Once Upon A Time

There was a time when Canada's immigrant population was far more homogeneous than it is now. Many of its immigrants came from English-speaking countries; Britain, Scotland, Ireland; the mother country. Many more came from Europe, they were Caucasian. Those who were brought into the country to labour mightily where no one else would, were often orientals and they faced great discrimination.

Canada was not kind to its visible minorities. Although black Americans, escaping slavery, made their way into parts of Ontario and Nova Scotia, they lived as free men and women, but still faced grave discrimination. Canada's native populations, the First Nations people, always faced bigoted discrimination. And Jews faced the legends "no Jews or dogs" for entry to private clubs and universities.

That was once upon a time. Now Canada celebrates itself as a tolerant, multicultural country whose pluralist society represents ethnic groups, cultures, and religions from across the world. Once upon a time there were no special social programs through government agencies that existed to assist immigrants to adjust to their new, adopted country. No language study groups, no social service agencies to provide introductions to society and social assistance.

Immigrants adapted, they learned the language, they worked at menial, subsistence jobs, they raised their children who attended schools and adopted Canadian customs with the language, and they melded into society. If they had assistance it was far more likely to come from those of similar backgrounds who saw it as a duty to help others. There was practical assimilation.

It is now far more costly for Canada itself to embrace, encourage and absorb immigrants. There is a recognized humanitarian aspect to immigration that did not exist in much earlier days, once upon a time. Family reunification, for example; before, family sponsored family by paying for every aspect of their emigration and taking responsibility for adjustment and investment in the future.

Once upon a time there was no universal health care, nor the broad social services seen today. Earlier immigrants had a difficult, often miserable time adjusting on their own, and they lived in helpful communities that offered support. New immigrants also live in communities that offer support, but support is there in many other ways, government-sponsored at every level.

And it is immensely costly. The cost underwritten by the taxpayer. A new study by the Fraser Institute points out that for every immigrant coming to the country it costs an average of $6,000 over what government spends for all Canadians in terms of social supports. Since 2004, it has been estimated the total cost of integrating immigrants reached $25-billion.

Family unification, bringing over parents and grandparents to join their adult children with young families is a costly affair because the parents and grandparents have nothing to offer to Canadian society. No language capability, nor working skills, and because of their advanced age, a need for health care and other services, and eventually old-age supplements.

Immigrants do not, even after their first decade of employment in the country, earn salaries commensurate with the average population, and therefore pay less taxes. They consume the same amount of social programs as other Canadians while adding less than the majority of the population to the tax base.

A longer-range thought process might come to the conclusion that eventually, with the second and the third generation, all those 'differences' will have been expunged; the children of immigrants, adapted into Canadian society and the workforce will earn what other Canadians do, and pay for their own social services.

And they all live happily ever after.

Brutally Unsavoury

It never ceases to amaze that Canada seems to have become an immigration magnet for people whose presence in Canada will never be a benefit to this country, but do become both an embarrassment and a threat by their very presence. To begin with, Canada has a well-founded reputation as an easy country to access for immigration. And there are huge numbers of migrating peoples in the world.

Perfectly legitimate candidates for emigration from diverse countries of the world who feel that other countries than their own may offer their families better living conditions; others who are eager to escape living conditions that are inimical to their well being, where they are persecuted on the basis of their ethnicity or religion. And those who live with the misery of migrant refugees, fleeing wars or natural disasters.

It's the left-over category comprised of several groups; those who no longer wish to live in repressive countries of the world, seeking opportunity and freedom for their families, but bringing with them the pathological resentment and suspicion and hatred of others that form the backbone of their social heritage, and whose importation of enmity harms Canada.

And finally, those fleeing their countries of origin because they are war criminals. Generally people involved in support of a dictatorial regime or an autocratic government that has been proven to be a human-rights violator and continues to be just that, or a deposed government which has brutally suppressed its peoples' human rights and engaged in a civil war or one of brutal repression.

Canada issues visas to people on the basis of their backgrounds, their presumed suitability to conform to and accept Canadian values, and the assurance that they have never been involved in either a civil criminal act, or associated with governments and their agencies which are known to be human rights violators. Yet people know when to withhold critical information that will exclude them.

And Canada has, in the past, welcomed within its borders former WWII fascists involved in the murder of countless civilians, and only many decades later discovered proof of denied involvement. Rwandans who have been proven to having engaged in genocidal tribal warfare, Somalians who have been in the forefront of tribal and clan population eradication. And figures responsible for countless deaths in places like Cambodia.

When it is discovered through later revelations and following confirming investigations that those who have committed crimes against humanity have entered the country through falsely stating their bona fides, steps are taken to remove them. There are instances where, in the case of a Lebanese-born Canadian, France has asked for his extradition on suspicion of bombing the Rue Copernic synagogue.

