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PBS "Engage" deletes comment critical of Gwen Ifill

[PBS re-posted my comment; see the update.]

The Public Broadcasting System (PBS) has a relatively new effort called "Engage" [1] in which they solicit feedback from their viewers. However, they only want the "right kind" of feedback and are willing to delete or ignore comments that are critical of their (public) network. In this particular case, a comment I left that was critical of Gwen Ifill appeared and then was later deleted. The whole sequence of events - and the comments in question - are included below. If the reader thinks the comment shouldn't have been deleted, please contact PBS and let them know what you think:

pbs.org/engage/contact
pbs.org/ombudsman/feedback.html

I'm also considering filing a FOIA request related to this issue; the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has claimed that they're exempt but has also admitted that they'd comply with FOIA. Yes, I realize that in the greater scheme of things a deleted comment isn't that big a deal. However, PBS is a publicly-funded entity that's supposedly impartial, so such a reaction is justified.

Here's the sequence of events:

1. I tried to leave a comment on the post pbs.org/engage/blog/folks-back-home-are-talking-about-obama-mccain on June 9. It was put into a moderation queue, but never appeared. Now, certainly, some bloggers might not even be aware that they have a moderation queue or it might be so clogged that they ignore it. You can see that as the first comment in the extended entry [2].

2. I tried again with a different comment on a different post (pbs.org/engage/blog/five-good-questions-gwen-ifill) on June 25. That also was put into the moderation queue, and it also never appeared.

3. I tried to leave the last message again on June 26, and this time I used a different user name (NoMoreBlatherDotCom instead of LonewackoDotCom), and I also removed the 'http://' which was in front of one of the links. That's the second comment in the extended entry. [3]

Success! The comment appeared.

However, when I checked back the next day, the comment was gone. PBS had deleted the comment, despite it not violating any of their listed rules: it was on-topic, it didn't contain profanity, and it wasn't a personal attack but simply a discussion of PBS' and Ifill's low journalistic standards.

Note that at the Gwen Ifill link, almost all the comments are supportive, with some even gushingly so: inquiring about who does her lighting, suggestions that she take Tim Russert's place, and so on. Also, a comment containing a link in the body has been there since I left the second comment. If their rule is that comments containing links are moderated, that means that that comment was approved by a moderator and thus they do pay attention to that queue. And, if PBS objects to me including links, then they're playing favorites, saying that a link to metagovernment.org is OK but not a link to my site. Note that for the final comment both links were in bare format, which the user would have to copy and paste into their browser. Note also that there are about 35 comments at the Ifill link, yet there are 63 anchors (the part after '#' in a comment's individual URL) used. That implies that several comments were deleted. What did they say?

UPDATE: PBS sent this response to my email:

Thank you for bringing your comment to our attention. We've taken a look at your post in light of our terms of service, and we've concluded that we should have allowed it on the site. We reposted your comment yesterday afternoon... As the Engage initiative grows and more people participate in our discussions, we're continuing to evaluate our moderation policies. Feedback like yours helps us clarify our thinking about these issues, and we appreciate it.

[1] Their "Engage" site started in October but I found out about it due to a BlogAds campaign they're running. The reader might want to send this URL to sites that are running their BlogAd.

[2] HERE'S THE FIRST COMMENT I TRIED TO LEAVE; THIS WAS MODERATED BUT NEVER APPEARED:
PBS and NPR are just leftier versions of the MSM, and neither do any real reporting and instead just push their agendas.

Examples I can provide come from the topic I cover: immigration.

1. The NPR debate was a sham:
http://24ahead.com/blog/archives/007291.html

2. NewsHour segments on the topic almost always feature "debates" with two people on the same basic side:
http://24ahead.com/blog/archives/007264.html
http://24ahead.com/blog/archives/006003.html
http://24ahead.com/blog/archives/005823.html

3. Instead of following the money, NPR offered a tear-jerker designed to make illegal immigration acceptable:
http://24ahead.com/blog/archives/007616.html

[3] HERE'S THE SECOND COMMENT I TRIED TO LEAVE; THE FIRST VERSION WAS MODERATED BUT NEVER APPEARED, THE SECOND VERSION OF THIS COMMENT APPEARED AND WAS THEN DELETED:
1. Back in 2006, you offered two guests discussing an issue, and they turned out to be on basically the same side. Have you considered that debates between two people who basically agree is how things were done in the Soviet Union and how things should not be done in the U.S.?

Details:

lonewacko.com/blog/archives/006003.html

2. At a "average voter" panel you moderated, a supposed "regular voter" (who turned out to be a wonk) made various inflammatory claims, none of which you called him on. Why didn't you do that? Was he a "plant", similar to what CNN did with audience members with their debates? And, why couldn't you find a regular voter who supports our laws?

Details:

lonewacko.com/blog/archives/005823.html

Posted to Bloggage at 09:43 PM

Democratic Convention protesters will be behind wire, so they can be seen and heard

Good news! Protesters at the upcoming Democratic Convention in Denver in August will be fenced in behind wire, so they can be seen and heard. Authorities are still trying to decide whether chicken or chain link wire will be used, but in any case free speech is alive and well, rest assured of that!

But, seriously. In a move that's partially good but in no way makes up for their support for illegal activity, the ACLU is suing Denver and the U.S. Secret Service over the restrictions. If there must be fencing, it should be in an area where those attending the convention can, you know, actually see the protesters and receive handbills from them.

While the name of the umbrella group conducting the protest (Recreate 68) isn't exactly a good sign, and some of the groups are no doubt planning for violent activity of some kind, dealing with that in the normal way is far preferable to putting free speech in a cage.

I note also that the Party hacks (aka bloggers) who are selected to cover the Convention will largely ignore that side of things and will simply do what they're told. See this from 2004.

Posted to Politics at 09:31 PM

Eli Saslow/WaPo lies in support of Barack Obama

Eli Saslow of the Washington Post lies in support of Barack Obama while giving him a front page advertisement in the story "In Flag City USA, False Obama Rumors Are Flying" (link). Consider this:

On the television in his living room, Peterman has watched enough news and campaign advertisements to hear the truth: Sen. Barack Obama, born in Hawaii, is a Christian family man with a track record of public service. But on the Internet, in his grocery store, at his neighbor's house, at his son's auto shop, Peterman has also absorbed another version of the Democratic candidate's background, one that is entirely false: Barack Obama, born in Africa, is a possibly gay Muslim racist who refuses to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

What Saslow identifies as the "truth" has not been proven. It's certainly extremely likely that BHO was born in Hawaii, but the recent birth certificate issue shows that that is still an open question. Yet, Saslow calls that the "truth", and Saslow is therefore lying.

Further, while BHO does practice the Christian religion that doesn't rule out him being, having been, or being considered by some to still be a Muslim. What religion someone practices can be proven, but what religion they actually are is something only they can tell. That's certainly a fine point, but one that credible reporters would make.

Likewise with the gay rumor: Larry Sinclair's charges have not been disproven, they're just very highly unlikely.

As for the racist bit, that again cannot be proven since no one knows what BHO truly believes. While he personally might not be racist (despite saying some interesting things in one of his books), he's certainly associated with at least one person who is, Reverend Wright.

Saslow moves from lying to smearing in this bit:

But with their pride came a nasty undercurrent, one that Obama's candidacy has exacerbated: On College Street, nobody wanted anything to change. As the years passed, Peterman and his neighbors approached one another to share in their skepticism about the unknown. What was the story behind the handful of African Americans who had moved into a town that is 93 percent white? Why were Japanese businessmen coming in to run the local manufacturing plants? Who in the world was this Obama character, running for president with that funny-sounding last name?

The first example begs for a real reporter. Was there any validity to their concerns? The second attempts to call those who oppose selling American factories to the Japanese xenophobes or similar; Saslow is trying to "enforce" the Beltway establishment's support for "free" trade. The last example wraps it all together, trying to portray those concerned about Obama as racist xenophobes.

Then, Saslow moves into MoveOn mode:

Like most of his neighbors, he dislikes McCain for his stance on the Iraq war and would like to cast his vote for a president who will bring the troops home. But on a recent visit to his son's auto shop, Peterman overheard misinformed customers talking again about a Muslim in the White House.

The implication is that BHO would, unlike McCain, "bring the troops home". That isn't necessarily true, and as stated above no one knows whether BHO is really a Muslim and thus those customers weren't necessarily "misinformed".

Saslow also provides a section called by him or an editor "The Truth Squad":

So far, those who have pushed the truth in Findlay have been rewarded with little that resembles progress. Gerri Kish, a 66-year-old born in Hawaii, read both of Obama's autobiographies. She has close friends, she said, who still refuse to believe her when she swears Obama is Christian. Then she hands them the books, and they refuse to read them. "They just want to believe what they believe," she said. "Nothing gets through to them."

Of course, they aren't necessarily pushing "the truth", but presumably things that are objectively true together with unprovable things that align with BHO's version of events. As for the books, Saslow is counting on no one having read them.

Posted to Politics at 08:37 AM

For the last time: John McCain still supports amnesty ("It'll be my top priority yesterday, today and tomorrow")

As discussed here for some months, various Democratic Party proxies have tried to claim that John McCain has "flip-flopped" on "comprehensive immigration reform", aka amnesty. They base that on his supposed insistence on "border security first", as discussed here.

