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January 31, 2006
Paula Abdul is looking for love... on TV's "Love Smart"!
Sexy actress/model/cheerleader/choreographer/music critic/singer/Laker Girl/television star/accused contest-swayer/nail care expert Paula Abdul is single and looking for love.
In case she doesn't respond to my emails or she gets a TRO, she'll be featured on a Valentine's Day special on CBS called "Love Smart". And, she'll be getting help from an expert:
Dr. Phil and Abdul will "explore the life of an unmarried international celebrity who is looking for love."
Posted to Celebrities at 11:53 PM | Comments (0)
Tim Kaine's SOTU response
Virginia governor Tim Kaine responds to Bush's speech here:
The failure of the federal government to implement and enforce a rational immigration policy has resulted in a confusing patchwork of state and local efforts. We should welcome those who seek to lawfully join and contribute to our American family. At the same time, we must ensure that our homeland defense efforts begin with consistent federal action to protect our borders.
At first glance you might think it sounds more American than Bush's take on immigration. Then, you slap your forehead as you realize that Tim Kaine supports illegal immigration and you realize it's just a different flavor of dreck from that provided by Bush.
Posted to Immigration at 08:00 PM | Comments (2)
Bush's 2006 State of the Union address
Here's the full text of the speech.
Others say that the government needs to take a larger role in directing the economy, centralizing more power in Washington and increasing taxes. We hear claims that immigrants are somehow bad for the economy – even though this economy could not function without them. All these are forms of economic retreat, and they lead in the same direction – toward a stagnant and second-rate economy.
I haven't heard anyone argue that "immigrants" in general are bad for the economy. However, a large number of low-wage illegal immigrants are definitely bad for the U.S., especially for those on the lower end of the wage scale. As far as "second-rate" economies are concerned, we should be a bit more like Japan (innovation, robotics, etc.) rather than like those second- and third-rate economies that are still reliant on stoop serf labor.
Keeping America competitive requires an immigration system that upholds our laws, reflects our values, and serves the interests of our economy. Our Nation needs orderly and secure borders. To meet this goal, we must have stronger immigration enforcement and border protection. And we must have a rational, humane guest worker program that rejects amnesty ... allows temporary jobs for people who seek them legally ... and reduces smuggling and crime at the border.
We need a president that "that upholds our laws" rather than one that tries to subvert them. Under Bush enforcement has fallen even lower than what it was under Clinton. He could do much more enforcement if he wanted. He doesn't want to because he's corrupt.
And, a "guest worker program" is amnesty. And, those "guests" will never go home. Very few people are aware of just how anti-American Bush's guest worker plan was intended to be.
Back to Our Leader:
Our economy is healthy, and vigorous, and growing faster than other major industrialized nations. In the last two-and-a-half years, America has created 4.6 million new jobs – more than Japan and the European Union combined. Even in the face of higher energy prices and natural disasters, the American people have turned in an economic performance that is the envy of the world.
However, see this and from this:
an analysis of the latest Census Bureau data shows that between March of 2000 and March of 2004, the number of adults working actually increased, but all of the net change went to immigrant workers. The number of adult immigrants (18 years of age and older) holding a job increased by over two million between 2000 and 2004, while the number of adult natives holding a job is nearly half a million fewer.
And, American teens are being boxed out of low-wage jobs by illegal aliens.
Posted to Politics at 06:16 PM | Comments (3)
Live-blogging the 2006 State of the Union address
Later today, I'll be live-blogging it. Well, actually, I'll try to find a disembargoed copy and quickly summarize it. Then, I'll watch an old Alf episode.
I predict that Bush's SOTU will include the following or very close equivalents:
"we need comprehensive reform of our broken immigration system"
"good-hearted people doing jobs Americans won't do"
"match willing workers with willing employers"
There's a roundup of his past mentions of "guest" worker schemes here. They think he'll concentrate on the border security bits and leave out the "willing workers" bits. Since Bush already has this memorized, I think he'll include them. We shall see.
UPDATE: Here my SOTU discussion.
Posted to Politics at 01:45 PM | Comments (0)
Lawyers: make big money suing illegal alien employers!
Zirkle Fruit is an apple producer in eastern Washington, and they recently settled a lawsuit brought by former legal workers. Those workers alleged that Zirkle hired illegal aliens in order to drive down their wages. The settlement amount was $1.3 million. Not exactly a large amount, but the lawyers involved will probably get a good part of that and there's much more where that came from....Lawyers now begin the task of locating and notifying Zirkle employees eligible for an undetermined share of the settlement funds.There's background on the case in "RICO: A New Tool for Immigration Law Enforcement":
Eligible workers would be those who have legal work documents or are U.S. citizens and were employed during the class period beginning Nov. 5, 1999, through Sept. 8, 2004.
Volk told the judge he was not certain how much money eligible workers might receive. But he said it would be based on hours worked during the class period and likely would be less than $2 an hour...
Olivia Mendoza is an agricultural worker in Washington state's fruit industry, and, while the fruit business in Washington is a billion-dollar-per-year industry, she and many of her co-workers live in poverty. Part of their poverty is due to the fact that some employers, like Ms. Mendoza's, lower industry wages by illegally hiring low-skill foreign nationals without proper work authorization.See also "Illegal Alien Employer Capitulates - Most Important Victory Since Proposition 187" and this from 2002.
Not only do these illegal aliens work for less than US citizens and legal workers, like Ms. Mendoza, they also accept inferior and even unsafe working conditions. Aside from perpetuating poverty among illegal aliens themselves, the hiring of illegal aliens also suppresses wages and worsens working conditions for legal employees like Olivia Mendoza. Fortunately for her and thousands of Americans in similar circumstances, there is recourse...
Previously:
How to make big money with illegal immigration
Are you a lawyer who likes money?
New South Federal Savings Bank... and RICO?
Idaho county sues illegal alien employers under RICO
"Forging a New Use for Civil RICO"
Federal Court OKs Suit Against Tyson for Hiring Illegal Aliens
Posted to Immigration at 01:35 PM | Comments (0)
"Homeland Security:Safe Deposit Boxes Are Fair Game"
Conspiracy Planet? OK, so we're dipping a bit low in the barrel, but:Homeland Security has begun exercising its new power to 'identify' the contents of your safe deposit box.Perhaps even lower down:
This news should be seen in the context of the many rumors floating around on the internet.
The so-called temporary re-authorization of the PATRIOT I and II legislation included the power, which gives the Department of Homeland Security an unprecedented power to 'identify' assets held in citizens' private safe deposit boxes...
According to in-house memos now circulating, the DHS has issued orders to banks across America which announce to them that "under the Patriot Act" (whatever that crap means) the DHS has the absolute right to seize, without any warrant whatsoever, any and all customer bank accounts, to make "periodic and unannounced" visits to any bank to open and inspect the contents of "selected safe deposit boxes." Further, these boxes, taken from a DHS list of people who are considered "hostile to the present government, citizens who have visited outside the United States before or after 9/11 to countries now considered to be hostile to this country" " :Russia, Peoples Republic of China, Mexico, Guatemala, Spain, Italy, Egypt, France, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Turkey or the Sudan" or any citizen who has a bank account in any of those listed countries are considered to be of legitimate interest in the "ongoing investigations into foreign and domestic terrorism."However, from the April 1, 2005 AP report "Government wiretaps, searches up 75 percent":
...Operating with permission from a secretive U.S. court that meets regularly at Justice headquarters, the FBI has used such warrants to break into homes, offices, hotel rooms and automobiles, install hidden cameras, search luggage and eavesdrop on telephone conversations. Agents also have pried into safe deposit boxes, watched from afar with video cameras and binoculars and intercepted e-mails...
Posted to Privacy at 07:42 AM | Comments (2)
Pacific News Service: "Tired of the White Left"
It takes the Pacific News Service to feature a column called "Tired of the White Left":Editor's Note: NAM contributor Roberto Lovato is attending the World Social Forum in Caracas, where more than 60,000 people, half of them from outside Venezuela, have gathered for the annual event. His impressions will be posted throughout the week.How sad. But, I guess if the white left revolutionary vanguard is of the wrong color than new leaders of the proper color must be found. It's time they knew their place. I guess Katrina vanden Heuvel will have to find a new proletariat to champion.
CARACAS, Venezuela -- Standing proudly beneath the statue of Latin American liberator, Simon Bolivar, located at the center of a Caracas plaza, World Social Forum delegate Dorothea Manuela says she feels more at home here than she does standing near the statues of dead white revolutionary men dotting parks back home in Boston.
"It's inspiring to come here and see people from all over the world leading their own struggles," she says. I ask her about the leadership of struggles in the United States and the beaming smile of the self-described "black woman who is ethnically Puerto Rican" disappears.
"Being here reminds me how very important it is for all of us to change the U.S. But we can't change the U.S. unless we all deal with the white left's racism and privilege" says the statuesque "fifty plus" Manuela. Along with members of her Boston-based Rosa Parks Coalition, Manuela and many of the World Social Forum delegation from the U.S. are delivering a strong message to the thousands attending the global gathering: We (nonwhites/people of color) can lead ourselves. Whites do not speak for all of us...
...The racial dynamics at the Foro seem more like the dynamics on the field of the World Cup, where the non-white majority exercise leadership concomitant with their numbers, while whites have their place too. The tenor here touches on a shift in the way movements have historically been carried out in the U.S. "Why don't they come here to Latin America to lead struggles here?" asks Dorothea Manuela. "Because they know they can't. Why do they lead struggles in places where they are now a minority? Because we let them – and that has to change. That will change."
Another World Is Possible.
In other sad news, we learn that, supposedly, no one talked to Cindy Sheehan at an event at which she had supposedly received top billing.