There have been other expulsions and extraditions from Canada for those apprehended as being suspected, with security evidence to secure suspicions, of being involved in international terrorist groups such as Islamist jihadists affiliated with al-Qaeda. People born in the Middle East or in the African Maghreb who have infiltrated Canadian society for the purpose of causing harm, have been an especial problem.

And latterly, a 50-year-old lawyer originally from Kinshasa who claimed refugee status in Canada has been deported by the Canada Border Services Agency under this country's War Crimes Program. Canada deported 23 war criminals in the year 2007-2008 alone and another 211 are awaiting deportation, with a further 170 suspected or known war criminals on outstanding warrants

This most current deportation order links Ambroise Mapangu Ishaku as a former ranking member of Congo's Mouvement de Liberation du Congo, involved in a horrible civil war targeting innocent civilians, raping women and children; murdering, looting and torturing. The Immigration Refugee Board cites that 40% of the armed wing of the this group was comprised of children forced into service as fighters and prostitutes.

"These children were subjected to unimaginable horrors, forced to fight and often kill their own families, forced to engage in cannibalism, raped and used as sex slaves."

In his defence, Mr. Ishaku portrayed this period in his country's history as reflective of the normal consequences of war. And he caught up as a patriot fighting for his country. Which is precisely what most people caught in the web of their own lies to cover their involvement in indescribable acts of barbarity against others explain themselves.

Adequate reason for Canada to become far more diligent in rooting out their presence, and to invest more heavily in processes that would deny them entry to this country to begin with.

Canada's Finest

Canada, a country built on immigration. And continuing that tradition. Canadians are not replacing themselves at a level commensurate with the need to grow its GDP. We are becoming a nation of elderly people, and too few young people. Immigration stands at roughly a half-million each and every year. It is a costly but necessary process to ensure that Canada continues to grow. But the process comes at a cost when due diligence in admitting future citizens is revealed to have flaws that bring into the country people whose values are inimical to the country.

One such and now-obvious immigrant who entered Canada, originally from Mauritania, by way of Germany is an electrical engineer who lived in Montreal and served as an imam at the Al-Sunnah mosque. The most recent release of WikiLeaks documents details this man's trajectory from immigrant to radicalization and eventual engagement as an al-Qaeda operative. One who ended up as a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay. But not before he successfully recruited new members for al-Qaeda, while imam of the Al-Sunnah mosque.

He has, in fact, been linked to three of the hijackers who were involved in the 9/11 terror attacks. As a high-value prisoner he is still being interrogated for any information he may divulge relating to the activities of Islamist extremists in North Africa, Europe and Canada. An American Defence Department assessment of the man which considers him "an admitted member of al-Qaeda" who "was prepared to be a martyr", posits that he was a lieutenant to his cousin, Osama bin Laden's religious adviser, a member of the al-Qaeda council.

A relatively high-ranking, high-value prisoner with deep involvement. He is presumed to have recruited Muhammad Atta, Marwan al Shehhi and Ziad Jarrah, pilots of three of the planes lethally and disastrously involved during the September 11, 2001 attacks. According to the American assessment of this very interesting and dedicated Islamist, "multiple independent sources" corroborate his intense involvement in the 9/11 recruitment, along with the Algerian terrorist Ahmed Ressam and the Tunisian synagogue truck bombing in 2002.

Interestingly enough, it was as a teenager in Germany studying on a grant by a foundation at the University of Duisburg where he was exposed to extremist religious indoctrination. He received training in jihad in Afghanistan, and returned there to fight with the mujahadeen against the Soviet-installed Afghan government. Which led to the installation of the Taliban. He planned to fight in Bosnia but decided to return to Germany, rather than face the "danger" in Bosnia.

Of the interesting information he divulged to American authorities was that al-Qaeda was able to invest in "unwitting companies" within Canada. Despite being a fount of useful information, he denies any direct involvement in terrorism. Another innocent man erroneously and grossly unfairly charged with crimes he did not commit. His forthcoming co-operation has been appreciated by the authorities, despite his denials of personal commitment.

Another of Canada's fine immigrants with citizenship potential.

The Ethnic Vote

Little wonder at the rate that immigration continues into Canada - a half-million temporary and permanent residents yearly - that new immigrants and visible minorities now comprise almost a quarter of the electorate. In areas around Toronto that figure rises as high as 40%. and it will only rise increasingly as time goes on, even if there is a reduction in immigration.

So it follows that politicians take careful note of ethnic groups and their presumed voting blocs. Which can sometimes lead to fairly controversial situations. Immigrants are necessary for the lifeblood of the country, and an increasingly visible phenomenon everywhere in the West, as a result of greater numbers of refugees fleeing their countries of origin, and even greater numbers of people wishing to relocate to advance themselves.