McCain is simply trying to fool people. Those who try to claim he's "flip-flopped" are either confused or, more likely, are similarly trying to fool people.

McCain still supports amnesty, just as he has for several years.

The only issue for him is how to get it. Don't just take my word for it, here's a quote from McCain from the recent meeting of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (link):

[He told them that] fixing U.S. immigration policy would be a priority — even as he acknowledged it's not popular with some members of his own party. "It'll be my top priority yesterday, today and tomorrow," McCain said.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 12:21 PM

Feds probing San Francisco's sanctuary city policy; city-paid flights for drug dealers

Presented without comment (link):

San Francisco juvenile probation officials - citing the city's immigrant sanctuary status - are protecting Honduran youths caught dealing crack cocaine from possible federal deportation and have given some offenders a city-paid flight home with carte blanche to return.

The city's practices recently prompted a federal criminal investigation into whether San Francisco has been systematically circumventing U.S. immigration law, according to officials with knowledge of the matter...

Joseph Russoniello, the U.S. attorney in charge of the San Francisco area, said he was "flabbergasted that the taxpayers' money was being spent for the purpose of ferrying detainees home. You have to have a perfect storm of dumb moves to have it happen."

Posted to Immigration2008a at 12:16 PM

Could Martin Wisckol be any more of a talentless hack?

Yes, I'm sure there are some ways that Martin Wisckol of the Orange County Register/OC Register could be even more of a talentless hack, but after reading this phone interview with John McCain I'm having a bit of difficulty imagining exactly how he could do it.

It features the stock trick of asking a politician the price of something. One might think that tricks like that are played out, but apparently the news hasn't reach Wiskol, who tries to trip up McCain on the price of gas. That's noted by ThinkProgress here: thinkprogress.org/2008/06/28/mccain-gas-prices-unaware/

On the immigration front, his questions were just as shopworn, first asking McCain how he's going to thread the needle between the GOP base (which largely supports our laws) and Hispanics (some of whom don't think our laws apply to those of their race/ethnicity). He then pretends that McCain isn't "supporting an amnesty of some sort". In case that was a trick designed to get him to say that he supports amnesty, even McCain is smarter than that. However, it was almost certainly not a trick and Martin Wiscol was simply confused over what he's read on other sites. His final question on the topic is - wait for it in all its Sovietski-style glory - this:

"It sounds as though you believe that there is a good, practical compromise strategy that can be reached."

What did he expect the answer to be, "no"?

Please send an email to mwisckol *at* ocregister.com and let him know that there are plenty of real questions that McCain should be asked about this topic, and that if he doesn't want to be considered simply a talentless hack he should consider trying to ask them.

UPDATE: I didn't bother parsing the gas prices-related portions of the "interview", but this site did:

McCain isn't saying he doesn't know the price of gas. He is saying that he doesn't remember the last time he pumped his own gas, and how much it cost then.

UPDATE 2: ThinkProgress continues to be a bad joke, this time by providing an update at the link given above:

Patterico claims that McCain's cluelessness was in reference to the last time he pumped gas, not the price of gas itself. If true, that means McCain did not answer the reporter's question about how much is the price of gas during the interview.

Obviously it's true, and obviously TP doesn't want to admit they were once again caught trying to mislead their readers. I wish I'd paid more attention to that part of the interview to begin with, but that part doesn't matter all that much. What we need to have happen is someone who's familiar with an issue and who isn't a corrupt hack press McCain on an issue, whether involving energy or involving immigration.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 07:40 PM

Should there be a stiff tariff on Canadian imports?

Based on the following Youtube view counts, I believe that a stiff tariff on Canadian imports - specifically entertainment products - should be enacted. Something on the order of 250% or so. That should also apply to those like the second below who are now U.S.-Canada dual citizens. In fact, it should especially apply in that case.

CANADIAN:

89,654,849 views: link
14,037,992 views: link
9,315,843 views: link

AMERICAN:

8589 views:

Posted to WackyHumor at 01:04 PM

Democrats to simulcast entire convention in Spanish

Per this we're informed that the Democratic National Convention will simulcast their entire event in Spanish. The event will be held in August in Denver, Colorado. Damon Jones from the Convention says:

"Spanish is the primary language for more than 35-million people in our country and more than 300-million people around the world. So, we think it's a great message to share and a great step forward at being as inclusive as possible."

Needless to say, by being "inclusive" they're being exclusionary in some ways: they're helping reduce assimilation and encouraging ethnicity-based political power. They probably also want to "reach out" to potential immigrants or illegal aliens in Latin American countries; when they get here they'll remember who to vote for. And, needless to say, almost all of those who are eligible to vote have or are required to have a command of English.

This is yet another in the long line of sleazy Democratic Party positions, but there really isn't much to do about it specifically. The concentration should be on discrediting individual politicians based on their lies or policy failings.

Posted to Politics at 12:45 PM

Mexico planting 400,000 trees on border to protest fence (no, really)

Look for U.S. useful idiots to rush to get involved with Mexico's plan to plant 400,000 trees on the other side of the Texas border in order to protest the border fence. It sounds like a joke but it isn't, but one wonders how their "green wall" will stay green in a relatively parched environment. Perhaps they don't mean trees so much as shrubbery.

Eagle Pass mayor Chad Foster was at the symbolic start of the effort in Piedras Negras, Mexico.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 12:35 PM

Deval Patrick trying to give tuition breaks to illegal aliens; help discredit him

Massachusetts governor (and Barack Obama quote source) Deval Patrick is back to supporting giving the in-state college tuition rate to illegal aliens (link). He considered trying to sneak it through without getting their legislature involved in January. This time around it's part of a larger proposal, the "Readiness Project", and he says:

"It makes good sense for us economically, and for me it's just a matter of simple justice... We don't say to these kids they can't go to state colleges and universities; they can go. What we say to them is that they have to pay a different rate from the kid who sat across the aisle from them all through middle school and high school."

If anyone wants to do a good turn, go to one of his public appearances and point out to him that, due to limited resources, any slot or discount given to an illegal alien is one that was taken away from a U.S. citizen. He wants to provide foreign citizens who are here illegally with "simple justice", but he doesn't want to give the same to his own fellow citizens. Get his response on videotape, and then upload it to video sharing sites.

Posted to Politics at 06:34 PM

Sierra Club supports lowering population growth globally, massive immigration in U.S.

Via this comes the Sierra Club article "Life in Abundance/Ethiopia, the cradle of humanity, faces up to family planning" (sierraclub.org/sierra/200807/ethiopia.asp) which promotes Ethiopians having fewer children and contains this sidebar:

In the past decade, U.S. funding for international family-planning programs like those in Ethiopia has declined by almost 40 percent. During those years, 275 million more women in the developing world came of childbearing age... The Sierra Club's Global Population and the Environment program is working to get the United States to invest $1 billion in 2009 in international family planning.

And, right at the top of sierraclub.org/international is this:

What does population have to do with global warming? Plenty! Population growth, global warming and consumption patterns are inextricably linked in their collective global environmental impact. Did you know that during the 20th century, human population multiplied from 1.6 billion to 6.1 billion people, and that heat trapping carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions grew twelve fold?

Oddly enough, the Sierra Club's goals are a bit different when it comes to domestic U.S. policy. Here in our country, they support massive immigration of any kind through various means, such as being involved in a smear campaign against those running for their board who wanted the Club to oppose massive immigration. And, through suing the U.S. over the border fence.

Now, the last thing I think is that it has anything to do with the funder who gave their Foundation $100 million and who told SC Executive Director Carl Pope that:

"if they ever came out anti-immigration, they would never get a dollar from me."

I'm absolutely positive that the SC's confused policies have absolutely nothing to do with the $100 million they got from the gentleman who said that.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 09:48 PM

Rep. David Price: deport criminals, but leave the illegal workers alone (cut enforcement funds to support illegal immigration)

Rep. David Price - Democrat from Chapel Hill, North Carolina - chairs the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee and he's using his position to encourage the DHS to prioritize deporting illegal aliens who are in prisons and jails in the U.S., rather than simply releasing them into the community. Sounds good so far, except for his corresponding plan of basically neglecting worksite enforcement:

[His committee] voted to cut and remove funding [from the Homeland Security funding bill] for proven enforcement measures such as the 287(g) program, which enables local police and sheriffs to enforce immigration laws, and workplace enforcement activities. The measure will, among other things, require ICE to spend $800 million to identify and deport illegal aliens who have committed serious crimes. Since the bill provides ICE only $60 million over its $4.8 billion budget request, the money aimed at identifying and deporting serious criminals will have to be shifted from other priorities.

