By Debbie Schlussel
While cowardly Senators were quick to confirm Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Chieftess Julie L. Myers a/k/a “The ICE Princess,” it appears she’s not too quick to do anything . . . even outside her office window. I received this e-mail from one of her many demoralized ICE agents:

There is a large construction site next door to the ICE headquarters building in DC. There are hundreds of employees doing construction at this site, many of whom are believed to be undocumented aliens from Central America. You can literally throw a stone and hit the site from the headquarters side of the street. Are we doing anything about it? Of course not. An illegal alien is always safest right outside the building it wood seem. It is believed there are even quite a few working inside HQ as food servers, etc.

Who knows, but it certainly wouldn’t surprise me. Most amazing as of late is that during the ICE Christmas party she said “ICE is the envy of other federal agencies.” Which ones would that be? Perhaps those obscure federal agencies in developing countries? Certainly we aren’t the envy of any agencies here in the United States. Luckily, no one showed up at the party as Santa in “Black face.” . . .
The abscence of leadership here is grotesque! Here is to another year of more of the same.

Do you really think that The ICE Princess would allow illegal aliens to work as foodservers even in her own building? Don’t rule it out. While she’d probably try to avoid that embarrassment, she was, after all, the person who gave an award to a “Blackface” costume. And, as I reported after Hurrican Katrina struck, agents told me that ICE employed illegal alien foodservers in New Orleans to feed agents who were workin in relief efforts. So, nothing is beyond the pale when a clownette is running the show.
P.T. Barnum and Ringling had nothing on this circus. Feliz Navidad!

By Debbie Schlussel
Yesterday, after I posted the videos of Genesis’ “Turn It On Again,” yesterday, and extolled the virtues and talents of lead singer Phil Collins, I received a number of inquiries from Jewish readers regarding rumors that have long swirled about Collins in the Jewish community.
When I was a kid, I heard the story that at a Genesis concert in Great Britain, Collins asked all of the Jewish attendees to leave because he supports the Palestinians. And there are other incarnations of the story, alleging that he gave money to the P.L.O., etc. Because of these rumors, many Jews believe Phil Collins is anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, and pro-P.L.O. But while I never knew whether or not the stories were true, I looked into them a while ago, and I believe they are urban legends. That’s why I had no qualms about praising Genesis and Colins and posting its videos.

(No, I did not check the fallacious Snopes, which needs to be Snoped, itself. They get so many things wrong, and I’m not sure who appointed these liberals at that site King of the Truth. They ain’t.)
In October, just after the Genesis reunion tour hit Detroit, I saw my friend, Rolling Stones and Billboard writer and rock critic, Gary Graff, at a roundtable interview of Jerry Seinfeld. Gary is Jewish, and I told him about these stories. He’d probably know about them, if they were true. He said he thought they were preposterous and that Collins has a lot of Jewish staffers, something which I already knew from this announcement of the Genesis reunion tour, where many Genesis PR and tour officials identify themselves as Jews. (That, however, doesn’t prove a thing, since Jews are often the first to embrace pan-Islamist apologism.)
I have checked and checked, and I could never find anything confirming any of the stories about Collins’ alleged anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment. But I did find this: In 2005, after years of major recording artists cancelling concerts in Israel because of Palestinian terrorism and security issues, Phil Collins was the first to announce a major concert appearance there. His announcement spurred lots of other major artists to follow suit and was a huge coup for Israel after years of Passover Massacres, blown up pizza shops, cafes, and bars, and countless other Palestinian mass-murders there.
True, it was Collins’ first performance ever in Israel, and it’s curious why he and/or Genesis never appeared in the State before in their decades-long career of international concert tours. Still, if he truly hated Jews and Israel, I doubt he’d perform there now and be the pioneer in doing so, post-9/11. It’s hard to believe–even with alimony payments to three ex-wives and child support for many of his progeny–that Phil Collins suddenly became that hard up for money in 2005 that he suddenly gave up a long-running hatred for Israel (if one truly existed) in order to perform there.
Also, there is a well-known Phil Collins–not the same guy as the Genesis lead singer–who is also British. He is a pro-Palestinian, pan-Islamist photographer and videographer, whose exhibits are very anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian. And that may be a source of the confusion. (Some of his amateurish pro-Palestinian videos are up on YouTube.)
And then there’s this discussion from IsraellyCool, which appears to debunk the whole set of rumors as myth, including a purported report from Phil Collins’ agent.
Based on all of this information, I have to conclude that the allegations against Phil Collins are mythical and false. And if that’s the case, I’m glad.
Fred Taub of Boycott Watch said he, too, hasn’t been able to find anything to confirm the rumors about Phil Collins, but he’s looking into it further. If you know otherwise or have any information on this, please share it with us.