Europe and North America are often equated with aspirational advances in opportunities for better educations and earnings, more relaxed and less repressive political and social/religious situations, attracting the attention of people living in countries where societal advances are constrained by the types of government they live under, and where employment is scarcer, and populations denser.

There are also groups of people fleeing persecution due to ideology, religion or ethnicity. And people invariably bring with them their recollections of misery, their resentments, their biases and their searing memories, along with their customs and expectations for the future. Canada is sometimes used as a base from which to launch opposition abroad in various countries of origin, as an unfortunate result.

So Sikh and Tamil separatists, and Muslim sects with their antipathies to one another and to their perceived enemies bring along their historical and still-simmering problems. Infecting and affecting the larger population within Canada to some degree. In some instances causing problems of internal security as well as causing problems through funding militias and terror groups abroad.

Seeking political advantage by attempting to impress ethnic groups that one party or another is more sympathetic or enabling to their aspirations can be a minefield. When Liberal politicians were supportive of Tamil groups themselves supporting the Tamil Tigers, or Sikh separatist groups who fomented problems abroad and terror at home, and Arab groups seeking to divide Canadian opinion on foreign matters, morals and ethics were soiled.

It was traditionally the Liberal party and to a lesser degree the NDP who were seen as champions of the immigrant population. Increasingly that traditional mutual affinity has begun to dissolve, and the Conservatives are now picking up ethnic votes in various communities. Leading to situations where each political party is now carefully picking apart the scenarios presented when incautious politicians leave themselves open to damning scrutiny.

Which is a shame, actually. Because in fact, in an egalitarian, pluralist society, most particularly one that prides itself on its heritage of immigration, all Canadians should be viewed as equal, none needing special attention to persuade them that a particular political party is more in tune with their needs, since no groups should have 'special' needs to begin with.

Is that too much to hope for?

U.S. Homeland Security Debate

NY Debate on Homeland Security Becomes Heated
by Elad Benari

A hearing in Manhattan on the subject of homeland security exploded on Friday when an Arab-American activist testified that she was taught as a youngster to “hate Jews” and “hate America”. Her comments enraged a Brooklyn lawmaker, who in response grabbed a Koran and accused her of spreading “hate and poison.”

The meeting was attended by ex-Muslim Nonie Darwish, director of Former Muslims United and founder of Arabs for Israel.

Darwish was born in Cairo and spent her childhood in Egypt and Gaza before immigrating to America in 1978, when she was eight years old. Her father, a high-ranking Egyptian military officer, died while leading covert attacks on Israel when he was in Gaza. While he was considered a “shahid” (martyr), earning Darwish and her family an elevated position in Muslim society, Darwish developed a skeptical eye at an early age, questioning Muslim culture and later abandoning Islam.

Darwish authored the book Cruel and Usual Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic Law, in which she warns about the Islamic Sharia law and how it is manifested in Islamic countries.

She has said in the past that the hatred Muslims have for Jews is even worse than the hatred the Nazis had for them.

The New York Post quoted Darwish as saying during Friday’s meeting: “Check what's going on -- it's not a secret. You’re supposed to hate Jews, you’re supposed to hate America, you’re supposed to hate Western culture.”

In response, Democratic Senator Eric Adams held up a copy of the Koran and said: “This is offending this hearing by having her here. This is not our enemy...You’re bringing hate, hate and poison into a diverse country.”

The meeting chairman, Republican Greg Ball, instructed Adams to quiet down, which resulted in a shouting match between the two. Adams suggested that Ball condoned bigotry, and in response, Ball accused Adams of playing to the TV cameras.

“I'm glad no one is between those TV cameras and you,” Ball told Adams, “because that's the most dangerous place in New York City right now.”

Darwish was followed later by Frank J. Gaffney Jr., a former Defense Department official who has publicly criticized Islam. In his testimony Gaffney denounced Sharia law as a threat to the United States.

Also taking part in the hearing was Long Island Republican Representative Peter T. King, who initiated a Congressional hearing held last month on the question of homegrown Islamic terrorism.

The New York Times reported that King prefaced his comments by noting that “99 percent” of Muslims in the United States are “outstanding Americans” and not terrorists.

King added, however, that “the fact is: The enemy, or those being recruited by Al Qaeda, live within the Muslim community, and that’s the reality we have to face. This is not to put a broad brush over a community, but you go where the threat is coming from, and that’s the reality today.”

Click here for an op-ed by Nonie Darwish on the subject of Muslim women under Sharia law.

As published online at ArutzSheva, 11 April 2011

Recruits For Al-Shabab

Canada's immigrant quotient from Muslim countries has placed us in a rather uncomfortable position. Where radicalized elements from abroad regularly obtain visitors' visas to come to this country to spread their vicious messages of hatred. Finding a ready enough audience among the disaffected young, like those from Somalia whose parents fled the chaos and unrest to find safe haven in Canada. It would appear that many young men of Somalia extraction are fascinated by Islamism.

