Boycott Arizona! (on second thought…)
Michael Yaki calls on the readers of the San Francisco Chronicle to boycott the state of Arizona to show just how naughty it’s been in passing its recent law making it a state crime to commit the federal crime [sic] of coming here illegally.
Only thing is—the Chronicle seems to have been taken over by those who say they’re more inclined to visit Arizona (or even move there) in response to its commonsense efforts than to boycott it. Have Californians—and San Franciscans, no less—suddenly jumped off the PC bus and decided that what’s good for Arizona might be good for California too?
Keep in mind that the comments section isn’t limited to those living in San Francisco.
If Arizona is smart, they’ll build a wall across the southern border, and then extend it to the western one too. Keep out Californians, most particularly those from the Bay Area. There are loyal Americans still there, but most of the residents now are pod people. Contain the contagion.
kcom: oh, I know. I was merely being cute.
My guess, actually, is that the article was linked by some large blog on the right and therefore got a lot of uncharacteristic traffic from the right. But I can hope, can’t I, that the comments actually represent the views of the majority of Californians. There’s nothing that challenges liberalism quite as effectively as the experience of being mugged by reality.
Californians boycotting Arizona? Please, oh please Bre’r Fox, don’t throw me into the briarpatch!
Sort of reminds me about our motto here in Flyover Country.
“Keep flying. Our airport’s broken.”
(full disclosure — I live in California). I don’t think the calls for a boycott are a result of the Arizona legislature wanting to enforce laws against illegal immigrants. Rather, they come from the provision of the law that requires/allows police to question people about their immigration status if there’s reason to suspect they’re in the country illegally. What are the standards for suspecting someone is an illegal immigrant?
Arizona can pass race base laws, pass Birthers laws and the state can continue to boycott Martin Luther King Day, well the rest of the Country can boycott the state of Arizona and spank them where it hurts them the most their pocket book. Their phony patriotism is sickening, they are just racists going by another name. We all know you are just itching to put a sheet on their head? Let’s face it the Republicans had eight years to deal with health care, immigration, climate change and financial oversight and governance and they failed. It appears that the Republican Party is only good at starting wars (two in eight years, with fat contracts to friends of Cheney/Bush) but not at winning wars as seen by the continuing line of body bags that keep coming home. The Republicans party will continue turned inward to their old fashion obstructionist party (and their Confederacy appreciation roots) because they continue to allow a small portions (but very loud portion) of their party of “birthers, baggers and blowhards” to rule their party. I will admit that this fringe is very good at playing “Follow the Leader” by listening to their dullard leaders, Beck, Hedgecock, Hannity, O’Reilly, Rush, Savage, Sarah Bailin, Orly Taitz, Victoria Jackson, Michele Bachmann and the rest of the Blowhards and acting as ill programmed robots (they have already acted against doctors that perform abortions). The Birthers and the Tea party crowd think they can scare, intimidate and force others to go along with them by comments like “This time we came unarmed”, let me tell you something not all ex-military join the fringe militia crazies who don’t pay taxes and run around with face paint in the parks playing commando, the majority are mature and understand that the world is more complicated and grey than the black and white that these simpleton make it out to be and that my friend is the point. The world is complicated and people like Hamilton, Lincoln, and Roosevelt believed that we should use government a little to increase social mobility, now it’s about dancing around the claim of government is the problem. The sainted Reagan passed the biggest tax increase in American history and as a result federal employment increased, but facts are lost when mired in mysticism and superstition. For a party that gave us Abraham Lincoln, it is tragic that the ranks are filled with too many empty suits and the crazy Birthers who have not learned that the way our courts work is that you get a competent lawyer, verifiable facts and present them to a judge, if the facts are real and not half baked internet lies, then, and only then, do you proceed to trial. The Birthers seem to be having a problem with their so called “facts”. Let’s face it no one will take the Birthers seriously until they win a case, but until then, you will continue to appear dumb, crazy or racist, or maybe all three. I heard that Orly Taitz now wants to investigate the “Republican 2009 Summer of Love” list: Assemblyman, Michael D. Duvall (CA), Senator John Ensign (NV), Senator Paul Stanley (TN), Governor Mark Stanford (SC), Board of Ed Chair, and Kristin Maguire AKA Bridget Keeney (SC), she wants to re-establish a family values party, that’s like saying that the Catholic Church cares about the welling being of children in their care, too late for that.
LA and San Fran cemented their demented (I”m going off “contain the contagion.” I liked that.) attitude by lying about AIDS. Instead of quarantining the problem they created a new industry. The solution is to cut off government funding and that is happening. Soon, the hardcore will be like the shrunken people in Martin Short’s, “Innerspace.” That hilarious scene where they are in the back of the car!
Someone else hear a faint quacking sound in the background, or was that just me?
I count fifteen separate topics in Montana’s post. Take a breath, wouldya?
Pick one and we’ll discuss it, M. Then, if you’re still around, we’ll hand you your ass on topic #2.
Ranting isn’t reasoning.
So, if the article results in those who don’t the new law staying out of Arizona, doesn’t that fall into the It’s not a bug; it’s a feature!” category?