Posted to MultiCultiCult at 04:41 AM | Comments (0)
Bellwood, IL: school kids beat up UPS driver
A UPS driver was beaten up by 15 to 20 school-age kids who surrounded his vehicle in Bellwood Illinois. Video at the link. They apparently came from a nearby middle school. Are we Brazil yet?
The driver appears to be white, and based on the demographics there's an 80% chance that the perps were black.
Your assignment:
1. Spot the first "liberal" who claims the driver had it coming.
2. Spot the first "liberal" who claims the perps are just misunderstood.
3. Assuming my presumption above is correct, spot all the "liberals" who will not even consider this to have been a hate crime, but who would have rushed to call it that if the (presumed) races were reversed.
Posted to MultiCultiCult at 01:31 AM | Comments (4)
January 30, 2006
"Mexican police arrest four illegal Iraqis"
MEXICO CITY - Mexican federal agents have arrested four Iraqis trying to sneak into the United States without proper documents, the government said Monday.The AP says their last names indicate they're Christians, by which they presumably mean Chaldeans.
Wasim Francis Schamoun and Ivan Yalda, both 23, and Refon Chlil Oraha and Thaer Salem Yelda, both 27, were found on a bus in the northern city of Navajoa after police received an anonymous tip, the attorney general's office said in a statement.
The Iraqis were in Mexico illegally, the statement said...
Posted to Immigration_terror at 11:06 PM | Comments (0)
Patriot Act creates new federal police force with broad powers; security force for foreign consulates
The Patriot Act creates a "United States Secret Service Uniformed Division" that is "subject to the supervision of the Secretary of Homeland Security."The new police are empowered to "make arrests without warrant for any offense against the United States committed in their presence, or for any felony cognizable under the laws of the United States if they have reasonable grounds to believe that the person to be arrested has committed or is committing such felony."And, from this we learn that the USSS has other powers as well:
The new police are assigned a variety of jurisdictions, including "an event designated under section 3056(e) of title 18 as a special event of national significance" (SENS).
"A special event of national significance" is neither defined nor does it require the presence of a "protected person" such as the president in order to trigger it. Thus, the administration, and perhaps the police themselves, can place the SENS designation on any event. Once a SENS designation is placed on an event, the new federal police are empowered to keep out and to arrest people at their discretion...
This DHS/USSS Praetorian Guard also doubles as…a security force for foreign consulates on American soil...UPDATE: Fox has apparently been looking into this, but they don't go into the consulate connection:
...Given the threat of warrantless arrest powers for the new federal police, the DHS/USSS consular guards could quickly be brought in to squash dissent from any pesky but peaceful patriotic protesters who just might happen to show up outside the offices of foreign consulates in the future...
...These facilitators of "tolerance" for foreign meddling, Open Borders and illegal alien amnesty just might be sporting new Secret Service uniforms, serving under the direction of the President of the United States and the Homeland Security Secretary.
So, for all of the peaceful Minuteman Project volunteers out there across this great land, enjoy your First Amendment freedom to assemble peaceably while you still can.
And be advised that the days of anti-Matricula Consular Card demonstrations outside of Mexican Consulates may be numbered...
A new provision tucked into the Patriot Act bill now before Congress would allow authorities to haul demonstrators at any "special event of national significance" away to jail on felony charges if they are caught breaching a security perimeter.The ACLU and Bob Barr are opposed to it; an FPM writer says that's just more Bush-bashing.
Sen. Arlen Specter , R-Pa., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sponsored the measure, which would extend the authority of the Secret Service to allow agents to arrest people who willingly or knowingly enter a restricted area at an event, even if the president or other official normally protected by the Secret Service isn't in attendance at the time.
Under current law, the Secret Service can arrest anyone for breaching restricted areas where the president or a protected official is or will be visiting, but the new provision would allow such arrests even after those VIPs have left the premises of any designated "special event of national significance." The provision would increase the maximum penalty for such an infraction from six months to one year in jail.There's more at the link.
In a post-Sept. 11 world many non-political events have been designated National Special Security Events and would rise to the higher status. Examples of possible NSSEs are the Olympics or the Super Bowl. In 2004, the presidential inaugural balls and President Ronald Reagan's June funeral procession in Washington, D.C., were designated NSSEs...
A spokesman at Specter's office said the senator was surprised by the clamor over the provision, which merely makes a technical change to clear up legal confusion over who has arresting authority at NSSEs. His office had no further comment on the provision. Committee Ranking Member Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., also declined comment. Republican and Democratic House Judiciary Committee leaders did not return calls for comment.
White House sources say the measure was not instigated by the administration and pointed out that it was a stand-alone bill that was rolled into the Patriot Act by Specter's office during House-Senate conference negotiations. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told FOXNews.com that the White House would not comment on the intent of the measure, but that the president is concerned with preserving individual rights.
"President Bush is committed to protecting the American people's national security as well as their civil liberties," she said.
Secret Service representatives said the agency does not comment on pending legislation...
Posted to Politics at 10:10 PM | Comments (2)
Special Order 40: "Jack Dunphy", Daryl Gates, Mike Carona, Police Commission
The pseudonymous LAPD cop "Jack Dunphy" gives an overview of Los Angeles' sanctuary city policy here:...Since 1979, when the LAPD enacted Special Order 40, police officers in Los Angeles have been prohibited from taking any action "with the objective of discovering the alien status of a person," and from detaining or arresting anyone based solely on the suspicion that he has illegally entered the country. "Undocumented alien status in itself is not a matter for police action," the policy states. "It is, therefore, incumbent on all employees of [the LAPD] to make a personal commitment to equal enforcement of the law and service to the public, regardless of alien status."In related news, there's some kind of a video apparently featuring Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona, former LAPD Chief Daryl Gates and LA Police Commission Presidents Edith Perez and Rick Caruso here. I didn't watch it and I don't know if it has exclusive interviews or compilations or what.
...the LAPD is set to issue a directive intended to clarify what its officers should and should not do when dealing with criminal suspects believed to be in the country illegally. The measure was discussed last week at a meeting of the Los Angeles police commission, the civilian panel that oversees the city's police department...
...But the mere suggestion that the LAPD may reexamine the constraints that Special Order 40 places on its officers has triggered alarm in immigrants'-rights circles. "How do you make sure that the policy doesn't spill into other abuses?" said Linton Joaquin of the National Immigration Law Center. "Our concerns are that the [LAPD] not get into the business of immigration enforcement."
In other words, because there is risk of abuse, why do anything at all about the epidemic of crimes committed by illegal aliens? Such talk is falling on increasingly deaf ears these days, especially in those cities hardest hit by the crime wave Mac Donald described in her House subcommittee testimony...
Posted to Immigration at 08:29 PM | Comments (0)
Kiefer Sutherland wins SAG award
The Screen Actors Guild has selected "Kief" as Best Actor for his work on the television series 24.
In other news, sources say that he's dating "stunning PR executive" Tricia Cardozo. Whether that source is actually the stunning PR executive herself remains unclear.
Recently, "Kief" also seems to have engaged in wild antics at a local establishment. A certain "dynamic public relations executive" was not happy with his previous antics.
And, America's favorite RINO Sen. John McCain will be appearing on a February episode of 24.
And, here are some Kiefer Sutherland pics I took during the filming of the TV show 24 back in 2002.
Posted to Celebrities at 01:12 PM | Comments (0)
AP's Martiga Lohn offers pro-illegal immigration propaganda
Yet another PIIPP from the AP:M.M. is a small man and he speaks softly, but he wants his words to be heard.He apparently entered illegally and applied for asylum. His application was denied, and despite that he's continued to remain here. And, he has three U.S. citizen children. Obviously a difficult situation, and that's just the way the AP likes it. While we need to have some degree of fairness, supporters of illegal immigration would like to apply that same "fairness" to anyone who can manage to sneak over the border.
M.M. -- he asked that he be identified only by his initials because immigration authorities could deport him if they find him -- has lived in the area around the meatpacking town of Worthington for more than a dozen years, the past five illegally.
He disagrees with what politicians and officials are saying about getting tough on illegal immigrants, but he says most people like him are afraid to make noise.
"I want this to be heard for all the people," M.M. said this month at a community education center. "We are all afraid to speak up. That's what's happening. The reason we're afraid is we don't have the documentation. As human beings, we all have rights -- this is how it should be."
Then, we get into the corruption angle:
No one knows for sure how many of the immigrants living in Worthington -- they make up a third of the town's 11,300 residents -- are illegal. Social service providers don't ask. Neither do the police, unless they're investigating document fraud or other crimes related to a person's immigration status, Police Chief Mike Cumiskey said.So, basically, the local cops look the other way. A question: if the local pork plant cost the town money, would they still look the other way? Do they look the other way because the pork plant brings in most of the town's money? What do we normally call such a situation?
But Jose Comparan, an immigrant from Mexico, says a large share of the immigrants who work at Worthington's pork plant are living in the country illegally.
Sean McHugh, vice president of communications for Swift & Co., which owns the plant, declined to comment. McHugh said the Greeley, Colo.-based company is looking closely at the issue of immigration. The Worthington plant employs about 2,000 people.
Posted to Immigration_piipps at 12:59 PM | Comments (1)
Cynthia Tucker is an idiot
Posted to Immigration at 04:56 AM | Comments (5)
Mexican immigration official arrested for smuggling illegal aliens
MEXICO CITY - The U.S. Border Patrol arrested a Mexican immigration official who was allegedly trying to help a group of undocumented migrants sneak into the United States, the Mexican government said Sunday.
Immigration agent Francisco Javier Gutierrez was arrested at a checkpoint near Alamogordo, N.M., about 100 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border, the Mexican Interior Department said in a news release.