They have become Canadian citizens, but have obviously not found a comfortable place for themselves within Canadian society. It's estimated that Canada now has between 150,000 and 200,00 ethnic Somalis making this country their home. For the older Somalis, it meant making a new life for themselves very far from their origins. It means living among a pluralist population in large part made up of immigrants like themselves.

Not necessarily like themselves as far as culture, geographic heritage and religion was concerned. Making it desirable for older immigrants to sequester themselves, to live within enclaves where they found comfort in the presence of those who did share their heritage and their religion. Their children, however, may find that same comfort eluding them.

They are 'different' than the prevailing indigenous population with whom they do not share a cultural affinity nor the religion most familiar to them through daily exposure at home. They find interest in the darker, seamier areas of city life, where the petty crime, clubs and taverns offer another, forbidden attraction. And they run afoul of the law in greater numbers than their demographic percentage might warrant.

"There are people in the community who are openly cheerleading for this nonsense", claims Ahmed Hussen, president of the Canadian Somali Congress, referencing the issue of Somali youth being recruited through the Internet blog postings of American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, inciting young Muslims to join the global jihad and become martyrdom material in the name of Islam. And the messages of visiting clerics.

Obviously the cheerleading community people are those who agree with the messages that al-Awlaki and al-Qaeda and its affiliates feed in a steady stream of encouraging jihad among Muslim youth conflicted about their loyalties. The choice to join the jihadists and go abroad for weapons training with Al-Shabab, speaks to the end of the inner conflict and the decision to join the violent jihad.

Which addresses the ongoing problem Canada is experiencing with jihadist radicalization and successful recruitment of Muslim youth living in Canada. A handful of Somalians have left North America to travel to Somalia to take up the Islamist cause, and now Canadian security agents have interdicted a young Somalian-Canadian, arresting him on suspicion of terrorism support en route to Somalia.

This is cultural dissonance at a lethal level, threatening a back-lash against Canada and Canadians as those in terror training join their jihadist brethren on the battlefield abroad, and there is always the prospect of their returning to continue trading on what they have become skilled at, right here in the country that gave their parents safe haven.

Twit Tweeting

bar·bar·ic

adj \bär-ˈber-ik, -ˈba-rik\

Definition of BARBARIC

1

a : of, relating to, or characteristic of barbarians b : possessing or characteristic of a cultural level more complex than primitive savagery but less sophisticated than advanced civilization

2

a : marked by a lack of restraint : wild b : having a bizarre, primitive, or unsophisticated quality

Taking it upon himself to express his unwillingness to accept a gratuitous insult to ethnic/religious/cultural imperatives that destroy the basic human rights of women by characterizing "'honour killings', female genital mutilation, forced marriage, or other gender-based violence" as equating with barbaric practises, Justin Turdeau struts his lib-left cultural non-judgemental credentials.

It is entirely accurate to characterize culturally institutionalized practises that demean women, that deny them human rights, that threaten their very existence if they bring 'dishonour' to a male establishment as 'barbaric'. That use of descriptive was found to be offensive by Justin Trudeau who prefers to mince his words rather than to shock those who practise these barbaric customs, with the reality of their atrocious practise.

The federal government's updated the Discover Canada guide, recently unveiled by Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney, meant to spell out in precise descriptives the kinds of cultural-tied demeaning of women that have been traditionally practised elsewhere in the world. And clearly linked the brutal treatment of women with backward primitive behaviour. It should and now has been stated unequivocally that such treatment is not acceptable in Canada.

Those who aspire to emigrate to Canada, and to become landed immigrants, and eventually citizens should be under no illusion that Canada will consider such customs to be quaint and permissible under the guise of multicultural tolerance. The statement that: "Canada's openness and generosity do not extend to barbaric cultural practices that tolerate spousal abuse, 'honour killings', female genital mutilation, forced marriage or other gender-based violence", is concise and to the point.

But Liberal Member of Parliament Justin Trudeau finds the linking of such vicious abuse with barbaric traditions of a male-dominated society uncomfortable. And he was also uncomfortable when it became clear that his objections left him open to criticism that he might view atrocities against women as tolerable customs. A retraction clearly in order. One that sought to exonerate him and at the same time slam the Conservative government.

"Perhaps I got tangled in semantic words in my comments, particularly in view of the Conservatives' cynicism on these issues. I want to make clear that I think the acts described are heinous, barbaric acts that are totally unacceptable in our society. I retract my comments and apologize if they've been interpreted by anyone as dismissing or diminishing the serious and appalling nature of honour killings and other gender-based violence."

So they are barbaric after all, but only if he proclaims them to be, not the 'cynical' Conservatives. Justin Trudeau, another delicate-minded exemplar of the fine points of cultural non-judgement for whom cultural sensitivity endorses politely and considerately overlooking acts of barbarity.

