Smack Down of 'We the People'

"A bad king or a bad dictator can be deposed. But how can you depose a bad people?" (Ouch!)

HT: Thinking Housewife

Immigration Blurbs from Around the 'Net

- Starting tomorrow, Lancaster, CA businesses will be required to use the federal E-Verify system to check out the eligibility status of potential hires or face a penalty. “We are working to ensure that all available jobs in our city go to hard-working, law-abiding citizens,” Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris said in a statement, noting that tough economic times had led to 17% unemployment in the Antelope Valley. Er, hard-working, Mr. Mayor? I like the way you think, but that’s one quality that can’t be verified until after the employees, even the legit ones, begin working.

In the photo: Mayor Parris

The journalist Patt Morrison interviews the mayor.

- A weird-scary story with a happy ending. No details supplied, but I wonder what made this flake (posing as an aggressive immigration officer) target this particular family.

- The Baltimore Sun (squishy!) on comprehensive immigration reform: "Already, senior White House aides have privately assured Latino activists that the president will back legislation in 2010 to provide a road to citizenship for the estimated 12 million undocumented workers now living in the United States."

Barry O.owes a favor to these liberal Latinos, since they (and their followers) voted for him en masse. The Prez also remains determined to transform our first-rate country into a third-rate banana republic.

- A new Zogby poll reveals the disconnect between "pew and pulpit" on immigration: " ... most parishioners and congregants prefer more enforcement to cause illegal workers to go home, rather than legalization of illegal immigrants, which most religious leaders prefer." The religious elite never fear
have to losing their job to an undocumented worker, do they?

- Lady T: My husband's comment about this one - "What a smart woman she was."

National Threat to Taxpayers' Wallets

The Department of Homeland of Security is a "new" entity, but the fed cats at DHS are fast becoming old pros at wasting taxpayers' money and having a jolly good time doing it. The Washington Times reports that department officials "spent tens of millions of dollar to attend seminars and retreats including a FEMA meeting in Hawaii, an immigration conference in Singapore and an underwater tunnel protection gathering in London ... "

Underwater tunnel protection? Sounds like something out of a sci-fi blockbuster. The Hawaii meeting took place at a posh Marriott located in Waikiki Beach. Singapore has immigration issues of its own, but, hey, it's an up-and-coming cosmopolitan sensation.

Oh, the sacrifices involved in guarding porous borders and tracking dangerous terrorists ...

Unholy Union of Labor and Teacher

This letter (2nd one), from a teachers' union member, prompted me to write this column.

If you don't feel like reading all that, but you are passionate about education reform and school choice, please do visit the website for the documentary that I favorably mention in the column.

Immigration, and Its Impact on the Future

Religious families, of a certain ilk, sometimes subscribe to a multigenerational vision of family. Like this dad does.

Meanwhile, Fred Elbel used the interesting term "intergenerational ethics" in an essay he penned about immigration.

Here's what Fred means: "Intergenerational justice - a commitment to the well-being of future generations - weighs against the construct of 'social justice.' Ethical principles require us to consider the future stakeholders in daily actions. America's succeeding generations become the silent stakeholders in the competition between 'social justice' for today and justice for tomorrow."

And how Fred relates this to mass immigration: "For generations, Americans have endeavored to leave their country better than they found it. Americans today may be the first to fail this legacy. By ignoring explosive population growth, we are sacrificing the future on the altar of short-term economic gain."

Source: "The Ethics of Immigration Policy"

What Part of 'English for the Children' Don't They Understand?

In an op. ed. that was recently published in the Boston Herald, Dr. Rosalie Porter, a strong proponent of teaching newly-arrived students the English language and American culture, challenges the recommendations of a Commonwealth of Massachusetts 'refugees and immigrants committee.'

Here's how it starts:

"For districts to develop curricula and materials for 50 or even 100 language and ethnic groups attending Massachusetts schools would surely bankrupt the state.

Gov. Deval Patrick’s Executive Order 503 launched his New Americans Agenda for Massachusetts. He directed his Advisory Council for Refugees and Immigrants to develop policy recommendations aimed at improving the lot of immigrants with limited English proficiency.

After much input, the council submitted a report on Nov. 17 concluding that 'English language proficiency is an essential step for foreign-born individuals toward economic self-sufficiency, educational attainment and professional advancement.'

Who can disagree?

However, most of the report’s recommendations are either unrealistic, overly regulatory or impose heavy new state spending for only minimal improvements."

The rest is here.

The balkanization continues, and it's fast becoming institutionalized in the public schools.

I found several of the comments, following Rosalie's piece, spot on.

BTW: Governor "Deville" is an Obama crony. A piece of work.

Bits of News

- Mike Cutler will be a guest on the Chuck Wilder's Show today. The show - "Talk Back" - will begin at 4:00, p.m., East Coast time. Mike will likely be discussing the attempted terrorist attack on the Northwest Airlines/Christmas day flight.

Go here to listen.

- John P. passed along this 'news of the weird' (and the tragic). A wacko named Mauricio Escalante fatally stabbed teenager Charlie Guzman for speaking in English (as opposed to speakng in Spanish)! The crime occurred in Immokalee, Florida.

- Revealing stat from this American Thinker editorial: "An Education Week (November 23, 2009) article summarized school suspension data by race and reported that from 1999 to 2000 and from 2007 to 2008, the overall suspension rate increased by 47%. More specifically, for whites, the rate declined by 5.4%; for blacks, it soared by 74.5%; and the figure for Hispanics was 114.7%."

