Four things...

The were a couple of items today on Media Matters that really got me thinking. I was tied up all day at work and didn't have the time to comment on them, but I'd like to do so here, because I think they are very indicative of how Conservatives thynk and what they prynciples are.

(See what I did there?)

The first was this item about the Federal ICE and Secure Communities Programs.  There's a lot of the same old bullshit... (They're not racists, they're just saying that every Mexican is a criminal!)  They lie about they're affect on our economy, and our tax base, and the job market.  But there's a sub-text buried in there, almost like an afterthought, that I found to be almost laughably profound:  They focus on California, and the fact that in opting out of these programs, they also want to opt out of federal cross-checks.  Or, at least... not perform them, per federal immigration law.

Now... they were hardly praising this move.  In fact, as I read it, they seemed to take rather serious issue with California's bucking federal law here.  Which got me thinking:

Aren't these guys supposed to be all about State's Rights and limiting the power of the Federal Government and letting States decide for themselves what laws to have and how to enforce them?

Well... They certainly TALK a good game there.  But it's clear that this principle only matters if those States choose to resits LIBERAL Laws (non-discrimination laws, hate-crime legislation, industrial and environmental regulations) and replace them with CONSERVATIVE ones (anti-abortion measure, union-busting, prayer in school, etc...)  Which means this whole, "States Rights" thing? Isn't a PRINCIPLE at all.  It only comes into play when  it serves their overall agenda - Which has nothing to do with States Rights.  In this case? It's just more blatant racism, using propaganda to refute reality.

The second thing, was this.  In their effort to vilify Planned Parenthood as nothing more than an abortion mill, dedicated to some kind of genocide, the National Review's Rich Lowry, when presented with actual, factual data on how much of PP's business is abortion services (3%) and how much of its revenue was represented by those services (15%) and the fact that no federal money was ever used to pay or or subsidize those services, he simply waved his hands and called the data, "Fake And Bogus."

I've said it before folks: The biggest different between how Liberals think and how Conservatives thynk is that Liberals evaluate the evidence and then form their position accordingly, whilst Conservatives form their position and then evaluate the evidence accordingly.

I've always known that to be true, but I'd never thought I'd see it proven so... clumsily!

The third was RW micro-hack Hugh Hewitt's advice for Sarah Palin to not participate in presidential debates that are organized by "traditional media" outlets, claiming that they were overwhelming opposed to the election of GOP candidates, and that she should expect them to ask the "gotcha" questions.  Like...

"[The] standard stunt questions on abortion in the event of rape or incest, weapons of mass destruction, evolution, global warming, or any of a dozen other dog whistles to the left designed to create the moment that replicates across the Web."

Anyone see anything wrong with this kind of thynking? 

Calling out the fact that they are so far to the right on abortion that they no longer support exceptions for rape victims (or as Keith Olbermann more aptly put it: supporting the rapist's Bill of Rights) is something bad, journalistically speaking?

Pointing out either the continued, absurd belief that Saddam had WMD's, or the utterly psychotic viewpoint that the war was even remotely justified without them (hell - it wasn't necessarily justified WITH them!) is information that the American People shouldn't have access to?

Teaching evolution in the classroom?  Believing in long and thoroughly disproven fairy-stories over science, and wanting to TEACH that to our children?  We shouldn't know (or care?) about that?!

Global Warming?!  Again with the thoroughly disproven fairy-stories over science, only this time they get to make money off of it, while slowly dooming humanity to a planet that can no longer support them?  This isn't something we should know about the candidate?!

Hugh... I've got a question for you: If you're so ashamed of you viewpoints, WHY DO YOU HAVE THEM?  If your positions on these issues make you so unpalatable to the American people that you can't even defend them in a simple interview, then WHY SHOULD THE AMERICAN PEOPLE VOTE FOR YOU['RE CANDIDATE]? 

Again... I always knew they only cared about winning, and about power, and couldn't give two shits about what's important to a super-majortiy of the American people, but still... 

They're usually better about hiding it!

Though... I still wonder why any politician, any Representative of the People, should hold a position that such an anathema to the people he represents, that he doesn't want anyone to know about it! That ALONE should disqualify ANYONE from holding a public office, no?

And the LAST THING, well... if you REALLY want to read some shit... ;)

Back, finally!

I’m back!

Sorry, I was out of town all last week and didn’t find a whole lot of time for posting, and I've been so busy as a result, this week has flown by as well!
I was down in Arizona, visiting out plant in Mexico. We’d heard a lot of rumors about how difficult it was going to be to cross the border (and cross back) but we didn’t have any trouble at all. We did see a checkpoint in AZ that in the past was either closed or just waved people through that was really back up (thank you Jan Brewer) but by the time we finally hit it (heading back north) we were just waved through.

