Colorado lawmaker defends calling immigrants ‘illiterate peasants.’
Colorado lawmaker defends calling immigrants ‘illiterate peasants.’
Yesterday, Colorado state Rep. Douglas Bruce — known for kicking a photographer earlier this year — blasted a proposal to aid migrant farm workers, saying on the state House floor, “We don’t 5,000 more illiterate peasants in the state of Colorado.” Though his speaking privileges were stripped for the rest of the day, he defended his remarks:
“I looked up ‘illiterate’ in the dictionary and it means somebody who is lacking in formal education or is unable to read and write,” he said. “I don’t think these people who are planning to come over here and pick potatoes or peaches are likely to have much of a formal education. I looked up the word ‘peasant.’ The word ‘peasant’ means a person who works in agricultural fields. These people, most of them, don’t speak English. Most of them haven’t had any formal education, that’s why they’re coming over here. I don’t blame them for trying, but I don’t think we should pave the way for more aliens to come here.”
The Denver Post reports that Bruce’s remarks “could leave him with a second censure penalty or worse.”
My Mexican grandfather worked on the railroad, in the Steel Mill and on the farms. He was neither illiterate nor a peasant and neither are those working today. Migrants are only used as scapegoats in tough economic times and thanks to the neocons and their economic 'policies' everyone is looking for a scapegoat."
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More compassionate conservatism. What a maroon.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:27 amGotta wonder what the criteria is for kicking his bigoted ass out of the Colorado State legislature? He could get a job shoveling the CU buffalo’s droppings, for sure.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:29 amI looked in the dictionary, and ‘dick’ is ’short for Richard’ and ‘weed’ is defined as ‘a valueless plant growing wild’, so when I use that word to describe Mr. Bruce, it means nothing pejorative at all.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:29 amIs this the same guy that, while holding his Bible and in the middle of a prayer, kicked a photographer?
Awesome job, GOP.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:29 amKicking with one foot and toe-tapping with the other?
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:32 amThey do like their toe-tapping, Exit.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:34 amI live in Colorado Springs, where Bruce is from. I am very liberal. We do not need 5,000 more poor workers to come to Colorado. Colorado is full. We do not need to subsidize employers by supplying them with labor that will work for lower than the market price. If the farmers cannot pay for American labor, then can go out of business.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:34 amUm…if Bruce doesn’t want “peasants” working in the agricultural fields, who does he think should be doing the work? Literate noblemen with advanced degrees?
If he doesn’t want immigrants doing the work because he’d rather see it being done by U.S. citizens, that’s one thing (if he can find enough Americans willing to do the work for a pittance). If he believes that there should be a requirement that a farm worker speak English and know how to read and write, that’s another thing (baffling, but not offensive as the argument he did make). However, his way of framing his argument is nothing more than bigoted classism and is clearly designed to pander to the like-minded.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:34 amIt’s feudal, though nobel, to try to enlighten and bring class to those such as Lord Bruce, who hold pre-911 A.D. beliefs.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:35 amGotta wonder what the criteria is for kicking his bigoted ass out of the Colorado State legislature?
Ex-Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards famously quipped that the only way the voters of La. would expel him was if he were to be ‘caught in bed with dead girl or a live boy.’ He was ultimately jailed for his and his family’s part in corrupt gambling deals with shady Nawlins characters.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:36 amFarmers should pay more than a mere pittance to farm workers. If they cannot afford to pay more than a mere pittance, then maybe they should get out of the farming business and instead get into the solar and wind power business.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:37 amPeople like this in public office . . . and there are MANY . . . is the proof of the pathetic nature of the knuckle-dragging American electorate. We are a second rate country and falling fast. Thinking that there is any********************e for this nation is a joke.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:37 amlooks like huskierco is A-ok with paying 14.00 per pound for lima beans. We need a guest worker program that pays decent wages, and provides those who harvest our fruit and vegetables with livable housing, and their kids with a good education.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:38 amSounds like he is describing the base of the reich-wing party.
What’s even more sad is that he had to look up the definition of each word.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:38 am“I looked up Douglas Bruce in the dictionary (sic–that should be a dictionary, not the) and it means somebody who has to look-up the meaning of the words he uses after he’s used them.”
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:39 amAh, a true Reichwinger.
fascism |?fa sh ?iz?m| (also Fascism)
noun
an authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization.
• (in general use) extreme right-wing, authoritarian, or intolerant views or practice.
bigot
noun
he was denounced as an anti-Catholic bigot chauvinist, partisan, sectarian; racist, sexist, homophobe, dogmatist, jingoist. See note at zealot .
