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Huffington Post: massive graphic needed for Bill Maher head

Is the Huffington Post trying to tell us something? Is Bill Maher the secret brains behind the operation, with Arianna just a foxy front person?

If that's not true, then why is Arianna's picture a modest 39 by 46 pixels, whereas Maher's weighs in at a whopping 45 by 64, making it easily the largest headshot at the site? Or, is such a large picture necessary simply due to the size of his head?

(Oh, and in case you're wondering who those other people are, no one else knows either.)

UPDATE: Here's a better graphic showing the relative sizes on a grid:

Posted to Bloggage at 05:55 PM | Comments (5)

Santa Cruz Sentinel pimps remittances from illegal aliens

While reading the article "A first for Santa Cruz County: Mexican bank opens in downtown Watsonville" by Tom Ragan I kept asking myself, "is this an ad? Don't companies normally have to pay to get articles like this rather than, say, real journalism involving exposes and such?"

Let's take a look:

Bancomer, the only Mexican bank between here and San Jose, is open for business downtown... In Watsonville, there are several banks that cater to the unique services that Mexican nationals demand - whether offering special deals and debit cards that effectively wire money to Mexico in a matter of minutes or accommodating undocumented immigrants by opening up checking accounts with national ID cards issued by the Mexican consulate...

Full service indeed: the Mexican consulate gives them Matricula Consular cards which the Mexican bank then accepts. Add in the fact that the reporter interviewed someone who sends half his paycheck home, and you have to wonder: is this newspaper on the take, or are they just "liberal" useful idiots?

Posted to Immigration at 02:11 PM | Comments (3)

Goodbye Chris Garnett, hello KentuckyFriedCruelty.com

The youth outreach coordinator for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Chris Garnett, has legally changed his name to KentuckyFriedCruelty.com. Those wacky extremists!

The former Dover Plains, New York, resident and current Street Team coordinator of peta2—PETA's youth division [aka "petmol" -- LW] —has the official state papers and driver's license to prove it... Under KentuckyFriedCruelty.com's watchful eye, peta2's Street Team has grown to more than 100,000 dedicated young activists across the country who will mobilize in defense of animals at a moment's notice... KentuckyFriedCruelty.com joins the growing ranks of consumers, celebrities, and scholars—including actor Pamela Anderson, The Rev. Al Sharpton, Sir Paul McCartney, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama—who are helping out in PETA's campaign to force KFC to end its abusive treatment of chickens.

Previously: Lisa Franzetta bares all for the cause.

Posted to Miscellania at 01:34 PM | Comments (2)

Denver Post, Bill Owens immigration proposal will make you laugh out loud

From the Denver Post's "Fresh ideas on immigration":

...[Colorado] Gov. Bill Owens... endorsed a plan to authorize private agencies to issue guest-worker visas to foreigners employed in the United States, concepts that will require much more study if they are to overcome skepticism and be considered by Congress.

The plan, drawn up by Helen Krieble, president of the Colorado-based Vernon K. Krieble Foundation, and former Owens administration official Greg Walcher, was unveiled in Washington as a way to get a handle on the millions of illegal immigrants who work in this country. Many work at low-paying jobs and often are exploited because of their illegal status.

The authors say the plan would provide needed labor, make tracking illegal immigrants easier and remove the incentive to sneak into the country. Illegal immigrants would have to return to their home countries, pass a background check, show they have jobs waiting, and get visas from a commercial agency before re-entering...

Owens said choosing reputable corporations such as American Express or First Data to administer the program would preclude fraud...

The whole idea is ludicrous and laughable, but the last bit made me laugh out loud. If you don't know why, click the last link. See also "Colorado unplugs online guide for illegal immigrants", "Tying up the loose ends on Colorado's guide for the illegal alien", "The Denver Post's sloppy journalism", this about Raul Hinojosa of UCLA, and this about Cindy Rodriguez. First Data was even mentioned in Chertoff promotes "Temporary Worker Program" at Senate meeting.

Apparently Bill Owens and the Denver Post think all their readers are really, really stupid.

Posted to Immigration at 11:01 AM | Comments (1)

"Protesters decry Lipinski's vote on immigration bill"

From this:

Hispanic community activists gathered Wednesday in front of the office of U.S. Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-Ill.) on the Southwest Side to protest his vote for [HR4437].

The group of about two dozen protesters also announced the formation of the Committee for the Progress of the 3rd Congressional District, a set of business and community leaders who intend to find a candidate to run against Lipinski in 2008.

"The Mexican community is incensed by his voting in the bill," said Juan Salgado, director of the non-profit Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. "Immigration is one of the main reasons Chicago continues to be prosperous ... This is just not sensible."

Unfortunately, the ICIRR is quite a connected organization, as future posts will show. For now, note this:

Juan Salgado, Executive Director of [Instituto del Progreso Latino], is the Co-Chair of the Illinois Immigration Task Force. This new Task Force will work with the Governor to provide guidance and oversight for state agencies working with immigrants. The Task Force was announced on November 19th during the historic signing of an Executive Order creating a state-wide position to work with the Task Force. Over 20,000 different immigrants united to support the Executive Order at the Immigration Convention.

And:

Approximately 90% of IPL's operating budget is funded by various government agencies to support most on-campus and some off-site programs and services. IPL also secures corporate and private investments to support internal and external programs. Examples of major corporate and foundation donors include the Chicago Community Trust, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, Aetna Foundation, Del Monte Foods, Citibank, Pepsi USA and the United Way.

Posted to Immigration at 08:46 AM | Comments (2)

Sen. Cedillo says, 'This is the year'

California state Senator "One Bill Gil" Cedillo earns that nickname because each year he tries to pass a bill giving driver's licenses to illegal aliens. He thinks this year he'll finally get his anti-American wish.

He bases that on Arnold's ballot measures failing, on the shakeup in Arnold's top ranks, and on this:

Even in conservative districts, voters are becoming less extremist, as evidenced by the recent Orange County election of state Sen. John Campbell, R-Irvine, over Jim Gilchrist to fill a vacant congressional seat, Cedillo said.

He must be living in a fantasy world. First, of course, enforcing our immigration laws is not "extremist". Cedillo's schemes to give rights to citizens of another country who are here illegally is what's extremist.

Second, while everyone else realizes just how strong the Gilchrist showing was, Cedillo thinks that's evidence that the public doesn't want our laws to be enforced.

As could be expected, they trot out someone from a race group to say this is about "public safety". It's actually about a racial power grab.

Most Californians are strongly opposed to what Cedillo wants, and I wonder what Democrats elsewhere think of him. Would it be unfair to make him the poster child of the modern Democratic Party? Can anyone say with a straight face that he represents American and not Mexican interests? Perhaps promoting him as a leading Democrat might be a way for the national Dems to rein in their extremist California wing.

Previously: "Arnold Schwarzenegger vetos driver's licenses for illegal aliens", "Bill would prevent illegal aliens' cars from being impounded", and "CalInsider: Arnold should just say driver's licenses for illegal aliens is a bad idea".

Posted to California at 06:35 AM | Comments (1)

AJC: "House immigration bill crosses line"

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a canard-packed editorial opposing HR 4437 here.

Since it's a stock editorial such as the ones offered by the WaPo, discussing it in depth would be superfluous.

However, they do include this:

Members of organizations that teach English to immigrants or provide social services might be subject to jail terms, according to Jerry Gonzalez, executive director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials.

Gonzalez is a former MALDEF employee, and I discussed that group here and here. Follow those links and the link above to find out who the AJC considers a credible source.

UPDATE: Here's much more on GALEO co-founder Sam Zamarripa.

Posted to Immigration at 03:25 AM | Comments (0)

ABC News names Steve Ballmer Best Dancer of Year

ABC News has selected one of the most evil persons in the world and his wife, Bill and Melinda Gates, as their Person of the Year for 2005.

This year's competition was only open to evil high-tech executives, and runners-up included Larry Ellison ("Absolute Craziest Billionaire"), Scott McNealy ("Scariest Hundreds-of-Millionsaire"), and Steve Ballmer ("Best Dancer").

Ballmer, shown left, expresses his gratitude for the award.

Posted to WackyHumor at 07:46 PM | Comments (0)

Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law collaborating with Mexican government

The Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law (CHRCL) is a "non-profit, public interest legal foundation" located at centerforhumanrights.org. At that site they say:

The Center is generously supported by the California Legal Services Trust Fund, the Liberty Hill Foundation, and its many members. Students, lawyers, and other volunteers are encouraged to join the Center's efforts to protect and promote domestic and international civil and human rights.

They also have a site called the "Mexico Project" at vocesunidas.org. That last includes the following:

A collaborative project of the Direccion General de Proteccion y Asuntos Consulares of the Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores of the Government of Mexico and the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law.

There's much more about this Project in Treason For Fun And Profit: Peter Schey And His "Mexico Project". That describes the use of the "U-Visa", which sounds like a catch-all amnesty scheme.

However, what's most shocking to me about this is that the California Legal Services Trust Fund ("CLSTF") is part of the California State Bar, which is "a public corporation within the judicial branch of government, serving as an arm of the California Supreme Court." The money from the CLSTF is the interest on California attorney's trust accounts. Neither they nor their clients get that interest, instead it's sent to the CLSTF.

So, a question: is either California state government money - or money directed by that state's government - being used to fund a collaboration with a foreign government?

If so, is that against the CLSTF rules? And, just as importantly, will the State Bar or any elected representatives endeavor to find out?

The PDF file "Eligibility Guidelines for Legal Services Projects" says:

All applicants must include with their applications an assurance that the applicant will use the funds allocated from the Trust Fund Program for the purposes set forth in §§6210-6228 of the Business and Professions Code.

A peek at that section didn't show anything about fund disbursement being limited to use for citizens.

The PDF also contains this:

2.2 The organization must operate exclusively in California. An applicant that is part of a corporation that conducts other activities outside California can meet this requirement if all funds granted will be expended in California.

Would that apply here?

I've contact the State Bar for more information, and I'll provide an update if and when they reply.

For more information on this overall scheme, see "The IOLTA Program: The Invisible Hand":

Over the next two or three years more than $1 billion will funnel into a subterranean network for the support of liberal and progressive causes-without the consent or knowledge of the donors. The Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts program, commonly known as IOLTA, began in Florida in 1978. The program requires or permits attorneys to pool temporarily certain client trust accounts, specifically those of a "nominal" or "short-term" nature. The income earned from those pools is then diverted, ostensibly to provide legal services for the poor... The income, however, has become a substantial subsidy for the political causes of the liberal left. In Massachusetts IOLTA funds have supported efforts to force redistricting to increase minority representation. Social Justice for Women, a lobbying group, receives funds, as does the AIDS Law Project of Gay and Lesbian Defenders, which opposes the testing of medical care providers for AIDS. The Massachusetts Advocacy Center, supported by the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, helped draft a proposal to eliminate entrance exams at the Boston Latin School, the oldest public school in the country and one renowned for its excellence...

UPDATE 1/20/06: The State Bar says grant money isn't being used for the Mexico-CHRCL collaboration.

UPDATE 3/26/07: See the New Times L.A. Jun 20, 2002 article "Border Buster" excerpted here.

UPDATE 4/01/07: See also Treason For Fun And Profit: Peter Schey And His "Mexico Project"

Posted to Immigration at 11:17 AM | Comments (1)

The Washington Post's cozy little fantasy world

They offer "Bad Border Bill" about HR 4437:

...it would do nothing to rationalize U.S. immigration policy. The Bush administration, which has rightly argued for a more sensible approach, disgracefully got behind the bill.

Many people speculate that the reason why the Bush administration favors a "sensible" approach is because they're corrupt: they do what those large corporations that profit off illegal immigration want them to do.

[4437] would also... require that border patrol uniforms be made in the good ol' USA.

Obviously the use of the phrase "good ol' USA" is meant to mock that provision as playing to patriotism. However, I'm sure the adults out there can think up a reason other than play-acting why that's a good thing. Here's a clue for the WaPo: after the L.A. riots, a large number of LAPD uniforms were stolen, and the LAPD was fearful they would be used by criminals. Similarly, people who actually care about protecting the U.S. from the bad guys don't want the bad guys in Mexico to be able to pass themselves off as BP agents. Makes sense, if you think about it.

But none [of the bill's provisions] will do much to change the fact that 11 million people live illegally in this country, in an economy that cannot function without them. No immigration bill that fails to realistically approach the country's dependence on immigrant labor will fix anything.

I beg to disagree. I think if all those illegal aliens left tomorrow we'd make out OK. We're Americans, right? Sure, there might be some hiccups to start with, but then we'd figure out a way to do things without all that serf labor. For instance, we'd either mechanize produce production, or we'd import strawberries instead of stoop laborers.

They go on to pimp for "comprehensive immigration reform", aka a Kennedy-McCain style amnesty scheme. Perhaps next time the WaPo can think this one through in a bit more depth, like:

- are they sure we need all that cheap serf labor?
- are their major downsides to importing millions of people from a hostile neighboring country?
- isn't the underlying problem that needs to be fixed ideological and political corruption?
- why is the WaPo part of that problem rather than being part of the solution?

Posted to Immigration at 10:48 AM | Comments (2)

Snark, sass, and destruction since 2002

Kathleen Parker has a column called "Lord of the blogs".

I only have one thing to say about her "column": go to the hot place, you idiotarian asshat.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: It has come to this site's attention that Parker had been including this site in the list of "many brilliant people out there... who also happen to blog". I apologize for any misconceptions that were raised and any misunderstandings that came about.

Posted to Bloggage at 05:49 AM | Comments (1)

California governor Al Gore?

Our sources tell us that Al Gore has spent $2 million on a condo in San Francisco, also the home of his latest Current TV venture. Could this be preparation for a run for governor of California? Or, does he just like the luxury ambience of his new digs?

Sources say that "ever since people learned that Al and Tipper Gore were moving into the St. Regis" requests for information skyrocketed. In fact, a closely-placed source informs this blogger that "there's something about living near a person so powerful and important that really excites folks".

They're not just excited, they're practically irrationally exuberant:

"A client of mine just moved into the swanky Four Seasons a few blocks away, where the Mayor happens to be. It's a great place. But when she heard the Gores were moving into the St. Regis, she called me up and said she wants to sell her place so she can move to the St. Regis right away! I guess it's more exciting to live near a former VP than a current Mayor."

Posted to California at 01:49 PM | Comments (2)

Democrats support "securing the border", UAVs

The House "Homeland Security Democrats" have released a report (PDF file) taking the administration to task for their failures to secure the "homeland".

Despite having Loretta Sanchez in their group, in the report they sound almost like serious-minded Americans instead of the childish race-baiters we've come to expect such as Howard Dean et al.

They complain about the administration failing to "secure the border". And, they even support the use of drones to do border surveillance.

Of course, I'm sure there's some "nuance" involved. They'll call for UAVs on the one hand, but give a wink and a nod to those big corporations that employ illegal aliens on the other.

Note that during the campaign John Kerry did mention the DHS' failings, but he never to my knowledge harped on border security. If he had, he'd be president today.

Is this a sign of a new, American, serious Democratic Party? Or, just more of the same "nuance"?

Posted to Immigration at 12:13 PM | Comments (1)

LULAC criticizes Mexico's pro-illegal immigration propaganda

The League of United Latin American Citizens is complaining about Mexico's choice of Rob Allyn to promote their country. To show you just where their loyalties lie, this is their complaint:

Hector Flores, national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said he understands that Mr. Allyn goes to work for whoever pays him. "That's the American way," Mr. Flores said.

However, he stressed that there are 41.3 million Hispanics in the U.S., and many of them are capable of the task.

"The Mexican government should have worked to provide this opportunity to a Hispanic business. LULAC is always trying to find ways to open the doors for Hispanics; the Mexican government should do the same," Mr. Flores said.

It used to be that questioning someone's patriotism was considered a grievous insult, and that groups would work as hard as possible to show that they were loyal U.S. citizens. Nowadays, well, things are bit more "fluid", aren't they?

The article quotes someone even more questionable:

...Carlos Quintanilla, a businessman from Dallas who is active in community issues, called a news conference outside the Mexican Consulate to complain that Mr. Allyn was chosen over a Mexican or a Mexican-American.

"I think that Vicente Fox's intentions were good, but his choice was erroneous," Mr. Quintanilla said. "I think a Mexican knows best how our people have suffered and can better convey that message to the American public."

He suggested that the Mexican government would have been better served by asking Mexican or Mexican-American firms to collectively design a plan to counter plans against illegal immigration — such as U.S. congressional proposals to build a fence at the Mexican border and place more Border Patrol agents there.

Mr. Quintanilla added that he and others would start making telephone calls to the Mexican government so it can "analyze" the contract made with Mr. Allyn...

He's also quoted here:

"You don't promote Mexico by giving a contract to a friend who helped get you elected six years ago," said Carlos Quintanilla, a Dallas entrepreneur who has publicly criticized Mr. Allyn's deal with Mexico's foreign ministry. "You don't need an Anglo to advance Mexico's interests in the United States. It's a regression and a disconnect."

Posted to Immigration at 10:24 AM | Comments (1)

New York Times' Simon Romero does Rob Allyn's work for him

Simon Romero of the New York Times offers a profile of Rob Allyn, the Dallas political strategist who's been hired by Mexico to burnish their image in the U.S.: "Republican Strategist Is Taking Heat for Taking Mexico as Client".

The profile reads like it could have been written by Allyn himself, including this bit about HR 4437:

Even some of the bill's supporters acknowledge that its requirements, once considered on the extreme fringe of the immigration debate, will make approval difficult in the Senate.

And:

Paramount among the Mexican government's concerns these days is fighting anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States.

Oddly enough, I missed the part of the article where they actually did any real reporting. Perhaps that's because it's in the NYT, or perhaps because of the ethnicity of the reporter, or perhaps because it's in the business section.