1:00 PM Update: Mark Steyn is on the radio (subbing for El Rushbo). He's been chatting about the Amsterdam-Detroit flight that featured Umaru Abdul Mutallab. Steyn calls Janet Napolitano "Janet Incompitano." Haha. He also noted the Muslim the connection between Amsterdam (which is poised to become the first city in Europe with a Muslim majority) and Dearborn, MI. (just outside of Detroit). The Islamic Center of America, the largest mosque in North America, is located in Dearborn.

Dinnertime Update: Ken R. passed along this story about Fedgov removing the bailout caps on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Yikes! Ken's comment: "I have to wonder just when it will be that the dollar collapses."

TeeHee

Spotted at WorldNetDaily

Wright is Right

Elizabeth Wright, who operates the Issues & Views blog, has written a scathing critique of the tactics of the Southern Poverty Law Center, and, at the same time, gives props to FAIR, NumbersUSA, and the Center for Immigration Studies.

She notes, "Although the SPLC claims to take no position on immigration policy, for more than a decade it has acted as a bully by attacking citizens who even suggest that our borders should be monitored, or that the immigration population should be limited."

Read the whole thing - it's bracing! Read this essay, also - it's called "Immigration: Betrayal by Black Elites."

Hat tip: Ms. Wright's blog entry, on the SPLC, was originally posted in October, but Dr. DiLorenzo discovered it last week.

In the photo: "A Guide to Understanding the Tactics of the Southern Poverty Law Center in the Immigration Debate."

Silent Night, Holy Night

Merry Christmas! The Castillo Chronicles is taking a holiday break. Blogging will resume on Monday, 12/28.

For spiritual reading, on the eve of Christmas, don't forget Luke, Chapter 2.

For holiday music, here's my friend Carol MacDonald, blessed with a VOICE (and a delightful personality), performing in Handel's Messiah:



Amazing, no?

A Family Remembers Their Slain Son

From Bob and Bonnie Eggles' holiday newsletter:

"As we approach the 8th Christmas (8-9-02) without Kristopher, memories take us back to when he and Jennifer were little and all the beautiful moments we shared. Our loneliness is still evident, and the 'hole in our hearts' will never be healed, but days are easier now. There is more joy in our lives as we look forward and upward. Someday soon, we will be reunited with our beloved Kris and then life for us will be complete once again."

How sweet. How sad. The Eggles are the parents of the late Kris Eggle, the U.S. Park Ranger who was murdered, in the line of duty, at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument by an AK-47-toting drug cartel member. Kris was from Cadillac, Michigan and all of 29-years-old when he died in southern Arizona.

In the photo: Kris, as a little boy, with his sister, Jennifer.

How the West is Being Lost

A Providence College student named Tim Dionisopoulos (in the photo) wanted to start a chapter of Youth for Western Civilization on his campus. YWC's mission is to revive the West (as opposed to seeing it go the way of the dodo).

The Rhode Island-based school, operated by Dominican Friars, already requires students to take a two-semester course on Western Civ, so you'd figure this would be a perfect fit, right? Nah. The Administration and Student Congress gave Tim's idea a thumbs down.

He writes, "The first sign of trouble was when our group's request to bring former Congressman Tom Tancredo to campus for a speech on the topic of illegal immigration was rejected by the college without any legitimate reason. Congressman Tancredo defiantly decided to come anyways and gave a speech at the gates of Providence College which resulted in great deal of media coverage."

To think an undergrad arranged a visit from Tom T. - I'm impressed. But what's really odd is that there are cultural clubs of all stripes on this campus - the African American Society, Asian American Society, Middle Eastern Association, Circolo Italiano, Gaelic Society, Fete Francaise - but they are all affiliated with a Board of Multicultural Student Affairs.

It's complicated at these schools where the management promotes the Western tradition in their curriculum but is opposed to it as an extracurricular activity, isn't it?

Update: Brenda Walker asks a pertinent question (Hint: It has to do with Muslim attitudes toward the West and Christianity).

Social Security and Mass Immigration

The late John Attarian, who earned his Ph.D. in economics from Michigan, had this to say about immigration, social security costs, and guest worker visas:

" ... immigration actually weakens social security. Some skilled foreign H1-B 'guest workers' are recruited and supplied under contract to American firms. As employees of foreign firms, no social security taxes are withheld. Moreover, displacing Americans with cheaper immigrant labor means revenue losses for social security."

More here.

Allan Wall: Mexico in Christmas

Mi amigo, Allan, writes about two intriguing holiday attractions in Mexico City: The world's largest artificial Christmas tree and the bionacimiento, a unique Nativity scene.

Reports Allan, "The bionacimiento has life-size human figures, plants and live animals. What kinds of live animals? Well, there are sheep (after all, there are shepherds so it’s logical to have sheep) and goats, but also rabbits, canaries, parrots, fish, and an iguana."

The article includes links to the photos of these displays (but I couldn't see this iguana).

Update: Mexico City has just become the first Latin American city to legitimize gay marriage. President Calderon promises to mount a legal challenge.

Podcast: In Their Best Interest

Text of podcast is available here.

Holiday Witch Hunt Against Homeschoolers

My newsfeed about the incredibly biased Detroit News article, against Michigan homeschoolers, is up.

Go here.

A poll accompanies that nasty piece of fishwrap: "Michigan's laws on home schooling include no instruction-time requirements, no curriculum standards, no minimum education level for the teachers and no testing. Should the state toughen its laws on home schooling?” Note the results.

Hilarious, huh?

Update (another example of home educators being unfairly treated:)

Rep Jason Murphey (R-OK) asked his constituents about the property tax ...

