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Democrats offer "A New Direction for Latino Families"
The Democrats have various plans for different races: "A New Direction for __African-American____ Families", "A New Direction for ____Asian-Pacific Islander-American__ Families", "A New Direction for ___European-American__ Families", er, scratch the last one.
Their latest race-based plan is called "Compromiso Democrata con el Pueblo Latino: A New Direction for Latino Families". It's available in this PDF file and a press release from Nancy Pelosi was released last week.
However, through the magic of CSPAN3, I've been able to obtain a transcript of the ceremony where Nancy described the plan:
--- BEGIN TRANSCRIPT ---
"Hola! Yo Soy El Nancy Pelosi, Congresswoman de Estados Unidos! Hola! Bienvenidos! Yo tengo un plan! Un plan para Usted! Yo developed estoy plan apres talking to my trabajandoers at my vineyards. They say it's 'muy bueno'!
Now, I want to leo from esto plan. I have pregunted the persona who's doing the transcripto to put the quotes from the plan in italics. Now, yo leo de esta plan:
First, we want to "Promote Economic Empowerment". And: "According to Census data, in 2005 the poverty rate amongst Hispanics was at 21.8% and the typical Latino family income dropped by $1,631 since President Bush took office." The Democratic solution is simple: work with El Presidente Bush to flood the U.S. with cheap labor by declaring a massive amnesty, which will further drive down wages. But, that's a good thing! See, there will be more Latinos in the U.S., meaning your race will have more race-based political power. Plus, you'll be much worse off, and that means the Democratic Party will try to help you even more. It's a win-win!
"Democrats will also continue to fight for an increase in the minimum wage, which disproportionately affects the economic well-being of many Latinos." Of course, because our immigration laws aren't enforced and we certainly won't make sure they're enforced, that will provide an even greater opportunity for illegal aliens to undercut American wages. But, see the point in the last paragraph: that's a good thing.
"Democrats are committed to Latino economic empowerment through our support of linguistically – and culturally – appropriate programs that provide educational, financial, and technical training for Latinos." That means, don't worry: you can continue to linguistically and culturally separate yourself from the rest of the U.S. That is, according to us, the American way.
"Democrats want the DREAM Act to become a reality". That's because we don't find it morally objectionable and anti-American to take something from a U.S. citizen in order to give it to a foreign citizen who's here illegally.
"In addition, Republicans have used anti-immigrant measures to push for health policies that hurt Latino citizens and particularly impact Latino children." See what we mean? To us, "illegal aliens" is just another word for "citizens".
Now, I'd like to read from the part you've heard over and over: "Democrats support bipartisan and workable comprehensive immigration reform that provides a path to legalization for hard-working immigrants". How many times do I need to say this? To us, there's no difference between "illegal aliens", "immigrants", and "citizens".
"...a temporary worker program that protects the rights of all workers, reunites families, strengthens our economy, and honors the values of the United States of America as a nation of immigrants." Now, you're probably thinking, wouldn't that "reunites families" bit be "temporary", since we're talking about "temporary workers"? Of course not: our "temporary workers" would be here permanently. We Democrats are masters of language! And, bear in mind that a "temporary worker program" does indeed honor our history as a nation of immigrants, specifically the parts relating to indentured servitude and the Bracero program.
"We should be focusing our resources on our national security and capturing terrorists and criminals." Now, some of you might be saying, "isn't that the same language that BushBots use?" And, you're right! But, you can easily tell us apart: we're the ones dressed in earth tones.
--- END TRANSCRIPT ---
Posted to Immigration at 11:11 AM | Comments (1)
Orlando Florida: Meet the amnesty all-stars on October 9
If you're in the Orlando Florida area, you might want to visit the University of Central Florida on October 9 for a "symposium" on illegal immigration. While a few of those speaking might be opposed to amnesty, most are cheap labor cheerleaders. It's free, but it's not known whether there will be a Q&A session; if there is, I strongly urge you to think up a series of very damning questions and ask at least one of them. Publicly discrediting even just one cheap labor pimp will send a strong message to the others.
Those scheduled to appear include:
- U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, (R-FL)
- Undersecretary Geronimo Gutierrez of the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- columnists Cal Thomas and Bob Beckel
- former U.S. Rep. Romano L. Mazzoli (D-KY)
- Bishop Thomas Wenski of the Catholic Diocese of Orlando
- David Harris, "a former intelligence official with the Canadian government who now directs Insignis Strategic Research in Ottawa."
- U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney, (R-FL)
- U.S. Rep. Ric Keller, (R-FL)
- Chester Glover, ("an aide to U.S. Rep. Corinne Brown, D-Jacksonville.")
- Noah Pickus, "associate director of Duke University’s Kenan Institute of Ethics"
- Dennis Clare, "an immigration attorney from Lexington, Ky."
Posted to Immigration at 07:07 AM | Comments (0)
"Torture Bill" or "Detainee Trial Bill"? Who do I distrust the least?
Pursuing my monomaniacal obsession with domestic corruption as I am wont to do, sometimes complicated, important matters slip past me. And, so it is with Thursday's "Detainee Trial Bill", or, as it's called by many, the "Torture Bill", or, as it's called in the bill itself, the "Military Commissions Act of 2006".Some of the clues that this is a very bad bill are that both Insty and CaptainsQuarters support it.
Some of the clues that this is not as bad as it's made out to be are that the NYT opposes it. Not only that, but at the end of the page is a list of "Related Blogs", all of which (oddly enough) agree with the NYT, and all or almost all of which are leftwing sites. Another leftwing site calls it "The Power to Disappear" and that post almost entirely consists of part of a Salon article from Carl Levin.
Yale's Bruce Ackerman offers "The White House Warden", but I suspect he may be on the left side of things. Antiwar.com, strangely enough, doesn't offer wall-to-wall coverage, but does have "Groups Unanimously Assail New Detention Law"; one of the groups opposed is the far-far-left "Center for Constitutional Rights".
Dave Winer finally gives me a reference point:
What's next? How far is "economic terrorism" from Islamofascists? Not really very far at all. When McCain runs for President the immigration issue will be front and center. Use your imagination if you want to understand what the final solution will be. And you should worry. I don't believe U.S. citizenship is any kind of protection.Does he expect anyone to take this seriously when he thinks the author of the McCain-Kennedy amnesty would result in any kind of a "final solution"? Does anyone who even uses such phrases without strong evidence expect to take him seriously? In the extraordinarily slim change that there were such a plan, the last people McCain would exact it on would be those who make money for those who contribute to him.
On the other hand, another Yalie, Prof. Jack Balkin, says that:
(1) Yes, a few parts of the MCA do apply to citizens; andAnd, the always-excitable, way-far-out-there, but at least slightly straight-shooting Alex Jones offers "Torture Bill States Non-Allegiance To Bush Is Terrorism":
(2) the MCA is probably unconstitutional in many of its applications to citizens; and
(3) some constitutional applications of the MCA to citizens are deeply troubling.
...In section 950j. the bill criminalizes any challenge to the legislation's legality by the Supreme Court or any United States court. Alberto Gonzales has already threatened federal judges to shut up and not question Bush's authority on the torture of detainees.What I'd really like to see is a short debate (with links and cites) from those who are trustworthy, experts, and who are definitely on opposite sides. Unfortunately, something like that seems difficult to find.
"No court, justice, or judge shall have jurisdiction to hear or consider any claim or cause of action whatsoever, including any action pending on or filed after the date of the enactment of the Military Commissions Act of 2006, relating to the prosecution, trial, or judgment of a military commission under this chapter, including challenges to the lawfulness of procedures of military commissions under this chapter."
Posted to Politics at 11:35 PM | Comments (1)
Fence bill passes, Mexico threatens U.S. (again), will lobby (again)
The Senate has passed the border fence bill and it now goes to Bush for his possible signing. The bill includes an initial round of funding in the amount of $1.2 billion. While most Senators voted for it, worthies such as Dick Durbin (D-IL/MX) were opposed.In related news, the government of Mexico threatened the U.S. yesterday:
...The [Mexico] Foreign Relations Department said it was "deeply worried" about the proposal, which is working its way through the Senate, adding it will "increase tension in border communities."So, if we pass a fence bill, they can't guarantee there will be security on the border? Will they let terrorists or even more illegal aliens come through?
"These measures will harm the bilateral relationship. They are against the spirit of co-operation that is needed to guarantee security on the common border," the department said in a statement...
And, they also say they'll be conducting a lobbying effort inside the U.S.:
Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez said if the legislation is approved, Mexico will send a letter strongly condemning the measure. Asked by a reporter if that meant the government would try to "dissuade" Bush from signing the bill into law, he replied, "Without a doubt."Just because Teddy Kennedy probably said something similar in his rejection of the bill doesn't mean they're working together, only that they're both on the wrong side.
...Mexico's Foreign Relations Department said that only comprehensive immigration reform would stop millions of Mexicans from sneaking across the border into the U.S...
UPDATE: Oddly enough, RCP has linked to this post, despite me not even bothering to check whether or not Teddy Kennedy voted against it.
Frankly, this site doesn't oppose the fence, but it hasn't been a cheerleader for it because we realize that one of the root causes of illegal immigration (but not the only one) is political corruption and, if that were addressed, then enforcing our workplace and other laws wouldn't be that much of a problem. There's also the probability that the "cheap labor at any price" wing of the GOP - led in the blogosphere by persons such as "Captain Ed" and Insty - will hide behind the fence to push through "comprehensive" "reform". And, there's also the very strong probability that the fence will turn into a massive boondoggle for connected contractors. Overall, we feel that discrediting supporters of massive illegal or legal immigration will have a far more effective impact and we also feel that's a necessary pre-condition to avoid the situation becoming worse, with or without a fence. Discrediting them is easy; the only problem comes from finding a large enough megaphone.