Discover Canada, Do

The opposition parties, desperate to unseat a Conservative-led government in Canada that has proven themselves time and again exemplary stewards of Canadian values and imperatives, will stoop to anything to try to convince the electorate that the Cabinet is filled with Members of Parliament who are unworthy of their posts. Yet Ministers under the direction of Prime Minister Stephen Harper have acquitted themselves outstandingly well through their ministerial performances.

And a star candidate for especial notice has always been Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney. He alone of his predecessors in that portfolio has recognized the dire necessity to inform would-be citizens and immigrants that Canada does not only proffer asylum for migrants seeking a better life for themselves and their families in a land of equality, liberty and opportunity, but that they also have an obligation to their new country.

He has familiarized himself with the various ethnic, religious and cultural groups that have assembled in this country, and made himself known to them. He has supported and encouraged those groups to become knowledgeable about their new country. He has spoken forthrightly and with conviction that citizenship is a mutually beneficial and mutually respecting affair.

The scandal that the opposition has been attempting desperately to unseat him with soiled the former Liberal governing parties, whose Cabinet Ministers blithely attended cultural and social affairs and parades of various ethnic groups who clearly had brought ancient enmities with them, playing them out on Canadian soil. Those Members of Parliament who attended those events heedless of their meaning, but intent on cultivating bloc votes were Liberals.

That scandalous set of affairs, although publicized and commented upon from time to time never resulted in the firing or resignation of any of the ministers involved. That Jason Kenney authorized his aides to communicate a request for funding to seek out and pursue the potential to enroll ethnic votes in the Conservative cause without resorting to such scurrilous tactics simply illustrates the ethical behaviour behind the Conservatives' values.

Minister Kenney has now rolled out an updated citizenship guide, Discover Canada, to emphasize new citizens' responsibilities to take up and honour Canadian democratic principles; that gay and lesbian Canadians have a constitutional right to the full protection of equality under the law; that forced marriages are not tolerated in Canada; that violent, extreme or hateful prejudices so not belong in this country, among other instances of Canadian values.

Do not Canadians have a right to expect that their Parliamentarians recognize that they have an obligation as elected lawmakers to set aside partisan political differences for the greater good of the country, rather than focus constantly on overturning the government? Seems not; they appear to far prefer the antics of unsocialized primates to civilized adults.

Rethinking Immigration

David Bacon: "Rethinking Immigration."

Please note location: Our lectures are held at the Sol Collective, 2574 21st Street, Sacramento, CA (1 blk south of Broadway).

Bacon is a photojournalist based in the Bay Area, who has devoted his career to chronicling the conditions, history and struggles of immigrant workers.
Thursday. Dec. 16, 2010.  7 PM. 

See more at http://dbacon.igc.org/.

ENFRANCHISING NONCITIZENS?

Such is a proposal is on the November 2 ballot in Portland, Maine:

...Portland residents will vote Nov. 2 on a proposal to give legal residents who are not U.S. citizens the right to vote in local elections, joining places like San Francisco and Chicago that have already loosened the rules or are considering it....

[...]

Opponents of the measure say immigrants already have an avenue to cast ballots — by becoming citizens. Allowing noncitizens to vote dilutes the meaning of citizenship, they say, adding that it could lead to fraud and unfairly sway elections....

Back in 2009, Atlas Shrugs posted the following:

Any shot for Americans to take back this country from the hard left in 2010/2012 is looking increasingly dim ....

Obama Justice Department Decision Will Allow Non-Citizens to Register to Vote in Georgia

Decision Bars Georgia From Continuing Voter Verification Process

Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel issued the following statement following the U.S. Department of Justice’s denial of preclearance of Georgia’s voter verification process

Atlanta - “The decision by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to deny preclearance of Georgia’s already implemented citizenship verification process shows a shocking disregard for the integrity of our elections. With this decision, DOJ has now barred Georgia from continuing the citizenship verification program that DOJ lawyers helped to craft. DOJ’s decision also nullifies the orders of two federal courts directing Georgia to implement the procedure for the 2008 general election. The decision comes seven months after Georgia requested an expedited review of the preclearance submission.

“DOJ has thrown open the door for activist organizations such as ACORN to register non-citizens to vote in Georgia’s elections, and the state has no ability to verify an applicant’s citizenship status or whether the individual even exists. DOJ completely disregarded Georgia’s obvious and direct interest in preventing non-citizens from voting...

And we have elections in less than two weeks.

Just how corrupted is our election process?

OBAMA DISREGARDS THE INVASION OF ARIZONA

Surreal!

Mexican Drug Cartels Now Control Parts of Arizona - For more funny videos, click here

Fiorina campaign seeks to segment the Latino vote

Carly Fiorina is running for Senate in California  against Barbara Boxer. I came across an ad on La Jornada ( a Mexico City left newspaper). It linked to a Latino focused web pages  for Fiorina.