I'm sure the NYT will correct that problem in short order. I'm sure they'll look into Allyn's connections with the Bush family and see whether this is all part of a scheme by Fox and Bush to sell the U.S. on a guest worker plan. I'm sure they'll ask Allyn whether he is or will register as a Foreign Agent. I'm sure they can think up all the other things to ask someone who's going to be spreading propaganda designed to make massive illegal immigration acceptable.

I'm sure the NYT will do that, because otherwise they'd just be a propaganda rag.

Write public *at* nytimes.com and let them know what you think.

Posted to Immigration at 10:20 AM | Comments (1)

Ex-ACLU attorney: Group 'terrorizing' U.S.

From this:

An attorney who once worked for the American Civil Liberties Union has slammed the organization for "perverting" federal law by successfully threatening government officials into getting rid of public expressions of religion.

Rees Lloyd made the comments in an online podcast hosted by Rep. John Hostettler, R-Ind., in which the two discuss the congressman's legislation, the Public Expression of Religion Act, or PERA (H.R.2679). The bill would prohibit judges in civil suits involving the First Amendment's Establishment Clause from awarding attorney's fees to those offended by religious symbols or actions in the public square – such as a Ten Commandments display in a courthouse or a cross on a county seal...

"They use this statute to extort behavior out of individuals," the congressman said, citing the Indiana Civil Liberties Union threatening local educators. The group sent a letter to officials saying they would be sued and be forced to pay attorney's fees should any graduation prayers be offered at commencement ceremonies. The threat sent the message, Hostettler said, that individuals tied to school districts could be impoverished personally...

The congressman wonders why the ACLU would oppose his legislation since it still provides for "injunctive relief" – e.g., a court can rule in the ACLU's favor and force the removal of a Ten Commandments display – but takes out the monetary incentive for lawsuits.

"If they're not out for the money but are really out to preserve our civil liberties … then the ACLU should not be opposing my bill," Hostettler commented...

Posted to MultiCultiCult at 07:49 AM | Comments (0)

"America’s Most Bizarre and Politically Correct College Courses"

Los Angeles' own Occidental College makes the list: twice!

Other winners include Princeton, Johns Hopkins, Harvard, and UCLA.

Posted to MultiCultiCult at 03:21 AM | Comments (0)

Canadian Liberal Party official quits over blog posting

Our charter requires 0.04% Canadian coverage, and here it is:

A high-ranking official within the Liberal Party of Canada resigned today after he made disparaging comments on his blog about NDP Leader Jack Layton and his wife, NDP candidate Olivia Chow.

Mike Klander, executive vice-president of the federal Liberal party's Ontario wing, stepped down after photographs of Chow, the NDP candidate for the Toronto riding of Trinity-Spadina, and a chow chow dog were posted on his blog dated Dec. 9 under the heading "Separated at Birth."

Here's the cache of his since-deleted site. But, since the pictures have been deleted too go here to see a screengrab. It's really mild stuff by our standards, but, they're Canadians so be kind.

Posted to Miscellania at 04:57 AM | Comments (0)

Ernesto Portillo Jr offers racialized version of A Christmas Carol

The Arizona Daily Star columnist updates Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, offering a version such as one might find in a comic book printed by the Mexican government. It's full of so many strawmen that you might think you're reading Thomas Hardy instead of Dickens, but since we don't have all day let's look at this:

They passed over the coastlines, where Mr. Scrooge watched small boats crowded with desperate people try to reach the shore. He spied small airplanes, carrying far more people than allowed, landing on clandestine inland airstrips. Up north, along the U.S.-Canadian border, Mr. Scrooge saw people crossing on foot, some dying in the dead of winter. "Is this what will become of us?" he asked his guide. "Sadly, yes," said the ghost of immigration future. "Tell me what I can do to prevent it," begged Mr. Scrooge. The ghost thought for a minute.

While the author goes on to pimp a "comprehensive immigration plan", my sources inform me that that ghost had an IQ above 50 and realizes that that won't work and will in fact just make the situation much worse. Accordingly, let me finish this little fable for him:

Then, the ghost suggested something that shocked Mr. Scrooge to his core: enforcing the immigration laws not just on the border, but at workplaces and in the interior. And, reduce or eliminate non-emergency services to illegal aliens. That way, the ghost said, far fewer illegal aliens will come here in the first place, and all the problems will be solved. "Sure, racial demagogues, the Mexican government, corrupt employers, and the far-left will whine, but always remember: they don't have America's best interests at heart."

Posted to Immigration at 02:08 AM | Comments (0)

14th Amendment and birthright citizenship backgrounders

Edward J. Erler from the California State University, San Bernardino and The Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy offered this Congressional testimony in 1997. It includes this:

Clearly, the author of the citizenship clause intended to count "foreigners," "aliens," and those born to "ambassadors or foreign ministers" as outside the "jurisdiction of the United States." Senator Howard knew, as his reference to natural law indicates, that the republican basis for citizenship is consent. This is the natural law principle of the Declaration of Independence that proclaims that legitimate governments derive "their just powers from the consent of the governed."

See also "A Dummies Guide to Understanding the Fourteenth Amendment" and "Alien Birthright Citizenship: A Fable That Lives Through Ignorance".

Posted to Immigration at 06:57 PM | Comments (0)

Los Angeles Times goes to border, discovers immigration laws won't work

For an unknown reason, Drudge is linking to the L.A. Times article "Some Border Patrol Agents Take a Chance on Love", which reports on a few BP agents who've dated illegal aliens and gotten into trouble for that practice.

Obviously, the LAT only has a finite amount of resources, and it's a shame that they would choose to deploy them in this fashion when there are so many more important stories that could be covered. But, the trivial matters discussed in the story appear to be a bit, shall we say, agenda-driven as can be seen from this paragraph:

Some locals say that such relationships are inevitable in a town where the nearest movie theater is 51 miles north and the nearest nightclubs lie just across the border in Agua Prieta, Mexico. The clandestine romances, they add, also make a mockery of efforts targeting illegal immigrants, such as laws being considered by Congress that would mandate fences along sections of the border and fine employers who hire illegal aliens.

And, the LAT seems to be joining them in that mockery instead of reporting on vital border issues like terrorism or Mexico meddling in our laws. Rather than telling its readers about important issues, the LAT chooses to print pro-illegal immigration propaganda.

And, I wonder why they won't name the "locals" in this case. While he's mentioned elsewhere in the article by name, could one of those "locals" in fact be Douglas Mayor Ray Borane, recipient of Mexico's Ohtli Award? That link has a past example of the LAT featuring Borane. Or, could some of those "locals" have some form of a stake in seeing that our immigration laws aren't followed?

Write readers.rep *at* latimes.com and suggest they cover more important issues.

Posted to Immigration at 02:18 PM | Comments (0)

"Bitter Debate Over 'Birthright Citizenship'"

The AP's David Crary says there's a "bitter debate" over the issue, but so far the only people I've heard of on the other side are racial demagogues and the far-left. In fact, while the piece is generally fair, they don't provide any quotes from any politicians who oppose attempts to end the practice, instead providing quotes from three groups:

Michele Waslin from the National Council of La Raza says:

"This was always seen in the past as some extreme, wacko proposal that never goes anywhere... But these so-called wacko proposals are becoming more and more mainstream — it's becoming more acceptable to have a discussion about it."

I guess she's worried this might affect "The Race". And, they also include a quote from the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles. That last link says they've worked with the Mexican government. Perhaps the AP could look into that. After all, the AP shouldn't quote groups with hidden agendas. More on them here and here.

And, Lucas Guttentag, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Immigrants' Rights Project, says:

"Look at Germany — the children of guest workers are not citizens... That creates enormous social and racial tensions. That's the opposite of where we want to go."

Indeed. That's why we need to make sure that almost all of our immigrants are of the legal variety and why we need to make sure that no "guest" worker schemes are imposed on the American public.

Please write feedback *at* ap.org and give them muted praise for a less-than-completely-biased report, but also suggest they give a bit more background on their quote sources.

Posted to Immigration at 01:40 PM | Comments (5)

East Valley Tribune: "A solid start for immigration reform"

That paper offers a stock editorial supporting immigration "reform", including the following:

...Business lobbyists and immigrant-rights advocates argue the House failed to lead responsibly when a majority of lawmakers know foreign guest-workers must be part of any reform package... ...And Republicans must set aside traditional alliances with business interests to finally hold employers accountable for their hiring practices...

Quite a nuanced view: give in to everything corrupt employers want, but then hold them accountable. If the GOP had the guts to stand up to those business interests, then we wouldn't have all the millions of illegal aliens we do. Most sources tend to ignore the deeper issue of corruption, perhaps that paper could lead the charge.

They also care what Vicente Fox thinks, then the offer this:

new legal methods must be established for migrants to enter the U.S., or illegal immigration will continue no matter how many border agents we hire or how many walls we build.

Indeed. However, if we combine that with workplace enforcement (by the new non-corrupt GOP), then it will be greatly reduced. Of course, if we can do that later we can also do it now, right? Perhaps that paper or others who offer similar editorials could address that point.

Posted to Immigration at 07:22 PM | Comments (0)

Skagit County: ripped off by Mexico, growers, racial demagogues, "liberals"

Last month a Skagit County, Washington paper offered the almost-unbelievable story "Illegal immigrant with tuberculosis fears county will turn him over to immigration". The title alone tells you we're about to enter Upsidedownland, but it gets worse:

* The county has had six TB cases this year, up from the usual zero to three. And, they say that half are usually caused by "foreign-born" patients.

* The county estimates that they've already spent $16,000 on his case but it could go to "$100,000 and higher". And, even after all that he might still be contagious. And, they only have a limited budget.

* When he was working, "he could earn more than $30 per day."

* The racial demagogues are out in full force, threatening the county that the health situation will get even worse if they start reporting illegal aliens, which will supposedly force them underground.

* The county representative and the newspaper are apologetic about the possibility of deportation.

This situation is what happens when corruption is aided and abetted by mush-minded "liberalism".

If the patient is going to stay here, someone other than the county should pay for his care: either his employers, or the government of Mexico, or Skagit's "liberal" population, or the racial pressure groups that are agitating to keep him here.

And, during the days of Ellis Island, he would not have been put on a steamship in the first place, and if he arrived here anyway he would have been deported. Now, with self-service immigration, anyone bearing any kind of contagious disease can just come across the border.

Previously: "JAMA: Immigrants bringing drug-resistant TB to U.S.", "Illegal Aliens and American Medicine", and news about Tyson Foods and TB.

Posted to Immigration at 12:52 PM | Comments (1)

How to Crush the Schemes of the Enemies Who Disseminate Unusual Lifestyles

Welcome to today's lecture. I and Our Leader would like to congratulate you on your hair, as it appears to conform to our standards. Remember: long hair depletes your brain of the oxygen it needs and does not conform to socialist style. Do not let your hair grow longer than 2 inches. But, if you are an older man, you can let it grow 2.8 inches in case you need to comb it over.

Also, Our Leader congratulates the women in the audience for wearing such modest skirts and blouses, and I even see a few wearing the hanbok. Anything else would be a sign of the utterly rotten bourgeois lifestyle.

I must however remind you not to watch any foreign movies, as it will cloud your mental and ideological health.

Always remember that the bastards' indecent methods are clouding the mental and ideological health of the people. If we cannot stop them in time, we will be in the same position as the Iraqis. We must eradicate the erroneous way of thinking that eating foreign foods enhances your living standards.

(The preceding was derived from an L.A. Times article about North Korean propaganda. Supposedly someone smuggled their lectures into China, where they were copied and then returned to the dissident. Details here. Be assured that the L.A. Times is adapting their methods to its own ends.)

Posted to Miscellania at 06:40 AM | Comments (1)

"Police tell Christian couple view on gays 'close to hate crime'"

From England, Land of Orwell, comes yet another disturbing story about "liberalism" run amok.

POLICE questioned a retired couple for 80 minutes about their "homophobic" views after they asked their local council if they could display their Christian literature next to gay rights leaflets, it was reported last night.

Joe and Helen Roberts said that police officers warned them that their actions "were close to a hate crime" after they complained to Wyre Borough Council about its gay rights policies.

The couple claimed that the police told them they were "walking on eggshells".

Mr Roberts, from Fleetwood, Lancashire, said he had been offended because of the council's distribution of the gay rights leaflets and its promotion of its theatre as a venue for civil partnership ceremonies.

He said he complained to Paul Deacon, the council officer responsible for Wyre's part in the Navajo Charter Mark campaign being run by several local authorities to offer assistance to gay and lesbian people.

Mr Roberts, 73, told the Daily Mail: "I told him I was offended. I asked him if I could put Christian literature on display alongside the gay material. He said I couldn't because it would offend gay people.

"I said we had no objection to gay people, but we thought that homosexual practice was wrong and we were offended by the gay culture which the council is promoting.

"They warned me that being discriminatory and homophobic is in line with hate crime. The phrase they used was that we were 'walking on eggshells'. I asked the officer, if I phoned the police with a complaint that the council were discriminating against Christians would he go to interview them?"

Lancashire police said its visit to the Robertses' family home was a matter of routine after a complaint from the council. A spokesman added: "Words of suitable advice were given and we will not be taking any further action."

Posted to MultiCultiCult at 10:29 PM | Comments (5)

Is Raw Story a credible source?

Is the far-left "news" organization Raw Story credible or not? Consider the last headline from this screengrab of their site:

The last link in that graphic claims that Fox News' Tony Snow is tied to a white supremacist group because the site MartinLutherKing.org contains a column he wrote in 1999 about Kwanzaa. The MLK site is apparently a front site for a white supremacist group, which has a link to the latter group's site at the bottom of the page.

Does that mean that Tony Snow writes columns for a racist site? Let's do the extremely easy detective work that RS apparently doesn't know how or conveniently forgot to do.

Take a close look at the article in question. Notice anything... different just above Snow's name?

Yes, that's right, there are two dates given just above his byline:

Dec. 31, 1999/22 Teves, 5760

The second form of the date is... from the Jewish calendar. In fact, the Snow column first appeared at the... Jewish World Review.

In other words, if RawStory is to be believed, not only does Tony Snow have links to a white supremacist organization but so does a Jewish publication.

Of course, what probably happened is the MLK site obtained reprint rights through a third party or from JWR without either of those groups being aware of their true nature. Or, they just copied and pasted the article.

Since there's an extremely large chance that that's true, that means that there's an extremely small chance that Raw Story's implication is true in any way.

While I've linked to RawStory and BlueLemur in the past, in the future I will make sure and verify everything I read there before linking again. I no longer consider them an even marginally credible source.

Posted to Miscellania at 03:03 PM | Comments (3)

How to get press attention for your tourist attraction and book

Today's award goes to 75-year-old Ray Wright from England who runs the "Clearwell Caves attraction in the Forest of Dean" and who's seeking a publisher for his book "The Gifts Of The Sun". He got his name in the paper by claiming that the Twelve Days Of Christmas is actually a church-cleaned-up version of a pagan mating ritual song.

Congratulations to Mr. Wright for his timing and skills with press release writing.

Posted to Miscellania at 12:49 PM | Comments (1)

Rob Allyn is a "longtime Bush family adviser"; Foreign Agents Registration Act?

Rob Allyn heads the Texas company Allyn & Company which will be trying to burnish Mexico's image and thereby support their attempts to send us their unwanted citizens.

It shouldn't be any surprise that Allyn has links to Our Leader. In fact, he's described here as a "longtime Bush family adviser".

For instance:

the Allyn Co. also worked during the 2000 Republican primaries in the U.S. According to an April 6, 2000, article in the Dallas Observer, Rob Allyn was a key player in the George W. Bush campaign to discredit his rival for the 2000 Republican presidential nomination Senator John McCain. Millionaire Bush supporter Sam Wyly funded Republicans for Clean Air to attack McCain in key states during the 2000 primary campaign. Rob Allyn was paid $46,000 to help create the ads.

So, he's representing Mexico's interests, and he also has deep links to the Bushes. In fact, the following quote makes me wonder whether he's currently getting any money from Our Leader or others associated with him:

Mr. Allyn said [Bush's "temporary" worker scheme] would be a step toward making immigration "safe and legal and orderly and controlled." Immigrants are a valuable source of labor to the U.S., he added.

Allyn also worked for Haitian presidential candidate Dumarsais "Dumas" Simeus, who owns a business in Texas and was a member of Jeb Bush's "Haiti Task Force."

Apropos of something or nothing, Allyn also lead the PR campaign to get Arlington a stadium for the Cowboys.

There's also audio of an interview KFI's John & Ken did with him here, although at post time the audio link doesn't work.

I'm not sure, but I think that Allyn or his company will have to register as a Foreign Agent. There's a FAQ on that here:

The purpose of FARA is to insure that the American public and its law makers know the source of information (propaganda) intended to sway public opinion, policy, and laws. In 1938, the FARA was Congress' response to the large number of German propaganda agents in the pre-WWII U.S... ...An agent of a Foreign principal is any individual or organization which acts at the order, request, or under the direction or control of a foreign principal, or whose activities are directed by a foreign principal who: ... 2. acts in a public relations capacity for a foreign principal...

It's certainly a worrying development that a sitting president is so closely linked to someone who might have to register as a Foreign Agent.

UPDATE: From 2004 came "Foreign Lobbyist Database Could Vanish: Justice Department claims merely copying its foreign agents database could destroy it". That claim was contained in an answer to a FOIA request, and I find that almost impossible to believe. The only possible way I can conceive of that being true is if the records are stored on a fragile medium, such as tapes or something ancient like ferrite core memory. The latter hasn't been used since I would imagine the early 70s or earlier. And, in any case, if they don't have a backup (or three), we're all in big trouble. Even if this data is stored in some ancient system, there has to be a fairly simple way to transfer all the data to a modern hard disk. Then, a simple program can be written to put that into a database. It might not be as easily searched or manipulated, but it would be usable. Obviously, either the government or the contractor who's migrating the system is blowing smoke. See also "Call for GAO Investigation Follows Center Report" and this.

