Monday, May 7: Attention, Maryland readers. An organization that receives taxpayer funds is encouraging illegal aliens not to cooperate with federal authorities during illegal alien raids. Some of these illegals have stolen - stolen - other people’s identities.
Michelle Malkin cites federal law, which clearly states that encouraging and inducing illegal aliens to break the law is itself a crime:
“Any person who . . . encourages or induces an alien to . . . reside . . . knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that such . . . residence is . . . in violation of law, shall be punished as provided . . . for each alien in respect to whom such a violation occurs . . . fined under title 18 . . . imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.”
Just FYI…Section 274 felonies under the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, INA 274A(a)(1)(A):
A person (including a group of persons, business, organization, or local government) commits a federal felony when she or he:
* assists an alien s/he should reasonably know is illegally in the U.S. or who lacks employment authorization, by transporting, sheltering, or assisting him or her to obtain employment, or
* encourages that alien to remain in the U.S. by referring him or her to an employer or by acting as employer or agent for an employer in any way, or
* knowingly assists illegal aliens due to personal convictions.
In that regard, churches that harbor and assist illegal aliens (felonies, by the way) also are violating the law. Just a heads-up. 
Could it be possible that some people who assist illegal aliens really don’t know the law? Since proper civic education is a thing of the past, it’s quite possible…
————————————————————————————
Update: This post will no doubt bring out the La Shawn-haters. Here’s a reminder: You have no “first amendment” rights on someone’s blog. Mind your manners and accurately represent what I wrote, and I’ll allow you to join the discussion.
Otherwise, it’s into the troll ether you’ll go…
…and depending on my mood, I may send a copy of a particularly nasty comment (time- and date-stamped) to your boss.
I forgot to mention Lou Dobbs’s recent remarks. Check it out.
Long rant alert! Read at your own risk.
I don’t write about illegal aliens as much as I used to, especially the ones with the gall to demand rights they’re not entitled to, because the topic makes me angry. 
Time and again I’ve broken my pledge to write about this issue “as a concerned citizen, not a ranting, angry blogger.” Oh, well. May as well be hanged for a dragon as an egg…
Trivia: Where did I steal that line?
For the past couple of days, I’ve seen this headline on Drudge: “CRACKDOWN, OKLAHOMA: Illegal immigrant bill nation’s toughest.” This morning I followed the link and felt a familiar stab of anger as I read the story. The idiotic governor of Oklahoma is reluctant to sign a bill that would protect his own citizens. (Also see this story)
The bill is similar to bills proposed by other states attempting to take up the federal government’s slack. While only feds are authorized to kick illegal aliens out of the country, states are well within their rights to crackdown on businesses operating within their borders that knowingly hire illegal aliens. If I ran things, businesses would be under strict liability for hiring illegal aliens; that is, just the presence of an illegal on the payroll means the company is in violation of the law, whether or not it “knowingly†hired the illegal.
But since I don’t run anything but this blog, I’ll use it to share my disgust at what my country is becoming: a balkanized, third world, uncivilized, rule of law-shamming mess. (Y’all better pray I don’t get elected to office.)
It seems the governor is just another pantywaist politico. Said Brad Henry’s mouthpiece: “Gov. Henry supports responsible and effective immigration reform, but he will withhold judgment on this particular bill until he has had an opportunity to review the final version.”
I echo the sentiments of “Don,†a guy who commented on the article: “If any of you in Oklahoma are reading this, take it from a San Diegan, you won’t know what hit you in a couple of years. You want all of these illegals to do your yard work and fix things on the cheap, but when their kids become teenagers and you have gangs and shootings in your schools, you’ll wonder what happened!â€
You see, white people with the means to insulate themselves from illegal aliens can afford, physically and financially, to favor an influx of poor, Spanish-speaking, non-assimilating, under-the-radar Central Americans. They hire these people to clean their yards and toilets, and, unbelievably, take care of their children. But they don’t nor would they ever send their kiddies to schools with a mixture of poor Central Americans. Or blacks, for that matter.
[White elites have to share the highways with drunk illegal aliens like the rest of us. And they end up dealing with the consequences like the rest of us.]
Working- and middle-class Americans are the ones suffering. While illegal alien scourge-supporting elites are living it up in gated communities in California, for instance, everyone else is dealing with hispanic gangs. While the elites are working the kind of jobs that put them in contact with zero illegal aliens (well, maybe the janitor), working class folks have to compete for jobs with people who aren’t supposed to be here. Forget that illegal aliens are working for less money. I’m a staunch supporter of the free market, and if legal aliens were driving down wages, I’d complain less loudly. But since the market is being manipulated by illegal means, that’s a problem. (Understatement of the year!)
Brain cell-challenged black politicians are selling their own people down the river by coming out against immigration enforcement (perhaps “rule of law” is too complex for them to grasp) and scheming to form a black-brown coalition with hispanic politicians. Nitwits. Politicians care about lining their own pockets and picking up perks. Period. Blacks would be wise to speak out – instead of wimp out – against illegal “immigration.†I’m sure blacks living in dangerous neighborhoods in California or those who’ve lost jobs to illegal aliens can tell you some stories you’d never hear from the likes of career politician John Lewis.
By the way, sometimes, every now and then, leftist journalists make me want to puke. The way they slant stories to reflect their opinions is sickening. For instance, this article’s headline, “Black lawmakers combat anti-immigrant attitudes,” should read, “Black lawmakers combat anti-illegal alien attitudes,†but the reporter skews the story to make it sound as though we racist Americans hate “others†in general. I don’t know anyone who is against immigration per se or against Central Americans entering the country legally. It’s border jumpers and their entitlement attitudes, enabled by white elites who don’t have to live and work with them, we don’t like. It’s the traitorous American companies that hire illegal aliens that get our blood boiling.
And mine is boiling already, and it’s not even 9 o’clock!
My only consolation is that once hispanics start voting in a way that reflects their presence in the population, black politicians will be history. They can pander all they want right now, but it won’t do them a bit of good later. Hispanics are just as race conscious as blacks, if not more so. Once they become powerful enough, they’ll vote their own into office.
If black politicians think for one minute that hispanics are going to bend over backward for them and grovel the way white people do, they’re dumber than I thought.
And so are black people who think aligning themselves with any anti-white group is in their best interests. What a delusion! Controversial as this may sound, I’ll say it anyway: black Americans had better start looking on white Americans as they’re [this typo was here all weekend…curses!] their best friends. Forget past injustices or present-day petty prejudices. Yes, it was whites who enslaved blacks, but it was also whites who made amends for that enslavement. Whites are still making amends.
You think “brown” folks would do the same? What do they have to make amends for? They’re immune to guilt-tripping and whining, so black Americans addicted to living off the government via white guilt are in for a rude awakening.
I know which side my bread is buttered on, so to speak, and nowhere else in the world have blacks had it so good. And the gifts keep on coming: freedom, justice, opportunity – you name it, we’ve got it. The fact that some people are too lazy or stupid or apathetic to take advantage of opportunity or appreciate freedom or respect justice for all doesn’t detract from America’s greatness one bit. Each of us is free to live his own life, no matter how sorry or unproductive or wasteful.
If any of you “minorities†harbors fantasies of an America run by race-obsessed factions of a white people-hating, black-brown coalition, keep dreaming. America’s cultural decline would accelerate, and the country we know will cease to exist. Think about what I’m trying to tell you, and smarten up.
I’ll just keep praying and voting and hoping that people as frustrated as I am will tell the freakin’ truth about why America is what it is and stop being afraid of labels like “racist†or “fascist.†What’s it to you if people call you names? Don’t be such weaklings. Stand up and speak up for what you know is right, and deal with the consequences as they come.
OK, I’m tapped out. Have a nice day.
Update II: More spineless locals aid and abet lawbreakers.
Related:
“To continue this call in English, please press 1.”
ARRRGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
Enough. I’ve had enough. Illegals go home. Get out. Now. And take your friends in U.S. politics with you. Maybe they will enjoy life in the 3rd world.
Comment by RedBeard — 05.04.07 @ 9:41 am
Now this comment was just flat-out stupid. I didn’t say any of the things you’re accusing me of. Grow a pair and use your name if you’re going to insult my intelligence. - Admin
Comment by yup — 05.04.07 @ 9:47 am
LaShawn, I hate having to read between the lines on some of your posts.
I really wish you’d let us know what you’re really thinking. Other than that, great post. I think you’ve managed to capture the essence of the illegal immigration issue in such a way that ALL Americans should be able to understand.
Comment by Mike B — 05.04.07 @ 10:08 am
I just wrote about this subject this morning titled May Day Hey Day.
I am so sick and tired of the ridiculous notion that we owe someone who is here illegally anything. Yet we provide all kinds of services for them, including education. In NM illegal immigrants get to pay in state tuition in college (NMSU).
I wrote that if we continue to permit illegals to stay then poor people can move onto Donald Trump’s home and not be forced to leave. They should be permitted to stay and do the menial jobs that Donald won’t do anyhow. So unbelievable!