"One of the respondents to last week's update told me that she lives in
a house which she built with her dad. The house took them several
years to build but they built it without going into debt. She is now
paying hundreds of dollars each year in property taxes, so that she
does not want to make improvements to the site for fear of increased
property tax premiums. But she does not want to move out of the house
for sentimental reasons.

This person is a homeschooler and because she wants to focus on her
children's education, she chooses not to work outside the home. She
states that the property tax is a killer on their one-income budget.
For each child that is being homeschooled, taxpayers are probably
being saved about $10K per year.

Her story demonstrates the need for true reform."

'Nother Update: Just came across this article which appeared earlier this month in the Detroit News. It's about how angry Motor City parents want public school officials to serve jailtime for low test score results. LOL.

Meanwhile, teachers are threatening to strike if their contract demands aren't met. One parent - Sharlonda Buckman - responded to that threat with this threat: "If they strike, I hope we start a homeschool movement." Yay, Sharlonda!

'Nother Update: The results of a Canadian study of adult homeschoolers are fascinating.

Gaming the System, Exploiting the Worker

Former INS Senior Special Agent Michael Cutler passed along an article, from yesterday's Kansas City Star, which is an exposé of the flawed H2-B guest worker program.

Read the opening and weep: "The largest suspected human trafficking ring ever uncovered by U.S. law enforcement brought its victims into the country on commercial airliners, using completely legal documents, records show.

For almost a decade, three companies and 12 accused human traffickers charged in a landmark Kansas City human trafficking case allegedly took advantage of a guest worker visa program that is easy to defraud.

An investigation by The Kansas City Star found it’s a loophole-ridden system that permits traffickers to file transparently bogus paperwork that goes virtually unchecked by at least three federal agencies."

The article writer goes on explain how companies, in the Midwest and the South, cruelly exploited thousands of foreign workers that were brought to the U.S. through this program.

An aside: Rob Sanchez has created a petition calling on Congress to end the job-destroying (mostly in the engineering and science fields) H1-B guest worker program - the one that Bill Gates (and other tech industry giants) want to see expanded. If you're interested in signing it, please go here.

Update: Mark Krikorian, author of The New Case Against Immigration, opines: "The H visas for workers should be eliminated entirely - any foreign worker actually worth letting in is worth admitting as a permanent immigrant rather than what amounts to an indentured servant."

Immigration Raids Affecting the Beat

Guess what? Like everything else, sales of Latino music are sluggish in this economy. One L.A.-based music executive offers a novel reason for the downturn: "More than the economy, raids aimed at illegal immigrants have been 'fatal' for business ... " Hmm.

That statement sounds like something that would have been concocted by The Onion, the satirical news outfit, except that the story originated with Reuters.

I guess, this dirty dozen won't be buying any Latin digital albums anytime soon.

In the photo: Aventura, a Dominican boy band, which managed to snag a legit. invite to the White House, unlike these people.

Young Men Who Need Work

Phyllis Schlafly's latest column, about the unemployed and underemployed, includes this observation:

"Obama's promise to allow 20 million illegal aliens to stay in the United States is another broadside attack on the job prospects of young American men. Obama's immigration policy betrays our own black and white high school dropouts who desperately need entry-level and other minimum-wage jobs to start building a life."

BTW: Would you believe Phyllis is now 85 years young? She's been writing her syndicated column since 1976.

Aside: One of my co-workers told me, yesterday, that 100 people applied for the entry-level job (involving rental properties) her twenty-something son now holds. What an honor for him, but what an awful job market.

Not Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights in Education) is concerned about the goings on at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities' College of Education. "A Race, Culture, Class, and Gender Task Group" proposes that future education students submit to a type of "idelogical screeing," before they can be deemed worthy to study edukashun.

Those with the "wrong views" have to undergo remedial re-education training or, possibly, be denied admission to this dumb program.

What are the 'right' views? Wannabe public school teachers need to be taught that minority students are at a disadvantage due to "white privilege, hegemonic masculinity, heteronormativity, and internalized oppression."
(Heteronormawhatever is another way of saying gay-unfriendly.)

There's more.

Potential college of ed. students have to determine their "own privilege, oppression, or marginalization." (And this has what to do with teaching reading to 2nd graders?)

There's more.

Candidates have to “recognize that schools are socially constructed systems that are susceptible to racism … but are also critical sites for social and cultural transformation.” (Yawn.)

I'm glad FIRE is fired up about this, sticking up for civil rights and all that jazz, but colleges of education, long considered intellectual ghettos, are a waste of time and money especially for moral traditionalists, political conservatives, patriotic Americans, proponents of academic excellence, and opponents of teachers' unions. Opportunistic globalists are firmly entrenched in ed. schools, and they aren't about to give up their turf. These pinheads are also encouraged with money. The Bush Foundation, for instance, gave $4.5 million to the UM/Twin Cities' burgeoning cultural competence program.

Sham diversity pays!



Update: FIRE has good news. U/Minnesota/Twin Cities is "backing away" from imposing a litmus test for potential education majors.

The Funny Pessimist

John Derbyshire, of National Review, succeeds in making the topic of an immigration time-out (a concept he enthusiastically supports) a really fun read.

Note this personal anecdote: "I grew up listening to my dad rhapsodize about New Zealand, where he had spent the happiest days of his life. Thus enthused, after graduating college and working a couple of years, I decided to give New Zealand a try. I went to New Zealand House in London. There was a guy at a desk in the lobby. I approached him and stated my purpose. He pushed a printed sheet of paper at me. It was a list of occupations, most of them skilled manual trades — carpenters, electricians, and an astonishing number of things to do with sheep. You in any of those occupations?' asked the Kiwi. Me: 'No. I’m a computer programmer.' He took back the sheet and scrutinized it. 'Nope. Don’t see it. I guess we’ve got all we need. Sorry!'

