Current Events and the Psychology of Politics
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Summary: Among Republican presidential candidates, only Rep. Michele Bachmann is given relatively high marks by proponents of limited immigration and enforcing immigration law — though even Bachmann has been relatively muted on the issue of immigration. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on August 25, 2010, Aubrey Immelman featured a biographical profile of U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann by Paul Harris of the London Observer, annotated with sidebars for context and background information.


Feb 5th, 2011

Summary: Arizona’s new immigration law, which allows law enforcement officers to stop people and demand proof of legal immigration status, is having a ripple effect across the nation as state legislatures in at least 15 states introduce legislation closely modeled on Arizona’s law. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on February 5, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that the U.S. was preparing a major attack on the Taliban to reverse their gains in the Kandahar region of southern Afghanistan, that militants were being squeezed in their Pakistan sanctuaries, and that the Afghan government was trying to draw them into peace talks. Meanwhile, in Iraq, a bomb on a parked motorcycle exploded on the outskirts of the holy city of Karbala, killing at least 20 Shiite pilgrims and wounding 110.


Dec 26th, 2010

Summary: In a matter of weeks, with a new Republican-controlled House of Representatives, Congress will go from trying to put illegal aliens on a path to citizenship to debating whether children born to parents who are in the country illegally should continue to enjoy automatic U.S. citizenship. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on December 26, 2009, Aubrey Immelman reported that U.S. agencies were looking into whether al-Qaida extremists in Yemen directed Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab and provided him with the explosives used in the failed bombing of Northwest Flight 253 over Detroit.


Dec 9th, 2010

Summary: By a vote of 216-198, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the so-called Dream Act — legislation that would give hundreds of thousands of foreign-born youth brought into the country illegally a path to legal status. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on December 9, 2009, Aubrey Immelman provided his weekly report of U.S. military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan.



Summary: The federal government has delivered a stinging blow against The People, granting an injunction against key provisions of Arizona’s new immigration law, enacted to counter the federal government’s dereliction of duty in securing the border and enforcing the law of the land. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on July 28, 2009 Aubrey Immelman provided his weekly report of U.S. military deaths in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), compiled from U.S. Department of Defense News Releases.


Jun 25th, 2010

Summary: Lawmakers or candidates in nearly 20 states are pushing for tougher anti-illegal immigration measures similar to Arizona’s sweeping new immigration law. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on June 25, 2009 Aubrey Immelman reported that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused U.S. President Barack Obama of behaving like his White House predecessor George W. Bush, calling on Obama to apologize for what he called U.S. interference following Iran’s disputed elections. Against that background, Immelman provided links to psychological profiles of Ahmadinejad, Bush, and Obama developed at his Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics.


Apr 23rd, 2010

Summary: Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer ignored criticism from President Barack Obama and signed into law a bill supporters said would take handcuffs off police in dealing with illegal immigration in Arizona, the nation’s busiest gateway for human and drug smuggling from Mexico. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on April 23, 2009, Aubrey Immelman reported that suicide bombers struck a humanitarian aid distribution point and a crowded restaurant in separate attacks in Iraq, killing at least 78 people.


Jan 15th, 2010

Summary: The Obama administration will allow Haitians who were in the United States illegally prior to the January 12, 2010 Haiti earthquake to remain in the country for 18 months under temporary protected status. Some critics oppose temporary protected status because of its potential to turn into a de facto backdoor to amnesty. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on January 15, 2009, Aubrey Immelman reported that British foreign secretary David Miliband said the phrase “war on terror” — though capturing the urgency of the situation immediately following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 — is ultimately “misleading and mistaken,” because it gives the impression of a unified, transnational enemy, embodied in the figure of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida.


Dec 15th, 2009

Summary: PolitiFact, the Pulitzer Prize-winning project of the St. Petersburg Times to find the truth in American politics, has announced its “Lie of the Year” contest to find the most significant political falsehood of 2009, with U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann among the eight nominees. … Talking Points Memo has announced the 3rd Annual Golden Duke Awards (named in honor of disgraced Congressmann Randy “Duke” Cunningham) recognizing excellence in public corruption, betrayals of the public trust, and generally shameless behavior, with Rep. Michele Bachmann a serious contender in the “Meritorious Achievement in The Crazy” and “Best Public Policy-based Fib” categories. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on December 15, 2008, Aubrey Immelman reported that an Iraqi reporter hurled his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush on a farewell visit to Baghdad, shouting in Arabic, “This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, you dog.”


Jul 15th, 2009

Summary: One-year retrospective of the launch of Aubrey Immelman’s campaign against incumbent U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann for the Republican nomination in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, July 15, 2008. One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on the first day of his campaign, Aubrey Immelman issued his position statement on illegal immigration, one of the three core issues in his congressional campaign (the two other key issues being law enforcement and national security).