Gutierrez had been fired on corruption allegations last year but returned to his job after winning a court case in which he claimed he had been unfairly dismissed, according to the National Immigration Institute...
Posted to Immigration at 04:20 AM | Comments (2)
Brownsville Herald offers joke article about border security
Remember the old joke?Q. Why are there so many trees on the streets of Paris?Now, in an attempt to do that old chestnut one better, Sara Ines Calderon offers "Border violence likely affecting migrants":
A. So the German soldiers can march in the shade.
A recent wave of violence against Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley has the potential to harm immigrants who pass through here.Keep planting those trees.
..."When millions of Mexicans crossing the border are perceived as enemies, they are going to try to respond to that situation," said Ignacio Corona, professor of Mexican and Latin American Cultures at Ohio State University.
...Increased enforcement at the border — more Border Patrol agents for example — makes migrants more desperate, driving them to extreme measures or dangerous geography, according to Karl Eschbach, a demographer who studied the causes of migrant deaths along the U.S.-Mexico border in the early 1990s through 2003.
"It would affect the ordinary labor migrant who attempts to come across, and I can't imagine that it's affecting them for the good," Eschbach said. "As enforcement becomes more effective, there becomes a motivation to act in a desperate way."
Some call this trend "increased militarization" of the border, which Corona said is bound to increase violence. A stronger militarized presence at the border makes smugglers, and by extension immigrants, more desperate, a perfect recipe for violence.
"Forces are going to be opposed, and they are going to provoke some kind of response, some kind of retaliation," he said. "If you don't have a weapon, you are going to use a stone."
Posted to Immigration at 03:53 AM | Comments (1)
January 29, 2006
Cindy Sheehan plants a wet one on Hugo Chavez
Maybe he could convince her to stay. In related news:
CARACAS, Jan 29 (IPS) - An informal International Women's Tribunal, meeting at the sixth World Social Forum in the Venezuelan capital, found "imperialism" and U.S. President George W. Bush guilty of violating the human rights of people in countries like Iraq and Cuba...And:
Among the many events at this year’s World Social Forum in Caracas was the WOMEN SAY NO TO WAR gathering featuring Cindy Sheehan. Venezuela president Hugo Chavez called Sheehan "Ms. Hope."Other pictures of Cindy and one of Susan "Medea" Benjamin at the last link.
UPDATE: Wouldn't you like to live in Cindy's commune too?
CARACAS, Venezuela - Cindy Sheehan, the peace activist who just announced that she is weighing a run for Senate, plans to protest again outside President Bush's Texas ranch, Venezuela's president said Sunday with Sheehan by his side.(Pic above via this)
"She invited me to put up a tent. Maybe I'll put up my tent also," Chavez said, to applause from activists invited to his weekly broadcast on the final day of the leftist World Social Forum...
Posted to ThePeaceMovement at 09:06 PM | Comments (3)
Stewart Simonson: another crony in a key position?
60 Minutes has a report on the Department of Health and Human Services ordering just 100,000 doses of a drug designed to combat the effects of a dirty bomb: "The Worst-Case Scenario". HHS says it's just their first order and there will be more to come. The company that developed the drug was counting on getting a much larger contract and says unless they and other companies get a firmer commitment it might be a while before major production could begin. And, needless to say, that might be too late.Certainly, we need to subtract from the equation both the company's biases and 60 Minutes' - especially Ed Bradley's - demonstrated biases. However:
...Who made the decision to buy 100,000 doses instead of 10 million? It was Stewart Simonson, the man who oversees Project Bioshield. Simonson is a Republican political appointee who, before running Project Bioshield, was a lawyer for Amtrak. Republicans as well as Democrats have criticized his management of the program.From back in October: Is Stewart Simonson qualified to lead our pandemic response?
"Secretary Simonson just appears to be over his head on this particular issue," says Rep. Tom Davis, a Virginia Republican, who chairs the committee that oversees Project Bioshield.
Davis, who usually supports the administration, is taking the unusual step of calling in this story for Simonson’s removal from Bioshield...
There's certainly a chance that he's being unjustly criticized. However, given the Bush administration's history of appointing unqualified joke candidates (Harriet Miers, Julie Myers, Michael Brown, etc.) and given the importance of his job, can we afford to take any chances?
Perhaps it's time for sane Republicans to start thinking about how all this looks and start opposing the Bush administration rather than taking the eventual heat for supporting them.
Posted to Politics at 08:14 PM | Comments (0)
Goodbye, Year of the Cock
It was a mixed year, starting with the secret thrill I obtained from going to Chinatown and verifying with a couple of not-entirely-fluent English speakers that we were indeed in the Year of the Cock. But, it's now a whole new animal:In Chinese astrology, the dog is the most likable, honest and straightforward of all animals. Its influence is expected to bring a year of justice and harmony.
Each year of the Chinese 12-year zodiac is dominated by an animal. And each year also comes under the influence of one of the five elements - fire, water, wind, earth and wood. This year is a fire year...
Posted to WackyHumor at 01:39 PM | Comments (0)
Dave Montgomery of KRT on Rob Allyn, Mexico's propagandist
Knight-Ridder's Dave Montgomery offers a very standard sketch of Rob Allyn, the Dallas PR consultant who's been hired to spread Mexican propaganda in the U.S.: "Mexico hires public relations firm to improve its image in U.S."
There is absolutely nothing new about Allyn in this article, but if you aren't familiar with his story check it out. You'll note that - like all the other sources who've more or less provided free advertising for his campaign - Dave Montgomery fails to ask Allyn if he's already registered or intends to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act:
The purpose of FARA is to insure that the American public and its law makers know the source of information (propaganda) intended to sway public opinion, policy, and laws. In 1938, the FARA was Congress' response to the large number of German propaganda agents in the pre-WWII U.S... ...An agent of a Foreign principal is any individual or organization which acts at the order, request, or under the direction or control of a foreign principal, or whose activities are directed by a foreign principal who: ... 2. acts in a public relations capacity for a foreign principal...
Obviously, Knight-Ridder's readers should be informed whether Allyn is a Registered Foreign Agent or not. Wouldn't a news organization that's seeking the truth rather than offering a flattering portrait try to find that out? Isn't that what those "journalists" are supposed to do? After reading this article, should we consider KRT a real news organization, or should we consider them simply a propaganda tool?
Note also this:
A small group of protesters aligned with anti-immigrant groups protested outside his office last week
And, for you people at the lower levels:
But, in a telephone interview from his Dallas office, Allyn said his company has "been flooded" with supportive telephone calls and e-mails, many of them from CEOs and senior political figures. "They've all been congratulatory and encouraging us," he said. "People at that level understand the value of Mexico as a trading partner."
There's another thing for Knight-Ridder to look into. Which politicians have called Allyn congratulating him on his efforts? Shouldn't the public know about that? A real news organization might look into that.
Since this report appeared in the Wichita Eagle, please take a moment and ask Sherry Chisenhall, their editor. This might be an address for KRT: news@krtinfo.com
Previously: Ruben Navarrette Jr. defends his friend, Rob Allyn, LULAC criticizes Mexico's pro-illegal immigration propaganda, New York Times' Simon Romero does Rob Allyn's work for him, Rob Allyn is a "longtime Bush family adviser"; Foreign Agents Registration Act? and Mexico agitating international community, Fifth Columnists against U.S.
Posted to Immigration at 01:52 AM | Comments (1)
January 28, 2006
LAUSD: Johnnie Cochran Middle School
On the 24th, the Los Angeles Unified School District unanimously voted to rename Mt. Vernon Middle School (near Crenshaw and Venice) in honor of Johnnie Cochran. He attended that school as a lad:
"This extraordinary, superb lawyer with movie-star celebrity status was an outstanding student at Mt. Vernon Middle School and Los Angeles High School," principal Scott Schmerelson told the Associated Press.
His client list included: Todd Bridges, Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg, and Sean "P. Diddy" Combs. Oh, and also Michael Jackson and O.J. Simpson.
"It's in bad taste," Denise Brown told Reuters. "Yeah, he was a great defense attorney. But what about your moral obligation to children and society?"
Somewhat related: Oakland's proposal to rename Jefferson Elementary School.
Posted to Los_Angeles at 02:06 PM | Comments (1)
Mayor Mike Bloomberg supports illegal immigration... again!
New York City's mayor says illegal aliens don't cost the state money. Perhaps he'd be willing to put his money where his mouth is: let's do a complete accounting, and give or take from Bloomberg the costs. Of course, there are major non-economic costs, and some of those - like giving a foreign power increased political power inside our country - are a bit hard to put a dollar figure on.While we're waiting, perhaps he should produce the studies:
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Friday that illegal immigration doesn't drive up costs for New York City taxpayers because illegals don't utilize the services that are available to them.He also show he knows his canards:
Challenged by a caller who complained during Bloomberg's weekly WABC Radio show that illegal immigration had caused health care costs to spiral out of control, the mayor cited unnamed studies that he said prove the charge simply isn't true...
...Bloomberg said illegal immigrants were an essential part of the U.S. economy, saying: "All the jobs that they do - who would fill those jobs? Nobody else is willing to do it."Corrupt or just an idiot? You decide.
Besides, he added, "We're not going to go deport 12-plus million undocumenteds."
Instead, [he] proposed an amnesty program for those illegals already here, telling WABC: "Let's give them - let's get control of the borders and give those that are here a card where they don't have to worry. And if they want to become citizens, that's great."
Previously: "Mayor Bloomberg has betrayed all the legal residents of New York City", "Mayor Mike fully supports illegal immigration" and "New York City blacks have a friend in Mayor Mike Bloomberg". From the not-completely-idiotic side comes: Bloomberg opposes non-citizen voting for New Yorkers and "NYT, Bloomberg against non-citizen voting".