New visitors might want to read my brief Intro to Illegal Immigration. For recent Democratic Party smears, try this or this. Democrats can read about Mike Huckabee or a George Bush-Chris Cannon two-fer. For the economics, try this, this, or this.
Posted to Immigration at 10:14 PM | Comments (3)
Will victims of lax immigration enforcement sue the U.S. government?
As I've pointed out in the past, one of the best ways to make sure immigration laws are enforced is to start bringing civil suits against corrupt corporations that hire illegal aliens. Another tack is being taken in a suit filed against the U.S. government by a relative of someone who was murdered in Altoona, Pennsylvania by an illegal alien. And, she might even have some degree of support from Rep. Bill Shuster, who discussed the case in Congress. See this via this.
In other news from that city:
The council voted 6-1, with member Matt Garber dissenting, to adopt the "Undocumented Alien Control Ordinance" proposal, which is similar to a measure passed in Hazleton earlier this year.
Posted to Immigration at 01:48 PM | Comments (2)
Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoes driver's licenses for illegal aliens (again)
This was expected, but never fear as California state senator Gil Cedillo will continue to try to give U.S. benefits to Mexican citizens who are here illegally.
Posted to Immigration_dls at 12:56 PM | Comments (2)
Arizona Democratic Party, Russell Pearce, and "Operation Wetback"
The sleazy Arizona Democratic Party is up to its old tricks again, this time trying to smear Rep. Russell Pearce (R-AZ) over his reference to Eisenhower's "Operation Wetback" on a radio program. From their press release titled Pearce Resurrects "Operation Wetback" and subtitled Russell Pearce Longs for Pre-Civil Rights Era Immigration Program:
In an interview on KJZZ Wednesday, Republican legislator Russell Pearce called for the reinstatement of Eisenhower's 1953 immigration plan, "Operation Wetback." The program, which was abolished a year later, sought to round up and deport all undocumented workers.
That paragraph probably contains a lie. Establishing a new program that's similar to an old program is not the same as "reinstating" the old program: things can be similar without being the same in every respect. And, only a fool would believe that Pearce would want to name the new program "Operation Wetback." So, it's almost certain that Pearce does not want to "reinstate" OW, and it's almost certain that - once again - the AZ Dems are trying to mislead.
Here's the only quote of his that they provide:
"We know what we need to do. In 1953, Dwight D. Eisenhower, put together a task force called 'Operation Wetback.' He removed, in less than a year, 1.3 million illegal aliens. They must be deported."
Further, we're informed that "Hispanic leaders in Phoenix are outraged", which is only followed by one example from "former legislator and activist Alfredo Gutierrez". He's a member of the "Somos America" group that organized at least one Phoenix illegal immigration march.
Needless to say, the press has taken the Dem smear and run with it.
Sarah N. Lynch of the East Valley Tribune offers "Pearce calls on 'Operation Wetback' for illegals", informing us that he's "angered the Hispanic community this week when he called for the reinstatement of a pre-civil rights era program that called for the mass deportation of illegal immigrants", language that's highly similar to that used by the AZDems.
The Arizona Daily Star offers a rewrite of an AP report in the falsely-titled story "Phoenix legislator supports deportations through 'Operation Wetback'".
The apparently original AP report is in "Rep. Pearce calls for mass deportations":
A state lawmaker has drawn a firestorm of criticism from the Hispanic community this week by calling for the renewal of a 1950s-era federal deportation program known as "Operation Wetback." Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, a fiery proponent of new border security laws and a crackdown on illegal immigration, talked about the possibility of mass deportations in a radio interview.
The word "renewal" may be somewhat more accurate than the word "reinstatement" used in the AZDem press release. The only evidence of a "firestorm" the AP presents is the press release and quotes from Roberto Reveles, the president of Somos America.
Posted to Immigration at 12:18 PM | Comments (4)
Trans Texas Corrider master plan released
From this:State transportation officials say that, with the expected approval today of a master plan on the Trans-Texas Corridor's Interstate 35 twin, they can now release previously confidential documents that have sparked a lawsuit and played a prominent role in the governor's race.They're in PDF files at keeptexasmoving.com/projects/ttc35/master_development_plan.aspx
The release of the documents, assuming they contain nothing explosive, will probably muffle charges from Gov. Rick Perry's gubernatorial opponents that he and his administration had a secret contract for the big toll road project...
...In addition, the agency and its development partner on the corridor alternative to I-35, the Spanish-American partnership Cintra-Zachry, will drop a lawsuit contesting an order to release the documents...
Posted to NAU at 02:03 AM | Comments (4)
"485 Contacts between Abramoff Team and White House Officials"
Drudge has a preview of a Roll Call article:ROLL CALL's John Bresnahann and Paul Kane detail: The 95-page report, which White House officials reviewed Wednesday evening but has yet to be formally approved by the panel, singled out two of President Bush's top lieutenants, Karl Rove and Ken Mehlman, as having been offered expensive meals and exclusive tickets to premier sporting events and concerts by Abramoff and his associates.Note also that Abramoff has links to Harry Reid, an American Senator who acts more like a Mexican Senator. Via the Marianas, JA has links to a guest worker program. JA may also have links to Sen. John Cornyn and Ralph Reed. And, there's not only a David Safavian, Grover Norquist, Chris Cannon connection, but a Chris Cannon, Grover Norquist, WSJ, and Fox News connection.
In total, the committee was able to document 485 contacts between White House officials and Abramoff and his lobbying team at the firm Greenberg Traurig from January 2001 to March 2004, with 82 of those contacts occuring in Rove's office, including 10 with Rove personally.
You don't need a scorecard because of the numbers of names, just because of all the different combinations they appear in.
Posted to Politics at 09:32 PM | Comments (3)
"Court asked to revive suit over tuition for illegal immigrants"
From this:An attorney [Kris Kobach] for a group of students at Kansas colleges asked a federal appeals court Wednesday to revive their lawsuit challenging a 2004 state law granting in-state tuition to some illegal immigrants.The article also mentions Peter Roos, an attorney on the other side.
A trial judge in Kansas had dismissed the lawsuit, saying the students did not face a "concrete and imminent" injury. The students appealed to a three-judge panel of the Denver-based 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The plaintiffs are U.S. citizens from outside Kansas paying out-of-state tuition to attend schools there. Their suit claims the state is violating federal law by offering some illegal immigrants a benefit that some U.S. citizens cannot get...
Posted to Immigration at 02:46 PM | Comments (1)
Not-so-FreeRepublic.com, Part 2
These Free Republic threads have at least two things in common:
freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1709042/posts
freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1709051/posts
freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1709076/posts
freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1709036/posts
The first commonality is that they're all in FR's "f-chat" section, which, as it sounds, is for "chatty" things rather than the supposedly hard news section at "f-news". And, all of them appear to have been moved into the "chat" side of things by one or more moderators. (The first thread was posted by yours truly, and I posted it to the "f-news" side of things.)
The second commonality is that they're all about the recent FOIA request that released 1000 pages of documents on the North American Union.
Not only that, someone who appears to be a moderator (1rudeboy) has posted several comments on those threads disputing the claims, claiming that the SPP's actions are all covered by previous laws, claiming it's all an attempt by Jerome Corsi to sell books, etc. etc. And, oddly enough, others join in with similar interesting statements.
The simple explanation is that these are just kneejerk BushBots who defend everything the current administration does. More complex explanations could be that, as some have speculated, JimRob (FR founder) is receiving money from the RNC, or that - hold on to your tinfoil hats - operatives who are involved in the administration or with politicians have accounts at the site. They could be dismissing these claims either directly for the benefit of the NAU attempt, or simply out of partisanship.
On a related note, this detailed post about the SPLC, MALDEF, and ACLU having indirect links to the Mexican government - despite uncovering information the MSM articles featured on the "f-news" side cover up - was moved to the "cheap seats", aka "Bloggers and Personal": freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1707968/posts
That's not the first time that's happened to one of my "more news than the news reports" posts.
See also this post about a FreeRepublic purge. Yes, they aren't just for Commies.
And, what's happened at FR is vaguely reminiscent of what's happened at RedState.
UPDATE: I added yet another related thread to the end of the list.
Posted to Bloggage at 05:22 AM | Comments (1)
Gil Cedillo, "immigrants" to stage "civil disobedience" at LAX
Later today, "American" politician Gil Cedillo (CA state senate) and CA Assemblywoman Judy Chu are going to risk arrest by leading "immigrants" in a civil disobedience "action" near LAX.
Those involved include the union "UNITE HERE" and the We Are America Alliance. An article discussing the event also includes this:
"They have elevated the issue to beyond just a group of workers in this single hotel to a broader issue of immigrant workers and the challenges facing immigrant low wages," said Kent Wong, director of UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education.
The link has more about him, and what those involved want is described at this page: anrsolutions.com/0928/aboutus.html (that's where the 'About' link at september28th.org leads; apparently configuration isn't their strong suit).
Note, of course, the huge background graphic of the raised fist which I'm pretty sure is only used as a sign of socialism. And, note the phrase "we believe in legalization and a path to citizenship for hard working immigrants in America", strongly implying that when they say "immigrants" they're most likely refering to "illegal aliens".
UPDATE: The LAT has two pages detailing exactly how coordinated the "disobedience" will be. The union has various agreements with the police and the DA to make sure that it's little more than "political theater". We're informed that one of those to be arrested is active in MEChA at USC; while no further information on that group is provided, at least reporter Joe Mathews - or more likely his editor - have apparently dropped their previous characterization of that group. Considering all the time and space he had to fill, one would think that Mathews would get the chance to inquire what percentage of the hotel workers were illegal aliens.