Guard: What country y’all from?

Us: This one!

Guard: OK, have a nice day.

No need to check the passports or ID’s of anyone who doesn’t look illegal, I guess. (Not that I’m suggesting that they racially profile or anything!)

Since we had been to Mexico (and needed our passport anyway) we would have been prepared later that evening when we got pulled over for speeding. (You know, if the cops were still required to check for citizenship.) But there was no need (no thanks to Jan Brewer) and we were let off with a warning. (Good thing we didn’t look illegal, huh? Not that I’m suggesting that they racially profile or anything!)

Anyway, enough of that.

Although a few of these are out of date at this points, there are a few things I came accross over the past two weeks that I wanted to share with y’all...


Glenn Beck’s big rally cam and went without the Rapture occurring or the Second Coming or even free Ice Cream fro the kids. Considering how much hey pumped it up over the past few months, I’d imagine that the bulk of the crowd ended up thinking, “THAT was what I came to D.C.? Oh well, at least the weather was nice.” (But maybe not, I mean if you’re impressed by Glenn Beck, you can’t be that hard to impress!) Daily Kos had a interest first hand account of the event, from a liberal Black man who attended out of curiosity. Very enlightening read.  Worth checking out.


Robert Kuttner had a savage response to the rumblings of the Cat-food commission regarding social security. It’s amazing how easy these problems would be to sovle, and how far even the “liberal” (notice the “quotes”?) politicians are willing to go to screw over the lower 99% of the country to satisfy the top 1%. We’re NOT a "conservative country” but we sure as hell are RULED by them, aren’t we? What the hell would it take to get congress to just ACT IN THE INTERESTS OF THE PEOPLE? Why is that SO HARD? What would it take? Breaking out the tar and feathers? Shooting some of them? Seriously! But then it’s no surprise that even our “liberal” (notice the “quotes”?) politicans are so god dmaned useless, because we have such a stupid and uneducated electorate that doesn’t hold them accountable! And since the “liberal” (notice the “quotes”?) media is no better, it’s not surprising at all that we have such a stupid and uneducated populace! In fact, it’s depressingly predicatble.


And what the fuck is up with THESE PEOPLE?! Book-burning? Really? One of the most visible and recognizable hallmarks of the Nazi’s, and every other vile Dictatorship and suppression of human rights and free expression and free religious practice that America ever stood against? That’s what we’ve been reduced to? What UnAmerican SCUM. I hope their church burns down with their children asleep in the nursery


(No.  I'm not apologizing for that last bit.  Fuck 'em.)


Coming up in the next few days…

- A continuation of Steeve’s and my conversation about the origin of Christianity.

- A Republican Propaganda Video that shows just how gullible Republican’s are.

- And I’ve read and replied to all of the comments that you’ve all left over the past couple weeks, just so you know that I DO read them and very much appreciate them!

Trying to have it both ways?

I was reading Snopes.com the other day and found what I thought was a rather ironic juxtaposition of articles. The first one was a “Correctly Attributed” blog entry from the rather conservative Country Music Legend Charlie Daniels. (Hey – credit where it’s due: he may be on the wrong side of politics, but even though I HATE country music, I still say that “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” is one of the greatest songs ever written.) It’s basically a slightly more principled defense of the new Arizona Immigration Law than the Right has been offering for several weeks now. It goes without saying that I disagree with his overall judgment on the law, but there was a whole lot less overt, outright racism then we’ve typically seen. It focused on the idea that the LAW is the LAW and you cannot break the LAW. I’m not going to bother to disassemble this entire philosophy right now, but it should be pretty obvious that this country has a well established system for CHALLENGING laws that we think go too far, and there is ample precedent for such laws being struck down. Given the controversy, it’s almost a given that this law will find it self in that process. And if it’s just frustration about the Federal Agencies not enforcing existing law, all I have to say is: That’s their discretion! What AZ has essentially done is say, we don’t like how YOU’RE enforcing the law, so we’re going to do it ourselves. If anyone other than a STATE did that, I’m sure even Mister Daniels would call that “VIGILANTISM.” (And the Supreme Court may yet decide that AZ DID overstep.) In any case, if he’s truly not racist, as he claims he’s not, then I’m sure he would not approve of vigilante action as a means of enforcing immigration law, or indeed ANY law.