The campaign must recognize the significant new energy and unity  in voting among Latinos is California produced by the Republican bruha  in Arizona over SB 1070, the Arizona equivalent of California’s Proposition 187 of 1994.  Seeking to segment the vote is a good idea if you are a Republican campaign manager.

The campaign page features lots of smiling family members, presumably Latinos.  It is light on responding to key issues.

There is among Latino voters a traditional split, liberal on economic issues but more conservative on social issues. The  polling differences on these issues are cited on the web pages.   The Fiorina web page works this split with skill.  It focuses on  traditional marriage, anti abortion, and is linked to a severe assault on LGTB issues.

Here is the web page: Carly Fiorina campaign video; targeted at Latinos.

http://www.tusvalores.com/

She wants you to vote your values.

Note, it is put up by AmericanPrinciplesinaction.org a very conservative group.  This raises an interesting question. 

Did Americanprinciples coordinate with the Fiorina campaign ? The Tus Valores Campaign is an independent expenditure of American Principles in Action, a 501(c)(4) organization.

The group  is permitted, as a result of the Supreme Court Citizens United  decision, to make independent communications that support the election or defeat of federal candidates, but doing so may trigger FEC reporting obligations. Once certain spending thresholds are met, they  would be required to report both the expenditures to make these communications and the donations

(including the identity of the donors) that were earmarked to support these expenditures.

There certainly are differences within the Latino community over issues of immigration. Most polling show Latinos in favor of a comprehensive approach to immigration including allowing those already here to gain eventual citizenship.  Over 5 million of the estimated 11 million undocumented people here have U.S. citizen children.  Dividing these families is unacceptable in most Latino communities as it is with the Catholic church.

Since this issue is front and center, then what does the Fiorina campaign say about immigration on these pages?  Only, “Carly Fiorina showed her resolve in support of common-sense immigration policies during the Republican Primary and represents a real opportunity to pass a reform bill.”

That is, Fiorina, in a campaign targeted toward Latinos, says she is in favor of immigration reform. Even John Mc Cain, Arizona Governor Brewer, and Pete Wilson say that.  The issue is , which reforms? To favor the Republican routes to reform, including the support for the Arizona law, and now support for amending the U.S. constitution to ban citizenship to certain children born here would offend the very voters she is trying to capture.  So, candidate Fiorina  is silent.

And, she doesn’t say where she stands on the current Republican campaign to extend the Bush tax cuts for the super rich.  Republican Senators have blocked efforts to hire teachers and police, to extend health care, to provide stimulus jobs, but they are in favor of protecting the Bush era tax cuts of the super rich.

Note, the SusValores page is linked to several groups including the National Organization for Marriage, which is promoting this campaign to fire an administrator in the Obama department of education over his writings on the LGBT community.

http://www.expeljennings.org/

Judge blocks part of Arizona law- cites U.S. constitution

Judge Blocks Key Parts of Immigration Law in Arizona

By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD

PHOENIX — A federal judge, ruling on a clash between the federal government and a state over immigration policy, has blocked the most controversial parts of Arizona’s immigration enforcement law from going into effect.

In a ruling on a law that has rocked politics coast to coast and thrown a spotlight on the border state’s fierce debate over immigration, United States District Court Judge Susan Bolton in Phoenix said some aspects of the law can go into effect as scheduled on Thursday.

The parts of the law that the judge blocked included the sections that called for officers to check a person’s immigration status while enforcing other laws and that required immigrants to carry their papers at all times. Judge Bolton put those sections on hold until the issues are resolved by the courts.

The judge’s decision, which came as demonstrators opposed and supporting the law gathered here and after three hearings in the past two weeks in which she peppered lawyers on both sides with skeptical questions, seemed unlikely to quell the debate.

The ruling came four days before 1,200 National Guard troops are to report to the Southwest border to assist federal and local law enforcement agencies there, part of the Obama administration’s response to growing anxiety over the border and immigration that has fed support for the law.

Lawyers for Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican who signed the law and is campaigning on it for election, were expected to appeal, and legal experts predict the case is bound for the United States Supreme Court.

The law, adopted in April, was aimed at discouraging illegal immigrants from entering or remaining in the state.

It coincided with economic anxiety and followed a number of high-profile crimes attributed to illegal immigrants and smuggling, though federal data suggests crime is falling in Arizona, as it is nationally, despite a surge of immigration.

Seven lawsuits have been filed against the law, challenging its constitutionality and alleging it will lead to racial profiling.

From: the New York Times 

Outrage from the Tea Party

 There is vehement outrage from the Right on the Sac Bee news site covering the City Council vote 6-1 to boycott Arizona. 

These folks are a small minority pretending to be a majority.  Poizner received some 26% of the Republican vote in the primary with his anti immigrant rhetoric. 
BTW,  You can get much of the same zeal in the letters  by attacking teachers' unions or public sector workers pensions. Not quite as bigotted, but equally vehement. 