The solution is tough and probably will upset many, but it must be done. I think that it may be too late, but now is the time for action.
Comment by jennifer — 05.04.07 @ 10:11 am
Let’s stand up - I personally won’t “push 1″ if asked to for English. I just stay on the line like a dummy. I only cooperate if English is the default.
Comment by CJ — 05.04.07 @ 10:15 am
La Shawn:
I was stunned but not surprised when some “immigrant advocate” actually said the LA cops provoked the illegals throwing bottles.
I have lost interest in these people for several reasons:
1 NO ONE has a right to throw bottles at cops. These same people have NO respect for our laws.
2 They don’t represent decent Mexican Americans, but these decent Mexican Americans are maintaining a silence somewhat like “moderate Muslims”. They must take responsibility for their silence - it reeks of approval.
3 By such lawless actions, these “advocates” are making it less likely there will ever be a civilized “guest worker program”.
La Shawn, someone will do the jobs - if it’s not Mexicans, it will be Americans.
Comment by Frank Zavisca — 05.04.07 @ 10:17 am
Thank you for saying these things. It’s harder than I thought to stand up and say the truth sometimes. I’ve recently decided that there’s no more whitewashing in my conversations with others. Plain straight talk. The first time I said “Illegal Alien” instead of “undocumented worker” I was accused of being a racist. It hurt, and I went home and cried. Then I got over it, and kept saying it. Some people smile at me and start repeating it - like they feel free to say the truth. Others rant at me that I’m bigoted and racist and still give the tired line that no one would pick the tomatoes if we didn’t let them stay.
This problem of non-assimilating is NOT going to go away - that hit me big time yesterday. A woman stumbled into my office, lost, looking for an attorney to help her with her divorce.
1) She’s been married for 42 years in this country and has never applied for citizenship.
2) She DOES NOT speak English. (And she lived in Cleveland - how is that possible?)
3) She claims she can’t find a job because no one here speaks Spanish and won’t hire her (I live near San Antonio - and had to call her out on that particular line of BS)
4) So now she wants more than her half she’s entitled to from her husband since she’s not working anymore.
We as Americans allowed it to happen, now we’re reaping what we’ve sown.
Comment by Renee — 05.04.07 @ 10:30 am
La Shawn,
Your blog sure touched a nerve with me today.
I too get sick of hearing about people who AREN’T EVEN SUPPOST TO BE HERE demanding special treatment and action from MY government.
If I were to try the same things in Mexico, I’d be hustled out immediately if not landed in prison.
Illegal aliens get to take advantage of government programs that were put in place for American citizens. Illegal aliens can get special deals from universities. This takes funds from Americans.
Here in Idaho we had huge siezures of drugs being manufactured by illegals because it was easier for them to come here and produce the stuff than it was for them to stay in Mexico and smuggle it in.
WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR OUR GOVERNMENT TO WORK IN AMERICA’S INTEREST OVER MEXICO’S????
Comment by Montoya — 05.04.07 @ 10:40 am
La Shwan,
Read an article today in the LA Times, the United Nations is investigating Southern California’s treatment of “Imigrants”. Yes, I’m sure all will hear about how mean we are to “Immigrants”. Notice they don’t say ILLEGAL! Imagine, the United Nations Human Rights group is investigating Southern California. Why don’t they investigate Mexico? Why don’t they check out why all these folks are breaking our laws to come here? Why….because we are a bunch of dumb sheep who will apologize to the UN for being so MEAN to these people who have every right to be here. I give up….
Comment by Sparky — 05.04.07 @ 10:48 am
it won’t matter in the future. With interracial marriage on the rise, we will all be brown and slightly more attractive in the future. Hopefully, we’ll just consider ourselves American rather than 25% puerto rican, 25% black, 25% white, 25% asian.
Comment by audraeperkins — 05.04.07 @ 10:58 am
As usual, La Shawn is right on the money…
I have been hammering the ILLEGAL immigration thing pretty hard too and I get called a racist for it, well, if I go to Mexico, or any other nation for that matter, it’s MY respobsibility to either speak that language or to have an interpretor…
Press 1 for deportation…
Comment by TexasFred — 05.04.07 @ 11:06 am
Three big ATTAGIRLS! to La Shawn today.
“Calling an illegal alien an ‘undocumented immigrant’ is like calling a drug dealer an ‘unlicensed pharmacist’.”
Bottom line, we must push to teach our fellow citizens to seek TRUTH in all things once again, before it is too late.
Those who refuse to learn to do that, for whatever the reason, are our ENEMIES.
Comment by The Machine — 05.04.07 @ 11:08 am
Blogging about illegal immigration makes you angry! That should tell you how important it is to all your other values.
If it didn’t make you angry you would know your values were not threatened by it.
Channel your anger and keep struggling against the threat.
Comment by Rick — 05.04.07 @ 11:48 am
Now to answer the important question:
“May as well be hanged for a dragon as an egg” must be a quote from Harry Potter!
Which book? - Admin
Comment by John Kincheloe — 05.04.07 @ 11:52 am
“Calling an illegal alien an ‘undocumented immigrant’ is like calling a drug dealer an ‘unlicensed pharmacist’.â€
Hey M….
I _like_ that one!!
Comment by suek — 05.04.07 @ 11:52 am
In reference to #10:
This isn’t about race or ethnicity in the slightest. It’s about the law, who is breaking it, and who is failing to enforce it.
This issue is subject to so many distortions and red herrings that I sometimes despair, when in reality it’s the simplest of concepts, with only two pertinent threads running through it. First, illegal aliens are criminals. Secondly, those in government who fail to arrest, prosecute, imprison or deport these criminals are guilty of malfeasance and should be thrown out of their jobs immediately.
Why is this so difficult for liberals, Congress, and the White House to grasp?
Comment by RedBeard — 05.04.07 @ 12:19 pm
Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix … had to to google it
That’s cheating!
Not into Harry Potter, are you? - Admin
Comment by John Kincheloe — 05.04.07 @ 12:21 pm
… not into Harry Potter. Au contraire, I’ve read the books and seen the movies … only once each though.
Comment by John Kincheloe — 05.04.07 @ 12:27 pm
As a former resident of Oklahoma, and former employee of the State of Oklahoma, I can truthfully say that their present Governor is a complete moron. And, from personal experience, he is less impressive in person, if that is possible. On a side note, his claim to fame (how he won 2 elections) is/was allowing the lottery to come to the state, as well as increase Native American gaming, all to “help the children.” Shockingly enough, revenue from the gaming and the lottery is far below projections, and now schools are voicing concerns that they’re not getting their money. I wake up every morning joyful that I am no longer a resident of that State.
Regarding this particular piece of legislation, I believe it has the votes enough to secure an override if it’s vetoed, at least if the state legislators don’t flip flop.
Comment by KKD — 05.04.07 @ 12:31 pm
Our politicians are not listening to the majority of their people. If they want guest workers so badly, then I suggest that the government levy a tax on employers who hire guest workers to pay for the services that their guest workers use and their citizens currently pay for, e.g. medical care, education for their children, etc.
This, of course, after secure ID cards for guest workers, proof that the employer cannot find a citizen to do the job, criminal background checks and physicals to screen for communicable diseases.
Fine, loss of business licenses and deportation for everybody else.
Comment by dianne — 05.04.07 @ 12:33 pm
white people with the means to insulate themselves
Respectfully, I suggest you could leave off the “white” and this statement would still be true. I don’t know who’s cleaning Russell Simmons’ toilet, but I know he’s not sending his daughters to a city school full of kids who don’t speak English.
Anyway, I’ve spent the week walking around angry that the local paper printed a list of businesses that were closed on Tuesday for Illegal Alien Rally Day, but no one from ICE showed up at any of them on Wednesday. They wouldn’t even have to go to all of them–one or two well-publicized arrests of hiring managers and business owners should be enough to start making people think twice.
Comment by Radish — 05.04.07 @ 12:37 pm
You may get a lot of nastygrams for that post, La Shawn, but mine won’t be one of them. Because you’re right.
“Illegal alien” is definitely a better term for these people than “undocumented worker” (PC-speak! gag!) or “illegal immigrant” (that term gives legal immigrants a bad name and confuses the issue…which is probably what the Left wants). An even more accurate term would be “criminal trespasser,” because that’s what they are, and no amount of liberal tap-dancing can get around that inconvenient fact.
The truth of the matter is, it’s easy enough to follow the legal process to get into the United States. All you have to do is (1) apply at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate in your home country, and (2) wait your turn–there are a lot of people ahead of you in line. People who “jump the queue” on this process are, on top of everything else, just plain rude. It was Queen Clarice of Genovia who said, “Manners matter,” and that’s no less true in this instance.