Price is simply trying to make sure that cheap labor employers - perhaps even those who've donated to his coffers - are able to continue to have access to a low-cost labor pool. From a speech he gave at the Center for American Progress Action Fund where he promoted "comprehensive immigration reform" [price.house.gov/apps/list/press/nc04_price/062308.shtml]:

I want to be clear on that point. The illegal presence of foreign nationals in the United States is a problem, and calls into question our commitment to the integrity of our immigration laws. But we need to put that problem into perspective on two counts: First, the integrity of our immigration laws is compromised primarily by the fact that those laws are grossly unrealistic in relation to our labor market demands. And second, there can be no credible argument that deporting illegal workers should take precedence over efforts to combat smuggling, prevent terrorism, and deport criminal aliens... while we have been using scarce resources to detain and deport laborers at meatpacking plants, we have allowed tens of thousands of dangerous criminal aliens to be released back into our communities after serving their sentences, with no awareness on our part of their immigration status... Our illegal immigration is more about demand than about supply, so as long as our immigration policies are not responsive to the realities of our labor market, illegal immigration will drain our resources and distract attention from the apprehension of criminal and terrorist aliens crossing our borders and living among us... The current Administration made some effort last year to promote comprehensive immigration reform, but it now seems to have turned 180 degrees toward an enforcement-only approach. This might be interpreted as an attempt to appeal to the most hard-line anti-immigrant segment of the population, but some have painted it as an effort to drive home the need for immigration reform by inflicting pain on businesses and communities who depend on these workers. If it really is some sort of perverse “tough medicine” policy, I find it doubly hard to understand, given the negative impacts on hardworking immigrants and their children, and because it has tradeoffs with other activities that could be helping to make our country safer...

Price is hiding behind rightful concern about criminals being released in order to support illegal immigration by supposed non-criminals. It's possible to balance spending on deporting criminals with workplace enforcement, and with more workplace enforcement there would be fewer potential illegal alien criminals.

As for our "labor market demands", if there were no crooked politicians and our laws were enforced, our industries would adapt either by automating, producing alternatives, moving low-wage work offshore, or simply going out of business. There's a reason why we don't have a buggywhip industry nowadays.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 07:48 PM

Commission on Presidential Debates releases sham debate proposal

The Commission on Presidential Debates has released their plans for three debates, one in the townhall format, and the other two in a sit-down format. The latter format would negate Barack Obama's height advantage over John McCain. Unfortunately, that format would also result in yet another sham debate:

The proposed debates also would feature a more open format to encourage the candidates to talk more to each other directly. The debates would be broken into eight 10-minute-long segments, each devoted to one issue. The moderator would pose an opening question, then prompt the candidates to discuss it themselves.

Those would be a sham because there are topics on which McCain and BHO agree, such as immigration. If the moderator asks about the latter topic, they'd spend ten minutes just agreeing with each other. And, since they agree on the topic, the moderator might not ask about it at all.

What we need are policy debates, in which subject matter experts from across the spectrum would be allowed to ask the candidates a series of questions designed to point out the flaws in their plans. An expert who's willing to ask "prosecutorial-style" questions on immigration of either candidate could have a devastating impact on their chances, so don't expect the candidates, the Parties, the MSM, or the CPD to be interested.

Links to coverage of past "debate" are in this post, with more here, here, and here.

Posted to Politics at 12:02 PM

State Farm not a good neighbor to Republicans (Hispanic voting drive with NCLR, NALEO)

The questionable organizations National Council of La Raza (among other things, funds extremists and gave an award to a vile racist) and National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (has a relatively minor link to the Mexican government) are behind a citizenship and voting drive for Hispanics called "Ya Es Hora" ("It's About Time", naleo.org/veyvota.html). And, State Farm Insurance has announced that they'll be the lead sponsor.

It's great that State Farm is encouraging people to get out and vote. However, it's unfortunate that they're making it ethnicity-specific rather than working to get everyone regardless of race or ethnicity to vote. And, considering that a good majority of those who will be driven out to vote will be voting Democratic, those Republicans who hold StateFarm policies should consider contacting the company to complain or should consider switching to a different company. And, that goes for everyone, considering the groups involved in the effort:

In addition to the cash infusion [$1 million], 4,000 State Farm agents who serve the Hispanic community across the country will provide U.S. citizenship applications and voter-registration materials to clients. More than eight million green-card holders, or legal permanent residents, currently are eligible to become U.S. citizens, and the majority are immigrants from Latin America.

Some might suggest that State Farm just give the money they'll spend on this to the Democratic Party to cut out the middleman.

Other companies involved include the Miami Herald, El Nuevo Herald, and Univision; the latter network's vile, illegal immigration-supporting anchor Maria Elena Salinas was on hand for an event last year [1]. A current or previous sponsor was ConAgra Foods [2]. Others involved include ImpreMedia, the Service Employees International Union SEIU and the We Are America Alliance [3]. Members of the WAAA are linked to the Mexican government. Others involved include Entravision Communications and Mi Familia Vota Educational Fund [4].

This NCLR press release makes it clear they only care about one thing: race-based power [3]:

Strategically, the campaign seeks to expand the Latino electorate in key battleground states, solidify the strength of the Latino vote in traditional Latino states, and help lay the foundation for a Latino electorate in nontraditional states where the Latino population has significantly increased in recent years. The strategy will establish Latinos as an important national electorate.

"The dramatic success of this year's naturalization efforts demonstrates our community's desire to help shape the future of our country at the ballot box," said Janet Murguia, NCLR President and CEO. "This unprecedented effort will give Latinos the key to victory in 2008," added Murguia. "The campaign will also build the capacities of local communities to engage in the electoral process for years to come," concluded Murguia.

And, they even reference the 2006 illegal immigration marches, where foreign citizens marched through our streets demanding that we change our laws to suit them [5]:

The campaign was launched as the Latino community's action-oriented response to the mobilizations of 2006 and represents the largest and most comprehensive effort to incorporate Latinos as full participants in the American political process.

[1] nclr.org/content/news/detail/47243/
[2] hispanicprwire.com/news.php?l=in&id=9072&cha=8
[3] hispanictips.com/2007/07/10/
multimedia-grassroots-campaign-launched-help-achieve-historic-
latino-turnout-2008-nclr/
[4] nclr.org/section/yaeshora/veyvota
[5] nclr.org/section/yaeshora/ciudadania

Posted to Immigration2008a at 09:54 AM

Chicago Aldmn Cardenas, Flores introduce anti-"hate speech" resolution; Mexico-linked ICIRR cheers

The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights is linked to the Mexican government, and they have some involvement in a resolution introduced today by two Chicago aldermen (George Cardenas and Manny Flores) condemning "hate speech" (i.e, the facts) supposedly directed at "immigrants" (i.e., illegal aliens) [1]. The resolution also comes out in favor of legalizations of illegal aliens. And, Lou Dobbs and others are apparently the intended targets, with Cardenas saying:

"...the overall climate surrounding the immigration issue has turned more and more ugly, fed in particular by cable news. It's time that our city took a stand against the hateful rhetoric."

The ICIRR press release references the recent Media Matters report "Fear and Loathing in Prime Time: Immigration Myths and Cable News", with their Fred Tsao saying:

"The Media Matters report documents in great detail how Dobbs, O'Reilly, Beck, and others have used distortions and misrepresentations to portray immigrants in a negative light and push an anti-immigrant agenda... We applaud Aldermen Cardenas and Flores for standing with immigrants and against hate."

Those involved are simply trying to silence debate in order to make their grab for race-based power easier. And, this illustrates again the folly of those non-far-lefties who give in to the far-left's definition of hate.

[1] icirr.org/node/2886

Posted to Immigration2008a at 01:47 PM

Mainstream media hacks get taste of own medicine: some OC Register editing tasks outsourced to India

The Orange County Register will be conducting a one month trial where they outsource some newspaper editing functions to a company in India. They'll also be doing layout work on one of the OCR's community newspapers. Per their deputy editor:

"This is a small-scale test, which will not touch our local reporting or decision-making. Our own editors will oversee this work."

Hopefully the reader is laughing as hard as I am. Virtually every newspaper "reporter" who writes about outsourcing and the related issue of immigration is basically a paid hack who pushes the interests of those who profit from outsourcing and massive immigration. Few of those "reporters" have shown any interest in accurately representing the concerns of most Americans and instead have acted as shills and pitchmen. Perhaps some of them will see which way the wind is blowing and realize that this "trial" could turn into a trend among other papers, and that the outsourced writing up of stories gathered by stringers could be used to supplant some "reporters". Certainly, Indian English is a bit different from the American variety, but that's just an implementation detail.

Posted to Miscellania at 11:33 AM

Is Bob Barr changing his immigration position, or just confused, or intentionally trying to confuse?

I don't know, you tell me based on this fundraising solicitation - thankfully deprived of actionable links - in which he complains that if John McCain or Barack Obama win they'll push amnesty. He also stresses border security. In fact, he stresses it so much, and to the exclusion of coming out foursquare against any form of amnesty no matter what it's called, that until I hear an actual detailed plan on what he intends to do I'm going to assume that Bob Barr's position on immigration is still the same.

Posted to Politics at 11:27 AM

Rep. Chris Cannon loses in Utah! (Jason Chaffetz)

Illegal immigration-supporting hack and Republican Congressman from Utah Chris Cannon will lose the primary election to Jason Chaffetz. With over 80% of the votes counted at post time, Chaffetz leads 60% to about 40%, so it's safe to call.

There are about forty posts at this site mentioning Cannon; use the search function to see them all. His higlight reel includes one of his aides soliciting campaign contributions from illegal aliens as he sat next to him, his links to David Safavian and Grover Norquist, the money he got from the cheap labor lobby, and more. See also this, this, and this. And, in 2002 - when accepting an award from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) - he said this:

"We love immigrants in Utah. And we don't make the distinction very often between legal and illegal. In fact, I think Utah was the first state in the country to legislate the ability to get a driver's license based on the matricula consular [the Mexican government's illegal-alien ID card] and of that I'm proud."

