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Possible Democratic Party immigration "reform" charade: "offer legalization" to become "require"

A new "confidential" study called "Winning The Immigration Debate" has been released by two groups linked to the Democratic Party: the Center for American Progress (linked to Hillary Clinton and indirectly linked to the Mexican government) and the Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (member groups also have indirect links to the Mexican government) [1].

I haven't seen the study, but while some might be fooled, it's clear that it's just a new attempt to get the same old amnesty. And, their recommendations boil down to simply a rhetorical change, from "offering" a "path to citizenship" to "requiring" illegal aliens to become legalized. That more stern language will, the authors hope, immediately cause millions of U.S. citizens to be more amenable to amnesty. I'm sure they'll be able to fool many people that way, but in the end it's not going to work.

And, wrap your mind around this from the study:

This message places the focus where voters want it, on what's best for the United States, not what we can/should do for illegal immigrants.

Who knew? Of course, this is yet another rhetorical device. Why else include the bit about what voters want? Shouldn't those pushing amnesty want what's best for the U.S. as well? Obviously they don't: their actions have repeatedly shown that they're not thinking of what's best for the U.S. but simply what's best for them and their companies, or their ethnic groups, or their political party.

[1] CCIR is headed by Cecilia Munoz of the National Council of La Raza. They've suggesting going easy on illegal aliens suspected of identity theft, they gave an award to a virulent racist, they fund extremists, and more. At least two members of the CCIR have indirect links to the Mexican government (ICIRR and MALDEF) and one has allegedly collaborated with that government (CHIRLA). And, one of their member groups (ILIR) has received funding from the Irish government.

In other words, no matter what you hear, it's the same old same old.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 12:46 PM

"Comedian" George Lopez, ethnic nationalist for Obama

From our "getting close to David Duke territory" file comes this:

Hollywood television celebrity and popular comedian George Lopez brought U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's message of hope and change Wednesday afternoon to an estimated 1,200 potential young voters at the University of Texas at El Paso.

"It is the time of the Latino, your time to step up, your time to take this country over," Lopez said, eliciting applause. "But si se puede doesn't mean anything unless you go out and make it happen."

I don't need to add that a white person who had said the same thing would not only be compared to a white supremacist but would no longer have any sort of career.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 07:31 PM

Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton told Canada their NAFTA talk was just bluster?

According to the following report from Canada's CTV, last month a senior representative of the Barack Obama campaign called Canada's ambassador to the U.S. and informed him that, despite any anti-NAFTA statements Obama might make, it would all just be bluster and he wouldn't really mean it. Supposedly a Clinton representative made the same assurances to the Canadian government.

Both campaigns are denying it, but if they had actually done it it wouldn't be much of a surprise. No doubt foreign leaders are well aware that they have no intention of drastically modifying the trade deal and would at most seek to mollify those affected through various giveaways and the like.

Note also that Obama recently spoke in code, signalling his support for Bush's SPP (spp.gov), aka "NAFTA on steroids".

UPDATE: Taylor March says:

I called CTV to verify the story, especially given the Obama campaign's cries that it's "inaccurate." After asking Greg McIsaac of CTV if they were sticking by their story, he quickly called me back with verification. The facts of our story are accurate.

UPDATE 2: From CTV:

...the Obama camp did not respond to repeated questions from CTV on reports that a conversation on this matter was held between Obama's senior economic adviser -- Austan Goolsbee -- and the Canadian Consulate General in Chicago... Earlier Thursday, the Obama campaign insisted that no conversations have taken place with any of its senior ranks and representatives of the Canadian government on the NAFTA issue. On Thursday night, CTV spoke with Goolsbee, but he refused to say whether he had such a conversation with the Canadian government office in Chicago. He also said he has been told to direct any questions to the campaign headquarters.

More here.

Posted to Politics at 12:03 PM

Thousands of foreign flight school students unscreened by TSA

From this:

Thousands of foreign student pilots have been able to enroll and obtain pilot licenses from U.S. flight schools, despite tough laws passed in the wake of the 9/ll attacks, according to internal government documents obtained by ABC News.

"Some of the very same conditions that allowed the 9-11 tragedy to happen in the first place are still very much in existence today," wrote one regional security official to his boss at the TSA, the Transportation Security Administration.

"Thousands of aliens, some of whom may very well pose a threat to this country, are taking flight lessons, being granted FAA certifications and are flying planes," wrote the TSA official, Richard A. Horn, in 2005, complaining that the students did not have the proper visas.

Under the new laws, American flight schools are only supposed to provide pilot training to foreign students who have been given a background check by the TSA and have a specific type of visa...

Presumably, almost all would appear to have at least arrived legally, although if they had then violated the terms of their visas they would have presumably become illegal aliens, the same situation as some of the 9/11 hijackers were involved in.

The DHS appears to be scrambling to get out some sort of official response. That should be interesting.

Posted to Immigration_terror at 07:49 PM

Two from terrorist watch list arrested near border (associate crossed illegally)

From this:

Two men on the "national terrorist watch list" have been turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) following a routine traffic stop... [Patagonia, Arizona Police Chief Ed Dobbertin said] that the men were of Middle Eastern descent and had been residing in Sierra Vista. ..."They were on the list because apparently they were non-U.S. citizens going to Nogales to basically bond out an individual - their associate - who was also a non-U.S. citizen that had been stopped the night before by Customs and Border Protection agents for entering the United States illegally," said Dobbertin.

Posted to Immigration_terror at 12:02 PM

Flickr now using nofollow tags

About a year ago, Youtube - apparently prompted by Google - added the anti-web nofollow tag to an increasing variety of their outbound links (except for some links, such as those which were on content provided by videomaker.com, something that would seem to violate Google's own rules). You can see the salmon-colored excess here and here.

Now, visiting my barely-used Flickr site (flickr.com/photos/lonewackodotcom), I see that they're using that tag too, for instance on this: flickr.com/photos/lonewackodotcom/265708046 (see the link in the caption). I'm almost positive there was no such tag there before, but I don't know exactly when they added those or if those who buy a subscription or who have some sort of business deal with Yahoo don't have the tags on their links.

Posted to Bloggage at 11:16 AM

Kristin Butcher/Anne Morrison Piehl/PPIC: immigrants commit crimes at lower rate than U.S. citizens

From this:

Immigrants in California are far less likely to land in prison than their U.S.-born counterparts, a finding that defies the perception that immigration and crime are connected, according to a study released Monday.

Foreign-born residents make up 35 percent of the state's overall population, but only 17 percent of the adult prison population, according to the Public Policy Institute of California, which conducted the research.

Noncitizen men from Mexico between the ages of 18 and 40, which the study indicated were more likely to be in the country illegally, were eight times less likely to be in a "correctional setting," the study found...

The PPIC isn't exactly trustworthy, so I'm sure there's something that the study left out especially since it appears to have been designed to show... exactly what it purports to show. From their page (ppic.org/main/publication.asp?i=776):

Such findings suggest that longstanding fears of immigration as a threat to public safety are unjustified.

The authors are Kristin F. Butcher (associate professor of economics at Wellesley College) and Anne Morrison Piehl (associate professor of economics and faculty affiliate in criminal justice at Rutgers University). Hopefully someone will read the actual study and point out whether they've made any interesting errors or omissions.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 09:14 AM

John Solomon, Washington Times editor, goes politically correct

A purported memo from John Solomon, new editor of the Washington Times, is here. It updates their style guide to remove scare quotes around certain phrases, and also:

1) Clinton will be the headline word for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

2) Gay is approved for copy and preferred over homosexual, except in clinical references or references to sexual activity.

3) The quotation marks will come off gay marriage (preferred over homosexual marriage).

4) Moderate is approved, but centrist is still allowed.

5) We will use illegal immigrants, not illegal aliens.

"Aliens" and "illegal aliens" are used in the U.S. Code many times. "Illegal immigrants" appears, as far as I can tell, only one time. And, while some might disagree, "immigrant" implies legality and in that way "illegal immigrant" is an oxymoron. It might also indicate that the Washington Times is starting down the slippery slope towards being like the Washington Post.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 08:54 AM

Huell

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Huell.

HUELL: Huell.

Posted to Huell at 06:35 PM

United Nations "Committee on the Elimination of Racism" chides U.S. over treatment of immigrants

From their safe Geneva home, on Friday United Nations bureaucrats from the "Committee on the Elimination of Racism" (part of the U.N. "Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights") chided U.S. government representatives for a variety of alleged issues ranging from extraordinary rendition to police brutality to race-based disparities in sentencing to the treatment of legal and illegal immigrants and refugees (www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/cerds72.htm).

The end of this leaps out:

The U.N. panel discussed a broad range of other questions with the U.S. delegation, including police brutality against Arabs and Muslims in the U.S. since Sept. 11, 2001, and the detention of illegal immigrants.

The experts based many of their questions on reports submitted by 120 representatives of U.S. human rights organizations who came to Geneva for the hearings.