Comment by Erbo — 05.04.07 @ 12:41 pm
LaShawn, Ever thought about getting a book out there, then follow up with a radio or tv show, or a activist organization representing a new era of civil rights causes? Just a few thoughts as I think it’s a shame you are not better known. As someone roughly your age, I find this country desperately needs a new generation of leaders with fresh ideas to replace the worn-out 60’s ones.
FK
Comment by marsouin — 05.04.07 @ 1:03 pm
My question is what took TexasFred so long to comment?
None of this matters until WE SECURE THE FLIPPING BORDER!!!!
We can discuss what to do with illegals all we want but until we acutally protect our borders it’s not worth a bucket of spit. Why do we keep trying to bail out the ship and ignore the damn leak?
Send in the marines, in force from the pacific to the gulf coast and see what happens. Probably help with the flow of drugs too…
Comment by Greg Laurich — 05.04.07 @ 1:04 pm
La Shawn, as you know, I live in OK now. And I’m OK with OK. As a commenter on a local talk station mentioned yesterday, “the new US border is now at the State border.
Brad Henry is a moron, as mentioned by KKD. However, we have TERM LIMITS here and the secular progressive side of the aisle are lame ducks. The fact that Henry stalled has plenty of Bluedogs Dems seeing red.
Funny how the lottery figures were suppressed until after the 06 election in which Henry & his crony AG returned with 2/3 majority.
Now we’re finding out that a lot of would be Republican voters sat on their hands, rather than vote as a matter of protest against the national GOP malaise. That notwithstanding, the Dems failed to gain a majority in both houses. This is why even though Brad Henry vowed to veto the two bills to crackdown illegal immigration and banning use of state funds (ie taxpayers’ money) for any abortion, he’s being overridden.
With the anti-illegal bill, he sprouted the mealy-mouthed tripe about he’s not going to discriminate against human beings regardless of their skin color. Well, the bill passed with more than enough votes to override the veto and landed on his desk yesterday afternoon. The question now is if he’ll go ahead and concede defeat or force the override. I think he wants to be seen as a hero to the MoveOn crowd, so he’s gotta veto it to burnish his creds. I’m sure he’s also politicking to see if he could buy off enough votes to sustain his veto.
A couple of weeks ago, the no-abortion-with-State-funds bill arrived with 1 vote needed to override a veto. Henry vetoed it and the swing vote caved and refused to vote to override. Unfortunately for him, it’s going to be a lose-lose, because the bill is being re-written that will survive a veto, plus IIRC, the swing voter comes from a district that is overwhelmingly pro-life.
Can you say, “misread his constituents”? At the rate the nutroots are going, it’s pretty safe to say OK won’t be blue on 08.
Then you have the AG chiming in that it must be vetoed because of the sanctity of women’s rights, blah, blah. IOWs, he’ll sue to declare the bill unconstitutional if passed.
Speaking of the AG, he pushed hard to classify animal waste as bio-hazard. Under the guise of going after the big poultry biz, a lot of people thot nothing of his smoke & mirror act until they realized too late what it actually meant. Bottomline, if you own any livestock, the poo has to be scooped! It’s wound up in court and the AG was overturned. Now he’s vowing to take it to the State supreme court.
Where do these arrogant & presumptuous moonbats get off trying to override the will of the people, no matter how much it may cost us?
Anyhoo, OK is on the frontlines of both illegal immigration & pro-life policies
That and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the SPs gin up a ‘best-selling’ paperback; “What’s The Matter With Those Okies From Muskogee?”
Comment by Andy — 05.04.07 @ 1:33 pm
A quibble. I am of latino descent. I don’t think illegal immigration is a good thing. Yes the borders should be better secured. Yes there should be more enforcement, and I’m glad LaShawn brought up the issue of sanctioning businesses that violate the law by EXPLOITING illegal immigrants. She’s vocal about her views, but as a latina I don’t believe she’s bigoted. But to the rest of you, be careful your opinions don’t start sliding into bigotry. And don’t ASSUME.
To the person who complained about the language thing - I agree. If you come here, you should learn to speak English. My mother for example, speaks heavily accented English. She’s learned it because she had to. But she is terrible at languages. As I suspect some of you may be. My mom is far more comfortable with Spanish. She came here LEGALLY. She lived here for years LEGALLY. She is now a naturalized CITIZEN. And if you give her the option between English and Spanish, she will always take Spanish.
Don’t assume that because the person has trouble with English (not DON’T SPEAK, have TROUBLE with) that they are automatically here ILLEGALLY. They might be just as much a citizen as you or I.
Comment by lucy — 05.04.07 @ 1:36 pm
La Shawn,
I haven’t commented in a while but since you mentioned my home state and worthless Governor right up front, I have to step up. I have commented before on the massive influx of Illegals that Oklahoma has experienced in the last 10 to 15 years, as well as the problems it has created for law enforcement as a result.
The State Legislature has recognized the problems we are having and the drain that is starting to be put on services here, and has finally taken action to try to at least slow down the flood of illegals. Governor Henry enjoys a high level of approval simply because he does absolutely nothing. The only things he has accomplished in two terms is the legalization of gambling (a major problem in and of itself), and the institution of a large tobacco tax hike that has given a huge advatage to Indian Smoke Shops over other retail outlets of tobacco products.
I look for Henry to veto this bill since what little action he does take is usually counter to the best interests of the people in this state.
The liberal local paper (Tulsa World) is pushing against the bill in a subtle manner. For instance, Sunday’s edition had a front page headline story of how hispanic’s moving in, have changed the face of one small town in which they are now the majority. It featured a large front page photo of two hispanic police officers in the town who can deal with them more effectively (such as speaking the language). There was a passing mention of the fact that some of the town’s new residents are legal, but that many are illegal, without making any judgement on the situation.
Here in Oklahoma’s second largest city, Tulsa, we have experienced a large influx also. They have brought with them a propensity to drive drunk, with no insurance or driver’s license. Also, new gangs which have added to our burgeoning gang problems. Many are possesed of a false machismo which leads to shootings, over someone cutting line at the taco stand. Many have a deepseated distrust of the police in spite of our “sanctuary city” type policies towards them.
Now before anybody jumps on me here about being “racist”, let me say, you don’t know me, my history, my record on the job as a police officer, or my family background, all of which can defeat that accusation. I just know what changes have been wrought in the region of the state in which I have lived and worked my whole life. Twenty-one years ago, my being able to speak Spanish rarely came into use on the job. Today it is a daily necessity. My beef is not with the so called law abiding illegals (How’s that for a contradictory terminology!) but with the criminals who have accompanied them.
I only hope that my prediction of Gov. Henry’s impending veto is wrong, and for once he acts in the best interests of the state instead of a handful of special interest groups.
Comment by Montie — 05.04.07 @ 1:44 pm
Lucy, it’s certainly understandable for your mother to be more comfortable with the language of her birthplace. That’s just logical. All immigrants from backgrounds of different languages would have the same situation, as did my non-English speaking ancestors.
But your mother is to be commended for learning English, coming here legally, and wanting to become a real American. This is all I ask of anyone who wants to come to this country.
The reason I detest the “push 1 for English” nonsense is that it exists because far too many immigrants are illegal and/or refuse to learn the language.
Comment by RedBeard — 05.04.07 @ 1:54 pm
Great post!
I was thunderstruck this morning listening to a news report about the LAPD investigation regarding the illegal alien riot/rally/whatever. It was so slanted, I thought I was going to puke. Not ONE mention of the illegal provocatuers and their rock and bottle throwing antics. Just police bad, illegals good and hardworking. Unbelievable.
Comment by Elizabeth S. — 05.04.07 @ 1:58 pm
Lou Dobbs is right. We CAN deport all the illegal aliens (provided we can find them).
We did the Berlin Airlift after WWII, we sent astronauts to the moon, and the president wants us to send astronauts to Mars. But we can’t figure out how to get a whole lot of people back across the border??? Oh, PLEEEEZZZ!!!
Comment by SkyePuppy — 05.04.07 @ 2:15 pm
Hi Lucy
I just read your post and would like to comment on a couple of points:
1) I applaud you for saying you are Latina and against illegal immigration in the same sentence. I don’t know the slang for an Hispanic Uncle Tom, but in some circles, you would surely be called out for your view.
2) At the risk of sounding condescending, I also applaud your mother for her accomplishments (echo RedBeard’s sentiments).
Maybe you can shed light on why someone who’s been in this country for over 42 years cannot speak English (see my earlier comment #7). My father all but forced to take Spanish for my foreign language requirement 18 yrs. ago in high school, telling me I would need it. I listened and I carried on with an additional 20 hours of college level Spanish. I had a total of 5 years of Spanish training more than 12 years ago and I am proficient reading, writing, and spelling to this day.
I know the educational avenues may not have been available to the woman mentioned in my comment, but 40 years of interaction in English speaking middle America? I just don’t get it.
It may be unfair, but unless I’m discussing business, I won’t converse in Spanish anymore. Sometimes I speak more Spanish in a day than English. While I’m not saying one language is better than another, it is fact, plain and simple, that English is an international language and the traditional language of this country. The language barrier can be a real divider to those who do not actively try to learn and use the language especially if you are a citizen.