Posted to Immigration at 02:46 AM | Comments (3)
tooextremeforaz.org (Randy Graf: Too Extreme for Southern Arizona)
The latest in a long line of Democratic Party smears is an anti-Randy Graf site at tooextremeforaz.org (that page is actually a frame coming from www.azdem.org/tooextremeforaz). At the bottom, it says it's paid for by the Arizona Democratic Party, but considering the pro-illegal immigration contents it could have been paid for by the GOP. Part of it appears to have been repurposed from a recent DNC smear; other parts are even more extreme bits and pieces from the SPLC and other groups.Their first section is called "Randy Graf has clear connections with white supremacists", and it leads off with the David Duke smear already discussed here and answered by Graf here. The last page also answers their cross burning smear.
Then, consider these three simple declarative sentences:
Prop. 200 was brought to the ballot by an organization called Protect Arizona Now (PAN). Graf was a senior advisor to PAN. The chair of PAN's advisory board was Dr. Virginia Abernethy, a retired Vanderbilt University professor [and admitted "white separatist"].The only problem with this smear is that Graf had ceased to be a senior advisor to PAN before Abernethy was asked by Kathy McKee to head the board. Following the same logic as the Democratic Party, we would hold Hubert Humphrey responsible for Howard Dean. And, based on comments others have made, FAIR's attempt to remove her from any leadership position, and an email of mine that she responded to, McKee could have been either a "trojan horse" or could have been intentionally intending to wreck the initiative.
Here's the sequence of events which, while the source is Wikipedia, not only fits my recollection but is verified by the next article (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protect_Arizona_Now):
During the signature gathering campaign, Kathy McKee accused Rusty Childress, a Phoenix-area car dealer and PAN's treasurer, of withholding funds and petitions from PAN, and fired Childress. Childress sued McKee over custody of PAN's signatures and funds, but the court ruled in favor of McKee. Childress and the two most prominent supporters of the initiative within the Arizona state legislature, Russell Pearce and Randy Graf, then formed a separate organization, Yes On 200. When FAIR began an independent signature gathering campaign to collect the remaining signatures needed to put the initiative on the ballot, McKee accused FAIR of attempting a hostile takeover of PAN. McKee named Virginia Abernethy the chair of PAN's national advisory board. FAIR responded by issuing a press release calling for both McKee and Abernethy to resign from PAN, calling Abernethy's views "repulsive separatist views." Abernethy drew heated criticism for her close relationship with the Council of Conservative Citizens, a direct descendent of the White Citizens' Councils of the 1950s.Note that that naming occurred after Graf had left to form "Yes on 200".
That sequence of events is verified by the September 16, 2004 article "Welcome to PANdemonium":
...But FAIR's help wasn't greeted warmly by Kathy McKee, the chair of Protect Arizona Now, who objected and distanced herself from everyone else who was helping with the effort, recalls Graf.Now that you know how misleading those three sentences were, can you trust the rest? If you aren't convinced, let's consider one more warmed-over SPLC smear, this time about the Federation for American Immigration Reform:
"We were all fired on numerous occasions from that committee, and the last contact I had with Kathy McKee was in April," Graf says.
After some cajoling, McKee and the FAIR collaborators ultimately merged their petitions, giving the PAN initiative more than enough of a cushion to make the ballot.
Since then, several new political committees have sprung up on behalf of the initiative. McKee, meanwhile, has remained chair of the Protect Arizona Now committee and found new friends to help with the effort, including Virginia Abernethy, a professor emeritus at Vanderbilt University and a self-described "white separatist."
Between 1982 and 1994, FAIR received more than $1.2 million from the Pioneer Fund, a little-known foundation created in 1937 which openly supported Adolph Hitler.And, the Ford Foundation was started using money from Henry Ford. And, here's a list of some Pioneer Fund grants. In the same decade they gave money to FAIR, they also gave money to: Tel Aviv University, Stanford, New York Hospital - Cornell Medical Center, Randolph-Macon Woman's College, and the Sickle Cell Disease Foundation of Greater New York.
So, can you trust what the Democratic Party is telling you?
Posted to Immigration at 10:02 PM | Comments (1)
Consul: we both want a "legal, orderly and humane flow of people"
It was a canard fest at Ohlone College in Fremont (Bay Area, CA) on Tuesday as Mexican Consul General Alfonso de Maria y Campos spoke about illegal immigration. All of his statements have been heard many times before from both Mexicans and Americans. And, Angela Woodall of The Argus (part of the ANG Newspapers group) served only as a transcription service. If - and it doesn't seem likely - she asked him any questions, they aren't included in her report. They probably provide more hard-hitting coverage of local city council meetings:
"It is only by sharing responsibility that we can (achieve) what we both want: a legal, orderly and humane flow of people," he said.
As revealed later, he (of course) isn't just refering to visitors but to low-wage labor.
Mexico doesn't promote illegal immigration — the country wants people to stay in Mexico and contribute to the economy, Campos said.
No, they just print up comic books, herd potential crossers into areas without patrols, profit from billions of dollars of remittances sent from the citizens they've sent here, and the like.
He compared attempts to prevent illegal immigration to Prohibition; needless to say, Woodall didn't call him on that.
Then, he promoted a "guest" worker program:
"Migration needs to be circular" by allowing temporary workers to return home, he added.
Of course, what would happen is that they would send us "guests" and then take actions - probably including working with the NGOs with which they have links - to keep those "guests" in the U.S. so they can keep sending money home and also so they can provide a political power base for Mexico.
Then, it was time for a couple old chestnuts:
Mexican workers fill jobs that others will not take and keep the economy competitive by lowering overhead costs, Campos said.
Note the same adapted talking point that Bush now uses: instead of "jobs Americans won't do", now it's "jobs Americans will not take". And, the "illegal-worker discount" is very small. Then again, the target of that remark is probably the corrupt employers and not the consumer.
After warning that our hugely-important wine industry might collapse without cheap labor:
"We must have security while allowing trade," he said, noting that there has never been a terrorist incident that originated south of the border. "Mexico is a partner."
Actually, one of the 9/11 hijackers used a "feature" designed for use by illegal aliens to obtain a CA DL.
Two other 9/11 hijackers obtained VA DLs with the help of an illegal alien and the illegal immigration infrastructure that corrupt politicians have allowed to develop.
And, the 9/11 Commission Staff Report has extensive information on terrorists being familiar with and taking advantage of weaknesses in our immigration system. And, those who then say that most of that was of the legal immigration system are "fighting yesterday's war."
Bear in mind that all of the points above could have been made by Angela Woodall, but weren't.
Related: Mexican diplomats meddling in our internal politics
If 1000 Americans were made familiar with all the things Mexico does regarding illegal immigration, 900+ of them would not consider Mexico a "friendly" country. Start your education with this.
Posted to Immigration_consul at 03:23 PM | Comments (2)
Border Patrol agent talks to Congressman, gets suspended
From Sara Carter:Congressional members interviewed by the newspaper said they were unaware until recently that Border Patrol agents were required to file Significant Incident Reports - normally used for shootings and other serious border incidents - when congressional members made unannounced visits in the summer along the U.S.-Mexico border.
A second document obtained by the paper reveals that one agent was suspended for 10 days without pay for speaking with Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, who made an unannounced visit to the border in May.
"Preventing Congress from speaking freely to federal employees violates at least two federal statutes, and agents are fearful of telling the truth," said King, who recounted several visits to the Mexican border when Border Patrol agents would not speak with him for fear of reprisal.
"Filing these reports is a form of intimidation. If anyone is going to be punished, then they should be punished for not speaking to a member of Congress, rather than for telling the truth."
...In a May 10 memo, "SIR for Visiting Congressmen," Clint Stoddard, special operations supervisor and a Tucson (Ariz.) Sector commander with Customs and Border Protection, notified all supervisors to set new standards for reporting Border Patrol agents who have any encounters with visiting congressmen. The policy is in effect nationwide.
"Recently, Iowa Congressman King visited the border area," the memo states. "An IIR (local report) was done on one of two contacts with our agents. A request was made by HQOBP (Headquarters of Office of Border Patrol) to elevate these types of contacts to an SIR (Significant Incident Report). Sensitivities are such that this type of information is critical in the D.C. area. Much is going on in the way of legislation proposals and such.
Posted to Immigration at 12:45 PM | Comments (3)
North American Union uncovered (1000 pages of documents)
Jerome Corsi and others have obtained around 1000 pages of documents after a FOIA request to the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (spp.gov):Government documents released by a Freedom of Information Act request reveal the Bush administration is running a "shadow government" with Mexico and Canada in which the U.S. is crafting a broad range of policy in conjunction with its neighbors to the north and south, asserts WND columnist and author Jerome R. Corsi...You can download some of the documents here, and see also 'Shadow' agency to issue N. American border passes. More documents will be released later.
..."The documents clearly reveal that SPP, working within the U.S. Department of Commerce, is far advanced in putting together a new regional infrastructure, creating a 'shadow' trilateral bureaucracy with Mexico and Canada that is aggressively rewriting a wide range of U.S. administrative law, all without congressional oversight or public disclosure," Corsi said...
Bear in mind that all of this is unfolding without the involvement of the MSM or even the self-styled alternatives. I'm not aware of this story being investigated by any MSM sources or by any major bloggers that don't already oppose illegal immigration. (It has, however, been covered in diaries at DK and DU.) In fact, the Houston Chronicle appears to be involved in the scheme.