Warren W. Tichenor, U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said the discussions had been "collegial and extremely stimulating," and he was pleased to see a high number of U.S. rights groups attending the meeting.

One of those groups was, of course, the ACLU. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a list of all the groups involved and their work product (aka justification-for-existence) is so vast that I'm unable to point out all the ways that the unnamed U.N. censors got it wrong when it comes to illegal immigration.

However, a quick glance shows that, like others on the far-left, they're a bit parochial in their thinking. They support labor rights for all, but they fail to recognize how enforcing immigration laws can help ensure such rights. They appear to support open borders or something close to it, without realizing how that hurts their supposed goals.

So, for instance, the "IMMIGRANT RIGHTS" file (USHRN3.doc) linked from ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/cerds72-ngos-usa.htm correctly describes how crooked contractors were able to abuse illegal aliens in New Orleans after Katrina. However, they don't seem able to get their heads around how enforcing immigration laws would have both prevented such abuses and also avoided contractors being able to pass over U.S. citizens. They also don't go in to how the Democratic Party leadership was complicit in Bush's scheme to move out the former residents and move in illegal aliens from Mexico.

And consider this:

76. On the heels of the Eastern District of PA ruling the Hazelton ordinance unconstitutional, PA State Representative Daryl Metcalfe issued a report "Invasion PA: National Security Begins at Home Keystone State Report," which leads with the following inflammatory call to action: "With the federal government currently AWOL in fulfilling its Constitutional responsibilities to protect American lives, property and jobs against the clear and present dangers of illegal immigration, many states and local governments are left with no choice but to take individual action to address this important issue." The report lists as offenses purportedly committed by unauthorized migrants, "homicide, identity theft, property theft, serious infectious diseases, drug running, gang violence, human trafficking, terrorism and growing cost to taxpayers," but the report reveals no accounting for racial profiling or discrimination in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion and criminal enforcement, and it demonstrates a presumption of guilt rather than innocence in the arrests and detentions (rather than convictions) listed.

That's not so inflammatory, and surely even the UN isn't saying that illegal aliens don't commit the listed crimes. The report is here. The fact remains that illegal aliens are here and commit crimes, and any justice system abuses are a separate issue and can be dealt with in addition to deporting the illegal aliens involved. Apparently the UN is trying to wallpaper over the fact that those who shouldn't be here in the first place commit crimes by bringing up completely unfounded allegations of abuse.

As for what they find non-inflammatory:

50. A soon-to-be-released report titled "Over-Raided, Under Siege" analyzing 100 stories of human rights abuses, interviews with community leaders and summaries of numerous reports and data to better understand these patterns of human rights violations, concluded: the humanitarian crisis at the border has reached new heights as migrant deaths hit record numbers and the federal government pours billions of dollars into militarizing the region; immigrants are being detained at increasing rates and housed in detention facilities with inhumane living conditions; local law enforcement threaten public safety and community policing efforts by collaborating with federal immigration agents and the racial profiling of immigrants and persons perceived to be unlawfully in the United States; and employers continue to exploit workers using Social Security “no-match” letters and immigration status as a tool of intimidation while legislators are introducing temporary worker programs reminiscent of failed past initiatives.

That apparently non-inflammatory report was from the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and their completely non-inflammatory summary says:

Now, immigrants, whether they are documented or undocumented, are the almost exclusive scapegoat for the faltering economy, the deterioration of services and social problems. In this officially condoned anti-immigrant climate, racial profiling, exploitation in the workplace, hate violence and other public policies are being used to deliberately force immigrants to leave or exist in the shadows.

Neither inflammatory, nor lying! And:

72. Staff at the Instituto del Progreso Latino (IDPL) in Chicago report that other types of traffic stops are common in Waukegan and target Latino families.

The IDPL is headed by the Mexico-linked Juan Salgado of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

Obviously, the OHCHR is far-left, and considered only the input of far-left groups without seeking input from, for instance, crime victims of illegal aliens. And, without realizing that enforcing our immigration laws would end many of the abuses they pretend to be concerned about.

Related:
Jorge Bustamante/U.N./Notre Dame wants pro-illegal immigration boycott (earlier: dual citizenship to support Mexico's agenda in U.S.)

Posted to Immigration2008a at 08:46 PM

Pochemu ona ne govorila po-Russki?

I don't know, you tell me:

Posted to WackyHumor at 08:04 PM

Barack Obama criticizes Hillary Clinton for supporting NAFTA, while supporting it himself

Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton support NAFTA, but Obama is trying to say her support is stronger. Or something. From this:

Barack Obama accused Democratic presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton on Sunday of trying to walk away from a long record of support for NAFTA, the free trade agreement that he said has cost 50,000 jobs in Ohio, site of next week’s primary.

At the same time, he said attempts to repeal the trade deal "would probably result in more job losses than job gains in the United States."

One day after Clinton angrily accused him of distorting her record on the North American Free Trade Agreement in mass mailings, the Illinois senator was eager to rekindle the long-distance debate, using passages from the former first lady’s book as well as her own words...

The article has some of her quotes in support of the deal, and David Sirota reprints them here. Yet, back on October 9, 2007 he wrote:

Obama is the first presidential candidate to officially declare his/her support for the NAFTA expansion moving through the Congress. His announcement is not necessarily surprising, considering he was the keynote speaker at the launch of the Hamilton Project -- a Wall Street front group working to drive a wedge between Democrats and organized labor on globalization issues. His announcement comes just days after a Wall Street Journal poll found strong bipartisan opposition to lobbyist-written NAFTA-style trade policies.

Not only that, but Obama recently dog-whistled his support for the SPP, aka "NAFTA on steroids".

They're both on the wrong side of the issue.

Posted to Politics at 04:34 PM

Mexican consulate in Boise pushed by Mexico-linked activists

The Mexican government has apparently applied to the U.S. State Department to open a new consulate in Boise, Idaho, and they might have already rented office space. This followed a petition drive which garnered 10,000 signatures in support of the new consulate.

At least two of those pushing the scheme have links to the Mexican government.

The first mentioned in the article is Lucio Prado of Boise. He has a radio show (link) and has or had some involvement with an Acapulco restaurant (link). He also serves on the board of the Catholic Charities of Idaho (link). And, from this:

SALT LAKE CITY-- The Local Council of Mexicans Abroad West of the Rockies was formed on September 17 in Salt Lake City. The Council is part of the Mexican Consulate. The formation of the council was attended by 45 advisors or community leader from the four states that are covered by the Mexican Consulate - Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Utah. Representing Idaho were Lucio Prado, Juan Jose Mena and Juanita Gonzalez of Boise, Rafael Ortiz of Nampa and Esperanza Taylor of Caldwell.

Gonzalez is also noted as one of those involved in the petition drive. There's local opposition from Republican Congressmen Bill Sali and possibly Mike Simpson, but it might not be enough.

Posted to Immigration_consul at 12:38 PM

Felipe Reinoso, Martin Looney want illegal aliens to take college discounts from U.S. citizens (Connecticut)

Immigrant from Peru and Connecticut state Rep. Felipe Reinoso (D-Bridgeport) has introduced a bill that would let illegal aliens pay the in-state discounted rate for college educations in that state. Because college discounts and slots are a finite resource, this would have the impact of allowing illegal aliens to take those discounts and slots from U.S. citizens.

Their Senate Majority Leader Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven) is pushing a limited bill that would only cover community colleges, explicitly doing so as part of an incremental plan to cover all types of colleges.

Republican government Jodi Rell vetoed similar attempts last year.

[Looney says:] "It seemed to me that having the bill last year be vetoed, doing something that would be somewhat more incremental is a way to renew the debate on a more limited scale... ...I think the issue is still one of merit... These are, in fact, Connecticut's children, and many times these are children who all of their living memory is of life in Connecticut." Looney said he expected some people would oppose the bill and "demagogue on this issue," but he said he hoped there would be a practical way to find a solution for Connecticut students.

It would be great if those in CT could go to public appearances by Looney and Reinoso and focus in on the fact that their bills would harm U.S. citizens by letting foreign citizens who are here illegally take college discounts from them. Ask them what they would say to a U.S. citizen who can't go to college because of their bills, get their response on tape, and upload it to video sharing sites. The goal is to discredit them as greatly as possible and have an impact on their political careers.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 12:29 PM

Rod Jetton/Missouri wants to trade lazy Americans for hard-working Mexicans

From this:

A lot of lazy Missourians, including many in Southeast Missouri, could benefit from adopting the work ethic of Mexican immigrants, [Missouri] House Speaker Rod Jetton [a Republican; rodjetton.org; info@rodjetton.org] said Thursday.

...[example of job that supposedly couldn't be filled]...

"We have a shortage of people who want to go out and bust their tails and do the jobs," Jetton said.

Jetton made his remarks when asked about his statement made to Republicans in Springfield, Mo., that he would like to "trade some of our people for some of the Mexicans who work so hard."