Posted to Immigration at 02:22 AM | Comments (4)
January 27, 2006
UC study: by Third Grade, Preschool benefits disappear
More bad news for Meathead, aka "Rob Reiner". He's trying to push through a free-preschool-for-all proposition in California. That would probably eventually result in mandatory preschool. Past coverage starts here. There's been a massive TV and radio propaganda effort, and it might have paid off among voters who are unable to investigate all the downsides and hidden assumptions of Reiner's statistics.Now:
As proponents of universal preschool in California kicked off their campaign with news of an upbeat poll, a study on the lasting effects of preschool indicates many of its benefits may wear off by the time students reach third grade.However, Reiner's popularity is pretty low, so maybe the voters will have second thoughts once they realize who's agenda all those cuddly commercials have been promoting.
The University of California study, parts of which will be released today at a Sacramento conference, focuses on non-English-speaking children who went to preschool. Students who had gone to preschool gained a head start on literacy and language skills that gave them a leg up through third grade, according to the study by UC Santa Barbara professor Russell Rumberger, director of the UC Linguistic Minority Research Institute.
Rumberger's national study comes as the universal preschool camp, led by Hollywood movie director Rob Reiner, campaigns to convince voters that all 4-year-olds would benefit from a year of free preschool and that every public dollar spent on universal preschool would result in future savings on education, crime reduction and social services.
Other studies, among numerous attempts to assess the impact of preschool in general, have established that universal preschool gives children a boost in kindergarten and beyond.
The Reiner camp hopes to increase attendance to at least 70 percent of all 4-year-olds. The campaign is starting on a high note with results from a statewide survey by the Public Policy Institute of California showing that 63 percent of likely voters support the initiative...
Posted to California at 09:06 PM | Comments (1)
Blagojevich gives illegal aliens better deal than veterans
Gov. Rod Blagojevich of Illinois is truly a piece of work. His latest attempt to give benefits to illegal aliens is opening a state-sponsored low-interest mortgage loan program to citizens of other countries who are here illegally:"People who are working hard, paying their taxes, are of good moral character ... regardless of their immigration status, they, too, should be able to share in the American dream," U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) told reporters at a December 11 service at New Zion Baptist Church in Chicago, where Blagojevich announced the program.Thankfully, that "back and forth" has just ended, with the American side winning.
"Buying a home is a key first step for many working families to start realizing the American Dream," Blagojevich said in a statement. "But when you are paid in cash, or you can't open a checking account or establish a credit history, applying for a mortgage loan is a lot more difficult. That's why we created the Opportunity I-Loan program to help Latino families, African-American families, Asian-American families, and so many other families qualify for a loan and buy a home."
...One of those [Republican candidates for governor], state Sen. Bill Brady (R-Bloomington), said he intends to introduce a bill to prohibit state-backed loans to anybody but legal Illinois residents. He said people he has met on the campaign trail are outraged over the idea of the state backing loans for illegal aliens.
"The general public is furious, to say the least," Brady said. "I'm a state senator, and I heard about this Saturday and he announced it on Sunday." The program went into effect the next day...
..."Our governor is sending a message: Break our laws and we'll reward you with a new home," [candidate Jim Oberweis] said. "It's absolutely insane. We are going to reward people who are here illegally with more attractive interest rates than we give to our veterans, people who have risked their lives for our country...
...Gerardo Cardenas, a spokesman for Blagojevich, said the governor decided not to go to lawmakers with the program partly because of problems in neighboring Wisconsin, which launched a similar program about a year ago.
"In Wisconsin they went through the legislators to do this, and it has been back and forth with the governor and legislators," Cardenas said. A bill that would end Wisconsin's program is under consideration...
Previously: Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich gets a $720,000 heated driveway and Jim Oberweis for Illinois governor. There are even more shocking Blago posts to come in the near future.
Posted to Immigration at 01:14 PM | Comments (0)
AVWatch gets competition from other site
Over the past several months I've posted a few entries about L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and I've put "AVWatch" in the title to make it easier to find them (use the search box to the right).
I recently discovered a site dedicated solely to keeping a close eye on the person some call "mayor reconquista": "Antonio Watch". It doesn't seem to have anything on MEChA or Tony Villar's other past unsavory activities and associations, concentrating instead on recent events. Hopefully they'll get around to that and thereby reduce my workload.
Posted to Los_Angeles at 01:07 PM | Comments (1)
"New Immigration Strategy: Koreans Send Children to America for Adoption"
The Pacific News Service - naturally - treats this as an acceptable practice, but perhaps some immigration official somewhere will look into this scam:SAN FRANCISCO--A growing number of South Korean parents are paying retired couples in the United States to adopt their children. These Korean parents say teaching their children English is a priority, as well as other factors including avoiding compulsory military service for young men and gaining the prestige of an American education.Related: Korean anchor babies and "birth tourism"
One out of three Korean parents are willing to send their children abroad for the sake of a better education, according to a study by the Center for Korean Education Development in Seoul in the Korea Times. In the past, parents would ask relatives living in the United States to adopt their children, but more parents are now seeking out Caucasian families.
The Korea Times in Los Angeles reported the story of a Korean woman in Los Angeles on a work visa and employed as a nurse. She wished to bring her two teenage children to the United States from Korea and paid a retired American couple to adopt them...
Posted to Immigration at 11:09 AM | Comments (1)
Halliburton gets $385 Million detention facilities contract
Halliburton's KBR subsidiary has got yet another "Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity" contract, and this one is of interest both from the immigration and the tin-foil hat perspective. It involves building detention centers. Of course, detention centers are "multi-use facilities" and can be used to keep people in, keep people out, transship people, and so on. They could be used in case of a natural disaster to provide emergency housing. Or, in the case of the bird flu to detain victims, even against their will. Or, they could be used for mass deportations of illegal aliens. Or, they could be used to detain the millions of illegal aliens who'd come here if Mexico completely collapsed. A million and one uses. From this (also here, here, and here):...The contract, which is effective immediately, provides for establishing temporary detention and processing capabilities to augment existing [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)] Detention and Removal Operations (DRO) Program facilities in the event of an emergency influx of immigrants into the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs. The contingency support contract provides for planning and, if required, initiation of specific engineering, construction and logistics support tasks to establish, operate and maintain one or more expansion facilities.This isn't an entirely new idea; KBR had a similar contract from 2000 to 2005. However, considering Katrina, the bird flu, and the heating up immigration situation it seems to have a bit more saliency. UPDATE: More details in "Deal struck to build immigration jails".
The contract may also provide migrant detention support to other U.S. Government organizations in the event of an immigration emergency, as well as the development of a plan to react to a national emergency, such as a natural disaster. In the event of a natural disaster, the contractor could be tasked with providing housing for ICE personnel performing law enforcement functions in support of relief efforts.
Posted to Miscellania at 10:40 AM | Comments (0)
"Banks aim to help immigrants send money home"
What a heart-warming title to this CSM report. Of course, they don't go into the downsides: billions of dollars is flowing out of the country and being used to prop up corrupt foreign governments and depriving those countries of the citizens and industries they need to improve. And, that encourages those corrupt governments to send us even more of their people. And, many of those "immigrants" are in fact illegal aliens. And, that leads to banks and other remittance companies profiting off illegal immigration and that leads to political corruption as politicians are given donations by those companies and then look the other way.And, it has this:
...As part of a global effort to lower remittance costs, the US government recently began working with the Mexican government, numerous banks, and nonprofit groups to launch two initiatives.The Bush administration is deeply involved in supporting the moves outlined above. Whether they're leading the banks or the banks are leading them isn't known. In either case they're completely corrupt.
One, the New Alliance Task Force (NATF), focuses on providing immigrants' accounts with low-cost remittance services while promoting financial literacy. The other initiative allows US bank customers to send money to a Mexican bank account at low cost through the Federal Reserve's Automated Clearing House's international wire-transfer service, Directo a Mexico. Most banks offering this service charge the sender between $2.50 and $3 per transaction, according to the GAO. The recipient Mexican bank receives a share of 67 cents, and is not permitted to charge the recipient any other fees.
Both programs are geared toward Latin Americans, who send an estimated $30 billion abroad each year. Most of the institutions participating in NATF are community banks in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin; however, the program was recently launched in Austin, Texas, and Los Angeles. Since October, as many as 50 banks across 20 states have enrolled in the Directo a Mexico program, with more expected to join in the coming months.
These fee-reducing initiatives, along with the fact that US banks have been able to accept the Mexican consular identity card as a valid form of identification to open an account since 2002, have made sending remittances easier and more affordable for immigrants. Bank executives now hope that Latino immigrants will take advantage not only of their remittance services but also other financial offerings as well...
See also "Indiana's Bank Calumet gives home loans to illegal aliens", Their money or your safety, and "The Fastest Way To [profit from illegal immigration]"
Posted to Immigration at 04:56 AM | Comments (3)
January 26, 2006
Border incursion details; Mexico claims they were U.S. soldiers
Keep digging:MEXICO CITY - Mexico's top diplomat suggested Thursday that American soldiers disguised as Mexican troops may have been in the military-style Humvee filmed earlier this week protecting a marijuana shipment on the border.Meanwhile, the LAT has details on a few past incursions:
Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez also told a news conference that U.S. soldiers had helped drug smugglers before. However, he offered no evidence.
The U.S. Embassy in Mexico made no immediate comment on Derbez's claims...
Derbez said Thursday that the men photographed by Texas law enforcement could have been Americans.
