The students who raised the American flag upside down and below the Mexican flag obviously didn’t get the appropriateness of the symbolism they created:
The American flag raised with the union upside down is a sign of extreme distress.
Can we count on the American MSM to show this image? No.
Will the American people sympathize with all the protestors who are waving the Mexican flag while disrespecting America and its laws? Not a chance.
These protesters are saying that American laws and customs mean nothing to them; yet they demand to be supported by the American taxpayers.
Michelle Malkin has more on the protests.
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Tony Blankley has an op/ed today in which he explains exactly how the American people feel about illegal immigration:
National polling data could not be more emphatic — and has been so for decades. Gallup Poll (March 27) finds 80 percent of the public wants the federal government to get tougher on illegal immigration. A Quinnipiac University Poll (March 3) finds 62 percent oppose making it easier for illegals to become citizens (72 percent in that poll don’t even want illegals to be permitted to have driver’s licenses). Time Magazine’s recent poll (Jan. 24-26) found 75 percent favor “major penalties” on employers of illegals, 70 percent believe illegals increase the likelihood of terrorism and 57 percent would use military force at the Mexican-American border.
An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll (March 10-13) found 59 percent opposing a guest-worker proposal, and 71 percent would more likely vote for a congressional candidate who would tighten immigration controls.
An IQ Research poll (March 10) found 92 percent saying that securing the U.S. border should be a top priority of the White House and Congress.
The American people have made themselves clear: they want tougher immigration laws. How do the senators and representatives in Congress react? By ignoring the American people:
Yet, according to a National Journal survey of Congress, 73 percent of Republican and 77 percent of Democratic congressmen and senators say they would support guest-worker legislation.
Tony references Robert Samuelson who made observations Americans already seem to know but congress obviously doesn’t get:
Regarding the Senate’s and the president’s guest-worker proposals, The Post’s Robert Samuelson writes: “Gosh, they’re all bad ideas … We’d be importing poverty. This isn’t because these immigrants aren’t hardworking, many are. Nor is it because they don’t assimilate, many do. But they generally don’t go home, assimilation is slow and the ranks of the poor are constantly replenished … [It] is a conscious policy of creating poverty in the United States while relieving it in Mexico … The most lunatic notion is that admitting more poor Latino workers would ease the labor market strains of retiring baby boomers ? Far from softening the social problems of an aging society, more poor immigrants might aggravate them by pitting older retirees against younger Hispanics for limited government benefits … [Moreover], [i]t’s a myth that the U.S. economy ‘needs’ more poor immigrants.
And note the effect illegal immigration has on Americans’ job prospects:
[T]he very liberal and often partisan Paul Krugman of the New York Times courageously wrote : “Unfortunately, low-skill immigrants don’t pay enough taxes to cover the cost of the [government] benefits they receive ? As the Swiss writer Max Frisch wrote about his own country’s experience with immigration, ‘We wanted a labor force, but human beings came.’ ” Mr. Krugman also observed — citing a leading Harvard study — “that U.S. high school dropouts would earn as much as 8 percent more if it weren’t for Mexican immigration. That’s why it’s intellectually dishonest to say, as President Bush does, that immigrants ‘do jobs that Americans will not do.’ The willingness of Americans to do a job depends on how much that job pays — and the reason some jobs pay too little to attract native-born Americans is competition from poorly paid immigrants.” Thusly do the two leading economic writers for the nation’s two leading liberal newspapers summarily debunk the economic underpinning of the president’s and the Senate’s immigration proposals.
Others blogging:
Red State Rant has more on how to fly the American Flag.
Ed Morrissey: Illegals to Americans: We Hate America.
Third World Country has a lot of information.
How do you “level the playing field ” sic . when one side is illegal ! they would have to both be legal or both illegal to be level. That picture at the top of the page is disgusting..no mas,no mas.
How do the senators and representatives in Congress react? By ignoring the American people…
Why do they do this?
BECAUSE THEY CAN. They’re counting on the fact that nobody will bother to remember (or care) how they vote on this issue by the time we go to the polls in November. And even if some people do remember, the Congress has managed over the years to so rig the system in their favor that an incumbent has something like a 90%+ chance to win reelection provided he hasn’t killed somebody.
Ooops… Forgot about Teddy… Even if he HAS killed somebody.
Grrrr….