There, that was easy.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:41 amHuskerco, sounds like we’re on the same page…
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:41 amI’d suggest the next words Mr. Bruce look up in the dictionary are “common decency”
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:41 amI am willing to pay $14.00 per pound for lima beans. If we do that, then we will decrease the money that we have to pay for medical treatment and education for people who come from other countries. It will be cheaper in the long run. We will also have higher wages for American workers. Are you against that?
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:41 amWell, pandering to racists is certainly easier than reading reports, becoming educated on issues, working to protect the interests of the average American . . .
It’s laziness, in the grandest manner possible, that is the MO for these cynical, self-serving leeches.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:41 amonly hear to work
I’ll bet they hear to play too!
Why are trolls so spelling deficient?
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:42 amI looked up backwards ass neanderthal, and just below a definition of the republican party, there was a picture of Doug Bruce.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:42 amNope, I’m for a system that accomodates the needs of all the parties involved in growing and harvesting our crops.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:45 amYou can’t harvest strawberries with a combine, you need human labor.
We need a system that pays a decent wage and provides affordable living conditions to those who want to come and harvest our food.
Would you pick strawberries for 5.00 an hour? 10.00? What is your price? My point is that there aren’t enough Americans willing to do that labor intensive work for any price…
Besides being a bigot, this guy is also an idiot. First of all for him to label all of these people as illiterate is one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard. Second this moron doesn’t understand that the crops don’t get picked if these illiterate peasants don’t do it. Third, I suppose he has a poll taken of these people that tells him what their level of education is. Forth it’s people like this fool who make Americans look bad. Fifth there is no place for him in this country if he thinks there is no place for them to even work picking fruits and vegetables for American consumers.
Apparently, he wants to export the fruit and vegetable picking jobs to China and then he won’t have to worry about illiterate peasants in his State. He won’t have to worry about any jobs being left in that State either. When he loses his gravy train then he’ll be wishing he’s let those ignorant peasant in in the first place. But illiterate members of the State house can’t understand complex thinking concepts. Forget about it. Forget about it. If he doesn’t know, “the Shadow knows”.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:46 amhuskerco and RUC:
We should pay a decent wage and not have to rely on illegal immigrants to work for next to nothing, with no benefits, in our fields and meat-packing plants.
And I oppose a guest worker program. I want people who want to become American citizens coming here and settling down, establishing roots. France, and doesn’t Germany (?), have guest worker programs. They aren’t working out so well.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:49 amThere are enough Americans. People who work at Wal-Mart or Wendy’s or Target for $9.00 per hour, may pick melons for $20.00 per hour. Maybe that will increase the price of produce by 25%. So what. Maybe if produce gets to be too expensive, people will plant their own gardens.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:49 amMy PC-regulator will not allow me to describe neoliberal as a stupid person who picks random facts out of someone’s a** and uses it to label a whole set of people, as would be expected of a bigoted Bushman.
Sometimes, I wish I hadn’t had that PC-regulator installed.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:49 amPLC:
Hey, my PC-regulator is on the fritz! Here, let me help you out:
neoliberal is a stupid person who picks random facts out of someone’s a** and uses it to label a whole set of people, as would be expected of a bigoted Bushman
:D
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:52 amFrosty, I’m with you on the wanting people who want to become citizens, I was envisioning a guest worker/path to citizenship program…
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:52 amAnd slamming the employers who are found hiring illegal immigrants/undocumented workers.
All it will take is a few CEOs in prison to accomplish this…
Screw the lima beans. I will live on a diet of imported Ramen noodles with the fake flavor packets. I can eat for only 9 cents a day, and spend the rest of my paycheck buying gas for my car!
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:52 amI looked up ‘illiterate’ in the dictionary, I looked up the word ‘peasant.’
Before you make a speech in the future I suggest you look up the meaning of words before you utter them. The fact that you still don’t find anything wrong with what you have spoken, WOW. It sounds like you have been taking speaking tips from John Ashcroft.
It is painfully obvious that you feel you are being unfairly persecuted, hence you got the dictionary out. But while you have that dictionary handy: Look up, compassion, charity, less fortunate, to name a few.. Maybe, just maybe you might figure it out….
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:53 am“I was envisioning a guest worker/path to citizenship program…”
Ahh, gotcha, gotcha.
Yes, I think that would work nicely.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:54 amI looked up “friggin’ insensitive bastard” and found Brucie’s picture!
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:57 amThere is no way, no way, that the unemployment rate is a mere 5%.