As for Chafetz, he says among other things:

I will not support or vote for amnesty in any way, shape or form. If you are here illegally, there is no pathway to citizenship except to apply from your country of origin.

Whether there are loopholes in that statement or not remains to be seen, but just about anyone would be better than Cannon.

In the past when Cannon has been challenged on his immigration stance and won, various sources have pointed to that as an example of public support for "comprehensive immigration reform" and/or an indication that those who support our laws have trouble at the ballot boxes. What those same sources will say in this case remains to be seen. Perhaps they won't say anything at all, or perhaps they'll try to pretend it was due to something other than immigration.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 09:48 PM

Debbie Russell/ACLU tries blocking immigration enforcement in Austin, Texas (ICE, jails)

The American Civil Liberties Union is collaborating with the Mexican government, so the following shouldn't be much of a surprise:

An ACLU attorney [ACLU of Texas Central Texas Chapter President Debbie Russell] and immigration rights' advocate [Austin Immigrants' Rights Coalition member Caroline Keating-Guerra] sighed with some relief after the City of Austin Human Rights Commission passed seven recommendations Monday to city council regarding immigration control at Travis County Jail.

...The commission recommended, rather than arresting persons involved in non-violent Class A or Class B misdemeanors and taking them to jail, the Austin Police Department and the Travis County Sheriff's Department should issue citations and court summons at their discretion, as indicated in Texas House Bill 2391.

Once in jail, they might be checked by Immigrations and Custom Enforcement to see if they were illegal aliens or otherwise deportable. Needless to say, the ACLU wants as little of that as possible:

"I think there's also a lot of assumptions from the County Sheriff's office that they have to give certain access, and I think they're assuming too much in favor of ICE having access," Russell said. "I think they could limit the hours that they are allowed to go into the jail, and if the sheriff sees it as his job to process individuals, if they're getting the way, he can limit their access, so we just need to get down in writing how much so."

Posted to Immigration2007b at 09:30 PM

California Department of Public Health backs away from Balkans ("Our Neighborhood, Our Rules")

One of the many ways the California Department of Public Health spends "their" money is on the "Network for a Healthy California" (cachampionsforchange.net), which operates a website promoting a healthy diet and which puts up billboards such as that seen here or in the following screengrab of this page cachampionsforchange.net/en/OurCommunity.php:

There are many things one could say about this effort and the billboard specifically, with nanny statism being the least concern. The main concern is that such billboards foster the belief that one group of people - specifically, one ethnicity - "owns" a neighborhood. Don't think that? Well, then imagine the "concern" if a billboard similar to the above used a white woman; wouldn't non-whites be more than a bit concerned and wouldn't they have a point?

As another example a new form of the billboard has been spotted using a less Balkans-oriented tag line: "My Kitchen, My Rules" (photo of a similar ad here). I spotted that billboard on Western around Pico on the edges of Koreatown; the area where it was spotted is a previously mostly black area now trending Latino, and the billboard featured a black woman. I doubt whether Latinos in the area would appreciate her image proclaiming it to be "her" neighborhood.

I don't think anything - except the absurdly easy task of completely discrediting the far-lefties in the California legislature - could be done about campaigns like this, but perhaps even the CDPH realized there are limits to far-leftism.

Posted to California at 08:26 PM

Melinda Zosh lets Jason Riley/WSJ engage in logical fallacy, Michael Barone spout nonsense

Melinda Zosh is an "intern at the American Journalism Center, a training program run by Accuracy in Media and Accuracy in Academia", and she offers "Today's Illegals 'Not Different, Just Newer'" about a talk that Jason Riley of the Wall Street Journal (author of "The Case for Open Borders") gave at the CATO Institute (link).

While she offers a fine and no doubt accurate transcription, like most MSM reporters she doesn't go beyond that and question anything she's told. She simply serves as Riley's stooge and fails to call him on his use of a logical fallacy:

...Riley said that Americans limit their perspectives and fear that new immigrants won't assimilate. But the Irish did and "if America can assimilate the Irish, we can [assimilate] anybody."

Riley said lots of things, all of which Zosh dutifully wrote down without questioning them. She failed to point out to him anything approaching what's discussed at the previous link: the current conditions are quite different from those a century ago. The conditions are so different that Riley is engaging in a logical fallacy. Zoll forgot to point out to him that today's immigrants are largely coming from a contiguous country or region. She forgot to point out to him that Mexico used to own part of our territory and that 58% of Mexicans think the U.S. southwest rightfully belongs to Mexico. There's so much she forgot to point out to him that her future in the MSM looks quite bright.

She also provides the following Michael Barone quote that makes me question his sanity:

"Our elites have been putting barriers in the way of immigration... Ultimately, the good sense of the people overwhelms the nonsense of the elites."

Any reporter worth her salt would have pointed out that it's the elites that have constantly pushed massive immigration, and that everyone else opposes them on that. Needless to say, Zosh did not do that.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 01:05 PM

John McCain, Barack Obama to appear at National Latino Congress?

According to a Mexican newspaper [1], both John McCain and Barack Obama may be appearing at this year's National Latino Congress/National Latino Congreso (latinocongreso.org), something I have a bit of trouble believing. See the translation here.

The main reason I have trouble believing that they'll be appearing there is that many of those showing up are extremists, and few of those groups are (unlike the NCLR where Obama and McCain will speak) considered mainstream.

For instance, last year's event featured Nativo Lopez and Gil Cedillo, groups like the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and it included approved resolutions supporting the Cuban Five, the Fairness Doctrine, and much more. The only presidential candidate who showed was Dennis Kucinich (responsible for two of the resolutions), and aside from one report the MSM largely ignored the event.

The report says that the organizers have confirmed their participation, but they don't name which organizers confirmed that. Much is made here of the fact that the NLC has been endorsed by the Communist Party; the key isn't that they've endorsed them, but that the endorsement has been accepted.

But, if they do show up, it will show even more people that neither of them are qualified to be president, at least of this country.

[1] informador.com.mx/mexico/2008/20223/6/
asistiran-mccain-y-obama-a-congreso-nacional-latino-en-los-angeles.htm

Posted to Immigration2008a at 07:58 PM

New Jersey landlord sued over allegedly renting to illegal aliens (Connolly Properties, civil RICO)

The Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) - part of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) - is suing New Jersey's Connolly Properties under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), claiming that that company and others have a habit of renting to illegal aliens and are thus guilty of harboring illegal aliens as well as violating the Fair Housing Act. Connoly is based in New Jersey and has properties there and in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Press release here, biased AP report from Samantha Henry here.

Related:
"Mohawk Industries accused of witness tampering"
Swift and Company sued under RICO Act
Idaho county sues illegal alien employers under RICO
Are you a lawyer who likes money?

Posted to Immigration2008a at 07:49 PM

Questions for Matt Yglesias

Recently, Matt Yglesias of The Atlantic (matthewyglesias.theatlantic.com) has been posting a daily thread soliciting questions that he'll answer from his visitors ("requests"). I've posted a few comments to those threads without an answer, but that just means I'll keep trying. To be frank, the reason I do that is in the hope that one of these days Matthew Yglesias will let someone at the higher levels of the DNC know that the old lies aren't working any more. Specifically, if one of these days MattY would say to someone at the DNC, "my reputation is being harmed by trying to push your support for illegal immigration, and I fear that if someone who's familiar with this issue is able to interrogate Obama on the topic of immigration it's going to have a very negative impact on his chances", that might cause the DNC to change their policies to be more supportive of our laws. One can always hope.

Here are some of the questions. New ones will be added to the top of the list:

12. Discuss this recent GOP loss. Extra credit: contact those who used his previous wins to push their agenda, and see what they say now: Barone, Barnes, etc.

11. Find a public figure who opposes immigration enforcement, and then follow the money. For instance, this shill who I mentioned on this thread from today: matthewyglesias.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/06/exurbs_aint_what_they_used_to.php

10. On this recent post, you came out for "comprehensive immigration reform". I pointed out that "reform" would give even more power inside the U.S. to racial power groups as well as the Mexican government. Should we worry about a neighboring government having political power inside the U.S.? If so, what should we do about it? How specifically will that power be reduced should what you support be enacted?

9. What are your thoughts on Barack Obama's latest NAFTA flap? Do you agree he admitted to being deceptive?

8. Will you be condemning New Haven's support for illegal activity?

7. When the Federal Reserve explicitly sets out to profit from money that was earned illegally, isn't that an example of political corruption at the highest levels of our political system?

6. Since you say you aren't part of the establishment, tell us how close you've come to doing some like this.

5. Last year, you told us the NAFTASuperhighway was just a myth (matthewyglesias.theatlantic.com/archives/2007/08/the_highway_that_wasnt_there.php). This year, BHO said more than his handlers would want him to: "there's this highway being built in Texas that will facilitate more transportation and travel between Mexico and the intercontinental United States, on up to Canada". Please explain that for us.

4. Please tell us the differences between this Barack Obama proposal on global warming and how things would have been done in the Soviet Union.

