You’re far more apt to find the honest-to-goodness truth (so needed presently) about the underpinnings of the immigration reform debate in the United States Senate (and of the jaded interest groups fueling it and the tawdry street protests amplifying it) from bloggers, than from reading sympathetic, liberal, mainstream media columnists, Op-Ed pieces, and editorials, listening to President Bush’s careworn canards and cliches, or in watching on C-SPAN the members of the patently elitist Praetorian Guard, as they set about to accomplish their nefarious mission in the Senate chamber: serving up “cheap labor” (subsidized by you and me, of course) to certain business interests and huge numbers of incremental voters for both political parties.

Fact is, our government is doing its damnest right now to put one over on us and to turn its back on the overwhelming majority of everyday Americans who, first and foremost, want our land borders secured and the human invasion from the south stopped, and, secondly, as all the polls indicate, will not abide amnesty for illegals, no matter how it is cleverly camouflaged in the form of Guest Worker Programs and stepped, “end-of-the-line” paths towards so-called “earned citizenship.”

For Godsakes, this government of ours cannot even get hundreds upon hundreds of trailers rusting in a flood-plain in Hope, AR, to those hurricane victims dispossessd of homes and hope in New Orleans and throughout the Gulf Coast; and, yet, this same government tells us that they can monitor and substantively assess 12 to 20 million illegal aliens through a six-year program of doing all that will be required to achieve citizenship, while they remain here as “temporary” Guest Workers. And they expect us to buy that, just as they did in the late 80s when 4 million illegals were granted amnesty and American citizens were told that their absolution was a one-time deal and that the borders would forever more be secured. And now — all these years and months since 9/11 — here we go again. We still have porous borders, we still have Sanctuary Cities, we still have Anchor Babies, we now have as many as four times the number of illegals that we had in 1986, and it’s just more of the same from our government and its elected officials. The BIG LIE has had a long life and persists, even to this day. Don’t BUY into it.

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… then you can do no better than to read John Hawkins’ detailed Q&A on the subject — a marvelous post. It’s tantamount to a CliffsNotes on the subject. Well done, John!

John Hawkins, Immigration, Border Security, Illegal Aliens, GOP, Democrats, Senate, Politics, Amnesty, Guest Worker Program, President Bush, Border Patrol, Current Events

In his book, “Winning The Future,” former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, offers among his prescriptions for protecting and defending “America’s traditions and values” the following:

We must insist on patriotic immigration and patriotic education based on classic American history and the wisdom of the Founding Fathers and Abraham Lincoln. 

Additionally, Gingrich identifies as among the five principal “rising threats” to America’s future the profound concern that America might “lose the patriotic sense of itself as a unique civilization.”

Thus his book and the Speaker’s themes came to mind this morning as I read this post of Betsy Newmark’s (Betsy is a marvelous school teacher and popular conservative blogger), in which she quotes from and links to a WSJ.com OpinionJournal column by Peggy Noonan.

While Peggy Noonan writes of “immigrants” (rather than of ”illegal aliens”), her point is nonetheless apt:

We are not assimilating our immigrants patriotically now. We are assimilating them culturally. Within a generation their children speak Valley Girl on cell phones. “So I’m like ‘no,” and he’s all ‘yeah,’ and I’m like, ‘In your dreams.’ ” Whether their parents are from Trinidad, Bosnia, Lebanon or Chile, their children, once Americans, know the same music, the same references, watch the same shows. And to a degree and in a way it will hold them together. But not forever and not in a crunch.

So far we are assimilating our immigrants economically …

But we are not communicating love of country. We are not giving them the great legend of our country. We are losing that great legend.

What is the legend, the myth? That God made this a special place. That they’re joining something special. That the streets are paved with more than gold–they’re paved with the greatest thoughts man ever had, the greatest decisions he ever made, about how to live. We have free thought, free speech, freedom of worship. Look at the literature of the Republic: the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Federalist papers. Look at the great rich history, the courage and sacrifice, the house-raisings, the stubbornness. The Puritans, the Indians, the City on a Hill.

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I wish West Wing staffers had armed President Bush with “talking points” gleaned from Rep. J.D. Hayworth’s (R-AZ) superb column in Human Events entitled: “Vicente Fox Needs a Lesson in Civility.”

Were that so, the president would be well-served in his meetings today in Cancun with Vicente Fox of Mexico and the overwhelming majority of Americans would be able to express through the president their collective outrage over the human invasion from Mexico that el Presidente Fox has encouraged, facilitated, and defended over and over again. His administration has exported its problems to the United States, rather than dealing with them at home. It’s the $20 billion a year in remittances to Mexico from illegals in the States that he covets, not the people themselves.