The way the government measures employment: they only count those on unemployment benefits. It does not measure those who are still unemployed, but have run out of benefits. Nor does it measure the underemployed: those who want 40 hours a week, but are only getting 20.
Add to the fact that this administration is chock full of liars and there is no way the unemployment rate is 5%.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:57 amneoliberalism Says:
These illegal’s are only hear to work…
This particular troll is known as “theidiotwhocan’tspell” who is constantly banned and makes new handles daily. He has all the grammar skills of a 10 year old.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:59 amI remember during the impeachment scandal one of the Republican simpletons reading out loud the definition of the word “miscreant” or some such to show that it meant basically the same thing as “scumbag”. Although the words are similar, it is inappropriate to use the word “scumbag”, vulgar slang for a condom, during polite debate. The word “miscreant” may be an insult, but is at least not vulgar.
I don’t find “illiterate peasant” to be vulgar or necessarily inappropriate, but I imagine some video would help round out exactly why they felt that his comments crossed the line from polite debate. The term certainly doesn’t seem to add much to the debate.
“Hummer” incidentally is vulgar slang for an oral sex act. The HMMWV or HumVee was nicknamed a long tradition of vulgar military nicknames. I find it hilarious that GM is marketing a vehicle using such a vulgar term even after it came to prominence during the impeachment fiacso. But, then again, it is a truly vulgar vehicle so the name really fits.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:59 amThis rude ignorant “Dickweed” could learn a thing or two by a few days of hard labor in the fields.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:01 pmneoliberalism Says:
RUCerious Says:
Out of 300,000,000 people and a 5% Unemployment rate no American will Pick fruit? Your back must be wet to make a comment like that!
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:54 am
First of all, the unemployment rate represnts the percentage of people collecting unemployment, not the percent of unemployed people. Many people have exhausted their benefits and no longer collect UI. Once that happens, they stop being part of the unemployment rate.
Second, he means no American will pick fruit for the wages they are willing to pay. The people who do the work are underpaid, but because Americans like their food nice and cheap, there is not enough of an outcry over this inhumane treatment of human beings.
Remember, where you were born or who your parents were has nothing to do with the fact that you are a human being on this planet, just like everyone else.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:01 pmRUC @22
surely that should read either “why are the trolls so deficient in their spellingi?” or why are the trolls so spelling-deficient?”.
I can’t count the number of typos I’ve made in all my comments. Mistakes were made and will continue to be made, but if the sacrifices of spelling, grammar and syntax are to be honored and for them to mean anything, we simply cannot let a few typos stand in the way of ultimate victory.
Sure oommenting is a messy businees, bad spelling happens–but you go to blog with the literacy, typing-skills and spellchecker that you have, not those you wish you had.
:D
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:02 pmHe has all the grammar skills of a 10 year old.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:59 am
I was far more literate than he when I was ten. I was writing short stories when I was six! Please lower that age estimate. Thank you. :)
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:03 pmre- spelling deficiency, See #43—”businees”–case in point!
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:03 pmI love Rep. Bruce. He is a very spirited Congressman. He is right, these are people who come over here to use us for our services, but refuse to learn our language or become educated individuals of society. They send alot of funding to their home country while using are services. KICK THEM OUT!!! KICK….THEM….OUT!!!!
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:04 pm*sniff* It’s so nice to have people like you, Frosty Cupcake, helping out. I couldn’t have expressed that any better myself.
Seriously, you, RUCerious, and huskerco on this thread provide proof that a healthy discussion of this complex issue can be held without resorting to the stereotyping and scapegoating that passes for “debate”. And here’s the real difference I see: conservatives tend to (though, admittedly, not always) take a “me only” approach while progressives tend to try to find solutions that are the most helpful as well as the least harmful to the most people.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:04 pm5th estate,
I make lots of typos, too, but there is a difference between a typo (like transposing two letters) and flat out using the wrong word. If he wrote “hare” instead of “hear”, that would be a typo. But if he writes “hear” instead of “here”, that’s ignorant.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:05 pmRep. Bruce is a typical GOP elitist bigot. I’m sure that many immigrants use public restrooms but not the degenerate way the GOP does. I wonder what Brucie would think after a few years of “picking fruit”.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:08 pmDaryll wants to kick the troll who hasn’t learned our language out of the country. Off of TP is good enough for me.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:10 pmDaryll Says:
KICK THEM OUT!!! KICK….THEM….OUT!!!!
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Daryll, that doesn’t sound very Christian of you. While I don’t pretend to understand all the ways of your strange religion, I believe Christ would have approved of you giving some migrant workers a place to stay during the harvesting season. It would be the Christian thing to do, wouldn’t it?