Posted to Immigration at 12:38 PM | Comments (5)

Summary, analysis of HR 4437

See this.

Posted to Immigration at 08:40 AM | Comments (0)

NYT: New York PD infiltrated protests, agitated

The New York Times offers "Police Infiltrate Protests, Videotapes Show". It's certainly worrisome if true.

Unfortunately, the "if true" part is key, since they have no actual proof that those discussed in the article were actually police or working with them. The allegations are based on a series of videotapes taken mostly by the protesters themselves, and all the proof they have is that the supposed infiltrators weren't cuffed, or were immediately released, or had a walkie-talkie. Nevertheless:

...The officers hoist protest signs. They hold flowers with mourners. They ride in bicycle events. At the vigil for the cyclist, an officer in biking gear wore a button that said, "I am a shameless agitator." She also carried a camera and videotaped the roughly 15 people present.

Beyond collecting information, some of the undercover officers or their associates are seen on the tape having influence on events. At a demonstration last year during the Republican National Convention, the sham arrest of a man secretly working with the police led to a bruising confrontation between officers in riot gear and bystanders...

Posted to ThePeaceMovement at 05:24 AM | Comments (1)

"Mexico Admits Poor Treatment of Migrants"

Surprisingly, the WaPo doesn't sugarcoat the headline to this AP report:

Mexico's federal Human Rights Commission acknowledged on Wednesday that the country uses some of the same methods in dealing with illegal migrants that it has criticized the United States for employing.

The admission comes as Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez called on Latin American countries to unite against a U.S. House of Representatives bill to toughen border enforcement.

The bill, which passed on Friday with a 239-182 vote, would make illegal entry a felony, and enlist military and local police to help stop illegal entrants.

But officials of Mexico's federal Human Rights Commission acknowledged that Mexico already employs both tactics in its own territory.

"As a matter of fact, (Mexico's) population law does include prison terms for illegally entering the country ... and this is something that has been the subject of constant complaints," said Mauricio Farah, a national inspector for the rights commission...

Posted to Immigration at 04:34 AM | Comments (1)

Pew: Both Democrats and Republicans oppose illegal immigration

From the "for what it's worth file" comes "Illegal immigration concerns could split both parties":

...Americans, polls show, are upset about the government's inability to control illegal immigration, which now accounts for about 11 million illegal residents inside the U.S. borders. They are particularly unhappy with Bush's handling of the issue. One poll showed that only 24 percent of those polled approved of his approach.

Social conservatives see the massive influx of immigrants, nearly 8 million over the past five years, as a threat to American culture.

...[Reporter portrays some of them as xenophobes]...

Meanwhile, blue-collar workers feel threatened economically. They sense that immigrants, particularly illegal immigrants, are taking jobs that once went to them, or at the least, they are depressing local wages by providing cheap labor for unscrupulous employers. The American Chamber of Commerce estimates that 25 percent of dishwashers and drywall installers are illegal immigrants.

The split among lawmakers reflects that of the public on immigration, pollsters say.

Half of those polled want a hard-line approach that would stiffen the borders, limit immigration and boot out the current illegal immigrants. They are adamantly opposed to a guest-worker program, and particularly any form of amnesty.

Apparently enforcing our laws is a revolutionary concept to the reporter.

The other half also want much tighter border security, but they also are amenable to a guest-worker program and a method to allow current residents to possibly earn citizenship.

"There's no party divide on the issue, which is really interesting at a time when almost every issue is so partisan, "said Michael Dimock, associate director of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. "The balance of opinion is split in each party."

"For instance, on the question of guest workers, business-oriented Republicans like guest workers, but socially conservative Republicans or more blue-collar Republicans don't like it. They see immigrants as a burden on the country.

"But working-class Democrats are just as concerned about the impact of immigrants on our culture," he said. "The fact is that there are people on both sides in both parties."

Dimock appears to be basing his comments on "Economy, Iraq Weighing Down Bush Popularity" from May 2005.

Posted to Immigration at 12:33 AM | Comments (2)

"Ever used Napster? $500"

I've noticed recent ads from a group looking for those who used Napster "back in the day", specifically 2000 or 2001. They want to buy your old computer and they'll give you $500.

I'd provide a link except I don't want to give them any additional help. I don't think this is a fraud, but I wonder exactly what they're after. I note that they have both an sbcglobal email address and a 1-800 number specifically for this campaign. The number references their campaign and asks you to leave a message, but doesn't give any additional information.

One possibility that springs to mind is that Hillary Rosen and the BATF intend to storm the residences of all those suckers who reply.

A more likely scenario is that is from a law group seeking electronic evidence on someone's behalf: either Napster or someone who's suing Napster. Except I thought they were out of business.

Another possibility is something related to patent attorneys looking for prior art, although that's less likely since they could probably obtain Napster code through other means.

If you find out what's involved, leave a note.

Posted to Miscellania at 06:01 PM | Comments (1)

Tamar Jacoby and Grover Norquist don't speak for 75% of Americans

Tamar Jacoby and Grover Norquist offer "Hard-liners don't speak for GOP". As anyone who's familiar with them might be able to predict, it's like entering bizarro world, in which those who want to reduce illegal immigration are "hard-liners". Of course, that's the position of three-quarters of Americans, and that percentage would probably go up if they knew everything involved in the issue.

And, oddly enough, they also have some kind words for "liberals":

Over two days of emotional debate on the floor, Democrats railed against the legislation, standing up, member after member, to defend our tradition as a nation of immigrants. Most of the Republicans who spoke used an entirely different vocabulary -- all about policing and punishment. A few brave GOP dissenters stood up to say that we can have both -- can remain a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws.

As you might expect, that's complete BS. Democrats support massive illegal immigration, and they do so for various corrupt reasons. Simply enforcing the laws will not stop us from being a "nation of immigrants": we already admit almost a million new citizens per year.

According to the authors, this new tack is designed to rally the base. As they might say, just one problem: the base isn't buying it. They know that Bush is only slightly modifying his talk in order to keep trying to sell a "temporary" worker scheme.

They also say:

the heavily partisan votes made the party look unappealingly anti-immigrant.

HR 4437 isn't "anti-immigrant". It's (supposedly) designed to reduce illegal immigration. Anyone who calls it "anti-immigrant" is simply smearing. Why would one group of conservatives attempt to smear another group? Shouldn't conservatives fight against such "liberal" smears rather than being just as bad as a "liberal"?

Then, they let us know that the "reform wing" of the GOP is alive and well, and it includes many of those on the other side:

political operatives such as Ken Mehlman... business friendly Republicans at The Wall Street Journal, the Cato Institute and elsewhere... security-minded Republicans like Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and his predecessor Tom Ridge...

Then, they give the impression that a) Ronald Reagan is still alive and b) would have supported their schemes:

And then there are Republicans like Ronald Reagan and now President Bush who understand in a more general way that immigrants are good for the country: that they bring entrepreneurial energy and family values and fresh patriotism -- and that, as Reagan emphasized, the nation must remain a beacon to the world... None of these Republicans think enforcement or legality are unimportant...

In fact, not only is Reagan no longer with us, but he deeply regreted the amnesty he signed, and it's partly because of that amnesty that we have so many millions of illegal aliens here today.

Of course, one of the reasons there are editorials like this is because those on the other side are scared. That's definitely a good thing, but I wouldn't suggest getting over confident, since the other side has a lot of money and a lot of influence.

Posted to Immigration at 04:17 PM | Comments (3)

Boston Globe: let illegal aliens take college scholarships from citizens

Raphael Lewis offers a semi-tear jerker called "Aid they won not for them, undocumented students learn":

Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey strode onto a Framingham High School stage Monday to give 148 seniors a special holiday gift: a letter from Governor Mitt Romney informing them that they have won four tuition-free years at the state's public colleges and universities.

There was only one problem: School officials say that at least four of those who received the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship were undocumented immigrants and thus do not qualify for the free tuition program. Federal law prohibits the distribution of government financial aid to those who are here illegally...

Let's say there wasn't such a law. In that case, four illegal aliens would have taken free scholarships from our own fellow citizens. If a country allows things like that, then perhaps they should just abandon the idea of "citizen" entirely and switch to "resident."

Obviously, taking things away from U.S. citizens in order to give them to illegal aliens strikes at the very heart of our political system and we need to keep a watchful eye for those like the Boston Globe who support such explicitly anti-American goals.

Also note this:

...the four undocumented students who received the Romney letter Monday are Brazilian nationals who were brought to the United States illegally by their parents three to six years ago...

In other words, they haven't been here since they were two. Does anyone think there's the possibility they were brought here intentionally so they could go to school on our dime? Have any of the dozens of newspapers that have printed similar stories ever - even just once - asked the parents of these children what they were thinking and whether they were trying to rip us off?

Write ombud *at* globe.com and ask them to try that next report.

Posted to Immigration at 10:04 PM | Comments (4)

Los Angeles Daily News opposes border wall, wins canard contest

The L.A. DailyNews offers "Wall of shame: House immigration bill is all stick, no carrot". What's striking about it is that they offer no new canards, just a recitation of those we've come to know and love. In fact, it could almost have been autogenerated.

They support a "comprehensive solution", telling us that "enforcement alone [cannot] end illegal immigration" and that we need to create "sufficient opportunities for legal entry and earned citizenship."

And, they tell us that that would:

"free up law enforcement to focus its energies on criminals, gang members and terrorists."

Now, compare that with Our Leader's October comments:

"The fewer people trying to sneak in to work means it's more likely we're going to catch drug smugglers and terrorists and gun runners."

They also use the immigrants-living-in-the-shadows meme. Twice. And, those illegal aliens living here now are "intricately intertwined with their communities and the nation's economy".

Then, channeling Asa Hutchinson, they say it's "simply not realistic to think that the government can round up and deport these people."

And, they unwittingly give the strongest reason against a "guest" worker scheme, pointing out that many of those illegal aliens here now "have children who are American citizens."

Sometime soon I hope to have a new site operational which will discuss each of these oft-repeated canards, and including links to those who use them so we can see exactly who's on the other side.

Posted to Immigration at 12:37 PM | Comments (6)

"Federal crackdown on illegal workers could cripple building, farming industries"

Florida's Sun-Sentinel provides their entry in this year's Dishonest Reporting competition.

Posted to Immigration at 04:22 AM | Comments (1)

The Wall Street Journal and Open Borders

In "A Nation of Widgets: The Wall Street Journal and Open Borders", Mac Johnson discusses yet another Wall Street Journal editorial supporting unfettered immigration. He includes the following:

...Finally, the editorial finished with the most corrupt message I have ever seen in a major newspaper:

"Republicans seem intent not merely on increasing border patrols but also on further harassing law-abiding businesses that happen to hire illegals, as if anyone can tell the difference between real and fake immigration documents. Only Republicans would think it's smart politics to punish their supporters for hiring willing workers."

And only those who see the world through the soda straw of economic self-interest could editorialize against law enforcement and in favor of the right of a self-denied elite to be able to openly disobey whatever laws they find too “restrictive”.

It’s as if a local paper were to have the gall to complain that an overzealous vice squad were making it hard for friends to profit from prostitution. I mean, every pimp that comes through our offices says the same thing.

And that sort of elitist conceit on the part of the anti-nationalists is why the immigration issue is creating enough frustration among American voters that they are even willing to experiment with unknown and handicapped third parties to try to make their voice heard by the same politicians and executives to which the editors of the Wall Street Journal have such easy access.

Men are not widgets, and immigration affects more than just numbers in an abstract spreadsheet. America is not merely an economic opportunity zone for all comers to profit from. America is a homeland. America is a home to a distinct culture and the people that created it or have been assimilated into it. It is possible that the philosophical bookends of rightist globalism and leftist multiculturalism have squashed the instinct of that people to protect their culture and to claim the right to restrict entry into their home. But I doubt it.

Posted to Immigration at 11:21 PM | Comments (1)

Mexico agitating international community, Fifth Columnists against U.S.

Mexico is in a snit about HR 4437, the still-pending bill that would build 700 miles of wall along our border, and they intend to take steps to make sure it's not built.

While some might laugh at, downplay, or ignore what Mexico plans to do, it represents a significant threat to the U.S. And, if we build the wall or take other steps to reinforce our sovereignty over our country, they will probably step up the pressure. According to foreign secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez:

"Mexico is not going to bear, it is not going to permit, and it will not allow a stupid thing like this wall... ...What has to be done is to raise a storm of criticism, as is already happening, against this."

We're informed that he intends to "turn the international community against the plan".

They've also hired a Dallas-based PR firm, Allyn & Company, led by Rob Allyn, to polish their image. And, as previously discussed, Mexico is trying to rally Fifth Columnists inside the U.S. to its cause. And, they've been airing radio ads in Mexico:

"Had a labor accident in the United States? You have rights ... Call," reads the ad, sponsored by Mexico's Foreign Relations Department, which has helped migrants bring compensation suits in the United States.

It's just a couple small steps from these moves to directly agitating their citizens inside the U.S.

However, the only reason that's a threat is because of the Fifth Column inside the U.S.

While the far-left, politicians, and businesspeople do have a great deal of power on their own, there is one thing that can make or break them: the media. If most of the media were opponents rather than supporters of massive illegal immigration, those other groups would have far less power.

So, in order to reduce the threat of Mexico, I suggest that you work to completely discredit the many media sources that ignore or support massive illegal immigration.

Posted to Immigration at 10:21 PM | Comments (2)

Elizabeth Vargas: straight, curly, or other?

Please, take the poll:

Posted to Celebrities at 08:31 PM | Comments (0)

Wisconsin: Sen. Cathy Stepp's home surrounded by illegal immigration supporters

That state Senator offers the following letter:

Leaders of a Hispanic activist group known as Voces de la Frontera believe that in America, it is better to storm the home of an elected official and yell in their windows after dark to intimidate someone rather than to run for office to change policy.

On the evening of Friday, December 16th, a group of people advocating the issuing of drivers’ licenses to non-citizens appeared outside my windows yelling and attempting to intimidate me into voting against Assembly Bill 69...

See the many comments, one of which points out that "Voces" has a link to one Al Levie, a teacher at Horlick High School in Racine:

...Shortly thereafter, with financial assistance from Voces de la Frontera, Al, his wife Jennifer, Voces de la Frontera leader and longstanding community activist Maria Morales, and seven of the most active students traveled to Washington, D.C. The Center for Community Change organizedthree days ofactivities centering on the DREAM Act and Student Adjustment Act. These federal acts would offer undocumented students a pathway to citizenship, in-state tuition for college, and opportunities to apply for federal financial aid. Students trained in lobbying techniques and spent a daylobbying elected representatives.

They participated in a mock graduation ceremony at the U. S. Capitol and marched to the Department of Education todeliver lettershighlighting the fact that thousands of dreams were being denied because of lack of access to higher education. The Washington Post interviewed Xavier Marquez and Marylu Garcia and featured Xavier's picture on the front page the following day...

All of this is reminiscent of the "action" against Karl Rove: "Even more on the Karl Rove harassment". That involved a different group, "National Political Action", pulling a similar stunt in support of the same anti-American legislation. And, that involved school teachers as well and might have involved publicly-funded schoolbuses.

UPDATE: The other side responds:

This letter is to clarify that it was never the intention of the people who came to Senator Stepp's door to harass or intimidate her. In fact, four people came to her door. They were not yelling at her window; nor were they yelling about AB 69/SB334... Members of Voces de la Frontera were practicing the right of free expression and the right to petition a legislator. Politicians come knocking on our doors all the time, especially before elections. Does that mean we should call the police and threaten to pursue charges? An elected official has a duty to hear from and respond to constituents. The warm invitation for dialogue that was expressed at the public hearing was the basis of our decision to try to speak with Senator Stepp directly...

I fervently hope that Stepp pursues charges against these people.

Posted to Immigration2005b at 04:16 PM | Comments (1)

"Crackhead University" and Newburgh NY

The upstate New York version of the South Bronx, otherwise known as Newburgh, has been featured here in the past. In October 2003 I visited that less-than-charming burg: "Where can I buy crack in the mid-Hudson River Valley region of New York State?"

While driving through a semi-rural area that was the last thing I was expecting to find.

Then, last year John Kerry and Teresa Heinz ate at a Wendy's there and I provided extensive coverage.

Now, "LouDAWG" informs us that they even made a documentary about that fine city: "Crackhead University".

Posted to BloggingAcrossAmerica at 01:34 PM | Comments (3)

"Hatred and retaliation won't fix the migration problem"

Someone named Kelly Arthur Garrett is apparently an American reporter who lives in Mexico. She offers the titular piece, which starts with this:

What a sad commentary on the state of the migration policy debated when asimple call for bilateral cooperation loosens an avalanche of anti-Mexico vitriol from misguided Americans who confuse sword rattling with patriotism.

Then, she follows that with reading bits from the mail she received about an earlier column. While she apparently wants the reader to disagree with most of her epistlers, I'm having trouble doing so since most of them are completely right. Obviously, I could waste my time showing how most are indeed right, but instead I'll just provide this:

Here's the way two researchers put it two years ago: "Offering to work more closely with Mexico on trade and migration, the United States can press its neighbor both to adopt reforms that will help its workforce achieve parity in earning power and to develop common procedures and competencies in law enforcement, immigration policy, and defense. Perhaps integration may then come close to becoming a reality."

Is that a call to treason? Leftist propaganda? Hardly. That plea for bilateral migration cooperation is quoted from a report by the very architect of the conservative ideology that currently reigns in the United State — the Heritage Foundation.

Here's the report she's refering to. As you might have guessed, the "integration" refered to in the quote above is "continental integration", aka a sovereignty-sapping scheme to join the U.S., Canada, and Mexico together into an EU-style superstate. I'll leave it to the reader to determine whether simply calling for such a form of governance rises to the level of treason or not, or whether one would need to actually try to bring it about to meet the requirements of that most serious charge.

