Let Me In, Immigration Man!

The debate on immigration became a little more surreal last week with "border security" hearings in San Diego, CA and Laredo, TX. The hearings were organized by House Republicans as part of an effort to stall consideration of an immigration bill in the hopes of making it more anti-immigrant. No public testimony was allowed; instead, carefully-constructed panels of law enforcement officers described dire scenarios where Al-Queda terrorists learned to speak Spanish so they could sneak a dirty bomb into the country -- and, presumably, get a dishwashing job at the local Sirloin Stockade.

In Texas, People For the American Way organized a diverse coalition of business leaders, agricultural growers, religious groups, civil rights organizations and other activists to hold a press conference prior to the Laredo hearing. At the press conference, leaders called the hearings a "sham" and called on Congress to pass commonsense immigration reform this year. The press event received prominent coverage in the Dallas Morning News, the San Antonio Express-News, and the Rio Grande Guardian.

This was the first time such a diverse group has come together, and it bodes well for efforts to promote comprehensive immigration reform instead of the enforcement-only model being pushed by the Reactionary Right. And the good news is, the group wants to keep working together on a commonsense, mainstream messaging campaign for smart immigration reform.

R.I.P. Ken Lay; B.I.H., George Bush

The AP is reporting that Ken Lay has died. He was undoubtedly a crook, but he was also a pillar of Houston's philanthropic community during his heyday, and many people have good stories to tell about him. I am sure many of them will come out in the next days and weeks.

The most infuriating thing is Bush's reaction. George Bush the Elder was kind enough to mourn his passing, but Tony Snow's statement on behalf of Georgie Boy sets a new low:

But White House press secretary Tony Snow said Wednesday he hadn't discussed Lay's death with the president.
"The president has described Ken Lay as an acquaintance. And many of the president's acquaintances have passed on during his time in office," Snow said.

To describe Kenny Boy, who lavished more money on George Bush's political career than any other human being, as an "acquaintance" is, frankly, indecent. Perhaps the line was cleared through the Rove, McKinnon & Dowd Inc. spin machine, but it is callous and offensive. I cannot imagine anyone who considers GWB a "friend" who didn't shiver inside at the feckless venality of Snow's comment.

Rest in Peace, Kenny Boy. You deserved better than George Bush for a friend.

Take your literacy test and shove it ...

In a new low for immigrant-bashing, a group of reactionary Republicans stalled the vote to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act, which otherwise had broad bipartisan support and was predicted to easily pass both the House and Senate. The reactionaries were led by their Texas and Georgia delegations. Both states are subject to the Voting Rights Act, and the rebels (mostly young archconservatives with no seniority, no power, and too much time on their hands) think they should not be. John Carter (R, TX-31) set the record straight: "I don't think we have racial bias in Texas anymore." Tell that to James Byrd and his family.

Not content with merely appearing ignorant, Carter also showed off his mean-spirited viciousness: " I simply believe you should be able to read, write and speak English to be a voter in the United States. " Oh, yeah -- as if HE'D be in Congress if there'd been an entrance exam.

Of course, the only way to enforce Carter's prescription for democracy is to bring back the long-discredited "literacy tests" that were a prominent feature of the Jim Crow South. I'd like to see Carter pass one without extensive coaching from his handlers and aides.

Immigrant-bashing never goes out of style

Today's Houston Chronicle has an article the nationwide sweep of undocumented immigrants that netted over 2,100 arrests. Julie Myers, the assistant secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), preened in Houston as part of a nationwide P.R. stunt, er, public education campaign to inform the American public that, yes, the Administration does have balls when it comes to running busboy and sheetrock installers out of the country. Given the estimates of between 11 and 12 million undocumented immigrants in the USA, this "sweep" can only be viewed modestly, but that's not stopping Myers, who was brought into the Bush Administration after a stint as the director of social activities for a Carnival cruiseliner.

Said Myers: "We're also sending a clear message that we will no longer allow the interior of the United States to be a safe haven for illegal aliens." Apparently. we're not sending a clear message about the multiple violations of U.S. law committed by employers hiring these immigrants. The article does not mention any employers getting arrested, or the terrifying legal fate that awaits them.

Given the Texas Republican Party's endorsement of everything short of genocide to get rid of the undocumenteds, and Rick Perry's harebrained scheme to turn hunting for border-crossers into a video game, you can see why Myers is under a lot of pressure to pander in Texas. In the meantime, nothing is done about any of the real problems that contribute to, or are caused by, the passage of undocumented immigrants through our borders.

