Things are looking bad...

Check this out from DH Jeff @ Kinshasa on the Potomac. I'm really uncertain why ICE exists anymore.

And don't get me started on the whole Calderon standing ovation. Just don't.

Commentary on Arizona law - humorous

Funny.

Check out this nightmare

House Ways & Means Committee defeated an amendment aimed at preventing illegals from getting proposed Obamacare. Read Michelle Malkin's take on it here. I shouldn't read things like this. Knew it would get worse during this administration, but...

I bet you're wondering...

...why this site has been so light on political commentary, vis-a-vis the new administration. Well, wonder no longer. It's because what I feared is coming to pass and there's just no use in commenting on it. For all those who voted for The One: the change you deserve. It's going to be a distressing four years.

Hopefully the Republican Party can pull its head out of its collective bum in the next four years (e.g., stop being such sell-outs [you know them as "centrists"], locate their long-lost fiscal conservativism brain cells, stop pandering to the open-borders folks, etc., etc.) and take back the White House - or at least Congress. One can only hope. It's a tiny, crying-in-the-wilderness hope, but still.

And the outrage spreads

Today in WaPo's Metro section was an article about two teenage girls in Virginia Beach who were killed by - wait for it, wait for it - an illegal alien drunk driver. And what's neater is that he had been convicted before of - drunken driving! Wahoo! Now Virginia Beach residents are getting riled up about illegal immigration. Hmmm.

I guess if folks like La Raza had their way, the whole US would be a lawless cesspool like Mexico. Fortunately not everyone is an open-borders idiot.

Here are five costs of uncontrolled illegal immigration:

1. Crime - including gang activity, rapes, murders, identity fraud and, yes, drunk driving.

2. Healthcare burden - of course they don't have insurance.

3. Education burden - don't speak English, no problem! The taxpayers will pay for more ESL and other "assimilation" programs!

4. Social services burden - welfare and food stamps anyone? No money for children, but what the hell? Everything's free in the US!

5. Increase in US poverty level. Although there's little way of actually knowing how much -to what extent- illegal immigration increases the poverty level but look - the (minimum of) 12 million illegals in this country are generally poorly educated, low-wage workers, many of them with children to support.

Anyway, food for thought. I'm sure to come up with another five costs of illegal immigration soon.

Justice?

There was a follow-up article in today's WaPo regarding the illegal immigrant drunk driver who killed a Marine and his girlfriend in 2006. I opined about the original story here.

The scumbag had a blood alcohol level or FOUR TIMES THE LEGAL LIMIT (I believe it was around .32) and decided to get behind the wheel. He had been previously been charged with drunken driving but the case was dismissed because of a police screw-up. The Marine had just served eight months in Iraq. Both Marine and girlfriend were in their early twenties.

Today's article tells us that the wetback got only ten years in prison. The original sentence was for twenty years (a more fitting sentence, to my thinking), but the stupid judge suspended ten years of the sentence. The article doesn't say why. So, for killing two Americans, one who managed to not die in a war zone, this criminal only got ten years. My only thought is that the judge wanted to make the sentence shorter, so that the felon could be deported faster and off the U.S.'s dime. OK, but we all know how competent this country is at permanently deporting anyone. [end sarcasm]

If only the Feds had been doing their jobs...

...in the first place, we wouldn't need detention camps for immigrants awaiting deportation. WaPo is doing a series about the EVIL U.S. Government and how it's mistreating the detainees. Today's piece was about how some of those detainees are committing suicide because of inadequate or neglectful mental health care at the centers. Disclaimer: I understand that (as DH Jeff has reminded me) if we're going to have detention centers, adequate conditions should be provided. Adequate. Not lux. My heartless self, though, really doesn't care if a few commit suicide, drop dead, etc. I didn't ask them to come here and at this point, am unconcerned with their wellbeing. Since time is short and I must scurry to work so I can pay for their care, I will opine no further. Besides, my blood pressure rises every time I think about this and life is just too short.

Cry. Me. A. River...Buh-bye! [long post]

In today's WaPo, front page, is a typical bleeding heart article about the hispanic exodus from Prince William County because of the county's new anti-illegals laws, the housing lending issue and other reasons. Waaahhhhhh!!! The wetbacks are leaving! No more cheap labor! No more Spanish-only enclaves! The CCCCHHHHIILLLDDDRRREEN!!! Waaahhhhhh!!!

Read this tearful narrative of (feel the sarcasm) the cruelty of it all:

The man, whose name is Mauricio and who is Salvadoran, zipped his jacket against the wind whipping across the dark, vacant parking lot as he walked out of the store toward a borrowed car.

That morning, his electricity had been cut off. The next day, he and 11-year-old Erica would be moving into the basement of a neighbor's house. On this night, they would make do with candles.