P.S. - I’m not dumping on you or your view of using the first language because of the comfort zone, I’m just getting a little carried away (sigh).
Comment by Renee — 05.04.07 @ 2:19 pm
Shout out to Montie!!!
I also forgot to mention that a lot of people, dems included, are grumping that the provision to state that English is the official language was dropped from the bill sitting on Henry’s desk.
I agree, but then again, I’m satisfied that this is the toughest in the land - take what I can get. There’s always next year for them to come back and either amend the law to include it, or just pass it on its own merit.
Comment by Andy — 05.04.07 @ 2:37 pm
Somewhat on the subject, Newt Gingrich has an article about the government suing people for encouraging that English be spoken.
I am attaching a link. Sorry (La Shawn)if it is not supposed to be done.
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=20486
No problem! - Admin
Comment by Heather in MD — 05.04.07 @ 2:59 pm
As a resident of Southern California, I think the biggest warning sign is assimilation, or resistance to and lack thereof. Most of the Mexican citizens I’ve encountered have no intention of becoming “mexican-americans” or anything remotely resembling it. They want to be Mexicans and take advantage of opportunities in America. As a Mexican friend (working here legally) once told me, “The best thing about San Diego is that it’s just like living in Mexico!”.
Comment by just will — 05.04.07 @ 3:22 pm
AMEN La Shawn! We need more people like you in office. We need to replace the majority who supposedly represent Amercians.
As for our so-called Black leaders. Where were the Reverends Al and Jesse on May 1st? Why don’t they speak out against illegal immigration? It would be nice if they would put half the effort into speaking out against illegal immigration as they did Don Imus or assist the mother of Cheryl Greene, the 14 yr old Black girl who was gunned down by a Hispanic in Los Angeles for racist reasons.
The elite WANT ILLEGALS here because it also helps them to further their agenda to bring about the North American Union. Do you think the Federal Government would enforce our immigration laws if 12-30 million Haitians figured out how to get into the U.S. illegally? You bet they would! We don’t have to push 3 for French or 4 for Polish. We shouldn’t have to push 1 for English either. It’s America, although there are many moments when I wonder - is this America or Latin America (music, flags, spanish)!
“We The People” need to demand our rights per the U.S. Constitution - Article IV Section 4 clearly says every State is to be protected against INVASION! Since we are at War, you would think our so called leaders would atleast be concerned about National Security! Obviously, NOT!
Comment by Patriot Hawk — 05.04.07 @ 3:35 pm
Heard this guy as a call in on someone else’s show - very articulate, which call-ins usually aren’t - so I googled his name. He’s pretty worked up about the ‘oh well’ attitude of blacks on the illegal issue. He agrees with you that it will definitely come back to bite them. He has an interesting photo and write up on the LA police-MacArthur Park situation.
http://www.theterryandersonshow.com/
Comment by suek — 05.04.07 @ 3:47 pm
Why are individuals opposed to ILLEGAL immigration called bigots? America has put immigration laws into place that, if adhered to, would allow people from all nations, ethnicities, and religions to have an equal chance at getting into our land of prosperity. It is the proponents of amnesty for ILLEGAL immigrants that are the bigots. They want only one race “la raza” to dominate the immigration numbers.
Remember, LEGAL immigration means:
Health screening - Keeps out communicable diseases. Is paid for by the applicant.
Criminal background check - Keeps out criminals. Is paid for by the applicant.
Affidavit of Support - Means that no one can come live here unless the have a solid promise of a job, or have relatives with the financial means to support them until they can get up on there own feet.
Comment by Ed Morrow — 05.04.07 @ 3:54 pm
I am hispanic on my dad’s side. Two of the biggest scams going are, first, that hispanics are a “race,” - they are NOT, they are an ethnic group. The second scam is that this is “their continent” per the photo posted by LaShawn. Anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of history and geography will know that Spain is in Europe, and that Mexicans and virtually all Latinos are descended from Spanish conquistadors and colonizers. So WHOSE continent is it again?
Comment by Kim — 05.04.07 @ 4:07 pm
Can’t speak for anyone else on the board, but I know that “hispanic” is not a race. I use the word, improperly I admit, as shorthand to refer to mestizos, as opposed to hispanics of African descent, for example.
Comment by La Shawn — 05.04.07 @ 4:18 pm
LaShawn
Long time reader, first time posting. I have to say this and the War are the top items on my public issue list.
I heartfelt thank you for the “rant.” You articulated for me (and I think many) the fundamental problem with Illegal immigration.
I was born overseas and declared American at birth. My father was American, my Mom is Dutch. Dad passed away in ‘77 and Mom is still here. She is still a citizen of the Netherlands and does all the paperwork to maintain her green card. She is a Legal alien. She has/does the footwork by going to the consulate and doing the paperwork. For that she is allowed to stay. My mother insisted that my father make us US citizens at birth. She (Mom) loves her native Holland and says that she thought about switching but her ties to family in Holland are strong. She said as long as she could still apply for resident alien status she was OK with it.
My Brother and Sisters are all US citizens and Damn Proud of it. My number 2 sister and I are USAF retirees (44 years between the two of us). We grew up overseas in many different countries and were blessed to be Americans.
What I am amazed at is the fact that We Americans are so apathetic on this issue. We are being played for suckers. The Politicos on both sides of the aisle are pandering to illegals and the taxpayers are picking up the tab. This issue is about illegal immigration. Not Immigration, Illegal Immigration. I 100% support immigration, if it were not the case I would be a self loathing journalist for the LA Times. The people who apply for visas, do the paperwork and get here legally get my support, to them I say “Welcome, enjoy your stay, obey the rules and make the most out of America.” To those who are here illegally and those who hire, support and try to legitimize illegals, I say “Get the Fornication out.” Don’t let the door hit you on the backside as you leave.
As I was cutting my own yard the other day, my neighbor asked why I did not have a landscaper do it (as most of the neighborhood does). I told him I don’t support illegal immigration and do not want them cutting my yard. He said he never thought about it that way. I told him to ask his landscaper to only send out legal aliens or residents. He said they don’t have ‘em. I just shook my head and went back to mowing.
If most people would only realize that the landscapers, house cleaners, restaurants and other companies by hiring illegally undercut their American hired competition. By using these folks, they don’t pay the IRS or the State squat on taxes, and have placed a huge drain on the public system via schools, healthcare etc. You may get a clean house and a nice yard but are you screwing your chances of survival at an emergency room? are you kids getting the best education without having to be overcrowd in a classroom? Do you pay enough Social Security to pay for you, your landscaper and house cleaner to get it when they hit 65? Do you pay enough in welfare to help the needy Americans and can pay for needy illegals as well? I can’t and won’t.
If you want in, do the paperwork, apply for the visa and obey the rules. As Lou Dobbs has been saying, this is a travesty on the middle class and low income Americans. What used to be jobs for high school kids and unskilled Americans is now outsourced to an Illegal. It is time for it to stop. I say we adopt Mexico’s laws on immigration. They don’t allow it.
Herkeng
In the Former Republic of Texas
Comment by Herkeng — 05.04.07 @ 4:29 pm
Back at ya’ Andy!
Kim,
You are absolutely right. There are white, brown and black “hispanics” and it is not a race, but an ethnic group. Our current state provided report forms call for a race with a separate block which says “ethnicity” and calls for a yes or no and refers to hispanic ethnicity. But, the term has come to be commonly associated with brown skinned Central and South American peoples and is used in a racial context in that regard even though it is not technically correct.
Comment by Montie — 05.04.07 @ 4:30 pm
Ms. Barber, I would like to ask if you believe that there are any social problems in this country which cannot be contributed to minorities?
Have blacks, which you often cite as antagonist, contributed anything worth retaining here or has this experiment all be for naught.
Respectfully Yours,
Elliott
Comment by elliott — 05.04.07 @ 4:37 pm
I don’t know… I guess I’d be Aunt Tomas?
Actually there’s a lot of diversity of opinion among latino americans about the illegal immigration issue. latinos are not a homogenous group. But it’s OK if some latinos think that of me (I’m sure some do). I make up my own mind about things. That’s a gift I got from my dad.
Another thing my dad taught me is that immigrating to another country, establishing yourself and becoming a citizen in that country and then going on and on about how your home country is so great is silly. When he came here a million years ago he came because he was dirt poor in his home country. He has not gone back to visit, and he didn’t leave any family there so it was easy for him to cut ties. He dusted that country off his feet, came here, established himself, changed his nationality to that of the US, served in the Army for years, raised his family here, etc… he was the first person to tell me that your country is the one that sustains you and where you are able to establish yourself. Of course might have been easier for him to adjust because the carribeanesqe country he’s from was originally a British colony, so he already spoke English.
