Anderson@Large

Illegals’ Razor Blade

By a vote of 283-138, the House of Representatives passed the “Secure Fence Act of 2006" (and here). The Federation for American Immigration Reform reports:

Today’s approval of H.R. 6061, The Secure Fence Act, is an important first step in regaining operational control over our borders and immigration policy, and we applaud the House leadership for bringing it to the floor, declared the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). H.R. 6061 requires the Department of Homeland Security to construct 700 miles of border fencing (FAIR advocates for 2,000 miles of fencing) and increase the use of technology at the border. After months of an immigration stand-off and attempts to link immigration enforcement with an amnesty for millions of illegal aliens, today’s passage of H.R.6061 marks the first mile in a marathon towards achieving true enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws.

It’s said that a drowning man will grab a razor blade. I was reminded of that truism when I received an old news story about how a border fence would allegedly “destroy endangered species and ecosystems:”

More border walls, militarization, low-level aircraft and roads would further damage already-stressed wildlife and places, such as the Cactus Pygmy Owl and Sonoran Pronghorn in Arizona, Flat-Tailed Horned Lizard and Peninsular Ranges Bighorn Sheep in California, Jaguar and Mexican Gray Wolves in New Mexico, and the Rio Grande River, Ocelot, and Big Bend National Park in Texas. Triple walls are harmful to wildlife, blocking migration corridors and destroying valuable habitat. The distance of the triple wall -- 370 miles -- is approximately the distance of the entire border in Arizona.

Question: What about endangered American middle-class taxpayers who are paying the high cost of the border invaders?

A Day of Reflection

In stark contrast to five years ago when there was not a cloud in the sky, the sky was crying in the nation’s capitol on the fifth anniversary of 9/11.

The heavens were crying over the tens of thousands of innocent lives that have been lost in President Bush’s senseless war in Iraq.  In the so-called “war on terror,” Bush’s lies have given birth to the next generation of terrorists.

As I walked around DC, I was saddened by the proliferation of security barricades around federal buildings.  These symbols of homeland security foster a climate of fear that Bush has used to gain partisan advantage (and here).  At the same, time, they are concrete evidence of Beltway bandits and war profiteers feeding at the homeland security trough.

I had planned to attend the commemoration at the U.S. Capitol.  On further reflection, I decided I’ve heard enough from members of Congress who swallowed Bush’s lies about Saddam Hussein’s ties to al-Qaeda.  Meanwhile, Osama Bin Laden’s trail has gone cold (and here).

I spent a good part of the day at the National Portrait Gallery.  I took comfort and reflected amid the portraits of giants, including Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, John Brown, Sojourner Truth, Cinqué, Harriet Tubman, Fannie Lou Hamer, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Thurgood Marshall.

Now For Some Good News

Like all people of goodwill, I’m thankful that the British intelligence agencies foiled the alleged plot to blow up some U.S.-bound airplanes. Still, there is the lingering suspicion that Republicans are playing politics with the terrorist threat (here and here).

The London bomb threat lays bare the hollowness of President Bush’s claim (and here) that Iraq is the “central front” on the "war on terror," and “our Nation is safer than it was prior to September the 11th.”  If being bogged down in Iraq made us safer, I would be able to fix my face on my flight to Nashville tomorrow.

And it’s not just the 60 percent of Americans who oppose the war in Iraq who feel betrayed.  In his new book, Richard Viguerie, the "funding father" of the conservative movement, documents how Bush and Congressional Republicans have betrayed conservatives.  Even if you think it’s good news that the conservative movement was hijacked, you should pay attention to their guru.

I met Viguerie in June at the Media Giraffe conference.  He recounted how conservatives used direct mail to go around the mainstream media gatekeepers.  Viguerie said: “Without direct mail, there would be no conservative movement -- no Reagan, no Republican Revolution, no Bush.”

And I should add, no Karl Rove, who was a direct mail strategist in Austin, Tex., for 17 years before inflicting George Bush on the world.

To purchase Viguerie’s book, click here.