Will the MSM and those bloggers be able to ignore this subject now?
Posted to NAU at 04:07 AM | Comments (1)
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops supports Senate amnesty (Part #44849)
From this:Religious leaders Tuesday scolded lawmakers who oppose a broad immigration policy overhaul and urged them at a Capitol Hill news conference to put people over politics.As pointed out here many times, their policies will make the situation far worse. A much better suggestion is that they think things through and put what's in the best interests of all concerned ahead of their own parochial interests, such as pushing a far-left ideology or simply filling their pews.
...[Bishop Jaime Soto of the Diocese of Orange] flew into Washington for the news conference organized by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass...Of course, Cardinal Roger Mahony and other religious leaders are also misleading people and encouraging foreign citizens to march in our streets demanding rights to which they aren't entitled. And, they're probably misrepresenting the Bible as well:
...In an interview before the news conference Soto, who was representing the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, defended the involvement of the church in a political issue.
"I think that the church is a very important part of what makes America strong," Soto said. "We're just lending our voice as part of American society to this ongoing dialog as to how we shape an immigration policy."
Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, said that the Bible says 36 times to "treat the stranger as ourselves." He asked how politicians - all of whom are descended from immigrants - can say "now that we are here. . . the door must be closed."Obviously, the reporter (Dena Bunis of the OC Register) should have called him on his idiotic statements and brought up, for instance, some of the points raised here. Even if she doesn't have enough knowledge of religion to argue that side of things, at least she could have pointed out that no one wants to shut "the door". And, since as he points out everyone on Earth is descended from immigrants, if his statement has any validity it would lead to no nation being allowed to have borders. Whether he's an "erase the borders" fool, an anti-American socialist who would only apply his "rule" to the U.S., or just an idiot is not known.
Posted to Immigration at 12:16 AM | Comments (1)
Dick Armey, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Mike Pence, and Helen Krieble do lunch
From their press release:FreedomWorks Foundation sponsored a luncheon for Capitol Hill staffers to discuss immigration reform that will balance both security and economic concerns. In particular, the forum will examine options for strengthening our borders while establishing procedures that provide law-abiding workers a legitimate path to the American workplace.It was her brilliant idea - perhaps as a way to get cheap labor for her horse ranch - that led to the Pence massive amnesty scheme, you know, the one that would allow unlimited immigrants.
FreedomWorks chairman and former House Majority Leader Dick Armey was joined by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Congressman Mike Pence (R-IN, 6), and Helen Krieble, President of the Vernon K. Krieble Foundation.
Pausing briefly to wipe the "cheap" vegetables off his chin, Dick offers the usual false choice as well as a scare tactic:
"The Pence and Hutchison plans are on the right track. These serious legislative proposals first secure the border and address the need to supply necessary labor to critical sectors of the economy. Forcibly removing 15 million people is impractical and unrealistic, actions like this would be more characteristic of police state and not a free society."His group supposedly has 800,000 members, but he is/was also one of the leaders of "Americans for Border and Economic Security", a group created by George Bush to push his guest worker scheme.
UPDATE: There are some comments Armey made after the lunch in "Armey blasts Republicans over opposition to guest-worker plan" by Dave Montgomery of McClatchy Newspapers. He refers to those Republicans - whether just leaders or constituents - who oppose Bush's "guest" worker program as "jerks". Of course, Montgomery concentrates on the name-calling and doesn't ask Armey whether or not he's simply a paid cheap labor shill.
Posted to at 09:45 PM | Comments (0)
Propaganda Watch: It's bad all over, don't be a racist, accept your fate
A rather obscure form of pro-illegal immigration propaganda involves the claim that it's bad all over and encourages those complaining about the effects of massive legal and/or illegal immigration to stop being racist scapegoaters of immigrants and just accept their fate.In keeping with that obscurity, here it is from two obscure sources.
England's "Cambs Times" offers a "satire" from reader Peter Harvey in the article "Immigration given an intergalactic explanation". It attempts to show how far-left, massive immigration-supporting Martians would attempt to push their agenda on Wisbech, which is apparently a town in Cambridgeshire, home of Cambridge:
...Oh yes. Jobs. This really confuses us Martians. Apparently the influx of eastern Europeans has meant there are no jobs for local students in the holidays. Now for one thing, all through your local history, seasonal jobs have been filled by immigrant labour. Not from eastern Europe perhaps but from outside Wisbech. A bit like Londoners going fruit picking in Kent. Second, how do those people get the jobs if local employers don't offer them? Doesn't this have two sides?Then, we turn to Christin Ditchfield (the host of the syndicated radio program Take It to Heart, and the author of A Family Guide to Narnia: Biblical Truths in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia) who offers a response to a reader's question in "Immigration Frustration":
And I've heard of employers who insist on eastern European labour because of reliability. And if it's a question of cheapness then maybe it's also a question of exploitation. Or at least your TUC [Trades Union Congress] thinks so.
Are you racist? We Martians have been discussing that and we're undecided. The OFSTED [Office for Standards in Education] inspection of The Queen's School identified evidence of racism amongst pupils there but where would the children learn it from? Presumably not the teachers?...
...It's important to remember that not every immigrant is an illegal immigrant. And in fact, at some point or another, everyone living on the North American continent originally came from somewhere else. The United States is a nation of immigrants, built by hardworking men and women searching for religious and political freedom and the opportunity to create a better life for themselves and their families. Don't let the strong emotion of the immigration debate harden your heart toward an entire race or ethnic group. It's not an excuse for prejudice. Many of the problems you describe afflict communities where immigration isn't an issue. The widespread degeneration of our culture cannot be blamed on "foreigners." The sin nature is alive and well in people from all walks of life, every socioeconomic background, race, religion, or creed.Of course, there's no racism evidenced in the original question. The original question doesn't even use the word "foreign*", that comes from Ditchfield. She continues with the effort to recast the question as derived from racism:
You have the privilege to vote for legislation you believe will protect and provide for the needs of the community—and to hold elected officials accountable to enforce those laws. But let me also encourage you to make a concerted effort to get to know some of the people of other races and cultures who share your community. Visit a church whose congregation is diverse. With the love of Christ, reach out to the poor and needy—whether they seem "deserving" or not. It will help you see them for who they really are: people who—like you—are precious in God's sight.After people like this finish with their prattling, be sure and make sure you've still got your wallet.
Posted to Immigration_piipps at 04:12 PM | Comments (1)
Blurb battle in Boston (Healey, Patrick, Massachusetts debate)
On Monday the contenders for governor of Massachusetts "debated" in Boston, and the immigration-related parts of the transcript start here and go on for four more screens. It features the two leading candidates (Republican Kerry Healey and Democrat Deval Patrick) and two with little chance of winning ("Green-Rainbow" Grace Ross and independent Christy Mihos).
If that's indicative of the rest of the debate, it was only of use to promote their positions and not to engage their opponents on the issues. All of their positions could probably be gleaned from their websites or previous statements. The only slight challenge came from Mihos, who's apparently disgruntled. He called Healey on the number of companies prosecuted for employing illegal aliens; she responded by blaming it on Mass AG Thomas F. Reilly. Healey wants to exclude him from future debates.
On the issues of driver's licenses and discounted college educations for illegal aliens, Healey opposes, Patrick supports. He says:
I understand that immigration is a serious problem, it requires a serious response. It requires some candor.
Needless to say, he doesn't follow through, offering the standard Democratic line of "yes, but" and failing to realize all of the pull factors that encourage illegal immigration:
[page 8:] People are not coming here for in-state tuition, they're coming here for jobs... [page 9:] Lets be clear, people are not coming to Massachusetts to get a drivers license, they're coming to get jobs...
Let's be clear: if I were allowed to "cross-examine" Patrick I have little doubt that I could turn his support for illegal immigration into a massive defeat. Hopefully in future debates there will actually be a debate and the questions won't be so general and lightweight.
Posted to Immigration at 11:33 AM | Comments (1)
Disappointed NYT seeks immigration leader
It's "they can't be serious" time as the New York Times offers the editorial "Immigration Reform, in Pieces".
They're disappointed in Bush's failure to push through the "comprehensive" immigration "reform" he proposed, and they express their hope that a real leader on the subject will step forward. There's too much to respond to, but let's just consider this:
Among the most poisonous provisions is one that would give state and local police agencies authority to enforce federal immigration laws. Police departments big and small have bristled at the idea, saying they lack the expertise and the resources to enforce immigration law. They say it would cripple crime fighting by severing hard-won relationships with potential victims and witnesses: immigrants who will end up fearing and avoiding them.
Note, of course, that those agencies wouldn't be required to enforce those laws, it would just be an option. More on that bill (the "Immigration Law Enforcement Act of 2006") - together with the same scare tactic talking points - here: immigrationforum.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=843. Wouldn't enforcing our immigration laws lead to fewer illegal aliens, and wouldn't that lead to fewer illegal aliens who won't report crimes out of fear of being deported? Won't continuing to fail to enforce our immigration laws lead to the current situation getting even worse?
Then, the NYT says other stuff that's wrong, and just before saying more stuff that's wrong says this:
Anti-immigrant fervor is a flame that spreads easily. But leadership can help people look beyond resentment and fear.
Surely the NYT must realize by now that enforcing our immigration laws isn't "anti-immigrant", nor are the bills they discuss. Let's be fair and call that a typo.
And, as long as there's even just one person whose support for the bills or immigration enforcement is not motivated by "resentment and fear", the NYT's argument is ad hominem: it applies to those who are so motivated, and not to the issue of the bills or enforcement. Let's be fair again and assume that their use of "resentment and fear" is simply another mistake and wasn't done because they've run out of argument and in order to cloud the issue and portray their opponents in a bad light.
