Citizens

It's strange how "scandal" gets defined these days in Washington. At the moment, everyone is screaming about the "scandal" of the Internal Revenue Service scrutinizing conservative nonprofits before granting them tax-exempt status. Here are the genuine scandals in this affair: Political organizations are being allowed to masquerade as charities to avoid taxes and keep their donors secret, and the IRS has allowed them to do this for years. The bottom line first: The IRS hasn't done nearly enough over the years to rein in the subversion of the tax law by political groups claiming a tax exemption that is not legally permitted for campaign activity.

Re "The case for citizen jurors," Opinion, May 3 AB 1401 is a bill in search of a problem. The need to expand the pool of jurors to include noncitizens due to high no-show rates has no empirical support. Our no-show rate is generally predictable, which is why we summon more jurors to satisfy the need. As a Los County Superior Court judge, I have spoken to thousands of citizens answering the call of jury service. I convey to them that they should view their summons as an invitation to be considered "citizen judges" in a trial.

Vietnam veteran John Otte did his best to forget the war. He got married, raised two sons and made a career working at credit unions. But as Otte neared retirement, memories of combat flooded back. Starting in 2005, he filed a series of claims with Veterans Affairs for disability compensation, contending that many of his health problems stemmed from the war. The VA agreed, and now the 65-year-old with two Purple Hearts receives $1,900 a month for post-traumatic stress disorder and diabetes - and for having shrapnel scars on his arms.

In some parts of Koreatown and South Los Angeles, one in three adult residents is in the country illegally, according to a study released Tuesday by researchers at USC. Countywide, about one in 10 adults is an immigrant who crossed the border illegally or overstayed a visa, the study found. Many of those immigrants have put down roots here: Half have been in the country for more than a decade, and 12% are homeowners. Many are also the parents of American citizens. In Los Angeles County, one in five children has a parent living in the country illegally, according to the study.

In 1986, lawmakers decided the problem of illegal immigration had to be dealt with. More than 3 million people were living in the United States after crossing the border illegally or overstaying their visas. A new law signed by President Ronald Reagan gave legal status and a path to citizenship to most of those unauthorized residents - helping many secure a slice of the American dream but also giving fuel to critics who sought to turn "amnesty" into a pejorative. Less than 30 years later, the number of immigrants living in the country illegally is thought to have nearly quadrupled, and the freighted baggage of amnesty looms over new efforts to reform the nation's immigration laws.

Sen. Barbara Boxer introduced legislation last month that would allow Israel to continue racially profiling Americans of Arab and Muslim heritage who travel to Israel, even as it confers new privileges on Israelis traveling to the United States. I wonder whether she understands what it's like for her Arab American constituents to enter Israel. I always bet myself how long it will take for Ben Gurion Airport's security screeners to detect my heritage. My given names are European, and my family name is an unusual pluralization of a common Arab name that sometimes throws even Arabic speakers.

Assembly Democrats may have hit on an ingenious way to make citizens take their jury summonses more seriously: Last week they passed a bill that would allow noncitizens to serve on juries. Suddenly, outraged commentators and bloggers who feared the loss of a key measure of citizenship were referring to "jury service" instead of "jury duty. " Although the news was generally reported accurately, some went overboard; at foxnews.com, for example, the headline said: "California bill would let illegal immigrants serve on juries.

Yi-Shen Chou has spent more than 30 years in the U.S., first as a motel operator and now as a Monterey Park retiree who enjoys line dancing and computer games. His family - a half-dozen brothers and sisters and numerous nieces and nephews - remains in Taiwan. Occasionally, Chou reunites with them on one side of the Pacific or the other, but for the most part, he is alone here. Chou, 71, may soon be able to see his relatives more often. Starting Thursday, Taiwanese citizens will no longer need a visa to visit the U.S., eliminating a cumbersome and expensive process that deterred some people from making the trip at a time when few Taiwanese are seeking to settle here permanently.

It's a familiar story: Out of an exaggerated concern about potential election fraud, a state adopts procedures that have the effect of disenfranchising perfectly qualified voters. In this case, the state of Arizona is demanding that would-be voters provide proof of citizenship beyond what Congress has required. The Supreme Court, which heard arguments about Arizona's policy on Monday, should strike the requirement down. In 1993, Congress enacted the National Voter Registration Act, popularly known as the "motor voter" law because, among other provisions, it allows citizens to register to vote when they apply for a driver's license.

Re "On family plan," Jan. 4 Can someone please explain to me how someone born in the U.S. to non-citizens is automatically deemed to be an American citizen? I looked up the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and Section I reads, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. " As I read it, being born here then going back to China or wherever certainly does not make one "subject to the jurisdiction thereof.