I never did get to see New Zealand. I did, though, walk out of New Zealand House with a grudging respect for the clarity and rationality of their immigration procedures. (Forty years on, they maintain those high standards. They recently denied a settlement visa to a British woman on the grounds that she was too fat.)"

LOL.

Cártel de Tijuana

Last night the National Geographic Channel did a show on the Arellano-Félix Organization, a drug cartel which operates in Tijuana, Mexico. The Arellano-Felix family took over the Tijuana Cartel in the 1980s. In their heyday, they established themselves as the planet's biggest and baddest cocaine dealers.

The show graphically revealed gruesome crime after gruesome crime that these monsters committed, and got away with, in a country where the police were either too corrupt or too intimidated to stop them. The Tijuana cartel's MO was to dissolve the bodies of their victims in acid. Shudder.

The cartel brought their illegal goods into the U.S. via a 'network of tunnels (Tijuana practically abuts San Diego), cars, boats, and airplanes.' Nowadays, they wouldn't have to go to that much effort. They could just phone Artivist Dominguez for tips on how to avoid the Border Patrol.

PBS has also done shows on the AFO. Go here.

Update: An important victory in the drug wars for President Calderon. I applaud Mexico's use of the military to get the job done. It is a war, after all.

Hint, hint, U.S. How about putting the National Guard at the southern border?

Honey, I Shrunk the White People

This news will make some people mad and some people glad:

"The estimated time when whites will no longer make up the majority of Americans has been pushed back eight years — to 2050 — because the recession and stricter immigration policies have slowed the flow of foreigners into the U.S."

Read the rest here.

The Luis and Nydia Show: Cheesy, Scary

ABC News features a clip of the Incomprehensive Immigration Reform press conference. It's Banana Republic politics at its finest - emotion-driven, rule-of-law disregarding, fake.

Go here to see it.

Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez sounds like she was channeling Kanye West, Michelle Obama, and Marie Antoinette. What an unoriginal, selfish person.

Congressman Luis Gutierrez offered the usual blather about policies that tear families apart. Try that line on any American who has lost a loved one to illegal alien crime, Luis.

Sanity update: Rep. Lamar Smith's (R-TX) rebuttal to this nonsense.

'Nother Voice of Sanity: Steve Sailer dismisses Gutierrez, et. al., as "Amnesty Kabuki Theater."

Cruel and Unusual Ways to Treat Kids

Government does education like they do immigration - very, very poorly. Here's a couple of examples ...

Milwaukee Public School assault and battery: Try pulling this cruel stunt on one of your co-workers, without their consent, and then flippantly excuse your action on "holiday stress." Ha!

Students should not be around that wack job of a teacher.

Massachusetts Public School Officials Inflict Emotional Distress: A teacher's assignment: Draw something that reminds you of Christmas. A little boy innocently drew (that picture you see) Jesus on the cross and got suspended! He was required to undergo a psych. evaluation, before he could return to school.

Good thing Rubens wasn't a student at that MA school which is run by hysterical rubes.

Dr. Dobson offers very good advice: Homeschooling can protect children from the wrong kind of socialization (and the wrong kind of teachers).

Why are so many Sooner State women in prison?

Charlie Meadows, longtime conservative activist who lives in Guthrie, Oklahoma, explains why the Sooner State leads the nation in the number of women in prison on a per capita basis: "The answer is really quite simple. We just have a lot of bad girls in the state, and we lock them up! We probably don’t have more bad girls in Oklahoma than in many other states, but we are tougher on crime than many other states.

Just this past week in central Oklahoma, we had three girls allegedly shoplifting. When confronted in a parking lot, they beat the female store employee so badly, she had to be hospitalized. In another event, a woman in Shawnee was accused of stealing an ambulance and leading police on a forty-mile speed chase, before she was apprehended. If found guilty, and especially if they have a previous record, these bad girls will probably go to prison."

Charlie, who has volunteered in inmate ministry, spoke up, because liberals in the Sooner state, along with Oklahoma's “we must be perceived as the best” propagandists, are indulging in the usual hand-wringing (and championing more taxpayer-wasting studies) to explain this incarceration stat.

FYI: 2,721 Sooner State women were imprisoned in 2008. 2,655 for 2009.

The Jackpot for Illegal Aliens

Rosemary Jenks, Harvard J.D. and Director of Government Relations at NumbersUSA, recounts one of the Reagan Administration's lowest points:

"Until 1986, the United States had never forgiven the act of illegal immigration, except in individual cases involving unusual circumstances. We had never rewarded large numbers of illegal aliens with the opportunity for U.S. citizenship. In 1986, however, Congress passed a law granting amnesty to almost three million illegal aliens. it was supposed to be a one-time, never-to-be-repeated action. Since 1986, however, Congress has passed seven amnesties, rewarding more than six million illegal aliens with legal residence and putting them and their relatives on the path to U.S. citizenship."

Rosemary goes on: "In reality, any plan that allows illegal aliens to get legal residence and a green card is an amnesty. It is sufficient enticement for millions more aliens to enter or remain in this country illegally, even if it means risking their own lives and the lives of their families to get here."

Her conclusion: "Amnesty may be the jackpot for illegal aliens, but it's a losing policy for America."

Will history soon repeat itself?

Source: Common Sense on Mass Immigration

Girl Power: Linda Goldthorpe for Congress

Linda Goldthorpe is a pistol! She is running for Rep. Bart Stupak’s congressional seat in Michigan's 1st District

This pro-bono attorney is also pro-gun rights, pro-life, and pro-homeschooling. She's a mom and wife (her husband is a former U.S. Marine) who is a life-long resident of the Upper Peninsula. She describes herself as a “Ron Paul Republican." Her goal is to restore liberty and constitutional government to the country. Yahoo!