Have a nice Earth Day.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:10 pmIn which book of the bible did Jesus say, “Speak Hebrew or get the hell out of my country”?
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:12 pmWhat’s wrong, Darryl? Your neocon friends are pushing fuel costs through the roof, therefore increasing transportation costs for food, and we’re only trying to hold the line by instituting a agricultural guest-worker program so more food can be on the shelves at an affordable rate?
Why do these wing-nuts unwittingly bite the hand that feeds them? Are they immune to crops rotting in the fields and unavailable for their purchasing?
But go and ahead and continue, pick on migrants who are meeting demand.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:13 pmI would expect that 99% percent of immigrants legal or not working in the fields are by Christian standards better people than Rep. Bruce.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:15 pmneoliberalism
I don’t like paying high prices for anything. So with that logic in mind I say we all quit our jobs and let everyone else who lives in oppressive country’s work here for cheep. And we sit back with our whips and chains! I Love it. Very progressive of you!
I don’t understand what you are saying. Please speak Arabic.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:16 pmHey, Darryl - how many of those ‘illiterate peasants’ who showed up for the Sermon on the Mount should Jesus have “kicked out”…?
Just wondering.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:16 pmWell, to be fair, illiteracy rates are extremely high among many of the indigenous and rural communities who are the senders of most rural-urban and international migration. In Guatemala and southern Mexico it’s well over 50% in some states.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:17 pmNot even CEOs. Contractors, landscapers, cleaning service companies, restauranteurs. Small businessmen pretty much have to use illegal labor because the other guy does. Start throwing the tax cheats in jail.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:17 pm——————————————————————————–
jb Says:
——————————————————————————–
In which book of the bible did Jesus say, “Speak Hebrew or get the hell out of my country”?
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:12 pm Recommend (0) | Report Abuse
Jesus said to give to Cesar and to respect his laws (as long as it isn’t contradictive to the word of God). This is a sovereign nation. They broke our laws. They committed a sin.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:17 pmMcWars, Annie:
Those soulless conservatives have done a very good job of kicking the poor while reaping the benefits of their labor. It’s a pretty good trick, despicable though it is.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:19 pmSin schmin. I could give a good big crap what Jesus said because bigots insist on selectively using what he supposedly said to justify their own SINS.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:22 pmDaryll Says:
Jesus said to give to Cesar and to respect his laws (as long as it isn’t contradictive to the word of God). This is a sovereign nation. They broke our laws. They committed a sin.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:17 pm
____
Breaking the law is not the same as committing a sin.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:23 pmDaryll, your post reminds me of the Zealots who didn’t want the Gentiles (uncircumsized) to be able to join the early Christian church. I’d say you and Rep Bruce are both indeed “spirited”, mean-spirited.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:24 pmWayne #47 (sujbect: tipos nad speeling)
I hare you…umm… hear you.
I’ve noticed for the past few months in varuoius forums ( or should that be fori? or fora? or forae?) the phrase ‘tow the line’ as in Genrral shinseki refused to ‘tow the line’. It makes me pig-biting mad as it should be ‘TOE the line” but I fear it is insinuating itself into the written language as a legitmate form totally divorced from its intended meaning and etymology.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:24 pmIn comparison the meaning, root and use of “teh” is universally understood.
Daryll Says:
How many would have been sent to hell for lying about their status and stealing SSN’s?
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:20 pm
_____
A God who would send people to hell for trying to support their families is not worthy of worship.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:24 pmHow many people here on this thread have actually picked anything for a day? A week? A month/? It is backbreaking work, and I did it for two weeks in 1970, after not finding a job post/Nam. I picked oranges in Santa Paula, and couldn’t cut it after two weeks. In the best shape of my life post Army… I wouldn’t make a livable wage now, even if they paid $15.00 an hour, as most of the money comes from pieces/crates delivered. anybody want to do that for $15.00 an hour? And only last maybe four hours before you quit because your muscles ache, it’s raining, cold, etc???
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:25 pmOh, BTW, dayrroll is a hypocritical Pharisee.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:25 pmIf they have a social Security number, they are paying into the system and if that is not their true number they will never collect anything…same with payroll taxes….same with fees etc….I’d say immigrants are paying more than their share, let alone doing more than their share of contributing to the economy. And they probably aren’t kicking anybody while praying.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:26 pmWow, St D, you’re two out of three with the lies you spread on this site, and the wasting/stealing of other posters time scrolling past your lunatic remarks.. Sinner, repent, then go away and rant at someone else.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:26 pmRUCerious Says:
——————————————————————————–
How many people here on this thread have actually picked anything for a day? A week? A month/? It is backbreaking work, and I did it for two weeks in 1970, after not finding a job post/Nam. I picked oranges in Santa Paula, and couldn’t cut it after two weeks. In the best shape of my life post Army… I wouldn’t make a livable wage now, even if they paid $15.00 an hour, as most of the money comes from pieces/crates delivered. anybody want to do that for $15.00 an hour? And only last maybe four hours before you quit because your muscles ache, it’s raining, cold, etc???
