Immigration

Some hard truths

Fellow conservative blogger Donald Douglas has an interesting post up that cites Robert Bork's recent book entitled: A Time To Speak:Selected Writings and Arguments. Many of you will remember Bork as having been an unfair victim of left-wing demagoguery during his 1987 Senate confirmation hearings after Ronald Reagan nominated him for the U.S. Supreme Court. Though beaten in that instance, Bork has been unbowed in using his prodigious intellectual talents to influence the national debate via his writings over the past 20 years. As Douglas recounts, Bork wrote back in 1995 with uncanny prescience in his essay Hard Truths About the Culture War that we face a real and growing threat from liberalism that is destroying our culture: Modern liberalism is most particularly a disease of our cultural elites, the people who control the institutions that manufacture or disseminate ideas, attitudes, and symbols-universities, some churches, Hollywood, the national press (print and electronic), much of the congressional Democratic party and some of the congressional Republicans as well, large sections of the judiciary, foundation staffs, and almost all the "public interest" organizations that exercise a profound if largely unseen effect on public policy. So pervasive is the influence of those who occupy the commanding heights of our culture that it is not entirely accurate to call the United States a majoritarian democracy. The elites of modern liberalism do not win all the battles, but despite their relatively small numbers, they win more than their share and move the culture always in one direction ....

What we are seeing in modern liberalism is the ultimate triumph of the New Left of the 1960s - the New Left that collapsed as a unified political movement and splintered into a multitude of intense, single-issue groups. We now have, to name but a few, radical feminists, black extremists, animal rights groups, radical environmentalists, activist homosexual groups, multiculturalists, People for the American Way, Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union, and many more. In a real sense, however, the New Left did not collapse. Each of its splinters pursues a leftist agenda, but there is no publicly announced overarching philosophy that enables people to see easily that the separate groups and causes add up to a general radical left philosophy. The groups support one another and come together easily on many issues. In that sense, the splintering of the New Left made it less visible and therefore more powerful, its goals more attainable, than ever before.

In their final stages, radical egalitarianism becomes tyranny and radical individualism descends into hedonism. These translate as bread and circuses. Government grows larger and more intrusive in order to direct the distribution of goods and services in an ever more equal fashion, while people are diverted, led to believe that their freedoms are increasing, by a great variety of entertainments featuring violence and sex ...

As Douglas also notes, the "splintered" left-wing groups that Bork described in 1995 look a lot like the various liberal organizations that have now organized to make change within the Obama Administration.

An excellent example of this can be found in Ben Smith's recent article at Politico.com entitled: Unity '09 -- Dem Groups Quietly Align:

A broad coalition of left-leaning groups is quietly closing ranks into a new coalition, "Unity '09," aimed at helping President Barack Obama push his agenda through Congress.

Conceived at a New York meeting before the November election, two Democrats familiar with the planning said, Unity '09 will draw together money and grassroots organizations to pressure lawmakers in their home states to back White House legislation and other progressive causes.

The online-based MoveOn.org is a central player in the nascent organization, but other groups involved in planning Unity '09 span a broad spectrum of interests, from the American Civil Liberties Union to the National Council of La Raza to Planned Parenthood, as well as labor unions and environmental groups.

The obvious point to be made here is that the most radical of left-wing interest groups are organizing to have a major impact on public policy in the Obama White House. What follows logically from this is a pro-choice, pro-illegal immigration, pro-tort/pro-defendant and pro-union orientation that will systematically weaken the foundation of our nation and our economy. Just today, for example, it was revealed that estimates for Obama's "Cap and Trade" environmental protection regime will cost the economy well over $1 trillion over the next several years -- a huge tax on business in the name of satisfying the global warming alarmists who seek curbs on carbon at any cost.

With the Obama presidency we have opened the West Wing to the worst kind of single-minded interest groups -- for whom the word "compromise" and "in the national interest" have absolutely no meaning. There is no quid-pro-quo among the true believers, who have organized their lives around unyielding belief in the importance of a single issue -- be it abortion, immigration, torture, civil liberties or the environment.  For these disciples, there is no second place  -- total victory is the only option.  And for those of us who believe in open, honest debate, this is a hard truth, indeed.

