Anderson@Large

Trick or Treat

 

Using smoke and mirrors, President Bush, then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and the entire Bush regime tricked the nation into war in Iraq. With nearly 3,900 American deaths, they all have blood on their hands.

Gov. 'Steamroller' Rolls Over

It's bad form to say "I told you so." But New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, "a !@#$ steamroller," asked for it.

For weeks, Spitzer insisted he would not reverse his decision to reward illegal aliens with a driver's license that would be indistinguishable from the one given to citizens and legal residents. He vowed that "no amount of hysterical rhetoric will prevent us from doing what is right."

Earlier this month, Spitzer proclaimed:

What deserves to be condemned are the hysterical allegations that have no basis in fact and are only intended to prey upon the public's fears.

Well, in response to those "hysterical allegations," Spitzer is now proposing three separate licenses. The third-tier basic license for illegals will be marked "not for U.S. government purposes." It cannot be used to enter a federal building or board a plane.

While Spitzer says his latest plan "makes perfect sense," his flip-flop has flopped with the amnesty crowd. Chung-Wha Hung, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, said:

We cannot have public safety when you carve out a million people from the public safety role and system and have them stigmatized with a big scarlet letter.

I agree with Hung that a separate license would shine a bright light on the bearer's illegal status. But, hey, they want to "come out of the shadows."

So come and get it (and here).

Take Me Out to the Museum

I attended PodCamp Boston this weekend (memo to self: start the podcast already). Victory was in the air as the Red Sox – the "new Yankees" – clinched their second World Series in four years.

New Yorkers, do not despair. Instead, go check out the Museum of the City of New York's exhibition, "The Glory Days: New York Baseball, 1947-1957."

The multimedia exhibition has it all: an old fashioned announcer's booth, uniforms, trophies, photographs, including iconic images of Jackie Robinson, and one that's sure to bring a smile to the face of every native New Yorker, Willie Mays playing stickball in the street in Harlem.

To relive the golden era of New York baseball, click here.

Man in the Mirror

I LOL when I read this column by J.C. Watts (Hat tip: Karen Tumulty).

Once in the general election, and safely out of the cloistered world of Republican primary politics, our nominee will want to trot out black faces  -- usually black Republicans -- to try to win the black vote. This is insulting when you consider he likely didn't show up at events that were established to reach out to the black community. Trust me, these candidates will pay a price in the general election.

In 2000, then-Republican National Committee Chairman Jim Nicholson and Co-Chairman Pat Harrison called on Al Gore to fire Donna Brazile, his campaign manager, for saying the obvious:

Al Gore and Bill Clinton have worked hard for the last seven years to improve the lives of African Americans and Hispanics. . . . The Republicans bring out Colin Powell and J.C. Watts because they have no program, no policy. . . . They'd rather take pictures with black children than feed them.

Republicans claimed that Donna was "race-baiting." So, naturally, I called them out. Washington Post columnist Donna Britt wrote:

What Brazile should have said, Anderson wrote in her column, was that presidential front-runner George W. Bush's Louisiana state campaign chairman was fined for failing to disclose a $150,000 payment to genuine racist David Duke. Brazile should have cited Bush's refusal to urge South Carolina to remove the Confederate battle flag--a symbol of forces that sought to keep millions enslaved--from its statehouse because it's "a local issue." Never mind that he has weighed in on numerous local issues across the nation, including an art exhibit in Anderson's native Brooklyn.

Brazile, she wrote, should have mentioned the GOP's "rank hypocrisy" in impeaching President Clinton for lying about sex with a subordinate when their leader, Newt Gingrich, also was involved in such hanky-panky. Then there was House Republicans' refusal to support a resolution condemning the white supremacist Council of Conservative Citizens--a group that GOP heavyweights Trent Lott and Bob Barr have addressed.

Whew. What's a woman with insights like Anderson's doing in a party like that?

Actually, I left the party shortly after that incident. Now that J.C. has finally seen the light, will he follow suit?

DREAM Act Defeated (Again)

For the fifth time, the Senate has rejected the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, the DREAM Act, which would grant amnesty to more than one million "children."

In the parallel universe of amnesty supporters, 29-year-old illegal aliens are minors. Indeed, some of Sen. Richard Durbin's "kids" may have kids of their own.

Sen. Jeff Sessions has his finger on the pulse of America:

I am pleased that the Senate today opposed moving to consideration of the DREAM Act, an unprincipled piece of legislation that would have sent the message to the world that, despite all we may say or do, the United States is not serious about creating a lawful system of immigration.

I was disappointed that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tried to bring this bill up again, before we have made any real progress towards establishing a lawful system.

The DREAM Act would have made 1.3 million illegal aliens and 1.8 million family members eligible for full citizenship. The last thing we should do if we want to curtail illegal immigration is to give financial benefits such as in-state tuition, subsidized loans, and access to work study programs to those who entered illegally. I do not believe that we should reward illegal activity with every right and benefit of American citizenship. We ought not fall into the trap of focusing on the individual needs and wants of people here illegally, but rather we should focus on the long term interests of our country by committing ourselves to restoring the rule of law to our immigration system. 

If Democrats keep mucking around with amnesty for illegal immigrants (here and here), Republicans may just snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in next year's elections.

Wrong Way Spitzer

Would someone please draw Gov. Eliot Spitzer a roadmap. Polls show that New Yorkers overwhelmingly reject his plan to give a driver's license to illegal aliens.

In a 39-19 vote, the New York State Senate passed legislation that would require applicants for driver's licenses and non-driver IDs to provide proof of citizenship or legal U.S. residence. The "racist" and "fear-mongering" Republicans who voted for the bill were joined by eight Democrats.

In his latest blast email, Spitzer writes:

At the end of the day, there is very little any governor can do about how someone got into their state. To keep people safe, my job is to deal with the reality that they are here.

Spitzer is dead wrong. Democratic governors in Arizona, Colorado and Oklahoma, as well as the Republican governor of Georgia, have signed legislation cracking down on illegal immigrants in their state. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently vetoed legislation that would have provided in-state tuition for illegal aliens.

These governors know what Spitzer will soon learn: The American people do not want illegal aliens to receive public benefits. The majority of Americans consistently oppose policies to help illegals "lead a normal life."

It’s "factually wrong, legally wrong, morally wrong, ethically wrong" to reward lawbreakers.

Spitzer refuses to listen to the court of public opinion. So, a county clerk has filed a lawsuit to make him "listen to the courts."

The Sound of Philadelphia

In the City of Brotherly Love, black men overwhelmingly responded to "A Call to Action: 10,000 Men."

The campaign is being organized by community leaders like Kenny Gamble, who told the assembled peacekeepers:

We are about one thing: stopping the killing.

Destiny brought us together today. For me, today is a business meeting. We need a code of conduct, a standard of behavior. And we as black men need to be able to enforce it.

Earlier this month, the Trotter Group met with Gamble at the headquarters of Philadelphia International Records. We chatted in the studio where Patti LaBelle, Phyllis Hyman, Wilson Pickett, Lou Rawls, Jerry Butler and Joe Simon recorded many of their hits.

Gamble said he and Leon Huff produced "anthems for people who were conscious enough to understand the conditions we were in." He told us:

The root cause of violence is poverty. Violence is an inability to express yourself and comprehend other people. We need to teach children who they are, where their people came from, who they were before they were enslaved.

Gamble said the solutions to violence are education, homeownership, stability and wealth creation:

We must be conscious of what we can give to life; not always taking but giving something to life. The somebody that you're looking for is you. Look in the mirror, and that somebody is you.

In waking up black men to address the violence that's destroying families and communities, Gamble lives the message in his music.