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:25 pm Recommend (0) | Report Abuse
No, just give the work to prisoners. Make it a work release program. It saves the Government and the employer money.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:27 pmMost are unclean. When the janitors leave the restrooms at work, they never wash their hands. This creates bacteria/diseases. And you wonder why people become sick from eating at fast food chains? It is because of these illegals.
And you would know this, how? Facts, links, citations, anything at all to bolster your bullshit??
I didn’t think so.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:28 pmRUCerious Says:
How many people here on this thread have actually picked anything for a day? A week? A month/? It is backbreaking work, and I did it for two weeks in 1970, after not finding a job post/Nam. I picked oranges in Santa Paula, and couldn’t cut it after two weeks. In the best shape of my life post Army… I wouldn’t make a livable wage now, even if they paid $15.00 an hour, as most of the money comes from pieces/crates delivered. anybody want to do that for $15.00 an hour? And only last maybe four hours before you quit because your muscles ache, it’s raining, cold, etc???
I think your post is worth repeating and I think daryll and Rep. Bruce could grow as human beings with a few weeks in the fields.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:29 pmHow about you, Daryll, when you’re incarcerated for the treasonous support of this criminal regime> You’ll be just fine picking asparagus, right?
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:29 pmA God who would send people to hell for trying to support their families is not worthy of worship.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:24 pm Recommend (0) | Report Abuse
Regardless of the motive, lying and stealing is wrong, thus saith the Lord. It is in the survival scroll (Bible).
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:31 pmTELEGRAM! TELEGRAM!
Subject: Satan to Darryl
I am moving to revoke your tenure as a faculty member in the Department of Hell. Your representation of us, as assigned to the TP board, sucks.
Signed,
Satan
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:31 pmDaryll, you dumb ass. If they are using ANY SSN, then their withholding (from the employer) is going into that SSN account. Which will never be paid out.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:31 pmSo it’s like free money for the gummint.
Wake up, and smell reality for a change.
I doubt the GOP sick toe tapping bigots wash their hands after their restroom fruit picking sessions.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:31 pmjb ~ thanks.
Who was it that said “Walk a mile in their shoes” or something like that?
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:32 pmRUCerious Says:
——————————————————————————–
How about you, Daryll, when you’re incarcerated for the treasonous support of this criminal regime> You’ll be just fine picking asparagus, right?
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:29 pm Recommend (0) | Report Abuse
If I was a convict, yes. It keeps them from having an idle mind to do wrong. Also, I will never be incarcerated because I follow God’s word. The President’s administration is not consisted of treason.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:32 pmWould someone please take a survival scroll and thump it on St. D’s head. Hard. Twice. Please?
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:33 pm$14.00 dollar a pouund lima beans, may be something to ponder indeed, huskerco you must be the only one that can afford to pay that.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:33 pmI am so offended by Bruce and his racism. He knows and I know that Colorado was built and maintained by migrant workers. This whole country was/is built with the blood sweat and tears of migrant workers. I did not hear any complaining about migrant workers as the housing boom was at its peak and the homebuilders and mortgage companies were raking in the money. Who does Bruce think was building all of these beautiful homes?
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:34 pmMy Mexican grandfather worked on the railroad, in the Steel Mill and on the farms. He was neither illiterate nor a peasant and neither are those working today.
Migrants are only used as scapegoats in tough economic times and thanks to the neocons and their economic “policies” everyone is looking for a scapegoat.
I will never be incarcerated because I follow God’s word. The President’s administration is not consisted of treason.
Sound pretty sure of yourself, you shouldn’t be.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:34 pmDaryll, why did God have the Holy Spirit speak “in tongues” (the varied languages of those in attendance) instead of insisting that all the people learn the Arabic language of His sovereign kingdom? And, you know, Jesus should have shunned those dirty Samaritans just like everyone else did.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:35 pmRU,
Thanks for laboring, both in Vietnam and the fields. I wouldn’t wish that kind of strain on anybody, but I’m sure it made you a much stronger and skilled person.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:35 pmPersonally, I like watching this debate from the sidelines.