 We are in the greatest economic crisis since the 1930's. Part of the problem is the legitimate anxiety of people with few jobs and few opportunities.  The Tea Party activists and their Republican funders, and the anti immigrant activists promote conflicts over issues of immigration, teachers' unions, public workers pensions, and big government as substitutes for a real analysis of economic problems. The  financial crisis was caused by the greed and the theft of a few very rich operatives. The oligarchy caused the unemployment ( not immigrants), the economic losses, the off shoring of production jobs, the cuts in services such as police and fire to families.

Sacramento City Council votes to boycott Arizona

By a vote of 6-1, the Sacramento City Council voted to support the boycott of Arizona over its immigration law. The letter columns of the Bee are afire with threats from Right Wing, anti immigrant extremists.
For more on the Arizona law, go to www.antiracismdsa.blogspot.com

We are in the greatest economic crisis since the 1930’s. The Tea Party activists and their Republican funders, and the anti immigrant activists  promote  conflicts over  issues of immigration,  teachers’ unions, public workers pensions, and big government as substitutes for a real  analysis of  economic problems.  The U.S. and eventually world wide financial crisis was caused by the greed and the theft of a few very rich operatives.    The oligarchy caused the unemployment ( not immigrants), the economic losses, the off shoring of production jobs,  the cuts in services such as police and fire to families. 

L.A. TEACHER CALLS FOR MEXICAN REVOLT IN THE U.S.

Note the ranting about the "global struggle against imperialism and capitalism." Much more leftist ranting below from Sanchee High School's history teacher Ron Gochez, paid on the taxpayers' dime:



The above consumer of taxpayer dollars spoke at the UCLA La Raza rally.

UPDATE (RELIAPUNDIT) FROM DONALD DOUGLAS/AMERICAN POWER:

Ron Gochez, Anti-Semitic Social Justice Teacher and Reconquista Activist, Connects With Underage Student Hotties on MySpace

There's a little buzz tonight surrounding a three year-old protest video featuring Los Angeles revolutionary/reconquista activist Ron Gochez -- who's listed as a Social Studies Teacher in the School of Public Service and Social Justice at Los Angeles' Santee High School.

Here's this from Gochez's speech at UCLA in 2007:

We are revolutionary Mexican organization here. We understand that this is not just about Mexico. It’s about a global struggle against imperialism and capitalism… At the forefront of this revolutionary movement is La Raza. We will no longer fall for these lies called borders. We see America as a northern front of a revolutionary movement… Our enemy is capitalism and imperialism.

Well, we find more on Ron Gochez with a little digging.

USE THIS LINK TO FIND OUT MORE. NOW!

Arizona law criminalizes immigrants

Arizona has a severe state budget crisis.  They are cutting police officers, schools, medical clinics, and public services ( as is California).  What is the cause of this crisis ?  It was caused by the great bank heist of 2008, finance capital and banking, mostly on Wall Street , Goldman Sachs, Chase Banks, Bank of America, AIG, and others, robbed the banks.  This cost millions of jobs and the pension savings of millions.   BTW. Almost all of the bankers who stole the money were White.

The Republicans and the Tea Party in Arizona is responding by assaulting U.S. citizens of Mexican descent, immigrants, and anyone who might look like an immigrant.  Peter Wilson and the Republicans in California did the same in 1994- and won re-election.  But, that did not resolve any of the problems. 

Arizona, like  California, has a crime problem.  If you want to be responsible about this issue, we should increase significantly the number of police on the streets.  And, to avoid making the problem worse, we should significantly increase the number of teachers in the schools. 

Duane Campbell

Immigrants and Arizona law

by Darlene Sylva, Sacramento
I just got off the phone with my youngest sister, who lives in Phoenix. She is upset and nervous.

Arizona's new immigration law has her asking me, her sister, the attorney, does she have to carry a certified copy of her birth certificate? How does she prove she's a citizen?

Under the new law, set to go into effect within a few months, any law enforcement officer may, based upon a "reasonable suspicion" ask her to prove her legal status. The law makes it illegal to racial profile, but the only reason to ask my sister would be because she just looks illegal, in other words, existing while brown.

Has the heat finally taken its toll on a majority of the voters in Arizona? Are they so lost in their insecurities they don't see the harm they do to fellow Americans?

Why is it that every time there is a downturn in the economy, those of us born brown become the focus of Anglo insecurities?

This time, without even a hint of shame, Arizonans, mostly immigrants from frigid climes, support action to implement their bigotry in the name of protecting our borders.