Posted to Immigration at 05:32 AM | Comments (3)
David Horton cracks; on to Arianna!
My fellow trolls:
David Horton - one of Arianna's nobody contributors at the HuffPost - has finally cracked under our pressure:
...So the Right have gone back to the tactic of employing Thought Police. Not on the streets now, don't need them there, but on the progressive blogs. We call them trolls on HuffPo, but they are as much like thought police as the Stasi of the former East Germany, and as much like Religious Police as the ones the Taliban employed. Their presence has long puzzled posters and bloggers alike. What on earth are they doing here? Why not stick to the right wing blogs where they would be welcomed with open arms? But this is to misunderstand their nature. Watch them on topics like global warming, religion, conservation, the rights of gays, minimum wages, gender equity, Hollywood, guns, socialism, abortion, the United Nations. Recognise the tone and the fury. Recognise the purity of belief, Recognise the absolute refusal to allow any deviation from their beliefs to be discussed. Feel the white hot rage that they express as their rigid beliefs are challenged. They are not here to learn, and they may not even be here to be paid. They don't have black uniforms and long sticks, but they do have the mad staring eyes of the fanatic, and they do have keyboards...
Needless to say, he continues.
OPCEN AUTH 17 BEGIN
372: X-RFX-83
863: AA-X787 OP-ARIANNA
34: 99X-U93
END
Posted to Bloggage at 08:38 PM | Comments (2)
"'Border baby' boom strains S. Texas"
James Pinkerton of the Houston Chronicle offers a suprisingly even-handed article:First it was a trickle, now it's a flood.They also quote a Starr County obstetrician: "The word is out: Come to Starr County and get delivered for free. Why pay $1,000 in Mexico when you can get it for free?" However, it also has this:
Rising numbers of undocumented immigrants from Mexico and Central America are streaming into Texas to give birth, straining hospitals and costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, health officials say.
Doctors and health officials say they are overwhelmed by both the new arrivals and those immigrant mothers who already are in the state. Even Houston's feeling the pinch. An estimated 70 percent to 80 percent of the 10,587 births at Ben Taub General Hospital and Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital last year were to undocumented immigrants, administrators say...
Birthright citizenship, as it is known, has been in force since the approval of the Constitution's 14th Amendment in 1868. But several bills under consideration in Congress would abolish the longstanding federal policy. Sponsors include U.S. Reps. Ron Paul, R-Lake Jackson, and Nathan Deal, R-Ga.Not exactly true. The 14th amendment has only been interpreted (for many decades) as granting birthright citizenship, but that was not the original intent of that clause.
As for the costs:
Starr County Memorial Hospital had $3.6 million in uncollected medical bills in 2005, up from $1.5 million in 2002. The total when fiscal 2006 ends on Sept. 30 is expected to hit $3.9 million, chief financial officer Rafael Olivarez said. Unpaid bills for the past five years will reach nearly $13 million, he said.
To make up for the shortfall, Starr County's hospital district is proposing a 25 percent tax hike.
Already, the U.S. government is pitching in, setting aside $1 billion in Medicaid funds to pay for emergency care received by undocumented migrants over the next four years.
But Olivarez said getting the reimbursements isn't easy. Federal officials "told us at a meeting they would pay us about 20 cents on the dollar," he said. "But it's better than nothing."
...[A spokeswoman for Harris County says:] "Using anecdotal information provided us by our staff, statistics from other public hospital systems and our patient demographics, we believe that approximately 70 to 80 percent of our obstetrics patients are undocumented."
...In all, 57,072 patients visited the district's hospitals, clinics and health centers last year, and nearly a fifth were undocumented, Rasp said. The cost of their treatment was $97.3 million, up from $55 million in 2002.
Posted to Immigration at 05:26 AM | Comments (2)
Training future North Americans
Just keep repeating to yourself, "it's just a dialogue". From N. American students trained for 'merger':In another example of the way the three nations of North America are being drawn into a federation, or "merger," students from 10 universities in the U.S., Mexico and Canada are participating annually in a simulated "model Parliament."Click the link for more on that anti-American paper. If all that weren't enough:
Under the sponsorship of the Canadian based North American Forum on Integration, students met in the Mexican Senate for five days in May in an event dubbed "Triumvirate," with organizers declaring "A North American Parliament is born."
A similar event took place in the Canadian Senate in 2005...
[The president of the Triumvirate is Raymond Chretien, the former Canadian ambassador to both Mexico and the U.S.]
...The 10 universities taking part include Harvard, American University, Carlton University, Simon Fraser, Universite de Montreal, Ecole nationale d'administration publique, Monterrey TEC, CIDE, Monterrey University and Instituto Mexicano de la Juventud.
Officials taking part have included James Williams, the former U.S. ambassador to Canada. The North American Forum on Integration says the annual event enjoys the support of the U.S. Embassy in Canada, the Canadian Embassy in Mexico and the North American Development Bank. It also has been supported by at least one U.S. news organization – the Houston Chronicle...
The board of directors of NAFI include Robert A. Pastor, professor and director of the Center for North American Studies at American University and vice chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations Task Force on North America. He has testified before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on the idea of merging the United States, Mexico and Canada in a North American union stretching from Prudhoe Bay to Guatemala.In June 2005, Pastor testified before Congress and said the following:
North American governments can learn from the EU's efforts to establish EU Educational and Research Centers in the United States. Centers for North American Studies in the United States, Canada, and Mexico would help people in all three countries to understand the problems and the potential of an integrated North America--and to think of themselves as North Americans. Scholarships should encourage North American students to study in each other's country. Until a new consciousness of North America's promise takes root, many of these proposals will remain impractical...
Posted to NAU at 02:12 AM | Comments (2)
Western Union funds to be held in "detention account"
More bad news for the wire transfer company that makes part of their money off illegal aliens sending illegally-obtained money back to their home countries. From "Western Union transfers to Mexico being seized":Western Union Co. said the state of Arizona, trying to track down smugglers of drugs and illegal immigrants, plans to seize most money transfers of $500 or more sent from 29 states, including Colorado, to Sonora, Mexico.There are several links about this company in the recent Western Union income growth down. While the many other companies that send remittances, including major banks, might welcome this move, hopefully they'll be next.
A warrant obtained by Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard blocks the money- transfer company from sending funds directly to 26 locations in the Mexican state, Western Union said in a filing Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Instead, it must put the funds in a "detention account," even if the senders were outside Arizona...
...Western Union-branded money transfers from the U.S. to Mexico grew at a 23 percent rate in the first quarter. That dropped to 10 percent in the second quarter. In the third quarter through Sept. 14, the growth plummeted to 3 percent...
10/4/06 UPDATE: They've received a stay and the detention account matter will go back to court on October 1.
Posted to Immigration at 10:43 PM | Comments (2)
NAU: "dialogue" or coup d'etat?
SPP.gov - home of the "Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America" - has somewhat responded to the increasing attention they've been getting by posting a "Myths & Facts" section: spp.gov/myths_vs_facts.aspAfter glancing at that page, take a look at the long response in "Bush Administration Advances on Path of Creating North American Union". In addition to facts about the "dialogue", it includes the following:
...What appears to be going on within SPP.gov is not simply a dialogue, but a massive and on-going re-writing of U.S. administrative law to "integrate" or "harmonize" our administrative law with the corresponding administrative law of Mexico and Canada. A wide range of public policy areas are involved in the SPP re-write of U.S. administrative law, ranging from e-commerce, through air travel, steel policy, textile policy, energy policy, environmental issues, trusted trader programs, trusted traveler programs and biometric cards issued to citizens of the three countries. The resulting "trilateral agreements" are being achieved by SPP all without specific disclosure to the U.S. public or direct oversight examination by Congress.
Charges of this magnitude demand we consider the possibility that an executive branch coup d'etat is underway to create a new regional government below the radar of media, public, or congressional understanding or scrutiny...
Posted to NAU at 08:07 AM | Comments (1)
Secret NAU meeting in Canada, Part 2
Jerome Corsi has more here:"What is sinister about this meeting is that it involved high level government officials and some of the top and most powerful business leaders of the three countries and the North American Forum in organizing the meeting intentionally did not inform the press in any of the three countries," [Mel Hurtig, a noted Canadian author and publisher who was the elected leader of the National Party of Canada] said. "It was clear that the intention was to keep this important meeting about integrating the three countries out of the public eye."There's more at the link. A list of the meeting's agenda is here and an attendees list is here. In addition to the usual suspects and others, one panelist was Geronimo Gutierrez, Mexico's Undersecretary for North America, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In July of last year he met with Utah governor Jon Huntsman.
...The motive for U.S. participation, according to Hurtig, was "to gain access and control Canada's extensive natural resources, including oil and water."
As for Canada, he said, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives "wants to make sure that the 150 Canadian top companies who are their members who gain access to the American market and to American capital."
...Attending the Banff meeting was Robert Pastor, the director of the Center for North American Studies at American University. Pastor is widely known for his extensive writings arguing for the creation of a North American Union, a new super-regional North American government based on the model of the European Union, with the intent of subrogating the sovereignty of the United States.
Pastor was co-chair of the Council of Foreign Relations task force that in May 2005 released a report entitled "Building a North American Community."
About one-third of the listed members of CFR task force attended the Banff conference. One prominent participant in both was Carla A. Hills, who served as U.S. trade representative from 1989 to 1993 and was the primary U.S. negotiator for NAFTA...
Part 1 on the meeting is here.