The Repubs are beholden to big business so they have to placate business’s desire for cheap labor. However, the Repubs often try to act as if they are “joe common person” and have great difficulty in telling their anti-immigrant base that those immigrants that came here to work aren’t the same ones that came here to steal your job.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:35 pmMy first wife’s grandfather was an illegal immigrant who settled in Santa Barbara CA and drove a cement truck for forty years. Most of the existing old buildings in SB contain concrete he hauled.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:36 pmSo we should nuke Santa Barbara and destroy every building, right, Daryll?
Daryll, why did God have the Holy Spirit speak “in tongues” (the varied languages of those in attendance) instead of insisting that all the people learn the Arabic language of His sovereign kingdom? And, you know, Jesus should have shunned those dirty Samaritans just like everyone else did.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:35 pm Recommend (0) | Report Abuse
You only receive the gift of speaking in tongues by having an intimate relationship with Jesus. He wanted to separate the true saints from the sinners. Follow Acts 2:38 and receive the Holy Ghost as the spirit gives utterance.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:37 pmThe President’s administration is not consisted of treason.
I’ve heard of pig-Latin. This must be daryll-English.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:37 pmThanks McWars.
I don’t know about making me more skilled, but I realized I needed to get my ass into college, pronto. Sept 70 I was enrolled at City College in Santa Barbara, so it did start me on my path…
Karma to you, man.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:37 pmIs Daryll also spelling in tongues? Tongue-tied-tongues?
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:38 pmDaryll #86. That’s not an answer to the question I asked. Try again. Do you need an ESL tutor to help understand the question?
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:40 pmThey used the bible to get ahead.
Oh, please. They were set free by Lincoln as a means of weakening the Southern states in 1862. What percentage of slaves could read the Bible? As it was against the law to teach a slave to read in most states.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:40 pmWow, you’re delusion knows no bounds.
He broke the law, but he learned our culture.
No he didn’t. He never learned to read or write English, and could barely speak it.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:41 pmBut he was a good man, a good family man. But a sinner, right?
*Flagged* off-topic
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:42 pmRe #93, should be your, or perhaps yer.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:43 pmDaryll says: “He is a pioneer. He became acclamated to our culture. The recent illegals (10 years or less) refuse to learn our customs. They are arrogant. Your father is different. He broke the law, but he learned our culture.”
Two obvious reading and spelling errors must be an indication that Daryll is an illegal alien who has not learned proper English. I’ll not mention the lack of evidence for the content of the rest of his arrogant post.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:44 pmWas the bible meant for getting ahead? $$$$$$$ is all these modern day christians care about.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:44 pmRUC…
The only picking I’ve ever done was voluntary, for wild blackberries and rasberries–prickly work.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:45 pmA mate of mine cut sugar cane in Australia for a a couple of weeks–hardest work he’d ever done, he said.
Harvesting in general isn’t just hard work,there’s knowledge and skillinvolved for each type of crop.
Literacy in English is irrelevant to these tasks, but the likes of Darryl are too ignorant and hidebound in their xenophobic ideology to ever acknowledge that, let alone actually value the effort and skills involved.
Daryll needs to pack his bags for some Other country as he has failed to learn the language.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:46 pm5th Estate:
Yup, the conservatives have done a good job of despising the working poor because they’re the working poor.
And RUC? I’ve never picked anything in my life aside from dead-heading spent blossoms in my garden. And I don’t do that in the heat or the rain . . .
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:49 pm5th Estate Says:
In comparison the meaning, root and use of “teh” is universally understood.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Yeah, but everyone on the internets understand “teh” as one of the most common typos. Along with “tow the line”, another one that gets my teeth grinding is “a tough road to hoe”. It should be “tough row to hoe”, of course. I have heard announcers go out of their way to enunciate the word “road” in their remarks.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:49 pmDaryll is a third-baser.
Born on third base, but he thinks he hit a triple.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:50 pmWayne:
How about the phrase “I could care less” when it should be “I couldn’t care less”? As in, I care so little that I couldn’t care less.
Kind of my feeling when it comes to these ridiculous trolls ’round here. I couldn’t care less what they think.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:52 pmDarryl: “I will never be incarcerated because I follow God’s word. The President’s administration is not consisted of treason.”
And Jesus was the Son of God. Darryl thinks he’s Jesus. Blasphemer!
And Jesus was crucified, under the laws of man. Jesus had a pretty good idea that was going to happen; Darryl, not so much.
Darryll thinks he’s better and smarter than Jesus!
Blasphemer!