My mom came here when she married dad. And this is where I get to my point that you can in fact be in this country for 30-40-50 years and still struggle with English. She came here as almost a 30 year old. Besides some English in high school she never spoke it in her life. And she’s just bad at learning languages. She left family in her latin american country and she did well there so obviously it was harder for her to break away. She was a SAHM until she finally had to work when she was middle aged. She watches Spanish TV and she speaks to me in Spanish. But when she came here she really had a trial by fire. She can definitely understand English and defend herself in English. But given her circumstances she’s had trouble learning it. She has no knack for it. My brother, father and i have all tried to teach her, but she sounds like she came here last year.
Its like math (which is a language too). I’m college educated, and I took math right up until calculus. But I was terrible at it. Even today when I see numbers my brain freezes up. When I get the bill at dinner, I have to pull out my cell phone calculator. I just stink at numbers. If I went to a country that spoke math, I’d have a bigger accent than my mom.
But my parents are now US citizens and even my mom feels more at home here than she does in her home country. My bro and I are bilingual it’s only helped us to be so. Knowing other languages expands one’s capacity. But we’ve learned both languages from the cradle, and we both favor English over spanish because our father, the TV, and our peers speak English.
But we are all proud Americans.
ps I know what LaShawn means about hispanics being as racist as anyone else. As a latina with fairly dark skin, I know for a fact that colorism and racism exist in Latin America just as much as here, if not more so because there it is unacknowledged and much less dealt with.
Comment by lucy — 05.04.07 @ 4:50 pm
Hmmmm.
As someone born in Asia I don’t feel like I need to bend over backwards for blacks either.
Comment by memomachine — 05.04.07 @ 4:55 pm
OK I posted a superlong comment and it totally got lost. Grr.
Highlights -
* my parents have both been here for years and years - my dad served in the Army. One speaks perfect English, the other struggles with it. Dad came as a teenager, from a country whose official language was English. my mom came here as an adult having never spoken the language. She has absolutely no knack for languages. She’s as language deficient as I am math deficient. So people can def be here 30-40-50 years and not speak English well. It does happen. Cest La Vie. However they both are proud americans, and neither of them (esp dad!) encourage me to wave any other flag than this one.
* Agreed - Latino is not a race. We are a heterogenous group. There is a wide diversity of opinion among latinos about illegal immigration, so even though some might think I’m an aunt Tomas for being a proud american and speaking what I like to consider flawless english, many do not. And btw LaShawn is right - Latinos have as much problems with racism as any other group, and I know this as a “triguena” (which means medium brown, about the color of caramel or cinnamon). See http://www.jrn.columbia.edu/studentwork/race/2001/puerto_weil.shtml. The difference is that among latinos it is not as well acknowledged.
*I do think that latinos could use an evolution similar to the one american whites are still undergoing.
Comment by lucy — 05.04.07 @ 5:00 pm
OK now I just look crazy w/the multiple comments. sorry all!
Comment by lucy — 05.04.07 @ 5:12 pm
Lucy~
Wouldn’t it be more something like “Tia Tomasina”??
Comment by Miss Ladybug — 05.04.07 @ 7:08 pm
#42 - Huh??
Comment by RedBeard — 05.04.07 @ 7:19 pm
I think the guy in # 42 meant “contributed”
Comment by Angel — 05.04.07 @ 7:27 pm
I agree with the comment that US residents in the interior states won’t know what hit them in a couple of years if the influx of illegal immigrants continues. Our culture is undergoing a fundamental change and it ain’t pretty. I grew up in southern California and can attest to the shift. One anecdote for the road — I work on UCLA’s campus and was entering a building that was having some retrofit construction done to it (by what appears to be an entirely Mexican crew — another job Americans won’t do?). I passed one of the crew members who greeted me in Spanish. I knew enough to know that he was saying hello and so I responded, in English, with a polite hello back. He then continued to speak to me in Spanish (!) and when I didn’t respond he said something to the effect that his English wasn’t very good and that people didn’t mind when he spoke Spanish to them. I responded (again, politely) that I didn’t speak Spanish at all and continued on into the building. But I could see out of the corner of my eye he was a bit miffed with my response. I may be reading too much into it, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he was thinking, “Well, lady, you better learn Spanish, and pretty darn soon!” We’re reaching a boiling point out here on the west coast and its episodes like this that will fuel the fire.
Comment by Liz — 05.04.07 @ 7:46 pm
Oops. I think #42 meant “attributed to”
Comment by Angel — 05.04.07 @ 7:54 pm
Well, even if we substitute “attributed,” I’m still baffled.
Comment by RedBeard — 05.04.07 @ 8:00 pm
I’m with you La Shawn! Your words express many of my own feelings on the subject.
Like you, I wonder why our elected (by CITIZENS) officials have turned a deaf ear and a blind eye upon the needs and desires of those that elected them (CITIZENS) and bend over backwards to placate people whose first act in the States, namely entering the States, was an illegal one.
I too get the very strong urge to throw my shoe through the TV screen whenever I hear someone say “immigrant” when they mean “illegal alien.”
Comment by joated — 05.04.07 @ 8:46 pm
This is certainly America’s problem in that we’ve ‘let’ illegals in for our benefit. It has snowballed on us and now we seem to be paralyzed as to what to do. Most distressing to me is the message that laws carry little weight.
So, what to do? Enforce the laws. All laws. For all people.
La Shawn - you’re gonna keep rising.
Comment by Mel Williams — 05.04.07 @ 9:14 pm
It is the proponents of amnesty for ILLEGAL immigrants that are the bigots.
Ed, I commend you for having the guts to say this. I will add that another group of bigots are those who refuse to distinguish between legal and illegal immigrants. Tell them you’re against ILLEGAL immigration, and they will call you racist, xenophobic, etc.
La Shawn, the only place where I disagree with you is that it’s not simply whites, but people who are well-off who can “insulate themselves”. This group will largely, but not exclusively, white. Other than that, I couldn’t agree more.
It looks like the “dragon and egg” question has already been answered. The only dragons I know anything about any more are those of Pern.
Comment by Bigfoot — 05.04.07 @ 9:20 pm
WOW!!!!
Lashawn, that was the best thing I’ve read from you in long time. You said it all, girl, and you said it well!!!!!!!! Especially the last paragraph. I’ve been telling other black people for years not to give WORDS power over them, and they just look at me like I’m speaking greek or something.
I don’t know what to do to fix it, but like you said, keep voting, keep praying, etc……
Bless you and yours, and thanks for your blog.
Comment by Lonevoice — 05.04.07 @ 9:31 pm
i may be in the minority (in more ways than one=) but i think this issue won’t be resolved until the more pressing issues within the other borders are solved. people know this is the land of milk and honey, freedom and money. if people liked living in poverty or under a dictatorship, we wouldn’t hear/see reports of ‘57 Chevy’s being modified into lifeboats en route to FL, or of illegals coming here to earn money and sending it home. given the opportunity, by hook or by crook, people will opt for the better, easier life, even if it means losing it in the process.
a multi-fence barrier (tall, thick ones w/barbed wire at the top and armed officers on the u.s. side)will bring illegal immigration to a standstill but that’s virtually a pipedream since some people and leaders in this country have swayed too far to the emotional (and party vote)side of the issue. overall, i don’t think we mind helping people (and their families) get ahead, as long as they do so legally. i realize this isn’t my blog and don’t want to take any liberties, but i’m just curious as to what others think since i’ve posed the question to myself as well. if an illegal asked for your help (ie: food, clothing, maybe even $), would you provide it? i’m all for the romans 13 view of govt but this is also a human being created in God’s image.
Comment by thomas — 05.04.07 @ 9:35 pm
Illegal immigrants give legal immigrants like my wife a bad rap. In an effort to give illegals a free ride, the MSM gives them Orwellian names like “undocumented workers” (reminds me of their fondness for referring to terrorists as “insurgents”). Critics of the whole dirty process get smeared as “racists” and “xenophobes”.
Some of you may remember legal immigration. For the rest of you - that happens when people obey the law to come to the USA. Don’t happen much these days, thanks to the open-border maniacs.
Comment by Mwalimu Daudi — 05.04.07 @ 10:22 pm
Have any of you guys ever read anything on blackprof.com? After reading a whole series of posts on why blacksshould never defend this “horrific” country, I wondered what these folks mean by patriotism. I gather it means that one hates the country that one finds itself in, but loves the country that would exist if ‘haters’ were in charge.
http://www.blackprof.com/archives/2007/05/should_black_folks_die_in_iraq.html#comments
Comment by jan — 05.04.07 @ 11:53 pm
I couldn’t have said it better…Okay…a question for the others…
Are you active? Have you joined http://www.numbersusa.com? Or Save Our State? REcently a bunch of Americans descended upon Washington DC to protest any amnesty and the jailing of Campos and Compean. Did you know about it?
Please, get active. I FAX and/or call almost every day. NO kidding. It’s a part of my day. We must do something…you have to be active.
Comment by Anonymous — 05.05.07 @ 12:03 am
After reading your rant I feel saying anything except,”Amen” is just gilding the lily.