3. Please list all the costs of the Katrina scandal, including those which aren't immediately obvious.

2. Why didn't your colleague Marc Ambinder push what should be a big story, the one about McCain and Juan Hernandez?

1. Have you considered asking people outside the cocoon for their take on the issues you discuss, and then a) accurately representing their concerns and b) offering a valid counterargument (if possible)? For instance, take one of the points from my first comment here, and see if you can come up with a valid counterargument.

Posted to Bloggage at 04:24 PM

Caltrans suspends Adopt-A-Highway to "review" guidelines (SD Minutemen, ACLU, Lori Saldana)

From this we learn that the California Department of Transportation ("Caltrans") is reviewing the guidelines used in their Adopt-A-Highway program, whereby groups can volunteer to clean up stretches of highways. In exchange, they get some publicity with their names on signs along the stretches. Those currently in the program aren't affected, only current and future applicants.

Through a wild coincidence, the San Diego Minutemen is engaged in a federal court battle with Caltrans due to the latter's interesting handling of their application for a stretch of the San Diego Freeway. They were denied their first choices and instead offered a less-traveled route. A Caltrans spokesman says there's it's all just a coinkydink. And, as another twist, the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and Imperial Counties (ACLU) is taking the Minutemen's side, with their David Blair-Loy saying:

"It's hard to believe its merely a coincidence... It certainly seems to be in violation of the spirit, if not the letter, of the First Amendment to close down a forum for speech... I welcome the review to the extent that it may lead to the correction of unconstitutional language in the guidelines...

Also:

California Assemblywoman Lori Saldana, D-San Diego, said last month that she wanted Caltrans to refine its application procedures to require a membership roster, a board of directors and bylaws.

Based on hearing about them, I'm not a big fan of the SD Minutemen, and while taking on Sacramento is a big point in their favor there are much better things they could be doing with their time and probably money. Namely, working to discredit those politicians who support illegal immigration by asking them tough questions.

6/28/08 UPDATE: A federal judge has told Caltrans to let the Minutemen clean up one of the original sections of the 5 freeway that they requested.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 01:43 PM

Villaraigosa, Dellums, Nickels don't want ICE immigration raids of "responsible employers"

If you want examples of political corruption, illegal immigration is where you should look. The latest example is a resolution proposed by three west coast mayors at this year's Conference of Mayors meeting: they don't want ICE to conduct immigration raids of "responsible employers". Instead, they want them to only raid those companies that are abusing employees and the like. The mayors are: Antonio Villaraigosa (Los Angeles), Ron Dellums (Oakland), and Greg Nickels (Seattle).

In effect, those mayors only want one set of laws to be enforced: wage and safety laws, just not immigration laws. The reason is so that illegal aliens will continue to live in their cities and provide them with a political power base, and one presumptive reason is also because some of those "responsible employers" are politically connected in one way or other.

If they really wanted to reduce abuses, there's an easy way to do it: stop supporting illegal immigration. If there were very few illegal aliens in their cities, most of what they pretend to want would be solved: employers are much less likely to abuse legal workers, and those with valid Social Security numbers are much less likely to use someone else's number.

The resolution specifically mentions "well-established businesses that contribute significantly to the local economy". In olden times those would have been referred to as "protected". Nowadays, it's acceptable to profit from illegal activity - including the "dramatic increase in identity theft of the Social Security numbers of U.S. citizens" they mention - just as long as they treat their workers OK and contribute to the tax base (and perhaps to those mayors' campaign coffers). They don't want "responsible employers" to be raided until either "reform" or an "accurate verification system" is available.

The resolution is located along with dozens more in this PDF. For your entertainment purposes, the full resolution is in the extended entry; discussing all the other ways it's wrong would take too much time. Note that the cost is marked as "Unknown", as is another resolution also demanding "comprehensive immigration reform", as is another resolution from Villaraigosa and other mayors demanding more resources for food stamps, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs.

Related:
Fabian Nunez, Mexico-linked Peter Schey, American Apparel join to support illegal immigration
AVWatch: Antonio Villaraigosa complains to Michael Chertoff about ICE raids
AVWatch: Antonio Villaraigosa, Fabian Nunez at MacArthur Park candlelight vigil?

Resolution No. 52
U.S.IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS WORKSITE ENFORCEMENT
1. WHEREAS, the United States is a nation of immigrants, the
overwhelming majority of whom are making an important and
positive contribution to both our economy and our culture;
and
2. WHEREAS, immigration reform is one of the most pressing
issues facing The U.S. Conference of Mayors; and
3. WHEREAS, the federal government has not been able to pass
comprehensive immigration reform legislation; and
4. WHEREAS, as a consequence of such inaction has been a
dramatic increase in identity theft of the Social Security
numbers of U.S. citizens; and,
5. WHEREAS, due to a lack of a workable immigration policy,
our country is inhabited by more than 12 million
undocumented individuals; and
6. WHEREAS, many of these undocumented individuals are working
in well-established businesses that contribute
significantly to the local economy; and
7. WHEREAS, responsible employers often have to rely on
documentation that appears facially valid in order to
determine an individual’s status to accept employment; and
8. WHEREAS, the current federal E-Verify system has not been
reliable in ascertaining a prospective employee’s right to work; and,
9. WHEREAS, some employers will prey upon undocumented
workers, with substandard wages, long hours and unsafe
working conditions, knowing these workers will not complain
to authorities; and
10. WHEREAS, the U.S. Immigration & Custom Enforcement (ICE)
has increased worksite enforcement activities;
11. WHEREAS, ICE worksite enforcement activities are often the
result of “anonymous” tips from the competitors of
legitimate employers, thereby using ICE raids to disrupt
production; and,
12. WHEREAS, ICE enforcement activities targeting companies
that have had no record or suspicion of engagement in
exploitative practices will negatively impact local
economies and may drive employers to locate manufacturing
facilities overseas; and
13. WHEREAS, ICE has limited resources and time to conduct
worksite enforcement activities;
14. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of
Mayors calls upon U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement to
develop a national policy for its workforce enforcement
activities that focuses on employers with a demonstrated
history or reasonable suspicion of engaging in exploitative
practices, such as violation of wage, hour or occupational
safety laws and regulations; and
15. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that ICE not prioritize responsible
employers for worksite enforcement activities before
accurate verification systems are available or
comprehensive immigration reform regularizes the status of
workers on whom they rely; and
16. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that ICE should strive to keep in
close communication with the nation’s mayors when
conducting worksite enforcement activities in their cities.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 10:24 AM

Paul Waldman wins the BOSA! (Barack Obama Sycophant Award)

Congratulations to Paul Waldman of Media Matters for America, who's just now won the BOSA, also known as the Barack Obama Sycophant Award, the Toady, the Yglesias, and other names too numerous to mention!

Last seen here calling the NAFTA Superhighway a myth and then admitting that it exists in one form, Waldman contributes to the American Prospect's TAPPED. BOSA judges "tapped" the following excerpt from this post as one of the reasons for the award. Referring to BHO, Waldman says:

He has always presented himself as the embodiment of what we all want America to be: inclusive, future-oriented, moving beyond our differences to embrace what binds us together. So patriotic talk isn’t something he has recently embraced, it’s actually at the heart of his narrative, which has been consistent from day one.

Now, that's sycophancy!

But, the judges also awarded him the Smithers Tassle to go with the main award for the article "McCain's Desperate Debate Gambit":

John McCain knows his campaign is in trouble, and so he's trying to pressure Barack Obama into a long series of town hall meetings. But speeches are the real way the president appeals to the public.

That whole participatory democracy thing where we press our politicians on their lies was getting so old. Much better to just sit there and listen to Barack Obama read a script someone else has written rather than trying to ask him about his frequent lies and misleading statements.

It will be difficult for others to achieve the level of sheer sycophantic slaggishness that Waldman has, but many others will surely try in the near future.

Posted to Politics at 08:16 PM

Barack Obama patriotic, ad says

According to a new ad from the Barack Obama campaign (link), he was brought up with "values straight from the Kansas heartland", including "love of country". Out with the "Black Values System", in with the "Kansas Values System"!

And, some might even buy it, even those bitter folks clinging to guns, religion, and anti-immigrant sentiment.

While I'm sure that BHO is mostly patriotic, I'm also sure there are areas where - like president Bush - he's a bit more squishy. For instance, supporting Bush's SPP isn't exactly patriotic. Supporting massive illegal immigration isn't too patriotic either.

Posted to Politics at 04:03 PM

Crooked town: New Haven to give low-price gas to ID card holders (many illegal aliens)

New Haven, Connecticut offers a city-only identification card (the "Elm City ID card") for those who - ahem - have ID problems. While any resident can get one of the cards, they're only of real use to illegal aliens. The plan was pushed through by a city employee who used to head an organization that was working with the Mexican government to pass out that country's Matricula Consular card.

Now, New Haven is considering a special incentive to encourage people to get the Elm City card: a three-hour special of gas at $1.99 at a station in their town (link). No doubt some legal residents and citizens will take advantage of the discount, but to illegal aliens in other cities who might be considering a move this will send a loud and clear message that New Haven welcomes everyone, "regardless of their immigration status" as they say. In our terms, New Haven is a crooked town, run by a corrupt mayor (John DeStefano) who has no qualms about not just supporting but encouraging illegal activity in order to obtain political power. There was an allegation that DeStefano might have a financial interest, but that hasn't been confirmed.