He didn't back away from that remark. "If we can find a way to trade them, I would trade them in a heartbeat," Jetton said.

Despite saying that, he's supposedly pushing anti-illegal immigration bills through their legislature.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 12:24 PM

Why Alex Pareene is a tool

Alex Pareene - formerly with Wonkette and now with Gawker - offers a fifth-graders attempt at North American Union/NAFTA Superhighway debunking here. The only problem is... there's nothing there, just snark and bad attempts at humor. He evens links to the Michael Dobbs debunking at the Washington Post (link), apparently without realizing how many of the comments there debunked the debunking.

In the unlikely event that anyone would ever take anything Alez Pareene says seriously, see the other posts in this category or even just the comments at the WaPo link. Many of those on the left in the U.S. are useful idiots for those who favor schemes like the NAU; those behind the schemes know they can count on those useful idiots to in effect support something just because of the opposition, in this case Lou Dobbs, World Net Daily, and so forth. On the other hand, opposition to these schemes in Canada comes from both the right and the left.

Here's my running list of North American Union apologists.

6/10/08 UPDATE: Now he's spinning the Bilderberg meeting:
gawker.com/tag/conspiracies/?
i=5015021&t=secret-new-world-order-meeting-inspires-awesome-blast-emails

Posted to NAU at 03:38 PM

Disgrace: CNN Democratic debate February 21, 2008

I won't be live-blogging it, but I can tell already that tonight's Democratic debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will be a disgrace. Some part of that is due to the fact that one of the questioners is Jorge Ramos of Univision. He's not only a supporter of cultural separatism, he's not a citizen - by choice - despite having lived here for over a decade. And, if any immigration questions are asked they'll be meaningless: everyone on stage is on the same side.

UPDATE: I was right about it being a disgrace, but that was an easy bet (link); Ramos asked a few questions designed simply to make the candidates give in to his views in support of massive Hispanic immigration in the hopes of - as he says - "Latinizing" the U.S. The candidates responded with their standard speeches. Another CNN hack - Campbell Brown - even referenced the fact that their views on immigration are nearly identical.

Here's a video on the CNN-Ramos issue:

Posted to Politics at 05:11 PM

Los Angeles Times opposes immigration enforcement, deportations; wants illegal aliens to remain in U.S.

The dozens of immigration-related articles from the Los Angeles Times covered here over the years have made that clear, but the editorial "Too tough on illegal immigration" makes it explicit (link). After various wrong-headed statements - including comparing an illegal aliens suing over the constitutionality of a state law to Dred Scott - they end with this:

That illegal immigrants living in the United States place an economic burden on schools, hospitals, prisons and other public services is undeniable, but it's also true that they contribute to our economy and our society in myriad ways. Bullying them into leaving is counterproductive and downright mean. It's also shortsighted. Many immigrant families are blended, made up of legal immigrants, illegal ones and U.S.-born citizens. Harsh laws and deportations may satisfy the popular hunger for instantaneous immigration reform, but the result will be a legacy of anguish and resentment among millions of people who aren't going anywhere.

Now, let's imagine that the "reform" they support passes. One of that "reform"'s selling points is that it would include beefed-up enforcement. In fact, it wouldn't be hard to find several LAT articles and editorials mentioning that. And, it should be clear that illegal immigration isn't going to stop after "reform". In fact, that amnesty would send a loud message to millions of prospective illegal aliens, and they'd respond by trying to come here.

Does anyone think the LAT is going to suddenly do a complete 180 and support deportations of new illegal aliens? Aren't they simply going to copy-and-paste a new editorial opposing deportations of new illegal aliens.

Thus, there's a conflict between what they say in this editorial and the "reform" they support. The Los Angeles Times is clearly trying to sell a bill of goods, and has no intention of supporting the enforcement that they "reform" they support mandates.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 01:58 PM

Barack Obama promises "security and prosperity in North America" (work with Mexico, immigration "reform")

Yet another laundry list of promises is available in the article "I will repair our relationship with Mexico" (link), supposedly written by Barack Obama himself. It contains two phrases with "prosperity" and "security" together in relation to North America and even the use of "partnership" at the end. Those three words are also in the name of a government effort called the Security and Prosperity Partnership (spp.gov), something that may be a precursor to a North American Union. Given the use of those terms - and the fact that he mentions SPP meetings - that probably wasn't accidental and he may be dog whistling to those in the loop. (He's not alone in using those words: Fred Thompson's slogan was "Security, Unity, Prosperity".)

Under George W. Bush, the United States has not lived up to its historic role as a leader in the Western Hemisphere. As president, I will restore that leadership by working to advance the common prosperity and security of all of the people of the Americas. That work must begin with a renewed strategic partnership with Mexico.

...Mexico's President Felipe Calderon just traveled across the United States but didn't even go to Washington, which isn't that surprising given how little Mr. Bush has done to improve relations.

Calderon did meet with an Obama co-chair, and he may have avoided Washington because he needed the time to visit their outposts, or national politicians realized how damaging it would be to be seen with him, or he didn't want to be too obvious. And, of course, Obama is being unkind: Bush has done his best to reach out to Mexico, even going as far as making a pledge to the Mexican government.

Then, it's on to the part explicitly about the SPP meetings:

Starting my first year in office, I will convene annual meetings with Mr. Calderon and the prime minister of Canada. Unlike similar summits under President Bush, these will be conducted with a level of transparency that represents the close ties among our three countries. We will seek the active and open involvement of citizens, labor, the private sector and non-governmental organizations in setting the agenda and making progress.

Those NGOs would probably include unsavory groups which Obama has outreached to, and whether the institutional forces that favor the SPP would allow him any form of actual transparency is doubtful. I think we can put that down as "far-left groups + citizen useful idiots who'll be used for show."

Then, he (surprise!) promotes "comprehensive immigration reform", i.e., amnesty as well as anti-drug trafficking measures. And:

It's also time to develop a bilateral strategy for lifting up our border communities. Six and a half million Americans live in cities and towns next to the border, and 61 million Americans live in the four states that border Mexico. Too often we neglect the unique needs of these communities, which are integrated with their sister cities across the border. As president, I will work with state and local governments to enhance cross-border partnerships in transportation, law enforcement, environmental protection, health care and water usage.

Some cities like El Paso and smaller towns are somewhat integrated with their neighbors, but perhaps we should remind Obama that there's a border there, and those cities and towns are part of the U.S. not Mexico. I don't think that's as strong a distinction for him as it should be and as it is for the vast majority of Americans.

Then, he wants to "amend" - not repeal or sharply overhaul - NAFTA. This is the standard Democratic line of fluffing the pillows of those affected by that deal. And, he wants to send unspecified money to Mexico, pretending that that will somehow reduce illegal immigration.

Then, it's on to the "We Can Stop The Hate"-style part:

Finally, we have to recognize the connection between our rhetoric and our relations – both with Mexico and within our own borders. We can and should have a robust debate about immigration reform, but we should never demonize or scapegoat any ethnic group. Already, we have seen an unacceptable spike in hate crimes aimed at Latinos across America. This has proven divisive here at home, and it risks poisoning our relations with Latin America.

Obama has no interest in a "robust" debate, he simply wants to shut the voices of millions out of the debate by calling them names and smearing them as "scapegoaters".

Then, he uses all three SPP words in the same paragraph. I wonder who he's trying to send a message to:

Our relationship with Mexico should serve as a bridge to greater security and prosperity in North America and to better relations with Latin America. But we cannot achieve this partnership unless we engage in sustained and focused diplomacy, and develop a more effective working relationship with our neighbor to the south.

Posted to NAU at 02:28 PM

Barack Obama co-chair Maria Elena Durazo met with Mexican president Felipe Calderon (also MALDEF's John Trasvina)

From a MALDEF press release, reposted here:

...Along with Los Angeles Federation of Labor leader Maria Elena Durazo [also a national co-chair of Barack Obama's campaign] and Los Angeles Neighborhood Legal Services Executive Director Yvonne Maria Jimenez, [Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund] President and General Counsel John Trasvina was the only U.S.-based Latino organization lead to be asked to present to President Calderon during his visit to Los Angeles on Wednesday. Trasvina addressed President Calderon, First Lady Margarita Zavala, cabinet ministers, consular officials and community leaders about MALDEF's work challenging local and state anti-immigrant ordinances and our role in protecting the civil and constitutional rights of all Latino immigrants. MALDEF's Sara Zapata Mijares also spoke about the LIDER program and MALDEF's other initiatives to develop leadership, civic engagement and financial literacy skills in the Mexican immigrant community.

Those ordinances are designed to reduce illegal activity, even if some may be legalistically flawed. Note also that MALDEF already had an indirect link to the Mexican government, and in 2005 their former president visited Vicente Fox with Jesse Jackson.

But, the bigger issue is that Barack Obama's co-chair spoke with Calderon, and Obama needs to be asked what they spoke about. Whether she was there just representing the LAFL/AFL-CIO, the fact that she's linked to Obama probably played a part in her being one of the people selected to speak to Calderon.

