The Civil Rights Movements of Our Time
The whole immigration thing is all over the news. This got me to think about all of the groups fighting for what they consider "civil rights" – all compare their causes to that of black Americans, who are of course, sometimes insulted by the comparison. Nevertheless, the three civil rights areas today I want to discuss are the homosexual, pro-life, and immigrant movements. How are they similar to the black American civil rights movements, what rights are they looking for, and how do they differ? I’m not an expert on any of these, so wanted to open it up for discussion.
An Open Letter to Michelle Malkin: On Immigration
I cranked up the tivo last night to watch my daily dose of O’Reilly (the 12/26 show isn’t up yet), and who do I see hosting for him, but Michelle Malkin. Now, normally, I like Michelle – she’s intelligent, she’s a minority female who is a conservative, and she can be just snarky enough to be funny, while not indulging in inconsistent analogies that demean her opponents, a la Ann Coulter.
However, last night, she got on the subject of the illegal aliens who were arrested at the Swift meat packing plants, and unfortunately, she has adopted the inhuman, hard right position on illegal aliens which smart leaders like GWB have not indulged in. So Michelle, though I am a lowly blogger like you once were, I hope you read this and take heed, because you are just too pretty and smart, and I don’t want to lose you to the dummies on the fringe.
Why Americans fear Hispanics and other immigrants
Remember the big argument between Geraldo and O’Reilly over immigration? As it turns out, Geraldo got a book deal about it, and his review of the history of immigration to the U.S. is really interesting. His new book is entitled His Panic: Why Americans Fear Hispanics in the U.S.
As a conservative who is moderate on this issue, I get a lot of crap from my conservative friends. This argument won’t end soon, and both sides have good points, but this book seems a worthy addition to the discussion.
Our Travail with Immigration
My mother-in-law could not come to our wedding because she could not get a VISA to come here. In fact, after four years of marriage, I met her for the first time this past summer on a visit to Mexico. We have gone through the machinations of the Byzantine immigration system, and still, we can’t get her here legally. We’re pretty much down to writing our senators and governor. Here is our letter to the governor.
Please write GW Bush to support his immigration policy
I don’t mean to speak for all three authors on this site, but I want to take a stand on the issue of immigration. Univision, the top Latino tv network, is supporting a letter writing campaign (Spanish) to let Bush know that people support the current immigration bill. I think this bill represents a rare chance to push our broken immigration law in the right direction.
If you agree, you can download the PDF version of the letter, and mail it out. Thanks.
GW Bush is my hero when it comes to immigration
GWB has enraged conservatives by calling them on their fear tactics and the abuse of the word "amnesty" when referring to the current bill, and even went so far as to imply that if you are against the current bill, you are against America. And I want to be the first conservative to say that Bush is right! While this bill is not perfect, it’s a huge step in the right direction. It’s comprehensive in that it covers security, immigration process, the need for temporary workers, and the plight of existing illegals here in the US.
As I mentioned in An Open Letter to Michelle Malkin, the conservative opposition to providing a path to citizenship for honest Mexicans who have been working and living here for years (and many have paid income taxes the entire time) is inhuman, impractical, and laced with the criminalization of people who are merely trying to provide a life for their families.
As a side note, I wonder how liberals will try to attack Bush’s motives for this stand he is taking against his party. I’m sure they won’t give him credit for thinking for himself – maybe big business is in his pocket telling him what to say on this issue?
Bill O’Reilly Flips out on Geraldo
I actually like Bill O’Reilly, though he sometimes cuts off his guests, and can be dogmatic in a bad way (dogmatism, imo, is not always bad). However, if you hate Bill, you will probably hate him more after viewing this clip. I agree w/ Geraldo on this, and he stands up to him admirably (and also slams Lou Dobbs in a good observation). This is a do not miss argument.
Two walls don’t make a right
One of the most absurd comparisons in the immigration debate has been equating a proposed US/Mexico border fence with the Berlin Wall. While indepth research and extensive subject knowledge could demonstrate the ludicrous nature of the correlation, I have neither – so I will use common sense.
One big, glarring difference makes any purported similarity pointless.
Strange immigration bedfellows
Take a look at the votes on an amendment to cap the number of guest worker permits at 650,000 per year.