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:54 pmFrosty, I’ll second that motion. Trolls are THE MOST self centered creatures I’ve ever encountered. And semi-literate to boot. You’d think that someone with a CIS degree from Oral Roberts (snicker) University, would not want to reflect poorly on that institution of (snicker) higher learning.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:55 pmActually, I think Daryll is a bencher, sitting on the bench and not playing but thinking he hit a homerun.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:56 pmPeasant is a noun that also means a crude, uncouth, and ill-bred person lacking culture or refinement. Because one views these people in that mannor, doesn’t make it appropriate to say in public and even worse when a high ranking U.S. representative says it. It doesn’t seem uncommon these days for Republicans to backpeddle to cover their mistakes and arrogance. Arrogance however, has seemed to become their halmark.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:56 pmI’m sure migrant farm workers understand the phrase “tough row to hoe” perfectly.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:57 pmDarryl, if Jesus showed up on your front step, you wouldn’t recognize Him.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:58 pmDaryll Says:
No, just give the work to prisoners. Make it a work release program. It saves the Government and the employer money.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:27 pm
But what if they were in prison for poisoning someone’s food? You still want them to pick your food? Eat what you want, but I’ll trust the integrity of foreigners just trying to support their families back home over convicted prisoners.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:58 pmDaryll is in a prison of his own making…..sad really.
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:00 pmL.H. Annie, not only would he not recognize him, he’d mistake him for a baby deer and blast him, then mount his head on the basement wall.
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:00 pmFrosty Cupcake Says:
——————————————————————————–
Wayne:
How about the phrase “I could care less” when it should be “I couldn’t care less”? As in, I care so little that I couldn’t care less.
Kind of my feeling when it comes to these ridiculous trolls ’round here. I couldn’t care less what they think.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:52 pm
You are right about that one, and I remember Steve Allen even talking about it (this had to be a long, long time ago.) The thing is, “I could care less” only works if it’s spoken, not written, and it has to be said with sarcasm, not as a straight line. Without the sarcasm, it means that you care even just a little bit.
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:00 pmIf Jesus showed up today? Daryll would roundly blast him for being a liberal.
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:04 pmMy parents had a farm.
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:07 pmTrust me , no troll would pick strawberries all day in the sun
much less work in a potato field all day.
And the little farmer is not the one to blame for the wages since the majority of farming is done by large corporations
Show us how its done Darryl old man, and let us watch you work on a farm for a week.
take care
tony and guidedog Lido
The word peasant is not offensive in and of itself. It depends on how it is used. Certainly, one may wear a peasant blouse or applaud the peasants over throwing a corrupt dictatorship. But the was not the context. The purpose was to demean, to hurl scorn and to devalue those illiterate peasants. The explanation harks back to a KKK member calling a n___er a boy and justifying it by noting that the boy in question was a coupler years longer. Censure him.
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:15 pmDemocrat Soldier is absolutely right, Daryll. You told a lie.
President Bush gives aid and comfort to nations that support terrorism (like Saudi Arabia). He has declared that terrorists are our nation’s enemies. That means he has has given aid and comfort to the enemy. That, by the Constitution’s definition, is “treason.”
It’s too bad the Republicans in Congress believe in putting loyalty to a person (their president, which they are not constitutionally required to do) ahead of loyalty to their country (which they are constitutionally required to do.)
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:25 pmAccording Daryll, Daryll is the only one without sin.
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:34 pmbefore we jump on him lets look at what the illegal immigrants are costing the us taxpayers. it’s next to the iraq war…..200+billions of dollars. i find it offensive that the american taxpayer rather pay for illegals than our veterans which the proposed budget for ‘09 is 93.7 billion….so lets do the comparison. we has legal, english speaking, law abiding americans should be outraged by this…
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:40 pmMaybe a good solution could be one with guest workers, who stay in the US half a year, earning decent wages, paying taxes and receiving basic health and education services, and then go back to their families for the rest of the year.
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:45 pmRep Bruce, I have a wonderful solution. Just send all those “illiterate peasants” back to their country. Of course, each corporation will have to actually document who is legal and who is illegal. That would be interesting.
Then, propose to those which exported the “illiterate peasant” workers, that they now are required to hire only Americans, with benefits, and quadruple the wages.
That would also be interesting.
Good luck with that!
Hey Daryll or Parodyll, here’s a puzzle:
April 22nd, 2008 at 2:08 pmAre “illiterate peasants” going to hell?
…and those that hired them?
Wayne A. Schneider Says
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Along with “tow the line”, another one that gets my teeth grinding is “a tough road to hoe”. It should be “tough row to hoe”, of course. I have heard announcers go out of their way to enunciate the word “road” in their remarks.