Tobacco Magic

The New York Times is reporting this morning that political appointees at the Justice Department ordered the lawyers prosecuting the tobacco case to reduce the amount of damages they were seeking (for an anti-smoking public education campaign) by $120 billion. That's right, billion with a "b." As Senator Everett Dirksen (R-IL) famously said, "A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon it adds up to real money."

The political hack, er, appointee, Robert McCallum, noted that an appellate court decision in another case had forced the government to argue a different -- and much smaller -- measure of damages. The lawyers actually trying the case disagreed, and probably leaked the internal debate and its documentation to the media.

I've neither the time nor inclination to read the other appellate case, review the memos, etc. With that caveat, let me say what I think will happen. The media will cover this story with its typical "he said, she said" vapidity. A small minority of Americans will pay attention long enough to hear the Administration magicians say, "See the $130 billion? Now watch me strike it with my Appeals-Court-Decision-in-Unrelated-Case Magic Wand, and -- ABRACADABRA! -- it's only $10 billion!" Those lucky few Americans will stare at the TV for a second, some vague image of their children and grandchildren becoming addicted to cigarettes flashing through their subconscious, then lower their heads back to their TV dinners. The vast majority of Americans will never know or understand how $120 billion of sanctions for unlawful misconduct got taken out of their pockets and put back into the profits of the tobacco industry.

My point is this: the appellate court decision was a pretext for making the Justice Department lawyers do what the Bush Administrations and its tobacco clients wanted them to do. This demonstrates what is, for me, the essential corruptness of the Administration. It's sad that things like this are happening right in front of our eyes, the media is complicit in it, and the vast majority of Americans will wake up tomorrow in a smaller, meaner country with smaller, meaner people and smaller, meaner ideals.

Whither the Denocratic Party?

I was in Washington, Deceit last week for the Take Back America conference sponsored by the Campaign for America's Future. I got to hear Howard Dean utter his line about Republicans never working an honest day in their lives, which so infuriated what passes for the Republican intelligentsia.

(By the way, Dean's biggest applause-getter by far was his call for paper printouts for those newfangled direct recording electronic [DRE ] voting machines. In Texas, although both the Democratic and Republican party platforms call for paper trails, Representative Mary Denny, the chair of the House Elections Committee, singlehandedly killed a bipartisan proposal to institute paper trails.)

Anyway, Dean's comment set off discussion in partisan circles on both the left and the right about whether he was the Right Man at the Right Time for the Democratic Party. He may or may not be, but one thing should be certain: his ultimate utility to the party will not be a function of how well or how poorly he shoots his mouth off.

Chris at the Outside Report has a better idea, or at least one that makes more sense to me these days: explore the gap between Bush's current dismal approval rating and the fact that he won the last election and see what's happening with those people (Chris guesses they're 4-10% of the electorate) who voted for Bush but think the country's Going to Hell in a Handbasket.

Chris' hypothesis -- and I tend to agree with him -- is that Bush would STILL beat John Kerry if the election were held today, and that the Democrats nationally have to figure out why that is. Chris seems to suggest that the solution is in new messengers (John Edwards, Harry Reid, etc.) but I think it's really about new messages. The Democrats are wandering in a philosophical desert these days, letting the Republicans define them and reacting to the Rs' initiatives.

Why this template?

The star in the corner, naturally. I may eventually figure out how to give it a more "Texan" design and color scheme, but for now that star is the extent of it.

What's it all about, Alfie?

And who's this Alfie, anyway?

I got up this morning and decided to start a blog. Why? Because occasionally I have thoughts (even good ones now and then) I'd like to share with the world. I've got some years and experience under my belt and, hopefully, some wisdom gained from all of it. I am in a very exciting period of life where my passion for making Texas better is finding new and creative expression.

I hope some of my posts will be "heavy" -- rich with insight and ideas. But I do not always think or work in that mode, so I expect I'll also be any of the following, on occasion:

• pissed-off
• funny
• ironic
• inane

... and so on.

I hope that, on balance, I will be worth reading from time to time. I've no interest in being a source of up-to-the-minute commentary like my friends at In the Pink, Texas or PinkDome. I'm to busy reading their stuff to be scooping anything. I would hope to give some context to what's going on in my world, and to be as readable and entertaining as they are.