Trasvina also said:

"The people and governments of Mexico and the United States must come together around shared interests in providing a stable economy, employment, education and opportunity. Our shared ideals will be easier to achieve when Americans see Mexico as an equal partner working toward mutual solutions to the issues that otherwise divide us. The Mexican government's recent efforts and achievements in law enforcement demonstrate the seriousness and sincerity Mexico has toward this partnership..."

Posted to Immigration2008a at 08:34 PM

Afghans arrested in India with forged Mexican passports

From this:

Three Afghanis were arrested Wednesday at an international airport in India's Kerala state for flying with forged Mexican passports. They had just arrived there from Kuwait, where officials examined the passports identifying them as "Antonio Lopez Juan," "Javier Sanchez Alberto," and "Atonio Lopez Ernesto," and found that they didn't understand any Spanish. Maybe they were also suspicious of these inept attempts to ape Spanish names...

More at the link and here. They were supposedly trying to get to France, and despite the fact that they're obviously quite inept that doesn't mean that others won't do a better job and perhaps with the goal of making it to the U.S.

Posted to Immigration_terror at 03:25 PM

I believe Obamamania has peaked

And, no, I don't just say that because of Michelle Obama's slightly-possibly-open-to-interpretation statement that:

for the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country

(The quote here apparently initially left out the "really", and that version was spread around; I'm going to assume with some trepidation that full quote here is accurate.)

But, it's not just that. The capper is this, a "music" video featuring Bill Hing, Professor of Law and Director of Clinical Legal Education at the UC Davis School of Law singing "La Bamba Obama". The horrible Professor also blogs with Kevin Johnson at lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration.

I could only watch a few seconds before I needed something to drown it out with. I chose this, and I cranked it to 11.

Posted to Politics at 09:01 PM

I thought Lindsay Lohan was supposed to be good looking?

In the few minutes of Herbie the Lovebug (or whatever) I saw, I found the actress quite attractive and then found out through a search that she was in fact this Lindsay Lohan that I'd heard about. However, the news that LinLo (or whatever they call her) was recreating Marilyn Monroe's last photo shoot didn't exactly perk up my ears; MM was OK, just not exactly my type.

What did pique my interest was Br'er Drudge's stern warning: [*Warning: Nudity*]...

And, that warning is transferred to you via the transitive property, should you be daring enough to click here.

Don't say I didn't warn you, but not for the reason you might think: she doesn't look very good at all (aside from a couple of assets which you might notice).

Now, her, she's stunning even despite needing a few good meals.

UPDATE: The LRT ("Lonewacko Research Team") has unearthed this, this, and this.

Posted to WackyHumor at 02:05 PM

Largest beef recall in USDA history: illegal alien involved (Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing)

The USDA has announced the largest beef recall in their history involving 143 million pounds produced by the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company since 2006. One of those involved in the case is an illegal alien from Mexico (link):

"I did it because they ordered me to. I obeyed them; if not, I lost my job," [Luis Sanchez, assistant to Hallmark's head pen manager] said in Spanish. "I knew it was illegal but they obliged me to do it." Sanchez said he is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico and that he worked at Hallmark for six years before he was fired last month. He is not represented by an attorney.

While plenty of Americans would be willing to move downer cows with a forklift (AP video here), someone being here illegally increases the risk that they would just follow orders and also reduces their fear of the consequences of such actions due to them being able to simply return to their home country.

Much of the beef has already been consumed, and they were the second largest supplier to the National School Lunch Program, in addition to supplying fast food chains.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 09:59 AM

David Altheide/ASU doesn't understand or lies about immigration

David Altheide - Regents' Professor in the School of Justice and Social Inquiry at Arizona State University (public.asu.edu/~atdla) - offers a guest editorial in the Arizona Republic called "Politics of fear driving debate on immigration". He either doesn't understand the issue or is lying to his readers; as proof, consider this:

Immigration is a good topic to promote fear of "others" because the targeted group lacks political power and, tends to be people of color, poor, predominantly males, who may not speak English very well.

The idea that illegal aliens as a group lack political power is extraordinarily ludicrous. Nearly every member of our elites is a supporter of illegal immigration and - like Altheide - is always ready to rush to their defense, in his case by smearing those who oppose illegal activity as spreaders of "fear". While individual illegal aliens may have little political power, those who lend them political power as a group include president Bush, most Senators, many House members, many local officials, the Mexican government, major banks and businesses, non-profit groups, religious leaders, the media, and so forth, even including college professors. Perhaps Altheide should have thought this through in a bit more depth.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 11:01 PM

Cynthia McKinney's "Draft Manifesto for a Reconstruction Party" (reparations, "amnesty")

One brave politician (other than John McCain) is willing to call amnesty "amnesty". Unfortunately, that politician is none other than Cynthia McKinney. Wrap your mind around this:

This Draft Manifesto was produced by a group of Reconstruction Party activists who met in New Orleans on Saturday, Jan. 26 in support of the International Days of Action against Neo-Liberalism. This draft is being submitted for wide discussion and amendments to all activists interested in joining the effort to build a Reconstruction Party. Sister Cynthia McKinney participated in this meeting and contributed to this Draft Manifesto.

There's much, much more. They "Want Freedom Now". They also "Want Full Employment Now". And, in addition to the not-half-bad idea of repealing "free" trade pacts, they want:

justice for immigrant workers, including an end to the guest-worker program riddled with abuses. In that regard, we also need immigration reform that includes amnesty and a path to documentation of those workers who are already in this country, have been here working for years, and who are undocumented.

There are actually ten points of light in the whole Manifesto including a call for reparations, and I suggest reading the whole thing if you need a laugh.

Posted to Politics at 08:54 PM

Vicente Fox asked about North American Union (We Are Change group)

The We Are Change group - aka "The Truthers" - asked Vicente Fox about the North American Union at a recent speech he gave, and even followed him down the escalator asking him more questions. Unfortunately, the questions were lame and generated meaningless replies. I also wonder exactly when this was made; I posted about a visit he made to L.A. in January of last year. Their writeup on the "interview" is here, but that doesn't include a date when the video was made.

While it's good that they did this, it would have been far better if they'd asked better, more specific questions that a) would be more accessible to those who aren't familiar with this topic, and b) that couldn't be answered with stock replies.

Posted to NAU at 03:50 PM

Dirt on Barack Obama: Exelon, Tony Rezko, William Ayers, Rashid Khalidi

The Queen's minions have been busy digging up dirt on the Man of Hope. First up is Larry Johnson with this warning about Barack Obama's links to three questionable figures: Tony Rezko, William Ayers, and Rashid Khalidi. The first will go on trial later this month, the second is a self-admitted terrorist, the third an alleged "PLO activist".

Earlier this month, the New York Times offered "Nuclear leaks, response tested Obama in Senate". Nuclear plants run by Exelon Corporation in Illinois leaked radioactive materials into the groundwater. Obama highlighted legislation he supported that required plants to notify authorities when even minor leaks occur, and he boasted about it in his infamous speeches:

A close look at the path his legislation took tells a very different story. While he initially fought to advance his bill, even holding up a presidential nomination to try to force a hearing on it, Mr. Obama eventually rewrote it to reflect changes sought by Senate Republicans, Exelon and nuclear regulators. The new bill removed language mandating prompt reporting and simply offered guidance to regulators, whom it charged with addressing the issue of unreported leaks... Those revisions propelled the bill through a crucial committee. But, contrary to Mr. Obama’s comments in Iowa, it ultimately died amid parliamentary wrangling in the full Senate.

As NBC's Lisa Myers reports here, employees of Exelon are Obama's fourth-largest contributor, having given him $269,000. Taylor Marsh has more here.

UPDATE: More dirt here:

In his books, Obama admits attending "socialist conferences" and coming into contact with Marxist literature. But he ridicules the charge of being a "hard-core academic Marxist," which was made by his colorful and outspoken 2004 U.S. Senate opponent, Republican Alan Keyes.

However, through [his childhood mentor] Frank Marshall Davis, Obama had an admitted relationship with someone who was publicly identified as a member of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). The record shows that Obama was in Hawaii from 1971-1979, where, at some point in time, he developed a close relationship, almost like a son, with Davis, listening to his "poetry" and getting advice on his career path. But Obama, in his book, Dreams From My Father, refers to him repeatedly as just "Frank."

The reason is apparent: Davis was a known communist who belonged to a party subservient to the Soviet Union. In fact, the 1951 report of the Commission on Subversive Activities to the Legislature of the Territory of Hawaii identified him as a CPUSA member. What’s more, anti-communist congressional committees, including the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), accused Davis of involvement in several communist-front organizations...

UPDATE 2: Here are even more Obama issues.