Posted to Immigration2005b at 10:35 AM | Comments (3)

AP/Arthur H. Rotstein: some of my best friends are Minutemen

The AP offers the biased report "Vigilante Anti-Immigration Group Gaining" about the Minuteman Project. A search shows that that's the original AP title, and not the one from Yahoo. (Fox calls it "Minuteman Project Gains Popularity", two AZ sources change it: KVOA, AZ Daily Sun, as do two ND sources: IN Forum, Grand Forks Herald. About 50 other sources have the same title as Yahoo.)

Obviously, the MMP don't call themselves "vigilantes"; it was Our Leader and others who came up with that. And, they aren't "anti-immigration", so the AP starts out with a lie. But, of course, that spirit continues:

The Minuteman Project was launched earlier this year amid fears that racist crackpots would rough up illegal immigrants trying to slip into this country.

Yes, but it would be helpful if the AP would tell us who was doing the fear-mongering: the "so-called" liberal media and far-left, pro-illegal immigration groups. Then, they inform us that that fear-mongering was wrong, and give us some good news:

And even critics of the movement acknowledge its participants are not all bigots or extremists.

Hey, I can play that game too: not all members of the MSM are far-left, anti-American propagandists. Then they quote a member of Morris Dees' Southern Poverty Law Center:

..."there are real strains of racism and anti-Semitism in this movement." Still, "the movement has attracted people who are not Klansmen or neo-Nazis."

Can I play again too? Not all members of the media are traitors.

While they do provide a quote from Dan Stein of FAIR, they also quote an Arizona sociologist to give us some "historical" background.

And, they end by giving us a few links to those mentioned in the story. Except, for one reason or another, the National Immigration Forum gets a link, but wasn't mentioned...

Posted to Immigration2005b at 06:33 AM | Comments (0)

Financial Times discovers dangers of massive illegal immigration

The Financial Times superficially reports that "LA's hidden economy threatens region". That's their take on the Milken Institute report discussed here in "Liberalism" caused Los Angeles' massive underground economy:

The findings, which added fuel to an already fierce debate about illegal immigration and revived talk about ways to make California more business-friendly, overshadowed the principal conclusion that the existing workforce is ill-equipped to man well-paid knowledge-based industries. So-called "informal" workers are most commonly found in catering, domestic service, the garment trade, construction and gardening. About 60 per cent are non-citizens, although not necessarily undocumented.

Noting the increased diversity and resilience of the economy, the study said Los Angeles had recovered strongly from recession and the loss of aerospace and financial services jobs in the 1990s. "The city also remains polarised between high-end and low-end jobs. It suffers from a workforce that is disproportionately unskilled."

...The city needed to offer better opportunities for immigrants and their children to attain higher educational standards, and generate initiatives such as loan guarantees to improve small businesses' access to capital. Its universities should also be better used to "seed" new businesses and ideas, and vocational training should focus on industries that are stable and offer good pay and growth prospects.

Improved education and training, seen by voters as the state's most urgent political issue, is the main policy platform adopted by Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles mayor.

Once again: take care of illegal immigration, and this problem will take care of itself.

Posted to Immigration2005b at 03:01 AM | Comments (1)

"Preschool for All Act", Rob Reiner, and the government targeting 4-year-olds

In June 2006, California will vote on Rob Reiner's scheme to establish voluntary preschool. Previously we offered "First 5 California": Yet another illegal immigration magnet, and here are a few more interesting links:

Why Californians Should Vote NO On "Preschool-For-All" in June 2006. That's from a homeschooling group, but they have 15 reasons worthy of your consideration.

"Will Universal Preschool Give All Kids a Head Start?"

...Critics wonder why billions should be tossed at expanding a school system that is so grossly failing the children currently in its care. Both sides agree: universal preschool involves increasing government's "parental" role regarding children. It involves a new bureaucracy that focuses on 4-year-olds...

Reiner's campaign may also serve as a model on how to turn universal preschool advocacy into governmental reality. In 1997, Reiner founded the I Am Your Child Foundation (now Parents Action for Children) to fight "for issues such as early education." In 1998, Reiner campaigned successfully for Proposition 10, a ballot initiative to tax tobacco products in order to fund preschool programs.

That same year, a California Department of Education report called for a half-day of preschool for every 3 or 4-year-old by 2008. Two bills before the 1998 state legislature unsuccessfully attempted to establish the system. By 2004, Reiner and the California Teachers Association had qualified a universal preschool initiative for the ballot but ultimately withdrew it in a joint statement.

In short, California has a long history of activists working in concert with various bureaucracies in order to expand both the reach and the funding of the CDE.

As usual, statistics and studies have been flashed in support...

Read the rest of the article, because those statistics - which you might have heard on the radio or on TV - seem to be based on rather questionable studies. Speaking of which, the Mercury News pimps the scheme in "Study supports measure's claims". Only in the seventh out of ninth paragraph do we get the other side:

Critics, including researchers at Princeton University and the Brookings Institution, have raised concerns about the Chicago Child-Parent Centers study, in part because of its small sample size. Others, including Lance Izumi of the Pacific Research Institute, question whether a targeted, relatively small Chicago study can be adequately extrapolated for a state as large, and as diverse, as California.

But, wait, it gets worse. Jill Tucker from the Daily Review offers "Study shows free preschool changes kids' lives forever/Experts say universal program is big investment with big returns". It contains no negative information whatsoever. Now, given the headline and the content, what do we normally call things like that?

Posted to California at 06:33 PM | Comments (1)

"Dr. Germ", "Mrs. Anthrax" released in Iraq

I'd say this might be a correct decision, or the Bush administration might have some super-secret stratergery planned, except in almost all cases their decisions have turned out to be completely wrong. I guess we'll just have one more rollercoaster to ride because of their deep thinking, huh?

About 24 top former officials in Saddam Hussein's regime, including a biological weapons expert known as "Dr. Germ," have been released from jail...

"The release was an American-Iraqi decision and in line with an Iraqi government ruling made in December 2004, but hasn't been enforced until after the elections in an attempt to ease the political pressure in Iraq," said the lawyer, Badee Izzat Aref.

Among them were Rihab Taha, a British-educated biological weapons expert, who was known as "Dr. Germ" for her role in making bio-weapons in the 1980s, and Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash, known as "Mrs. Anthrax," a former top Baath Party official and biotech researcher, Aref said.

"Because of security reasons, some of them want to leave the country," he said. He declined to elaborate, but noted "some have already left Iraq today."

Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, would say only that eight individuals formerly designated as high-value detainees were released Saturday after a board process found they were no longer a security threat and no charges would be filed against them.

Neither the U.S. military or Iraqi officials would disclose any of the names, but a legal official in Baghdad said Taha and Ammash were among those released.

The official, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue, said those released also included Hossam Mohammed Amin, head of the weapons inspections directorate, and Aseel Tabra, an Iraqi Olympic Committee official under Odai Saddam Hussein, the former leader's son...

Posted to Iraq at 09:32 AM | Comments (0)

Vicente Fox lectures America: don't forget immigrant roots

America's amigo, like our leader, has now become a parody, offering us the following canard:

"[The proposed wall on the Mexican border is] a very bad sign, which does not speak well of a country that is proud of being democratic, proud of being a country of immigrants... The vast majority of the population of the United States, when we look at their roots, are immigrants who have arrived from all over the world and who have constructed that great nation. That's why they can't deny who they are."

We are indeed a land of immigrants. Because of that, does that mean we have to let anyone come here and join us? Obviously not. Because if we did, we'd have a population larger than India in a decade or two.

So, Vicente, that's why we have immigration laws. See, we need to manage the flow of future immigrants. In order to make the best life for the descendents of past immigrants, we need to make sure that those who come here will be good for the country.

That's why we need to make sure that people who come here don't, for instance, think that our land rightfully belongs to some other country. And, we need to make sure that those who come here are going to be full Americans, and not just Mexicans who live in the U.S. Unfortunately, the Mexican government teaches its citizens that the U.S. southwest rightfully belongs to Mexico, and it does its level best to make sure that those "immigrants" it sends us stay true to their homeland. Now, surely, there are many Mexicans who emigrate here and give up allegiances to their former homeland. However, most of the illegal aliens who Mexico allows to come here do not fit that description.

So, Vicente, is there anyway you could look after your own citizens instead of sending them northward and then issuing pathetic pleas to emotionalism? Thanks.

Posted to Immigration2005b at 06:18 AM | Comments (2)

WaPo: immigration laws aren't being enforced, therefore they won't work

Michael A. Fletcher and Darryl Fears offer "Analysts: Crackdown Won't Halt Immigration". It includes quotes from a few people saying that enforcement alone won't work and we need a guest worker scheme. The "reporters" seem to be leading the reader to come to that same conclusion.

However, in the very same article, the "reporters" inform us that we aren't really doing enforcement:

Congress has passed laws to crack down on illegal immigration in the past -- most recently in 1996 -- but those efforts have met with little success, especially when it comes to holding employers accountable. In 1999, the government issued 417 notices of intent to fine employers for hiring undocumented workers. Last year, that number dropped to three, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office. Even when employers were caught hiring undocumented workers, the penalties typically have been minor, the GAO found.

Obviously, the problem is not that the laws don't work. The problem is that they are not enforced. Now, surely, most readers of this article will realize that, right? Why would the WaPo discredit itself like this?

And, enforcement used to work, back when it meant actual "enforcement" and before the WaPo and others redefined it to mean "enforcement on paper only". The problem now is that we have "enforcement", but because of political corruption the laws are ignored.

If the WaPo wanted to rise above its current rag status they'd point that out and indicate that the root cause is corruption and not that our laws don't work. And, they'd include historical data showing that, yes, indeed, enforcement works when it's actually carried out.

They also quote Steven A. Camarota, research director for the Center for Immigration Studies, but they don't indicate whether he agrees with their headline. In fact, I'd imagine that he'd say something similar to what I wrote above.

The solution to the illegal immigration crisis is to vote corrupt politicians out of office. At the same time, sources like the WaPo have to be completely discredited.

This is yet another of my small contributions in the latter effort, and I strongly encourage you to do whatever you can to help. For instance, please write ombudsman *at* washpost.com and let them know you know what they're up to.

Posted to Immigration2005b at 04:23 AM | Comments (1)

23 million Americans can barely read English; 11 million speak little English

Good news for those (from "both" parties) who want a dumb citizenry:

Eleven million adults in the United States speak no English or know so little they can't read a prescription or sign a form, the Education Department said Thursday.

In addition, 23 million people who were born in the U.S. can barely perform such simple tasks, according to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy...

...Seven million adults, defined as those over age 16, spoke very little English. Four million others spoke no English at all. A majority of these 11 million were Spanish speakers, though more precise numbers weren't available...

[The researchers] did make note of the influx of millions of non-English speakers into the U.S. in the past 12 years...

...Only 13 percent of adults were considered proficient.

In a puzzling trend, even those with bachelor's and graduate degrees showed lower English skills compared with 1993. Schneider said that researchers were stumped and that the trend must be analyzed to figure out if college standards are sliding...

Posted to Politics at 01:45 PM | Comments (7)

Immigration lawyer unsuccessfully pimps guest worker scheme at DU

"MemFromDem" claims to be an immigration lawyer, and in an anti-Lou Dobbs thread it tries to pimp the Kennedy-McCain guest worker scheme. "TahitiNut" takes it to task, complete with some shocking charts that I'll have to incorporate in future posts. And:

Suffice it to say that when the 'ownership society' invites and facilitates an invasion of cheap labor from a deliberately oppressed neighboring country it's an invasion in nearly a literal sense of warfare. To attack those raising the alarm as racists is the cheapest and most hypocritical of ploys. It's disgusting. But monarchs (and oligarchs) have always deployed cannon fodder against cannon fodder, haven't they? It's just another kind of war profiteering - class warfare.

Posted to Immigration2005b at 08:52 AM | Comments (0)

Poll: one-third of Americans want Bush impeached

According to a Rasmussen poll, 32% of respondents want Bush to be impeached. It's at 35% for VP Dick Cheney.

On the other hand, 58% don't want impeachment for Bush. (For those doing the math, that's a little over half).

As fas as voting for someone who would pledge to impeach Our Leader, Dems said they'd be more like 47% to 28%. However, 80% of Republicans wouldn't vote for that candidate.

Previously: "Over half of WND readers support Bush's impeachment" and "Would a Bill of Impeachment Wake-Up President Bush?"

Posted to Politics at 04:24 AM | Comments (0)

Why do I bother?

First of all, I'd like to thank the 150 or so people who voted for this site in its Weblog Awards category. Unfortunately, this site ended up in seventh place with 5.42% of the vote.

Obviously, that's not that good, especially considering that I've been a bit of a pioneer of the medium. And, I continue to cover the illegal immigration scam, something that most other bloggers - especially the major ones - ignore. Now, obviously, occasionally calling people names, working to discredit others, not playing well with other bloggers, not being a sycophant, not being a partisan hack, etc. etc. does tend to take its toll.

Nevertheless, I shall persevere. For you, my reader.

Posted to Bloggage at 11:26 PM | Comments (6)

Class action lawsuit filed against California giving tuition discounts to illegal aliens

From a report that the SacBee misleadingly titles "Immigrant tuition law challenged":

Sparked by a former California congressman, a class-action lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Yolo County Superior Court challenging a state law allowing undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition at public universities.

Former U.S. Rep. Brian Bilbray, a San Diego Republican currently running for the vacated seat of Randy "Duke" Cunningham, initiated the suit by complaining after his children were charged out-of-state tuition at a community college after moving to California from Virginia.

Bilbray contends it is fundamentally unfair for his two adult children, Briana, 19, and Patrick, 20, to be charged the higher out-of-state rate while some undocumented immigrants are eligible for much lower tuition fees...

...The Attorney General's Office declined comment, saying it had not yet seen the suit. Ravi Poorsina, spokeswoman for the University of California, said the state law being challenged does not provide special treatment to undocumented immigrants because it provides the same benefits to out-of-state students who meet the criteria, such as students who attend a California boarding school while their family lives elsewhere.

Of the 1,339 UC students who received a tuition exemption under the statute in 2004-05, roughly 30 percent may have been undocumented immigrants, though precise figures are unavailable, Poorsina said.

If this fails on a technicality or because Poorsina's description of the statute fits the DHS's rules, then I guess one of the remaining options would perhaps be to try to get some state or federal agency to conduct an investigation of some kind which would lead to a charge of aiding and abetting illegal aliens. Of course, the chance of that happening is quite slim.

UPDATE: In the unlikely event that there's an investigation, perhaps it could start with Marshall "Mark" Drummond, chancellor of California Community Colleges. He told the L.A. Times:

"My job isn't to patrol the border. My job is to build healthy communities... Regardless of the merits of these folks coming here in the first place, the point is to me that they're here, they're residents of communities, they are successful graduates of California high schools, and I personally welcome them to study and learn in our community colleges and contribute back to their communities."

Posted to Immigration2005b at 04:08 PM | Comments (3)

Stop the trojan horse illegal alien amnesty

Your calls are needed immediately: Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) has added language to HR 4437 that supports adding a guest worker scheme to the final bill.

The "Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005" will be voted on today, so please take a minute and call your Congressman immediately. Perhaps it would be best to scrap HR 4437 completely and start over, or at least suggest that they remove this pro-illegal alien amnesty language.

Please contact your rep here or just call 202-224-3121.

"The assurances that we had on this bill was that it would address our border security concerns," said Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., who made an impassioned statement Wednesday at a meeting of Republican members calling for the leaders to remove the language before the bill hits the floor. "Now the day before the vote we learn that there's a Trojan horse that's being attached by way of a guest worker program that we feel will lead to an amnesty."

...Royce said this new language was put into Sensenbrenner's amendment "because Jeff Flake and others who are enthusiasts for an open border position have tried to negotiate this into the final bill through subterfuge."

A spokesman for Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said he wanted to wait and see whether the Rules Committee left his language in the bill before responding to Royce...

UPDATE: This page will be updated with the progress of the bill, and it has links to much more information. See also this or this.

UPDATE 2: Speaking on KFI, Rep. Tom Tancredo says that the Flake amendment has been removed, and that an amendment allowing for 700 miles of border fence has been inserted into the bill.

Posted to Immigration2005b at 10:10 AM | Comments (1)

Urgent action needed: strengthen HR 4437

Rep. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-WI) has proposed H.R. 4437, aka the "Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005". It contains some strong provisions against illegal immigration and a (probably deliberately) weak provision or two. The last might indicate that this bill is actually a trojan horse designed to make massive illegal immigration legal and help pave the way for a guest worker scheme. And, some have speculated that this might be a sneaky attempt to get such an amnesty.

In that scenario, the House would pass this bill before the holidays and be able to go home and brag to their constituents that they'd done something about this crisis. But, the House and the Senate would then work together behind closed doors to add in a "guest" worker scheme. And, there's little that the pro-American House members could do about that.

However, the bill itself doesn't include a "guest" worker or "temporary" worker scheme. This would be a helpful bill, but only if its negative, trojan horse provisions were removed.

To solve both problems, please contact all your representatives and tell them to not only strengthen H.R. 4437 but that you will not only not vote for them but will refuse to donate to their parties if they pass any kind of a "guest" or "temporary" worker scheme.

The idea that this bill might be helpful is assisted by those on the other side. Mexico is not only opposed to the bill, they're encouraging their allies inside the U.S. to speak out about it.

Whether on Mexico's urging or just on their own, those opposed include the National Council of the Race (it's "appalling" and "mean-spirited"), MALDEF, LULAC, AILA, National Immigration Forum, the ACLU, and AZ Republic: Revisionist reform.

Just because those on the other side oppose the bill doesn't mean it's perfect, so please contact your representatives and urge them to do something about the trojan horse provisions.