It was the latest blow in a year of calamities: In April, the interest rate on Mauricio's ill-advised mortgage suddenly spiked, more than doubling his monthly payments. In May, he lost his job as a house painter. In June, he had to sell his van. In July, his third child was born, and with no insurance, he started skipping mortgage payments to cover the hospital bills. In October, the bank began foreclosure proceedings. In November, he sent his wife and two U.S.-born children to El Salvador.

December brought the worst setback yet: Mauricio bounced a $460 check he had sent the Department of Homeland Security to renew his temporary legal status, transforming him from legal to illegal immigrant.

In January, he received notice to vacate his house. Two weeks ago, the water was cut off. A week ago, his Virginia driver's license expired, and without legal status, he can no longer renew it.

Mauricio and Erica turned onto a side street pocked with darkened, empty houses and pulled up to a brick house with mustard shutters. A plastic barrel stood under the gutter spout. Mauricio had been using it to collect rainwater to heat so Erica could take baths.(WaPo, March 27, 2008)

Maybe Mauricio should have taken his residency legality a little more seriously. Maybe instead of impregnating his wife (a macho imperative!) with another child he couldn't support, he should have been saving his money to pay for his legal residency in this country. Maybe instead of buying a house he couldn't afford, he & his family should have sucked it up and lived in an apartment that he could. Yet, nowhere in the article does it place the responsibility for Mauricio's "calamities" squarely where they belong: on his and his wife's head. The article only refers to an "ill-advised" mortgage - you know, like he just got some bum advice - not his fault!

I read this article with a sense of disgust (the bleeding heart stories) and glee (the laws are working). What we call this is "attrition" and "self-deportation." Yeah! And as other localities are flooded with the resulting "refugees" and find (various facets of) their areas overwhelmed, maybe they'll rethink the prudence of their sanctuary policies. One can only hope.

Some [known] bad news, some good news

I'm not going to talk at length about this article in today's WaPo, because I've already talked about how fighting mad it makes me that the DHS can't seem to pull its head out of its butt...and how happy it is to charge that incompetence spectacularly to you and me. Read and weep.

Onto more positive news: Goldman Sachs is bankrolling business education programs for female entreneurs in Africa and the Middle East with an eye to improving local economies in these regions. I think this rocks - focus on the women. We've seen the positive effects on the ground with microcredit/microfinance programs & banks (which tends to lend primarily to women) in the the third world (Grameen Bank, for instance), now Goldman Sachs is taking this thinking to the next logical level: giving female entrepreneurs the educational tools to make their businesses a success. Read the whole article here. And yes, libtards, Goldman Sachs is what you're always howling about - BIG BUSINESS - big raspberry to you!

Buh-bye!

A hopeful story in the WaPo this morning: Virginia is submitting names of immigrant sex offenders to the Feds so that they (the Feds) can deport them. About time.

But of course you have those who will object...after all, we NEED to import sex offenders, we just DON'T have enough AmCit sexual predators of our own. Diversity and all. Harrumph! [end sarcasm]

Read all about it here.

For the record...

...I voted in the local elections yesterday. Not that it mattered. WaPo is chortling about how Virginians chose/endorsed Democrats ("moderates"?). And how immigration really wasn't much of an issue. No, that's not totally correct. How does one choose otherwise when most of the contests had only a Democratic "contender"? That's it, no real choice!

Unfortunately, it's business as usual here in Arlington "never-an-illegal-we-didn't-love" County. Oh, and evidently this county is getting the fall-out from those illegals who are leaving the better enforced counties. Wonderful!

A nasty frame of mind

I'm sitting here in the coffee/gourmet shop on the ground floor of my apartment building, trying to finish a piece for my writing group. Two different groups around me are having VERY LOUD and EMOTIVE conversations in spanish.

What comes to mind besides "shut up" and/or "speak English" is "ya'll are invading my country and my government is doing less than nothing about it. In fact, they're aiding and abetting it. Unbelievable!" I'm thinking some other things, but they're not really printable.

Nice to think that my country will become the same cesspool as so many latin american countries if this is allowed to continue. I really need to start finding the time to write letters to those who "represent" me - before it's too late.

Book Review: Invasion

In Invasion: How America Still Welcomes Terrorists, Criminals, and Other Foreign Menaces to Our Shores, Michelle Malkin gives us a sobering and quite frankly, anxiety-provoking look at how our government has abdicated one of its most basic and critical charges, that of national security. She backs up her assertions with lots of solid research and concrete examples of failures from whatever source - incompetence, inattention, bureaucratic inertia, political posturing, you name it - and shows that there are many who have and are presently taking advantage of those substantial chinks in the armor. It got my blood boiling, especially in light of the fact that I’m financially supporting - as are all taxpayers in this country - a system that reinforces its own mistakes and poor judgment, and puts all of us in increasing peril. The take-away is this: we as Americans, cannot afford to be lulled by vague promises; rather, we must hold our government accountable for the job we hired it to do.