The solution for those in the area is to have an impact on DeStefano's political career: go to his public appearances, ask him tough questions (not rants), get it on video, and then upload his response to video sharing sites. He previously ran for governor, but if enough people embarrass him on tape future runs won't be possible.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 12:20 PM

All problems solved, Santa Monica moves on to ficus commemorations

Posted to WackyHumor at 08:41 PM

Obama accuser Larry Sinclair arrested; very questionable celebration follows

Larry Sinclair is a currently Duluth-based man about town with a long rap sheet (link) who claims that he had homosexual sex with Barack Obama in 1999 (link). At the same time, Sinclair claims that - after he gave him the money to go run for it - he used powdered cocaine and BHO smoked crack. There are several problems with the story, and, while I consider it certainly possible to have happened, I don't think it's likely at all.

Earlier today, Sinclair appeared at the National Press Club to tell his tale and was arrested afterwards by officers from Washington, D.C. police, apparently as a result of U.S. Marshals showing up with a warrant.

The question then becomes, why wasn't he arrested before? Has he been in hiding, or were they just trying to send a message? And, what sort of people would celebrate the arrest of someone who makes inflammatory and almost certainly false charges against a political candidate? Barack Obama supporters, that's who. See the comments here or at firedoglake.com/2008/06/18/larry-sinclair-arrested-at-press-club.

Larry Sinclair is hardly a political prisoner, but the arrest at the press conference has quite a political flavor to it. It also has its comedic moments; for those, see Dave Weigel of Reason Magazine: reason.com/blog/show/127093.html (He also - for once - asked a question).

Posted to Politics at 06:32 PM

NAFTAGate 2: Barack Obama backs off NAFTA opposition, admits being deceptive

From this:

In an interview with Fortune to be featured in the magazine's upcoming issue, the presumptive Democratic nominee backed off his harshest attacks on the free trade agreement and indicated he didn't want to unilaterally reopen negotiations on NAFTA.

"Sometimes during campaigns the rhetoric gets overheated and amplified," he conceded, after I reminded him that he had called NAFTA "devastating" and "a big mistake"...

Does that mean his rhetoric was overheated and amplified? "Politicians are always guilty of that, and I don't exempt myself," he answered...

In other words, he was intentionally being misleading about his position on the trade deal. This shouldn't be surprising considering the first round of NAFTAGate, and also considering that BHO supports Bush's SPP.gov, aka "NAFTA on Steroids". He even spoke in code when coming out for that secretive and highly questionable Bush trade scheme. The fact that BHO supports Bush's SPP has, as far as I know, never been mentioned by anyone except me and Obama.

Related to BHO's latest admission, The Nation's John Nichols isn't happy (thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/330911), but he also offers this questionable bit:

If Obama takes the economic issue that white working-class voters best understand off the table, he creates a huge opening for McCain in states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

If he'd said "one of the... issues", that would be correct. However, illegal immigration is a related issue that probably resonates more loudly, but it's one that The Nation supports.

Posted to Politics at 05:43 PM

Portland: U.S. citizen arrested protesting city-sponsored illegal alien hiring center

Apparently a U.S. citizen was arrested for disorderly conduct while protesting a city-sponsored illegal alien hiring center in Portland, Oregon. The circumstances aren't clear, but apparently he was sitting either on the curb or in the driveway with a sign saying, "No". It's unknown whether the arrest was justified or not. Some details here; and from this:

A police car did lazy laps near the center Monday morning, in case protesters showed up and trouble started. Just one -- a man with a sign that read "No" -- plopped down in the center driveway.

And:

Mayor Tom Potter first talked of a day labor center during his 2004 campaign. At his urging, the City Council is spending $200,000 on the center over the next two years. The Portland Development Commission is renting out the parking lot at the corner of MLK and Northeast Everett Street to VOZ for $1 a year. City Council members expect the center to support itself after the first two years.

Obviously, the center - which might be breaking federal law - is supported by the local power structure including the Mayor, the City Council, and the Oregonian newspaper. So, protests like that will usually end in failure.

The better way to protest things like this is to go to public appearances by city leaders and ask them questions (not rants) designed to make them look bad. Then, publicize that via Youtube and similar sites. Let me also suggest that those in the area learn how to better document cases like this so it's clear what actually happened.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 01:15 PM

Illegal immigration-supporting Andrea Bazan is new Chairwoman of National Council of La Raza

Andrea Bazan has been named the new Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the National Council of La Raza, a racial power group that - among other things - funds extremists, wants to give a special break to illegal aliens accused of identity theft, and gave an award to a vile racist. She's replacing Monica Lozano, publisher of the La Opinion newspaper; whether Lozano will continue on the board isn't known.

Per hispanicbusiness.com/news/2008/6/18/hispanic_leader_takes_dc_post_bazn.htm:

Bazan, 40, has become a prominent advocate since moving to North Carolina nearly 20 years ago. In 1995, still in her late 20s, she helped found El Pueblo, North Carolina's largest Hispanic advocacy group. She later became its first executive director and led a controversial push to allow illegal immigrants to attend North Carolina universities at in-state tuition rates.

She has served on a number of influential boards, including the UNC Tomorrow Commission and the Governor's Council on Hispanic/Latino Affairs.

Though she left El Pueblo in 2005 to head the philanthropic group, Triangle Community Foundation, she has remained a strong voice for Hispanics, including those in the country illegally.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 01:08 PM

Nicole Bode/NY Daily News, New Sanctuary Movement pretend laws to blame for family separation

Nicole Bode of the New York Daily News offers "Deportation to Senegal leaves Sory Fofana's family in pain" (link):

Eleven-year-old Fanta Fofana spoke barely above a whisper as she described the day immigration officers burst into her Bronx apartment and took her dad.

"I was sleeping with my sisters and my cousins," Fanta said, her eyes downcast. "The police came and took my father away from my family. I was born here and I can't believe my country would do this to me."

That's definitely unfortunate. But, did he bring it on himself? Let's find out:

an immigration court determined that Fofana improperly overstayed his visa, in violation of a prior order to leave the country in 1998

So, the person responsible for the situation would seem to be Fofana himself, and not our laws.

Despite that, the New Sanctuary Movement, an ad for which occupies seven paragraphs of the article, is giving him help. However, there's probably little chance of the family being reunited, aside from in Senegal.

Bode also promotes the "Child Citizen Protection Act"/"Anchor Baby Bill" from Rep. Jose Serrano.

Posted to Immigration_piipps at 12:45 PM

Nine Latin American consulates in New York area join to push immigration agenda inside U.S.

The New York-area consulates from nine Latin America countries have joined forces in an effort called the "Coalition of Latin American Consulates in New York." From this:

...the group plans to work together on issues they consider common to their immigrant populations _ from holding informational "consular fairs" and public health screenings to meeting as a group with U.S. immigration officials. The group's first event will be a consular fair to be held this Saturday at the Mexican community center Casa Puebla in Harrison, N.J... The consular coalition also hopes to present a more united front in the U.S. immigration debate _ not by taking a political position, but by working to defend immigrant communities many feel have been vilified by the tone of the debate...

Casa Puebla was also where the Mexican consulate recently handed out Matricula Consular ID cards.

Mexico is, of course, one of the countries involved. The others are: Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay.

Posted to Immigration_consul at 03:22 PM

John McCain wants townhall meeting with Barack Obama "in front of La Raza" (NCLR convention)

Both John McCain and Barack Obama will be speaking at the National Council of La Raza convention in July, and McCain has proposed to BHO that they square off at a townhall meeting at the extremist-funding and -awarding racial power group's event (link). Says McCain:

"There is a meeting in California of La Raza... Both of us have accepted invitations. I say that we have a town hall meeting together in front of La Raza. I think that the people will be far more informed and in some ways, entertained if we had that format."

There's a difference between the NCLR and "la raza", with the latter referring to all people of a specific racial background. McCain's use of a short version of their name is more than a bit questionable, considering that not all who would be considered "raza" agree with the NCLR. It's also questionable if we just use English in his statement:

"There is a meeting in California of The Race... Both of us have accepted invitations. I say that we have a town hall meeting together in front of The Race. I think that the people will be far more informed and in some ways, entertained if we had that format."

Posted to Politics at 03:03 PM

Senator Bob Menendez uses alleged ICE abuses to hamper immigration enforcement (SPLC, NYT)

Senator Robert Menendez is a racial demagogue who supports massive Hispanic immigration (of any kind) in order to obtain political power. His latest trick to oppose immigration enforcement was a speech he gave on the Senate floor last week [1] in which he made several inflammatory statements about the government he supposedly works for and highlighted rare examples of abuses - some merely alleged - by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He also promised legislation concerning this issue. You can view the speech here and here.

From the inflammatory side of things, he refers to agents who "stormed" a house; he claims that there are "US citizens who are targeted because of their race, targeted because of their color"; he claims that "their accent, their name, the color of their skin, the place where they lived would have put them at risk" and that "fundamental Constitutional rights still might not apply to them, in today's America"; and that the "authorities harass U.S. citizens of Hispanic descent in other ways". And, much more. It won't be surprising that the New York Times editorial board calls it a "brave" speech (link). From Menendez' summary of the speech:

This afternoon, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) took to the floor of the Senate to deliver a major speech on immigration raids and detentions. He cited the numerous incidences of American citizens and legal permanent residents of Hispanic or other minority descent getting swept up in raids and the fear this has engendered in minority communities. Senator Menendez, who is the Senate sponsor of legislation to ensure basic medical care for detainees, also announced that he will be introducing legislation to prevent the unlawful detention of American citizens and permanent residents.