Posted to NAU at 07:38 AM | Comments (2)
Carolyn Lochhead/S.F. Chronicle omits details of NYT poll
Carolyn Lochhead, of the San Francisco Chronicle's Washington Bureau, offers "Political tide turning on illegal immigration". (As shown in the screengrab, their main news page gave it a just slightly longer title.)
At least for now, House Republican leaders have succeeded in their take-no-prisoners approach to immigration despite nationwide protests by Latinos last spring and White House warnings that they are endangering their party's future.
"Take-no-prisoners" is apparently the new version of "hard-liners". And, if Lochhead wanted to do some real analysis, she'd look into the real motivation behind those "warnings". And, she'd also discuss those protests in a bit more depth, perhaps letting her readers know that not only were around 98% of them "Latinos", but a large portion of the marchers were illegal aliens.
Then, we come to a favorite talking point of both corrupt Dems and corrupt Republicans:
Critics conceded a setback but argued that it would be temporary. They said enforcement alone won't stop illegal immigration but will alienate Latino voters, the nation's fastest-growing voter bloc. They said it will turn Republicans into a minority party, much as when former Gov. Pete Wilson won re-election in 1994 on an anti-immigrant platform that ultimately helped make California a Democratic-majority state.
"They" are so very wrong.
"There are very serious political implications to what they are doing today," said Cecilia Munoz, chief lobbyist for the National Council of La Raza. "If 40 percent of my community supported Bush in the 2004 elections, it's very hard to imagine in this environment that proportion of Latinos voting for candidates from a party which continues to insult them."
This is an example of Pete Wilsonism in action. The MSM is giving her a platform from which to race-bait and claim that enforcing our immigration laws is an "insult", and only part of the Republican party disagrees with her. The other part agrees with her and supports her efforts. Then, those same corrupt forces will use the MSM to replay back her remarks and claim that we're forced to choose between opening the borders and "insulting" "Hispanics". And, of course, the idea that the far-left, extremist-linked NCLR can claim all "Hispanics" as part of their "community" is laughably false as well as being an example of ethnic nationalism.
Shortly before quoting Frank Sharry and refering to the National Immigration Forum as "a pro-immigrant group", we finally come to the titular topic:
Still, national polls released this week found immigration far down on voters' concerns behind the war in Iraq, terrorism and the economy. Asked by New York Times/Bloomberg News pollsters to select their most pressing issue in the upcoming midterm elections, only 4 percent of registered voters chose immigration.
There's a link to the poll results here. She is correct about the 4 percent, but she avoids discussing three other questions they asked.
They ask whether Iraq, terrorism, and immigration are their most important or among their top three issues:
Iraq: most: 11% among top three: 75%
terrorism: most: 19% among top three: 70%
immigration: most: 9% among top three: 55%
I guess she didn't read that far into the poll. Or something.
Posted to Immigration at 06:15 PM | Comments (2)
David Norquist (brother of Grover) is CFO of DHS
How do you know the Bush administration isn't even trying to hide how corrupt and incompetent they are? Perhaps this is a bit of clue. Back in January David L. Norquist - brother of Grover Norquist - was selected to be the Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Homeland Security, and he was approved in May. From the 1/17/06 WH press release (tinyurl.com/k779c):
Mr. Norquist currently serves as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Budget and Appropriations Affairs). Prior to this, he served as Acting Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), as well as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Financial Management).
From May, see also "DHS Nominee for CFO Grilled About Role in Hiding Alleged Overcharges by Halliburton".
And, as CFO, he'll be overseeing the new "virtual fence".
Posted to Politics at 12:57 PM | Comments (1)
NYT's Rachel Swarns spews Dem talking points at BYU
On Thursday, Rachel Swarns of the New York Times spoke about immigration in a lecture at Brigham Young University. Here's one of her quotes:
"Almost everyone agrees that the current system isn't working, but whether or not we as a nation are going to come to some solution with how to fix that still remains unanswered."
I discussed this talking point usually used by supporters of "comprehensive" reform here; see also John McCain and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. And, here's Tamar Jacoby: "we must fix our broken immigration system". Finding worthies such as George Bush, David Brooks, et al saying almost the same thing is left as an exercise
Swarns goes on:
"Now everyone knows that we're a nation of immigrants, and when you think of mass migration to the United States, we often think about the early 1900s and the ships pulling into New York City."
In her quest to "peel away the layers", she might consider disclosing the whole truth about those she quotes as well as looking a bit deeper into the story, such as who encourages illegal immigration and why.
Posted to Immigration at 09:28 AM | Comments (2)
Charlie Norwood might apologize to National Council of The Race. If...
On Wednesday, Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-GA) released a press release with the following:The ability of state and local police to fight criminal illegal aliens will be undermined by legal intimidation if a mass lobbying campaign by the radical National Council of La Raza (NCLR) succeeds in blocking passage of a critical House immigration reform bill this week, according to U.S. Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-GA), the leading proponent of supporting local officers in the fight against criminal aliens...I not only agree with his characterization, I've gone a little further (but without invoking Godwin's law). Copies of the above release and the one below are here; note the attempt to not answer the questions by claiming that they might violate House rules.
...NCLR, a pro-illegal immigration lobbying organization that supports racist groups calling for the secession of the western United States as a Hispanic-only homeland, has mounted an all-out campaign to prevent state and local police from voluntarily aiding critically undermanned federal authorities...
Needless to say, the National Council of The Race has been flown into a press release-releasing furor. From the NCLR-slanted AP report "Ga. Lawmaker May Apologize to Latinos" by Ben Evans:
"His accusations in his press release were patently false," said Cecilia Munoz, vice president of NCLR. "We've attempted to clarify the record multiple times and we've offered to meet with him, and he continues to insist on a bizarre interpretation of our work."Now, Norwood says he'll apologize. But he has a list of demands before he'll issue the apology. All seven of them are quite good, but here are just three things NCLR would have to do:
Denounce and sever all ties with MEChA and any other organizations with which they are now or have ever been associated or funded which held to the racist doctrines published by MEChA.And:
Repudiate all claims that any current American territory rightfully belongs to Mexico.And:
Acknowledge the internationally recognized borders of the United States, the right of the citizens of the United States to determine immigration policy through the democratic process, and the right of the United States to undertake any and all necessary steps including military action to effectively enforce immigration law and defend its borders against unauthorized entry.Do not - I repeat - do not hold your breath.
Posted to Immigration at 05:39 AM | Comments (1)
Arkansas Family Coalition deleted comment (pro-Asa Hutchinson site)
Arkansas Family Coalition is a blog that supports the candidacy of Asa Hutchinson for governor of Arkansas. They deleted a comment I left there on the 9/19/06 thread "Beebe and illegal immigration" that was critical of that former DHS undersecretary:Oddly enough, these links I tried placing in Asa's Wikipedia entry about his immigration record at the DHS kept getting deleted. Hopefully that won't happen here:Note: the site is also available at arkfam.com
washingtontimes.com/national/20040909-115715-9178r.htm
nctimes.com/articles/2004/08/14/news/top_stories/20_41_308_13_04.txt
wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=39418
Also see these: google.com/search?q=site%3Ajohnandkenshow.com+hutchinson
I don't know about Beebe, but whenever I hear Asa all I can think about is those Temecula sweeps.
Posted to Bloggage at 10:01 PM | Comments (0)
Katie Couric's PIIPP promotes anti-American DREAM Act
It looks like Katie Couric is spreading pro-illegal immigration propaganda. Last night, CBS Evening News' "freeSpeech" segment featured an illegal alien whose identity was concealed. This was the video version of one of the other PIIPPs ("pro-illegal immigration puff pieces") discussed in this category, and like many of the others it promoted the anti-American DREAM Act. In fact, from their page on the segment:
His future and the future of thousands of other students who have grown up in the U.S. depends on the Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act) now pending in Congress. For more information visit the website, www.dontjustdreamact.com.
For future reference: the first link also describes another "freeSpeech" segment featuring Los Angeles Times reporter Sonia Nazario promoting illegal immigration.
Posted to Immigration_piipps at 04:23 PM | Comments (2)
Four years of the Lonewacko Blog?
Today, this site notes its fourth anniversary: four years of providing some information and analysis not available elsewhere. A true blogging innovator, Lonewacko is, unlike 98% or so of other political bloggers, not a partisan hack. Nor does he - or the entire Lonewacko team - curry the favor of the MSM or politicians. You will not find us engaging in conference calls with politicos and if we attended a convention we wouldn't do it from "blogger's row".
Last night was our big celebration to mark this milestone and I'm sorry you weren't invited. However, rest assured that there was plenty of food:
folks:
and fun:
Posted to Bloggage at 12:09 PM | Comments (1)
Kansas bishops for the Episcopal, United Methodist and Evangelical Lutheran churches have no argument
The AP article "Barnett, Sebelius spar over immigration; bishops weigh in" seamlessly blends a discussion of Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius' seeming Janet Napolitano-style disinterest in sending National Guard troops to the Mexican border with an attempt by religious leaders to silence and smear opponents of illegal immigration.Jim Barnett is Sebelius' Republican challenger, and he's running radio ads accusing her of flip-flopping on the NG issue and arranging a photo op at the border to make her look tough.
But, let's take a look at the issue of yet more presumably far-left religious leaders supporting illegal immigration:
Meanwhile, Kansas bishops for the Episcopal, United Methodist and Evangelical Lutheran churches expressed concern about the tone of the debate over immigration. While not blaming candidates, Methodist Bishop Scott Jameson Jones said he sees "an undercurrent of racism in Kansas."This should be read in true Father James McQuarter voice:
...Meanwhile, the three Protestant bishops - Jones, Lutheran Gerald Mansholt and Episcopalian Dean Wolfe - said they're concerned that fear of economic dislocation or cultural differences is driving the debate.