That made it very interesting for me to read the NEXT post, which was an update about the Cross Memorial being placed on federal land. What does the LAW say about this? Well… primarily it says that openly Christian memorials can not be erected on Federal Land. And SEVERAL court cases not only upheld that judgment, but even upheld it against several clumsy and still unconstitutional compromises, and even struck down several CONGRESSIONAL actions to try and find a remedy that didn’t involve removing the cross. (Which was put the illegally and without proper authorization in the first place, I might add.) As I read this, I just kept thinking, “Hmmmm, I wonder what Charlie Daniels thinks about the LAW in this case.” I mean – the LAW was clear, and it was upheld numerous times, so what’s the problem? REMOVE THE DAMNED CROSS!

And while I will never presume to speak for a Musical Legend, why do I get the feeling that Mister Daniels probably feels that the cross should stay, and to hell with the Law. IOW: That it’s the LAW that must change.

Now… that’s his prerogative. EVERYONE has some law they don’t like; that they’d like to see repealed or revised or enforced or enacted anew. I’m got tons of ‘em. So there’s nothing wrong with that. Just don’t pull that “The LAW’S the LAW” bullshit whenever it suits you and then act like the law can be challenged whenever you don’t like it. Some laws are just no damned good, and it a matter of interpretation how to APPLY the law in any given case. That’s why we have COURTS, and a CONSTITUTION. So you can’t have it both ways.

Now… as for the guy who STOLE the cross? Speaking for myself, as an individual, I say, “RIGHT ON! BRAVO! And JOB WELL DONE!” The cross has no place on federal land, and was never authorized to have been put there in the first place, and our government should have the balls to enforce the law as had been interpreted MANY TIMES by the court. BUT – to avoid the hypocrisy charge on vigilantism – I will gladly concede that, should the perpetrator be apprehended, he should and must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I applaud the act, but he was the one who decided to take his chances legally speaking. I hope he’s never caught. But if he is, and if he’s convicted, you won’t hear me complain. I’ll SYMPATHIZE, but hey: The law’s the law, right?

Immigration Reform

Before I get into immigration reform, I just want to reference THIS PIECE from MMFA. It should dispel the idea, once and for all, that crime increase when the number of "illegals" does.  Make sure any Right-Winger who argues along those get s a good hard dose of the facts first!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are three basic reason to want immigration reform, if you're already an American Citizen: (1) Racism, Xenophobia and Religious Bigotry.  (2) Concerns about jobs.  Someone may also say, "and resources" but I'll explain why that's nonsense. (3) Concerns about security.

I shouldn't have to explain the bigotry angle, especially in light of my last two posts.  And it's not just Mexicans either.  How about those Muslims?  I've actually heard people say we shouldn't give them student visas!  In the words of Gorobei Katayama, "Are you kidding me?" How else do you expect the Middle East to progress and modernize and (dare we say it?) WESTERNIZE if they're young people are not given an opportunity to see first hand what the West and Modern Life has to offer?   But bigotry is not a motivation most people are willing to admit to.  So let;s give them the benefit of the doubt for now and I'll show you why this IS in fact the primary motivation.

The second reason is JOBS, and more specifically WAGES.  Now this is the one area where elements of the Left actually get on board.  Unions and Labor advocates would rather see these jobs pay higher, and go to American labor.  But the Left's opposition to immigration reform is relatively modest compared to the full-on rant-like fear mongering of the Right.  Which is funny, because it seems that this is about the only argument the Right EVER makes in favor of American Labor. Remember: Thea re the people who hate union, fight minimum age increase, outsource jobs to china, put profit ahead of safety (Massey, I'm looking at YOU!)  It seems the only time they give a shit about American Labor is when a Mexican comes looking for an opportunity to work hard, send his kids to school and make a better life for his family.  Seeing as how every WHITE person's family did that at one point, I'd say this is, at best, despicably hypocritical and at worst... well... see reason number one.

As for them 'draining our resources'?  Look: This cheap labor?  It IS a resource.  It's a resource that every single one of us benefits from.  Sure... we could force the farm owner to pay market wages for American Labor.  They'd pay several; times as much and it would certainly cut into their profits, even as it made the bulk of our produce skyrocket in price!  Would more Americans be employed?  Maybe.  And that can be good.  But does it really HELP if everything costs more and the industry that feeds us is no longer profitable?  Those people put food on your table.  You think you do, because you PAY for it? Cry me a river.  Without them there wouldn't be enough food to BUY.  At least until those good ol' market forces kicked in and drive the price high enough to justify the production and increase the supply.  And THEN you'd be complaining about how much it cost!  So rather than bitching about your kid sitting next a Mexican in the classroom (see reason #1) maybe you should try THANKING those people who busted their asses, getting paid shit, with no benefits, for helping YOU make a better life for YOURSELF.