While I agree with Adam that, “we should get much stricter on the enforcement and penalties for those who hire the illegals to get around our employment or other laws” — there’s a fly in that ointment. A recent case here in Kansas is probably illustrative of how it works around the country. A company that hired a boat-load of illegal Mexicans was permitted to plead “insufficient policy and procedural training of its administrative employees” while the Mexicans were rounded up and deported. There is no way in h*ll that that company didn’t knowingly hire illegal immigrants. But it suffered absolutely NO penalities for having done so; but rather, foisted the blame onto its secretaries. There should have been stiff fines, at minimum. And it should have been excluded from ANY gov’t contracts, however indirectly, for a minimum of three years.
The above photo is not NEARLY as troubling as the subconcious grooming Our President chooses for HIS backdrop: http://www.dose.ca/toronto/news/story.html?s_id=Xxm3X0cGTwL4hvchFrNeXr7erctuSOMw%2Bt%2FUpTGIfQt24geFnB45eg%3D%3D
The above image is bad enough, but worse still is when Our Presdent uses a variation on that theme for an official backdrop! A picture’s worth a 1000 words or a thousand points of light! http://www.dose.ca/toronto/news/story.html?s_id=Xxm3X0cGTwL4hvchFrNeXr7erctuSOMw%2Bt%2FUpTGIfQt24geFnB45eg%3D%3D
The above photo is bad enough, but when Our President employs a variation on that theme as a purpose-built backdrop, the old saying: “A picture’s worth a thousand words” comes to mind. Or was it, “…a thousand points of light”? http://www.dose.ca/toronto/news/story.html?s_id=Xxm3X0cGTwL4hvchFrNeXr7erctuSOMw%2Bt%2FUpTGIfQt24geFnB45eg%3D%3D
The above photo is bad enough, but when Our President employs a variation on that theme as a purpose-built backdrop, the old saying: “A picture’s worth a thousand words” comes to mind. Or was it, “…a thousand points of light”? http://www.dose.ca/toronto/news/story.html?s_id=Xxm3X0cGTwL4hvchFrNeXr7erctuSOMw%2Bt%2FUpTGIfQt24geFnB45eg%3D%3D
Hmmm.
Well that’s certainly one way to establish where your loyalties lie.
disgusting little ingrates.
Clean out Washington and elect Larry, Curley, and Moe. Citizenship for sale and for free: All 12 million currently resident illegal aliens would be permitted to apply for a work visa after paying back taxes and a $1000 penalty.
The visas would last for three years and be renewable for three more years.
After the forth year, these 12 million newly-minted legal aliens-their family members who will ultimately be permitted to join them pushing the numbers through the roof-would be permitted to apply for a green card setting them on a path for citizenship. All 1.5 million illegal alien agricultural workers would receive a new “blue card” that would allow them to remain in the United States as long as they work in agriculture for a small portion of two years. Following this period all of these 1.5 million newly-minted legal aliens-their family members who will ultimately be permitted to join them will at minimum double the numbers-would be permitted to apply for a green card, placing them on a path toward citizenship. Guests who never have to leave: Provides 400,000 new guest worker visas annually. New guest workers given renewable 3 year terms of work authorization. Following 6 years, the new “guests” may apply for green cards, placing them on a path toward citizenship if they can show that they are learning English and pass background checks. Want to go to college? American citizens go to the back of the line! Repeals current law barring in-state tuition for illegal aliens unless the same benefit is made available to out of state residents.
This will effectively require middle and lower income Americans to directly compete with illegal aliens for limited freshman class seats at state colleges and universities. Invitation to overstay visas: 40 percent of all illegal aliens are visa overstayers. It makes overstay a civil violation and removes all criminal penalties. No wonder our flag is on bottom and upside down. We’re being corn holed.
As I have said in a post in another thread, a decision was made by both parties and at every level of government that America should be transformed into a Northern province of Mexico. Every time the American people speak they call for a crackdown on immigration. Prop 187 passed with overwhleming support yet a single judge ruled it unconstitutional
and refuses to write an opinion so that her decision
can not be appealed. Similar propositions have passed in New Mexico and Arizona but the respective Governors refuse to impliment them. An unholy alliance between business interests Republicans and open borders Democrats are subverting the will of the American people. So at a time when the American people are asking for a crack down on immigration what does the Senate do, they propose legislation that actually increase both leagal and illeagal immigration. Basically this is the Republican party telling the American people, f*ck you, we heard you loud and clear you voted time and time again when given a chance that you want immigration reform that stops illegal immigration and doesn’t grant amnesty, we have seen the polls showing 60% don’t want a guest worker program, but guess what, we don’t care what you want, we are going to do what we want and what we want to do is capitulate to the democrats and create a new block of voters that will vote democrat. That’s a pretty brilliant way to give away your majority.