By Debbie Schlussel
This morning, I received an insulting e-mail from one cowardly Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) contractor (that is the claim, anyway)–not an agent–who refused to identify him/herself, accusing me of “putting yourself out yesterday declaring Myers as toast.”
But I never said (or wrote) that. My credibility is important, which is why I said she was one day from being toast, which was true. Not the same thing as saying it’s a done deal, which I never said. In fact, the headline of the post specifically says, “ICE Princess Nomination ONE DAY From Official Toast”. What part of “One Day From” did the angry ICE e-mailer not understand?

(Julie Myers Diet Coke by David Lunde/Lundesigns)
The e-mailer in question–and anyone else who feels that way–needs a refresher course in reading comprehension. As you will note, if you actually read my entry from yesterday afternoon, I never said the Myers nomination was over for certain. In fact, I was very careful not to say that and put in many words to note that. I also noted the possible opportunities there still were for her to be confirmed, such as a unanimous consent vote.
I said I was 95% sure, meaning there was a 5% chance she’d be confirmed. I also said she was one day from toast, meaning there was still another day to go and a chance something would happen during that time. Unfortunately, something happened in that one day that changed things. I specifically wrote that The ICE Princess could still be confirmed by a Unanimous Consent vote, which is exactly what happened.
Those who thought she was finished for sure didn’t read what I wrote. I did my research and had three conversations with the office of the Clerk of the Senate. I reported what the Clerk’s staff told me and explained the schedule and what could happen. And I made other calls. I did what was necessary, short of consulting G-d and Nostradamus. Here’s an excerpt from the 100% accurate piece I wrote yesterday, with the words the angry e-mailer obviously missed in bold and underlined. RIF (Reading Is Fundamental):

In Case You Were Wondering, ICE Princess Nomination One Day From Official Toast
. . . I’m 95% certain that The ICE Princess is toast. [DS: That means I’m not 100% certain.]
Because she is serving a recess appointment, Myers must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate by the end of the year. I’ve contacted the Clerk of the U.S. Senate, and they have no further votes scheduled for the full Senate, today.
Plus, the Senate is scheduled to be in “pro forma” session, beginning on Friday for the rest of the year. No legislation, including nominations, can be voted on during a pro forma session. That means–unless the Senate decides to change its schedule, which is highly unlikely–tomorrow is the last day on which the Senate can confirm Ms. Myers. Right now, no such vote is scheduled.
She can still be confirmed by “unanimous consent” tomorrow, but Barack Obama–assuming he’d return from the Iowa campaign trail–said he’d vote against her. Plus, there’s her hubby’s cousin, Senator Kit Bond and his fellow Missourian, Claire McCaskill. Both also oppose Myers. Ditto for Harry Reid. So this probably won’t happen either.
It looks like she is gone, real soon. . . .
Now, a baby may finally have a mother and at least one parent instead of a nanny. And America may finally get someone with real law enforcement experience and dedication. . . .

Remember, I’m not the one who chose Julie Myers for this job (she chose herself). I’m not the one who repeatedly nominated this incompetentess (that was President Bush). And I’m not the one who voted to confirm her (that was the wimpy U.S. Senate).
Those parties should be the target of your ire, not me or this site. My only crime: Doing my homework, making phone calls and asking questions, and reporting it back to you. I never claimed to be a psychic hotline, and I can’t be there to make sure you read every word accurately.
But I hope you do. And I appreciate your continued readership. Thanks.
Now, go stock up on Diet Cokes. The ICE Princess may be galavanting through your town, soon, on a Federal Holiday.

By Debbie Schlussel
Well, unfortunately, it looks like I will have The ICE Princess to kick around for another year, after all. She’s BAAACK.
Earlier today, I wrote that the office of the Clerk of the U.S. Senate told me that there would be no further votes, today. Sadly, that info was incorrect. Today, the Senate voted to confirm Julie L. Myers as head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
It was not even a recorded vote, so we can’t point to Senators who voted for her and those who opposed her. Instead, Myers was lumped in with 30 Bush Administration nominees who were all confirmed in a voice vote by these cowards we call Senators. Here’s more info:

The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Julie L. Myers as director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, two years after President Bush appointed her to the position amid questions about her qualifications to lead the government’s second-largest law enforcement agency.
Myers was among more than 30 people whose appointments were approved by a voice vote of the Senate as it concluded its session. . . .
Critics also noted her personal connections within the Bush administration. She was engaged – and is now married – to John F. Wood, who was chief of staff to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and is now the U.S. attorney in Kansas City, Mo. Ret. Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is her uncle. . . .
Her appointment ran into trouble again this fall when she gave the “most original” costume award to a white employee who came to the agency’s Halloween party dressed as an escaped prisoner with dreadlocks and darkened skin. The incident drew complaints of racial insensitivity and elicited an apology from Myers.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., the Senate’s most vocal opponent of Myers’ permanent appointment as head of ICE, placed a hold on her nomination after the Halloween incident. The senator’s spokeswoman, Adrianne Marsh, said McCaskill “still believes Julie Myers isn’t focused enough on employer enforcement and she’s not the right pick, but there simply were not enough votes to oppose her nomination.”
Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said the Senate’s approval validates Myers’ hard work and accomplishments.

PUH-LEEZE. Any “hard work and accomplishments” are those of her demoralized agents. I’m told that the annual attrition rate from ICE’s Office of Investigations is now upwards of 30%. That steep increase and stark rate all happened under Myers. ICE is not a place where “misery loves company.”
Shame on Senator McCaskill for not asking for a “record roll call vote.” If there weren’t enough votes to oppose Myers, we deserved to know which Senators had the guts and principle on this issue and those who did not. Now, we will never know. And Senator McCaskill’s posturing against Myers was just that–posturing. Had she maintained her hold on Myers, there would never have been a vote. But she relented. So, she is as responsible as anyone for this debacle.
This is bad news for our country. We all know her record. And the fact that these Senators allowed her to be confirmed after she gave an award to a “Blackface” costume in this year of 2007 is beyond incredible. It’s sickening.
Expect the immigration debacle to get geometrically worse. More and more experienced, good agents will leave the agency.
With The ICE Princess back at the helm, can you blame them?
Somewhere in Washington, a nanny is very happy that she can keep her job raising Julie Myers baby, while Myers further damages America’s immigration and customs law enforcement.
And everywhere within our borders illegal aliens and terrorists know they have yet another year in which to roam free.
So, Veruca Salt got a second Golden Ticket to George W. Wonka’s ICE Factory. And in a year, the Oompa Loompas will ferret her away to squirrel-land with the nuts. It’s nominations like this that will insure the Democrats win the White House.

By Debbie Schlussel
In Judaism, when you are mourning a close relative you cannot listen to music. In mourning a parent, one is not supposed to listen to music for a year (there are other restrictions, like no concerts, movies, gatherings, parties, weddings, etc.). Since I love to listen to music, that’s been the toughest restriction on me in mourning my late father.
But nothing says I can’t post videos and music on my site for you to listen to. Would love to see these guys in concert–they are on a reunion tour which is getting rave reviews–when my mourning period is over. One of my favorite songs is this one from Genesis’ “Duke” album. I like the “Three Sides Live” version even better, so I’ve posted both. Hard to believe this song is almost 28 years old (from 1980). The conventional wisdom is that Peter Gabriel was the best of Genesis’ lead singers, but I disagree. He’s over-rated. Phil Collins’ talent–vocals AND drums–was and remains enormous. Songs like this, “Abacab,” and “Home By the Sea” are great. Have you seen them in concert? How were they?

By Debbie Schlussel
In the Detroit-area, where a festering and metastasizing Muslim minority has managed to co-opt the media, every time a Muslim hiccups, it makes the news. And every time kids at a Muslim school celebrate a holiday, that makes the news, too. Christmas parties at a Catholic or Evangelical school, who cares?
And a lot of these stories are–predictably–meant to impress upon us various areas of disinformation, such as how pro-female Islam is or how peaceful.
Take, today’s Detroit Free Press. Resident Islamist “reporter” Niraj Warikoo covers the hajj celebration at a local Muslim school The Muslim American Youth Academy is affiliated with and located on the Dearbornistan campus of the pro-Hezbollah, pan-Iranian Islamic Center of America, North America’s largest mosque.

Dearbornistan Muslim Girls Teased and Lied to in Phony Hajj Celebration
The reader is treated to various pics of Muslim girls in hijabs practicing walking around a replica of the Kaaba, the black cube Muslims worship in Mecca during the hajj. The girls are smiling, laughing, and, hey, they’ve been practicing for a month. (Not sure why you need to practice walking in circles for a whole month, but what do I know? This is Islam, after all, not known for its intellect and ingenuity in recent centuries.)
Problem is, in Mecca–at the real hajj–women, including these girls, will never get anywhere near the Kaaba. They’re simply not allowed. That’s for the men. The women are several football fields distance away in the large trampling fields of hajj activity. I suppose they should be happy that they are far from the eye of the trampling, in which hundreds are stomped to death. But, it’s not exactly the equal rights they want you to believe it is, in the local papers.
Yup, they don’t want you to know that, here in the Detroit-area Mainstream Media. That would confirm what we already believe–and know–about Islam: That it really isn’t too good to women. And they want us to believe otherwise. So we’re shown this disinformation.
Well, no-one said Taqiyyah (Islam-sanctioned lying to the infidels) wasn’t a principle of Islam.