Now the final reason might be the most principled one.  In a post 9/11 world (doesn't it seem like every Right-Wing argument starts out that way?) we can't risk having a loosey-goosey border because a terrorist could sneak in and steal our cheese.  Now... I can get behind that REASONING... But as most of you have figured out by now, I have kin of an upside-down way of looking at things and I draw a completely different conclusion from it. I say, "Let them [pretty much]  ALL in."  Here's why:

Consider what you need for security, especially knowing that we're talking about people who can just WALK here.  You need to know WHO they are, WHERE they are and you need the ability to do a BACKGROUND CHECK to look for... Terrorists, yes,  but also Drug Dealers, Fugitives, Bandidtos, etc... (Yeah, I'm kidding about the Bandidtos.)  And in order to GET this information, you need people to be WILLING to give it.  And if you keep telling people, "No, you can't come in" and "If we find you we'll you to jail or back to Mexico" then they have no reason to comply.  Especially since it's so hard to keep track of them  anyway!  So thank about the result of having a system that tries to keep people out (IOW: Panders to reason #1): In doing so, you INCREASE the opportunity for a terrorist to sneak in and hide amongst the millions of undocumented folks.

So what would I do?  Simple.  I let anyone in who passed a simple background check, provided they registered and kept us informed of their address.  I'd let them work, they'd pay taxes (as almost all do anyway) and Id let them make a life for themselves.  They can't vote, until they're citizens, but that's their choice.  As long as they obey the law?  I'd leave them be.

Who would I keep out?  Only convicted criminals, wonted men, people of the FBI's terror list, etc... Now, you might think that THESE people wouldn't bother to register.  Well, yeah, they probably wouldn't.  But if you have someone here, who's NOT in your database, who you CAN'T confirm the status off, they'd pretty much STAND OUT, at least as compared to now, where they're one of MILLIONS.  And under a system that GIVES THEM what they want, rather than tries to DENY THEM, I 9and most people) would have a lot less sympathy for those who break the rules. And hey: If every legitimate migrant worker is registered, you can bet far more confidently that the one dude that ISN'T really does have something to hide.  In any case, it would make the authorities jobs a LOT easier, if for no other reason than they have about 0.1% of their current caseload,, and THAT would make us more secure.

As for the background check?  Shoot.  They're not applying for security clearance.  It don;t take more than a few days to (1) confirm their identity, (2) Check for warrants and (3) Check for convictions.  Clean sheet? Come on in.  But we can only do those checks if people are WILLING to cooperate.  And there's no reason to expect them to if we make them wait for YEARS, and always tell them NO, and threaten to jail or deport them.  Not when then can just walk around.

If you really want to know the difference between reason 1 and reason 3, just ask yourself : Are we trying to keep out Muslim Terrorists or Migrant Farmhands.  It an both nearly impossible and completely unnecessary to TRULY secure our southern border and let NO ONE in.  Just ain't going to happen, and I don;t know why you'd want to.  Your taxes would go up to pay for it, and your grocery bill would go up because of it.  We only need to know WHO and WHERE people are.  And anyone who;'s NOT a terrorist or a drug-dealer will gladly tell you that, if you're helping them get what they want.


If anyone wants to argue these points, please review your argument against reason #1 before doing so. ;)

Life in an Arizona, and Mexican, border-town

I’ve been on the road, traveling on business the last couple of days, so I haven’t had a chance to blog. Coincidentally, I’ve been staying in Arizona and crossing over to our assembly plant in Mexico. It’s been interesting to see and hear peoples reaction to the new immigration law – especially from those American Citizens of Mexican decent; people who were born here and have lived here they’re whole lives, went to school here, married here, had kids here but who now may face the possibility of having to proove that they’re Americans.

Now… it should go without say for any of my regular readers that I am completely opposed to this new law. It’s beyond racist – it’s downright fascist. It’s the kind of thing the Nazi’s did to root out suspected Jews and that we did in our country, prior to the civil war, to Blacks and Freedmen and escaped slaves living in the North, who, lacking the proper paperwork, faced deportation and enslavement to the south. There is such a long, dark and despicable history of this kind of nonsense that I fail to see how “Show me your papers” can be remotely acceptable to ANY American.

Or, as the Mexican-American driver who picked us up and drove us to the plant said, “You can be pulled over now for driving with a sun-tan.”