Here’s what Linda thinks about immigration: "It is outrageous that the American taxpayer is required by law to encourage and pay for the welfare of those who broke the law by entering this country—many of whom do not pay taxes. It is an insult to the millions who seek to enter this country legally, who must carefully conform to our immigration laws, that others can simply sneak in and be given free health care. It is an insult to our military that we leave ourselves wide open to attack from within while they are defending us overseas. It is an insult to law enforcement that they are required to aggressively pursue American lawbreakers while at the same time to let illegal occupants stay.

These are more than just insults. These are actions, not words. They are attacks. All of the energy the government spends supporting illegal immigrants comes at the expense of the American taxpayer."

Before she can go mano-a-mano with Stupak, she faces an August primary.

Video of Linda speaking at a Tea Party.

White Trash Chic

Carolyn Chute, the prolific novelist who writes about the working poor of the rural Northeast, lives in a Maine village with her illiterate handyman husband and several Scottish terriers. She also owns a cannon.

To describe this artist as 'eccentric' doesn't do her justice. That description is more fitting for the likes of a shallow clothes horse like Lady Gaga. (Although C.C. is making quite the fashion statement in this photo.)

Chute is a one-woman campaign against "The System." Her amenities-free homestead features, not a bathroom, but an outhouse. She's the founder of the 2nd Maine Militia, a non-partisan organization of working-class New Englanders who love guns but are suspicious of the Wall Street Journal and Wal-Mart. She also prefers the "grave silence" of woodsmen to yuppies who yap.

Indeed, the plain-spoken Chute is known for her off-the-grid wit and wisdom. Despite her literary successes, she remains unpretentious.

As she told the New York Times, “We’re poor, and we lead a very different kind of life. We depend on other people so much. They come and bring us vegetables or whatever, and sometimes they tell us their secrets."

As opposed to that fake 'man of the people' shtick that John Edwards attempted during his presidential campaign, Chute's populism is authentic.

Here's a link to her first gritty book The Beans of Egypt, Maine, which is about a hardscrabble family living in a depressed community. It was also made into a movie. (Beware: Kid-unfriendly content.)

Update: Here's my column on Chute.

Some Justice for Leonard Dykstra

At least the perp was caught, has pleaded guilty, and will learn, next month, how long his prison sentence will be.

Efrain Garcia-Miron, a 32-year-old illegal immigrant and resident of Michigan, also faces deportation.

His crime: Operating a vehicle while drunk. Leonard Dykstra, a beloved grandpa known for faithfully tending to his rhubarb plants and birdfeeders, had spent an evening bonding with his extended family. He was driving home when he had a fatal encounter with an outlaw who shouldn't have been in the Wolverine State or any state.

A local television reports: "A Wyoming (city in MI) man had a blood-alcohol level of 0.179 -- more than twice the legal limit -- when he drove across the centerline and killed an 80-year-old man, court records show."

Prior to the accident, G-M's driving record was very spotty - he had racked up several moving violations since 2004.

This tragedy should have never, ever happened. This illegal should have never, ever had access to a driver's license. (Why was he even in this country?)

But who are you going to call when government authorities can claim legal immunity after encouraging lawlessness?

As one of Mr. Dyksta's neighbors put it, "Why did he have to go this way?"

Pushy Gutierrez Pushes for Amnesty

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) just couldn't wait till after the holidays, could he?

On Tuesday, he (and a supporting cast of other security-challenged, job-destroying representatives) will introduce the "Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009." (The same initiative was touted in 2007, but it failed.)

Luis certainly isn't shy about affiliating himself with La Raza, is he?

Oh, and he's from Chicago. An Obama buddy. Cozy, cozy.

Look at the efficient way he singlehandedly adds to his support base and enlarges the Welfare State.

'Tis a shame he couldn't use these skills to downsize government, isn't it?

Sigh.

The Other Lou: Illegal Alien's Foe

Mayor Lou Barletta, of Hazleton, PA, is interested in running for Congress in 2010.

First, he wants to eliminate a previous campaign debt of $263,170 from the last two times he unsuccessfully ran for the 11th congressional district seat.

You may recall that the small-city conservative mayor received national attention (and made some powerful enemies) for crafting Hazleton's Illegal Immigration Relief Act.

Here's the official campaign site, although it's still a work in progress.

Third time's the charm!

Goode: Moratorium is Common Sense

All the moratorium advocates are coming out of the woodwork.

If you caught up with the other blog entries I've recently been posting on this topic, you've probably noticed that a standard definition (for the term "moratorium") doesn't exist.

For example, Virgil Goode, former congressional rep. of Virginia, just published a piece about unemployment and illegal immigration. He mentions the "m" word in his column and defines it like this:

"An immigration moratorium does not mean we will not allow a single immigrant into this country. We would still welcome spouses of U.S. citizens, people of extraordinary ability, and a few other immigration categories. However, we should cut off employment-based work permits until Americans are back on their feet."

That last sentence/argument makes perfect sense, but I will pass on "extraordinary ability." That sounds too Posh and David Beckham.

We need more people of extraordinary character in our fair land, but that's fodder for another blog entry.

Bottom line: Mr. Goode deserves extra credit for boldly sticking up for the American worker.

Aside: A WallStJournal law blog explains how 'artistic' visas are issued. In a word: Subjectively.

Podcast: The Immigration Moratorium

Immigrant Gangsters Work Day Jobs

Take note of this 50-page report published by the Center for Immigration Studies, called: "Taking Back the Streets: ICE and Local Law Enforcement Target Immigrant Gangs."