🙂
If Arizona has inadvertently found a way to keep Californians from infecting their state, I foresee a lot more states passing the immigration law.
What they need to do is put a sign at the border just below the Seatbelts required by law” sign that says “Lawful US residents and visitors only, all others subject to arrest.”
Damn, JKB, that’s a great idea. We should use it here in California. Maybe it’d make all the Reds move somewhere else. I hear Tierra del Fuego is lovely.
Occam’s and AVi,
I was waiting for him to throw in the kitchen sink. Maybe next time.
And we could prepend to the sign, “Welcome to California, Home of Loyal Americans.”
That’d be like holding a cross up to a vampire.
Expat, I read until I hit the first leftist buzz phrase (e.g., teabagger, wingnuts, birther, racist, ignorant, redneck, etc.) or reference to Bush or Cheney, then I hit the space bar to scroll down a page. Leftists really should just number their talking points; it’d save so much time. “Hey, you 12 25 19 37 17s! 666 is to blame!”
andy asked “What are the standards for suspecting someone is an illegal immigrant?” A very good question.
It must be answered thoroughly and clear guidance given to those who may be enforcing it.
However, when all is said and done, there is a level of discretion that we entrust to our officers, which can never go away. The line between empowering them sufficiently to do their job versus removing opportunity for abuse, is not an easy demarcation.
How this particular issue plays out in practice should be watched very carefully. There are times to empower law enforcement, and there are times to constrain them. AZ has decided now is the former time, but hopefully they are flexible and willing to constrain them if the end result warrants it.
Not to be flip about this, but I bet cops are pretty good at identifying illegal immigrants, whether by dress, mannerisms, and/or demeanor.
SoCal has Mexicans all over the place, and yet some just throw off a noticeably different vibe than others.
When I lived in Europe I could spot Americans from a mile off, as I’m sure expat can as well. Even when dress wasn’t a dead giveaway (e.g., bright colors), there was just something distinctive about Americans’ facial expressions, a sort of “gee whillikers” open and unguarded quality that was indefinable but utterly characteristic.
On top of that type of quality, illegal immigrants would doubtless be throwing off high voltage just being in proximity to a cop, and I imagine that cops as a survival skill are pretty attuned to reading body language. Even laymen can often discern when someone is up to no good. So contra Lame-R
I would hope that no such guidance be given, but that the instinctive reaction of law enforcement officers be given full rein.
Ranting isn’t reasoning.
It’s the same to the Montana’s out there. Always has been, unfortunately always will be.
OB- “Hey, you 12 25 19 37 17s! 666 is to blame!” Leading to a variation on the old joke “I guess he’d never heard that one before.”
When I lived in Europe I could spot Americans from a mile off, as I’m sure expat can as well.
I worked in Argentina, a country that has a proportion of Caucasians similar- perhaps even greater than- the US. Barely any blacks there.
Even before I opened my mouth, I could be spotted as a Gringo ( foreigner in Argentina). Argentines wear monochrome blue or white shirts with blue or black pants. Americans do not. At least not this one, a lot of the time.
I worked there during the times of the junta. A number of times Peronistas came up to me to express their dislike of the junta, before I had said a word. They just knew what I was.
Be careful not to underestimate the consumers’ effect on a state’s financial situation. 4 of us have planned a golf outing in Scottsdale in June. We have since cancelled our trip and are going to Hilton Head, SC instead. I just cannot support a state that doesn’t recognize hard workers trying to escape dire poverty to make a better life for themselves. My great grandparents fled the Irish famine and were welcomed with open arms by the United States Of America. That’s why I love this damn country – for the opportunities it gives for those who want to work hard for them.
andy asked “What are the standards for suspecting someone is an illegal immigrant?” A very good question.
It must be answered thoroughly and clear guidance given to those who may be enforcing it.
Easy: committing a crime while wearing matching lime-green ostrich skin boots and belt.
Golf Pro, your great grandparents were presumably legal immigrants. Important distinction. No one is squawking about legal immigrants, so your point is a bit inapposite.
A more apt parallel would be with the American Indians. They couldn’t control immigration to their country either, and it didn’t work out so well for them.
To add to OB and other commenters’ points – I could also pick out Americans, in a crowd of Europeans, when I was stationed overseas and traveled extensively on my own. Often the ‘tells’ were things like clothing … but the most reliable thing was good teeth. Americans generally have very good and natural teeth, compared to most Europeans and Britons. People do give off a ‘vibe’ – I can’t think of any other way to say it than that.
I could also pick out Gypsies, too. They just looked … well, different from the usual Spaniards and Greeks. YMMV, of course.
Californians passed Proposition 187 a few years ago in California that banned State handouts to illegals. A federal judge overthrew it. One of the “hispanic” politicians in California called prop 187 : “The last gasp of whites in California.”
I wonder what part of the country “golf pro” is from?
Let me suggest to “golf pro” and “montana” they google the terms “M.E.C.H.A” and “Aztlan”
oh- and look at the Mayor of L.A.’, Antonio Villagrosa and his ties to MECHA….just for starters.
I read recently that Antonio Villaraigosa was saying that LA would run out of money on May 5th – Cinco de Mayo.