Posted to Politics at 03:42 PM

Comptroller General, GAO head David Walker quits; dire warnings about deficit spending; "Fiscal Wake-Up Tour"

David Walker - until Friday the U.S. Comptroller General and head of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) - has quit apparently in order to continue warning about overspending and the general dire condition he perceives we're in without being hampered in what he can say. He'll be joining the new Peter G. Peterson Foundation, founded by a billionaire buyout specialist who's endorsed John McCain (link, called "less a Wall Street titan than a persistent Jeremiah who for 26 years now has prophesied that fiscal and trade deficits will lead to a financial Armageddon" here).

Walker has taken part in a series of public forums called the "Fiscal Wake-Up Tour" (link), and from this:

Walker last year issued an unusually downbeat assessment of his country's future in a report that drew parallels with the end of the Roman empire.

He had warned that the US government was on a "burning platform" of unsustainable policies and practices with fiscal deficits, chronic healthcare underfunding, immigration and overseas military commitments threatening a crisis if action was not taken soon.

There were "striking similarities" between America's current situation and the factors that brought down Rome, he had said.

These included "declining moral values and political civility at home, an over-confident and over-extended military in foreign lands and fiscal irresponsibility by the central government."

Posted to Politics at 11:58 AM

The "Peter Slevin Award for Mainstream Media Puffery" goes to...

Ripping a page from Mr. Power Glutes himself, I'm announcing a new feature, the awarding of The Peter Slevin Award for Mainstream Media Puffery. The first winner of the award is [...drumroll...] Peter Slevin of the Washington Post, who on February 12 offered "Ebullient Obama Rallies in Madison" (link), a post boiling with the passion of a Barack Obama secular revival meeting/speech:

Tonight, an ebullient Obama rallied an ecstatic crowd of more than 16,000 in Madison, [Wisconsin]... [paragraph from speech]... "This is the new American majority," Obama went on. "This is what change looks like when it comes from the bottom up." [...Slevin analysis...] ...He spoke of Americans unable to afford college, health insurance or a comfortable retirement. He also invoked Wisconsin's past as a cauldron of the Progressive moment, which he said was "rooted in the principal that the voices of the people can speak louder than special interests." ..."He'll be talking about the economy a lot this weekend and in the coming weeks," said senior Obama strategist David Axelrod... [link to full speech at WaPo site]

Needless to say, there's nothing in there pointing out any of the possibly misleading or incomplete statements that Obama doubtless made. If Slevin were a real reporter and not just a transcriptionist and a promoter, he would have pointed out that Obama supports allowing illegal aliens to take college discounts from U.S. citizens via the anti-American DREAM Act, something in sharp contrast to his complaints about college affordability.

Posted to Politics at 11:43 AM

Does Barack Obama understand the 14th Amendment or did he just misrepresent it? (anchor babies)

Back on January 12, Molly Ball of the Las Vegas Review-Journal offered "Obama rocks Vegas faithful" (via this). Bearing in mind that Barack Obama was a University of Chicago lecturer in constitutional law for several years (link), let's see if he has a firm grasp of the Constitution:

Obama took questions from the audience for more than half an hour. One person wanted to know what he would do about "anchor babies," the term for children of illegal immigrants who are automatically made citizens because they are born on U.S. soil and then serve as "anchors" for their families.

[He promoted immigration "reform"... ] But, he said, "I'm not going to change the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution says if you're born here, you're a citizen."

It might say that in his bowdlerized version, but not in the official version (link):

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.

The "and" makes a world of difference, and that's only been interpreted to mean that the children of illegal aliens are automatically citizens. The 14th Amendment itself is not as cut-and-dried as Obama would have had his listeners believe.

Our only options aren't too good:
1. He can't figure that out.
2. He was deliberately misleading.
3. He didn't want to get "too complicated".

It's clear to me that Obama is basically an empty suit, and if someone had pressed him on that issue by asking a follow-up making my point, I don't think he would have ended up looking too good at all. Please go to his appearances and engage him on these issues.

There's also an issue regarding the 14th Amendment and abortions discussed here.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 11:12 AM

American Jewish Committee wants to end "Anti-Immigrant Hate" on cable TV

The extremist-funding and awarding National Council of La Raza recently started a "We Can Stop The Hate" campaign with several other groups, including a few with indirect links to the Mexican government. The latest to join their group is the American Jewish Committee, which has issued a press release entitled "AJC Appeals to Cable TV Executives to End Airing of Anti-Immigrant Hate" (link):

The American Jewish Committee is urging the heads of major cable television networks to ensure that the background of certain so-called immigration experts appearing on news shows is revealed to the viewing audience.

"It is inappropriate and offensive for major television programs to provide a microphone to individuals and organizations that promote hate, espouse vigilantism, white supremacy, or even violence in the immigration debate," AJC General Counsel Jeffrey Sinensky wrote in a letter to the heads of CNN, FOX and MSNBC.

For those who aren't familiar with this issue, the AJC and their friends are trying to shut down debate by calling those who oppose illegal immigration "haters" and by mischaracterizing various groups:

AJC pointed out specifically that Lou Dobbs Tonight, The O'Reilly Factor, and MSNBC News Live offer national platforms to spokespeople who represent known vigilante or hate-promoting groups, including Jim Gilchrist and Chris Simcox of the Minuteman Project and Dan Stein of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).

Gilchrist and Simcox are not currently from the same group, and none of those promote "hate".

In addition, the AJC letter noted that spokespeople espousing vigilantism and fear regularly appear on nightly news programs. They often speak in code, calling immigrants "criminals," "an army of invaders," and "diseased;" and children born to immigrants are referred to as "anchor babies."

Fear? Not only do we need to avoid what they call "hate", but now we can't even discuss fear? And, I doubt whether those persons have called legal immigrants - the only group to which "immigrants" is a valid descriptor - criminals. As for illegal aliens, in order to achieve that status one would have to break one of our laws and thus the term criminal may apply, although some may see that differently. I'd also imagine that most of those who've called illegal aliens criminals have been referring to things such as identity theft or specific cases such as drunk driving. And, some illegal aliens do have diseases, including of the varieties which had been previously eradicated in the U.S.

As for the last, they're indisputably lying: I'm sure that anyone who's referred to anchor babies has made it quite clear that they were referring to the children of illegal aliens; the children of immigrants (i.e., legal immigrants) have no need for an "anchor".

Then, they speak in code of their own:

"Hate speech has no legitimate role in the media. History has shown repeatedly that it can be the precursor to violence," said Sinensky. "Issues such as immigration can be explored legitimately and thoroughly without demonizing an entire group of people."

Translation: let's have a debate featuring people on the same basic side of the issue, and we'll help you choose the debaters. Jonah Goldberg has a point.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 10:45 AM

Perky Katie Couric, ready for the slopes, gives uncomfortable, unnecessary look into her life

I refresh Perky Katie Couric's channel (youtube.com/user/KatieCouric) every few minutes, hoping to be among the first to catch a glimpse into how the magic is made. And, I (and you) are in luck, as a new oeuvre has emerged, this time featuring Katie in a ski-style sweater and even one moment wearing a fur hat (hopefully fake fur) as she prepares for yet another hard-hitting interview, this time with Michelle Obama. Nothing really interesting happens and she doesn't say anything interesting at all. However, those whose secret thrill involves Katie, video cameras, and a hotel room are in luck:

Posted to WackyHumor at 04:25 PM

New York Times publisher Bill Keller congratulates staff on immigration coverage

Welcome... to the New York Times Alternate Universe. From a speech he gave yesterday where he announced that between 100 and 150 employees would be seeking somewhere else to spin their tales, New York Times publisher Bill Keller said among many other things this:

We have outpaced everyone else in the news business in recognizing and exploring the impact of immigration on our world and our national temper. This past year, in addition to covering the demographics and politics... and we shone a bright light on global migration through work by Jason DeParle. And we gave it all a human face...

The links in the text are to examples of New York Times news articles - not editorials - lying or offering misleading or incomplete information about immigration... and just from September 2007, and just the ones I covered. There are many more here, and many, many more in the NYT archives.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 03:18 PM

Tyson Foods hiring suit tossed; will appeal; evidence they harbored illegal aliens

From this:

The poultry workers who alleged that Tyson Foods Inc. conspired to depress wages by hiring illegal aliens plan to fight a federal court decision that tossed their [RICO] lawsuit.

The long-contested court battle over whether Tyson Foods Inc. harbored illegal aliens was dismissed Wednesday with prejudice — so the case can't be filed again — but plaintiffs said the court erred in its 30-page opinion and they would appeal.

...In the new dismissal Wednesday, District Judge Curtis L. Collier said the plaintiffs failed to show evidence that Tyson harbored illegal aliens at seven plants across the South. Those plants were in Shelbyville, Tenn.; Center, Texas; Glen Allen, Va.; Sedalia, Mo.; and Ashland, Gadsden and Heflin in Alabama.

Collier said the plaintiffs did show evidence that Tyson was concealing illegal workers at its Corydon, Ind., plant but failed to show that those actions caused damages...