"I am missing leadership from state officials to name the sin of racism," Jones said. "I don't find racist politicians, but I find people who are expressing racist views that then get played out in other ways, so that I'm deeply concerned with an undercurrent racism in the state of Kansas that I did not expect to find."
"We come from a Christian tradition that finds our Lord the child of a dislocated family," Wolfe said. "There's a sense of, I think, in the Christian community, of a deep commitment to the one who comes from afar, hospitality to the stranger."
Posted to Immigration at 11:48 AM | Comments (0)
More Democratic Party sleaze noted
First, from George Allen comes "Webb’s Dirty Tricksters: push-blogging". That has a roundup of all the smears the Webb campaign and those related to it have used against him. See also this.
Then, we come to a smear against Randy Graf: David Duke placed a link to Graf and an endorsement on his website. Those who pursue this should look up "Guilt by Association". Side note: a couple years ago I got a link from David Icke, despite not being a lizard person (honest!) or (for the most part) not believing in the lizard person thesis.
Then, we come to Massachusetts Democratic Party Chairman Phil Johnston, who tried to racialize GOP gubanatorial candidate Kerry Healey's opposition to illegal immigration:
"I think the language that she's using is - borders on race-baiting and I think that it's fear-mongering of the worst sort and I think she ought to stop it... She should not run a campaign that plays to the worst instincts in people."
The Democratic Party and "liberals" realize they have no real argument for the illegal immigration that they support, so they say things like that in a last ditch attempt to smear and silence those who support our laws. The latest example here.
However:
Johnston last night issued a statement admitting that he "may have gone too far."
And, the Democratic nominee, Deval Patrick, is supposedly distancing himself from Johnston:
Healey's campaign demanded that Patrick seek the resignation of Democratic Party chairman Philip Johnston over the remarks. Patrick refused, but said, "Phil Johnston speaks for himself."
Posted to Politics at 11:41 AM | Comments (1)
George Borjas: "Immigration and African-American Employment Opportunities"
George Borjas of Harvard and others have a new paper discussing the titular subject. From the abstract:
The employment rate of black men, and particularly of low-skill black men, fell precipitously from 1960 to 2000. At the same time, the incarceration rate of black men rose markedly. This paper examines the relation between immigration and these trends in black employment and incarceration. Using data drawn from the 1960-2000 U.S. Censuses, we find a strong correlation between immigration, black wages, black employment rates, and black incarceration rates. As immigrants disproportionately increased the supply of workers in a particular skill group, the wage of black workers in that group fell, the employment rate declined, and the incarceration rate rose. Our analysis suggests that a 10-percent immigrant-induced increase in the supply of a particular skill group reduced the black wage by 3.6 percent, lowered the employment rate of black men by 2.4 percentage points, and increased the incarceration rate of blacks by almost a full percentage point.
Posted to Immigration at 11:34 AM | Comments (2)
AVWatch: Villaraigosa, Arnold Schwarzenegger cut backroom deal?
Have Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger cut a backroom deal? According to comments heard on a segment from KFI's John Ziegler (filling in for John & Ken), under this scheme in exchange for Arnold supporting Tony's effort to gain control over the Los Angeles Unified School District, Alcalde Villaraigosa will offer only limited support for Phil Angelides.Arnold will term out in 2010, and then it's time for Tony to try to become the first former MEChA leader to become governor.
Arnold signed the bill giving Villaraigosa a large degree of control over the LAUSD earlier this week. And, consider this earlier report:
After months of hesitation, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Tuesday [September 5] endorsed fellow Democrat Phil Angelides for governor, saying the state treasurer would best promote school improvements in California.From last month, see the article subtitled "Developers make big plans for Westside, write big checks for Antonio". His "Committee for Government Excellence and Accountability" raised over $1 million for his LAUSD efforts:
...Villaraigosa's public embrace of Angelides on education comes late in the campaign, after he won approval in the state Legislature for a bill giving him unprecedented control of the nation's second-largest school district, a plan Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has said he supports.
The mayor was widely believed to be withholding his endorsement of Angelides as he sought greater control of the troubled Los Angeles Unified School District. That plan won narrow legislative approval last week and Schwarzenegger, a Republican, has said he will sign the bill.
Neither Villaraigosa nor Angelides specifically mentioned the LAUSD bill Tuesday as they appeared together before more than 100 supporters at a BART station. Villaraigosa also avoided direct attacks on Schwarzenegger, confining his remarks to education.
Although Villaraigosa is one of the Democratic Party's rising stars, more than half of his committee's funds came from many of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's biggest contributors. Univision executive Jerry Perenchio, who gave Villaraigosa’s school committee $500,000, has spent nearly $6.4 million in the last 18 months on Schwarzenegger, the California Republican Party and the governor's various ballot initiatives.For background on the LAUSD from one perspective, see this.
I don't know if this backroom deal was actually made, but considering Arnold's other moves I consider it somewhat plausible. Hopefully someone who's more familiar with local politics will weigh in, but based on everything else that's happened I think a protest vote for either Phil Angelides or Art Olivier is the best option.
Posted to California at 11:31 PM | Comments (2)
"Study: Immigrant Influx Harms Young Workers; Employment Declines as Immigrants Arrive"
From this press release:A new study, authored by economists at Northeastern University and published by the Center for Immigration Studies, finds that young native-born workers are being displaced in the labor market by immigrants. Although one recent report by a Washington think tank found no relationship between immigration and native employment, that study did not focus on young workers who are often in direct competition with immigrants and are the ones most adversely affected.
The report, titled "The Impact of New Immigrants on Young Native-Born Workers, 2000-2005," is available on line at www.cis.org/articles/2006/back806.html.
Among the findings:
-- Between 2000 and 2005, 4.1 million immigrant workers arrived from abroad, accounting for 86 percent of the net increase in the total number of employed persons (16 and older), the highest share ever recorded in the United States.
-- Of the 4.1 million new immigrant workers, between 1.4 and 2.7 million are estimated to be illegal immigrants.
-- Between 2000 and 2005, the number of young (16 to 34) native-born men who were employed declined by 1.7 million; at the same time, the number of new male immigrant workers increased by 1.9 million...
Posted to Immigration at 01:14 PM | Comments (4)
Mexico detained lawyers, alleged victim of priest sex abuse (Cardinal Roger Mahony)
Cardinal Roger Mahony is not just a cheap labor pimp who either doesn't care about the massive downsides of illegal immigration or can't figure things out. He's also deeply involved in the Catholic Church's sex abuse scandal. From "Mexican officials detain lawyers, activist tied to sex abuse case":[Mexican] immigration authorities yesterday briefly detained representatives of a man who says he was sexually abused by a Mexican Roman Catholic priest. The three men were detained shortly after they alleged that the fugitive cleric was still celebrating Mass in Mexico.
The alleged victim, 25-year-old Joaquin Aguilar Mendez, also told a news conference he has feared for his life and that of his family since he first went public with his claims late last year.
Aguilar Mendez, along with several U.S. lawyers and members of the Chicago-based Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, called the news conference to reveal details of a civil lawsuit he filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, alleging that Mexican Cardinal Norberto Rivera and Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony conspired to protect Catholic Priest Nicolas Aguilar.
Shortly after the news conference, immigration officials detained and questioned for an hour two of Aguilar Mendez's U.S. lawyers - Jeff Anderson and Michael Finnegan - as well as Survivors Network national director David Clohessy, the group said...
Posted to Miscellania at 11:00 AM | Comments (0)
"Seeking Biblical Principles to Inform Immigration Policy"
Via this comes this article subtitled "Scripture provides more than easy slogans and soft platitudes about welcoming foreigners." It ends with this:Every Maria [subject of a PIIPP in a Christianity Today editorial] who gains a "better life" hurts our Patricias [low-wage U.S. citizen from an L.A. Times Magazine article], who have no where else to turn but to the civil government under whom God's providential hand has placed Patricia for protection. Rationalizing immigration policies based on a warm, soft, anecdotal, "feel-good" approach to legislating fails to do justice to fellow Americans. We deserve policies based on the factual, reasoned approach to legislating that places law and order right under biblical principles.If you get a chance, send it to people like Cardinal Roger Mahony.
Posted to Immigration at 05:30 AM | Comments (0)
"US Task Force Urges Sweeping Immigration Reform"
Curious:The Independent Task Force on Immigration argues that America's immigration system is dysfunctional to the growing detriment of the nation. Task force co-chairman Lee Hamilton, a former Democratic U.S. congressman from Indiana ["who also served as vice chairman of the U.S. 9/11 Commission"], says the United States cannot afford to throw away the many benefits provided by immigration.The Director of the Task Force is former head of the INS Doris Meissner, who was part of an interesting meeting in Canada recently.
"It is vital in an economic sense, to sustain our growth, to give us the skills we need at both the lower end and the higher end of the labor market," said Lee Hamilton. "It is needed because immigrants have been such a driving force in our country over a period of many years. It is needed because the openness of America is one of the great traditions of our country. The benefits of immigration far, far outweigh the disadvantages of it."
UPDATE: Holy moley! From today's "Gullible or Just a Propagandist" file comes "Think tank lays out plan for immigration overhaul" by Christina Sanchez:
Here's what immigration could look like in the years to come: Social Security cards are replaced with national ID cards that use fingerprints or eyeball scans to identify the cardholder; job applicants are run through a national database that spits out their immigration status; only three types of immigrants are allowed into the country -- temporary, provisional and permanent.We really need to get illegal immigration under control through other means so such anti-American, authoritarian measures do not get any traction.