Comment by Subvet — 05.05.07 @ 1:19 am
Sadly, I think things won’t get fixed until we have a terrorist attack within our borders that can be traced back to something or someone coming over our southern border…
Comment by Miss Ladybug — 05.05.07 @ 2:02 am
Thomas,
Let me ask you this. If someone broke into your home and ‘borrowed’ your groceries, would you then hand them the keys to your car? Would it matter to you if that person was from India, Chad, or Mexico? Would you be willing to then hand over money to the robber because his or her goal was a better life for their family? I know that I would be disinclined to allow someone to illegally take what is mine, even if they could use it or need it. I am not allowed to steal from others even if I have a desperate financial need or even if my family is destitute.
I have no problem with any person immigrating to the USA legally. I do have a problem with people breaking our laws in order to enter our country, especially since we seem to enforce those immigration laws selectively. It is interesting to me that Haitians and Cubans who try to flee to the USA are promptly intercepted and deported to their home country. It would seem to me that the daily life of a Haitian would make the daily life of most Mexicans look like paradise. Cubans fleeing to escape the regime of Castro should be able to claim political asylum. There are people from troubled regions in Africa, Asia, and Central Europe who are still waiting to be admitted to the USA. Yet the focus of all the debate are those ‘undocumented workers’ from Mexico. It is a special form of racism to pander to a Hispanic group of people who are in the US through obvious illegal means while ignoring other potential immigrant populations or deporting them without a second thought.
Comment by Renee P — 05.05.07 @ 2:27 am
“Anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of history and geography will know that Spain is in Europe, and that Mexicans and virtually all Latinos are descended from Spanish conquistadors and colonizers. So WHOSE continent is it again?”
In that case, one could argue that everyone who isn’t directly descended from the ‘Indian’ tribes doesn’t own the Americas either.
It doesn’t work does it? There are no ‘authentic’ rights bestowed on a ‘people’ for land in reality, it’s just an ongoing power struggle for control of land. Land ‘rights’ are ‘won’ by trade, treaties, gift, war, luck, or if you believe in manifest destiny and the supernatural, then (insert deity who likes you the best).
Comment by JohnD — 05.05.07 @ 7:59 am
American Indians aren’t native to North America; they came from elsewhere. Hence the PC term “Native Americans” is thoroughly meaningless, unless it applies, as it should, to anyone born here.
Comment by RedBeard — 05.05.07 @ 8:06 am
>>It is a special form of racism to pander to a Hispanic group of people who are in the US through obvious illegal means while ignoring other potential immigrant populations or deporting them without a second thought.>>
You know…this is an aspect of illegal immigration that I hadn’t considered. I was definitely surprised when the issue was raised that anti-illegal immigration was racist because we assumed that all of IIs were Mexican or south American and no one was protesting the illegal _Irish_ immigrants. Irish????? I thought the Irish immigration ended a hundred years ago! It turns out that there are some 30,000 Irish illegals in the US. Not terribly significant when you consider the multi-millions of Mexicans, but still - they should be included as illegals when they are. The problem with illegal Mexicans, I think, is the attitude that many have - the idea that they don’t have to (try to) learn English, and that just because they get here on their own two feet that somehow the US belongs to them. They’re unwilling to assimilate, in other words. They don’t want to be US citizens - they just want to live better - but they’re loyalty belongs to Mexico. There’s an attitude of “I’m going to get what I want but I owe you _nothing_” that is offensive to most of us. It’s not exactly theft(assuming non-criminals here)but it’s also not exactly an agreed upon exchange.
However - to the point - to give amnesty to Mexican illegals while at the same time rejecting immigrants from other countries - who are usually of other races - does indeed have a racial aspect…whether intended or not. Maybe it’s the Mexicans who are racist - because they expect special treatment?
Comment by suek — 05.05.07 @ 10:23 am
A Sad Parallel…
I bought a bird feeder. I hung it on my back porch and filled it with seed. Within a week we had hundreds of birds taking advantage of the continuous flow of free and easily accessible food.
But then the birds started building nests in the boards of the patio, above the table, and next to the barbecue. Then came the poop. It was everywhere: on the patio tile, the chairs, the table…everywhere. Then some of the birds turned mean: They would dive bomb me and try to peck me even though I had fed them out of my own pocket. And others birds were boisterous and loud: They sat on the feeder and squawked and screamed at all hours of the day and night and demanded that I fill it when it got low on food.
After a while, I couldn’t even sit on my own back porch anymore. I took down the bird feeder and in three days the birds were gone. I cleaned up their mess and took down the many nests they had built all over the patio. Soon, the back yard was like it used to be…quiet, serene and no one demanding their rights to a free meal.
Now lets see…our government gives out free food, subsidized housing, free medical care, free education and allows anyone born here to be a automatic citizen. Then the illegals came by the tens of thousands. Suddenly our taxes went up to pay for free services; small apartments are housing 5 families: you have to wait 6 hours to be seen by an emergency room doctor: you child’s 2nd grade class is behind other schools because over half the class doesn’t speak English: Corn Flakes now come in a bilingual box; I have to press “one” to hear my bank talk to me in English, and people waving flags other than “Old Glory” are squawking and screaming in the streets, demanding more rights and free liberties.
Maybe it’s time for the government to take down the bird feeder.
Comment by JustGoAway! — 05.05.07 @ 10:23 am
renee p,
heck no=) i did fail to mention (although it’s very obvious) that these illegals aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. our govt could deport illegals but it seems they are hesitant (or reeeeeaaaaallly slow) in doing so. even if they were deported, there’s no barrier to prevent them from returning. hence, we’re stuck with them. i guess my point is this: do we have a “responsibility” to take care of our fellow man even if we don’t condone/agree with their actions? i mean, we house, clothe, feed, and defend (via lawyers) hardened criminals.
Comment by thomas — 05.05.07 @ 12:24 pm
LaShawn,
If it walks like an illegal alien, and it talks like a proponent of comprehensive immigration reform, it must be anarchy.
Every illegal alien, proponent of comprehensive immigration reform, and American patriot knows that our immigration laws are meaningless. If we can’t depend on our government to enforce the law, then we really don’t have law.
How anyone can think that ignoring the laws we have and making a whole new set of laws that won’t be enforced is a good thing blows my mind! You and other conservative bloggers and radio shows are my only refuge.
Comment by Cedjan — 05.05.07 @ 1:02 pm
Loved the “rant”. You are right on the money LSB.
Happy Bday. Keep blogging…what about getting a book and visiting the Midwest?
Comment by Meg — 05.05.07 @ 3:41 pm
Thomas,
I think you are confusing several issues. As a Christian I believe that every person is fashioned in the image of God and therefore worthy of the basic respect accorded that position in creation. I am not advocating that anyone be mistreated, starved, or have basic needs ignored.
In addition to my personal religious convictions, I live in a nation which operates under the ‘rule of law’. We have laws in place that, at least in theory, require all people be accorded certain rights regardless of their standing in society. Therefore we cannot abuse others because we don’t like them, even if they have committed heinous or cruel actions against other individuals or our society as a whole. That’s why we must provide lawyers to those who have been accused and feed,clothe, and properly house convicted criminals.
As an American citizen and a Christian I am not advocating barbarism to remove illegal aliens. If a child is hungry, that child should be fed. If a woman or man is sick, they should have some kind of avenue to seek medical care. But I do want the rule of law to be applied!
If you are in this country illegally, you should be deported. You should not be shot in the back, starved, or denied your basic needs, but you should also not be given what is not legally yours! The laws are already in place, it is a matter of WILL to see that they be applied. You state that ‘we’re stuck with them [illegal aliens from Mexico] but that is NOT THE CASE. We are only stuck with them to the extent we allow the situation. We don’t seem to lack the will to deport illegal aliens from other countries,even if they have legitimate claims to asylum, which was one of the points I made in my previous email.
If I, as an American, travel to another country, I am subject to that nation’s laws. If I, as an American, illegally enter a country,I have no recourse to claim the rights of a native citizen. So why should those who enter the USA illegally expect to be exempt from the laws of the US? And why should certain illegal aliens expect—no, demand, special rights that aren’t available to most legal citizens of this country? That is the state of affairs as they stand today, a rather Alice in Wonderland experience if you ask me.
Comment by Renee P — 05.05.07 @ 4:03 pm
Will Mexico be called racist & xenophobic for maintaining a secure border to their South? I hear that sometimes they will shoot to kill if illegals try to rush the border.
For that matter, so does China, particularly on the NoKo border. Likewise many other countries that have a problem with illegal immigrants, they have no qualms about rounding them up and pushing them back across, kicking & screaming. What of Italy pushing back the Albanians and what have you, or Spain pushing back Africans on their N. Africa border?
Only the US is called racist for even thinking about tighter security on the border. Oh yeah, it’s always open season on the ‘rich’ Gringos.
Comment by Andy — 05.05.07 @ 8:21 pm
Andy;
You are so right…We are now living in the world of bizarro in which there are different strokes for different folks.