Posted to Immigration2008a at 12:37 PM

John McCain's Juan Hernandez almost gets MSM attention (Eunice Moscoso, WashTimes, Marc Ambinder)

John McCain's director of Hispanic outreach is a dual U.S.-Mexican citizen who until 2002 worked directly with Vicente Fox as part of his cabinet. While large numbers of people are shocked that McCain would bring aboard a supporter of open borders, the mainstream media has mostly continued their course of avoiding asking McCain tough questions and forcing him to defend his actions.

In fact, the closest the MSM has come to this is a posting from Eunice Moscoso, who runs an immigration blog for the Austin American-Statesman (link). It has a "Conservatives in the Mist" feel to it, with her seemingly unable to comprehend why "conservative Web sites, blogs and radio shows" would be so upset. But, at least she mentions the issue, only leaving out that he's a dual citizen.

The next closest is an editorial from Mark Cromer of Californians for Population Stabilization which appeared at the Washington Times; whether they're part of the MSM is debatable.

Moving down the scale, Marc Ambinder of the Atlantic was actually present when McCain was asked about this (link), but for some reason he didn't see the need to ask McCain a follow-up. He also didn't mention the key facts about Hernandez. I've since left a few comments basically calling him a bad reporter, and I suggest using the same tack when anyone has a chance to ask McCain a question and chooses a softball (example link). Shame works.

And, yes, my offer of $10 stands for the first person who'll ask McCain one of these questions.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 11:24 AM

[YOUR GROUP HERE] For Obama

As with other Democrats (and some Republicans), Barack Obama's campaign features group identities as one of the key features of their outreach, and that can be seen in the "People" menu at their site. For instance, Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders have their very own special page at aapi.barackobama.com. Americans Abroad, you're special too: abroad.barackobama.com. (European-Americans apparently have no special group-related interests or something or other.)

And, each one of those sections has their own interesting logo and background, the first featuring a lotus flower and leaves, the second featuring a postage stamp and an airplane.

"First Americans" have their own section at tribes.barackobama.com (of course, tribalism in general is how the Democrats do most of their magic). Have some tribes' symbols been left out of the logo?

The logo in the Latinos section at latinos.barackobama.com is hard to decipher; can someone figure out what that's supposed to represent?

The LGBT section at pride.barackobama.com features, what else: a rainbow.

The "People of Faith" at faith.barackobama.com contains zero (0) religious symbols, just a radiating sun and clouds; what about those who worship the Moon? Hail Artemis!

The source code to the page also contains this note: Make this signup more intelligent, to go to state / people specific areas. Profiling!?!?

Related:
Canine-Americans for John Kerry!

Posted to Politics at 05:44 PM

House trying to pass amnesty "lite"? (Nancy Pelosi, Joe Baca, Zoe Lofgren)

From a FAIR bulletin (link):

Capitol Hill news sources have been buzzing for the past 48 hours about backroom negotiations in the House of Representatives that may bring comprehensive immigration reform "lite" to the floor.

Congressional Quarterly reports that Congressman Joe Baca (D-CA), Chairman of the Hispanic Caucus, is leading the fight for legislation that would provide a five-year amnesty visa to illegal aliens currently in the U.S. Baca said the five-year amnesty visas would be available to illegal aliens who can "prove they have a job, pay taxes and pass a criminal background check." (Congressional Quarterly Today, February 13, 2008)

The negotiations for the five-year amnesty visas are already taking place at the highest levels of House leadership. They include Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Immigration Subcommittee Chairwoman Zoë Lofgren (D-CA) and are reportedly bipartisan in nature. Speaker Pelosi, however, denies there has been any firm decision to move forward. (Id.)

You might want to call your representatives just to remind them of where you stand.

UPDATE: There are more details on the plan here. I wouldn't get too excited until something actually happens. Then we'll get excited.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 01:53 PM

Barack Obama wants a global tax on the U.S.

From this:

A nice-sounding bill called the "Global Poverty Act," sponsored by Democratic presidential candidate and Senator Barack Obama, is up for a Senate vote on Thursday and could result in the imposition of a global tax on the United States. The bill, which has the support of many liberal religious groups, makes levels of U.S. foreign aid spending subservient to the dictates of the United Nations.

...The legislation would commit the U.S. to spending 0.7 percent of gross national product on foreign aid, which amounts to a phenomenal 13-year total of $845 billion over and above what the U.S. already spends.

...The legislation itself requires the President "to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to further the United States foreign policy objective of promoting the reduction of global poverty, the elimination of extreme global poverty, and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, who live on less than $1 per day."

The bill defines the term "Millennium Development Goals" as the goals set out in the United Nations Millennium Declaration, General Assembly Resolution 55/2 (2000).

Senator Joe Biden is apparently trying to rush it through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The bill (S.2433) is here.

Posted to at 01:49 PM

Felipe Calderon visits the colonies (safe, legal "migration")

Mexican president Felipe Calderon visited five U.S. cities this week, and had 34 events scheduled with a wide range of movers and shakers (his wife had a few events also). Some of the dignitaries he met with are listed here; picture right is of him with New York governor Eliot Spitzer from presidencia.gob.mx/prensa/?contenido=33715

Your must-read link is this roundup of his visit, with a few quotes from him congratulating Spitzer and others for their help. And, your takeaway is from this:

At every stop, he has scheduled meetings with top local and state officials, some of whom have direct links to presidential candidates.

In his speech to the California legislature (which includes several Democrats with obviously divided loyalties), he said that "I strongly believe that Mexican and Mexican-American workers are a large reason for the dynamic economy of California", which is certainly true. It's also true that millions of illegal aliens from Mexico have a very negative impact on the state and the country, but he didn't bring up the downsides. He also promoted changing illegal immigration into (massive) legal immigration. From this, he gave a shout out to the Bracero program and also said:

We need to make migration legal, safe and organized.

Compare that to George W. Bush ("I will work to ensure a system of safe and orderly migration"), a Bush rep ("safe, humane, orderly and legal program"), Rob Allyn ("safe and legal and orderly and controlled"), Jim Wallis ("safe, legal, and orderly manner") and various Mexican government reps: link, link, link.

Are they all reading from the same script?

And:

Without specifically directing audience members to pick up the phone and call their congressmen, Calderon also hinted that a key component to ensuring a strong future for Mexico lies in the pressure Mexicans here can apply to U.S. leaders, arguing that the improvement of Mexico is a joint government venture.

One of the major costs he didn't discuss is that massive immigration from Mexico gives that country political power inside the U.S., as evidenced by a foreign leader urging Mexicans and Mexican-Americans to promote Mexico's agenda to U.S. leaders. Obviously, the agendas of the U.S. (but not necessarily our elites) differs from that of Mexico in major ways. In the case of conflicts, whose side would former immigrants from Mexico come down on?

UPDATE: Aurelio Rojas of the SacBee offers this, in which he says that Calderon said "Mexican American workers are a large reason for the dynamic economy of California"; in fact, that was actually "Mexican and Mexican-American workers..." He also said:

"The choice is not between migration and (border) security or between migration and prosperity... The choice is between a future of integration and success or a future of distrust and resentment."

And:

But after the speech, Republican Sen. Tom McClintock of Thousand Oaks said it was "inappropriate" for Calderon to "lecture" the Legislature about U.S. policies. "I don't think it's any of Mexico's business what America does with its own immigration policy, just as it's none of America's business what Mexico does with immigration policy," McClintock said... Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, who spent part of his childhood in Mexico, said McClintock did not have "a valid argument.".. "Any president of any nation has a right to their own point of view," said Nunez, who praised Calderon for his efforts to improve Mexico's economy and stem illegal immigration.

Calderon is entitled to his own POV, but whether he should be given a stage at the California Capitol is another matter. It's not surprising at all that Nunez would defend him.

And, whereever Calderon went he was greeted by some number of Mexicans protesting his pro-business policies; some pictures from Chicago here, which mentions another one of those unmentionable costs of massive immigration from Mexico:

why are we allowing the internal politics of a foreign country to play out within our borders?

And, speaking at a winery founded by a Mexican immigrant, Calderon used another stock term, referring to illegal immigration as a "phenomonon", as if it were the tides:

"We came to be here with you to defend thousands of families of Mexican workers that are here because of a natural phenomenon, that compliments the economy of the U.S. and the economy of Mexico. If we want to seek prosperity for our cities we have to have this prosperity together."

UPDATE 2: Tom Tancredo has sent a letter to Calderon. An AP report on Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa meeting with Calderon is here; per the comments, the L.A. Times doesn't seem to have reported on their meeting. The latest they appear to offer featuring both is a short report from Nancy Vogel (link), which doesn't mention anything that the reports above don't cover. The only artifact they provide from their meeting is this photo, captioned "Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, left, and Mexican President Felipe Calderon discuss trade opportunities in downtown Los Angeles":

UPDATE 3: There's another roundup here:

On the night of Feb. 13th, meeting with LA Mexican leaders, Calderon discussed the formation of a "league of anti-defamation and anti-discrimination," modeled on the Jewish Anti-Defamation League, to protect Mexicans in the U.S... Quoth Calderon, "If anyone is mercilessly defaming,ridiculing, and exacerbating hatred against Mexicans, all of us need to neutralize that force."

