Lou Dobbs - Another Conservative Hypocrite on Immigration

The Nation has discovered that Lou Dobbs used undocumented workers. This was at a time when Dobbs was railing against illegal immigration on his CNN program.

Meg Whitman Is a Symbol of Republican Hypocrisy on Immigration

Meg Whitman has been working overtime to explain away her maid problem.

But the story is larger than Whitman. It is a symbol of the Republican hypocrisy that is at the heart of the entire immigration debate. The irony is always in the background.

Migrants would not be pouring into the U.S. if there were no employers hiring them. Most of those who take advantage of undocumented workers are business owners - construction contractors, rural farmers, manufacturers, restaurant owners, etc. And the vast majority of them are Republican/Conservative.

They use undocumented immigrants as a way to maximize profits. It is part of the business model for some of these people. For them, it is a way to take advantage of defacto slave labor, with little risk of facing any consequences. Having undocumented workers allows these employers to avoid paying minimum wage, avoid dealing with the IRS (can pay workers under the table in cash), can avoid paying workers the exact amount they are owed for their work, can avoid paying workers compensation expenses, can avoid OSHA regulations, can avoid State and Federal labor regulations, etc. The result is that many of these migrants are in work environments where they are subject to all sorts of abuse.

When will the media start using the term "illegal employers"? When will the focus shift towards those who hire undocumented workers, despite available E-verify technology that can prevent the vast majority of the problem? One main reason is because Republicans in Congress, and their rich Conservative supporters in the business community, really don't want to see any kind of enforcement that targets employers. It is no coincidence that the Chamber of Commerce- basically a Republican group - supports the GOP. The business community wants to maintain the status-quo. I am amazed by the fact that this always seems to be left out of the discussion.

It is interesting to see Republicans on one hand using immigration to rally their base by stirring up xenophobia & racism against Latinos, but on the other hand not really tackling the problem in any meaningful way through immigration reform (obstructing anything Obama proposes on the issue) because what they really want to do is maintain the status quo. Republicans in Congress want to make sure that their benefactors in the business community can continue to reap the benefits from the defacto slavery that currently exists for migrants... because the savings (profits) are just too enticing for them.

This is the elephant in the room that the media never seems to focus on when it comes to immigration. The Republicans are playing the hell out of both sides, and they have been doing a pretty good job fooling the public on this for a long time.

Did Another Terrorist Attack Go Under the Radar?

Did we have another terrorist attack by Republican Right Wing extremists?

Apparently illegal immigration activist leader Shawna Forde has been charged in connection with a double murder in Arizona (including the Cold blooded killing of a child). Was this a terrorist attack made to look like a home invasion robbery? Or was the crime intended to fuel more extremist activity? Either way... this was a deplorable act. I'm sure her feelings towards Hispanics (the dehumanization of them) probably made it easier for her to be involved in this crime (if she's in fact guilty).

Why hasn't Faux News been reporting this story day and night? The same goes for the other big networks. This didn't get nearly as much airtime as the story about Obama taking his wife to dinner....or the latest antics from someone in Hollywood.

See related story w/ video from Crooks and Liars

Discount airlines fly migrants to U.S. border

Hat tip: C-Span's Washington Journal:

From USAToday.com:

Discount airlines fly migrants to U.S. border
By Claudio Cruz, AP

MEXICALI, Mexico — New Mexican discount airlines are using rock-bottom fares to cater to legal and illegal migrants heading for the USA.

The airlines — known among fliers as Aeromigrante, or "Migrant Air" — take passengers from central or southern Mexico to cities along the northern border such as Tijuana and Mexicali. From there, customers make their way across the U.S. border.

The flights are part of a booming services industry for the estimated 13 million Mexican and Central American migrants who reside in the USA. Passengers who used to make bus trips of several days can arrive at the border well-rested for the often dangerous crossing.

Return flights south are often nearly empty of passengers, and some routes offer only one-way service. One of the airlines, Tijuana-based Avolar, estimates that 70% of its customers have the USA as their final destination.

"The most productive routes we have are cities where you have those passengers who are traveling with the idea of the American dream," said Luis Ceceña, a company spokesman.


Other budget carriers such as Volaris, Interjet and Click have started operations in the past two years and make air travel affordable to poorer Mexicans. One-way flights to Tijuana from central Mexico cost about $150, half what they did a few years ago.

"It's much more comfortable than the bus, and about the same price," said Leopoldo Torres, 37, of Mexico City, as he stretched his legs aboard a Volaris flight to Mexicali. He and a traveling companion, Julio Menéndez, planned to cross into the USA illegally through the California desert.

Migrants said another factor driving them to fly is the difficulty of crossing the border as the United States builds fences and adds Border Patrol agents. Smugglers who aid their journey have doubled their fees to $2,000 or more, making an airline ticket seem less expensive, said Guillermo Hernández of Guerrero.

Some airlines try to get even more migrant business. Avolar offers Greyhound bus connections from Tijuana to Fresno, where many migrants work on farms. Aero California takes payments through Western Union, used by many migrants to send money home.

Ceceña said the airlines should not be responsible for policing their passengers. "We have a saying in Mexico: 'Let the other hens cackle; you take care of your own eggs,' " he said. "It's a good business for us, and we're going to keep taking care of those customers."

Hawley is Latin America correspondent for USA TODAY and The Arizona Republic.

Sometimes you see stories and go WTF?

But, why should we be surprised. You have the Mexican Government publishing 'How To' Manuals about illegal immigration....so, why not airlines aiding in the process?

When is this country going to get serious about border security? And that we can't take in anyone and everyone Mexico wants to send.