Recently, I was reading a post absolutely bashing “white flight” while describing “black flight” as a reasonable response to rising crime.
So, when a white person flees from crime it is attributed to racism, but when a person of color does the same thing, it is to protect their family.
I live in a crime ridden area and recently had a conversation with an elderly neighbor who “refused” to flee back in the day and now cannot sell his home because it is now worth half of its previous value.
While America is very sensitive to those who have lost their homes due to gentrification (and thus higher taxes due to rising valuations), there is utter disregard for those who have not only lost their homes but have lost their life savings when fleeing from areas with rampaging crime.
Estimates are that Americans have lost well over a trillion dollars in property value due to rising crime rates.
Where is the outrage?
Comment by jan — 05.05.07 @ 8:47 pm
jan,
What was the point of #59? You know as well as I do that viewpoint is the minority opinion. Most blacks love this country and defend it every day? Should I now look for some white supremacist website and hawk that as meaning something?
Comment by Angel — 05.05.07 @ 10:33 pm
It is getting so ridiculous the dame illegals keep having their marched and the police get in trouble for trying to keep the clowns under control If we kept the clowns under control they would still be in there own countries causing trouble there. What we need to do is next time they have one of there fool gatherings is scoop them up in trucks and drive they all to the border and send them back .Then the ones that are legal can walk across to the U.S again but all the other can start swimming hopefully by then the fence will be built to keep them where they belong.
Comment by Frank Romano — 05.06.07 @ 9:28 am
Angel;
RE # 74 I didn’t realize that black prof was an extremist website. Thanks for letting me know as much of the commentary was disturbing.
It doesn’t help when one reads the very same things from poet laureates, famous/not-so-famous college professors, and journalists all over America.
I don’t hear the views of the KKK given anything other than a very deserved collective disgust.
Comment by jan — 05.06.07 @ 10:05 am
Exactly, Jan. Neo-Nazis and Klansmen are taken seriously by no one but the scummy members of their own sick little groups. But the anti-American leftists get tenure, awards, and jobs in journalism.
Comment by redbeard — 05.06.07 @ 11:11 am
Redbeard;
For some time now, I have been puzzling over the notion that there are extremists on the left and extremists on the right and that they are roughly equivalent.
Ergo, I pose this question to the group:
Are extremist views/vulgarities/hate speech/rage/etc. equally represented on the left and on the right? Do they receive the same acceptance and/orlack-of-acceptance by those deemed moderates on each side of the spectrum?
One example might be the rancid Mexia Movement mural covering Roosevelt High in LA, a school with one of the worst achievement records in the US. Depicted in the mural were pictures of white men delightedly feeding infants to dogs and smashing babies’ skulls against rocks with glee.
So, if this degraded mural is a reflection of just a tiny group, how is it that this was allowed to festoon a school and infest the minds of students? Can anyone imagine a conservative school allowing a similarly racist mural?
Comment by jan — 05.06.07 @ 12:13 pm
Jan, I think the mural is a few hundred years too late. But I’d like to see school books showing some balance. If genocide brought about Modern America, then we should also celebrate how genocide brought about modern Germany?
“Depicted in the mural were pictures of white men delightedly feeding infants to dogs and smashing babies’ skulls against rocks with glee.”
That nonetheless is the truth, just as I wouldn’t want my kids to know anything BUT the truth about Hitler, or Stalin.
However, to use images of a half-century old genocidal powertripper like Columbus to attack George Bush today, is akin to using depictions of Hitler to attack Hi(tler)ry Clinton, or, er, George Bush.
And on it goes. There is no sign of right wing groups like Amren and CofCC, VDare, etc etc slowing down their pro-white stance, and they still show all-black stories, all-black-pictures of all-black criminals all the time. So surely there is a balance of idiots using cherry-picked facts to amplify their race-based agendas?
Comment by JohnD — 05.06.07 @ 2:33 pm
I forgot to say, I don’t support Amren, CofCC, La Raza, various pro-hispanic groups, Rasafarian hate-mongers, or even those lovely Prussian blue girls who “just want to celebrate bing white”.
Pah. To all of them.
And pah to those who don’t call out their ‘own’.
Double standards all round, pass the cake.
Comment by JohnD — 05.06.07 @ 3:02 pm
JohnD,
I’ve never HEARD of “Amren and CofCC, VDare”.
But on the other side, you’ll will find their point of view in mainstream media, schools, textbooks, etc.
How does this balance out? It doesn’t. That was Jan’s point. You won’t find anyone outside of those right-wing extremist groups supporting what they do. On the other hand, left-wing extremists views ARE mainstreamed every day.
Comment by Stacey — 05.06.07 @ 3:05 pm
JohnD;
At the end of the day, the reality is that everyone in the entire world knows about James Byrd (I read all about it in the Arab news and was horrified), yet, few people in the world know about Channon Christian or Long Beach, or Yankel Rosenbaum, or the hideous brutality being meted out to white farmers in South Africa….
When my daughter’s best friend was gang raped by a group of black men in Tennnessee who carved racial epithets in her thighs with their pocket knives (naturally, there was no word about this in the media)I remember being shocked as this was the FIRST time I had ever heard about black on white crime. I thought it was an extraordinary anomally, as I only knew what the MSM allowed me to know.
So, if we wish to enshrine history, let’s enshrine it with all of its warts and all of its ugliness. Let’s put Channon and Yankel and native Americans and the slaughter of white farmers in South Africa on the murals. Let’s let everyone see everyone in all of their unglorious ugliness.
Maybe then, we can all just get on with our lives.
Comment by jan — 05.06.07 @ 4:20 pm
“How does this balance out?”
I don’t know, care to number all the American schoolbooks that treat Columbus as a hero?
Then number how many that tell what he really did?
What did you learn in school? I learned the names of the ships and ‘bla bla bla Queen of Spain.’
Not until I did my own research was I to realise the wholesale slaughter and thievery that ocurred.
But anyway, this is so silly, it’s the same old ‘their crowd is worserer than our crowd’ game.
Do is it matter to you that certain liberals make little distinction between ‘republicans’ and Jared Taylor and Pat Buchanan and Jerry Falwell with Ann Coulter and Amren and Freepers and Michelle Malkin and godhatesfags and David Duke and telling the truth about abortion?
Does it matter to you that certain conservatives make no distinction between ‘democrats’and Michael Moore and La Raza and Malcolm X, and the Daily Kos and and Jesse Jackson and telling the truth about Columbus?
If you are so far to the right, everything looks left, if you are so far to the left, everything looks right!
One day maybe they will all stop playing the race games, and extreme conservatives will stop hammering on about ‘blacks bad, m’kay’ and extreme liberals will stop hammering on about ‘whites bad, m’kay’.
Equal opportunity hating/smearing/broad-brushing is a full time occupation in blogworld.
Comment by JohnD — 05.06.07 @ 4:47 pm
“So, if we wish to enshrine history, let’s enshrine it with all of its warts and all of its ugliness. Let’s put Channon and Yankel and native Americans and the slaughter of white farmers in South Africa on the murals. Let’s let everyone see everyone in all of their unglorious ugliness.”
Absolutely agree.
Comment by JohnD — 05.06.07 @ 4:47 pm
JohnD;
At the end of the day, I ache for the world that my granddaughter has shoved in her face. I cannot see where the singular focus on the evils of man will make her life a better one.
Without balance, I fear that she will hear a view that does not take into account the extraordinary selflessness of man.
I fear that she will get a jaundiced view that does not take into account the martyrs and and the extraordinary selflessness that have been such an integral part of the world as we know it.
So, perhaps there was a man one day that took joy in feeding an infant to the dogs, but there were countless more individuals who gave their lives so that others could live.
At the end of the day, what have the Roosevelt highs of the world done to uplift students? They have not taught them the skills to achieve but have merely filled their heads with a message of hate and victimhood.
How is that a good thing?
Comment by jan — 05.06.07 @ 5:01 pm
“I cannot see where the singular focus on the evils of man will make her life a better one.”
Jan, I entirely agree.
“At the end of the day, what have the Roosevelt highs of the world done to uplift students?”
Please read my comments regarding balance. I don’t wish for students to learn just about the Holocaust and Pearl Harbour. I wish for them to learn about Columbus, and Stalin and Pol Pot, China and Tibet etc.
I wish for them to learn about how the Jewish war refugees were turned back to die on their boat from Miami, about how America finally gave enormous resources to the war effort, about how we quarrel and bicker for political gain and egotistical polarized half-truth talking-points, yet how people come together every day to help each other in all corners of the world.
I wish for them to learn about great achievments, marvelous rescues, astounding inventions, political failures and successes, the incredible diveristy and functions of the Natural World, about healing, and medicine, about philosophy and religions, about crime and about passion, literature and poetry, and history warts and all.
There is no truth I don’t like told, but there are so few I see consistently told.
