Welcome to Wednesday! We’re finally seeing some beautiful spring weather again so I’m hoping that means flowers and birds rather than itchy, watery eyes and sneezes. It’s time again for an open thread so let’s get started.
Bipartisanship! Democrats and Republicans agree – the RNC has gone too far with their fake census mailings.
Earlier this month, President Obama signed legislation that passed both the House and Senate unanimously to outlaw “deceptive” mailings disguised to look like official Census documents. Congress took up the measure after Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Michael Steele sent fundraising mailers marked with the words “census document,” and “DO NOT DESTROY OFFICIAL DOCUMENT.” But despite the new law, a number of news outlets report the RNC is continuing the send “virtually identical” phony Census forms:
An RNC mailer obtained by TPMmuckraker bears the words “Census Document” and, in all caps, “DO NOT DESTROY/OFFICIAL DOCUMENT,” on the outside of the envelope. In smaller letters, it says: “This is not a U.S. government document.” The new law requires, among other things, that such mailers state the name and address of the sender on the outside of the envelope — something the RNC’s missive doesn’t appear to do. Inside, a letter from RNC chair Michael Steele, dated April 12, asks recipients to fill out a questionnaire about their political views, and solicits donations of as much as $500 or more.
This is the second time this year that Congress has addressed these RNC mailers. The RNC doesn’t think their in technical violation of the law (apparently the word “census” appears through the screen on the envelope and is not written on the envelope). Congress will pass another law to close this loophole and the Postmaster General is investigating the mailers.
Mexicans in Arizona should carry documentation and “act carefully” after the state passed a law requiring local police to determine the immigration status of anyone suspected of being in the country illegally, Mexico’s Foreign Ministry said.
The ministry said the warning is directed toward Mexicans living, studying or planning to travel to the southwestern U.S. state, which shares a border with northern Mexico, according to the e-mailed statement sent today.
Other organizations are calling for boycotts of Arizona and companies based in Arizona.