'Rest of story' suffers with Rocky gone

Just in the first week since the Rocky shut down, think about the state and local stories that were covered less robustly in the absence of a competing metro daily. Three for starters would be: ** Senate Dems seek to bust the 6% constitutional spending limit.

** Senate Dems endorse college subsidies for illegal aliens.

** CU students welcome plagiarist Ward Churchill and terrorist Bill Ayers.

Nothing against the solid reporting and commentary we've read in the Denver Post about these events, but they contain so many deeper levels and cross-currents that no single newspaper can possibly do them justice.

There's a reason people have two eyes and ears; a reason we say two heads are better than one; a reason Scripture says wisdom needs many counselors.

At 90, Paul Harvey, the founding father of opinion radio, was going to leave us one of these days. But how fitting that we lost him on the same weekend when Coloradans lost some of our access to "the rest of the story" with the Rocky's demise.

Prosecutor outrages the Left

Action from 2/22 Radio: For breaking an ID theft ring of over 1300 illegal aliens, DA Ken Buck finds himself sued by ACLU and pilloried by the New York Times. The Weld County prosecutor and his colleague, Sheriff John Cooke, must be doing something right. Here is a partial archive of web links for state and national news coverage of the story since it broke in November.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/us/02greeley.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=Ken%20Buck&st=cse

http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20081120/NEWS/811199888/1001&title=Allard%20talks%20%27Number%20Games%27%20on%20Senate%20floor

http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20081120/NEWS/811199886/1001&title=%27Number%20Games%27%20suspect%27s%20family%20confused%20by%20arrest

http://www.noco5.com/index.aspx

Greeley Tribune

11/16/08

http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20081116/NEWS/811159876/1002/NONE&parentprofile=1001&title=Farmers%2C%20business%20owners%20concerned%20about%20finding%20workers

Editorial

http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20081116/TRIBEDIT/811159936/1029/NONE&parentprofile=1025&title=Immigration%20reform%20long%20overdue

11/15/08

http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20081115/NEWS/811159958/1002/NONE&parentprofile=1001&title=Officials%20hope%20arrests%20lead%20to%20widespread%20change

http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20081115/NEWS/811159994/1002/NONE&parentprofile=1001&title=ANALYSIS%3A%20Federal%20policies%20hinder%20immigration%20enforcement

http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20081115/NEWS/811159996/1002/NONE&parentprofile=1001&title=New%20immigration%20rift

11/14/08

http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20081114/NEWS/811139961/1002/NONE&parentprofile=1001&title=Weld%20cracks%20down%20on%201%2C300%20ID%20theft%20cases

http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20081114/NEWS/811149962/1002/NONE&parentprofile=1001&title=ID%20THEFT%3A%20Arrested%20so%20far

http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20081114/NEWS/811149949/1002/NONE&parentprofile=1001&title=ID%20THEFT%3A%20Understanding%20the%20tax%20ID%20number

http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20081114/NEWS/811149947/1002/NONE&parentprofile=1001&title=ID%20THEFT%3A%20Examples%20of%20returns

http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20081114/NEWS/811149974/1002/NONE&parentprofile=1001&title=ID%20THEFT%3A%20By%20the%20numbers

http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20081114/NEWS/811149942/1002/NONE&parentprofile=1001&title=Woman%20finds%20herself%20a%20victim%20

Television

11/14/08

Channel 5

http://www.noco5.com/story.aspx?ID=471&Cat=2

Channel 9

http://www.9news.com/rss/article.aspx?storyid=103992

http://www.9news.com/news/investigative/article.aspx?storyid=103852&catid=207

Channel 7

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/17992968/detail.html

Channel 4

http://cbs4denver.com/local/illegal.immigration.greeley.2.864743.html

Channel 2

http://www.kwgn.com/pages/news_local_landing/?Weld-Co-probe-focuses-on-illegal-tax-ref=1&blockID=134747&feedID=202

