TeeHee

Spotted at WorldNetDaily

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Oh Say, Can't You See Him?

Sports and patriotic gestures go together like mom, apple pie and the flag, right?

Well, one reporter is causing controversy by pointing out that NBA star, Brandon Roy, who plays for the Portland Blazers, morphs into the invisible man when the national anthem is sung.

Writes John Canzano in the Oregonian, "For two seasons now, Roy leaves the court before 'The Star Spangled Banner' is performed. He waits out of sight, in the arena tunnel, and has a quiet moment of prayer while his teammates stand and honor America together."

I've been to my fair share of athletic contests, as you probably have, where this long-standing American ritual - the singing of the national anthem - takes place. With few exceptions, most people eagerly stand, place their hands on their chests, and look at the flag in the gym/stadium/field. Even when the words to the song are comically mangled by the performer, folks remain respectful.

So, Roy's decision to not stand with his teammates is atypical, as is his explanation. Typically, the arguments against participating in the national anthem and/or not pledging allegiance to Old Glory are the following:

1) the libertarian one which views these gestures as coerced patriotism and eschews the mixing of sport and state;

2) the religious one which approves of pledging allegiance to God or a god, not to a country;

3) the anti-military one where the the flag is seen as a "symbol of oppression."

As we become an increasingly balkanized nation and we struggle to find common ground, these collective patriotic gestures become even more meaningful, less rote, to some. Myself included.

However, this line from the Oregonian article left me cold: "... I worry that the statement he's (Brandon Roy) making is one of individualism."

Reporter Canzano, that is the epitome of Soviet-style thinking.

Oh say, let Trail Blazer Roy have his moment of peace in peace.

Update: Wrote a longer piece - newsfeed/commentary - on this issue. Now that I learned the NBA has specific rules of conduct, regarding the anthem, I tweaked my opinion. Here it is.

Happy Thanksgiving

Obsessed with Otherworldly Creatures

The Twi-hards have voted with their wallets, designer handbags, and credit cards.

This was the weekend they had been waiting for - for nearly a year - the weekend that New Moon (the sequel to Twilight) came to a theater near you.

The kitschy movie, featuring ancient vampires, teen-aged werewolves, and a love triangle, easily broke the opening-day box office record previously held by The Dark Knight, as well as other records.

Robert Pattinson, who plays Edward Cullen, the lead male character, is a Brit. RPattz's previous claim to fame was a minor role in one of the Harry Potter movies. Today, this pretty man-child is a bigger draw than DiCaprio.

So, apparently, there is one immigrant and some 'aliens' that a wide swath of the masses (especially of the female gender) are intensely interested in.

Bread and Circus - 1

Serious issues of the day - 0

The Clothesline Becomes a Political Symbol

Carin Froehlich is a domestic goddess who is mounting a silent (but effective) rebellion on behalf of property rights and energy-saving measures.

She deserves a golden clothespin for her efforts.

And to those spoiled snobs who dub her laundry habits as "trailer trash" - shame on you! Electric and gas dryers are a scarce commodity in the majority of the developing world, so most people do what Carin has been doing for years to get their clothing dry - hang them outdoors!

I'm guessing that Pennsylvania (where Carin lives) is also the most clothesline-friendly state in the union given the high percentage of Amish women who reside in PA and who don't utilize electric appliances.

Here's my newsfeed about her crusade against her busybody neighbors.

Update: A nifty photo of Carin doing her laundry thing. The American flags are a nice touch!

Update: Wrote a column-column for the Belgrade News about Carin's quest.

Words aren't cheap, after all

There's a doctor in the House.

To be precise, in the U.S. Senate.

That'd be Dr. Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma).

He, of course, has opinions/facts on the ReidHealthCare Bill:

"(The) Senate bill has 2,074 pages and weighs 20.8 pounds

A true cost of $2.5 trillion, that comes out to $1.2 billion per page.

A true cost of $2.5 trillion, that comes out to $6.8 million per word."

A Word About American-Style English

In My Fair Lady, the musical, Professor Henry Higgins famously said: "There even are places where English completely disappears; in America they haven't used it for years."

Teehee, and, ouch, given our country's ongoing, never-ending struggle to maintain a national language.

Here's an article I wrote about that very topic.

Update: Cuban-American Eddie Garcia on why he supports making English the official language.