Boy, is this one meaty and well-done and interesting! So interesting, in fact, that I highly recommend it to a college or high student who needs to write a paper (or needs information) for a social studies class or a criminal justice or communication studies course.

Written by Jessica M. Vaughn and Jon D. Feere, the study chronicles the growth of transnational immigrant gangs, like MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha), Surenos-13, and 18th Street. A large percentage of these immigrant gang members hail from El Salvador and Mexico.

The MS-13 gang, of course, is the most famous. It's also the most violent. The gang’s motto is “Kill, Rape, Control.” One estimate reveals there are 10,000 MS-13 members in the United States operating in drug and human trafficking, from coast to coast.

Interestingly, Maras, like other immigrant gang members who are Hispanic, work day jobs (construction, farming, landscaping, etc.). Recruitment of new members is done through the prison and school system.

Since 2005 ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has arrested 8000 gangbangers from over 700 different groups. Most of those arrested had crossed our border illegally.

If that stat isn't scary enough, you’d think that gang members would instantly be denied immigration benefits when they get caught in the act by our authorities. You would be wrong.

As CIS reports: “In one particularly striking case, a judge in Massachusetts blocked ICE efforts to remove a Salvadoran MS-13 member who had been convicted of relatively minor crimes, noting that because of his nationality and date of illegal arrival, the offender was eligible for TPS [temporary protected status], even though he had not applied for it. ICE did get a second chance, as the gangster later participated in one of the most horrifying crimes in the Boston area at the time, the gang rape of two deaf girls in a public park, one of whom had cerebral palsy and was in a wheelchair.”

Blood on that liberal judge's hands.

The authors of the report appear here in a video.

Buchanan: Immigration Moratorium Now!

In his syndicated column, Pat Buchanan argues that "a moratorium on all immigration into the United States" would be an instant stimulus package. Go here.

France: When the Illegals are Squatters

Can it get any more absurd than this?

Paris is now home to hundreds of undocumented immigrants, mostly from West Africa, who are squatting in a four-story government building. But don’t call them squatters. They are “an independent collective fighting for people who do not work in unionized companies.”

Lovely.

Parisians can thank France’s uber-liberal immigration policies for this mess.

Inflation Association: Collapse is Coming

Rather than trying to do a clumsy job summarizing a spot on editorial, by the National Inflation Association, allow me to quote, verbatim, the first three paragraphs:

"On Friday it was announced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics that the U.S. unemployment rate in November declined from 10.2% to 10%. While the mainstream media would like you to believe we have seen a peak in unemployment and the worst of the economic crisis is behind us, we know that this dip in the unemployment number is phony and the recession is only beginning.

Although the unemployment number dipped in November, we still lost 11,000 nonfarm jobs. Unemployment fell by 0.2% only because the civilian labor force shrunk in November by 98,000 people. This means more people are becoming discouraged and giving up looking for jobs. When you combine both short and long-term discouraged workers who aren't included in the labor force along with those who are underemployed with part-time jobs, real unemployment in the U.S. today is nearly 22%.

The most important area of employment to look at is manufacturing jobs. Increasing manufacturing is the only way for our country to truly recover and build real wealth, because it will allow us to cut down on inflation by exporting real products instead of the money we print. Unfortunately, the U.S. lost 41,000 manufacturing jobs in November and has lost 2.1 million manufacturing jobs over the last two years."

I do appreciate the NIA's plea to expand our manufacturing base. How sad, though, that the reality, today, is shuttered factories throughout the once-glorious Rust Belt.

Please read the rest (warning: it gets gloomier) of the editorial. Hat tip to John P. for sending the link.

Winning Slogan from the Gipper

In Memory of Border Patrol Agent Rosas

Robert Rosas, who was murdered this past summer while patrolling the U.S.- Mexico border, is remembered in this op ed by D.A. King. D.A. operates the Dustin Inman Society blog.

He writes: "In November, Christian Daniel Castro Alvarez admitted entering the United States illegally from Mexico and killing Rosas. Other individuals suspected to be involved in the murder are still at large.

Maybe they made it into the interior of the United States. Maybe they've been rewarded with business licenses. Maybe they've been hired by an employer trying to save a buck or two on labor expenses. Maybe they will be given a traffic ticket for a broken taillight by an American policeman, and then sent on their way.

Maybe you soon will see some of them marching with other illegal aliens in American streets demanding taxpayer-funded health care, 'justice,' legalization - and U.S. citizenship."

That's the brutal truth and needs to be stated over and over again. Mr. Rosas was married and the father of two young children.

Thanks, D.A. for being a voice for those whose voices have been silenced.

The 75th Heisman: An American Icon

Who will be selected the most outstanding college football player in the United States?

Last night the five finalists for the 2009 Heisman Trophy award were announced. They are: Toby Gerhart (Stanford running back), Mark Ingram (Alabama running back), Colt McCoy (Texas quarterback), Ndamukong Suh (Nebraska defensive tackle), and Tim Tebow (Florida quarterback).

For the past two years, I've attended the Heisman press conference in New York City. It was a pleasure to watch Tebow, the first homeschooler ever to be nominated for the award also be the first to win it. On my sidebar, I link to the orphanage that the Tebow family started in the Philippines - Uncle Dick's Home.

McCoy, who was also nominated last year, has also done humanitarian work abroad.

Ingram is from Flint, Michigan, and is the son of a former NFL player, and the odds-on favorite.

Suh has an exotic ethnic background. His mother is from Jamaica, and his dad is from Cameroon. He is also believed, by some, to be the best pro prospect.