By Debbie Schlussel
**** UPDATE: Bad News: The ICE Princess was confirmed by the U.S. Senate late today in a voice vote. ****
A number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and other interested readers are asking what’s become of the Bush nomination of Julie L. Myers a/k/a “The ICE Princess” to retain her recess-appointed post above ICE, the nation’s federal immigration enforcement and customs law agency. And there have been a ton of Google searches to this site, today, on the topic, too. I’ve been watching this closely.
Here’s the scoop: I’m 95% certain that The ICE Princess is toast.
Because she is serving a recess appointment, Myers must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate by the end of the year. I’ve contacted the Clerk of the U.S. Senate, and they have no further votes scheduled for the full Senate, today.

(Julie Myers Diet Coke by David Lunde/Lundesigns)
Plus, the Senate is scheduled to be in “pro forma” session, beginning on Friday for the rest of the year. No legislation, including nominations, can be voted on during a pro forma session. That means–unless the Senate decides to change its schedule, which is highly unlikely–tomorrow is the last day on which the Senate can confirm Ms. Myers. Right now, no such vote is scheduled.
She can still be confirmed by “unanimous consent” tomorrow, but Barack Obama–assuming he’d return from the Iowa campaign trail–said he’d vote against her. Plus, there’s her hubby’s cousin, Senator Kit Bond and his fellow Missourian, Claire McCaskill. Both also oppose Myers. Ditto for Harry Reid. So this probably won’t happen either.
It looks like she is gone, real soon. While that will be great news for America (unless her replacement is as bad or worse, like “Peppermint Patty“), I will miss having The ICE Princess to kick around. She provided a lot of great fodder and comedy. Sadly, we still have the “Serpenthead,” who I predict will continue to give DebbieSchlussel.com plenty of material. Unfortunately, he’s nowhere near resembling Veruca Salt the way The ICE Princess did in so many ways.
It’ll be tough for a certain someone to adjust to life with us little people, where you don’t have federal agents working on federal holidays, chauffeuring you around and buying you Diet Cokes.
Now, a baby may finally have a mother and at least one parent instead of a nanny. And America may finally get someone with real law enforcement experience and dedication–and a sense of patriotism to our country instead of to Islamists, lactating mothers, and her the ICE “leader’s” own selfish self–to enforce immigration and customs laws. But with Bush running the country, that’s doubtful.
Final Question: Would you like butter or jam with your TOAST?
Merry Christmas. Nice present. But don’t forget, even if and when she cleans out her desk (maybe she’s doing so now), this is something that should have happened long ago, a nomination that never should have happened.
Too little, far too late.

Daddy, I want a Golden Ticket, and I want it NOOOOOOW!!!

By Debbie Schlussel
Time to cross Nickelodeon off your list of acceptable viewing for kids.
It’s not just the left-wing, anti-war, pan-Islamist Linda Ellerbee specials on the cable sister station to MTV. It’s something else.
Remember the good old days of the ’80s, when NBC fired Dana Plato from “Diff’rent Strokes” for getting pregnant out of wedlock?
Now deceased from a drug overdose, Plato was twenty years old at the time she got pregnant by her musician boyfriend. But NBC did not feel it was appropriate for a Plato, who played a prep school teen on the inter-racial sitcom, to continue on the hit prime-time show. Her character, Kimberly Drummond, was wholesome and a role model for young girls.

Britney & Jamie-Lynn Spears
NBC had guts to fire Plato, herself the product of a 16-year-old single mother. Even though that time is now derided by liberals as the “greedy Reagan ’80s,” networks and TV programmers had better values. And so did America as a whole. Even though it’s just a generation ago, boy have we declined.
Today, young girls have Britney Spears’ little sister, Jamie-Lynn Spears, as one of their “role models.” The younger Spears, 16, stars on Nickelodeon’s “Zoe 101.” She announced yesterday to OK! Magazine that she’s pregnant, like Plato, with the kid of her musician boyfriend.
But, in stark contrast to NBC’s Dana Plato firing, Nickelodeon is happy for Spears. And very supportive. In fact, Nickelodeon proudly informs us that Spears’ pregnancy won’t get in the way of her kids show on the network. They already have enough episodes in the can.
Instead of worrying about the example Spears is setting with the young girls who watch her show Nick released this statement:

We respect Jamie Lynn’s decision to take responsibility in this sensitive and personal situation. We know this is a very difficult time for her and her family, and our primary concern right now is for Jamie Lynn’s well-being.