As Congressman Hayworth writes:

President Fox has made it clear that he has nothing but contempt for our laws and our people.  And his remarks have been anything but civil or dignified.

President Fox has called U.S. border control efforts in San Diego and Texas “discriminatory.”  He said those of us opposed to illegal immigration are part of “minority, xenophobic, discriminatory groups.”  And President Fox astounded us all when he declared that illegal aliens in the U.S. “take work that not even blacks want to do.

Americans are tired of being told that they are bigots by the likes of President Fox and Foreign Minister Derbez, and President Bush should publicly make it clear to both of them that their clumsy, over-the-top rhetoric is unwarranted and unacceptable. 

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I sent via e-mail links my “An Open Letter To Members of the United States Senate” post to Senators Cornyn (R-TX), Hutchison (R-TX), and Frist (R-TN) earlier this week.

In reading this important piece in “Human Events,” I decided I needed to write again (for obvious reasons, as she has not responded to their survey on the issue of amnesty for illegal aliens) to one of my two senators — Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Here’s the e-mail I just sent to her:

I wrote to you earlier this week on the subjects of immigration reform and border security, which are presently before the United States Senate. I have not received so much as an auto-reply from your offices.

I am sickened by the proposed legislation that came out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday.

I now read in “Human Events” that, unlike your colleague, John Cornyn, you have yet to reply to their survey vis-a-vis your position on amnesty for illegal aliens, which they define as: “… granting any kind of legal residency status to an illegal alien without first making him return to his home country.”

Why are you keeping this matter so close to the vest?

As one of your constituents, please know that I support the House bill or would support a variation of it — e.g., Bill Frist’s border enforcement bill. What this nation needs to devote itself to is winning the war in Iraq and securing our nation’s land borders and ports. Deliberations on immigration reform are just a ruse by the United States Congress. Current federal immigration laws on the books are sufficient, but have been inadequately enforced and purposefully so to create a fait accompli — amnesty for 12 to 20 million illegal aliens.

I urge you to honor the wishes of the overwhelming majority of bona fide American citizens and not the corrupt government of Mexico and the lawbreakers it facilitated in jumping our borders.

And I don’t want my property taxes supporting school boards and school districts here in Texas that allow Hispanic students to ditch classes and wrap themselves in the flag of Mexico, while flying our own country’s flag upside down. It is an OUTRAGE! What is this: a “No Mexican Flag Left Behind” federal education initiative?

I look forward to your reply and monitoring your eventual vote.

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What Ted Kennedy and the United States Senate may be headed towards, if the Senate Judiciary Committee is any indication, is the greatest contributions-for-clemency give-away since Bill Clinton left the White House.

American citizenship for a price — and the price is not in blood or patriotism.

FOLLOW-UP: U.S. Senators would do well to heed John Hawkins’ words.

Ted Kennedy, U.S.Senate, Bill Clinton, Amnesty, Clemency, Immigration, Illegal Aliens, U.S.Citizenship, SEnate Judiciary Committee, Politics, Current Events

Captain Ed has a good post up at his Captain’s Quarters site, in which he points to the 22,000 students who poured out of Los Angeles Unified School District schools (owing to compliant liberal educators and administrators) and into the streets to engage in political rallies in support of rights for illegal aliens. It is the Captain’s contention that these street protests are emblemaic of a “Reconquista” movement in the southwestern United States being fomented by Latino activists who embrace “El Plan de Aztlan.” I agree and have written on these subjects any number of times, as have others more conversant in the subjects.

Writes Captain Ed:

The rallies in Southern California only ripped the lid off of a well-known dynamic in the culture that mixes native guilt with radical illegal-immigrant activism to fuel the La Raza dream of Aztlan, the reconquest of the the Southwest and its return to Mexico or existence as a separate nation. This radical notion has been around since 1969 and plays a part in the fringe politics of the Southwest. However, the increasing sense of entitlement for illegals in the area has led this impulse out of the shadows and into the forefront of the amnesty movement by enabling people to argue that the illegals are returning to their own land and that the US lacks the sovereignty to declare otherwise.

But I’d like to approach this story from a different angle. Currently the ethnic mix of students in the LAUSD includes a majority population of 72.8% Hispanics, most of whom speak Espanol as their primary language and with textbooks published in Mexico oftentimes used in their classrooms. Even as far back as 1990, 25% of the student population was comprised of illegal aliens and the current overall drop-out rate today is 50%, but with only 39% of Hispanic students ever graduating from high school. It’s not a pretty picture (just ask any teacher there). And the deleterious impact of illegal immigration on America’s educational system is not just confined to southern California, although the Golden State is a prime example of all that is going wrong:

Half of all children in California have at least one immigrant parent. Nearly one in ten are foreign-born themselves. California spends almost $2.2 billion annually to educate illegal immigrant students in grades K-12—enough to pay the salaries of 41,764 teachers, or 14 percent of California’s teachers.