Gerhart, in keeping with the scholastic powerhouse he attends, has the hardest major of the five: management, science, and engineering.

Congratulations to the fab five!


Sam Bradford, Oklahoma QB and last year's winner, doesn't strike a pose.

Update: The esteemed Heisman Pundit explains why he voted for Gerhart.

Update: Ingram becomes part of college football's most exclusive club.

Student Visa Scams: They Don't All Come Here to Study, Either

Thanks to visa agencies in India, China, and the Philippines (who are in the dirty business of helping clients scam immigration officials in the United Kingdom), thousands of 'fake' students have been given British visas.

The Telegraph reports that, "Sources in the immigration service estimate that there are 5,000 immigrants in the London area alone who arrived here as bogus students and are working in the black economy, possibly with little intention of ever returning home."

The UK's Home Office (the government agency charged with overseeing immigration)ministers also bear responsibility in that the system they championed made it impossible to tell the frauds "NO!"

These institutional problems with student visas are hardly peculiar to England.
As Michelle Malkin pointed out in Invasion (when she was complaining about the academic visas the fedgov gives to students which hail from countries that are state sponsors of terrorism like Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Sudan): " ... the government has no idea how many of the one million foreigners admitted into America on student viasa are actually going to school in compliance with their visas."

When will we ever learn?

Update: Michael Cutler weighs in: "As an INS special agent I encountered travel agencies and 'visa services' both in the United States and abroad, that became involved in facilitating immigration fraud schemes to aliens from virtually every country on the planet for all sorts of reasons. (Let me make this clear, most travel agencies are law abiding businesses that provide very useful services to their clients. The problems occur when crooks run such agencies to provide assist to those who seek to violate our laws.)"

Tool for the Tool

Chelsea Schilling, of WorldNetDaily, is doing a super job reporting on the issue of illegal alien crime. Her piece about Lila Meizel, the elderly woman who was burned alive by Ramon Alvarado, was sobering, to say the least.

Today, she has an article about the Transborder Immigrant Tool, an electronic device/mobile phone designed to help illegals "chart the best route, find food and locate people" when they trespass into the US of A. Ingenious.

The tool was the brainchild of a California state professor named Ricardo Dominguez, who, conveniently, is also a tool of the open-borders lobby.

Jim Gilchrist, founder of the Minuteman Project, makes an appearance in the Schilling piece and says all the right things, as usual.

And get this. Dominguez, who is leeching off the taxpayers and even won an award for his app, has tenure!

He also has lofty, aesthetic ambitions. His claims the Transborder Immigrant Tool is furthering the cause of "border disturbance art."

Couple of quotes attributed to this dangerous crackpot:

"There's a long history of artists at the border creating gestures that question the very nature of the border."

"The reason they can't stop us is that we always frame all these gestures within the poetic frame."

More from "Artivist" Dominguez (if you can stomach it).

Podcast: Restricting Legal Immigration?

Living La Vida Loca in Northern MI

Yesterday, while driving around town and snapping photos of the winter wonderland that resulted after a foot of snow fell in our corner of the Wolverine State, my husband and I spotted two cheerful fellas who were fixin' to surf in Lake Michigan. Brr!



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The guys said they were going snowboarding after they were done surfing. Brr!

Tancredo Still in the Business of Reforming Immigration

Tom Tancredo is back in the limelight.

The Denver Post reports that the former Republican congressman just filed a ballot proposal that would require background checks on newcomers. Specifically, it would mandate (it it became law) Colorado businesses to use the federal program known as E-Verify to check the immigration status/employment eligibility of new hires.

A top-dog Democrat, quoted in the Post article, blasts the E-Verify program (which is highly regarded by the big kahunas in the immigration reform movement) as "extremely flawed and full of discrepancies."

Funny how liberals have so much faith in the government to run the health care industry, stimulate the economy, and educate most of our children, but they have no faith in one lone program that has already proven itself to be effective.

Go, Tom, go!

Tool of Freedom

Thanks to Mr. R for sending the link to this video: "Why Switzerland Has the Lowest Crime Rate in the World."

Cold Facts v. Old Wives' Tales

Guest blog from Howling Hurricane:

Behind one curtain we have Ed Rubenstein, economist and investigative journalist, calling for a moratorium on legal and illegal immigrant workers into the U.S. - too many immigrants, not enough jobs, he argues. Rubenstein also explains that, historically, when immigration was held in check, American workers fared well, both whites and minorities. He supports his arguments with statistics and reasoned conclusions ... very convincing. (e.g. In 2008, there were nearly 1.5 million unemployed immigrants.)

Behind a second curtain is Jim Heskett, perched safely in the ivy-covered ivory tower of the Harvard Business School, advocating for more low-skilled immigrant workers. Ignoring all the downsides of such a policy, he points to a CATO Institute study which highlights the so-called benefits of such low-skilled thinking. The study concludes, he says, that there are "strong, positive arguments ... for pursuing a policy of expanding (italics added) legal immigration for low-skilled workers." (e.g. "New waves of immigrants populate the 'underclass,' enabling others to move up the income scale.")

The last line in Heskett's piece is, "What do you think?"

"You can not be serious!" as a mouthy ex-tennis player would say.

What set of statistics could possibly lead anyone to conclude that we need even more immigration?

Question for Mr. Heskett and Daniel Griswold (who authored the Cato study): If immigrants were snagging the jobs held by Harvard Business profs and libertarian think-tank pundits, would you two still peddle such fanciful thinking?

Update: The Bureau of Labor Statistics just released the national unemployment and underemployment numbers for November, 2009. There's a teeny bit of good news. 'Tis the season to hire temps, after all.

