Code: How to Win Hearts, Change Minds, and Restore America's Original Vision" by Thom Hartmann.

Movie: The 11th Hour (DVD), Leonardo DiCaprio.

Book: "The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight: Revised and Updated: The Fate of the World and What We Can Do Before It's Too Late" by Thom Hartmann.

Article: "Stamp Out Hunger food drive", Saturday 11 May, by USPS.

Quote: "It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried." by Sir Winston Churchill.

Talk Radio News Segment:
- Ellen Ratner, Bureau Chief

Site: "Goats for the old Goat".

Article: "Senate panel takes on mammoth immigration bill" by UPI.

Article: "House of Representatives Passes Legislation Authored by Congressman McClintock, H.R. 807 (the Full Faith and Credit Act) (Video)".

Article: "Boehner Under Renewed Pressure to Create New Benghazi Probe" by Melanie Batley.

Article: "Boston Bombing Hearing Raises Questions Over Local And Federal Cooperation" by Charlotte Gibson.

Hour Three: Will DNA tests be allowed for Willie Jerome Manning?
- Vanessa Potkin, The Innocence Project

Article: "Death row inmate Willie Jerome Manning gets reprieve" by Geoff Pender and Emily Lane.

Article: "Willie Jerome Manning stay of execution".

Article: "DNA tests denied for Death Row inmate" by Campbell Robertson.

Article: "Mississippi Supreme Court Issues Stay of Execution of Willie Jerome Manning".

Geeky Science - think twice before you diss snow!

Article: "Snow Cover Decline Risks Species: Climate Change Melts Wintry Blanket".

Article: "LA Occupy Group Briefly Shuts Down Wells Fargo Branch" by Dan Bluemel.

Article: "The Benghazi Affair: Uncovering the Mystery of the Benghazi CIA Annex" by Ronda Hauben.

Article: "Benghazi whistleblower: Has diplomat Gregory Hicks suffered for speaking out? (+video)" by Peter Grier.

Article: "Paula Broadwell 'leaked secret details of Benghazi probe during speech' as it emerges Petraeus' testimony will be postponed" by Meghan Keneally and Lydia Warren.

The good: Stephen Colbert: "ripped on conservatives for their aversion to environmentally friendly products" (8 May 2013 show at 9:20).

The bad: "Boston Marathon Conspiracy Theories: Glenn Beck Claims Government Cover-Up Of Saudi National Involvement; Is Barack Obama Responsible?".

The very, very ugly: "NRA Convention Sells "Ex-Girlfriend" Target That Bleeds When You Shoot It" by Kristen Gwynne.

Video: "Geeky Science: Guess What Conservatives Won't Buy?".

Article: "Amazon Pulls Bleeding Ex-Girlfriend Shooting Target After Outcry" by Aviva Shen.

Letter: "The omission of a bill of rights" from Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, December 20, 1787. "I will now add what I do not like..."

Article: "Constitution of the United States" Article 1, section 8". "The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States;"

Article: "Report on the Subject of Manufactures" by Alexander Hamilton.

Article: "Madison's notes on the Constitutional Convention of 1787" by James Madison.

Video: "FDR Second Bill of Rights Speech Footage".

Article: "Decentralize Or Die!" by Brandon Smith.

Article: "Elizabeth Warren: Student Loans Should Have Same Rate Big Banks Get " by Ryan Grim, Will Wrigley

Article: "Shell to develop world’s deepest offshore oil platform" by Reuters.

Article: "Qld company claims world's biggest tea bag" by Jo Skinner.

Hour One: If it's Friday, it's "Brunch With Bernie"... the honorable Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will be here with all the news from our nation's capitol and as always he'll be spending the hour taking your calls and answering your questions too...

Plus, It's Anything Goes on Townhall Friday...you choose the topics and we'll talk...

Hour Two: 7 year-old boy suspended for pencil "gun"...
- Tommy Christopher, Mediaite.com

Hour Three: Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive (happening tomorrow, Saturday 5/11...collect & bag non-perishable food items and leave by your mailbox for your letter carrier to collect tomorrow)
- Ross Fraser, Feeding America

Next Friday (5/17) it's Brunch With Bernie...on the road...from Plainfield, VT! Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) & I will be coming to you from WGDR...Goddard College Community Radio...(91.1FM Plainfied, 91.7 FM Hardwick)...PLUS, Saturday evening (5/18) - Goddard College presents the "Alternative Media Conference" featuring Keynote Speakers 'yours truly' & Ellen Ratner...for tickets & info, go to: goddard.edu

And, the best of the rest of the news and your calls right here on...

The Thom Hartmann Program...your media support group for "we the people"...

We'll have all the news & information you may have missed from the weekend as well as a look at what Congress is up to this week...

And the best of the rest of the news along with your calls right here on...

The Thom Hartmann Program, Occupying The Media 3 hours a day 5 days a week" for "we the people"...Democracy is NOT a spectator sport...it begins with you...