The divide between what the electorate wants and what Congress wants has one clear distinction: Congressmen and Senators want to remain in power. This divide is driven by the desire for encumbancy. Illegals who become legal become voters in the shortest possible time, and the Latino community is sure to remember who their friends were, and who didn’t support their socioeconomic coup d’etat.
Legislation (esp. McCain-Feingold) has no effect on this. It is no coincidence that the softest immigration proposal currently being considered is coming from John McCain (RINO-Arizona).
And why is the spanish-language media being allowed to promote law-breaking? They openly admit to having utilized their print and broadcasting outlets as a means of promoting the protests? Shouldn’t the FCC be fining them? After all, when one of Chicago’s radio DJ’s (Steve Dahl) promoted that toll booth baskets accepted Nekko Wafers in place of quarters, both the IL Tollway Authority, the Attorney General and the FCC threatened to fine & prosecute the station if Dahl didn’t cease making the claim. Seems a clear cut issue to me.
One way to take care of much of this is to apply minimum wage laws to all workers legal or illegal. For those who claim that American’s won’t do this work what they really mean is that American’s wont do it for $5 a day. Make the playing field level for everyone as well as stricter enforcement at the same time takes away the power of the Illegals.
Adam:
As I understand Minimum Wage Law, employers are already required to pay their workers the federally-mandated minmum. Companies that employ illegals do so because they don’t want to pay that much money. Illegals fit into their equation quite nicely as they are willing to be paid less than the minimum, thus enabling their employer to circumvent Federal law. Illegals are also thus because their wages aren’t reported to SSA and the IRS, the primary method by which employers adherence to minimum wage laws is confirmed.
Another problem is that in mandating a minimum wage for ‘undocumented workers’, you are establishing legal precedent whereby they are de facto citizens, with all the inherent obligations and responsibilities. Have not these same persons shown that they have no intent to participate at this level? They don’t want to pay taxes. They waive Mexican flags first; US flags second. They advocate more passionately for their relatives and friends right to work here, but that is where the commitment begins and ends. Latin Americans who do feel a commitment to US principals and ideals want to become citizens.
Did you notice that the protests were not so much about wanting to become citizens, but rather to enjoy the fruits of laboring in the US while retaining all other allegiances to Mexico? Why is it the job of the US to alleviate poverty in Mexico? Isn’t this Mexico’s responsibility?
If that is the case based on the posting above we should get much stricter on the enforcement and penalties for those who hire the illegals to get around our employment or other laws.
I remember all the flack a friend of mine got by flying the American flag and a smaller Brazilian flag underneath it. Some neighbors said he should scrap his Brazilian flag and fly the American only. The man was born and raised in Brasil, became a citizen legally, and got flack. Now those protestors are flying an upside down American flag beneath Mexico’s. While our leaders (Republican and Democrat) play “kick the can” with LEGAL CITIZENS CONCERNS!
This is the type of issue that should make all of us, whether left, right, middle, or slantways (me!) do some serious soul-searchin’ and decide if we should go the NONE OF THE ABOVE route in voting. 😉
Hmmm.
As an aside the real problem aren’t the illegals that are being paid under the table and don’t contribute to the Social Security.
The REAL problem are those illegal aliens that do contribute to Social Security. Because regardless of how much or how little they contributed, or even if the SSN they used is false, ficticious or someone else’s, as long as they worked sufficient quarters to qualify then they are eligible for Social Security and Medicare, for the rest of their life.
And that expense will far outstrip anything else.
Here in California, we spent $750M dollars last year to house illegal alien criminals. That does not count the costs of city and county jails, just state prisons. Schooling and health-care costs associated with illegal aliens dwarf those numbers.
I was GM of a business that hired entry level workers as unskilled laborers and semi-skilled technicians. We did not hire illegal aliens. It is sometimes difficult not to do so as they fake docs they have are sometimes very, very good.
But, the problem was that some of our competitors did hire illegals. Labor costs were a big chunk of our budget (82% of those departments) and when the competition is able to cut their costs through blatantly illegal means and get away with it, it is beyond frustrating. And damned hard to compete against. Beyond integrity, honesty, respect for the law, and love of country, there really is no reason to not hire illegals. You certainly are not going be punished – on the contrary.
Hiring illegals is essentially risk free and saves a lot of money. But it is morally and legally wrong. The current system and the proposals in congress (as I imperfectly understand them) will continue to punish honesty/integrity and reward criminal behavior on the part of employers and employees.
God it is maddening.
Hmmm.