Comment by JohnD — 05.06.07 @ 5:14 pm
But since I don’t run anything but this blog, I’ll use it to share my disgust at what my country is becoming: a balkanized, third world, uncivilized, rule of law-shamming mess. (Y’all better pray I don’t get elected to office.)
As a white working class conservitive christian, I’m praying you DO get elected to office. The bigger, the better! Most of those elected to office desperately need to hear a good dose of common sense!
Comment by Ronnie — 05.06.07 @ 5:48 pm
JohnD;
Quite frankly, I am more interested in what is transpiring in my world today. Having just been hit with the ninth criminal action against my family in sixteen months, I am not overly concerned about what Columbus did or did not do and I am not sure that any of us can put it within context.
However, I just asked my 21 year old son what he had heard about Columbus. He said that he had been taught tht Columbus was the scum of the universe and was responsible for genocide.
He went onto slavery and it wasn’t pretty.
I asked him if he knew that freed blacks had slaves and he was stunned as he had never heard any mention of that. He had no clue that whites counted for a quarter of all those who had been lynched. I asked him about current interracial crime in the US and he thought that virutally all of it must be white on black, when the truth is just the opposite.
So much for truth.
I have never talked to my children about crime rates and such as I subscribe to the view that kids should have childhoods.
What I know is that we are under siege by the criminal elements of our society of all races who soak up enormous amounts of our hard earned taxes, do not pay for them, and do not take advantage of the extraordiary opportunities in our country while routinely victimizing the rest of us.
Having had one child brutally raped and beaten, at the end of the day, I don’t really care that much about history. I want to know if I can let my children go to the store without worrying about them being mugged. I want to know if I can go to bed at night and wake up the next morning. I want to know if we can work hard and be allowed to enjoy the fruits of our labor.
Comment by jan — 05.06.07 @ 6:03 pm
“So much for truth.”
‘Well, Jan, now it seems that with your input, he has a more rounded access to the truth. As a matter of interest, do you teach him the bits you don’t ‘like’? The bits that didn’t support your political affilation’s version of the truth?
I’m always pulling my son up for his easy recourse to anti-conservative rants, and skewed version of history. That’s youth for you. But I’m glad he knows both the horrors of the church, and the successes of the church.
Yet I’m also appalled at my father’s total ignorance of everything that isn’t the stock conservative/nationalist’s ‘version’ of history.
argh! It’s simply and enormously false.
Nonetheless, I feel that teaching history is terribly important, yet ridiculously co-opted by today’s divisive polarized climate. Slavery’s history should be taught, but in a balanced fashion. Do you teach that the Southern Church was pro-slavery, and used the Bible to preach segregation? Or isn’t that considered important knowledge?
The problem I see today is people are so concerned with redressing the ‘balance’ of both real and distorted ‘wrongs’, that they weigh their facts too heavily. Balance is lost.
‘Balance’ in education is simply the full access to facts, not pick-and-choose-factiness-via-political affiliation.
“I want to know if I can let my children go to the store without worrying about them being mugged.
Then I would escort them with a gun, or move somewhere less infested with crime. I’m sorry for your experiences, it sounds like an awful neighbourhood.
Pragmatism outstrips all other knowledge.
Comment by JohnD — 05.06.07 @ 6:46 pm
JohnD;
It is an awful neighborhood and I have developed a very jaundiced view of the poor in the US after working for decades to start businesses for folks from third world countries who were desperate to get a toe hold on the world.
This week, one policeman told me that he had been on the following two calls. 1) parents called because they wanted advice on how to get their nine year old to stop smoking pot 2) an eleven year old called them to arrest his mother for threatening to spank him merely for telling her “F. no, I ain’t gonna do what you say and you can’t make me.”
Meanwhile, this welfare family had found the resources to put up a plasma tv wall screen in their son’s room. I asked the police how this was possible and he said that the poor here prey on others and often have large amounts of disposable cash.
So, when I hear our city’s finest wailing about the plight of the poor, I rebell against the notion that many of us are working seventy hours a week to provide for these low lifes.
As for my children, I have never attempted to foist my views upon them. I would say that my kids are extraordinarily generous and have a lovely giving view of folks. Being born and growing up overseas has given them a somehwat unique view of the world.
At the end of the day, I want them to understand math and economic concepts as well as logic processesing. They already know where we stand on moral issues so I am now at the point where I am content to let them head into life and form their own opinions.
Fortunately, they are all very accepting and I don’t know that I have ever heard one of them’rant” about any group in society.
Comment by jan — 05.06.07 @ 7:08 pm
JohnD, you ask “Do you teach that the Southern Church was pro-slavery, and used the Bible to preach segregation?”
In truth, I am not from the south and don’t find it necessary to highlight certain groups over another. I simply have taught that slavery is/was so repugnant that it defies understanding. My grandfather is black so it is not likely that I would embrace the institution of slavery.
Your questions seem somewhat assumptive/presumptive to me, but I give you a pass as they are respectful.
Growing up in the middle East, my kids have witnessed folks enslaving folks their entire lives so I think that they have a good handle on the repugnance factor.
Comment by jan — 05.06.07 @ 7:28 pm
“Your questions seem somewhat assumptive/presumptive to me, but I give you a pass as they are respectful.”
Sorry Jan, I guess you came over as very generalized about anything remotely ‘liberal’ on your chart. My bad, one shouldn’t assume.
As for my ranting son, his real father was an abusive, Conservative born-again Christian and tried filling his head with all manner of nonsense until mid-teens. I guess the rants are influenced by that, maybe? Who knows, he’s a man now.
Comment by JohnD — 05.06.07 @ 7:33 pm
JohnD;
What a lovely response.
As for your son, did he have a father who was a jerk because his father was a born-again Christian OR did he have a father who was a jerk AND who happend to be a born-again Christian?
In truth, I seldom take an overall position (and am often amazed at the assumtions attributed to me by the Angels and Tiffany’s of the world) and generally respond to statements that I feel are logically flawed or inconsistent.
Beyond that, one has to read what I have actually said to “assume” anything.
I admit that I have little patience for assumptions that go beyond the written word. Far too many folks respond to what they think a person must mean rather on what the person has actually said.
I think this is one of the reason that we are so enamored of conspiracy theories and such horrors as hate crimes legislation.
My experience is that folks are rather ignorant in the analytical sense and interpret wrongly most of the time. I would go so far as to say that people have a poor grasp of the written word.
And, that’s all I have to say about that.
Comment by jan — 05.06.07 @ 7:57 pm
Jan,
Please don’t drag my name into your tiff with someone else. You have a serious problem with me and Tiffany. But, right now, you’re in a thread with JohnD. Not Tiffany. Not me. Keep my name out of it. Please.
Comment by Angel — 05.06.07 @ 11:02 pm
only rich americans and big business support illegal immigration. i joined a stay at home moms group recently. one of the meet ups was at a moms house and she was a little well to do. in her big texas backyard were some mexicans doing landscaping. also after hurricane rita mexicans were doing the painting and moving of fridges with molded food from my apt building. my former black neighborhood in california is little mexico now.
Comment by shari — 05.07.07 @ 12:05 am
LaShawn on Illegals…
LaShawn is generally a mild-mannered soul, but here she vents on illegals. One quote:Working- and middle-class Americans are the ones suffering. While illegal alien scourge-supporting elites are living it up in gated communities in California, for inst…
Trackback by Maggie's Farm — 05.07.07 @ 6:21 am
Let’s not forget The Democrat party, supposedly the party of the common man, which is the largest supporter of illegal immigration. It’s hard to be worse on illegal immigration than the current administration, but today’s Dem leaders have managed to do so.
Comment by redbeard — 05.07.07 @ 6:43 am
JohnD;
Angel seems to think that we are in a tiff (re:94). I am not sure why Angel thinks that but then, I am often baffled at how he interprets my words. For the record, I was enjoying the exchange and did not view it as a “tiff.”
Comment by jan — 05.07.07 @ 7:00 am
Redbeard;
Is that Democrat party or Democratic party?
Comment by jan — 05.07.07 @ 7:00 am
jan,
What I’m saying is I wish you wouldn’t mention my name unless I’m “speaking” with you or about you.
Comment by Angel — 05.07.07 @ 7:58 am
Redbeard said:
American Indians aren’t native to North America; they came from elsewhere. Hence the PC term “Native Americans†is thoroughly meaningless, unless it applies, as it should, to anyone born here.
I think that in this context, the term “native” refers to being indigenous (as indigenous is most commonly defined) and American Indians would be considered indigenous to North America due to being the original inhabitants. But the term “native” can refer to anyone born here.
Comment by Shade — 05.07.07 @ 9:54 am
Shade;
That’s an interesting point and brings up a question that I have had. How far back in history does one go to establish ownership rights?
Basically, so much of that dynamic rests within an arbitrary framework. One sees this played out in the Middle East in which you have group A crying foul if group B took that land that group A had previously taken from group C which took it from group D.
Comment by jan — 05.07.07 @ 10:13 am