Those and a host of other changes are needed to overhaul an outdated and inefficient immigration system if the country is going to get a handle on its immigration problems, a respected Washington, D.C., think tank said in a report released Wednesday.
The report by the Independent Task Force on Immigration and America's Future, an arm of the Migration Policy Institute...
...The nonpartisan task force, made up of a cross-section of elected officials, businessmen and immigration experts, released 16 recommendations to stave the tide of illegal immigration...
...Other suggestions include establishing a governing body in the executive branch to monitor and recommend changes to legal immigration levels to meet labor market needs; integrating the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants already in the United States; and setting up a "smart border" that combines technology, equipment and personnel to keep illegal immigrants from crossing...
Posted to Immigration at 03:36 AM | Comments (1)
Source: Patt Morrison's hat still too tight
The L.A. Times lifestyle columnist and infamous hat-wearer offers "Border Fence Is Borderline Insanity". In brief, she thinks it's just a stunt and won't be built anyway because it won't be funded. Despite that, she warns of an environmental tragedy:
...the Secure Fence Act will bulldoze through nearly 40 years of laudable laws: the National Environmental Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, California coastal regulations, the Federal Water Pollution Act, the Clean Air Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. It's like they never existed... This fence can run through hell, high water and west Texas and no law on the books can stop it, even if it somehow ends up poisoning wells in 10 states, flattening every historic Indian village between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico and wiping out what turns out to be the last family of ivory-billed woodpeckers on the planet, deep in the heart of Texas...
Perhaps this would be a good opportunity for Patt to do some soul-searching. If her paper were a strong opponent of illegal immigration - rather than strongly supporting it - proposals like the fence wouldn't gain that much traction.
Just imagine if the Los Angeles Times did frequent exposes on crooked companies that employ illegal aliens, or on Mexican government schemes that enable illegal immigration, or uncovered rather than covered up Communist groups, or uncovered rather than covered for racial demagogues. Instead, their support for illegal immigration to a small extent leads to more of what they support, and that leads to proposals like the fence.
Of course, that would require them to determine which is more important to them, and I think we know the answer to that.
Related:
A secret message from Patt Morrison?
Posted to Immigration at 01:18 AM | Comments (3)
DNA tests for politicians to determine race and religion?
Here's the text of the Democrat-sponsored H.R. 7438:AN ACTAnything's possible with the Democrats, but I'm just kidding. However, this site has been feverishly covering the question of James Webb's attacks on George Allen, as well as the interesting fact that some of the Raising Kaine bloggers are in fact paid to blog.
To determine ethnic, religious, racial, sexual, and related background of political candidates.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the 'Political DNA (Truth In Labeling) Act of 2006.
SEC. 2. DETERMINING CHARACTERISTICS OF CANDIDATES.
(a) In General- Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State of each state shall require all candidates to obtain a notarized, full DNA screening for all ethnic, religious, racial, sexual and other characteristics so that voters can determine which group(s) a candidate belongs to and vote accordingly.
(b) The DNA screening must be full and provide an inventory of all group(s) to which the candidate belongs, unto the .001 percent quotient.
Posted to Politics at 11:00 PM | Comments (0)
Secret NAU meeting in Canada
From this:...from Sept. 12 to 14, in Banff Springs, [Canadian] Minister of Public Safety Stockwell Day and [Canadian] Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor met with U.S. and Mexican government officials and business leaders to discuss North American integration at the second North American Forum.Much more at the link.
According to leaked documents, the guest list included such prominent figures as U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Mexican Secretary of Public Security Eduardo Medina Mora and Canadian Forces chief General Rick Hillier, although we have no final confirmation of attendees.
The event was chaired by former U.S. secretary of state George Schultz, former Alberta premier, Peter Lougheed and former Mexican finance minister Pedro Aspe.
Despite the involvement of senior North American politicians, organizers did not alert the media about the event. To make it worse, our government will not be issuing a public statement and refuses to release any information about the content of the discussions or the actors involved...
...The event was organized by the Canadian Council of Chief Executives - the elite club of Canada's richest CEOs - and the Canada West Foundation, an Alberta think-tank that promotes, among other things, closer economic integration with the United States.
The focus of the event was on North American security and prosperity. Not surprisingly, this included topics such as "A North American Energy Strategy," "Demographic and Social Dimensions of North American Integration" and "Opportunities for Security Co-operation" — all topics where the public interest is at odds with that of big business elites...
UPDATE: In addition to those above, WND has more participants:
former Central Intelligence Agency Director R. James Woolsey, former Immigration and Naturalization Services Director Doris Meissner, North American Union guru Robert Pastor, former Defense Secretary William Perry, former Energy Secretary and Defense Secretary James Schlesinger ... The only media member scheduled to appear at the event, according to documents obtained by WND, was the Wall Street Journal's Mary Anastasia O'Grady.And:
...In June, the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America made one of its most visible and public moves since it was first announced last year. In Washington, June 15, U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, Mexican Economy Minister Sergio Garcia de Alba and Canadian Minister of Industry Maxime Bernier joined North American business leaders to launch the North American Competitiveness Council. It was a major development that showed the March 2005 meeting was no fluke – and that the plans announced by the three national leaders then were continuing to take shape. The NACC was first announced by Bush, Harper and Fox.
The U.S. executives involved in the NACC include: United Parcel Service Inc. Chairman Michael Eskew; Frederick Smith, chairman of FedEx Corp.; Lou Schorsh, chief executive of Mittal Steel USA; Joseph Gilmour, president of New York Life Insurance Co.; William Clay Ford, chairman of Ford Motor Co.; Rick Wagoner, chairman of General Motors Corp.; Raymond Gilmartin, CEO of Merck & Co. Inc.; David O'Reilly, chief executive of Chevron Corp.; Jeffrey Immelt, chairman of General Electric Co.; Lee Scott, president of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.; Robert Stevens, chairman of Lockheed Martin Corp.; Michael Haverty, chairman of Kansas City Southern; Douglas Conant, president of Campbell's Soup Co. and James Kilt, vice-chairman of Gillette Inc...
Posted to NAU at 04:17 PM | Comments (1)
Pima County (Tucson) still funding border water stations
The Board of Supervisors in Pima County, Arizona (home of Tucson) yesterday voted to continue providing water stations in the desert designed for use by illegal aliens:
...The Board of Supervisors voted 4 to 1 Tuesday to give $25,000 from the contingency fund to Humane Borders, which maintains 80 water stations in Southern Arizona and northern Mexico. This is the sixth year Pima County has funded the stations... Several members of Humane Borders, wearing their trademark blue-and-white T-shirts featuring the Big Dipper constellation full of water, were in the audience, but they did not speak. The group submitted a paper done in conjunction with the University of Arizona that outlined its use of mapping software to track migrant deaths and come up with ways to prevent more deaths.
If they really wanted to do that, they'd work to discourage attempts to cross the border in the first place. They could do that by, for instance, highlighting companies that employ illegal aliens, discussing Mexico's agenda, and the like.
HB has done the opposite. The water stations encourage people to attempt to cross the desert. But, they wanted to go even further and, as the last link discusses, pass out maps showing the best places to cross.
Their efforts make it more likely that someone will try to cross. Either they're unable to figure that out, or they figure that increasing illegal immigration is more important than what they claim to oppose.
Posted to Immigration at 01:04 PM | Comments (0)
"Illegal-worker discount" is very, very small
Via this comes the Seattle Times article "Low-paid illegal work force has little impact on prices":More than 7 million illegal immigrants work in the United States. They build houses, pick crops, slaughter cattle, stitch clothes, mow lawns, clean hotel rooms, cook restaurant meals and wash the dishes that come back.Facts and figures follow.
You might assume that the plentiful supply of low-wage illegal workers would translate into significantly lower prices for the goods and services they produce. In fact, their impact on consumer prices — call it the "illegal-worker discount" — is surprisingly small...
Posted to Immigration at 11:48 AM | Comments (2)
More Center for American Progress piffle on immigration
The Clinton-linked Center for American Progress has issued a desperate cry for help: "Don't Abandon Comprehensive Immigration Reform".
Initially, you might be confused. Did the GOP write this? Or, did they write it for use by the GOP? Or, are the GOP and Democrat positions on immigration so similar that it's difficult to tell the difference?
I stopped reading it when they violated Godwin's law with this:
...there are certain crucial facts that tend to get lost in the shuffle when the discussion shifts to an enforcement uber alles approach
One shouldn't discount what they say just because of that, consider this instead:
Mass deportation of the undocumented population, advocated by Buchanan and others, even assuming 20 percent would leave voluntarily if such a policy was enacted, would cost at least $206 billion over a five-year period. [Goyle & Jaeger, "Deporting the Undocumented: A Cost Assessment," Center for American Progress, July 2005]
As discussed at the link, the CAP study is little more than a joke. Buchanan may hold that view, or they may be misrepresenting what he said.
But, most importantly, what of the 80%? Does CAP assume that all of those would be put on trains and sent back to Mexico and other countries? What if some of them resisted deportation? What percentage of the total number of illegal aliens would - perhaps heeding calls from Communist groups like ANSWER - decide to reclaim their supposed ancestral lands? Aren't there enough illegal aliens in enough metropolitan centers - and haven't Americans been cowed enough - that some of them would be able to hold parts of our cities? Would, for instance, Maywood, CA offer itself as a refuge for would-be deportees?
How exactly could the U.S. defend its own territory in such a case? All our military forces are far outnumbered by the foreign citizens who are here. If a large number of illegal aliens resisted deportation it would inevitably result in martial law and (literally) tanks in the streets.
CAP's response - if they were ever serious enough to provide one that addressed the actual issue - would probably be that such a scenario must be avoided at all costs. The