They speak about crime, homeland security, drug cartels, terrorists and a burning desire to give meaning to immigration laws, but all of these issues are simply a way of rationalizing and giving public voice to their ugly side; that little inner voice that needs to feel superior, to find a scapegoat for the devastation in our economy, for the insecurities they feel about their futures within a rapidly changing demographic. Without shame, they have portrayed themselves as heartfelt patriots while throwing the security and rights of Hispanic Americans not just to the back of the bus but under it.

My family has lived in Arizona since before statehood, before it was a territory, and my mother's family goes back to the Native Americans who have lived in the Tucson area for hundreds of years. Now, because relatively new émigrés to Arizona are feeling economically and socially insecure, my family is asking me how to prove they are citizens and what to do if they are asked. This is beyond outrageous.

I knew when I decided to leave Arizona in the early '70s that there was bigotry against Latinos, but I always assumed that it was composed of a small fringe element. Now I know that Arizona, a once proud, pioneering state, has been overrun by the insecure and shameless.

In a recent trip to visit family in the Phoenix area, all the talk was about the new law. Anxiety, anger and uncertainty was everywhere. Would the governor sign or simply let it become law by default?

There was speculation: What will the law do to those tens of thousands of blended families who could be riding with friends and family only to be stopped by law enforcement and asked to prove up? Will citizens be detained and/or arrested for failing to compel friends and/or family members to prove up their citizenship before getting into the family car for a trip to the movies?

My brother-in-law, the owner of a small structural engineering and home inspection business in Phoenix, shared an experience he had even before the law was proposed as an example of mounting tensions. While driving between appointments near Peoria, he was stopped by an officer who asked, "Do you know why I stopped you?" My brother-in law responded, "Yes, I am brown and driving an older model truck."

The officer, appearing flustered, denied that was the reason and stated that it was due to a problem with his brake lights. After testing them several times it was clear that there was no such problem so the officer, without apology said that he would let him go, this time. According to other friends and family, such a scenario is commonplace.

My family is asking questions that no American should be forced to ask. It doesn't take an attorney to understand the issue. This is about moral imperatives, right vs. wrong. It isn't about using fear-mongering and pandering to gain talk-show ratings or to attain and retain public office. It's about recognizing that government cannot and should not use the tyranny of the majority to place its citizens in jeopardy, and that is what the new law does.

We must come together as a country, as a people, to prove to the world that we are not about spouting empty rhetoric about freedom and protection of rights for citizens. We must send a message to all Hispanic Americans that as a people of conscience we stand with them. We must save Arizona from itself and stop its misguided attempt to solve a national challenge at the expense of fellow Americans.

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

   Darlene  Ruiz, a Sacramento Attorney.

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/04/29/2713618/embarrassed-to-be-from-arizona.html#ixzz0mVSvLhMX

MOHAMMED BARY ENTERED US ILLEGALLY

First, take a look at the video available here, which shows one of Rifqa Bary's enemies named Mohammed Lufti making accusations against her defenders as wanting to "kidnap" her, which is likely a new blame-game tactic of these Islamists.

But now, here's the main story about the abusive father of the teenage apostate from Islam who converted to Christianity: the father apparently entered the United States illegally through Mexico, and lost 2 attempts to gain amnesty. In fact, he never did try to get medical treatment for Rifqa. This could explain why he dissolved his jewelry business, as he probably feared his illegal status would be found out more easily while going after Rifqa. I wonder if a case could be made that Bary can be fined for running a business without the proper status to do so, and those who bought from him should try and get their money back.

As of now, it appears that Rifqa will have to apply for special asylum. And I think we'd all be a lot more comfortable if Florida governor Charlie Crist were to intervene, so again, here's the contact info:

Governor Charlie Crist's office: Phone: (850) 488-4441,
(850) 488-7146
Fax: (850) 487-0801
Email: Charlie.Crist@MyFlorida.com

LATEST ON RIFQA BARY CASE: BAD AND GOOD NEWS?

First, here's the rotten news. The judge has decided that Rifqa can be sent back to Ohio, where the authorities have greased the wheels to return her to her abusive family to appease the alter of political correctness.

However, the judge did throw one wrinkle into the mix:

Before the girl gets sent back, the judge says he needs immigration papers proving her status in the U.S. and proof from the state of Florida that she can continue her virtual schooling and receive credit in Ohio.

Indeed, as the Jawa Report notes, the parents and their lawyers have refused at least five times to provide immigration documents. It appears they may be in the US illegally, and managed to get a visa to enter originally by using Rifqa eye injury, something I hadn't fully taken notice of before, to get treatment but overstayed their visa. So there may be more here than meets the eye, and another thing: if they're in the US illegally, it means they were making money off of people in the jewelry business without the proper license.

Update: here's more from Atlas Shrugs on the court hearing. You know, I suppose I will have to give the judge some credit here for understanding the importance of the issues regarding the missing legal documents. And just look at how the parents' lawyer, Shaytan Elahi, popped his cork and was pretty irrational/absurd in his accusations against the defense team.