UPDATE: People's Weekly World expresses their opposition.

Posted to Immigration2005b at 03:37 AM | Comments (18)

"Liberalism" caused Los Angeles' massive underground economy

The Milken Institute has released a study called the "Los Angeles Economy Project", which reports that nearly 680,000 workers in the region work in the underground, cash-only economy. And, nearly half of those are in Los Angeles alone.

Needless to say, most of those involved are illegal aliens. And, this situation costs the cities, counties, and feds two billion dollars in lost revenues.

"Liberalism" is directly responsible for this situation because of:

1. Onerous regulations forcing many companies to pursue a workaround.
2. Encouraging and allowing massive illegal immigration.

Now, "liberals" are trying to solve these problems they created and, as can be expected, they're only going to make it worse. The LAT offers the editorial "Beneath L.A.'s economy" which suggests loans and "amnesties" as a way to bring those businesses which are "economic outlaws" into the system.

And, they also provide a laundry list of all the downsides that the massive illegal immigration they support has caused. The Los Angeles Times freely admits that llegal immigration leads to companies that aren't in "compliance with tax, wage and safety laws". It leads to "unfair competition", a "burden on public health systems", and "worker mistreatment". They note that "outlaw businesses... offer no compensation to injured employees and often pay below-minimum wage" and they are "unlikely to collect and pay sales taxes."

And, they also try to lie to their readers:

Yes, much of this problem is tied to illegal immigration and economic desperation. Yes, dealing with the status of immigrants requires a federal solution.

Obviously, the first sentence is right. However, the second is an outright lie. The City of Los Angeles could do a great deal to reduce illegal immigration, starting by ending its sanctuary practice ("Special Order 40"). Perhaps, in retrospect, Antonio Villaraigosa's trip to Mexico where he practically invited everyone in that country to come visit him was a costly mistake.

And, the LADN offers "L.A.'s underground cash" which interviews Daniel Flaming, one of the study's co-authors:

"There are several factors that create economic desperation: a slow recovery from the 2000 recession, a growing immigrant labor force that in all likelihood includes a growing undocumented labor force. Those workers, in particular, are desperate."

And stemming the trend won't be easy, Flaming said. He believes it will require not only penalties for underground employers, but also incentives, such as technical assistance, for employers who compete legally, as well as efforts by both public and private organizations in education, skill development and citizenship programs.

Just enforce the immigration laws, and this problem will take care of itself.

Posted to Los_Angeles at 09:28 PM | Comments (0)

HOTW: "Mexican president criticizes increased U.S. border enforcement"

That's the headline to this article. "HOTW" means "Headline of the Week".

Over to Vicente Fox:

"This situation we're seeing, a shameful, embarrassing moment where walls are being built, security systems are being reinforced, and human and labor rights are being violated more and more, won't protect the economy of the United States..."

Well, it's good to know that he recognizes that even more illegal immigration from his country could adversely affected our economy.

"It would be hard to know what would happen to the economy of the United States if it wasn't for the enormous contribution, the productivity, the quality of work of our countrymen in that country..."

Could we please try? Would Sr. Fox allow us that?

"What the United States needs is a young (work) force, energy, quality, productivity, which is what keeps that economy competitive and the only way it can stop losing jobs to Asia, to China..."

That's code for an EU-style "North American Community", something that would reduce American sovereignty even lower than Fox has been able to do so far.

Now, it's time for irony:

Fox was in Reynosa supervising the Paisano Program, a government effort to clamp down on corrupt public officials and welcoming Mexican migrants coming home for the holidays.

If we could clamp down on corrupt public officials on our side of the border, those "migrants" wouldn't be able to come back.

Posted to NAU at 08:05 PM | Comments (0)

51 Terrorist Suspects Crossed Border Illegally

From this:

Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) today revealed figures which show that since October, 2004, 51 persons who have crossed into the U.S. illegally were arrested on suspicion of terrorism. The figures, part of a Department of Homeland Security response to a inquiry by the Congressman, document the national security risk our porous borders pose on the eve of Congress' first attempt to rewrite immigration law in nearly a decade.

Federal law enforcement coordinates its terrorism efforts through "Joint Terrorism Task Forces" (JTTFs), which include officials from the Justice and Homeland Security Departments. Since October, 2004, JTTFs have kept track of arrested terrorist suspects who are in the U.S. illegally. The JTTF document shows 51 persons were arrested who had "entered without inspection" into the U.S. from countries such as Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria and Pakistan...

"Entered without inspection" means crossing the border illegally, or otherwise sneaking in not at a port of entry.

A table showing the arrests, what they were arrested for, and their countries of origin is in this PDF file. A key for the U.S. Code sections is in this .doc file.

In the PDF file, those with "EWI" in the status column are the illegal crossers.

And here it was just Sunday when Ed Bradley assured us no terrorists had come over the border.

UPDATE: Tancredo may or may not have jumped the gun. The Denver Post salivates in "Tancredo releases miscast terror data" that the DHS claims that none of the 51 were arrested on terrorism charges, they were only arrested for illegal entry. However, they were investigated for links to terrorism:

The suspects were investigated by federal terrorism officials because they came from "countries of interest," such as Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria, the FBI said.

"I'm unaware of any instances at this time of individuals that have been charged with terrorism-related offenses (among) individuals who have been smuggled across the border," said FBI spokesman Bill Carter.

However, neither he nor a spokesman from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could rule out any ongoing terrorism investigations involving any of the 51...

..."I'm somewhat disappointed that Homeland Security is somewhat afraid of talking about it straight out," [Tancredo] said when told of the agency's statements.

Asked about his press release saying that the suspects had been arrested on terrorism-related charges, Tancredo said, "We shouldn't have been probably so definitive in that, and I'm sorry we did that. I take responsibility for that."

Nevertheless, Tancredo said, the data are the first evidence that people in the country illegally are being investigated for possible terrorism connections...

Posted to Immigration_terror at 05:35 AM | Comments (0)

S.F. Chronicle unwittingly exposes left's lack of moral compass

The S.F. Chronicle story "Tears, anger, silence at protesters' candlelight vigil" ("Speakers read from Williams' anti-gang children's books") unwittingly exposes just how far gone the left has gone. It would be one thing if those they describe were just anti-death penalty. But, it's more than that: many of them were pro-Tookie.

Like this:

"If he doesn't rise to the level of clemency, then what does?" [crying protester Carolyn King of San Jose] said.

Could many of these protesters have been, in fact, COINTELPRO operatives?

Why didn't the reporter point out that "shock jocks" John & Ken kept asking the crowd and celebrities to name Tookie's victims, and only one person could come up with the name of one of them?

More on this report here.

Posted to ThePeaceMovement at 04:35 AM | Comments (0)

A psychological test

I'd like you to read the following passage, pretending it's a voice over, and that this passage segues into a different scene. And, I'd like you to tell me what music you think would follow this passage. That is, what music would you hear after the segue:

TOKYO - The walking, childlike robot from Honda Motor Co. can now serve tea, push a mail cart and gallop along at twice its previous pace — the latest in the Japanese automaker's quest to replicate human movement.

The 51-inch talk, bubble-headed robot named Asimo has already shown it can jog, walk up stairs, wave, avoid obstacles and carry on simple conversations. But in a demonstration Monday at Honda's Tokyo head office, a new version of the robot showed off new skills its maker hopes will make the robot more handy around the office...

Maybe it's just me, but all I heard at that point was the saxophonic bleats of bad 70s pr0n music.

Posted to WackyHumor at 09:29 PM | Comments (1)

The Democratic Party of Hidalgo County and "armed resistance"

The post "Howard Dean to embarass self August 5 2005" discussed how the Democratic Party in Texas' Hidalgo County invited racists to speak at one of their meetings and even make threats against the Minuteman Project.

I recently noticed this August 2 post, which says it's an article that appeared in the Rio Grande Guardian:

Hidalgo County Democratic Party Chair Juan Maldonado has turned down the chance to appear on Fox News' O'Reilly Factor and CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight show. Fox and CNN wanted Maldonado to talk about plans by the Brown Berets to use physical force against supporters of the Minutemen Project, should the controversial border watch group decide to patrol in the Rio Grande Valley this October.

Maldonado said he would not appear on national TV because he believed talk about taking up armed struggle against the Minutemen was a ruse by Republican operatives designed to damage the image of the Democratic Party.

"I have rejected all offers to appear on national TV for now," Maldonado told the Guardian. "I think the whole thing with the Brown Berets was a plan by Republicans to get me to support or be linked with armed struggle. I have made it abundantly clear that I do not promote or condone violence and nor does my party."

Honestly, the last thing I was expecting was to have him call it a COINTELPRO-type attempt. I didn't buy his attempts to downplay this after the meeting, and I don't buy this rather creative attempt. It's too bad that (apparently) no one asked Mad Howie about this at the time.

Posted to Immigration2005b at 06:52 PM | Comments (0)

Dude from Slate visits border, discovers trash and other illegal immigration issues

Last week, Slate ran a three-parter from Judd Slivka entitled "How the Border Changed Us". It's not exactly pro-illegal immigration, but it's a standard "dude (as in the ranch) visits desert southwest for first time" piece. It concentrates on the trash left behind by crossers and their attempts to get water and lifts out of border residents. Oh, and it only uses the word "illegal" about trails and roads, not about entrants.

Posted to Immigration2005b at 02:32 PM | Comments (0)

79% of Texans think "government is not doing enough to stop illegal immigrants"

According to the Scripps Howard Texas Poll:

Seventy-nine percent say the government is not doing enough to stop illegal immigrants... The finding reflects a 10 point increase from February of 2004 and a 21-point hike from August of 2001. The survey included 1,000 Texas adults, and the poll has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The survey also shows that 86 percent believe that U.S. businesses are contributing to the surge of illegal immigration by hiring undocumented workers. A similar number - 83 percent - believe that businesses should identify and report undocumented immigrants.

...Eighty-four percent of Texans surveyed consider illegal immigration a serious problem, while 76 percent believe the number of unauthorized immigrants crossing into Texas has been increasing in recent years.

The survey, however, shows that Texans are split over proposed guest worker programs, including one by President Bush that would allow undocumented residents to stay in the country and work for several years in jobs bypassed by U.S. citizens. Fifty percent support the plan, compared with 42 percent who oppose and 8 percent who don't know.

The survey also shows that nearly half the Texans surveyed cast a skeptical view on the controversial Minutemen, citizen volunteers who patrol the border. Forty-nine percent oppose such efforts, while 47 percent approve.

Forty-nine percent believe undocumented workers take jobs that nobody wants, while 37 percent believe they take jobs from U.S. citizens...

Obviously, the poll isn't as nuanced as one would hope. Last year's results are in "Poll: Texans believe illegal immigration is a serious problem".

Posted to Immigration2005b at 11:04 AM | Comments (0)

Arizona Catholic Bishops support open borders

From this:

The bishops of Arizona are calling on Catholics to welcome immigrants into their parishes, whether documented or undocumented, and to work to reform the U.S. immigration laws in an effort to facilitate immigration and stem the growing number of migrant deaths at the U.S.-Mexico border...

How about working to reform Mexico's corrupt system? Isn't that the real way to solve this problem? (Along with not encouraging corruption here by making illegal immigration even worse.)

...They acknowledged "the legitimate strain of this crisis" on different aspects of society, but they reminded Catholics of their call "to live out the principles of global solidarity" and to defend the human dignity of the other...

...Catholic social teaching has consistently maintained that the goods of the earth belong to all people and that it is the right of the worker to migrate to sustain their family when they are unable to achieve a life of dignity in their own land, the bishops underlined...

Say what now? Private and state property has now been abolished? Perhaps we should tell that to Vatican City and start discussing how best to share all the real estate holdings of the Catholic Church.

...And while Catholic teaching recognizes that nations have the right to control their own borders and to regulate immigration, "this right is not absolute," said the bishops. Instead, they explained: "the needs of immigrants must be measured against the needs of the receiving countries, and that the rights of these nations must not be exaggerated to the point of denying access to needy people from other countries."

I wonder if these Bishops would write garbage like this if most of our "immigrants" were from Muslim countries and had no intention of ever converting.

And, if 10 million Muslims from Bangladesh showed up on our doorstep tomorrow, we couldn't deny them entry. According to their logic, we would have to admit anyone who comes here just as long as they're needy. Even if it's in the overall best interests of our country and their country that they stay at home, we have to let them in.

Perhaps all those African immigrants who are trying to storm Melilla could be sent to Vatican City.

Posted to Immigration2005b at 07:46 AM | Comments (5)

They let president Bush watch TV, read newspapers

I was a bit surprised at this part of the Brian Williams interview with our nations's leader:

I don't see a lot of the news. Every morning I look at the newspaper. I can't say I've read every single article in the newspaper. But I definitely know what's in the news. Occasionally, I watch television. I don't want to hurt your feelings, but it's occasionally. I'm working at that point, as are you. But I'm very aware of what's in the news. I'm aware because I see clips. I see summaries. I have people on my staff that walk in every morning and say, "This is what's — this is how I see it. This is what's brewing today," on both the domestic and international side. Frankly, it is probably part of my own fault for needling people, but it's a myth to think I don't know what's going on. And it's a myth to think that I'm not aware that there is opinions that don't agree with mine. Because I'm fully aware of that... I mean, I read the newspaper. I mean, I can tell you what the headlines are. I must confess, if I think the story is, like, not a fair appraisal, I'll move on. But I know what the story's about.

Posted to Politics at 03:35 AM | Comments (0)

Venus, a UFO, or a spy blimp?

At about 3:30pm today I saw a large, white, stationary object high in the Los Angeles sky. I was next to the Bird Sanctuary in Griffith Park at the time. I'm pretty sure this was too large to be a star or a planet, and anyway Venus is currently to the southwest, but the object was more SSE. I didn't take a bearing, but I'm pretty sure this wasn't to the west.

The object looked like it was at an altitude of at least a mile or two, and it did not move in the five minutes or so that I was observing it. However, after driving away and looking for it about 15 minutes later, I could not find it.

Was this Venus? Or, perhaps friends from across the galaxy coming to pay us a visit? Or, could it be a blimp or large balloon of some kind?

Perhaps it was just a weather balloon. Yeah, that's it.

Posted to Los_Angeles at 05:14 PM | Comments (0)

Buy Tess Smith's Emmy Awards dress

You remember Tess Smith I'm sure: the scantily-clad young actress/model/writer who brightened up the red carpet at the 2005 Emmy Awards. Now, you can bid on her dress. The auction says it's for charity, but I have no way of knowing whether that's true and whether that's really her dress. But, it certainly looks like it, so check it out.

UPDATE: It looks like bidding has ended and there were no bids. We'll keep you updated on future dress-related activities.

Posted to Celebrities at 11:18 AM | Comments (1)

60 Minutes' guest worker propaganda

As previously discussed, Ed Bradley reported on illegal immigration on last night's 60 Minutes.

Taking a bit of a harsher tone than I did comes this annotated transcript.

Posted to Immigration2005b at 10:55 AM | Comments (0)

"No such thing as 'temporary workers'"

Michael S. Teitelbaum (a demographer at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation) and Philip L. Martin (professor of labor economics at the University of California at Davis) discuss "guest" worker schemes:

...Decades of experience with such temporary worker programs in high-wage liberal democracies worldwide show that neither the programs nor the migrants turned out to be genuinely "temporary."

Mexico is unlikely to realize sustained benefits from exporting workers. Migrants' payments sent back to relatives wane over time, and such payments can stimulate land price inflation, conspicuous consumption of imported goods, and rising inequalities of wealth rather than stay-at-home development.

In the past, proponents have declared that such migrants would require very little in public expenditures. Yet universally, some temporary workers find ways to bring their families to join them, and then become substantial beneficiaries of existing government-financed programs such as public education, healthcare, and safety-net services for low-income residents. Politicians have also discovered - too late - that temporary worker programs really are labor subsidies to low-wage sectors such as garments, labor-intensive agriculture, and in-home personal services, retarding efforts to raise the level of national wages and productivity.

Temporary-worker programs are often portrayed as a legal and humane alternative to unauthorized migration. But they fail to acknowledge that the last major Mexico-US temporary worker program, the so-called bracero program, actually was the initiator and accelerator of today's large-scale unauthorized migration. The same is true across Western Europe, where "guest worker" programs based on similar claims were embraced during the economic booms of 30 to 40 years ago. Their "guests" for temporary work were transformed into millions of permanently resident "foreigners," who today have very high rates of unemployment and welfare dependency...

By the same authors: "The Mirage of Mexican Guest Workers"

Posted to Immigration2005b at 10:30 AM | Comments (0)

Has massive illegal immigration helped California's economy?

The California Economic Strategy Panel, a quasi-governmental group, commissioned a new study called "The Impact of Immigration on the California Economy" that supposedly shows that massive immigration - legal and illegal - hasn't resulted in California falling into the ocean. Here's the PDF file, and the S.F. Chronicle discusses it in a report that is surprisingly not as biased as one might expect: "What immigration brings California: Study evaluates the costs, benefits of a huge influx of foreign workers".

The new California report seeks to quantify migration trends since 1990 and assess their impacts at the broadest economic level. Its principal finding is that California, with its high rate of immigration, has done better than the national average over the past 15 years according to such measures as wages, job creation and unemployment.

A few economists support massive immigration being good, however:

Harvard economist George Borjas argues that labor competition from immigrants has a much larger impact on wages. To use the same example, if foreign-born workers in the $10-per-hour job category increased by 10 percent, Borjas would expect wages to be whittled back 30 cents or more... "California is a prosperous state,'' Borjas said. "Its prosperity masks the impact. But California is less well off than it would have otherwise been without this immigration."

Amidst all this "big picture" talk, the reporter manages to find the time to interview two "immigrants" who say they never took an American's job. Oh what a wonderful world it would be if anecdotal evidence and false generalizations weren't logical fallacies.