"Members of the U.S. Army have helped protect people who were processing and transporting drugs," Derbez said. "And just as that has happened ... it is very probable that something like that could have happened, that in reality they were members of some of their groups disguised as Mexican soldiers with Humvees."
Three U.S. soldiers have pleaded guilty to running a cocaine smuggling ring from a U.S. base in Colombia, and a fourth is being tried in Texas this week.
Derbez said there was no proof that the men seen in the incident were Mexicans.
Derbez also said his country will send a diplomatic note to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice demanding that U.S. officials tone down their comments on Mexico's security and immigration problems.
Several of the incidents described in the Department of Homeland Security reports appeared to involve Mexican officials getting lost or pursuing suspects. For example, five Tijuana police officers pursued two men across the border in 2004. Some of the officers fired at the suspects while on U.S. soil, according to a Border Patrol report. The police returned to Mexico after arresting the men.UPDATE: From this:
Other encounters were more suspicious and add to concerns among many U.S. law enforcement officials that corruption in Mexico is eroding efforts to gain control of the border and combat trafficking in humans and drugs.
In October, Border Patrol agents in the El Cajon area east of San Diego reported seeing Humvees on the south side of the border fence. Minutes later, they saw two men in Mexican military uniforms carrying rifles in a creek bed north of the border, according to the records. When an agent approached, the two men ran south and drove off in the Humvees. Agents found footprints indicating three or four individuals had come north of the border and then returned.
Other incidents included Mexican helicopters flying north into U.S. airspace near El Paso for about 15 minutes, five Mexican officials armed with assault rifles entering the country near El Centro and returning without incident, and two Mexican police officers observed wandering along the U.S. side of the border near Yuma, Ariz.
Witnesses in El Paso reported in 2004 that a Mexican military-style helicopter landed just south of the border and armed men in federal police uniforms crossed into the U.S. and questioned them about vehicles before returning to Mexico, according to a Border Patrol report...
In a [formal] diplomatic note issued late Wednesday by the U.S. embassy in Mexico City, Ambassador Garza, requests a full investigation of the incident...
The U.S. Ambassador also protested what he refered to as rhetoric in Mexico that characterizes U.S. efforts to control its border as racist. He said that Mexican efforts to oppose measures under consideration in the U.S. Congress further polarize the debate on immigration and border security. He added that the Mexican actions, "only serve to polarize the debate on immigration and undermine the efforts of those who seek viable solutions to illegal immigration and border security."
Posted to Immigration at 01:50 PM | Comments (1)
Jennifer Aniston hair style: Sedu or T3 Tourmaline?
Which hair iron does Jennifer Aniston's stylist use?
Recent reports seem to indicate that it's actually the T3 Tourmaline and not the Sedu as you might have heard. Confirmation seems to come in the form of the Allure article pictured here, although questions remain. Is Chris McMillan still Jennifer's stylist? Has he switched straightener irons?
Based on his solid recommendations in the past, I'm leaning towards the T3. I also believe when he says the "rounded" version, he's referring to the T3 Tourmaline 3/4" Domed Iron #83934. Developing...
Posted to Celebrities at 12:57 PM | Comments (1)
Mexico withdraws illegal alien maps; AP calls them on lies?
Mexico has apparently decided not to give maps to their citizens showing them the best routes to cross illegally into the U.S., the AP reports. We also learn the DHS head Michael Chertoff condemned the maps.While the Mark Stevenson report contains questionable language ("anti-immigrant groups") it also has what appears to be an attempt to call Mexico on their BS:
Miguel Angel Paredes, spokesman for the federal Human Rights Commission, said the government wanted to "rethink" its plan because human rights officials in border states expressed concern that the maps would show anti-immigrant groups _ like the Minutemen civilian patrols _ where migrants likely would gather.Also see "U.S. opposes Mexico giving maps to migrants: Chertoff".
"This would be practically like telling the Minutemen where the migrants are going to be," Paredes said. "We are going to rethink this, so that we wouldn't almost be handing them over to groups that attack migrants."
...Mexico is angry about U.S. civilian groups that have organized patrols along the border and has accused them of attacking migrants.
However, there is little evidence of that and the groups seldom _ if ever _ target water tanks or rescue beacons.
One of the most well-known groups, the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, placed a link to the maps on its Web site but did not advocate using them to find illegal migrants...
Posted to Immigration at 12:32 PM | Comments (1)
Special Order 40 allows felony arrests
From this:A long-standing order designed to restrict Los Angeles police from enforcing immigration laws does not bar officers from pursuing deported felons who have re-entered the country, Assistant Police Chief George Gascon told the Police Commission on Tuesday.The article then contains quotes from "liberal" activists and mentions that this "clarification" was prompted by Heather MacDonald's articles. What exactly this "clarification" means and what exactly the police are actually doing is a bit unclear; perhaps "Jack Dunphy" will weigh in at NRO.
The interpretation of Special Order 40 - the 27-year-old policy that prohibits officers from arresting people for illegally entering the country and from investigating a person's immigration status - comes as Los Angeles Police Department leaders get ready to finalize a department directive on how officers should interpret the order's restrictions.
"We deal with violent felons who are wanted, regardless of what their immigration status is," Gascon told the new Police Commission. "We have always acted upon information regarding this very specific population."
Posted to Los_Angeles at 11:05 AM | Comments (0)
Sensenbrenner: no amnesty; perhaps U.S. Chamber of Commerce should register as foreign agent
From this:Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., the House point man on immigration, yesterday said that a guest-worker program like the one proposed by President Bush is amnesty and that he cannot accept it in a final immigration bill...Along the same lines, see Rob Allyn is a "longtime Bush family adviser"; Foreign Agents Registration Act?
"It seems to me that if you give these people the temporary cards, and the president talked a little bit about that yesterday out in Kansas, whether they are three-year cards or six-year cards or any other term, how do you get them to go back home when they expire?" he said.
He also said when Congress and the White House agreed in December 2004 to increase the U.S. Border Patrol by 2,000 agents a year, then two months later the president only funded 210 positions, it "was embarrassing both to the administration and those of us who fought for increased assets for border protection in the intelligence bill and then were let down."
...He also said the U.S. Chamber of Commerce "should be ashamed of themselves" for sponsoring meetings with Luis Ernesto Derbez, Mexico's secretary of foreign affairs, in Chicago in December, after which the minister criticized the House bill.
"What they are doing is saying that it's OK to use fake Social Security numbers. I don't think that anybody who is in business ought to be condoning the use of false documentation," Mr. Sensenbrenner said. "If they continue promoting speeches by Mexican government officials then maybe they ought to register as an agent of a foreign government under the law."
Posted to Immigration at 07:56 AM | Comments (1)
Should Maywood CA secede? Should they change their name to "Aztlan City"?
Maywood is a small (1.14 square miles), densely packed (28,000 residents), and almost exclusively Hispanic city southeast of Los Angeles. In fact, it's 96.3% Hispanic, with just 739 whites and only 43 blacks.Now:
City Council in this predominantly Hispanic Los Angeles suburb has passed a resolution prohibiting local police from taking on immigration enforcement duties.It doesn't take much effort to see that there might be other reasons for this beyond an attempt to conserve resources. For instance, proudly featured at their site is the release from February 14, 2005 indicating their full support for Gil Cedillo's attempt to give drivers licenses to illegal aliens (PDF file). It includes
Maywood's resolution, passed unanimously 5-0 late Tuesday, also promised to reject any future federal law mandating cooperation between police and immigration officials in the city of 45,000 residents [according to Maywood's website, the 2000 Census says 28,000 -- LW].
"We want to make clear that our police department will not become immigration agents," said mayor Thomas Martin. "We also want to send a message to places like Costa Mesa that police should be focused on gangs and drugs, and not overextending their resources..."
SB 60 was re-introduced by Senator Cedillo to provide hard working and law abiding immigrant drivers across the state with access to a California Driver's License. Currently, immigrant drivers are not allowed the opportunity to obtain a valid California Driver's License.Obviously, that's misleading. Those affected by this would be illegal aliens, not "immigrants". And, those who enter or stay illegally and no doubt work illegally and use illegal documents are not "law abiding". The claim in the second sentence is completely false: legal immigrants can get driver's licenses.
Until such time as Maywood announces they're seceding, they are a part of the United States. If they don't act like it, perhaps it's time for the state or the federal government to step in and take action. It's not like something similar hasn't happened before, and only back in 2003 and involving the nearby South Gate. See "South Gate: Mexico Comes to California" or State controller to audit South Gate after corruption scandal.
On a side note, see if you notice anything strange about their history page. Just as a guess, did they type that in out of an old book?
And, would any "liberals" out there care to speculate exactly how a city so close to South Los Angeles could have so few African-Americans? While there might be other reasons, I know what I suspect.
Posted to Los_Angeles at 06:25 AM | Comments (3)
Border incursions: CBP wants investigation; Mexico issues border ban
FWIW:U.S. and Mexican officials on Tuesday were investigating a bizarre encounter between Texas lawmen and heavily armed intruders who were wearing Mexican military uniforms while evidently escorting a caravan of sport utility vehicles that was smuggling marijuana into the United States.Oddly enough, I don't believe her.
The smugglers, spotted on the U.S. side of the border in remote western Texas on Monday afternoon, hastily fled back into Mexico, leaving behind nearly a half ton of marijuana and setting one of their vehicles ablaze...
Kristi M. Clemens, assistant commissioner for U.S. customs and border protection, issued a statement saying the agency is reviewing the confrontation and has asked the Mexican government for a "thorough investigation."
Gov. Rick Perry has ordered an investigation into the episode.I'm slightly less skeptical of their investigation. Meanwhile:
"Whether indeed members of the Mexican military crossed into Texas, or they were thugs dressed up as Mexican military, the incident is unacceptable and troubling," said Perry spokeswoman Kathy Walt.