Who knew?

This article in Sunday's WaPo alerted me to the unlikely fact that 1) there are actually Republicans in Arlington County Government and 2) they actually give a damn about illegal immigration in Arlington. Who knew?

I think I'll make some time to shoot them some emails...

More on immigration

Robert Samuelson opines that uncontrolled immigration effects "importing poverty" in this piece in yesterday's WaPo. This to me is common sense, but as he states, often overlooked in discussing poverty rates in this country. If you have a large, low paid, low-skilled, undereducated (remember, education in countries like Mexico is much more tenuous than our system) populace and has a very high fertility rate (ie, no "family planning"), then it follows that if this population is included in your census, the national poverty rate is going to be exaggerated. (Side note: evidently the Census Bureau has in the past asked agencies to halt anti-illegal proceedings/procedures so they could get an accurate count - so you know illegals are included in the census. If I had more time, I'd actually look up a link for you, but I don't, so I won't).

More localities enact their own solutions in this WaPo article and others encounter road blocks to enforcement.

Roadblocks are typically pro-illegal activist groups ("Mexicans without Borders," anyone?) that say these attempts at the re-establishing rule of law are "anti-immigrant" and "racist," and who file all sorts of law suits to stop or impede these initiatives. Sounds like the rhetoric used by another demographic to stop meaningful discussion of an issue. Then they embolden illegals to march around and protest these legal and reasonable measures (doubly reasonable and understandable considering the Feds' near-total abdication of their sworn duties).

Have any of you actually lived in Mexico (or places like it)? I have, and let me tell you, rule of law is notional. Things folks here take for granted - such as the fact that you call 911 and someone actually comes to help you - such as the fact that mostly, you can trust cops to carry out the law instead of aiding and abetting it for profit or extorting bribes out of you. These are two small examples and no, I'm not kidding. And I didn't see the worst of it. Read Daughters of Juarez for an idea of goverance (or the complete lack thereof) extant in Mexico. Do you really want to import that? It's no wonder most of these illegals don't think they've done anything wrong. But neither they nor their home country "governments" should be lecturing us on how to run OUR country.

I applaud locales (as you well know if you've read my blog for awhile) that take the initiative to deal with their very local and impactful illegal f/n (foreign national) issues. It's a pity they have so much blow-back from fellow Americans that have no clue what they're really supporting.

Update 9/6/07: Coincidentally, there's an editorial in the WaPo about the 2010 census and how ICE claims they won't halt raids for illegals during the census. Yeh, 'cause now they're getting serious about enforcement! The writer, typical of WaPo's (pro-illegal) stance, actually wants a period of non-enforcement so that the Census Bureau can get an accurate count of who's here. Uh-huh. So they can get appropriate representation or some such. Well, a halt is unlikely to reveal how many illegals are here because they're unlikely to admit as much. I say it's high time we started enforcing laws already on the books, regardless of what it could mean for the damned Census.

Another locality stands up for itself

Today in WaPo Metro section is an article about another locality, in this case Culpeper County, VA, that has had it with illegal immigration. A resolution that was approved unanimously by county lawmakers affirms English as official language, e.g., printing public documents only in English. I think this right on: anyone who lives and works in Culpeper County (or anywhere in the US, to my mind) should be able to read, write and speak English. No brainer. Now, this might not seem like a lot, especially compared to what other localities are doing, but it does send a message. Lawmakers opine that the Hispanic immigrant population is just not assimilating vis-à-vis English language proficiency; therefore, if the county refuses to accommodate their language deficiency, they might move elsewhere. A small step, to be applauded.

More bad news about national security

In WaPo today is an article about how the computer system that contains all sorts of border-control-related personal information on passports, visas, SSNs, etc. has poor security and is vulnerable to cyber-attacks, data theft, data manipulation. And it's costing us $1.7 BILLION!!!

First it's just disturbing that we, the taxpayers, are supporting a very expensive computer system in the name of border control (hah!) that is essentially a huge liability. Second, it's disturbing that WaPo is publishing this story for the world to read, basically advertising a significant weakness. It's like a warm little invitation for all sorts of criminals and terrorists to jump in and hack. Gee, thanks!

