Bellthecat;

What did you mean by, "USA took the southwest from Mexico, I believe Mexico claimed California, Arizona, New Mexico & texas. People have long memories, especially when it comes to injustices." ?

The Republicans have won with the racist white votes of the South since the end of Jim Crow. Now they are going after racist white votes everywhere as immigrant populations grow from sea to sea and from north to south. Just enough Democrats are taking the fear bait.

Racism is more than individual and institutional; it is systemic. Since slavery, it has been the perfect divide-and-conquer strategy of the ruling class against the working masses. The Democratic Party won't talk about this, though. They'll talk about hardships of the middle class while they take huge donations from sociopathic corporate entities.

Do you like the status quo? Vote for Republicans or Democrats. Do you want real change? Vote for a Green or independent who will not be a corporate whore. Sooner or later we'll force the two business parties to open the system up to run-off elections and/or proportional representation. Then we will no longer hear about the spoiler effect that keeps people voting against someone rather than for someone.

asufiforever--you got that right. Glad I'm not the only one who found it very strange indeed that almost overnight, all we could hear coming from the Right was "ILLEGAL ALIENS ARE TAKING OVER THIS COUNTRY." Guess gay marriage and abortion just wasn't getting quite enough people stirred up. WOW!!! What a wise and educated public we have...NOT!!!!! When will we ever learn?

NewYorkDana November 15th, 2007 1:17 pm

That along with other similar statements seem a reasoned opinion to me. If the majority of American citizens agree on something I believe thats the way Republics and Democracy's are supposed to work.

Socrates was very right when he said "selective compliance of the law" leads to anarchy. Change it if you like and can get enough people to agree with you, but till you do....please don't complain to the high heavens about those Neocon Republicans trampling the Constitution, breaking the law, hurting our most vulnerable citizens (and they do and have)....and turn around and say its all right if we do it.

If you accuse people of being xenophobic and racist because they insist on being law abiding and insist you do the same......if you call them nativist because they put their country and its citizens first instead of Mexican, Irish, Albanian, etc nationals....who is really the racist?

When you use dishonest language like substituting "undocumented immigrant' for the proper designation of illegal immigrant or illegal alien.........when you substitute "anti-immigrant" when you are talking about anti-illegal immigrant sentiment, you simply play right into the hands of the very people you are trying to beat. Do you really think people are that stupid and can't tell the difference? If they can smell the right lying, believe me they can smell the left lying easily. The left is nowhere as good at it as the right.

Mr. Gonzales is right in many of his sentiments, but his use of dishonest language and attribution of base motives to people simply because they don't agree with him is dishonorable.

For example:

"Last week, House Republicans pushed through a last-minute provision that forbids the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from pursuing discrimination cases against companies that force their workers to speak only English.

When more than 30 centrist Democrats joined with the Republicans to pass the bill, members of the Hispanic Caucus were furious; they threatened to withhold their votes on other important bills in protest."

I hate to point this out to you but we live in an English speaking country and an employer is perfectly within his rights to ask that. Its rude to speak another language in front of people that don't speak it. (and no obtuse comments please)

The only racist thing about the above is the racist position of the Hispanic caucas. They disapprove of English? They feel that an employeee should insult a customer by speaking a foreign language or make fellow employees uncomfortable?

I am however quite proud they care so much about Gaelic, its a beautiful language.

Truth....its not that hard to recognize the BS from the Bushies, but its no harder to recognize BS from the Left.

For example

"the most voiceless and powerless people in America - undocumented workers"

What a crock....these are illegal aliens that broke the law the moment they crossed our border illegally. They have plenty of power though, business wants badly to exploit them and is working very hard to do so along with their cronies in the racist organizations.

Lockstep thinking leads to lockstep defeat......keep advocating exploitation of poor ignorant people, keep encouraging the Unions to betray the American worker, keep working with big business and we will go down to defeat in 08.

Mr. Gonzales and his ilk are doing their best.

Truth....its not that hard to recognize the BS from the Bushies, but its no harder to recognize BS from the Left.

cruxpuppy November 15th, 2007 10:16 pm

"We are a nation of laws or we aren't. Bush, Inc breaks the law with impunity. Globe straddling corporations regard the laws of sovereign nations as impediments to "free trade".

When the laws are not enforced fairly everyone suffers."

The "Rule of Law" no longer exists in states that have opened the door to deregulation; privatization of the military; privatization of schools and other public necessities; along with uninterrupted control of governments by multi-national corporations which have NO loyalty to any state and NO loyalty to the welfare of humanity. In short, Rule of Law has been replaced by Rule of Money.

"The articles of the WTO have lead to the disempowerment of national societies as it hands over extensive powers to global corporations. This international financial order feeds on human poverty and the destruction of the natural environment; it also encourages racism and ethnic strife."

While bigotry and discrimination exists in all societies among some of its citizens, the majority of journalists in defense of people crossing borders illegally to find work cannot seem to focus their attention on the underlying causes which are forcing these people to leave their place of birth and their families in an effort to survive the devastating poverty and lack of jobs in their own countries.

Do these journalists truly believe that the increasing number of billionaires along with stagnant wages and loss of good-paying jobs in America, Mexico, and elsewhere are the result of honest compassionate governments and a compassionate (global) ruling elite? Are they not aware that importing and exporting cheap labor depresses wages in every developed country?

While Juan Gonzalez and others believe the solution to the immigration problem is comprehensive reform from Washington, they themselves refuse to acknowledge and write about the real culprits of the immigration problem. It's a lack of honesty on the part of media people to ignore the WTO, NAFTA and other trade agreements which are leaving everyone but the wealthy behind and creating massive immigration problems worldwide.

It is always so telling when people who resent the presence of our brothers and sisters to the south. They're not rascist. Not them. Non they are simply concerned about the "rule of law". What country do they live in, anyway?

Oh that's right. You live in the US where the powerful multi-nationals write 98% of our so called "laws" insuring no accountability, so they can maintain the myth of being law abiding citizens. How? By making it perfectly LEGAL to do anything that suits their greedy, power-hungry purposes, that's how.

But if a hungry Latino farmers who lost his livlihood steps across our border without "permission"---well THERE'S A LAW BREAKER!"

You people screaming about the rule of law should take a good look at what little is left of any real justice system in theis country. If you don't know, and aren't outraged, you're not paying attention.