"The legitimate desire to get control over our borders has too often turned into a witch-hunt against Hispanic Americans and other people of color," said Senator Menendez. American citizens "are targeted because of their race, targeted because of their color--denied every fundamental right guaranteed by the United States Constitution. Common sense repeatedly loses out to hysteria, and agents of intolerance repeatedly jump over the legal protections to which every single American is entitled."

Consider this anecdote from his speech:

Another U.S. citizen named Gladis was at her home one day when eighteen vehicles drove into her front yard, and twenty agents jumped out.

Agents banged on the door and threatened to throw gas inside the house if they didn't let them in. While the children in the house ran and hid in the bedroom, the agents broke down the door.

One of the agents grabbed Gladis and attempted to handcuff her.

Gladis said she could prove her citizenship, and gave them her social security card. After interrogating Gladis and her family for twenty more minutes, the agents left as fast as they came - they had no warrant, no probable cause, no reason for their actions besides suspicion about someone's name, their accent, and the color of their skin.

What Menendez forgot to state is that that incident occurred during the raid in Stillmore, Georgia. In addition to raiding the chicken processing plant in that town, ICE also arrested illegal aliens in residential areas, and they claim that they visited specific locations in those residential areas based on information they obtained during the main raid. She and others are part of a lawsuit [2] brought by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a group indirectly linked to the Mexican government. See this for a description of the raid, with an ICE statement at the end. See the attempted class action complaint at [3]. Some abuses may have occurred, or the plaintiffs could be telling tall tales; in any case the situation is mitigated by the facts that Menendez didn't reveal. And, it's worth noting that after the raid the plant was forced to raise wages in order to hire legal workers; whose side is Menendez on?

Like others, Menendez also brings up the case of Pedro Guzman, a mentally impaired U.S. citizen who was deported to Mexico and only made it back three months later. He also discusses the recent Washington Post series, which is disputed by ICE.

And, he brings up the case of Maria Argueta, who's also currently suing ICE. She makes some generally unbelievable claims (link):

Once inside, the agents asked Argueta about her immigration status, and when Argueta presented her Temporary Protection Status documents, they tossed them aside without looking at them, the suit alleges.

According to the lawsuit, Argueta was taken to a detention center in Elizabeth, where agents mocked her with a popular Latino song "Maria Has Gone," and was later transferred to a Newark facility, where she was held for nearly 36 hours. Argueta was held without food or water for the first 24 hours after her arrest, the lawsuit claims.

Once again, while I'm sure that ICE abuses do occur, I tend to doubt her version of events.

[1] menendez.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=299036
[2] splcenter.org/legal/news/article.jsp?site_area=1&aid=221
[3] splcenter.org/pdf/dynamic/legal/manchaICE.pdf

Posted to Immigration2008a at 02:03 PM

Guillaume's Pick: Music Videos of the Week

My main computer's audio doesn't work due to a short of some kind. Thus, with much trepidation I turn to Team Lonewacko member Guillaume to provide us with this week's Music Videos of the Week. He assures me that the music on the following video is top-notch, even if the visuals would tend to give a different impression. He also says that if that's not good enough, this might be even better.

On the other hand, if it turns out that Guillaume is wrong, here are a few from a Hungarian folk-rock-ish band called Chalga (homepage), which not coincidentally is also the name of a musical style which is generally different: link, link, link. The first of those features the lead singer in a scarf, another "special interest" of Guillaume. All I remember about the last is that she keeps repeating something like "gar gush gergelyem" over and over. I have absolutely no idea what that means, but it obviously means something to her.

Posted to WackyHumor at 01:29 PM

Ross Perot is back, and he's got charts!

Ross Perot has a new site called PerotCharts.com (h/t David Broder, link). Watch the Larry King schedule for impending appearances. The charts on the site are related to and in part derived from the work done by former Comptroller General David Walker, who resigned earlier this year in order to better warn about runaway spending and deficits. Perot says he's not getting back into politics. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that immigration issues are discussed at the site, but perhaps that will change.

Posted to Politics at 01:13 PM

It it The Onion, or Reason Magazine?

Notice anything interesting about this libertarian-themed "American Voices" feature from The Onion?

Yes, that's right: by an odd coincidence, those last names are the same as the last names of several cherished staffers from Reason Magazine: reason.com/staff

As pointed out here many times, it's often difficult to tell the difference between satire and libertarian ideology, but at least they're entertaining.

Related:
A challenge for Drew Carey/Reason Magazine (and other open borders hacks)
Is Bryan Caplan the world's looniest libertarian? (give every Haitian a green card)
Free the Jefferson 1! (loony libertarians)
An Ayn Rand Institute flashback: "U.S. Should Not Help Tsunami Victims"

Posted to Bloggage at 12:46 PM

Barack Obama bill: global warming K-12 education, "national information campaign", i.e, propaganda

Almost a year and a half ago I created a satirical petition called "Require Global Warming Classes in All Public Schools" (link). A couple months ago I created a video with a similar theme.

From my humor to Barack Obama's seriousness, as a month ago he sponsored a bill called the "Climate Change Education Act" (S. 1389, link). Despite what this says, it doesn't seem to 'establish mandatory "climate change education"', but it comes close to that and in some ways it's even worse:

Congress finds that... greenhouse gases are accumulating in the atmosphere, causing global temperatures to rise at a rate that poses a significant threat to the economy and security of the United States, to public health and welfare, and to the global environment... there is scientific consensus that human activities are the major cause of atmospheric greenhouse gas accumulation... The Director of the National Science Foundation shall establish a Climate Change Education Program to... apply the latest scientific and technological discoveries to provide formal and informal learning opportunities to people of all ages, including those of diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds... The Climate Change Education Program shall include... a national information campaign to disseminate information on and promote implementation of the new technologies, programs, and incentives described [earlier in the bill]... a competitive grant program to provide grants to States, local municipalities, educational institutions, and other organizations to... create informal education materials, exhibits, and multimedia presentations relevant to climate change and climate science... develop climate science kindergarten through grade 12 curriculum and supplementary educational materials...

It doesn't take a weatherman to tell you how this would turn out: a massive propaganda effort designed to push just one theory, even if that theory is disputed by some. In other words, U.S.-style Lysenkoism.

Posted to Politics at 01:06 PM

Lou Dobbs not running for governor of New Jersey "right now"; Frank Sharry starts fake site; Nicole Gaoutte/LAT promotes

Lou Dobbs is rumored to be considering running for governor of New Jersey, but in a voice mail message to an NJ newspaper he denied it (link). Note, however, that he said he wasn't "considering anything right now", so that might change. Needless to say, such a rumor is like waving a red flag to corrupt bulls who support illegal activity.

In response, Frank Sharry of America's Voice has started a take-off site: dobbsforgovernor.com

Nicole Gaouette of the Los Angeles Times promotes that site here, under the inflammatory title "America's Voice to Lou Dobbs: You're a loser!":

Some sample campaign positions: 1. Build a Fence Around New Jersey; 2. Build like the biggest fence ever built around New Jersey; 5. Deport the Statue of Liberty back to France. Visitors to the site can submit their ideas -- in English only -- for a Dobbs campaign slogan contest. The winner will be printed on T-shirts that activists around the country will be able to buy online. The point, says America's Voice in this press release, is to shed light on "Dobbs and pundits like him, who think they can stir-up waves of anti-immigrant hysteria and ride them all the way to the statehouse, the White House or the Governor's mansion."

The site is also noted/promoted depending on your perspective here:
outsidethebeltway.com/archives/2008/06/lou_dobbs_for_governor

Before the Sharry site was announced, Think Progress offered a muted notice; their commenters supply the bile:
thinkprogress.org/2008/06/12/will-lou-dobbs-be-the-next-governor-of-new-jersey

Note that at the first link, a comment from "louie08" says "Hey I found this site" and provides a link to the Sharry site; at the ThinkProgress link "jlocke" says the same thing. A search of their site shows no previous comments from that user, although that doesn't mean that "jlocke" signed up just to post that comment. Or anthing like that!

Posted to Politics at 01:41 PM

Ron Paul suspends presidential campaign; how supporters could actually have an impact

Ron Paul has suspended his presidential campaign and will be transferring $4.7 million in donations to a new group to be called "The Campaign for Liberty". They'll be engaging in online advocacy via videos and blogs and supporting other candidates for office (link).

And, per reason.com/blog/show/127008.html, they'll be encouraging his delegates not to support John McCain but, in the words of spokesman Jesse Benton, to "become a positive presence on the convention floor."

As for 20,000 volunteer precinct leaders, Benton says they'll train them after which - wait for it - "we can take over the country".

With what, a blimp? Hanging "Google Ron Paul" signs off freeway overpasses?

Sorry, that's going to be even less effective than it was before.