Posted to California at 07:22 AM | Comments (2)

Creepy WaPo article on illegal immigration contains grain of truth

An article with a rather strange provenance has appeared in the WaPo, entitled "Who's Trying to Cross Our Southern Border? Everyone". Here's the signature block:

Michael Flynn is a freelance writer based in Geneva. He received a grant from the Washington-based Fund for Investigative Journalism to report on transmigration from Mexico.

And, he includes this:

...provided to me during a recent trip to Mexico when officers from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), a group committed to managing the global migration crisis...

IOM is like a mini-UN. It was started by Belgium and the U.S. in the 50s, and, like the U.N. it has member states, observer states, etc. While nominally independent from the UN, I think we can consider them one and the same.

The article reports on those from about a third of the countries of the world who come to Mexico to cross into the U.S. The grain of truth amongst the propaganda comes from this:

Mexican commentators also argue that many of the country's problems stem from U.S. policies. If the United States didn't give so much work to undocumented immigrants, goes the argument, then Mexico wouldn't be flooded with migrants from across the globe. Says Father Vladimiro Valdez, a Jesuit priest in Mexico City and outspoken critic of both Mexican and U.S. immigration policies: "The fact is, the United States needs illegal workers, and it needs them to remain illegal because then they can continue to keep their wages low."

The politics of free trade, say critics like Valdez, have done little to improve the situation of the poor. Some claim that NAFTA has become a tool used by the United States to drive poor Mexican farmers off the land, thereby producing a steady stream of cheap labor for U.S. agribusiness.

They might indeed be right about that. The solution is not to create a guest worker program. And, the solution is not to give more benefits to illegal aliens and increase the draw.

The solution is to crack down on those growers and others who are creating this huge demand for illegal labor. Fewer foreign crossers coming to Mexico, fewer crossers coming to the U.S. It's a win-win.

Posted to Immigration2005b at 04:02 AM | Comments (3)

Ed Bradley offers superficial report on illegal immigration

Tonight's 60 Minutes had a segment called "More Migrants Dying To Get In". That link provides a rough transcript of the segment, but there are some not insignificant things they left out, such as Tancredo briefly referencing workplace enforcement and Ed Bradley not following up on that remark. And, Ed offered a little bit of editorializing, in effect agreeing with one guest that we need a guest worker scheme because we need those illegal workers. (That guest was Mark Reed; more on him here, here, here, and here.)

Here are some of the things Ed forgot to include in his report:

- Who exactly is responsible for not enforcing our immigration laws at workplaces?

- What role does political corruption play in all this? If politicians take contributions from companies that profit off illegal immigration, isn't that corruption and a threat to our entire political system?

- Who was governor of Nebraska during the meatpacking raids Ed discussed, and what's his current job? (I believe that would be Mike Johanns, who is now our Secretary of Agriculture.)

- If Bob just comes to work, well, who could refuse Bob a job? And, if Fred just comes to work, well, we don't want to deny ol' Fred what he wants. But, when you've got millions of people "just coming to work", doesn't that have a major impact on our economy and our way of life? Why didn't Ed say anything about that?

- Why didn't Ed discuss the Mexican government's continual attempt to meddle in our internal politics?

- Why didn't Ed discuss any of the threats to our country discussed in Heather MacDonald's recent piece on the actions of Mexico's consuls in the U.S.?

- Why didn't Ed discuss those U.S. politicians who occasionally act more like Mexican politicians?

- Why didn't Ed disclose that a major chunk of Mexico's population would come to the U.S. if they could?

- Why didn't Ed discuss how illegal immigration will undercut any immigration system, and the way to stop that - and stop desert crossings - is to go after the employers and reduce or eliminate non-emergency public services?

- Does Ed think Americans are stupid enough to think that the fact that no terrorists have (supposedly) been caught at the border indicates that a) they haven't tried or b) they haven't already succeeded?

- Does Ed think terrorists who infiltrated our borders would then, for instance, send CBS a press release to announce their presence?

I realize there's only so many minutes in a segment, but by providing such a superficial report Ed Bradley undercuts his own credibility and does a disservice to his viewers.

UPDATE: There's an annotated transcript here.

Posted to Immigration2005b at 08:45 PM | Comments (1)

Illegal immigrants in Minnesota costs $188 million/year; "liberals" whine

Minnesota's Department of Administration recently released a report showing that illegal immigrants to that state cost them $188 million a year. Governor Tim Pawlenty commissioned the study and, while offering no specific legislation at this point, appears to be intending to do something.

That caused this:

"It's playing to racism, basically," said Rep. Karen Clark, DFL-Minneapolis. " ... I think it is a desperate move. I'm very sad that Governor Pawlenty would go in this direction again."

Actually, Clark is the one who's playing to racism, by playing the race card. Many in that state are concerned about the issue and don't want to spend that money. Rather than offering proper public policy, the opposition simply plays the only card they have.

Focusing on illegal immigrants' costs without counting their contributions doesn't make sense, said Jared Erdmann, co-director of Hacer, a Hispanic research organization in the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. He said a Hacer study estimated the buying power of Latinos, believed to make up the bulk of illegals in Minnesota, at $3.1 billion. Migrants, both legal and illegal, have revitalized entire neighborhoods, he added.

So, if someone sneaks in to your movie theater, it's OK if they buy popcorn? Sorry, I'm not buying that. One person sneaking in leads others to try to sneak in, and leads to others not respecting those doors you have on the theater. And, if your manager is paid to look the other way, he should be immediately fired because he's a corrupt crook. Many of our managers in Washington are in effect paid to look the other way, and, while it's a little difficult to fire them we've come close a couple times recently.

I'd also suggest doing the math on Erdmann's figures. Either there are a lot more "Latinos" than illegal aliens in MN, or every single one of those illegal aliens has a buying power of over $30,000.

Previously: "[MN Governor] Pawlenty Asks Cities To Rethink Immigration Ordinances"

Posted to Immigration2005b at 09:34 AM | Comments (0)

"Congress and the Naturalization of Immigrants"

There's a historical backgrounder here.

This part stands out:

Federal law and regulations establish procedures, administered by the Department of State, by which Americans can voluntarily renounce their citizenship. In addition, federal law lists a variety of acts that shall result in the loss of citizenship if "voluntarily perform[ed] . . . with the intention of relinquishing United States nationality." These include obtaining naturalization in a foreign state; declaring allegiance to a foreign state; serving in the armed forces of a foreign state as an officer or when the foreign state is engaged in hostilities against the United States; and, in some cases, serving in governmental office in a foreign state.

Of course, there are millions of U.S. citizens who are also citizens of other countries. And, recall the case of Illinois state senator Martin Sandoval, who wants to also serve on a Mexican committee.

Posted to Immigration2005b at 08:19 AM | Comments (2)

Banana Boy behind bars!

Banana Boy was arrested on Thursday in Hudson Falls' downtown area. Chris, his brother Jonathan Phelps, and his friend Luke Van Scoy were staging a skit: "Banana Boy Arrested After Faux Fight". According to the Post-Star of Glens Falls, the BB was dressed in his costume all the while. Despite that - or perhaps because of it - the police even drew their guns when they saw the fake fracas, not realizing it was just for The Ravacon on WNCE:

"I said, 'Oh my God, don't shoot the banana,'" said Steven Wilson, who was watching the skit being filmed when Lovelace came upon the scene with his gun drawn. "It was the funniest thing I've ever seen."

According to WNCE co-owner Jesse Jackson (no relation to the Reverend), he's going to have a talk with the BB about this. He also called them "very talented". And:

"I've been in TV for a lot of years and I've never seen anything like them".

That's for sure!

Posted to WackyHumor at 03:51 AM | Comments (0)

I am no longer able to satirize the Huffington Post

I may have to shut down my Huffington Post satire site because what's going on at the HuffPost itself is an even better satire than even I could come up with.

To wit: Arbitrary Justice by... Bianca Jagger. She's supporting clemency for Tookie Williams.

On the other hand, Arianna herself offers "Airport Reading: Of BJs and Bike Seats". While parts of it are a bit worrisome, I personally would pay to hear Arianna speak the first part aloud.

Posted to Bloggage at 12:56 PM | Comments (0)

Knight Ridder offers conventional "wisdom" on immigration "reform"

David Goldstein of K-R offers "Undocumented immigration a growing worry". Unfortunately, like other articles it offers the false choice between amnesty lite and amnesty heavy, without acknowledging the revolutionary step of simply enforcing our current laws.

Posted to Immigration2005b at 08:44 AM | Comments (0)

More fretful farmers whining for you to pay for their labor

The N.C. Times' William Finn Bennett offers "Local farmers fret over rising cost of wages". That reporter is usually better than writing articles like this, and he or anyone else who believes anything these farmers say should first read "Jon Vessey, crops rotting in the fields, and pro-illegal immigration propaganda" or "The Mirage of Mexican Guest Workers".

While the article is full of disgusting bits, this might be the worst:

"American workers are not willing to work these types of jobs for this type of pay... Most young people (in this country) have never even held a shovel ---- Americans would not eat if they depended on other Americans to do farm labor."

Obviously, this country has done some mighty important and noteworthy things. Just off the top of my head, we've been to the moon, we've dammed mighty rivers, we've expanded the U.S. from thirteen colonies into a world collossus, we've fought world wars, and so on and so forth. And, some pissant grower dares say we'd starve without a foreign serf class? As politely as I can muster: up yours, buddy. Perhaps he should consider moving to another country, because he obviously doesn't belong here.

But, looking on the bright side of that noxious comment, it sounds like a good lesson could be had by both parties. Our (supposedly) spoiled and unskilled young people could learn shovel work. And, those growers who employ illegal aliens could learn a new skill as well: making license plates.

If these farmers' crops are really going to rot in the fields, perhaps they should stop trying to take advantage of illegal behavior and paying foreign serfs to do stoop labor in what is alleged to be an advanced First World country. Perhaps we should import strawberries rather than serfs. And, perhaps they should pay the full and fair price for that labor instead of expecting everyone else to pick up that cost. Or, perhaps those growers should push for research into farm mechanization with the same tenacity.

And, perhaps Dan Weintraub should look for the story behind the story (as evidenced by the second and third link above), rather than writing things like this:

First nurses, then teachers, now farmworkers. Labor shortages are becoming a big story in California.

Perhaps he should look into this in a bit more depth rather than falling for propaganda.

Posted to Immigration2005b at 03:09 AM | Comments (1)

Korean anchor babies and "birth tourism"

In May 2002 the LAT reported on the phenomonon of "birth tourism": foreigners traveling to the U.S. specifically to have children. Those children would then automatically be declared U.S. citizens and could receive benefits and wouldn't be subjected to the home country's rules. And, once they reach 18, those citizens could then sponsor the whole family to come here as immigrants.

Obviously it's a scam and an attempt by people around the world to take advantage of us, but, since many of those people are non-white, "liberals" reflexively jump to defend this scam.

From "Korean moms want 'born in USA' babies":

...One might say it is the ultimate gift that South Korean parents can give their newborns. Those who can cough up the $20,000 or so it costs are coming to the United States by the thousands to give birth so their newborns can have American citizenship.

Their reasons range from a desire to enroll their offspring in American schools to enabling them to avoid South Korean military service.

Los Angeles is the most popular destination because of its large Korean-speaking population, along with New York, Boston, Hawaii and even Guam. The practice is also believed to be popular among women from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

So many are doing it that a mini-industry has developed here of agencies that refer expectant mothers to travel agents, immigration lawyers, prenatal clinics, hospitals and even baby-sitters, arranging what are, in effect, package tours for pregnant women.

"From birth to citizenship," advertises one Korean-language Web site (www.birthinusa.com) that helps women give birth in Los Angeles...

"If they could afford it, all my friends would go to the United States to have their babies," Kim said. "My biggest complaint about Korea is the educational system. In high school, you have to study past midnight or else you fall behind the others and can't get on with your life. And since the baby is a boy, I thought it would be a big gift for him not to be burdened with military service."

...South Korean-run Hana has three centers for expectant mothers in the Los Angeles area and last year opened an elegantly furnished postnatal facility called Larchmont Villa, in L.A.'s Koreatown, where women can stay until it is time to fly home. Their services include such conveniences as a private car for pickup at the airport and a guide to help get the baby a Social Security number and passport...

If he were ever asked, I have little doubt that Howard Dean would approve of this scheme.

More here.

Posted to Immigration2005b at 08:57 PM | Comments (5)

"Memo From O.C. To D.C."

IBD discusses Tuesday's election featuring Jim Gilchrist:

When a one-issue activist from a fringe party holds the Republican candidate to under 45% in GOP territory, it's time to take notice...

...Republicans in the New York-Washington axis may not see it, but there's a deep divide in their party between elites and grass-roots voters. In places like Southern California, it's impossible to ignore. Voters want to see the law enforced, both at the border and against employers, and they see their elected leaders doing nothing.

When fringe candidates do a better job addressing mainstream concerns than establishment politicians do, the latter can expect trouble. This week they got their warning shot.

Posted to Immigration2005b at 03:49 AM | Comments (1)

Peggy Noonan, the American Way, and massive illegal immigration

Noonan has a column (I guess) opposing massive illegal immigration and chiding our corrupt elites for supporting it:

There are people who want to return to the old ways and rescue some of the old attitudes. There are groups that seek to restore border integrity. But they are denigrated by many, even the president, who has called them vigilantes. The New Yorker this week carries a mildly snotty piece by a writer named Daniel Kurtz-Phelan in which he interviews members of a group of would-be Minutemen who seek to watch the borders with Mexico and Canada. They are "running freelance patrols"; they are xenophobic; they dismiss critics as "communists" and "child molesters."

...Again: What does it mean when your first act is to break the laws of your new country? What does it mean when you know you are implicitly supported in lawbreaking by that nation's ruling elite? What does it mean when you know your new country doesn't even enforce its own laws? What does it mean when you don't even have to become an American once you join America?

Posted to Immigration2005b at 08:44 PM | Comments (2)

Is Bush blackmailing the U.S. into giving him his "temporary" worker scheme?

Pat "Pitchfork" Buchanan opines:

...This is a national crisis, an existential crisis. But after five years of ignoring it, and now finally addressing it, what did Bush say in Tucson? I can't defend the border if you won't give me a guest worker program. Said Bush, "(W)e will not be able to effectively enforce our immigration laws until we create a temporary worker program."

But this is preposterous. Bush is saying he cannot do his constitutional duty to protect the nation from invasion -- unless we let 12 million illegal aliens become guest workers and allow greedy U.S. businesses to go overseas and hire foreigners for jobs that U.S. workers won't take at the paltry wages they offer.

But not since the "bracero" program of decades ago have we had a national guest worker program. And never in our history have we given business carte blanche to go abroad and hire foreigners to come and take American jobs. Yet Bush says if we don't, he can't control the border. What he means is, he won't control the border.

The president's speech in Tucson was a kind of extortion of those who have fought for tough border protections. Bush is saying: Unless you give me what I want, a guest worker program, you're not getting what you want. But what a majority of Americans want is what they have a right to demand: That Bush do his sworn duty and enforce the immigration laws of the United States...

Posted to Immigration2005b at 05:34 AM | Comments (1)

Jim Gilchrist "wins" in CA-48

Minuteman Project co-founder Jim Gilchrist lost tonight's special election in California's 48th District, but he got 25.1% of the vote and perhaps has put a bit of a scare into at least the GOP. Republican John Campbell won with 44.7% despite spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on his campaign, and Democrat Steve Young picked up 28%.

In 2000 it was 62% R vs. 26% D, and in 2002 it was 68% R vs. 28% D.

Gilchrist ran on basically one issue: opposition to illegal immigration and support for border control. Despite attempts by both the Dems and the GOP to say otherwise, he didn't run on an "anti-immigration" or "anti-immigrant" platform, just anti-illegal immigration.

For examples of such confusion, there are a large number of almost completely clueless comments over at Daily 'Screw 'em' Kos, however this earlier thread contains this comment that probably went in one collective ear and out the other:

This is the hypocrisy and lunacy of the Democratic party on display. The point is, it was not too long ago that construction firms did pay $15 an hour and up, and they were union jobs. Now you want your cake and you want to eat it too. You want to whine that the Republican party has destroyed the unions, the Republican party has destroyed middle class, the Republican party doesn't want to pay a living wage, and in the same breath you want to defend the rights of ten percent of the population of Mexico to come here and put on roofs for seven dollars an hour... You can't have it both ways. The fifteen dollar an hour union framer that was put out of work in Texas was likely a Democrat. Who does he vote for now? Who does he turn to now? Who speaks for him or her now?

More here and here.

UPDATE: I should have crunched the numbers in more detail, because they're very (very) important: on election day, more people voted for Gilchrist than for Campbell. If Gilchrist had gotten more mail-in votes, he would have won. Apparently Campbell flooded the district with absentee ballots and his election materials, while Gilchrist did not.

UPDATE 2: More at The Corner here, here, and here.

UPDATE 3: For the unofficial vote totals, see this. Gilchrist might not have gotten 35% vs. 30% of the election day votes, but if you do the math, those numbers say he got 274 more votes. Now awaiting the official results...

Posted to Immigration2005b at 11:34 PM | Comments (5)

Will the GOP sneak immigration "reform" through?

From "GOP forms strategy to OK guest workers":

Republican leaders will try to pass President Bush's controversial guest-worker proposal without putting it to a direct vote in the House.

Observers say the new GOP strategy that begins today is for the House to deal only with the more politically palatable issue of increasing border security and clamping down on employers. Republican leaders then will let the Senate pass some form of a guest-worker plan.

After that vote, senators and House members will merge the House's border security bill with the Senate's legislation in closed-door meetings.

The House will then vote on the final package, which will include some guest-worker provision, according to a GOP aide familiar with the plan, a Colorado lawmaker and other observers.