That links to this, which says that he said that just as the Jewish community had their league, he hoped that Mexicans would have their own. It also includes another picture of our favorite collaborateur:

Posted to Immigration2008a at 11:32 PM

Youtube video view counts are unreliable

Here's an example of how you can't rely on Youtube's view counts for their videos. Not only has the view count for the Obama Che Guevara video I uploaded yesterday not budged at all from this morning until now, but the "Sites Linking to This Video" section shows 52 more clicks than the view count shown just above it:

I don't suggest getting paranoid about this, but at the same time I'd be surprised to learn that some contributors aren't on the "fast track" and that some are on the "slow or worse" track.

UPDATE: Around the morning of the 13th the view counts suddenly started working, and it since went on to get over 11,000 views and briefly hit the 40th or so most watched video of the day. I realize that YT has millions of videos and they only have so much throughput, but if they can update the sites linking figures and generate the most-watched lists they can certainly improve things a bit.

Posted to Miscellania at 05:17 PM

Cuban flag with Che Guevara on wall at Barack Obama Houston (volunteers) office

Via this and newsbusters.org/blogs/d-s-hube/2008/02/11/another-flag-issue-obama, we learn that a Cuban flag - superimposed with an image of Che Guevara - is on the wall of Barack Obama's Houston office. The report is here, and the segment showing the flag is below:

The three ladies are apparently volunteers who apparently simply opened the office while waiting for paid staff to arrive. Expect creative Obama supporters to claim they're moles from the Hillary Clinton campaign. Less creative Obama supporters will try to claim that the volunteers were just being hip 'n' ironic, despite the three ladies not looking the hip 'n' ironic type.

UPDATE: There are a couple Photoshops here.

UPDATE 2: I called the Houston Volunteer office - presumably the one on the tape - and the lady who answered the phone said there had been a "misrepresentation" and told me to call their Austin office. That office has not yet opened, so I was able to speak with Josh Earnest from their main media relations department. Despite a bad connection he clarified that the office on the tape is not and will not be an official office, so I've updated the title of this post to include "(volunteers)". He directed me to the following which has since been appended to the Fox 26 report:

The office featured in this video is funded by volunteers of the Barack Obama Campaign and is not an official headquarters for his campaign.

That conflicts with the statement from Fox 26 implying that the volunteers were just there to open the office, and that that very office would later be occupied by Obama staffers. The campaign has also called the flag "inappropriate".

UPDATE 3: Via this, we learn that the same flag - or another copy - was featured in this February 3 report (link):

The person in the picture - also in the video above - is identified as Maria Isabel, mentioned as a supporter here and in other news stories.

And, someone by the same name and also in Houston has her own page here:

my.barackobama.com/page/community/blog/mariaisabel

She identifies herself as "* Maria Isabel Precinct Captain 002 *" and as "A Hispanic Woman Obama Community Organizer... Chicago Illinois, Camp Obama 16". Do those indicate some level of non-volunteer status?

UPDATE 4: The DUmmies weigh in. Some don't see the problem with Guevara.

UPDATE 5: Some Obama supporters oppose - and others defend - Che here:

my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/samgrahamfelsen/C44h

Posted to Politics at 07:56 PM

Burdened DHS: 10s of thousands get green cards before background checks

From this:

In a major policy shift aimed at reducing a ballooning immigration backlog, the Homeland Security Department is preparing to grant permanent residency to tens of thousands of applicants before the FBI completes a required background check.

Those eligible are immigrants whose fingerprints have cleared the FBI database of criminal convictions and arrests, but whose names have not yet cleared the FBI's criminal or intelligence files after six months of waiting.

The immigrants who are granted permanent status, more commonly known as getting their green cards, will be expected eventually to clear the FBI's name check. If they don't, their legal status will be revoked and they'll be deported...

..."[Background checking is] a very complicated process," said Bill Carter, a FBI spokesman. "It involves dozens of agencies and databases and often foreign governments."

...Although the FBI clears about 70 percent of the name checks within 72 hours, the bureau struggles to keep up with more than 74,000 requests per week, roughly half arising from immigration applications.

As discussed here, this isn't a good omen for "comprehensive immigration reform".

And, assuming 10,000,000 applicants for amnesty and the present rate of 37,000 per week (only half of their present rate of 74,000 per week are immigration related), that means it would take over five years to process all of those. And, that doesn't take into account those currently in line. If the processing capability was allocated evenly between amnesty applicants and those who are already in line, it would be over ten years before all amnesty applicants had been processed, and that would obviously have a serious impact on those currently in line. And, under the various versions of reform, the DHS had only 24 hours (perhaps 48 hours in one version) to disapprove someone, or they'd be given their "Z-visa". Note that that's less than the 72 hours mentioned above.

All of that leads me to strongly suspect that amnesty applicants would basically be shuttled through the program with minimal checking.

Raising that point and crunching the numbers would make a good line of inquiry if anyone gets to ask Hillary, Obama, or McCain a question. Bringing along a calculator and crunching the numbers as you ask the question would make a very good prop and help drive the point home to those who saw the video.

Posted to Immigration_terror at 11:37 AM

Jeb Bush endorses John McCain

In the unlikely case that anyone's opposition to John McCain needed bolstering, now comes George W. Bush's brother and Florida governor Jeb Bush:

"John McCain is a patriot and devoted conservative leader... Like no other candidate in the field, John McCain has made tremendous sacrifices for this nation. He is beholden to no interest other than that of the public good [ed.: giving in to the demands of lettuce growers is part of the public good]. He is determined and steadfast in his commitment to reducing the burden of high taxes, restoring the people's trust in their government, and winning the war against radical Islamic extremists. It is with pride that I announce my endorsement of John McCain for president."

Related:
John McCain supporters include George Bush and three border state governors

Posted to Politics at 11:30 AM

Should Katie Couric be sent into outer space?

Perky Katie Couric now has her own Youtube channel: youtube.com/user/KatieCouric

Her latest addition to the online manifestation of her presence in our lives is entitled "My Shuttle Ride". I thought for a moment that it would be about a plan to send her on a trip on the Space Shuttle, perhaps for a long stint on some sort of orbitting platform or other. Unfortunately, the "shuttle" reference was just about the New York to DC shuttle, which she had taken in order to interview Hillary Clinton. That no doubt extremely hard-edged segment will be shown tonight.

In the video she's putting on her face with her makeup assistant sitting next to her. While videos like this humanize her, the fact remains that her output isn't anything approaching real journalism. Perhaps for her next flight she might consider a different kind of assistant: one who can think up difficult questions and encourage Perky Katie to ask them.

Posted to WackyHumor at 01:32 PM

Felipe Calderon wants to "integrate the economies in the Western Hemisphere" (James McKinley)

James C. McKinley Jr. of the New York Times interviewed Mexican president Felipe Calderon about his upcoming U.S. tour (link):

In the interview, Mr. Calderon argued that the only way the Americas could remain competitive in a world where China and Europe were emerging as major powers once again is to integrate the economies in the Western Hemisphere. He warned that the United States was losing influence.

On a side note, McKinley also gives a false impression in this:

In an interview on Thursday, Mr. Calderon said he found the recent immigrant bashing in American society deeply troubling.

If McKinley wanted to be a real reporter - instead of someone who's just good at note-taking - he would have put "bashing" in quotes and forced Calderon to defend his assertion. As it is, that characterization is coming from the NYT itself.

Posted to NAU at 08:04 PM

Felipe Calderon Feb. 2008 U.S. visit: Eliot Spitzer, Blagojevich, Schwarzenegger, Villaraigosa, Fabian Nunez

Mexico's president Felipe Calderon will be visiting parts of their former territory next week, stopping in New York, Boston, Chicago, Sacramento, and Los Angeles but apparently avoiding Washington DC.

In addition to U.S. officials, and some who are supposedly U.S. officials, he'll probably also be meeting with community leaders, such as those from non-profits, "hometown associations", the leaders of his PAN party who operate inside the U.S., and the like. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find a listing, but if anyone could leave information in comments that would be quite helpful.

In addition to addressing the California legislature, some people he's known to be meeting with are:

* U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon
* New York governor Eliot Spitzer
* Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich
* California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
* Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
* Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (private meeting)

UPDATE: According to this:

...officials said he'll meet with Mayor Richard Daley, Gov. Rod Blagojevich and other leaders... ...includes a private meeting with some Mexican community leaders at McCormick Place... ..."We will be there making our proposals to him in what we expect to be a sincere dialogue," said Salvador Pedroza, chairman of the Little Village Chamber of Commerce and leader of the Illinois chapter of Calderon's National Action Party... In the afternoon, Calderon is expected to attend a town-hall-style meeting at Little Village High School on the Southwest Side.

