Letters to the Editor
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What's his problem?
I'm a descended from Italian immigrants myself and I have to hang my head in shame at the thought of a jackass like Tom Tancredo prancing around spreading his racist shinola. I imagine it wouldn't be hard to find opinions identical to his applied to Italians. It's at the Clarence Thomas level of insanity.
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Getting beyond emotion
It is often helpful to dichotomize things to reveal deeper truths. Would Mr. Leonard like to live in a U.S. that has no criteria for immigration and permits any of the 6.5 billion people on the planet to move here.
Or, would Mr. Leonard prefer being a restrictionist like Congressman Tancredo and have enforceable criteria for residency?
There is no reason why Mexicans can't create the Mexican Dream. It is neither the obligation nor is it within the capacity of the U.S. to provide for the welfare of 100 million of them.
It is easy to proclaim America maintain its "inclusive values". It is quite another to be level headed and recognize that we can absorb six billion more people here.
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Blowback in yet another arena
The Republicans never seem to learn the lessons of their myopic, selfish, violent policies, which are all fundamentally unsustainable.
When the wealth of this country is shifted so obscenely to the already rich, average citizens are squeezed on all sides, and as a result, even Walmart, the mother of pernicious corporate greed, starts to lose money in sales.
When the GOP's gleefully stated premise is to drown government in the bathtub, disasters such as Katrina and the California fires reveal the inhumanity and the poverty of their ideas.
Self-interest alone should suggest to these corrupt fools that the politics of greed and fear will ultimately redound to their own loss.
Stupid, bigoted, and short-sighted. That's what passes for leadership.
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Allow me to translate from "liberal"
"Racist shinola" = "discussing difficult issues and telling the truth about them".
"talk of mass deportation" = "something that no national figure supports, and something that Tancredo has specifically rejected, even if Leonard is trying to fool you into thinking otherwise".
"share their heritage" = "we're allowing millions of people to come here who oppose enforcement of our immigration laws out of racial solidarity, something that the corrupt, near-traitors in the Democratic Party and some in the GOP support".
"the demonization of an entire ethnicity" = "something that no national figure does, but which is falsely claimed by corrupt supporters of illegal activity like Leonard, et al".
Translating the rest is left as an exercise, because Leonard's blatherings aren't worth more time.
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We built it; they will come
The USA is loaded with immigrants! They come, illegally, legally, and otherwise. There is no such thing as a secure border. Even Detroit, the current national example of a no-hope city, is full of recent foreigners.
No matter how many words you hear about immigration, no matter the theoretical debate, they keep on arriving. But two points:
1. Not everybody comes to the USA. Only the bravest or the most desperate come here. For example, Germany is full of Turks who wanted to go to a place with more humane policies than the USA. And Canada is a preferred destination too. The USA is far down these people's list. They only come here if they have no other choice.
2. You Americans now might go to more civilized countries to save your own skins. For example, my bride and I like Amsterdam, the place my great-grandparents fled. And we like Greece. Check out Belize.
Stop with your simplistic, out of date preconceptions. The real world now is different from what your uncle told you, back in the fourth grade.
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another self-hater?
I find myself curious about Tancredo's ethnicity. Tancredo almost sounds like a Spanish-based name; maybe Italian. 'Course, I'm sure all of his ancestors came to America totally legally...
Anyone know?
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doing the right thing for Nation
It is better to do the right thing for the Nation and the citizens of this country then the right thing for the party. I commend Tancredo on doing the right thing for Nation.
As far as the article, the writer may want to review how many hispanics can vote legally compared to the number that are here. Given the number of voters that are unhappy with immigration Tancredo may not have hurt his party as much as you like to think.
Incidentially, legal voting hispanics are pretty much in line with whites and blacks on the whole illegal immigration thing. Of course when pro illegal immigration groups start "racism" scare tactics, they tend to sway towards being against enforcement. Or if those for enforcment start ranting about one particular group of illegal immigrants, then they get concerned. The majority of folks do want immigration enforced, and it isn't about a race, color or whatever. The situation is getting very frustrating and you can tell it by the rhetoric people use from both sides.
Its not necessarily a issue that divides by race, or party. For example, consider Steve Levy, a rare Democrat that believes in immigration enforcement, but widely appreciated by constituents of all parties.
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My husband told me he'd heard the fires were started by Mexicans
I'm not kidding. He's not a racist.. he's an intelligent person who simply believed a rumor. Apparently, some people are suggesting that illegals set fire to Southern California. It's getting scary. Californian's always had a kind of truce with Mexican people. They're an important part of our history and our present. These idiots who are fanning flames of bigotry in order to make political gains have a lot to answer for. Blacks, homosexuals, women, Hispanics... who's next?
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Good Riddence to Bad Rubbish ...
Tancredo stood for our worst instincts. He has also coined some choice phrases describing Muslims and Arabs.
Tancredo however is not the primary reason for the coming fall of the Republican Party. Republiicans were primarily defeated in the northeast in 2006. The Republicans have a host of issues that are haunting them , but Iraq stands out.
There are other politicians that take Tancredos tack on immigration. They just haven't been given the spotlight like Tom.
Personally I think the Immigration issue is important. I feel that corporations and the Democrats use the immigration to their own ends. I am talking about both legal and illlegal immigration. Illlegal immigration is hurtiing the poor , mostly those illegals that came before , but also construction and meat packing. Legal immigration is hurting tech and healthcare jobs through H1B visas. Between legal and illegal immigrration over 25 million more people are in America today than10 years ago , stressing our infrastructure and taking jobs. Why would employers have to pay more when there are more workers , supply and demand. And why won't large corporations train American workers instead of importing cheaper workers through H1Bs?
America is being debased. Our currency , our jobs , our education , our retirement , our healthcare , our citizenship and our reputation , all for the enrichment of the few.
The MSM is all about giving corporations what they want. Privatising Social Security , private health accounts, purging pensions, undercuting unions and cheap labor that undercuts American workers wages are all part of that program.
The immigration issue is about a lot more than soundbites, but you wouldn't know it from the MSM.