What's wrong with this country and its leadership (one of the things) is that there are gaping [expensive, taxpayer funded] holes in our security, starting with the systems and agencies put in place to protect us with zero accountability. Now, some may just blame everything on Bush, but this sort of nonsense has been going on for a long time, ie, before Bush. What's the rationale for allowing this to continue? How do you sell your incompetence and spend-thriftiness to the people who are paying for it? Evidently, easily. It seems that wherever one looks today, there are government approved, aided and abetted ways to ensure our demise.

Identity theft in Virginia

Talk about pertinent current events – in the WaPo day-before-yesterday was a story about this woman who, with her husband’s complicity, used someone else’s identity (“lost” drivers license, etc.) to get a mortgage on a $400k townhouse. The victim got suspicious when he received a refund check from the mortgage broker for overpayment of closing costs – for a mortgage he didn’t have, for a townhome he didn’t own.

What’s troublesome about the article is that WaPo seems to insinuate that all is well, because the guy wasn’t out any money (the thief was making payments) and the thief eventually was caught and now prosecuted. Furthermore, the woman is Hispanic with a slew of kids. WaPo doesn’t state as much, but I’m wondering about her immigration status as well. Poor, poor immigrant must use someone else’s docs to buy a home for her family. American Dream shouldn't be denied to immigrants, wah-wah! Like hell – DH Jeff and I probably couldn’t get a $400k mortgage – and we have good jobs with no kids!

The bottom line is that yes, the thief was caught and prosecuted (and should be to the full extent of the law!), and no, there weren’t any financial costs to the victim; however, it is up to him to clear up the situation with the bank regarding the mortgage, it’s up to him to correct his credit record with the reporting agencies, and up to him to do any other follow-up to clear his name. I’m sure he must feel very vulnerable and now wonders – is this it or is my name and credit still compromised, another bomb waiting to drop? Read the whole story here.

Gangs & stuff

Sort of good news in Maryland: an MS-13 scumbag who orchestrated the gang rape of two teenage girls was sentenced to 37 years behind bars (evidently, this isn’t the same judge who dismissed charges of a Liberian child rapist in Montgomery County –see below). This criminal was caught and charged through a RICO operation. Yeah, RICO!

Now, although I’m gratified that this SOB will be behind bars for a long time, he’s still taking up public (taxpayer) resources – food, shelter, medical/dental, etc. And he’ll probably meet up with his MS-13 buddies already in prison – and still operate from the inside. And, ok, the article in WaPo mentioned that he spoke through an interpreter, which I take to mean he’s an illegal. And probably, too, are the scads of relatives present in the courtroom who, along with the defendant, wept at the injustice of the verdict. Read the whole thing for yourself, especially the part where the scumbag says that God knows his heart and that he didn’t do anything wrong. Rich. My only hope is that the system doesn’t allow time off for good behavior.

2nd shot at amnesty bill killed

And thank goodness for that. The bill, no matter what amendments were added, was still horrible legislation, which at best would have no effect (completely unenforceable and therefore ignored) and at worst, would reward illegal behavior; the added legalized foreign nationals completely overwhelming the already strained capacity of the FBI, DHS, etc., to process applications & background checks (I mean, come on, they already have backlogs in the hundreds of thousands and can’t seem to keep track of the files they’re currently processing); not to mention social and healthcare services (because with legalization comes greater access to welfare, food stamps, medicaid, etc., and the need to process even greater volumes of applicants than before).

No, the bill wasn’t “reform,” no, it wasn’t an “overhaul” and no, it wouldn’t have improved any immigration issues; it is just a misbegotten, voluminous mess and ultimately, a huge waste of taxpayers’ money. Illegals aren’t following the law anyway (either rushing the border or overstaying their visas), so what makes these yahoos think they would fall cooperatively in line and observe all the convoluted rules according to this proposed law (going back to their country, renewing guest-worker visas, etc.)? We have immigration laws on the books already, but what we’ve (the U.S.) shown them (the illegals), is that we’re willing to disregard our laws or unevenly apply them. To a person coming from somewhere like Mexico, wherein there are plenty of unenforced laws (rule of law is notional at best) and almost anything can be bought, maneuvered or extorted, this country and our governance thereof may only seem to be a better functioning variety of their native environment. And they have and will act accordingly.

Furthermore, because historically (read: after 1986 amnesty), such laws didn’t result in secure borders; because millions of tax dollars have been wasted on non-functioning systems (software, for instance) to track deportees, dangerous illegal alien criminals, or just visa over-stayers; and because even if the systems do work, they aren’t used consistently by agencies or available to and shared throughout law enforcement and intelligence agencies [read Michelle Malkin’s book Invasion for details about these fiascos], there is little hope that such a complicated, impractical scheme such as this bill would resolve anything at all. As it could make things a whole lot worse, I’m hoping this monster won’t be re-animated.

Read the WaPo article on its recent demise here.