Lou Dobbs' Still Truckin'

My latest column about the mental midgets who went after Lou Dobbs is here. I had included Alinsky Rule #13 ("Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it and polarize it.") in the intro., but it got edited.

Dobbs was interviewed by Bill O'Reilly last night - civil, informative exchange.

Mr. D discussed CNN's decision to move away from advocacy/opinion news shows (obligatory eye-rolling gesture from the jokemeisters who call it the Communist News Network). Take a look and a listen:

Wish She'd Gone Rogue With Univision

Mrs. Todd Palin, national punchline and pop culture phenom, is back in the spotlight promoting her Lynn Vincent-written bestseller. (Stylistically-speaking, LV was a good choice to ghostwrite the book. Lynn interviewed me once, and I was impressed with her cordial manner and her end product.)

Since Sarah of Wasilla may return to the national political stage, and since the U.S. is desperately in need of straight-talking, tough-love leadership, it's worthwhile to revisit a portion of her Univision (the Spanish-language TV station) interview dealing with immigration. It was classic, unscripted, no-teleprompter Palin - all over the place and (unintentionally) hilarious. She was also clueless about the trans-national gangs, drunk drivers, jihadists, and all the rest of the motley crew which are the fruits of our inferior interior enforcement policies.

Here's Sarah (nice jacket!) with Jorge Ramos (nice suit!) and 2 questions from the interview:

Q: Do you then favor an amnesty for the 12 million undocumented immigrants?

A: No, I do not. Not total amnesty. You know, people have got to follow the rules. We have got to make sure that there is equal opportunity and those who are here legally should be first in line for services being provided and those opportunities that this great country provides.

Q: So you support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants?

A: I do because I understand why people would want to be in America. To seek the safety and prosperity, the opportunities, the health that is here. It is so important that yes, people follow the rules so that people can be treated equally and fairly in this country.

Maybe it sounded better in Spanish.

P.S. The full Univision interview is here.

Border, The Movie

This award-winning documentary, which deals with the harsh realities of life on or near the US-Mexico border is, if nothing else, inclusive: "From the mouths of besieged ranchers, local law enforcement, the Minutemen, the ACLU, political leaders and illegal immigrants themselves, comes a searing portrait that does not flinch from the truth. This is a front row seat on a failed policy gone completely out of control."

Consider donating a copy to your local library.

CNN Won't Be the Same Without Lou

It's "Roberto Lovato Gets His Smug On" day.

This partisan hack is gloating and taking the credit for causing a patriot who has been sticking up for the marginalized American worker (for many years) for losing his job! (Yes, I know he abruptly quit, but I think the circumstances/special interest groups' pressure forced his hand.)

Lovato is affliated with the "New America Media" which is financed by the powerful Carnegie Foundation and several other left-leaning foundations which are eager to ingratiate themselves with herd-mentality "journalists" who have mastered the art of the put down, as opposed to doing the hard work of investigative reporting.

Some grass roots effort.

No offense to John King, husband of CNN's Dana Bash, (cozy, huh?) but I hope his show bombs.

New America = Censorship

P.S. The classy Eugene Katz Award, given to Mr. Dobbs for his excellent coverage on immigration, remains well-deserved.

Update: This column's headline turned out to be prophetc.

Update: Larry says it well: "To advocate freedom of speech but applaud its denial strikes me as hypocritical."

Texas-Style Health Care Reform

The Dutchers update on the very ill Baby Anne Marie is indeed extraordinary. It's hard not to tear up reading their account of what transpired in a Dallas hospital room on November 11.

And what an amazing 'cast' surrounds this precious little girl and her persevering parents - the brilliant doctors, the caring nurses, and the praying/tweeting/facebooking family and friends.

The 'Starving Artist' Needs to Go on a Diet

The Middle American News, November 2009 issue, featured a long list of the funds being distributed by those vibrant patrons of the arts - the U.S. Congress.
Here's a tiny sample of MAN's small sample which listed only about 40 bohemian entities (there's oodles more) who are proudly on the dole:

$50,000 for the Idaho Shakespeare Festival of Boise
$50,000 for the Illusion Theater & School of Minneapolis
$50,000 for the International Accordian Festival of San Antonio
$50,000 for the Mural Project of Brooklyn
$50,000 for the Headwaters Dance Company of Missoula
$50,000 for Grupo de Artistas Latinoamericanos de Washington, D.C.
$50,000 for Jacob's Pillow Dane of Becket (MA)
$50,000 for Friends of a Studio in the Woods, New Orleans

You get the idea.

