I can only imagine the convulsions that the anti-immigrant (a.k.a. "Help Save") folks are experiencing today. John McCain addressed the National Convention of Latino Elected Officials today, and in an attempt to moderate his position on immigration, indicated that he would support comprehensive immigration reform, but first the U.S. must reach that magical time when our borders are "secured."
That's basically saying, "never."
The problem for McCain, as a senator from Arizona, is that he understands the Latino situation and the immigration mess all too well. He also understands that some in his party are completely unreasonable about what to do to solve the immigration dilemma, mainly because they want immigrants out of the county.
Poor John McCain. He's going to have an uphill battle fighting his own party on this one.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
Clinton Entitlement
Reading this article from today's Washington Post, I have to say I am complete disgusted with the Hilary Clinton supporters. Their response to her LOSS (yes folks, she LOST) of the presidential primary is completely childish, self-centered, and counter-productive for the nation.
C'mon girls--it's time to grow up and move on. Hilary Clinton lost because she believed she was unbeatable. She believed she was entitled to the nomination, and her campaign was poorly prepared and lacked a strategy as a result.
I'm going straight to the Obama website and donate money. If the Clinton coalition wants to try to undermine the nation because they didn't get what they wanted, they're going to get a fight from me. Too much is at stake here, and we cannot afford four more years of Bush/McCain.
C'mon girls--it's time to grow up and move on. Hilary Clinton lost because she believed she was unbeatable. She believed she was entitled to the nomination, and her campaign was poorly prepared and lacked a strategy as a result.
I'm going straight to the Obama website and donate money. If the Clinton coalition wants to try to undermine the nation because they didn't get what they wanted, they're going to get a fight from me. Too much is at stake here, and we cannot afford four more years of Bush/McCain.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Dobson's Distortions
This article from today's AP (also reported by MSNBC) reports that James Dobson today came on criticizing Barack Obama for speeches on faith, abortion, interpretations of the Bible. My advice to Mr. Obama: please don't pander to the religious right. They don't speak for the majority of Americans, and I seriously doubt they speak for most Christians.
Dobson's a dolt who wants to desperately cling to a vision of America that never existed. His opinion does not (and should not) matter.
Dobson's a dolt who wants to desperately cling to a vision of America that never existed. His opinion does not (and should not) matter.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Anti-Immigrant Movement, Falling Home Prices cause Disconent in Prince William County
I've been watching the housing market in Manassas City and Prince William County pretty closely for the last few months. My theory is this: the drastic drop in home prices is primarily due to the slumping economy and high foreclosure rates, but the drastic outflow of immigrants--the documented and undocumented alike--is also fueling the tanking housing market.
Upon what facts have I based this theory? Well, a few months ago, I spoke with the PWC demographer, who told me that the growth in PWC since the 2000 census had primarily been attributed to growth in the immigrant community. So, most of the 100,000 +/- newcomers to Prince William were immigrants. With their exodus after the anti-immigrant ordinances, means that houses are being abandoned and people are not moving in to fill the gaps.
Today's Washington Post reports a similar story to my own: people in the county who bought during the last throws of the book are angry and frustrated about lower home prices, higher taxes, and what many believe to be a huge waste of resources: asking police to check the immigrations status of immigrants in the county.
Of course, if you read any of the "Help Save" sponsored blogs, you'll see that the leaders of those movements, particularly Mr. Greg Letiecq of Black Velvet Bruce Li, have been desperately trying to paint a very different picture of the Manassas/PWC economic situation. My guess is that Letiecq recognizes a simple fact: you can only muster so much support for his movement through fear and propagating hate, and when it comes down to it, most rational people are going to be more motivated to act in their economic self-interest rather than get all worked up because they see a bilingual sign or have to share their community with brown people (most of whom, by the way, are hardworking and model citizens).