A day after as many as 20 armed men in military fatigues crossed the Rio Grande into Texas before being chased back by U.S. authorities, the Mexican government ordered its troops not to come within 2 kilometers of the border.
While the Mexican Foreign Affairs Ministry and Defense Ministry denied their military had a role in providing protection for Monday's marijuana smuggling operation into Hudspeth County, the government said its military wouldn't be permitted in the border zone without authorization.
The face-off along the Rio Grande between the drug smugglers and U.S. law enforcement officials came just days after Mexican and U.S. officials downplayed news reports that U.S. Border Patrol agents have occasionally seen what appear to be Mexican army units in the United States.
"If it rattles like a snake and looks like a snake, it's probably a damn snake," Hudspeth County Sheriff Arvin West said. "There's no doubt it's Mexican military..."
Posted to Immigration at 02:49 AM | Comments (1)
January 25, 2006
AVWatch: Villaraigosa to give Democrat's Spanish-language SOTU response
Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are proud to announced that Antonio Villaraigosa, the Los Angeles Mayor and former member of MEChA, will offer the Spanish-language response to Bush's State of the Union address on Tuesday Jan 31.
The former president of the UCLA chapter of the racial separatist group has previously admitted that his Spanish is a bit rusty. Seeing as he was born here and no doubt English was his first language and all. No doubt Villaraigosa will write the speech in English and have someone translate it, assuming he writes it himself at all. More likely someone else will write it for him and he's just been selected because of his race.
There's no word on whether Teddy Kennedy will be offering a response in Gaelic, or whether he speaks Gaelic at all.
There's also little reason for an American party to broadcast something like this in a language other than English because almost all native-born Americans know English and almost all new citizens are required to have some English fluency. The target audience for this speech would seem to be mostly recent immigrants, together with a large chunk of illegal aliens. None of those groups can vote, although the Dems are working on that.
According to the AP, Villaraigosa "has been seen as a rising Democratic star since his election in May as the first Hispanic in 133 years to lead Los Angeles". One of the reasons for his stardom in the Democratic Party is that he was once a leader of a group that wants to "liberate" "Aztlan", i.e., transform the U.S. southwest into a Chicano homeland.
The AP also includes this bit which I'm pretty sure has been discredited:
In the last presidential election, exit polls conducted for The Associated Press and television networks found Bush winning 44 percent of the Hispanic vote, up from 35 percent in 2000. Democratic Sen. John Kerry won 53 percent, down from 62 percent four years earlier for Democrat Al Gore.
Posted to Immigration at 10:27 PM | Comments (1)
" Central Valley orange growers look to Thailand for labor"
This blog has a shocking revelation to announce soon. Well, OK, not that shocking. But, it will make use of this:Can workers from Thailand be imported in enough numbers to harvest the Central Valley orange crop?
California Citrus Mutual, an organization of growers, is studying a proposal from a labor contractor to bring in enough Asian workers on a temporary basis to get the fruit off the trees.
Orange growers are the latest Central Valley farmers to complain that traditional sources of field labor are producing fewer and fewer workers.
Blamed are tougher controls of the border with Mexico and higher paying jobs in Central Valley construction luring what workers there are.
A final deal has not been worked out for the Asian workers but is being actively considered according to Exeter-based California Citrus Mutual.
Posted to Immigration at 06:20 PM | Comments (2)
The myth of $10 lettuce
Pro-illegal immigration suppoters frequently claim that lettuce would cost $5 or $10 a head if we reduced illegal immigration. There are many counterarguments to this claim, but in any case under no circumstances would a labor price increase lead to such a drastic total price increase. For instance, a figure I've used is that the labor costs of lettuce are just 10%; double the cost of labor and you might increase the cost at the grocery store by 10 cents or so.
It would be nice to get a definitive answer to the exact amount, and if you want to help out please leave a link.
Alternatively, here's a 1996 research paper about Loose Leaf Lettuce. Not being an expert I can't get a bottom line, but someone else says "it takes 20-25 cents to grow a head of lettuce and 15 cents is for labor."
Can someone point to something at that page giving a bottom line?
Posted to Immigration at 05:05 PM | Comments (3)
Don't blame the Vatican for the socialistic views of the U.S. Catholic Bishops
That appears to be the bottom line of this article:...Pope Benedict XVI actually made reference to distinctions between "national and international migration, forced and voluntary migration, legal and illegal migration, [and those] subject also to the scourge of trafficking in human beings."Previously: "Coalition vows to defeat harsh immigration bill [HR 4437]", "Arizona Catholic Bishops support open borders" ("live out the principles of global solidarity", "the goods of the earth belong to all people", etc. etc.), "Does Catholic Charities respect our laws?", and "Catholic Church & Charities Illegally 'Aid and Abet' Aliens".
That's illegal - not "undocumented"!
The Pope's message said nothing about illegal aliens having a right to enter the United States at anytime they want, as many times as they want, for whatever reason they desire.
Pope Benedict's message, as with most Papal statements dealing with refugees and other immigration-related issues, focuses entirely on Christian charity and pastoral care—especially administering the sacraments to the faithful in foreign lands.
The point is that the American Bishops, or any Bishop for that matter, cannot make the faithful do something that is unjust—in this case open the U.S. borders to all...
Posted to Immigration at 10:23 AM | Comments (0)
Is the American labor movement irrelevant?
FAIR offers the press release "As Ford Downsizes Its Workforce, Bush Plans to Downsize Work":The American worker is caught between outsourcing jobs and importing foreign workers, and no one in Washington is standing up for them. As 55,000 Ford workers join 50,000 General Motors workers facing the prospect of finding new jobs, the Bush administration is pushing a new foreign guestworker plan to import workers, the Democrat leadership is pursuing increased immigration, and organized labor is disintegrating, with a growing number of unions focused on organizing immigrant workers rather than defending American jobs...
..."While the American worker agonizes over where the next paycheck will come from, and whether it will support a family, the administration and the Senate try to pass new laws to increase the giveaway of American jobs to foreign workers," observed Dan Stein, president of FAIR. "The irrelevance of the American labor movement will be permanently fixed in the mind of American workers if it fails to act in defense of American jobs for American workers. The breakaway unions that are focused on organizing immigrant workers, most of them illegal entrants, are not only destroying the union movement, they are selling out American workers."
Posted to Immigration at 09:15 AM | Comments (2)
"Blacks vs. Latinos at Work"
From the WSJ:Donnie Gaut, an African-American with 12 years of warehouse experience, applied for a job in 2002 at Farmer John Meats, a large Los Angeles pork processor ["Dodger Dogs", Vin Scully, etc. --LW]. When he was turned down for the position, a job stocking goods that paid $7 an hour, Mr. Gaut decided the problem wasn't his resume -- it was his race. He filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency that enforces antidiscrimination laws in the workplace.A racial power group will be along shortly to complain about this racist article. Get Cecilia on the line.
Last October, the EEOC secured a $110,000 settlement from the company to be shared by Mr. Gaut and six other black applicants who were rejected for production jobs at Farmer John based on their race, according to the agency.
The EEOC says it found that the pork packer, owned by Clougherty Packing Co., had been almost exclusively hiring Hispanics for warehouse, packing and production jobs. Clougherty was acquired by Hormel Foods Corp. in 2004...
A new wave of race-discrimination cases is appearing in the workplace: African-Americans who feel that they are being passed over for Hispanics.
This kind of case marks a shift from years past, when blacks were likely to seek legal action against employers who showed preferential treatment toward whites. The cases highlight mounting tension between Hispanics and blacks as they compete for resources and job opportunities...
Somewhat related: "Do Connecticut McDonald's discriminate in favor of Hispanics?"
Posted to Immigration at 07:11 AM | Comments (0)
Wells Fargo gives home loans to illegal aliens
From this (very similar report here):Wells Fargo is first major California lender to offer home loans to illegal immigrants, 10News reported.If you bank there, please stop.
"We're not required to ask the immigration status of any of our customers. That is the responsibility of the federal government," Wells Fargo bank representative Jerry Ruiz said.
The program is called "Celebrate Home" and Wells Fargo says it complies with all federal regulations, 10News reported.
On an unendorsed-but-isn't-that-interesting note, see "The Bush family and the S&L Scandal". Since it has some of the stock Prescott Bush stuff at the end I'm not willing to put much trust in the rest of the article, but you never know.
Posted to Immigration at 04:09 AM | Comments (0)
January 24, 2006
Armed standoff near El Paso. Mexican Army?
From this:Mexican soldiers and civilian smugglers had an armed standoff with nearly 30 U.S. law enforcement officials on the Rio Grande in Texas on Monday afternoon, according to Texas police and the FBI.Previously: "Mexican military incursions: Chertoff downplays, excuses"
Mexican military Humvees were towing what appeared to be thousands of pounds of marijuana across the border into the United States, said Chief Deputy Mike Doyal, of the Hudspeth County Sheriff's Department.
Mexican Army troops had several mounted machine guns on the ground more than 200 yards inside the U.S. border -- near Neely's Crossing, about 50 miles east of El Paso -- when Border Patrol agents called for backup. Hudspeth County deputies and Texas Highway patrol officers arrived shortly afterward, Doyal said.
...An FBI spokeswoman confirmed the incident happened at 2:15 p.m. Pacific Time...