Longmont Times-Call

http://www.timescall.com/print.asp?ID=12168

Boulder Daily Camera

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/nov/16/1300-could-be-arrested-in-immigrants-tax-scam/

CNN LOU DOBBS

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2008/11/14/wian.bb.identity.theft.scheme.cnn

KKTV

http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/34456909.html

NFIB: The Voice of Small Business

http://nfibelection2008.illumen.org/newsArticle.jsf?documentId=2c9e4f691d9ef3f3011da0d0a75f01eb

Free Republic

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2133235/posts

Americans for Legal Immigration

http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=138238

Colorado Springs Gazette

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CO_IMMIGRATION_TAXES_COOL-?SITE=COCOL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_10989583

Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/nov/14/weld-county-investigating-1330-tax-files-for/

MSNBC Message Board

http://boards.msn.com/MSNBCboards/thread.aspx?threadid=193977&boardsparam=Page%3D3277

Minuteman HQ Forum

http://forum.minutemanhq.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=18525&sid=c3696ee1597ff3a87e94ad5fedf4c425

AARP Bulletin Today

http://bulletin.aarp.org/states/co/articles/analysis_federal_policies_hinder_immigration_enforcement.html

United for A Sovereign American

http://immigrationbuzz.com/

http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=103852&catid=188

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/17979255/detail.html

http://cbs4denver.com/local/illegal.immigration.greeley.2.864743.html

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/nov/14/weld-county-investigating-1330-tax-files-for/

Init. 100 shows potency of immigration issue

Illegal immigration, though it hasn't been in the news much lately, is always a major vote changer. This week voters in Denver -- you know, liberal Denver, that keeps sending Diana DeGette to Washington, and Pat Schroeder before that -- approved Initiative 100, which allows Denver police to seize cars driven by illegal immigrants. The margin was 54% - 46%; imagine what it jwould have been in the rest of the state (not including the People's Republic of Boulder). Below is a short analysis of some things that happened in the state legislature this past spring. How about sending this information to everyone you know? Or copying it and spreading it around? Or bringing the subject up at your next neighborhood barbecue? Or at work?

I believe that if the voters of Colorado knew these things, they would change the composition of the legislature, which last year had a large Democrat majority.

Who wants to do something about illegal immigration?

During the 2008 session of the Colorado Legislature, the following bills were introduced:

1. HCR 1013 would let citizens vote on a measure that would deny bail to persons if they are "in this country illegally" and evidence showed that they had "committed a serious felony or offense involving driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs."

2. SCR 4 would let citizens vote on a measure that would prohibit a court from accepting a plea bargain "from a defendant who is illegally present in the country if the result of the plea would be to permit the defendant to avoid removal from this country."

3. SB 74 would make it a crime for a person who is a citizen of another country to be in the state while in violation of federal immigration law.

4. SB 87 would double the number of officers in the Colorado State Patrol immigration enforcement unit from 24 to 48.

5. HB 1177 would require that a person who applies to register to vote must provide proof of citizenship and would direct county clerks not to register a person as a voter who completes a provisional ballot affidavit until the person provides proof of citizenship.

6. HB 1039 would require that the identification used for elections must contain a photograph of the eligible elector.

The sponsor of each of those six bills was a Republican. And when each of those bills was voted on in committee, every Republican voted FOR the bill, but every Democrat voted AGAINST the bill. And since the Democrats are the majority party, all those bills were killed.

Also during the 2008 session, when the legislators were discussing the 2009 budget bill (HB 1375), an amendment was offered by a Republican Representative that said that "no state funds shall be expended to provide higher education services . . . for persons who do not legally reside in the United States." All 25 Republicans in the House of Representatives voted in favor of that amendment. They were joined by six Democrats, but that was not enough to overcome the negative votes of 33 other Democrats, and the amendment was killed by a vote of 33-31.

On April 28, Democrat Governor Bill Ritter signed the state budget. In doing so, however, he vetoed three specific items that were in the budget, one of them being a provision that would deny state funds to communities that provide state services to illegal immigrants.

So here’s the original question again: Who wants to do something about illegal immigration?