The strategy is designed to avoid a divisive debate and contentious vote in the House...

Please contact all your representatives and let them know exactly how you feel and how you'll vote in the future if they pull something like this.

Posted to Immigration2005b at 04:12 PM | Comments (0)

Vote like you're Democrats!

I can't believe how far behind this site is in the Weblogs Awards. Please vote each day as described here.

Posted to Bloggage at 11:21 AM | Comments (0)

AP: "Illegal hiring fuels problem"

The AP has a roundup of the Bush administrations various failures to enforce the laws in "Illegal hiring fuels problem".

While it has some bias, it also has some useful facts and figures concerning raids or lack thereof.

Posted to Immigration2005b at 10:22 AM | Comments (0)

Pro-illegal immigration propaganda from Houston Chronicle, Lowell Sun

The Houston Chronicle and the Lowell Sun recently published two stories that not only seem to qualify as pro-illegal immigration propaganda, but they're also very similarly structured. I've compared the first three paragraphs below. If they're willing to publish stories like this, should you trust anything else you read in those papers?

Houston Chronicle Immigrants struggle with illegitimacy Elena Vega and Tony Freemantle	Lowell Sun "Immigrant family in Lowell fears years of making a life in U.S. will end in deportation" Evan Lehmann
Their dream was a small piece of land in Mexico City, a place to build a modest house, a refuge from the inner-city barrio where they made their living selling used handbags on the street.	It started on that bare apartment floor. They slept there, the family of four. Launched a new life from that Lowell floor. Found America there.
Their plans included Houston, but only as a temporary step. Francisco would come here for a year, make some money and return to Mexico City.	The Brazilian children, then 5 and 9, had an old mattress six months later, rising up from that foreign floor. Progress. Two years after that, the parents spent wages earned cleaning homes and delivering pizzas to lift themselves onto a mattress.
They never thought that eight years later they would be living in a small, neat apartment in southeast Houston, or that one of their children would be a U.S. citizen, or that having a share of the American Dream within their grasp could be so seductive, and so elusive.	Now, five years after they found that floor, they own a house in Lowell. The children have attended public school. The parents, in their early 40s, still deliver pizzas and clean homes for more money than they ever earned in Brazil. They pay taxes, have a credit card and speak some English.

Here's a similar case.

Posted to Immigration_piipps at 06:48 AM | Comments (1)

Will a Third Party arise?

Wouldn't it be nice to have a pro-American third political party that wasn't corrupt like the Dems and the GOP? There's some historical analysis in "Voter disaffection an opening for third party?" It mentions the same poll discussed here, as well as Jim Gilchrist and... the Loonitarians. Considering that they couldn't even get over 0.4% of the 2004 presidential vote in California - a state which Kerry won as soon as he was nominated - one wonders what chance they would have, especially since when you look at many of their planks you realize just how completely out of touch they are.

Posted to Politics at 04:17 AM | Comments (1)

Have Herndon officials conspired to violate federal law

As previously discussed, Herndon VA is home to a shiny new illegal alien hiring hall. Now comes "U.S. asked to probe labor center":

The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia is being urged to look into a charge that Herndon officials have violated federal criminal conspiracy laws by creating a day-labor center that helps illegal aliens.

U.S. Attorney Paul J. McNulty has received from Rep. Tom Tancredo, Colorado Republican, a letter accusing Herndon officials of conspiracy in seeking to aid illegal aliens, the congressman's office said.

In his letter, Mr. Tancredo noted that officials for Project Hope and Harmony -- a group of community leaders and churches that will operate Herndon's day-labor center -- have refused to screen job seekers based on their legal status in the country.

He said their proposed action constitutes a conspiracy to violate federal law because a June 2004 study by Fairfax County indicates that at least 85 percent of laborers who would use the center are illegal aliens...

Of course, whether anything will happen remains to be seen, but note that despite being supported by the corrupt elites, day laborer sites are supported by only a small number of voters.

Posted to Immigration2005b at 12:12 AM | Comments (0)

Poll shows how much the GOP is helping the Dems

As described here, an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll (PDF file) shows that most respondents favor the Dems over the GOP on most issues.

For various issues, they were asked "When it comes to (READ ITEM), which party do you think would do a better job--the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, or both about the same? If you think that neither would do a good job, please just say so."

There are only three issues where the GOP is ahead:

- "Dealing with the war on terrorism": ahead by 9 points, but sharply down from being as high as 36 points ahead in October 2002.

- "Ensuring a strong national defense": ahead by 21 points, it was as high as 41 points ahead in June 2001.

- "Promoting strong moral values": has slightly slipped to ahead by 17 points.

Here are the breakdowns for other questions for which around a quarter said "Neither". The numbers from left to right represent these values:

Democrats better
GOP better
Both about the same
Neither
Unsure

"Dealing with gas prices"
39 11 19 24 7

"Controlling government spending"
34 22 14 26 4

"Promoting ethics in government"
27 22 19 26 6

"Dealing with immigration"
25 19 21 26 9

And, they were asked about "Allowing foreigners who have jobs but are staying illegally in the United States to apply for legal, temporary-worker status", which generated:

Congress should enact now: 33
Congress should enact later: 15
Congress should not enact: 47
not sure: 5

Posted to Politics at 12:59 PM | Comments (1)

Mexican diplomats meddling in our internal politics

Heather MacDonald has a summary here. I believe this is a shorter version of this article. Highly recommended for various apologists who refuse to acknowledge the problem we have with our "friends" to the south.

Posted to Immigration_consul at 12:06 PM | Comments (1)

Congress: $4 million for National Council of The Race

From this:

Thanks to a congressional earmark, an open-borders advocacy group that pushes for driver's licenses, free in-state tuition and healthcare for illegal aliens and bilingual requirements for state agencies and ballots is slated to get $4 million in new taxpayer money to add to the more than $30 million it has received from various federal agencies since 1996.

The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), Spanish for "the race," will get its latest grant through an appropriations bill passed by Congress on November 18. The Joint Explanatory Statement of HR 3058, available on the House's Rules Committee website lists 1,100 plus earmarks in the bill, including La Raza's grant under the Housing and Urban Development Department's Self-Help and Assisted Ownership Programs. Under this account La Raza will receive four times as much as the Special Olympics, which won a $1-million earmark.

It's not known exactly who got them this earmark; NCLR wasn't expecting it. However:

One possible culprit is Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D.-Nev.) who sits on the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that handled the bill carrying the earmark. In 2001, Reid sent a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee requesting $5 million for La Raza's housing programs. That same year Reid also received NCLR's Capital Award for "his commitment to advance legislation priorities of the Latino Community." In gratitude, Reid told NCLR, "La Raza is like the biblical David, fighting all these Goliaths."

Reid's office did not respond to calls asking whether he inserted or even supported the earmark...

Posted to Immigration2005b at 11:33 AM | Comments (2)

Jon Vessey, crops rotting in the fields, and pro-illegal immigration propaganda

Jon Vessey is a California grower who's been quoted in a few recent articles about how crops will rot in the fields unless growers get more cheap labor to pick it.

On 11/21, the WaPo featured him in "Shortage of Immigrant Workers Alarms Growers in West", and today the Los Angeles Times features him in "Picking a Battle Over Shortage of Farmworkers". And, he was apparently also featured saying similar things in Copley News Service and USA Today. And, the CSM article I discussed in "America's produce industry is facing a crisis" featured another member of the Vessey clan.

However, there appears to be quite a bit more to this story: Jon Vessey is on the Board of Directors of the Western Growers Association (source, cache). And, various Vesseys have been quote sources for decades (PDF file).

And, neither the LAT, nor the WaPo, nor the CSM noted this rather important connection. In fact, here's how the WaPo handled it:

"Today I have approximately 290 people working in the field," Jon Vessey said recently. Vessey runs an 8,000-acre winter vegetable farm with his son, Jack, near El Centro, Calif. "I should have 400, and for the harvest I need 1,100. . . . There's a disaster coming."

The Western Growers Association, which represents 3,000 farmers, is lobbying the Bush administration to make it easier for farmers to tap the labor pool just below the border.

I guess they meant to mention that there's a link between the two paragraphs, but an editor took that out. Or something like that.

Note also that left-wing bloggers fell for this too: here, here, here (nofollowpolicy).

Contact the CSM here, and send emails to these: readers.Rep *at* latimes.com and ombudsman * at* washpost.com.

UPDATE: A commentor at the first PA thread says this unverified bit:

It's going back to 1982, but a leopard does not change its spots. Jon Vessey is the CEO of Vessey & Co. which lost a case in that year filed by the UFW. The Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB) found that the respondents (Vessey, Maggio, ...) had bargained in bad faith with the union regarding the contract for lettuce pickers. Remember the iceberg lettuce boycott? The findings of the ALRB are available [in this PDF file].

Posted to Immigration_piipps at 10:32 AM | Comments (2)

Vote for this site in the Weblogs Awards

Please vote for this site here.

And, please also vote for our sister site BoreAmerica.com in this category.

I note that those sites in the Best "Humor"/Comics Blog (quotes added) category are a bit... broad in their humor. For something quite a bit more subtle, check out my Huffington Post satire. It did not make the cut.

And, even more annoying, another of my sites did not make the cut for the Best New Blog category: KatrinaCoverage.com. That has almost 1000 extensively-tagged posts about the topic and contains more information on it than probably any other single source.

As for the other categories, here are our selections:

Top 250: The Indepundit (only because the rest are bad)

500-1500: Digger's Realm

As for the other ecosystem categories, use your best judgment, because I've never heard of most of them.

Best conservative: I note that both PoliPundit and BlogsForBush are choices. Should you vote for them in order to discredit the Awards? Or, should you vote for someone else to make the Awards look good? Use your best judgment, but if the latter I'd say Debbie Schlussel since she's got two nice big blogs.

Best Liberal: No one on this list would make the Awards look good, thus the question becomes, who will do the most to discredit the Awards? While Wonkette is a solid choice in that category, I believe AmericaBlog is working the hardest at discrediting its side.

Best Media: I'd say 'Oh, That Liberal Media' on the name alone.

Best Group: The leader in the discrediting category would be the lunatic liberaltarian site Reason, followed by Pandagon. But, I'd suggest MensNewsDaily.

Best New Blog: As previously discussed, Atlas Shrugs would be a fine choice in the discrediting department. But, I'm not familiar with any of the others.

Best Blog: Far and away, the Huffington Post.

Posted to Bloggage at 07:39 AM | Comments (4)

Hugh Hewitt, Ken Mehlman on illegal immigration

Slightly popular partisan hack BushBot Hugh Hewitt conducted a radio interview with RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman and discussed the word "illegal immigration". As it turns out, the GOP is declaring war on that word. As regards the actual process of massive illegal immigration, if the GOP had their druthers that would continue and get even worse. Here's a transcript of the interview. But, first a warning: you have to be really, really drunk on KoolAid to believe anything Mehlman or Hewitt say.

HH: [...Bush's speech...] John Campbell's running on strong borders. What was the president's message? What's your message today on illegal immigration?

KM: Well, our message is there can be zero tolerance for illegal immigration in this country.

Obviously, Bush enables and encourages massive illegal immigration through things like: refusing to do workplace enforcement, dropping hiring requirements after Katrina, helping illegal aliens open bank accounts and buy houses, and so on and so forth. Obviously, there's a bit of a conflict: the Bush administration encourages illegal immigration while saying they oppose it.

How does one explain this? As he goes on to describe, the Bush administration wants "comprehensive" reform. That would result in changing all those illegal aliens into "temporary" workers. Thus, they intend to keep massive immigration, but just change the nomenklatura.

As regards John Campbell, he has supported and AFAIK still supports some of the same things that Gil Cedillo does: tuition discounts and driver's licenses for illegal aliens.

[...KM plays WOT card...] If we're not controlling our borders, then we're not fundamentally protecting our homeland security. And that needs to be something that the president has a comprehensive plan to accomplish.

It's good to know that he has a plan. However, Bush has been in office for five years, and during all that time the borders have been as porous as could be. By Mehlman's own definition, the Bush administration has been putting this country at risk and president Bush has been failing to do the job he swore he would do.

Then, after a raftload of BS from KM, Hugh takes a swipe at the much higher rated John and Ken Show. HH is right: discussing illegal immigration does get them ratings, because it's an important issue that has our U.S. president acting more like the president of Mexico. If HH isn't as popular as they are, perhaps it's because few people believe what he says. Then, KM plays the WOT card again. Then:

There seem to be some people, unfortunately, who like talking about it, but don't want to solve it. He wants to solve it. I want to solve it. I know you want to solve it. But if it's not comprehensive, we won't solve it.

Bush has had five years to "solve it". He could have started by not doing the things that he did. He could have cracked down on employers. He could have refused to support Mexico's ID for illegals, the Matricula Consular card. He could have refused to support giving home loans to illegal aliens. Instead, he supported massive illegal immigration. Don't trust anything that Mehlman or Hewitt say.

Posted to Immigration2005b at 04:33 AM | Comments (3)

President Bush, Howard Dean aligned on immigration

Despite Howard Dean trying to pretend there's a difference on immigration policy between the leaderships of the GOP and of the Democratic party, what they want - and even how they want it - are very similar. Speaking before a DNC meeting in Phoenix, Dr. Gov. Howard Dean M.D.:

Saying Bush had used race and gay rights to divide the electorate, Dean said, "In 2006, it's going to be immigration; that's who he's going to scapegoat next." He said Democrats must favor tougher enforcement of existing immigration laws and provide tighter border security, but said a balanced immigration policy would provide a way to give many of the 11 million illegal immigrants a path to legal status.

In other words, he wants a massive amnesty for those who are here now. A position like that makes it very difficult to refuse amnesty for any other illegal aliens who come here. And, of course, untold millions more illegal aliens will come here just to be a part of those future amnesties. (Kennedy-McCain could result in 36.5 million new residents.) How many dozens of millions of new (temporarily) illegal aliens do the Democrats want? And, isn't that position identical to the one supported by the GOP?

Needless to say, the American public from all sides except the far left and the corrupt right want many few illegal aliens, not millions more.

Why is Dr. Dean unable to see this? Why is he unable to see that you can't support massive amnesties while expecting to keep illegal immigration in check? Is Dr. Dean unable to think things through?

Note also that Dean is complaining about Bush being a divider, at the same time as he's trying to portray those who oppose illegal immigration as "scapegoaters".

And, Dean can't even get his facts straight:

But Dean confused President Bush's proposals for a guest worker program with criticism from other Republicans who believe even a temporary visa for undocumented immigrants would reward illegal behavior.

Dean suggested Bush wants to round up and deport all illegal immigrants. In truth, the Bush plan would allow a guestworker program. But immigrants would have to return to their home countries when their work visas expire after six years.

I don't exactly know why Dean would be mistaken, but I have an idea: he's an out-of-control, irresponsible dolt.

The DNC passed three resolutions about immigration. The first supported the massive amnesty described above. The second condemns Colorado's version of Arizona's Proposition 200. And, the third condemned the Minuteman Project.

Obviously, the position of the DNC is closer to that of far-left race groups than the vast majority of Democrats. Perhaps they'll wake up much as those on the other side have.

Posted to Immigration2005b at 08:46 PM | Comments (1)

"Farm trespasser sentenced"

Just for fun, and in order to not give anyone the wrong idea about this site, I've replaced "farm" with "carnival", "horse" with "puppy", and you-know-what with "eat cotton candy" in the following story.

A truck driver pleaded guilty Tuesday to trespassing at an Enumclaw [carnival] where police say his friend died after [eating cotton candy] with a [puppy].

...Police say Tait, 54, was videotaping his friend [having cotton candy] with a [puppy] in July when his friend suffered fatal injuries.

Tait told police that he, the Seattle man who died and another man often sneaked onto his neighbor's [carnival] in the night to engage in animal [eating cotton candy], according to court documents.

Posted to WackyHumor at 07:50 AM | Comments (1)

Pajamas Media blog babe is scary, but hot

If I were going to create a fake blog that represented many of the things that are wrong with the medium, it might look something like this. She's pretty hot even if that's not her body, but... c'mon. Note also that her page contains around 130 various graphical doodads which weigh in at around 1.68 Megs. And, she's also part of the Open Source Media stable.

For balance, here's her red-headed, foul-mouthed opposite number. Just 79 objects weighing in at 949kb, so, she's got some work to do to catch up.

UPDATE: The first site is in the hunt for a Best New Blog award. I guess I was completely wrong. Her site is great, and I was wrong.

Posted to Bloggage at 04:16 AM | Comments (0)

The John Campbell-Bush administration axis

This site supports Jim Gilchrist of the Minuteman Project in Tuesday's runoff election in the 48th Congressional District.

While I'm sure there are various links between his opponent John Campbell and the Bush administration, here's one with an actual dollar figure: on 11/14, VP Dick Cheney helped Campbell raise $125,000.

Note that the Bush administration has practically installed flashing neon arrows at the border directing the cheap labor northward. And, yesterday we noted that the chairman of the RNC and former head of Bush-Cheney campaign, Ken Mehlman, supports massive illegal immigration.

If you want to keep the borders as porous as possible, support the GOP leadership. If you want to do something about massive illegal immigration, support Gilchrist.

Posted to California at 03:05 PM | Comments (4)

Is DHS head Michael Chertoff refusing to do his job?

We already knew that, but just in case you needed more proof, consider this:

"If we don't have a temporary worker program, I think it's going to be extraordinarily difficult to ask our Border Patrol agents and our ICE agents to stem the tide that is driven by a huge economic engine of employers looking for people who can work [in jobs that] won't be done by Americans," Chertoff told reporters during a briefing on the administration's Border Security Initiative.

Obviously, another way to stem that tide would be for the DHS to do their job: enforce the laws against hiring illegal aliens.

Why won't they do that now?

Why do we have to wait for their dream legislation until they'll start doing their job? Isn't that more or less blackmail?