Let's see if I get the idea: The national unemployment rate is now 22%, yet we enthusiastically continue to subsidize the fiddler to fiddle while Rome burns.

Makes perfect sense.

Ruby the Dog Finds Her Man

(Tuck this one away in the "Is this a great country of what?" mental file.)

It's no secret that Americans are unabashed animal lovers. The U.S. has millions of dedicated pet owners, as well as countless volunteers that raise money for shelters. Even in a tough economy, there are decent citizens who spontaneously rescue needy critters.

Like this fella - Gary DeNicola. He gallantly helped out a helpless doggie, and then received a shock.

But Gary continues doing the good deed, although it's became a more daunting endeavor than he envisioned. Awww. His neighbors are pretty neighborly, too.

"A righteous man has regard for the life of his beast." Proverbs 12:10

Angelina Jolie's Father Rocked the House

Actor Jon Voight's very political, very on-point, very outstanding speech at the anti-PelosiCare, held in Washington, D.C. yesterday, is here. John Ratzenberger, host of Made in America, also spoke and also hit a home run.


Sign from the rally


Disclaimer: Appreciating Mr. Voight's public stand on this issue doesn't change the fact that I think some of this "artistic" choices leave much to be desired. Midnight Cowboy comes to mind.

The 2009 World Series Champs

Since this blog is named in honor of Mr. Roberto Faith Castillo, who also happens to be a huge New York Yankees fan, I offer an enthusiastic tip of the baseball cap to the Bronx Bombers for last night's win.

Pro-Life Halloween Artistry

The American Life League suggests that interested activists make a powerful statement, today, with candle-lit pumpkins, as they greet trick-or-treaters.

This is a certainly a unique way to carve a jack-o-lantern, no? Very evocative.

National Treasure: The Wizard of Oz

My pretties, the 70th anniversary celebration of an American movie classic is coming up. From Wikipedia: "The film also has been deemed 'culturally significant' by the United States Library of Congress, which selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1989." Everything about this film is a "ten" from the acting to the special effects to the plot to the songs ... Toto lives on! The Wicked Witch isn't dead!

God, Gardasil, Sexism, and Deportation

Last month I wrote a newsfeed about a British-born teenager who lives in Florida with her beloved granny and who has been unsuccessfully challenging the controversial Gardasil vaccine requirement that USCIS mandated for young ladies last year.

Poor Simone Davis.

Nobel Prize Winner Was Homeschooled

Forget President Obama winning the 2009 Nobel Prize for Peace. It's one of the scientists who won this year's Nobel Prize for Physics that should have garnered more attention. Why? He was a home scholar.

Yes, indeed.

Willard S. Boyle, who is Canadian and grew up in a logging community where a dog sled was the transporation mode of choice, was taught at him by his mother until he reached the high school years.

Here's more and also here.

Finally, Dr. Boyle's phone interview with Adam Smith, editor of Nobelprize.org, where he mentions his education.

Congratulations, Dr. Boyle!

While we're on the topic: This exchange - priceless!

Snobby Amherst Hearts Terrorists

Cartoon courtesy of my buddy, Larry Kelley, who has more on this goofiness.

FYI: I was the 'token' conservative (translation: pro-American sovereignty) columnist, for many years, in the Hampshire County (where Amherst is located) daily newspaper. It was a really nice gig even though the paper's viewpoint, just like the geographic area, is predictably left-of-center. My opinions so clashed with the status quo that letter-to-the-editor writers told me to move. As in, 'we don't want your kind here.' La di da.

So much for tolerance, peace, diversity, 'stop the hate,' 'take back the night' campaigns, and all that fruit and nuts and granola jazz.

Update: The Wall St. Journal blogger is not impressed with this fuzzy-wuzzy gesture of hospitality.

Another update: Wimps!

Come on Down! Gitmo Detainees Wanted

One for Ann Corcoran who operates the Refugee Resettlement Watch blog:

"Amherst (MA) officials voted in favor of offering the town as a possible resettlement home for two Guantanamo detainees, if they are released from the military prison.

The town’s five-member Select Board voted 2-1 Monday to endorse a warrant article filed on behalf of the two men by the group No More Guantanamos.

The resolution also called on Congress to lift a ban on relocating former Guantanamo prisoners – even those cleared of wrongdoing – from resettling in the U.S."