Why We Fight

For immigration reform, that is.

Mr. Doug Bandow, a buddy of mine, writes about the lack of religious freedom and human rights in the Islamic nations of Afghanistan, Brunei, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Turkey, and Yemen.

It's ugly.

Doug starts off noting the minaret referendum in Switzerland: "The recent Swiss vote to ban the construction of minarets in that European nation has become the latest controversy to generate Muslim protests worldwide. However, Islamic governments are in no position to complain about Western intolerance and 'Islamophobia.' Most Muslim nations are repressive or offer only limited political freedom. More often than not, Islamic states violate basic human rights; and almost all persecute Christians, Jews, and other religious minorities."

Read the whole thing, and, when you're done, give a loud cheer for Western Civ!

Update: In a companion column, Doug writes about the lack of religious freedom in Burma, Eritrea, India, Fiji, and Israel.

Party Like It's 1773

I blogged about Special Agent Cutler earlier this week, but didn't include any video clips of his presentations. (He's been on Fox and MSNBC.) Here's one of him speaking to the patriots of Morristown, New Jersey at a Tea Party which took place this past October.



BTW: At the Morristown Tea Party site, there's a wonderful quote, by the late Adrian Rogers (the gifted Southern Baptist preacher). Here's part of it:

"When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."

Dr. Rogers would have agreed with the principles put forth in The Law by Frederic Bastiat, no?

Charity: No Gifts for Illegals' Children, Etc.

'Tis the season to have holiday-themed stories and blogs.

- My, my even charities have limitations. And what a radical idea: Being good stewards of other people's generosity, and doing what our government dares not do.

If the ethnic advocacy groups are so offended by the decision of the Salvation Army, et. al. to check into the immigration status of those they are helping out, why don't they buy toys and play San Nicolas for the kids they feel might get left out.

- Now this is really Scroogey - firefighters in Massachusetts were "ordered" to take down a "Merry Christmas" sign they made.

- And this is really Grinchy - a bunch of young skulls full of mush started singing "Bohemian Rhapsody" at a listen-to-Sheifff-Joe-Arpaio forum. Wonder what would have happened if they broke out into a chorus of "O Holy Night"? Maybe then the adults in the room would have quickly called in security?

Update: The good folks of MassResistance report that the beautiful Nutcracker ballet has been given an unasked for extreme makeover. All in the name of 'art.' Ugh.

The Over-Documented Terrorists

Worth repeating and remembering: "All nineteen terrorists on 9-11 were here illegally. Yet, they were able to procure 65 pieces of identification. They were not 'undocumented immigrants.' Rather they were over-documented imigrants."

- Deb Payne, author of the mini-essay "Mass Immigration: Identification"

Source: Common Sense on Mass Immigration

If you are interested in a complimentary copy of this booklet, please call 1.231.347.1171.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce: Kinda Marxist

How ironic that an organization, proclaiming to be devoted to commerce and bearing "U.S." in its title, continues to backstab the American worker.

Where to start with this laughable blurb, displayed prominently at U.S. Chamber web site:

"Continue to push for comprehensive immigration reform that: increases security; has an earned pathway to legalization for undocumented workers already contributing to our economy, provided that they are law-abiding and prepared to embrace the obligations and values of our society; creates a carefully monitored guest or essential worker program to fill the growing gaps in America's workforce recognizing that, in some cases, permanent immigrants will be needed to fill these gaps; and refrains from unduly burdening employers with worker verification systems that are underfunded or unworkable."

Some questions for the U.S.C.C.:

-Isn't that an oxymoron - how can one be "undocumented" and "law-abiding"?

-How does one determine if an illegal (who already has a shady beginning) is going to "embrace the obligations and values of our society"? (Who writes this piffle?)

-Unemployment is at 17% nationally - what "growing gaps in America's workforce" are you people talking about?

-Do you have any idea what these "permanent immigrants" (needed to fill the imaginary gaps) end up costing taxpayers when (not if) they avail themselves of health care, education, workman's comp., food stamps, and all those wonderful goodies they can now freely access?

-Have you considered renaming your organization? How 'bout Workers of the World?

In the photo: Chamber president Thomas Donohue. His bio notes that he was president of the American Trucking Associations. The ATA is infamous, among independent truckers, for supporting the pilot program for Mexican trucking.

The Other Blonde, Bold Ann C.

Blog of the Week: Ann Corcoran's Refugee Resettlement Watch.

Ann's no-nonsense quips:

1) "We have admitted 83,991 Somali Shariah-supporting immigrants to the U.S. in 25 years. More then half, 43,682, came since September 11th!"

2) "Remember immigrants and refugees are today’s poor. As unfashionable as the word is, frankly, I call this strategy* to place as many people as possible on the welfare system and use them for promotion of a radical political ideology downright evil."

3) "Climate justice — don’t you just love it! And then, note that they have recognized the hole they dug with the 'global warming' mumbo-jumbo and they then went to 'climate change' and now its just 'environmental change' we in wealthy countries are responsible for!"

Fun Facts: Mrs. Corcoran has four children (two adopted from Vietnam); is a homeschool mom; is the founder of a retirement home for service horses; earned a fancy-schmancy science degree from one of those northeastern schools TCC likes to make fun of; lives in Maryland on her "dream farm;" and is married to Howard.

*Ann is referencing this Marxist scheme: "The Cloward/Piven Strategy is named after Columbia University sociologists Richard Andrew Cloward and Frances Fox Piven. Their goal is to overthrow capitalism by overwhelming the government bureaucracy with entitlement demands. The created crisis provides the impetus to bring about radical political change." More here.