My Experience at Camp Obama

I spent last weekend at Camp Obama - a two- day orientation for the hardcore possible volunteers.

Arriving at the new Volunteer Headquarters, it's a peppy, Obama-positive space. There were 85 people there from the following states and countries:
Virginia, Ohio, California, North Carolina, Texas, Singapore, Massachusetts, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., Iowa, Colorado, Rhode Island, Michigan, Connecticut, Washington, Mississippi, Arizona, The Balkans and, of course, Illinois.

There were at least 3 High School Students there, not old enough yet to vote, and the youngest participant was a young lady, 13, who was there because she wanted to go into politics, and wanted to find a way to convince her parents to vote for Obama.

Since it always comes up, I'll break down the numbers. Out of the 85 people there, Approximately 30 were from Illinois, and at least 20 were African-American. A good third of the people there were from Students for Barack Obama, and they were very motivated.

We went around, introduced ourselves and answered why we were there. Very interesting comments from the audience.

There were some technical difficulties, so we didn't get the usual first day training. There was a good third of the participants that had been involved in political campaigns previously, and those of us who had not had to go to them and ask what they did. A number of them had done phone banks, and canvassing, as well as the usual office work. I met a woman from Oak Park, Illinois, who had already been to Iowa twice to canvass...very enthusiastic.

There was a lot of discussion about campaigns, and what their purpose was. That we were not to consider ourselves volunteers, but ' organizers', and to that point, we had three Obama-centered articles which we had to read for the next day's activities.

We had a long presentation with one of the Deputy Directors of Students for Barack Obama - it was his responsibility to explain the website to us, and how to use it. I swear, I'm getting old, because he looked 12 (just kidding). But, he was very knowledgable, and he was very patient with us, as he took us through MyBarackObama.com, as well as facebook.com/BarackObama. I was quite impressed with how the website enables a group to organize and keep in contact with one another. I can definitely see how and why Obama's been able to use the web to break new ground fundraising.

We separated into groups according to region of the country, with the Illinois group being a separate group unto themselves. The MISSION of Obamans from Illinois is one:

WIN IOWA

Period.

Nothing else counts, and every effort you make in Illinois needs to be put towards that effort.

We had a session with two guys from the Policy Department, but more on that later.

We also had a session with someone from the Communications Staff, and my one complaint about him, though he was thorough, was that I didn't find his answer about reaching out to the blogging community satisfactory, but then again, I'm not the first person who has had issues with Obama and the blogging community.

Day #2

Day #2 had a specific focus. The main lecturer for morning was man named Mike Krugler. Krugler worked with Obama when he was a Community Organizer.

I have to admit, he began slow, and I was like ' oh no, you gotta be kidding..I woke up on Sunday for THIS?'

But, then, Mr. Krugler hit his groove about 20 minutes in and didn't stop until he had been there THREE HOURS.

He was, in a word, AMAZING.

He spoke about the tools of community organizing. The disciplines that needed to be involved. The principles of power and politics, and how they could be brought to ordinary people. That relationships have to be built upon self-interest. That to be an organizer you have to be tough and agitate.

Power comes from organizes people and organized money - I have to admit, as he goes through his presentation, I am bringing it back to Obama and his campaign.

He challenged the group on words like power, powerlessness, ruthless, selfishness vs. selflessness.

What is a leader?
Connecting with people so that they'll follow with what you want to do.

Interesting concept, no?

Blunt, brutal and hilarious at times, he was damn good.

I definitely understand what I have been seeing come out of the Obama campaign after listening to this guy. The concepts of a campaign that I thought were happening, and what Obama is trying to do here.


We spent the rest of the time after lunch learning about the Iowa Caucus, by participating in a faux caucus. Then after the caucus, we were able to meet with the man who heads Obama Illinois and the Chicago Area Field Director. Their focus was getting us to see how important Iowa was, and that they need the bodies on the ground in Iowa, and the Chicago Area Field Director wanted us to know that she would work with any group for any time length to get people on the ground in Iowa.

After we signed up for volunteer time, we could go.

All in all, it was well worth going because of some of the people that I met, and definitely for the Krugler lecture because he was terrific.

Now, that was the positive for Camp Obama. What did I see as the negative?

It came up during the session with the gentlemen from the Policy Section. It was early into the session when the landmine came up:

IMMIGRATION

Immigration is The Willie Horton Issue of 2008.

BET.ON.IT.

I sat in a room full of the hardcore Obama supporters, because nobody who pays money to come across the country to train is anything less than hardcore. And, this was THE most passionate, heated issue.

They wanted to know Obama's policies on it, and when the guys told them, the women from North Carolina were like - ' Amnesty?'

They rattled off all the problems with illegal immigration; those who had canvassed in Iowa before said that they had been asked questions about immigration. Some even brought up the Newark executions.

That's when the nightmare commercial came into my mind. Newark, The execution of that young girl in Los Angeles; the killing of the Black policeman in Texas...

There it is. There is the GOP commercial next time out - marrying illegal immigration with unfettered crime, and laying it on the feet of Democrats unwilling to 'secure our borders' or ' protect us' from illegal alien criminals.

Can you imagine the power a commercial using ALL BLACK VICTIMS with ALL HISPANIC ILLEGAL ALIEN CRIMINALS in its ability to undermine an Obama candidacy?

I understand it. And, it just upsets me. The commercial would hurt ANY Democrat, but Obama most of all.

And, this sort of tactic also has the possibility of derailing any substantive discussion on the Prison Industrial Complex, and possible reform.

The Democrats better wake up, and take away the immigration issue from the GOP. They better put forth GENUINE proposals to secure our border and ports, or they will lose again in 2008.