The jobs of the nation's citizen soldiers are supposed to be safe while they are serving their country: Federal law does not allow employers to penalize service members because of their military duties. Yet every year, thousands of National Guard and Reserve troops coming home from Afghanistan and elsewhere find they have been replaced, demoted, denied benefits or seniority. Government agencies are among the most frequent offenders, accounting for about a third of the more than 15,000 complaints filed with federal authorities since the end of September 2001, records show.

A bill in the California Legislature would open jury duty to noncitizen legal residents, a risky experiment in fundamental U.S. law. The Assembly last week passed a bill that immediately drew nationwide attention - for all the wrong reasons. There goes that wacky Golden State again! Assembly Bill 1401, which now goes to the state Senate, would allow noncitizens who are legal residents to serve on juries. If this becomes law, California will be the only state that opens its jury pool to noncitizens.

WASHINGTON - Americans do not have a right to obtain public records from states other than their own, the Supreme Court ruled Monday, dealing a setback to businesses and researchers who gather data across the nation. The unanimous decision upheld laws in Virginia and a handful of other states that release some public records only to their own citizens. "This is disappointing. We have a national information economy now, and all sorts of activities depend on data from all 50 states," said Washington attorney Deepak Gupta, who represented two men who had challenged the "citizens only" provision of Virginia's public records law. Despite the ruling, Gupta said the trend has been for states to open their public records on an equal basis.

Assembly Democrats may have hit on an ingenious way to make citizens take their jury summonses more seriously: Last week they passed a bill that would allow noncitizens to serve on juries. Suddenly, outraged commentators and bloggers who feared the loss of a key measure of citizenship were referring to "jury service" instead of "jury duty. " Although the news was generally reported accurately, some went overboard; at foxnews.com, for example, the headline said: "California bill would let illegal immigrants serve on juries.

Sen. Barbara Boxer introduced legislation last month that would allow Israel to continue racially profiling Americans of Arab and Muslim heritage who travel to Israel, even as it confers new privileges on Israelis traveling to the United States. I wonder whether she understands what it's like for her Arab American constituents to enter Israel. I always bet myself how long it will take for Ben Gurion Airport's security screeners to detect my heritage. My given names are European, and my family name is an unusual pluralization of a common Arab name that sometimes throws even Arabic speakers.

WASHINGTON - Almost 30 years ago, two young women allegedly obtained fake passports in Europe for a clandestine trip to Cuba. Today, one is in prison serving a 25-year sentence for espionage; the other has taken shelter in Sweden. On Thursday, the U.S. government stepped up its efforts to get that second woman, Marta Rita Velazquez, from Sweden to an American courtroom. Velazquez, 55, a U.S. citizen born in Puerto Rico, was charged in 2004 with conspiracy to commit espionage for her role in recruiting Ana Belen Montes to give American secrets to Cuba, according to a previously sealed indictment that the Justice Department released Thursday.

I am sick and tired of seeing all the complaints and demonstrations of illegal aliens who (supposedly) can't get services or care. The truth is that people who are citizens of this country, who work 16 hours a day and still can't make it, are the ones who don't "qualify" for government assistance. Meanwhile, the illegal residents receive food, housing, shelter and education absolutely free, not to mention medical care. Why don't your articles tell the other side of the story? BELLA LEVEEN Camarillo

The Senate approved a five-year extension of a law that lets the government conduct electronic communication surveillance of suspected terrorists without obtaining a warrant. The bill reauthorizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, passed by a vote of 73 to 23 early Friday. Passed by the House earlier this year, the measure now heads to President Obama, who is expected to sign it. Without the extension, FISA would expire Tuesday. The law allows the government to monitor phone calls, emails and other types of electronic communications between suspected terrorists and U.S. citizens.

Coachella's second weekend is upon us, and if you find yourself again frozen out of the desert festival the merry pranksters of Upright Citizens Brigade have assembled in what they're calling the Desert Tent (better known as the UCB stage) for a music festival that features troupe founder Matt Besser along with provocatively named groups such as Hip Hop Penguin, Cosby Sweater and Up Up Up. As an added bonus, chances of heat stroke are considerably diminished here. 5919 Franklin Ave., Sun. 9:30 p.m. $5 (323)

MEXICO CITY - Debate is intensifying over armed vigilante patrols that have sprung up in crime-plagued sections of rural Mexico, particularly in the state of Guerrero, where some patrols joined forces this week with a radical teachers union that has been wreaking havoc with massive protests, vandalism and violent confrontations with police. The two groups, on the surface, would appear to have little in common. The vigilante patrols, typically made up of masked campesinos , are among dozens that have emerged in the countryside in recent months, purporting to protect their communities from the depredations of the drug cartels.