What I don’t get is this “guest worker” program.
How is a guest worker going to be recruited? Brought in? Housed? Paid?
Here’s a scenario:
Guest worker “Tim” does basic landscaping. Mows lawns, trims hedges and that sort of thing for minimum wage; let’s call it $8/hr. He’s contracted for 5 years of labor with Joe’s Landscaping Service of Middletown, NJ.
Now am I to believe that Tim is going to live and work in the USA, NJ specifically, for 5 years while his family remains in Mexico? Am I to believe that Tim isn’t going to bring his mother, wife and three kids from Mexico into the USA? That he’s going to live the life of a bachelor, willingly, for say 12 months of the year and only return to Mexico for a couple weeks around Christmas to New Years?
(Due to the cost of travel I assume Tim wouldn’t be willing to spend too much money travelling more than once or twice a year.)
What guarantees are there that Tim won’t bring his family into the USA for a better life? To be with his wife and family? To at least get laid once in awhile? Is Tim going to sign a paper that states that he won’t bring his family? Does anyone really expect that this sort of agreement would pass muster with liberal groups? Plus who picks up Tim’s healthcare costs? Does the employer guarantee this? Or does the government? And if the employer is a scumbag and doesn’t actually pay for health insurance, does the government have to finally pick up the tab?
So Tim contributes $8/hr, and since he’s a hard worker, 2,500hrs per year so that’s $20,000 gross income he’s generated. That’s the positive.
His mother is elderly and is on the brink of kidney failure. Now we could be “barbarians” and let her die of kidny failure, but the hospitals still have the policy of treating anyone who shows up at the emergency rooms. Will that change? If it doesn’t then Tim’s mother needs regular dialysis treatments which she’ll get by going to the emergency room.
This will cost about $3,500 USD per session or about $10,000 per week if done on a regular basis. Figure she’ll need about $520,000 worth of treatments per year. This will very likely have to be paid by Medicaid, Medicare or some such combination. Or Tim’s mother will simply report to the emergency room each time she’s scheduled for a dialysis treatment, which is three times per week.
Total cost per year: $520,000.
Tim’s wife is 6 months pregnant. Tim’s insurance doesn’t cover childbirth so she’ll go to the emergency room. They could deport her, but the child will be born first as an archor baby, and anyways the taxpayer will have to pick up the tab for the costs of her childbirth.
Figure that’ll be $15,000.
Tim’s three kids are all old enough to go to school. Now are we going to require proper VALID documentation to be admitted to schools? Anyone want to hold their breath for that one?
Well since Tim’s three kids don’t speak any english whatsoever, they’ll need special tutoring at an additional cost. The average cost per pupil is about $14,500 per kid, per year. But since the kids don’t speak any english at all, this will add about $5,000 per year to each kid. At least for the first few years until they learn to speak english well enough to participate fully in the regular classes.
So that’ $19,500 per kid, per year. And a yearly total of $58,500.
So….
Tim’s labor: + $20,000.00 USD
Tim’s family: – $593,500.00 USD
That’s pretty ugly.
So let’s say the mother stays in Mexico. Frankly that’s very unlikely as I can’t imagine Tim bringing his wife and children to America, but leaving his sick mother to die alone in Mexico. But this is just a quirky little playalong so let’s just say she stays in Mexico.
Tim’s labor: + $20,000.00 USD
Tim’s family: – $73,500.00 USD
You know. I can’t quite put my fingers on it. But somehow it doesn’t really look like a great deal.
So let’s say that Tim’s wife isn’t pregnant and won’t have a child this full calendar year. Quite frankly I think that’s rather silly as the very first thing I’d do if I were planning on trying to stay in America would be to bring my wife and have an anchor baby. But let’s say that Tim doesn’t plan too well or something. So no childbirth costs.
Tim’s labor: + $20,000.00 USD
Tim’s family: -58,500.00 USD
*shrug* oh well. Maybe Tim won’t bring his family into America illegaly in the hopes of yet another amnesty, free education for his kids, free medical treatment for his dangerously ill mother and the possibility of an anchor baby to use for either permanent resident alien or a successful pursuit for citizenship.
So…. How does this guest worker thing work and how does it guarantee that Tim won’t bring his family into America? Would it allow Tim to bring his family? His wife? Kids? Would he sign away the right for any children born in America to not be American citizens? Can you legally sign away your Constitutional rights?
What if Tim is convinced to legally adopt his nieces and nephews? Perhaps in that case he’d have another 5 or 6 kids in his “family”?
Isn’t Reconquista the same as Zionism?