Posted to Immigration_terror at 10:50 PM | Comments (1)
Humane Borders, Mexican government to give maps to illegal crossers; Jim Kolbe, Pima County support
Pima County (home of Tucson) and Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) are supporters of a plan by the Humane Borders group to pass out maps to Mexicans showing them the best places to illegally cross our border. Story - with several comments - here.HB, headed by Rev. Robin Hoover, is working with Mexico's National Human Rights Commission, a quasi-governmental group on the scheme. The maps will be passed out in Mexico's south, not just at the border. They show various terrain features (to people who probably don't have or know how to use compasses and who are not familiar with the desert), as well as the locations of water stations and rescue beacons.
The effort is supported by Pima County, partly as an attempt to help alleviate the expense of dealing with hundreds of corpses found in the desert, said Enrique Serna, a deputy county administrator who accompanied Hoover to Mexico...I'll bet the Mongols wish there had been "liberals" and corrupt politicians in China back in the day.
Arizona Rep. Jim Kolbe, a Republican, said he supports the maps as a way of saving lives. But the best way of keeping migrants from dying in the desert is by helping Mexico create jobs and reforming U.S. laws to better manage migration, he said.
"It's hard to disagree with giving information to your citizens to save their lives," Kolbe said. "Ideally, what I would prefer is that they hand out flyers saying You don't have to cross the desert because there are jobs in Mexico, and here is some job information.' But that isn't going to happen, because there aren't jobs in Mexico..."
Note that Humane Borders joins a growing list of U.S. organizations that are assisting the Mexican government with their agenda. See "Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law collaborating with Mexican government", MALDEF getting "moral support" from Mexico, and this report about Suffolk County (Long Island).
Here's more on Pima County.
UPDATE: The LAT offers "Mexico to Issue Border Survival Guides" and the AP offers "Maps to aid illegal Mexican migrants". And, yes, selecting the Al Jazeera version of the AP report was intentional, and the same report is here:
Mauricio Farah, one of the [National Human Rights Commission]'s national inspectors, said: "We are not trying in any way to encourage or promote migration... "The only thing we are trying to do is warn them of the risks they face and where to get water, so they don't die." ...Farah said migration "is a human right" and that "the United States should be grateful" the commission is doing something to curb the death toll, because "hundreds of thousands of Mexicans help maintain their economy".Why can't they help maintain Mexico's economy? Oh yeah, that corruption thing.
Posted to Immigration at 04:26 PM | Comments (1)
Gallup poll: Only 25% approve of Bush's handling of immigration
The poll was conducted Jan 20-22, and 62% disapprove. Certainly, among that number are some people who think the borders aren't porous enough, but I'm sure that the great majority of those who disapprove do so because of the porous borders and the lack of workplace enforcement. In December, only 28% approved.
Posted to Immigration at 01:13 PM | Comments (0)
January 23, 2006
George Bush, the Democrats, the Wall Street Journal editorial page, or the Communist Party USA?
This page has open borders quotes from various people or groups. Without looking at the link below each quote, can you identify whether it was George Bush, the Democrats, the Wall Street Journal editorial page, or the Communist Party USA who said the quote?
Posted to Immigration at 11:19 PM | Comments (0)
WHEDA home loans for illegal aliens program shut down
Supporters of illegal immigration will be saddened to learn that a bill signed into law last year will prevent the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) from giving home loans to illegal aliens.The article with the news is from the Business Journal of Milwaukee and the author is Jennifer Batog, but it doesn't appear to be at their site. In any case, it's located at MSNBC under the misleading title "Detractors kill immigrant loan program". Those in question aren't "immigrants", they're "illegal aliens". And, if MSNBC were in favor of this I doubt whether they would have used such negative words and in a negative sense.
"It's going to have a devastating effect," said Maria Monreal-Cameron, president and chief executive officer of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin.Previously: Home loans for illegal aliens facing resistance in Wisconsin
The Immigrant Lending Program was a partnership among WHEDA, Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. [contact them] and 25 banks statewide. Participating banks included Associated Bank, Green Bay; Guaranty Bank, Brown Deer; and Mitchell Bank, Milwaukee.
Some lawmakers, including state Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend), felt the effort rewarded illegal immigrants and sent a message that Wisconsin didn't take immigration laws seriously.
...Ending the loan program was regrettable, [WHEDA executive director Antonio Riley] said, but he added signs are emerging that the private sector may begin offering fixed-rate loans to undocumented people at conventional rates. The program also increased lenders' knowledge and understanding of how to underwrite and process loans for people without Social Security numbers, he said.
...MGIC insured mortgages obtained through the housing authority's program. The agency was one of the lenders participating in MGIC's "Building a Life in America" program, which insures mortgage loans for those without Social Security numbers, said Geoff Cooper of MGIC.
...[Mitchell Bank] will continue to offer mortgages to people without Social Security numbers...
...The loan program's supporters could reintroduce the program in future legislation, Wieckert said.
Posted to Immigration at 06:25 PM | Comments (2)
President Bush supports illegal immigration in Kansas
Our Leader visited Kansas earlier today and was asked some questions, one about immigration. The question was asked in Spanish, and the transcript provides the English version. The slightly coherent question apppeared to deal with discrimination against Hispanics, and included this bit that should have made Bush proud:I come from Venezuela, which is a different country. But all of us are Hispanics and all of us embrace ourselves in the Americas, because America is -- North America, the United States, and Central and South America -- we are one continent and embrace each other.It should have made Bush proud, but apparently his Spanish skills are right up there with Peggy Hill. Instead of answering what was asked, he launched into the pre-programmed "Guest worker spiel #4". I'm going to reprint the whole thing below the jump just so you my readers can bask in the barely-coherent open borders views of our "conservative" leader:
First of all, bienvenidos. And we have an obligation in this country to enforce our borders. And there's huge pressure on our borders. It's been a long border, obviously, with Mexico, and a long border with Canada. And the biggest problematic area right now is the border with Mexico, California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.I'm stumped. How exactly can we make clear to all that our president is an un-American, anti-American, complete idiot?
The issue is not only Mexican citizens who are coming across the border illegally, but it's other citizens who are coming across the border.
And our obligation is to use a wise strategy to shut down the trafficking of anything illegal across the border. We're a country of law and we must enforce the border.
BUSH: And we spent a lot of time in Washington, D.C., analyzing the border issues and strategizing with Congress about how to do a better job, including the following things: one, increasing the number of border patrol agents; two, increasing the use of technology on the border so that you can see people coming through -- you know, drones, for example, and then be able to rally the border patrol to stop people from coming across.
Some physical barriers, particularly in urban centers, are now being constructed. Some berms -- there's parts of our border where, literally, you can just drive across.
I mean, there's nothing -- you know, you just land and in you come. And it's hard. The demarcation zone is different. And it makes it hard for people to enforce the border.
Secondly, when we detain somebody at the border, we've got to have a rational policy to help back up the people we're paying to enforce the border.
And by that I mean if you are somebody from central America, for example, caught coming into our country, that the policy has been to give you a notification to report back to a judge and they will hear your case.
Well, guess what? A lot of them don't come back. They are here because they are trying to better their lives and they are going to move into our society as best as they can.
And they are not going to return back. So we're ending what's called catch and release and we're beginning to provide more detention space for our border patrol to be able to say to people, particularly from Central America and South America, you know: You've come illegally; we're sending you back home.
Thirdly, in terms of workers, we do have H1, H2B visa programs that we are constantly analyzing with the United States Congress. It makes sense that highly skilled workers, for example, be given work permits here in the United States if it helps us meet an economic objective.
But I feel strongly that we need to take the worker program a step further. And I'll tell you why. I'm mindful that most people come here to work. There are a lot of people in your state dependent upon people coming here to work.
I tell you, I used to say that, when I was the governor of Texas, family values didn't stop at the Rio Grande River. And people, you know, if they could make 50 cents and had mouths to feed or $5 and had mouths to feed, a lot of people would come to try to find that $5 work.
And so, here's my position, and that is that, if there is someone who will do a job an American won't do, then that person ought to be given a temporary worker card to work in the United States for a set period of time.
I do not believe that any guest worker program ought to contain amnesty because I believe that, if you granted amnesty to the people here working now, that that would cause another 8 million people or so to come here.
I do believe, however, it is humane to say to a person: You are doing a job somebody else won't do. Here is a temporary card to enable you to do the card (sic).
The length of the stay here will be dependent upon the actions of the Congress. It's conceivable you could have a three-year period with a renewal period.
I've thought a lot about this issue. I just want you to know. By the way, when you mentioned guest worker, a lot of people automatically spring to amnesties. All I want is to grant legal status. That's just not the case. I don't believe we ought to do that.
But I do believe we ought to recognize there are people doing work others won't do. And there's a lot of good employers here in Kansas employing these people. And the employers don't know whether or not somebody is here legally or not.
What's happened is a whole kind of industry has sprung up around people coming here.
BUSH: And it's inhumane, it's inhumane for the people being trafficked into the United States and it's not fair to employers who may be breaking the law.
And here's what I mean. You got people being smuggled into the United States of America by these criminal networks. They're called coyotes, "coyots," and they're bringing them in the back of 18- wheelers, stuffing human beings to come and do work in America that Americans won't do, in the back of 18-wheelers.
You've got a whole forgery industry up and running. And so these guys show up with documents so the employers says, "Well, they look legal to me." They don't know whether they're legal or not legal.
And I know that we got a lot of our border patrol agents trying to catch people sneaking in the country. And so it seems like to me that why don't we recognize reality, give people worker cards on a temporary basis, so somebody can come back and forth legally with a tamper-proof card that will enable an employer to know whether or not they're hiring somebody who's illegal. And if we catch employers after that hiring somebody illegal, there's got to be a fine and a consequence.
And so a compassionate way to enforce our border is to give people a temporary worker card, without granting amnesty.
That's a long answer to a very important problem, that now is the time for the United States to take it on squarely, in a humane way, that recognizes the situation and deals with it in an upfront way.
