| Well, the Bush-Cheney, or is it Cheney-Bush, Casa Blanca has done yet another flip on an announcement of pending policy. Monday, July 16th, 2001, the headline was New Amnesty for Migrants Possible Immigration: A panel suggests that Bush rethink policy and perhaps give legal status to more than 3 million Mexicans in the U.S. A mere twenty-four hours later it's White House Retreats From Amnesty Idea Immigration: Bush team says it will consider process to confer "legal status" on undocumented workers from Mexico. President feels heat from conservatives. Heat from conservatives. ha ha! Hello. What did he expect? Is he that out of touch with not only what the rest of the planet thinks, but his own party as well? So to smooth over any conservative feathers they may have ruffled, they re-word things. Like that's going to work. I guess they think republicans are so stupid they'll fall for it if it's put a different way. (Many of them voted for him after all.) I guess Bush believes he is Mary Poppins and all it takes is a Spoon Full of Sugar. Isn't it the republicans who are always screaming about toughening up the immigration laws and tightening our border crossings? Isn't it republicans who are always shouting down legislation for more help for illegal aliens and more bilingualism in commerce and classrooms? Two reasons Bush has for wanting this, and even going as far as to risk being further ostracized from the republican electorate - First, if the immigration laws are not relaxed, then NAFTA and his new Mexico Free (drug) Trucking policy are going to have a tough time of actually getting any "Free Trade" done. Our immigration and border crossing regulations not only from Mexico but also from Canada, are wrapped in reams of red tape to the point it makes trade with the US a rather expensive and time consuming enterprise. (Free trade also means more jobs going to Mexico and more workers here losing their livelihood.) That reason is very politically viable, and it's the reason Bush pal Vicente Fox backs, but I don't think this is the "real" reason. I think the real reason lies in Bush's growing desperation for support. Even though Rove and his Brownshirts have tried their best to shield their boy from any negative experience whatsoever, from segregating any protestors and taking Dubya in by the back entrance, to controlling the output of the national media; there are some things slipping through the cracks. With the recent 'unconfirmed' account of an actual citizen getting to shake the resident-select's hand and telling him to his face: "Mr President, I hope you only serve four years. I'm very disappointed in your work so far." He kept smiling and shaking my hand and answered, "Who cares what you think?" We can see the cracks in his protective armor are not as all encompassing as Ari would like. (Not only do I hope this account is true, but from watching him and taking into account his behavior to date, I feel instinctively that it's fact. It seems true to his nature.) This is definitely a man that doesn't give a damn what anyone else thinks. He is the center of his own very bizarre universe. But even in the comfort of his pristine little cocoon, he must know he is not only reviled, but he is rapidly loosing the support of many republicans who actually voted for him. Let's stop and think about this for a moment. If he really believed he would win the popular vote in Florida legally, there would be no reason to do everything humanly possible to stop a legal vote count. Nor would he have any reason to get the USSC illegally involved in a national election. No, an honest man, who believed in the people's choice, the way our government legally works, and that he had a mandate, would welcome a count. Like Al Gore. No, Bush knows he isn't even close to a mandate, but doesn't care in the least. He has and will continue to attempt to govern in whatever way he sees fit, to hell with the welfare of the democratic republic he has been put into the position to oversee. He makes it clearer with every passing day that it's his way or the highway. But why only undocumented workers from Mexico? What about the illegals from every other country on the planet? On ABC's World News Tonight, it was reported that Bush carried 35 percent of the Hispanic vote because he was sympathetic to immigrants. Just think what he could do with over 3 million more votes of new citizens who had him to thank. Nope, just the Mexicans thank you. How many votes is enough to risk pissing off Karl Rove and company, even if it cost him and every elected republican their job? No, they are going to push this through simply to gather more votes for his re-selection in 2004. It doesn't matter how it's worded, it will mean the same thing: 3 million illegal aliens from Mexico will be granted citizenship and be added to the already vanishing job market and failing economy. Who cares what the ramifications are as long as he gets 3 million votes towards his re-selection? (Or first time legal election?) The trouble is, that also means more people filing for unemployment, and more citizens without health insurance. It also means more citizens paying into Social Security with little chance of ever reaping the benefits when they retire. What's to happen then? I am sure many are attorneys and medical experts who need only to pass whatever exams that will grant them the license to legally practice in this country, though most by and large are not holding legal jobs now. But there are immigration laws in place in this country that allow for needed legal jobs to be filled. Here in Los Angeles, every morning there are hundreds of Hispanic men who gather on street corners, hoping to be picked up for under the table 'day work'. Pickup trucks come along and state the nature of the work, and the wage (universally under the legal minimum),and how many workers are needed. The ones who've been there that morning the longest, who can do the work, get in. Yes, these people have inspiring work ethic and determination, but then wouldn't you if you struggled to make $30-$45 a day tax-free? Many work more than one job to feed families that are back in Mexico. Why do these under the table, below minimum wage jobs exist in the first place? When did it become ok to not pay a large portion of the population in this country a living wage? When did greed become a virtue? When did it become ok for CEOs to make obscene incomes, more than they could ever spend, all the while shortchanging their own workers and bleeding them into poverty unless they are willing to neglect their families and their own well being by having two to three jobs just to keep themselves and their families off the street? This is not a situation limited just to the illegal workers, but a large portion of legal citizens as well. Bush cares about the welfare of these people about as much as he cares for children after they are born. Not a jot. To him these illegal aliens are somehow akin to fetuses before they are on their own. All he sees are potential votes, not people who all need assistance no matter their legal status. But once they are citizens will they be able to get that much needed assistance? Do our citizens now get all the assistance that they require? Yes, we are a nation of immigrants, much to the tragedy of The Native American Peoples. However, the laws that have come into being over the years regarding immigration have not been made on a whim. Similar laws exist in other countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom. You cannot just waltz into Canada and get a job. They are very touchy about us yanks taking away job opportunities from their own citizenry. Perhaps it is not the immigration laws that need to be overhauled. Perhaps there is something much deeper which is the problem. Like the question pertaining to the existence of Dubya’s soul? |
| "You have the right to remain silent," the big cop said in his robot voice. "If you do not choose to remain silent, anything you say may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. I'm going to kill you. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand your rights as I have explained them to you?" ~Desperation Stephen King |
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| Desperation Revisited |
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