I was a bit surprised that there was not MORE venom, to be honest, but perhaps he figured he should keep things polite in mixed company. That and this particular gentleman is also one of the funniest guys I’ve ever met, so maybe that's just not his way. Seriously, it’s like taking a ride with Cheech Marin. He even looks and sounds a bit like him. But I digress.

The other thing that surprised me at first was that I saw no support, at all, from ANYONE, regarding this law. And you’d think in a border town, you’d have a considerable amount of support. I mean… if there’s a THREAT, it’s going to hit them first, right? But I as talked to more people, I found over and over that the people in border towns have a unique perspective on the issue: To them, the issue of immigration has a HUMAN face to it. They invariably have friends and co-workers on both sides of the border. To them, these people that will now face this unreasonable harassment are their friends and their neighbors and co-workers and in some cases employees. They LIVE with and WORK with and PLAY with these PEOPLE. And thus they see them as PEOPLE. And when you put a human face on a problem, it becomes a lot harder to look another human in the eye and say, “No. I will not help you. I will not protect you. I will not respect your rights, or your humanity.” The only people who can look at someone and say that, who can look as some, living and breathing right in front of them and feel nothing but fear and hatred, are racists.

Now, I’m not suggesting that those living farther from the border, who feel this same fear, and who support the law, are racist. Not at all. If you’ve never MET a Mexican, then there’s no reason to expect your opinion of them to be educated by more than stereotypes, and the imagery that Fox News shows you, with the intention of feeding that fear. The racist is merely the person who, upon meeting someone who doesn’t FIT the stereotype, refuses to let go of it. I’ve met precious few people who have actually gotten to actually know Mexicans, who still buy into the stereotypes afterwards. And those that do? Well, they’re either cops or racists. And I say cops, because police officers are another group that have unique perspective on humanity: They typically only ever see the worst of it. So while I don’t excuse a cop who’s racist, in that case, I can at least understand where it comes from. All the [name your racial subgroup]’s that s/he’s interacts with are usually being arrested and charged with crimes. And while they should recognize this fact, I can’t fault someone as much who’s merely reaching the conclusion that the data they have supports. Although… as my relatively racially insensitive cousin would attest to, even after going on a fairly racist tirade about all the various immigrant groups he’s had to deal with: There’s no trash like white trash. Even in his Right-Wing eyes, they’re STIILL the worst. He still dreads the trailer-park call more than any other.  I find that oddly and ironically amusing. But I digress.

As for the stereotype? Let me tell you something about Mexicans: These people work hard. They work like dogs and get paid SHIT. And I’ve met no shortage of Mexican managers and engineers that are smart as whips, and work harder than I even try to. I consider myself to be fairly intelligent (if you’d gathered that yet) but I’ve stood awestruck at some of the things these guys have come up with, and the production lines they’ve designed and built. No way I could ever do that. No way in hell. And I’m an engineer! And the line operators? Oh my god, break neck speed, with many, many steps in each operation, and yet this plant has won quality awards! So these people should be the poster children for hard work and ingenuity, and instead they’re described as lazy and stupid. And do you know what they’re paid for this, including the cost of benefits? $65 dollars a WEEK. For a 40-hour shift! Now, I do realize that $65 dollars goes a little farther in Mexico than it does here, but still! For $65 a week, you’d be lucky to get me to even show up! Let alone give a shit about the job, or do it well! And the ones that DO come here? Those hardened criminals, who’s only crime is walking across an arbitrary line in the sand as the sought a better life for themselves and their family? These people work the SHITTIEST jobs available, again get paid SHIT, and in this country get NO benefits for doing so. These people work hard in a way that puts most Americans to shame.

I thought we were a country that valued hard work? I thought we were a country that valued entreprenuerial spirit? That valued that drive to excel, to build a better life for yourself and your family? That celebrated a person who, like my father and so many of our parents, the first in their family to go to college? Well… apparently only if your brown skin really did come from the sun, and wasn’t something you were born with.

Well, these people are my colleagues and co-workers and many have become my friends. And I’ve had a human face put on that stereotype and on the "problem" of immigration, and I can no longer abide the racial sentiments of those who have experienced no more of the Mexican culture than what Taco Bell has to offer. I CARE about these people, because I KNOW these people. And I won’t stand by while their hard work and talent and ingenuity are slandered.

As far as I’m concerned, Governor Jan Brewer and Senator John McCain are unfit to serve the public, for giving into to this fear and xenophobia.

----------------------------------------------------------------

I plan to do a separate post on stereotypes before doing one on immigration.