And I want to thank you for your question.
Posted to Immigration at 04:01 PM | Comments (2)
Herndon Embraces All With Respect and Tolerance (We HEART illegal aliens)
Allen Benson and Leila McDowell-Head are members of a group called "Herndon Embraces All With Respect and Tolerance". They support the Herndon Virginia day laborer hiring hall, and the Washington Post - itself also a supporter of illegal immigration - prints a guest column from them: "Compassion: A Community Value".
I'm sure those profiting off this illegal labor are quite compa$$ionate. And, HEART's "tolerance" appears to be lacking for those who support our laws:
An influx of "white pride" protesters and Minutemen (a group best known for its vigilantism on the Mexican border) harassed the day laborers.
What skill. Can you fit three unsupported smears in just twenty-five words?
we agree that Herndon should have the right to solve a local problem without interference from national organizations.
Herndon does not have the right to support hiring illegal aliens, something that's a violation of federal law.
We support the right of day laborers to work, and we are cognizant of the dire conditions under which many of these laborers (and their families) live -- without health insurance, steady employment, vacation time or sick leave. The desire to work -- a basic American value -- should not subject anyone to antipathy.
Since we know that three-quarters of day laborers are illegal aliens, isn't there a better way? Namely, preventing them from coming here in the first place.
If bleeding HEART "liberals" want to help the poor and uneducated citizens of Mexico and Central America, they should go there and do that. Importing cheap labor so they can then be abused and receive low wages in a high-cost economy does them and us no good.
It certainly will make some mush-minded useful idiot "liberals" feel good. And, it will certainly provide clients for those organizations that help the poor. What better way to get new clients and funding than to import poor people? But, if there were no illegal aliens available to take these jobs, then wages would have to rise for legal workers. And, that would lead to the conditions for those workers being less dire. So, if HEART's useful idiot members don't want workers to be abused and be forced to live in dire conditions, they should support our laws instead of advocating undermining them.
While she might have other motivations, and I don't want to engage in mind-reading, note that Leila McDowell-Head is or was the Director of Communications for a group called the Center for Community Change (communitychange.org):
Helping low-income people, especially people of color, build powerful, effective organizations through which they can change their communities and public policies for the better.
One of their workers tries to smear those who support our immigration laws as members of "white pride" groups, at the same time as her group expresses its preference for "people of color"? Who exactly is the racist here?
Previously: "Have Herndon officials conspired to violate federal law?"
Posted to Immigration at 03:39 PM | Comments (2)
Bring on the noise, bring on the Commies
"World Can't Wait" - a Revolutionary Communist Party-linked group - will be conducting nationwide protests on Jan. 31 to coincide with Bush's State of the Union address. The protests will be in one of the only forms that the far-left understands:
At 9:00 PM EST, just as Bush starts to speak, everywhere we will BRING THE NOISE. In a cacophony of sound, we will drown out his address with music: from drums to violins, from hip hop and classical; and with noise: banging pots and ringing church bells, sound car horns and lifting our voices.
How very therapeutic.
Posted to ThePeaceMovement at 12:22 PM | Comments (0)
Study: 75% of day laborers are illegal aliens
The University of Illinois at Chicago and UCLA have conducted a survey of 2660 day laborers in 20 states and D.C. The NYT provides some of the findings in "Broad Survey of Day Laborers Finds High Level of Injuries and Pay Violations":- 75% were illegal aliens
- more than half said they'd been cheated out of wages in the past 2 months
- earnings median: $10/hour, $700/month
- only a "small number" make over $15,000/year
"We were disturbed by the incredibly high incidence of wage violations," said study author Nik Theodore, of the University of Illinois at Chicago. "We also found a very high level of injuries."Would you please send an email to public *at* nytimes.com and suggest they put on their thinking caps? The reason those laborers are able to be abused is because they're illegal aliens. Many "liberals" - including those at the NYT - support illegal immigration, and they therefore support the abuses that those workers are subjected to. There is no other option: if someone is here illegally, they're liable to be abused. And, "liberals" support that abuse by supporting illegal immigration.
..."This is a labor market that thrives on cheap wages and the fact that most of these workers are undocumented. They're in a situation where they're extremely vulnerable, and employers know that and take advantage of them," said another study author, Abel Valenzuela Jr., of the University of California at Los Angeles...
...In addition, the laborers have become the target of groups opposed to illegal immigrants...
...The biggest hope for day laborers, the study said, are the 63 day-labor centers that operate as hiring halls where workers and employers arrange to meet. These centers, usually created in partnerships with local government or community organizations, often require workers and employers to register, helping to reduce abuses. Many of the centers set a minimum wage, often $10 an hour, that employers must pay laborers.
Note also that while the NYT covers their immigration status in the second paragraph, the AP - another illegal immigration supporter - waits until the twelfth paragraph: "Day-Laborer Study Finds Community Ties". Please write to feedback *at* ap.org about that.
Posted to Immigration at 09:02 AM | Comments (1)
American Chamber Mexico supports immigration "reform"
The "American Chamber Mexico" is apparently similar to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce:The American Chamber is an independent organization that fosters business ties between Mexico and the United States. Its member companies represent 85 percent of the foreign investment in Mexico.They're also coming out in favor of the McCain-Kennedy massive amnesty scheme:
[AmCham president Larry Rubin] said migration reform would benefit both businesses and Latin American workers. He added the American chamber's collective clout has helped push legislation in the past.
"This forum helped achieve the approval of the Central American free trade agreement less than a year ago, thanks to the Amcham presidents," Rubin said...
Posted to Immigration at 06:35 AM | Comments (1)
Is Paul Hackett too intelligent for the Democratic Party?
The candidate for U.S. Senate from Ohio - a Democrat - recently caused the pro-illegal immigration Victorians in his party to have the vapors:U.S. Senate candidate Paul Hackett told a Toledo crowd this week that he'd deport all illegal immigrants if the national budget permitted, stirring another controversy over his candor — this time among Democrats.Yes, that's right: the Toledo Blade is trying to get him to apologize for opposing illegal immigration. The blog report here provides the background that that newspaper does not. See also this. And, many DUmmies are on the right side.
Several local Democrats said they disagreed sharply with Mr. Hackett's statements, made Wednesday night to a group at the University of Toledo...
Mr. Hackett said in a telephone interview yesterday that many immigrants are "exploited" by American corporations, and laws must be changed to help them. He did not elaborate, except to say he opposes amnesty for immigrants in the country illegally.
Asked if he stood by his statements, Mr. Hackett said: "Illegal immigration is illegal. It's that simple."
...Asked about illegal immigration, Mr. Hackett said the Bush Administration "is willing to let illegals come in and take the jobs of Americans." When an audience member asked Mr. Hackett if he would deport illegal immigrants, the candidate replied, "If we can afford to, yeah."One wonders if the Dems will try to undercat Hackett's pro-American views and drum him out of the party. After all, supporting illegal immigration is practically a requirement for being a Democratic politician.
Several Democrats in attendance said the comments surprised or disappointed them.
Frank Szollosi, a Toledo city councilman, said Mr. Hackett appeared "to the right of Pete Wilson" — a conservative Republican and former California governor — on immigration...
As for Szollosi, he's an idiot. Comments at his site are only for "team members", so I'll have to put my comment on his post here:
Help me understand this. Won't a "sensible amnesty program" just lead to more illegal immigration, just as all those other amnesties have?
After all, if you start looking "easy", people come to take advantage of your offers, right?
Word spreads quickly: "the U.S. is giving an amnesty!", "the U.S. will give you an amnesty if you just wait long enough!", etc. etc.
So, millions more illegal aliens will come here to take advantage of future "sensible amnesty programs".
That will result in more of those border deaths that you decry. And, it will result in more worker abuse, more corruption, more corrosion of our laws, more power for the Mexican government inside our country, etc. etc.
OTOH, if you start enforcing the laws the word about that will spread, resulting in less illegal immigration.
That will result in no need to future "sensible amnesty programs", fewer deaths on the border, and less worker abuse.
It would also be Hackett's job as an elected representative to support the laws of the land rather than try to undermine them.
Posted to Immigration at 04:54 AM | Comments (2)
January 22, 2006
Brad Knickerbocker of the CSM: Can you trust his reporting?
Most definitely you can. Assuming that is, of course, that you want heavily biased yellow reportage such as that featured in "Across the country, many mobilize against illegal immigration".
The bottom line of the report seems to be to portray those opposed to illegal immigration as various kinds of bad people. Some of the words and phrases used in the article include: "nativism", "anti-immigrant", "extremist movements", "extreme anti-immigrant sentiment", "conspiracy theories", "opposed to multiculturalism", "[historical] violent reactions to immigrants", and "extremist activities". And, those are words coming from the author; those from the people he quotes are even worse.
One of the "conspiracy theories" is "reconquista". Let's see now. The majority of Mexicans think the U.S. Southwest rightfully belongs to them. And, many U.S. politicians are former members of the racial separatist group MEChA. And, Mexico has come right out and said that sending us people gives them political power inside the U.S. And, their consuls repeatedly interfere in our internal politics. Given those facts and all the others available, should you trust anything Brad Knickerbocker writes?
The article reads less like a simply biased report and more like propaganda designed to smear those opposed to illegal immigration and support those who profit off illegal activity.
Some of those quoted include:
- Mark Pitcavage, "a historian of extremist movements with the Anti-Defamation League and an adviser to law-enforcement agencies." (Here's more on the ADL).
- Devin Burghart of the Center for New Community, "a faith-based human rights organization in Chicago"
- Jean Rosenfeld, of the UCLA Center for the Study of Religion.
- Mark Potok of