...After Calderon met privately with Blagojevich, officials announced an agreement for a teacher's exchange program that would send Mexican educators to Illinois to help teach math, natural sciences, Spanish and other subjects in local classrooms.

"It's very important that we recognize the contributions Mexico has made to Illinois and the United States, by strengthening our mutual bond and improving the quality and scope of Mexican culture in Illinois," Blagojevich said in an e-mailed news release.

Please indict him already.

UPDATE 2: His first meeting was at the Council of the Americas, with their honorary president David Rockefeller. Then, it was off to meet Eliot Spitzer (presidencia.gob.mx/prensa/?contenido=33715); Calderon congratulated him for his "efforts... to provide Mexican migrants with access to public education and health services as well as to guarantee their work rights". Then, a private meeting with the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal, and he also spoke at Harvard, with Deval Patrick, and with the President of the New York Federal Reserve Bank. In Chicago he met with mayor Richard M. Daley and with Blago. He even met with Jesse Jackson. All that and much, much more here.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 07:43 PM

FBI public-private partnership group can use deadly force under martial law?

Alternet isn't exactly known for being that credible, so take alternet.org/rights/76388/?page=1 with more than a grain of salt. There's an FBI public-private partnership program called InfraGard consisting of over 23,000 members from security companies, major corporations, and the like. They receive warnings of terrorist threats and in exchange are supposed to report suspicious activity, potential sabotageurs, and the like back to the FBI. You may recall a case that they were involved in:

On November 1, 2001, the FBI had information about a potential threat to the bridges of California. The alert went out to the InfraGard membership. Enron was notified, and so, too, was Barry Davis, who worked for Morgan Stanley. He notified his brother Gray, the governor of California.

"He said his brother talked to him before the FBI," recalls Steve Maviglio, who was Davis's press secretary at the time. "And the governor got a lot of grief for releasing the information. In his defense, he said, 'I was on the phone with my brother, who is an investment banker. And if he knows, why shouldn't the public know?'"

However, the article takes a turn for the he-said she-said:

...InfraGard members, sometimes hundreds at a time, have been used in "national emergency preparation drills," Schneck acknowledges.

...One business owner in the United States tells me that InfraGard members are being advised on how to prepare for a martial law situation -- and what their role might be. He showed me his InfraGard card...

..."[a meeting the owner attended] started off innocuously enough, with the speakers talking about corporate espionage," he says. "From there, it just progressed. All of a sudden we were knee deep in what was expected of us when martial law is declared. We were expected to share all our resources, but in return we'd be given specific benefits." These included, he says, the ability to travel in restricted areas and to get people out. But that's not all.

"Then they said when -- not if -- martial law is declared, it was our responsibility to protect our portion of the infrastructure, and if we had to use deadly force to protect it, we couldn't be prosecuted," he says.

Denials and partial confirmations ensue. The ACLU is supposedly concerned about the group, which is certainly a much better use of their resources than enabling illegal immigration. Note that InfraGard isn't covered under the Freedom of Information Act due to "trade secrets".

Posted to Privacy at 12:16 PM

Marshall Islands immigrants in Springdale, Arkansas: leprosy, VD, TB

Springdale, Arkansas - the "Chicken Capital of the World" and home of Tyson Foods - is also home to 8000 apparently legal immigrants from the Marshall Islands (see first update), an independent country northeast of Australia (also home to the Bikini Atoll). Pending someone more familiar with the situation saying otherwise, I'm going to guess that they were drawn there to work in various chicken processing plants and similar low-skilled, low-pay jobs (see update 2).

Now, nine cases of leprosy have been found in that population (link):

Medical specialists say the Marshall Islands have the most cases of leprosy, in the world. And the city with the largest number of Marshallese people, outside the Marshall islands, is Springdale. And [local Dr. Jennifer Bingham] says, it makes sense, then, that leprosy is spreading to the city. "It's from the Marshall islands; that's why we're seeing it."

Bingham says she is all for Marshallese people entering the United States, after proper medical tests. But whether they're immigrants or not, she says people must stick to treatment, when infected. And she says, when she treats those from the Marshall Islands, this doesn't happen. "We're not getting the compliance that is absolutely essential to take care of this process."

And:

"We have known for a long time of leprosy in the Marshall Islands," [Dr. Joe Bates, deputy state health director with the Department of Health and Human Services] said. "It's a substantial issue in the Marshall Islands. And they are bringing their health issues to this country with them.

And, from a different conference:

According to Bates there are 8,000 (legal) Marshalleese immigrants in Springdale. They’re the most unhealthy immigrant group in the state, known to suffer from TB [tuberculosis], VD, and leprosy. Not a single case of the latter has been cured. Bates also said that, in contrast to Hawaii, which has $10 million federal dollars for its Micronesian population, Arkansas gets nothing for its Marshall Islanders.

UPDATE: From this:

[A compact between their country and the U.S., see doi.gov/oia/Islandpages/rmipage.htm] allows citizens of the Marshall Islands to live and work in the United States without being subject to U.S. immigration laws, but they are ineligible for Medicare, non-emergency Medicaid, Social Security, food stamps, the State Children's Health Insurance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and most other forms of federally-funded public assistance...

Deputy State Health Officer Dr. Joe Bates testified that between 2000 and 2005, Northwest Arkansas had nine cases of congenital syphilis, six of which involved Marshallese; 38 people with infectious syphilis, 21 of whom were Marshallese; and eight cases of leprosy, all Marshallese...

..."We think there are two to three times more cases of leprosy than we know about," he said...

It says that some of them might be covered by health insurance from their employers but that that might not include some of their family members. The thing to do here is at the least to require employers - perhaps including Tyson Foods - to pay the full cost for their labor. Expect instead "liberal" groups and politicians to use whatever means necessary to make sure that their employers don't have to do that.

UPDATE 2: This mentions Tyson a few times, such as:

The Marshallese are on the lower economic rungs of Springdale's work force. During the night shift at Tyson Foods' Randall Road plant, about half of the workers are islanders. They are also common on the factory floor of Rockline Industries, which makes baby wipes and scented tissues.

UPDATE 3: The first link to KSFM no longer works. An excerpt from the Google cache is here, which also includes a link to their video report: youtube.com/watch?v=3nexwbL4xMY

The Arkansas Health Department has released this:

The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) is receiving reports from concerned citizens about a possible outbreak of 300 plus cases of tuberculosis (TB) and an outbreak of Hansen's Disease (leprosy) in Benton, Washington and Sebastian counties). There are no outbreaks of either disease in the state.

The total number of cases of tuberculosis statewide for 2007 was 106. The total number of current cases of TB in northwest Arkansas (Benton, Washington and Sebastian counties) is 21. These cases are under treatment, and the general public is not at risk. The total number of cases of Hansen's Disease in the northwest area (Benton, Washington and Sebastian counties) is nine. These cases are not recent infections...

Posted to Immigration2008a at 11:49 AM

Tula Connell/AFL-CIO tries selling illegal immigration (NAFTA)

Tula Connell, AFL-CIO managing editor, offers "Border Crossings Start in the Boardroom" (link). It's the standard leftwing pass-the-buck complaint about NAFTA and other trade deals leading to worsened working conditions, which leads to illegal immigration.

They might have a point, however, their solution to the problem involves apologizing for illegal immigration, making things worse for most people in both the U.S. and the sending countries. And, the fact that a group of people would suggest making things worse as their solution reveals that they cannot be trusted to come up with solutions.

Of course, not everyone is negatively impacted. Those who profit from illegal labor make money, as do the Mexican and other governments. And, the AFL-CIO profits as well, in that illegal aliens make up a portion of their membership and give them political power. Her post was also cross-posted at FireDogLake, a site that has an indirect link to the Mexican government.

If the AFL-CIO was honest about solving this problem, they would support stringent immigration enforcement, putting pressure on the sending countries to reform, and conducting a campaign to change existing "free trade" deals. And, by supporting enforcement they'd gain a lot more support than their current position of supporting and enabling illegal immigration. However, I'm not entirely convinced that the AFL-CIO wants to solve this problem, since that reduce their membership roles. Tula Connell needs to examine this issue in a much more honest fashion.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 11:19 AM

John McCain supporters include George Bush and three border state governors

John McCain has picked up key endorsements from three current and one former border state governors. First up:

President Bush plans to give an implicit endorsement of onetime rival John McCain's conservative bona fides tomorrow [at CPAC] as the Arizona senator seeks to consolidate the party behind his candidacy... Bush does not mention McCain by name, but the clear signal of his words to this particular audience is that the senator is a faithful conservative despite their doubts and it is time to put aside internal disagreements and rally behind the apparent nominee to be...

And, in addition to Texas' Rick Perry (link) and California's Arnold Schwarzenegger (link), another current border state governor has now endorsed his campaign:

Eduardo Bours, the