If you listen carefully, you can hear God chuckling.
Malkin has her gallery of open borders extremist:
http://michellemalkin.com/2010/04/26/theyre-back-a-gallery-of-open-borders-extremists/
I want to make something thing clear, I have known and been friends with many “hispanics’ of Mexican origin. They were hard working and many of them served in our military and are loyal Americans. But what is happening now in places like Arizona and Texas is that the Mexicans are coming too fast to assimilate. And I beleive they are getting bolder in their flexing of Mexican Ethnic Nationalism. It is still mostly subtle- so many people do not see it. My eyes were not opened until the protest of 2006 with the Mexican flags flying- then I really started looking around.
Jon, you should talk with a friend of mine, a Marine veteran I play baseball with. He’s descended from a Mexican family that’s been in California since the eighteenth century (IIRC). (His daughter literally qualifies for membership in the DAR!).
And he shares your views 100%.
“Montana’s” screed is published in a lot of places. I placed quotes on various text strings and found out the following.
Google” “if the facts are real and not half baked internet lies” . Six results, not Neo.
http://bellanapoliforitalian.co.tv/american-immigration-lawyers-on is one place where it is published as an article, not as a comment.
Google: “well the rest of the Country can boycott the state of Arizona and spank them where it hurts them the most their pocket book” you get seven results, not Neo.
A string without quotes: The Birthers and the Tea party crowd think they can scare, intimidate and force others to go along with them by comments like “This time we came unarmed”, let me tell you something not all ex-military join the fringe militia crazies who don’t pay taxes and run around with face paint in the parks playing commando, the majority are mature and understand that the world is more complicated and grey than the black and white that these simpleton make it out to be and that my friend is the point. The world is complicated and people like Hamilton, Lincoln, and Roosevelt believed that we should use government a little to increase social mobility, now it’s about dancing around the claim of government is the problem
This gets 276 hits. There is a lot of boldface, which means that a lot of what he posted in that string he has posted elsewhere in the same order. Of the 276, I checked two or three: all 3 were Montana. Some were from three weeks ago. So, he just writes his screed and adds to it.
BAN THE TROLL.
Soros is nothing if not thorough.
I did an Advanced Google Search with the exact quote:
all these words: montana
this exact wording or phrase: “Arizona can pass race base laws”
“Arizona can pass race base laws” montana
About 2500 hits.
This dude is a serious troll. Word needs to get out.
This was Gringo. Sorry
Occam’s Beard Says:
April 26th, 2010 at 4:30 pm
I should have checked Google more. While it says “about 2500 hits,” when you start going from page to page, you get about 44 hits.
Why do the lefties like Montana always start with race? Most Hispanics are considered white. Having a Hispanic last name is about as meaningful as having an Italian or Polish last name.
Hey:
How about giving anyone with citizenship papers special privileges, not paying taxes, stopping for red lights and then let them identify themselves with their citizenship papers! You would be outraged to be stopped by a police officer.
Good luck AZ making out of the sun!
I don’t understand why everybody is trying to make it “about race”. People coming from overseas (by ship or air) have to get visas first (=they HAVE to do it legally or they can’t get in). WHY should a land border be different? We’re a sovereign nation, we have enemies, we have the right (and the DUTY to our citizens) to know that those entering the country are not terrorists, not smuggling drugs or weapons in, etc.
So why is everybody including Racemonger Al Sharpton making this about “brown skin”? (A reply to Al: “If there were large numbers of green-eyed redheads with brogues sneaking heroin and guns across our southern border, you can bet your kazoo that we’d be pulling them over and questioning them too, Al-ol’-pal.”).
Pro Golf: “My great grandparents fled the Irish famine and were welcomed with open arms by the United States Of America.”
What?! No NINA family mythos?
Were your ancestors (presumably legal immigrants) either themselves intending or being used as tools by others intending the destruction of the nation?
Pro Golf: “That’s why I love this damn country – for the opportunities it gives for those who want to work hard for them.”
Is it really that in order to fully validate the experiences of your ancestors, we must allow ourselves to be invaded and our nation to be destroyed?
I have cousins who have Mexican origins and/or ancestry … and if they want to speak to me, they speak in English.
It’s not just the numbers of immigrants that is causing the problem. It is also the lefties and multicultie who saw in them another victim constituency and, in keeping with their hatred of traditional America, encouraged them to remain apart.
Any states that really want to help out the poor beleaguered illegals, they should invite them all to migrate over ASAP
Commentary at the SF Chronicle tends to lean conservative. I visit the site (and comment) regularly, having grown up in sight of the City, and the sense I get is that the commenters are about half and half City-dwellers and not. Huge numbers of San Franciscans still have good judgment. Unfortunately they are outnumbered by the brain-dead Left, who in my opinion represent a radical population from all across the country who’ve chosen San Fran to move to as their final ranting place. It’s a familiar phenomenon, as I grew up in Berkeley and watched it transform from a normal college town into a punchline, thanks to the fruits and nuts that got kicked out of the rest of the country.
Whether or not AZ’s new law can stand, neither will the SF Supes’ boycott. It’s not thought through at all.