“Take responsibility?” It’s not apparent that Ms. Spears took any kind of responsibility, other than deciding not to get an abortion. Where is Nickelodeon’s sense of “taking responsibility”? Not a single comment urging young girls to wait before having sex. Not a single utterance even of the typical liberal pronouncement about “always practice safe sex.” Zilch about how they hope Nickelodeon’s kid audience will appreciate that this situation is not the kind that they would want to find themselves in. Nothing. Nada.
And that’s exactly the viewpoint of TV execs today, including–and especially–those whose programming targets your children. They do not care about the well-being of your children. But they do care about the continued appearance a/k/a “well-being” of Jamie-Lynn Spears on their cash cow TV show. It will continue to draw high-paying advertisers for toys and dolls and kids’ video games of all kinds. And they can’t afford to lose that by doing the right thing and terminating Spears’ contract. They won’t even risk offending her by telling their young, impressionable audience: Don’t make the mistake she made.
If there is one good thing to come of this, it’s what’s happening to the stage mother of the two dysfunctional Spears girls. Lynne Spears was set to publish a book of advice on mothering. A great title would have been: “Burn This Book.” But the publisher, Thomas Nelson Books, announced–just after the Jamie-Lynn pregnancy announcement–that the book is on hold (but not cancelled). Gee, I wonder why. Thank Heaven for small favors.

Dana Plato: Yesterday’s Jamie-Lynn Spears
Some might argue that Nickelodeon is doing the right thing, that we should have compassion for girls who “made a mistake.” After all, Dana Plato, Jamie-Lynn Spears’ ’80s counterpart, lost everything after she was fired from “Diff’rent Strokes.” She became a drug addict and porn star. After earning $100,000 per week at NBC, she lost custody of her son and was soon robbing video stores and doing jailtime for illegal Vicodin prescriptions. At age 35, she died of a drug overdose in the RV in which she was living, and her young son became motherless.
But plenty of Plato’s contemporary child stars (including her non-fired co-star Todd Bridges) led similar lives of desperation and drugs–not because they were fired for their behavior, but because child stars often don’t learn normal behavior. They are coddled no matter what. In Plato’s case, simply didn’t save any of the big bucks she earned as a star. She snorted and injected them into oblivion.
And NBC’s firing Plato didn’t spawn thousands of other girls who got pregnant out-of-wedlock and in their teens. NBC’s message was implicit: Don’t act like this. It’s unacceptable. And you will get fired and lose everything, if you do it. There will be consequences.
That’s no longer the message. And instead of a high-flying TV star losing everything over bad choices, we are losing America because girls who emulate Jamie-Lynn Spears and her sister make bad choices.
Time to turn off Nickelodeon and “Zoey 101.” And turn on a little family values 101.
If your daughter idolizes Jamie-Lynn Spears, she could end up like Dana Plato.

By Debbie Schlussel
I will be on the nationally syndicated “Michael Reagan Show,” tonight at approximately 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Listen live.

By Debbie Schlussel
If this doesn’t tell you everything about the United Nations and its sub-agency UNICEF, nothing will. Sent by reader Ari, this is the scoop of Brian C. Ledbetter of Snapped Shot. (Ari saw it on the excellent blog, Dissecting Leftism).
This is the photo UNICEF chose as its 2007 Photo of the Year. Read the caption that appeared with it, below, on the AP wire:

U.S. freelance photographer Stephanie Sinclair poses with her winning photo of the ‘UNICEF Photo of the Year 2007’ competition in Berlin, Germany, on Monday, Dec. 17, 2007. The photograph shot by U.S. freelance photographer Stephanie Sinclair shows a wedding couple in Afghanistan who could not be more opposite. The groom, Mohammed, looks much older than his 40 years. The bride, Ghulam, is still a child; she just turned 11. Stephanie Sinclair works as a freelance photographer based in Beirut, Lebanon. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Brian of Snapped Shot writes:

Recall that the agency has tasked itself with–and is held responsible for–the well-being of children around the world. [This is] how UNICEF decides to illustrate this calling.
What better way to care for the well-being of children than by celebrating the forced marriage of an 11-year-old girl to a man over 30 years her senior, right?
Good thing the United Untied Nations still has its priorities in order.

As Ari writes,

Eeuuww! Eeuuww! Eeuuww!

Couldn’t have said it better, myself.
This is how the U.N. “protects” children. And this is also Islam.