Last week I went to my first house auction in Manassas. I was curious to see how good the bargains would be, and I was not disappointed. I saw a great single-family home in very nice neighborhood in the city of Manassas sell for $70,000 (it was a three bedroom, 2.5 bath on a small lot). Who were the other folks looking for bargains? Other nice white, educated middle-class people like me? Well, no, not actually. The majority of bidders were real estate speculators looking for rental bargains. Where I grew up, we referred to theses people as slum lords. Not exactly the kind of people you want buying up loads of property in your struggling neighborhood, as they are unlikely to be concerned about how their purchases and rentals impact the neighborhood.
My guess is that as time moves on, the economic concerns in PWC will overshadow the irrational anti-immigrant ordinances and movement.
Upon what facts have I based this theory? Well, a few months ago, I spoke with the PWC demographer, who told me that the growth in PWC since the 2000 census had primarily been attributed to growth in the immigrant community. So, most of the 100,000 +/- newcomers to Prince William were immigrants. With their exodus after the anti-immigrant ordinances, means that houses are being abandoned and people are not moving in to fill the gaps.
Today's Washington Post reports a similar story to my own: people in the county who bought during the last throws of the book are angry and frustrated about lower home prices, higher taxes, and what many believe to be a huge waste of resources: asking police to check the immigrations status of immigrants in the county.
Of course, if you read any of the "Help Save" sponsored blogs, you'll see that the leaders of those movements, particularly Mr. Greg Letiecq of Black Velvet Bruce Li, have been desperately trying to paint a very different picture of the Manassas/PWC economic situation. My guess is that Letiecq recognizes a simple fact: you can only muster so much support for his movement through fear and propagating hate, and when it comes down to it, most rational people are going to be more motivated to act in their economic self-interest rather than get all worked up because they see a bilingual sign or have to share their community with brown people (most of whom, by the way, are hardworking and model citizens).
Last week I went to my first house auction in Manassas. I was curious to see how good the bargains would be, and I was not disappointed. I saw a great single-family home in very nice neighborhood in the city of Manassas sell for $70,000 (it was a three bedroom, 2.5 bath on a small lot). Who were the other folks looking for bargains? Other nice white, educated middle-class people like me? Well, no, not actually. The majority of bidders were real estate speculators looking for rental bargains. Where I grew up, we referred to theses people as slum lords. Not exactly the kind of people you want buying up loads of property in your struggling neighborhood, as they are unlikely to be concerned about how their purchases and rentals impact the neighborhood.
My guess is that as time moves on, the economic concerns in PWC will overshadow the irrational anti-immigrant ordinances and movement.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Oil Insanity
As oil (and gasoline) prices steadily rise, I'm amazed at the level of denial that most Americans seem to be suffering. The bottom line is this: we are not the only gas guzzlers in the world any more (hello, China), and supplies are running out.
It's time to face the music, folks: the world is running out of oil. Prices are going to continue to rise. Drilling in Alaska, off the coast of Florida, or where ever is just a stop-gap solution. The only way to fight this is to search for alternatives and conserve. America is a nation that is known for moving forward. It is in our best interest, particularly in the interest of our national security, to end our dependence on foreign oil.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Gilmore Gets it
For those of you who follow Virginia politics, the Washington Post reports today that the Virginia GOP has selected Jim Gilmore, past governor of Virginia, as its candidate for Senate. Mr. Gilmore, who is best known for bankrupting the state during a time of unprecedented growth and prosperity, should make Mark Warner's job in securing the second Democratic senate seat in Virginia.
Gilmore could not even manage to raise funds for this campaign, and he won, I'm pretty certain, because his biggest rival, PWC resident Robert Marshall. It appears that event the Republicans are aware that even strong party conservative (Marhsall anti-abortion and anti-tax) from Prince William County would not stand a chance--he's much too popular with the anti-immigrant crowd in his home county.
Gilmore could not even manage to raise funds for this campaign, and he won, I'm pretty certain, because his biggest rival, PWC resident Robert Marshall. It appears that event the Republicans are aware that even strong party conservative (Marhsall anti-abortion and anti-tax) from Prince William County would not stand a chance--he's much too popular with the anti-immigrant crowd in his home county.
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