Lack of space forces some students to attend class on school stages or in the gym. Yet the state is still adding 100,000 new students each year. The state Department of Education estimates that 19 new classrooms will need to be built every day, seven days a week, for the next five years. The number of teachers will need to be doubled within ten years, meaning that 300,000 new educators will need to be hired.

In Los Angeles, where schools are so crowded that some have lengthened the time between classes to give students time to make their way through packed halls, crowding in the next decade is projected to become so severe that some schools will have to hold double sessions (one in the morning and one in the afternoon) and Saturday classes. Even if the district builds 86 new schools, all 49 existing high schools will still have to adopt year-round schedules to keep pace with enrollment increases.

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As you’ve likely read, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) recently invoked Jesus’ name in railing against those of us who support the House bill on border enforcement in our desire to see our land borders secured and the human invasion of illegal aliens from the south stopped.

In commenting on House bill H.R. 4437, Senator Clinton waxed religious:

It is certainly not in keeping with my understanding of the Scripture because this bill would literally criminalize the Good Samaritan and probably even Jesus himself.

Of course, there was no reflection on the Scriptures or Jesus’ humanity when Senator Clinton voted on two occasions against banning the savagery of partial-birth abortion.

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Here are some recommended links to important reads germane to the immigration reform/border enforcement debate set to ensue in the Senate on the heels of yesterday’s pusilanimous cave-in by a majority of members of the Senate Judiciary Committee:

Mark In Mexico points to the gutless wonders on the SJC who read right out of Vicente Fox’s playbook.

John Hawkins of Right Wing News rightly characterizes it as the United States Senate’s “illegal immigration horror show.”

The nonpareil Michelle Malkin captures both America’s mood and the careworn canard that frustrates a majority of American workers in the context of the immigration fight.

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Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) had the unmitigated gall last night, on the heels of the travesty that occurred in the Senate Judiciary Committee, to represent himself as speaking for all Americans in saying: “All Americans wanted fairness and they got it this evening.” Baloney!

I, for one, will never abide the likes of Senator Ted Kennedy speaking for me. And I suspect more than a simple majority of Americans feels much the same way.

Kennedy’s idea of “fairness,” of course, was to vote for amnesty for the 12 to 20 million illegal aliens in our country — lawbreakers, one and all — and to provide them with a way to become legitimate American citizens without having to first leave the country. He was joined in the 12-6 committee vote by Arlen Specter (R-PA), Mike DeWine (R-OH), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Sam Brownback (R-KS), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Joseph Biden (D-DE), Herbert Kohl (D-WI), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Russell Feingold (D-WI), and Richard Durbin (D-IL).

Too bad millions of unborn Americans couldn’t have wrapped themselves in the flag of Mexico before the abortionists did their Roe v. Wade mandated deed. What an unconscionable trade off. Not too many weeks back, this same Senate Judiciary Committee conducted a three-ring circus in eventually recommending confirmation of Bush nominee Samuel Alito to the United States Supreme Court. If you watched it on C-SPAN, as I did, you know what I am talking about. It looked like a wolf pack descending upon a hapless sheep.

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On Tuesday, each of you begins debate, as duly elected members of the United States Senate, on a fundamental question: is it your principal responsibility to codify into law the wishes of the vast majority of American citizens with regard to the thorny issues of illegal immigration and border enforcement in our post-9/11 age or, instead, is it your responsibility to represent, first and foremost, the government of Mexico, its U.S.-based consulates, and the 12 to 20 million illegal aliens afoot in this country — an illegal alien juggernaut comprised of Mexican nationals and Other Than Mexicans (many from “countries of interest”), a number of whom gathered in protest marches and political rallies over this past weekend in cities across our land to advance their case for amnesty and citizenship? 

Truly, for most Americans, it was an altogether incongruous spectacle: masses of illegal aliens, who have no business being in this country of ours (which they genuinely think is theirs) in the first place, wrapped in Mexican flags and exercising First Amendment constitutional rights of free speech (en espanol) and peaceful assembly, as if this was their country and their ancestors had fought in America’s Revolutionary War. None were apprehended. They walked our city’s streets, brazenly and unimpeded, as if they owned them, and appealed to our government for a redress of alleged grievances, as if it was their government, and no longer ours.