A very effective technique that Ron Paul supporters could use would be to help discredit John McCain and Barack Obama by pointing out their lies and misleading statements and the obvious flaws in their policies. The less support they have, the more that will be available for Ron Paul.

The best way to do that is to go to a McCain or Obama appearance and ask them tough questions, then upload their responses to video sharing sites. If Obama is called on one of his lies and doesn't have much of a response, that's going to get hundreds of thousands or even millions of views, and it will have a major impact on the race.

That doesn't guarantee that Ron Paul will get votes out of the deal, but anything that reduces support for his opponents will increase his influence. Then again, who knows? If a question makes McCain look very bad, many people might look to Ron Paul as an alternative.

And, asking tough questions will also help discredit the mainstream media, showing large numbers of people just how weak the MSM's questions are.

Are you ready to get out there and ask tough questions? Here's something you can press McCain on. And, here are three questions for Obama. The last link is available in printable form, so even if you don't want to ask him personally, you can make copies and hand them out before his events.

Posted to Politics at 05:28 PM

Pr000n spotted in Google News

And, not the regular kind of imaginary pr000n involving Nancy Pelosi getting busy, but the real kind. Apparently their standards aren't as strict as I've heard.

There's a screenshot in the extended entry for those with a strong enough constitution.

Posted to WackyHumor at 05:19 PM

Barack Obama, the Chicago politician (moves DNC)

Barack Obama is moving parts of the Democratic National Committee ("DNC") to Chicago. While it's a wonderful town aside from being flat as a pancake, it's known for very dirty politics (in U.S. terms). So, Obama should fit right in.

Per this, "Obama's senior staff will largely take over the coordination of national campaign efforts and state-level efforts... Democratic field operations, constituency outreach and political operations will become one integrated operation under the plan, with the central brain trust in Chicago, explained the DNC source..." Howard Dean's 50-state scheme is also disfavored by the new leaders.

Posted to Politics at 01:50 PM

Accessible mouse idea developed during hike leads to learning fun Canadian facts

The World Wide Web is truly a wonderland of learning, and thus it was for me today. While out hiking I had an idea for an accessible mouse that would be easy to use for those with various disabilities.

Sadly, it looks like a team of students has already developed something that's more or less the idea I had (link). So, I guess you won't be calling me the next Bill Gates, at least because of that idea!

On the brighter side, the search that brought me to that page wasn't clogged with Wikipedia entries, but eventually after broadening the search I chanced upon that site. And, that's where I found the following graphic that contains at least three things I (and probably you) didn't know. The first, of course, is that the first trackball was invented in Canada. The second is that it was invented in 1952 instead of the late 60s or so. As for the third:

In the past I've had some fun with our neighbor to the north, something that's both politically acceptable and very easy. My overall impression is that they're basically like the U.S., just "rotated" one or two degrees. They're mostly like us, but different in minor but disconcerting ways, such as one might see in an old Twilight Zone episode. For instance, their stop signs say "Arret" too/aussi. Or, their street signs look like American street signs, but are in a weird font and with a weird color scheme. Or, all the other minor but curious differences.

But, five-pin bowling, a variant "only played in Canada" and created "in response to customers who complained that the ten-pin game was too strenuous"? And, complete with its own hand-sized rubber ball, non-standard terminology, and Associations [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five-pin_bowling]? Knowledge of this alone could end America's love affair with our Neighbors to the North.

Posted to WackyHumor at 10:15 PM

Jake Tapper "news" is two months old; ABC News deletes comment pointing that out

For an unknown reason, on June 10, 2008 Jake Tapper of ABC News posted an entry entitled "Dragged Kicking and Screaming, Tancredo Will Pull Lever for McCain". The reader might remember that from a couple months ago, yet Tapper posted it like it happened just recently and with no acknowledgement that it was old news (link). The Tancredo quote referencing Hillary Clinton as a contender should have been a clue, but I guess Tapper needs all the help he can get. Note also that the earliest comment on the entry is from June 10, and that it's currently in their "Recent Posts" sidebar item.

I left the following comment, which was deleted. Note that I used the name "TLB" and with a link to this site. It can't just be because I used a link, since someone else whose comment remains on the page has a link, and surely they must know that since there are nofollow tags on the links there's no "danger" in letting people put links there, right? So, I'm forced to conclude that ABC News doesn't want people to know that Tapper is serving up old news.

Here's the shocking comment that ABC News doesn't want anyone to see:

Perhaps someone should tell Tapper that the linked article is from two months ago. Someone should also tell him that Barr's position is more or less the same as McCain's.

Previously:
ABC News' Political Radar edits comments without notice

Posted to Politics at 08:05 PM

Hispanic Caucus has excellent advice for Obama: Hillary as Veep, immigration reform in 1st hundred days

In the past, I've considered the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to be simply a group of mostly vile racial demagogues whose only interest is in support of others of their race even if that's done at the expense of everyone else.

But, I was wrong! In actual fact, they're keen observers of the political scene who are now offering extremely valuable advice that Barack Obama is urged to follow (link):

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) must commit to helping illegal immigrants achieve citizenship or else risk losing the vital Latino vote in the general election, Hispanic Democratic lawmakers are warning.

If he does not promise so-called comprehensive immigration reform, the lawmakers say, the only other way to win over Hispanic supporters of his erstwhile rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), may be to pick her as his running mate...

...[CHC Chairman Rep. Joe Baca (D-Calif.)]... said that the CHC will be looking — but not necessarily asking — for Obama to make as strong of a pledge as Clinton did to putting comprehensive immigration reform on his "first 100 days" agenda...

Obama’s campaign coordinator for Spanish-language media, Vince Casillas, said that while Obama has promised to take up immigration reform in his first year in office, he has not yet laid out his detailed plan for comprehensive reform...

If anyone has a blog at Obama's site, please use it to help Obama see the light on this issue. Just don't let it be known that I suggested it, the BHO campaign might think I was trying to hurt their chances or something.

Also mentioned: Cuauhtemoc “Temo” Figueroa (National Latino Vote Director for Obama), who'll be meeting with the CHC.

In addition to Baca, those quoted include Reps. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) and Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.)

Note also this "interesting" comment:

"But Latinos are brand-loyal, and after the Clinton brand, the McCain brand is the second-strongest among Latinos because of his military service and his immigration record," [Cecilia Munoz, the senior vice president of research, advocacy and legislation with the National Council of La Raza] said.

Posted to Immigration2008a at 07:51 PM

Barack Obama VP vetter Jim Johnson tied to more than Countrywide (CFR, Bilderberg, Trilateral Commission)

From this:

Jim Johnson, the disciplined, discreet and obsessively meticulous vice presidential vetter for Barack Obama, is a stalwart of the Washington establishment... In the mid-1990s, he headed up a power trifecta: mortgage giant Fannie Mae, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Brookings Institution... Yet despite Johnson’s legendary fastidiousness, his high-profile campaign role has suddenly exposed him to questions about his financial dealings. The questions range from his relationship with the embattled CEO of mortgage lender Countrywide Financial to his more recent oversight roles on various corporate compensation committees that approved hefty executive pay packages... On Saturday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Johnson received at least $7 million worth of home loans from Countrywide through an informal program for friends of company CEO Angelo Mozilo that offered rates below the market average. At least four of the loans were issued while Johnson was employed either as the CEO or an outside consultant for Fannie Mae...

Obama was asked about this and gave an answer that even Jake Tapper couldn't spin his way (link).

But, there's much more to him. Even the WaPo admits that he's a "member of exclusive clubs such as American Friends of Bilderberg, the Trilateral Commission and the Council on Foreign Relations."

Barack Obama is truly the candidate of change.

More on the current Bilderberg meeting here, here, and elsewhere at that site; there was speculation that Obama and/or Clinton secretly attended one of their meetings but that hasn't been confirmed.

Posted to Politics at 01:15 PM

Barack Obama, John McCain to speak at National Council of La Raza convention (+Villaraigosa)

The annual National Council of La Raza convention - to be held July 12 to 15 in San Diego - will be a star-studded affair. We already knew that John McCain was going to speak to them, now comes the not-so-surprising word that Barack Obama will also make an appearance (link). Another attendee will be Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

See the first link for some of the reasons why McCain - and even the others - should give the "National Council of The Race" the cold shoulder, and if anyone wants to do a public service please go to one of McCain's events and point out some facts about the group and then ask him to reconsider.

Posted to Politics at 11:45 AM

Instapundit offers Katrina update, fails to note impact of illegal alien labor on issue

Glenn Reynolds (aka "Instapundit", "Insty", "seasonal GOP hack", etc.) sandwiches (pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/archives2/020261.php) an excerpt to this article about Katrina victims still living in hotels between "KATRINA UPDATE: Some receiving FEMA assistance unwilling to help themselves:" and "Read the whole thing."

Unfortunately, Insty doesn't appear to have covered the massive Katrina scandal foisted on the nation by both the GOP and Democratic leaderships, under which illegal aliens were allowed to move into the Gulf Coast and work for connected contractors. Absent such competition, those Insty is obviously complaining about would have more motivation to find work, and after all is said and done the influx of illegal labor will end up costing us far more than anything that crooked companies made on the deal.

Certainly, due to Insty's linking style he might have linked to something covering that issue with little more than a "heh" or a "huh", but I doubt it.

UPDATE: While I'm on the general Insty-bashing topic, could someone