Should we trust the DHS and the Bush administration to do their job later if they refuse to do it now? Obviously, the answer to that question is no.

My jaw is literally dragging on the floor as I ponder just how many votes the Democratic Party could pick up if they decided to be on the opposite side of this issue from the Bush administration. It's too bad that that party has been taken over by far-leftie idiots, otherwise they could use this issue to coast to easy victories.

Previously:
"Secure Border Initiative": Should anyone trust what Bush or Chertoff say?
With 400,000 employees using the same SSN, can you trust anything Bush says?
Chertoff promotes "Temporary Worker Program" at Senate meeting

Posted to Immigration2005b at 10:41 AM | Comments (2)

Celebrate blogging with the Los Angeles Times

The LAT has promulgated "Blogging L.A.", and, no, it's not as bad as you would think: it's even worse.

They give the shout out to several recommended sites:

Finding the jewels among Los Angeles' thousands of blogs can take some doing. This is a highly selective list of some of the more interesting — and regularly updated — blogs.

One of those on the list is polizeros.com. He's a member of ANSWER, and, as I described here, the L.A. Times covered-up the violence and far-left nature of an anti-American ANSWER protest that PZ attended and blogged about. It's nice to know they have something in common.

One of those not on the list is this site, which, low as it is, gets more traffic than several of their choices. I could care less whether it's because their crack researchers didn't run across this site or because they rejected it for some reason or other. Caring what the MSM thinks is so '02.

Posted to Bloggage at 07:05 AM | Comments (0)

The Los Angeles Times scandal

Apparently there's a (new) scandal brewing at the Los Angeles Times involving them allegedly helping to cover-up the murder of the Notorious B.I.G. (aka Biggie Smalls, real name Christopher Wallace).

There are two parts to this scandal: first, the matter itself. Second, the fact that it's been ignored by the other MSM players. Details appear not in the WaPo or the NYT, but in Rolling Stone Magazine, hardly your source for investigative journalism.

Frankly, I don't really have much interest in the underlying story involving as it does rap "music", but I'll definitely be looking forward with glee to the LAT's reputation being sullied even more than their other coverage has managed to do.

Posted to Los_Angeles at 03:35 AM | Comments (0)

Financial Times directs White House link to satire site

On November 30, the Financial Times published "Transcript: Bush speech". It appears to be what it says it is, but they also appear to have inserted a sneaky little change in the following paragraph which I've reproduced exactly as it appears at that page. See if you notice what they did:

To achieve victory over such enemies, we are pursuing a comprehensive strategy in Iraq. Americans should have a clear understanding of this strategy - how we look at the war, how we see the enemy, how we define victory, and what we’re doing to achieve it. So today, we’re releasing a document called the “National Strategy for Victory in Iraq.” This is an unclassified version of the strategy we’ve been pursuing in Iraq, and it is posted on the White House website - whitehouse.gov. I urge all Americans to read it.

If you don't see it, this time run your mouse over the text.

Yes, that's right: they're linking to the satire site whitehouse.org. Bear in mind, I reproduced that link exactly as it appears on their page. I have trouble believing this was not intentional. But, in case they just made a mistake, perhaps something like "Protecting Our Borders: President Announces Bill of Rights for Non-Terrorist Brown Folk Sneaking Into the Nation Of Texas" should have been a tipoff. Bear in mind this is not the first time that ft.com has had fun with links.

Posted to Politics at 12:21 AM | Comments (1)

Endorsement: Steve Young for Congress (48th District on Mars)

This site is officially endorsing Steve Young for Congress in the 48th District on Mars.

For the 48th District in California, USA, Earth, this site endorses Jim Gilchrist, co-founder of the Minuteman Project.

Regarding the race on the Red Planet, Steve Young has his own proposal on how to end illegal immigration. Your goal is to find a five year old who cannot immediately see all the flaws in his plan:

I have a real solution to the "immigration problem" that is a business approach. It does not demonize immigrants, is self-funding, and benefits America.

Immigrants pay on average $3000 each to smugglers. Why not have the immigrants pay America the $3000 and create a system under which we can monitor who is coming into the country and what they are doing? I propose that the government establish ICE centers at the borders. Those wishing to enter the country will pay the $3000 to ICE (US Immigration, Customs and Enforcement Agency). ICE will take the immigrant's photograph, fingerprints, and administer tuberculosis and other health tests...

...I propose a "green card bounty" program to halt employer cheating. Any undocumented worker who gives ICE a paycheck showing the worker worked within the last month will receive a "green card bounty." ICE will not have to spend precious resources investigating cheating employers. The immigrants will bring the evidence to ICE to get an expedited green card...

It is time for America to adopt my direct solution. It benefits America, eliminates the cheaters, generates $90 billion for the treasury...

The "bounty" deserves some slight consideration. However, it would lead to both false allegations against employers, more document forgery, and even more abuse of illegal aliens. Considered as a whole, his plan would massively increase illegal immigration and, in short, it's insanely naive and just plain stupid.

Please vote for Gilchrist on Tuesday, December 6.

Posted to Immigration2005b at 08:17 AM | Comments (1)

"America's produce industry is facing a crisis"

Nothing says propaganda like the annual whine from growers demanding more serf labor lest their crops rot in the fields. There have been a few recent newspaper articles about it, and the latest is "A drought of farm labor".

"We are trying to sound the alarm without being alarmist, but the situation has become extremely serious," says Tim Chelling of the Western Growers Association, whose members grow, pack, and ship half America's produce. "We are now talking of losing the production of key commodities to foreign competition. America's produce industry is facing a crisis."

Although the shortage was worsening before 9/11, it's now extreme, Mr. Chelling and the three California farmers say. Without an emergency guest-worker program, they will be dramatically short of the minimum number of workers needed to harvest the current crop. Without long-term immigration reform that acknowledges America's reliance on foreign workers, farmers will not be able to make ends meet, they say.

Oh well. I'm sure they can figure something out, like for instance farm mechanization rather than relying on foreign serf labor. As an alternative, perhaps they could pay the full price for that labor, instead of paying a low wage and sticking everyone else with the true price.

Remember: anyone who sides with the growers in their search for "cheap" workers is supporting massively subsidized stoop labor and the abuse of illegal aliens. And, they also oppose high-tech innovations that would make farms more efficient and enable us to compete against countries where labor is even cheaper.

While many politicians are basically paid to be on the growers' side, do they really want to end up supporting everything that goes with it?

Related:
"The Mirage of Mexican Guest Workers"
Hanson on illegal immigration and guest workers
"The new grapes of wrath"
Miami Herald "endorses indentured servitude"

Posted to Immigration2005b at 07:24 AM | Comments (5)

"Why Bush's border scheme won't work"

Clarence Page says the latest version of Bush's immigration "reform" scheme is an amnesty. And:

...What's missing is a serious crackdown on the biggest magnet that draws illegal immigrants: jobs. Employers and consumers love cheap labor, as long as it is not competing directly for their jobs. Bush shows no desire to get in the way of that cozy relationship.

We don't need tougher penalties for employers who knowingly hire illegals; we only need to enforce the tough penalties that already have been legislated. Instead, employer sanctions have been so poorly enforced that prosecutions of employers have plummeted in recent decades. When the law lacks teeth, it is ignored.

The result has been a make-believe immigration policy: The president pretends that undocumented workers will police themselves, and the rest of us pretend to believe him.

We need something more sensible. America thrives on immigration. It is part of our national character. But we also need some semblance of order--and fairness!

Posted to Immigration2005b at 05:41 AM | Comments (6)

Ken Mehlman constructs strawman about illegal immigration

Ken Mehlman, Chairman of the RNC, was spotted yesterday constructing massive strawman arguments at a meeting of the Republican Governors Association. To hear the WaPo tell it:

Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman urged his party Thursday to oppose rising anti-immigrant sentiments in the debate over border security and illegal immigration, suggesting that the GOP risks being on the wrong side of history and electoral politics alike if it embraces an exclusionary message.

Could Mehlman give examples of wide-spread "anti-immigrant sentiments"? While some have "anti-illegal immigrant sentiments", and many have "anti-illegal immigration sentiments", I'm not aware of too many people who oppose legal immigrants. In that light, isn't Mehlman basically, well, lying?

If Mehlman wants to have an inclusionary message, he should stress that we admit almost a million legal immigrants per year. Wouldn't reaching out to those be the best way to show that the GOP is an inclusive party? If Mehlman can't figure that out by himself - or knows that but for one corrupt reason or another refuses to admit that distinction - does he really deserve his job?

He issued a strong call for tougher enforcement of immigration laws but extolled the contributions of immigrants and denounced those who have sought to close the country to foreigners.

What exactly is he talking about? Could Mehlman or the WaPo provide any examples of people who want to do what he claims they want to do?

Most Americans want to close off this country to illegal aliens. Anyone who pretends that implies all "foreigners" is simply lying. And, is it really a good idea to lie about what your base wants?

Previously:
Jorge Arbusto has a new site
Democrats, Republicans grovel before National Council of The Race
And: Mehlman attended Bilderberg

Posted to Immigration2005b at 12:49 AM | Comments (3)

Tamar Jacoby downplays threat of dual citizenship

Let's say you were the Washington Post, and you were seeking a reviewer for the book "The 50% American" by Stanley A. Renshon. While I haven't read the book, it discusses the pernicious threat posed by dual citizenship.

Who would you choose to do the review? Well, obviously, if you're the WaPo, you could choose Frank Sharry, or perhaps the head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, or perhaps Bob Avakian. Unfortunately, the latter personage wasn't available or something, and they ended up choosing cheap labor cheerleader Tamar Jacoby.

Needless to say, she downplays the risk, even going as far as saying that Mexico offering dual citizenship is a good thing:

But now that they don't have to shed one association to embrace the other, many are much more comfortable becoming U.S. citizens.

Would you like to play? "Not being forced to decide which team I was on in the basketball game made playing much easier. And more fun!"

We're told that even for those who are conflicted, it's just a "passing phase":

First-generation Americans have always lived between two worlds, one foot in the old place and the other in the United States. And eventually they have always tilted in one direction or another, with some returning home and others putting down roots here.

Of course, the problem is that they'll tilt in the wrong direction while still remaining here. If someone is going to be a Mexican partisan, then they should do that in Mexico. Being so here is bad for this country. For just one example, consider the Mexican-"Americans" in the California legislature. And, of course, those foreign countries that provide dual citizenship do so in part to obtain political power inside the U.S.

Posted to Immigration2005b at 11:50 PM | Comments (1)

Were terror alerts faked to elect Bush?

This is from 5/10/05's USA Today article "Ridge reveals clashes on alerts":

The Bush administration periodically put the USA on high alert for terrorist attacks even though then-Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge argued there was only flimsy evidence to justify raising the threat level, Ridge now says.

Ridge, who resigned Feb. 1, said Tuesday that he often disagreed with administration officials who wanted to elevate the threat level to orange, or "high" risk of terrorist attack, but was overruled.

..."More often than not we were the least inclined to raise it," Ridge told reporters. "Sometimes we disagreed with the intelligence assessment. Sometimes we thought even if the intelligence was good, you don't necessarily put the country on (alert). ... There were times when some people were really aggressive about raising it, and we said, 'For that?' "

...The [threat] level is raised if a majority on the President's Homeland Security Advisory Council favors it and President Bush concurs. Among those on the council with Ridge were Attorney General John Ashcroft, FBI chief Robert Mueller, CIA director George Tenet, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell...

Here's a timeline supposedly showing correspondences between terror threats and Bush-related news events.

Posted to Politics at 10:38 PM | Comments (0)

Because the world needs more gadget blogs

The page "What Your Blog is Worth" has an interesting scatterplot attempting to show how much traffic you need in order to make some amount of money with blogging. He bases that solely on annualized income from BlogAds, using the prices various bloggers charge and how many ads they have running.

Even if we assume that BlogAds is correctly provided an up-to-date number of ads being shown, there are a few other factors to consider. For instance, BlogAds is certainly not the only possible source of income from blogging.

A few others include: AdSense, Chitika, and affiliate links. Unlike BlogAds, the revenue possible from those is open-ended: you could earn nothing, or you could earn a good amount, and perhaps even more than from BlogAds. In the first case, you get money per click whether or not someone buys something. The middle case is similar but (I believe) more stringent. In the last case, in most cases the user needs to buy something. But, if they spend $100, you could get a fair commission.

If you run a gadget blog about, say, digital cameras, and people find your blog in searches, they might be more inclined to click on a Chitika ad or an Amazon link allowing them to buy a camera. There are many affiliate programs and Amazon carries a wide array of products, so if you attract visitors either through searches or through links elsewhere that are interested in some specific niche, and there are products in that niche, people might consider buying those products through your links. Another example might be an authoritative book review site that people visit specifically to read your in-depth book reviews. If you say a book is good, you might get a reasonable percentage of your visitors buying that book through your Amazon link.

On the other end of things you could get a large amount of unfocused garbage traffic, and figure that a certain percent of those would be interested in your ads.

Posted to Bloggage at 06:09 PM | Comments (0)

"Bush Talks Tougher on Immigration, but It's Still Amnesty"

From this:

[...Bush's hot air...]

It is hard not to be skeptical of this White House when it starts saying it will enforce our immigration laws because it has utterly failed to do so to date. Its de facto immigration policy has been the Clinton administration's...

After Hurricane Katrina, Homeland Security declared a holiday (though it has no legal authority to suspend laws) from employer sanctions laws – not only in the storm-tossed areas, but nationwide. This opened the doors for unscrupulous employers to hire illegal aliens – thus displacing or hedging out hurting Americans whose jobs had been destroyed.

As the administration negotiates behind the scenes as Congress drafts immigration enforcement legislation, the Bush crowd continues to oppose the most promising ideas, such as the CLEAR Act to get state and local police a constructive response from federal authorities and mandatory employment verification to shut off the “jobs magnet.”

All the while, the administration has hawked a massive amnesty to legalize virtually all 10-12 million illegal aliens. This scheme has been, and continues to be, packaged as a “guestworker” program.

Regardless of how the president labels it, the plan he described in his Arizona speech is his same old amnesty plan. The illegals get legalized, they get to keep the jobs they came here to steal, and six years later no political will will exist to make them go home. Politicians will end up giving them green cards and then citizenship.

Do we need the foreigners? The fact is that there are no jobs Americans won’t do or don’t want. For instance, Census figures show that in the most immigrant-filled jobs, in farming, fishing and forestry occupations, 61.2 percent of workers are Americans. But Americans can’t afford to take jobs for immigrant-caused wage-depressed low pay and lacking decent benefits.

We really don’t need more foreign workers. We need consistent enforcement of the immigration laws on the books. We need to let market forces regulate themselves without government command-and-control manipulating the labor supply...

Posted to Immigration2005b at 02:33 PM | Comments (2)

Tookie at LAPL CEN

Yesterday, several loads of students were bused to the central branch of the Los Angeles Public Library where they were held spellbound as various celebrities read the works of... Tookie Williams. This was part of a worldwide effort against the death penalty, and similar pro-Tookie events were held in other U.S. states.

Celebrities attending the LAPL event included Jamie Foxx and - of course! - Mike Farrell. Whether Martin Sheen and Ed Asner showed up is not known. And:

The Los Angeles rally attracted about 40 people, including clergy, death penalty opponents and the Black Riders, a group of youths in black clothing and camouflage outfits who raised the clenched-fist black power salute and chanted "Let Tookie live!"

Unfortunately, I did not attend this event, but I'd certainly be interested in learning who provided the money for the buses and any charges for the use of the room at the library. Perhaps some little birdie will come forward with that information. It'd be a shame if public money is used to support clemency for someone whose previous actions have caused so much long-term damage to the city.

Posted to Los_Angeles at 12:16 AM | Comments (1)

Non-"liberal" coverage of immigration, Iraq, terrorism, multiculturalism, Los Angeles, California, privacy, and occasionally celebrities and wacky humor...

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• 2008: 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10 
• 2007: 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12 
• 2006: 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12 
• 2005: 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12 
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• 2002: 9  10  11  12 

All Posts(links to each post by title)

• Huffington Post: massive graphic needed for Bill Maher head
• Santa Cruz Sentinel pimps remittances from illegal aliens
• Goodbye Chris Garnett, hello KentuckyFriedCruelty.com
• Denver Post, Bill Owens immigration proposal will make you laugh out loud
• "Protesters decry Lipinski's vote on immigration bill"
• Sen. Cedillo says, 'This is the year'
• AJC: "House immigration bill crosses line"
• ABC News names Steve Ballmer Best Dancer of Year
• Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law collaborating with Mexican government
• The Washington Post's cozy little fantasy world
• Snark, sass, and destruction since 2002
• California governor Al Gore?
• Democrats support "securing the border", UAVs
• LULAC criticizes Mexico's pro-illegal immigration propaganda
• New York Times' Simon Romero does Rob Allyn's work for him
• Ex-ACLU attorney: Group 'terrorizing' U.S.
• "America’s Most Bizarre and Politically Correct College Courses"
• Canadian Liberal Party official quits over blog posting
• Ernesto Portillo Jr offers racialized version of A Christmas Carol
• 14th Amendment and birthright citizenship backgrounders

My trip to Alpine County What not to do, again (September 1-2, 2002)

Boston Market Cornbread Temperatures Please help contribute to this important study (August 28, 2002)

Did The Gap Put Celebrities at Risk? An Open Web Letter to The Gap (May 20, 2002)

Humphreys Peak Arizona's highest point (May 19, 2001)

Go Heavy, Go Slow, Get Lost Bay Area highpoints (December 14, 2000)

Hubris in New England The highpoints of RI, CT, and MA (October 8, 2000)

Let's go to Utah Zion, Bryce, and Grand Canyon (August 14, 2000)

Your host, climbing Monkey Face (5.14d)

Your host's arm (circled)

Your host's hopelessly outdated conditioning progress

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