Read the rest of the AP story here. More here.

Trick or Treat?

Don't try selling this costume on ebay. Or, anywhere else for that matter.

But this one is fine.

Update: A newsfeed I wrote about this silly controversy is here.

¿Estás listo para el fútbol?

On October 12th, the NFL joined the assault on the English language on Monday Night Football in Miami by featuring segments of the pre-game festivities and even the game itself in Spanish. This, to pay tribute to National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15th to Oct. 15th. The referee made the first penalty call of the game in Spanish; ESPN announcer Mike Tirico introduced the game between "Los Delfines de Miami y Los Jets de Nueva York en el Estadio Land Shark"; and a flashy half-time "Celebration of the Americas" lauded Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Brazilian culture.

You can read all about the redcarpet-worthy festivities (entertainers Marc Anthony and Gloria Estefan are minority owners of the Dolphin franchise), the game, and the interview with Jets' quarterback Mark Sanchez (who says he is proud to be Hispanic) at NFLatino.com, powered by Univision, the enormously successful Spanish-language network.

Granted, one NFL game does not a revolution make. But it serves as yet another reminder that the struggle to maintain a national identity is being lost poco a poco.

That's cute: Colt McCoy's Latino fans have a creative nickname for him.

Update: I expanded this blog entry (and incorporated Rush Limbaugh's imbroglio attempt to become a minority investor of the St. Louis Rams) into a newspaper column. Go here.

Kobach Chats with Colbert

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Kris Kobach
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Michael Moore

Kris Kobach is running for the office of secretary of state in Kansas. He has made a name for himself defending cities which want to reduce illegal immigration (think Hazleton), as well as U.S. citizens who have mounted a legal challenge against policies that give in-state college tuition rates to undocumented students. He is also representing the Bologna family against the sanctuary city of San Franciso. Tragically, Tony Bologna and his two sons, Matthew and Michael were murdered by an illegal alien MS-13 gang member. Details here.

Patriotic immigration reformers couldn't ask for a better guy "on their side." Kris is a family man, Eagle Scout, foreign mission worker, constitutional and immigration law professor at UMissouri/Kansas City, outstanding litigator, and Ivy League grad.

He's also the kind of teacher that makes a lasting impression. One of of Kris' former students - Garrett Roe - now works with him at IRLI. Chévere!

Puerto Rico Statehood: Deal or No Deal?

Carol Helm, the fabulous founder of IRON, is alerting concerned citizens about the status of H.R. 2499, which is also known as The Puerto Rico Democracy Act of 2009:

"Now out of committee and could be brought to the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote any day! It is a bill designed to lead to the admission of Spanish-speaking Puerto Rico as our 51st state. The bill requires Puerto Ricans to vote on the issue of their political status again after they have rejected statehood in three nation-wide elections since 1991. But this time the plebiscite process is rigged in favor of statehood!

Please send your congressmen an email message and urge them to VOTE NO on H.R. 2499."

Eddie V. Garcia, who serves on the ProEnglish Board of Advisors, had a letter published in the New York Post on this very issue.

Tim Schultz, director of government relations for U.S. English, offers a brief podcast about the complications involved with admitting the 'first official bilingual state' into the Union.

Update: Check out "No to Puerto Rico Statehood" on Facebook.

Evan-Jellos: Viva Amnesty!

What is the Board of Directors of the National Association of Evangelicals thinking? Are they thinking?

Advocating for amnesty for millions of illegal aliens, the NAE wants us to believe that countless law-breaking, gang-joining, job-stealing, accident-causing, tax-evading (you get the idea!) invaders from across the border deserve a place at the American table. What they really deserve is a free ride/flight back to their homelands, where they can enjoy family and church life in their own languages and cultures.

The NAE resolution states: "National borders must be safeguarded ..." and then argures for just the opposite. And if "sanctity of the human person and the incomparable value of family" are really important to them, let them start with the American 'human persons' and families that have been injured by the illegal workers taking their jobs and drunk drivers that have taken the lives of their family members.

NAE, our workforce will be better off without the illegals, and their 'family reunification' should occur back in their countries.

For the alternative evangelical viewpoint on this issue, please read this column written by Pastor Chuck Baldwin who also recommends this video.

Update: Dr. James Edwards writes about migration and the Bible.

Update 2: Backlash from within the NAE on the resolution.