And why exactly did these unseemly scenes unfold? Simple. Because federal immigration laws already on the books have been routinely ignored for the longest time by this nation’s Chief Executive (and presidents before him) and an indifferent Congress (and Congresses before it), both of whom have, 1) played to monied special interests championing so-called “cheap labor” and, 2) pandered to Latino activist groups in an effort to garner more votes from the growing Hispanic block.

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President George W. Bush, both as present two-term occupier of the Oval Office and before, as two-term occupier of the governor’s mansion in Austin, Texas, has put out the “Welcome” mat for illegal aliens. They now number 12+ million by conservative estimates and at least 500,000 more enter the country illegally each year on his watch.

While he is not the first president to ignore border security, he clearly holds the title of most avid proponent yet of open borders and cheap, illegal immigrant labor. His tune has only changed of late (depending upon the venue) because his popularity has sunk to new lows at a time when immigration reform and border enforcement have moved as issues to the forefront of American politics and just months before a mid-term election; but claims that he wants tighter border enforcement and disapproves of amnesty for illegals are so much poppycock.

The president’s nose is growing. He’s been in bed with Mexico’s Vicente Fox for years and while the president postures as a tough guy on national security and terrorism, he has been anything but on the homefront. Our land and ocean borders, including our ports, remain patently unsecured nearly four years and seven months since 9-11 and the Department of Homeland Security remains both misnomer and boondoggle. And internal enforcement of federal immigration laws, to be sure, has been and remains a laughingstock.

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Michelle Malkin points to precisely why I cannot agree with D.J. Drummond’s fanciful assessment of George W. Bush’s presidency. After all, an “A+” grade on National Security with porous borders, vulnerable ports, and 12+ million illegal aliens afoot in this country is absurd. These are the reasons why, among others, that Homeland Security is both misnomer and boondoggle.

FOLLOW-UP: Frank Laughter of Common Sense Junction applauds Michelle Malkin, as well, for her determined effort to set the record straight vis-a-vis President Bush’s sorry track record on border security.

Immigration, Border Security, Guest Worker Program, Amnesty, Illegal Aliens, Politics, President Bush, Homeland Security, DHS

Richard at Hyscience hits the nail on the head with respect to the illegality of border-jumping and serves notice on politicians who fail to support “hard core enforcement of our immigration laws.” And I add to Richard’s sentiments in finding it utterly galling that people here illegally are gathering in political protests on American soil over pending legislation in Congress that would reinforce in law the patent illegality of their being here in the first place. A political protest shouldn’t be a city-sanctioned sanctuary for law-breakers. Round ‘em up; deport them. Pure and simple.

Gateway Pundit gets it right on the blogswarm from the Left that descended in earnest upon Ben Domenech this week. While plagarism cannot be abided, nor should the utter hypocricy of those who would pillory Domenech while at the same time “intentionally omitting information critical to a story, intentionally twisting facts, or calling a person a liar while excusing someone else for the same actions.” It’s two-faced, hurtful, and as inexcusable as failing to attribute properly the work of others. Ben has finally issued an apology (too long in coming, I should add). Don’t hold your breath waiting for the sword-wielders on the Left to slice and dice their own miscreants and offenders. Domenech has been held accountable by conservative bloggers; if only the Lefties displayed comparable probity. Meanwhile, Captain Ed brings to this regrettable collision at the blogosphere’s Left and Right intersection a sobering assessment of how we all got banged up in this fender-bender. And the good folks at REDSTATE.org remind us that Ben’s “crime was not mortal, and his character is not irredeemable.”

Good news here from Taegan Goddard on the FEC backing off from its much-anticipated, hard-fisted regulation of polibloggers.

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Rabbi Aryeh Spero thinks so and so does The Anchoress, who links to his masterfully-written Human Events’ column. Indeed, Rabbi Spero waxes eloquent in defense of President Bush’s conservative credentials.

For conservatives — those who stand staunchly behind the president with unwavering support and those (like me) who are beginning to waver because of the growth in the size of the federal government, its runaway costs, its burgeoning deficit, and a border security crisis that has gone unattended to throughout his administration — it is the important read of the day.

I am a Reagan Republican and, as you see in the left sidebar of my blog, he is the political hero of my lifetime. But I voted for George W. Bush in 2000 and again in 2004 and even given my issues with him now neither Al Gore nor John Kerry, nor the Democratic Party, provided solutions to problems that would have suited me and my political principles then; and, frankly, I don’t think it or its presidential candidates will anytime soon. The Dems are a cabal of liberal extremists and I don’t suffer them well.

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This is perfect !!!

Maybe Harry can get Hillary to pray for him now that she’s damn near a woman of the cloth.

Harry Reid, Hillary Clinton, John Hawkins, Democratic Party, Immigration, Border Security, Politics