New York Minutemen

The Minutemen are coming.  And in a New York minute, the May 1 Immigrants Rights Coalition and other illegal immigrant advocates organized a counter-protest.

But it will take more than some flag-waving illegals to deter Americans like Minutemen Founder Jim Gilchrist, author of the new book, “Minutemen: The Battle to Secure America's Borders.” Gilchrist is coming to Ground Zero with a message for those who would surrender our sovereignty to foreign nationals:

The threat posed by out-of-control illegal immigration extends way beyond the border states, and our whole republic is threatened… Why does our government want to keep the true costs of illegal immigration hidden from the public? And why are American taxpayers forced to pay the staggering economic and cultural price tag of illegal immigration?

For more info, click here.

We See Black People

Over the weekend, I attended the Harlem Book Fair. One of the highlights was a panel discussion on the roles and responsibilities of the black media that was aired live on Book TV.

The discussion was moderated by the inestimable Cathy Hughes, founder and chairwoman of Radio One. The panelists included Dick Gregory, Roland Martin and Juan Williams. The speakers reminded the Schomburg Center and C-SPAN audiences that the black press dates back to 1827 and the founding of “Freedom’s Journal.”

Then as now, “we wish to plead our own cause. Too long have others spoken for us.”  Indeed, there’s an African proverb that says, “Until the lion writes his own history, the account of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.”

The black media – both old and new – continue to play a vital role in telling our stories and glorifying our accomplishments. And with the rise of disruptive technologies, Dick Gregory said the mainstream media “have to think twice because there’s another voice out there that can put in what you left out.”

As Cathy Hughes teaches us, information is power.

U.N.I.T.Y.

Big Daddy George “Yo Blair” Bush has apparently been listening to Queen Latifah.  President Bush reportedly will make an appeal for “unity” when he speaks before the NAACP convention today.

Earlier this week, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow offered up this gem:

He has an important role to play not only in making the case for civil rights, but maybe more importantly, the case for unity. Because as long as we have a nation that in any way is divided along racial lines or where politics become a source of division rather than one of simple debate and trying to perfect democracy (emphasis added) that’s a problem.

So that’s what Bush was doing in Florida, Ohio and Georgia -- perfecting democracy.

Fact is, Bush has made the case for unity against Republicans.  According to the latest Gallup Minority Rights and Relations Poll:

[There is] little evidence that the Republicans have made any headway in the black community to date…

More than 8 in 10 black registered voters (83%) say they would vote for the Democratic candidate in the congressional district; only 13% would vote for the Republican candidate. Views among black voters are essentially the same as they were in the 2004 election.

The survey also shows that very few blacks in the U.S. today identify themselves as Republicans: Sixty-two percent of blacks interviewed identified themselves as Democrats, 31% as independents, and just 7% as Republicans. Along these same lines, the survey shows that only 15% of blacks say they approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president, while 78% disapprove (emphasis added).

In plain English, there's unity in the community.

Middle Class Scream

Round One of the dueling congressional hearings on illegal immigration (and here) goes to House Republicans. Their enforcement-only approach resonates with middle-class taxpayers who are screaming for relief (here and here) from the high cost of cheap illegal labor (and here).

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a billionaire, sounded like a blooming idiot when he testified that New York City’s economy would “collapse” without illegals.  As the New York Post editorialized:

Like his claim that “the city’s economy would be a shell of itself” if it weren’t for illegal immigrants. And that “it would collapse if they were deported.”

More than 24 hours later, his aides still couldn’t produce any solid evidence to support such dramatic claims.

True, they did claim that illegals make up 12 percent of the city’s labor force and that their spending and presence helps the city grow.

Maybe.

Maybe indeed.  Most New Yorkers’ contact with illegals is limited to nannies pushing Maclaren baby strollers, supermarket and restaurant workers, and cacophonous sounds on the subway that sometimes make them want to scream (and makes me wanna holler).

By contrast, there is solid evidence to support Hazleton, Pa., Mayor Louis Barletta, who didn’t pull any punches. He told the Senate panel:

Illegal immigration is a drain on Hazleton’s resources. Illegal immigrants are not welcome here.

Period.