_____________________________________________
We could make a whole list:
1) “it ceases to amaze me” (when meaning “it never ceases to amaze me”)
2) “the proof is in the pudding” (when attempting to quote “the proof of the pudding is in the eating”)
3) “decimate” (when meaning “obliterate”)
4) “literally” (when meaning “not literally” — as in “I just literally died when he said that”)
I’m sure there are lots and lots that can be added — those are just my pet peeves at the moment. In addition, of course, to “towing the line” (hauling a rope somewhere?) and hoeing asphalt (yes, roads ARE tough to hoe — hard on the hoe, too).
April 22nd, 2008 at 2:54 pmI lived in Colorado for 30 years, and I have nothing but good things to say about the immigrants who lived and worked beside me. One of the few things I didn’t like about the state was the large number of entrenched, xenophobic, “Colorado is full!” natives!
April 22nd, 2008 at 3:06 pmGood examples, misshusseinmolly. Perhaps we should declare these phrases enemies of freedom, and then tell the Bush Adminsitration to go after them “and those who speak them”. :)
April 22nd, 2008 at 3:11 pmWhat language does the name Colorado come from?
In short, Mexico has a legitimate claim to Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, etc. as we do to Iraq.
April 22nd, 2008 at 4:24 pmI think the people she is talking about are illiterate peasants. What are they, educated gentry?
I swear, one time I heard one woman say to another woman “Don’t call them Mexicans, that’s racist.” Hand to god.
April 22nd, 2008 at 5:22 pmHey, Rep. Bruce, maybe you should look up ’scapegoat’ in your dictionary. You’ll find it just above ’scumbag’.
April 22nd, 2008 at 6:19 pm*Flagged* for inciting violence. The FBI will be notified.
April 22nd, 2008 at 7:33 pmAccording to Bruce, all farmers are “peasants”. He should take a trip to Iowa farm country and start calling the farmers “peasants” and see how well that would be received.
April 22nd, 2008 at 7:39 pmDaryll Says:
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Daryll, why did God have the Holy Spirit speak “in tongues” (the varied languages of those in attendance) instead of insisting that all the people learn the Arabic language of His sovereign kingdom? And, you know, Jesus should have shunned those dirty Samaritans just like everyone else did.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:35 pm Recommend (0) | Report Abuse
You only receive the gift of speaking in tongues by having an intimate relationship with Jesus.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Bad enough that you believe this stupid bullshit and constantly prattle on about this nonsense ; now you’re suggesting I sleep with a guy ?
No thanks , I’ll pass ; I’ll stick to speaking English…….
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:51 pmIn answer to a question above, the Labor Department stated last week that the “long-term unemployment rate” (the one for people no longer collecting benefits) is 17.8%. Of course, this figure does not count people working at jobs that used to be 40 hours and are now 30, people who lost a good-paying job and are now working 2-3 minimum wage jobs, and those who are working a single minimum wage job and eating at the food bank and sleeping in their cars.
Yeah, we have full employment.
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:48 amAbout picking in the fields - I used to work in the food processing industry - a large cooperative owned by farmers who grew “labor-intensive” crops that were not amenable to machine picking. One year they decided to try the “get Americans to pick the crops” routine since it was another of those cycles of “blame the migrants for everything wrong in this country”. It lasted for about 10 days. The farmers scoured the employment halls for workers, most couldn’t get any to sign up. When they did - they complained constantly, wanted to take breaks every half hour, most quit before lunch, and half of them never even came back to get their paychecks!
A large timber company operating in the Northwest California area responding to complaints from environmentalists about spraying herbicides on newly replanted forest areas, tried to get people (Americans) to come out and chop brush in order to avoid the spraying. Same story.
So when ANYONE says that there are Americans whose jobs are being taken by the migrants, I want to know who they are and where they are because my personal experience has been that most Americans think they are too good to do these kinds of jobs.
And I HAVE worked in the fields picking vegetables in my younger days. One week I made $34 - and I was the champion worker for the company that week. Wow!
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:54 amLooks like my post to Daryll was removed.
Could it have been that Daryll was upset by me telling the truth about him lying, which is a sin? Could that be why he apparantly hit the “report abuse” button to remove my post?
For those that are wondering, I simply stated that Daryll would have to beg God’s forgiveness for lying and saying the Bush Administration didn’t have any acts of treason. When they outed an undercover CIA agent, Bush’s own father said that was an act of treason.
Then again, Daryll refuses to practice what he preaches because he’s not the type of person to whom he preaches.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:12 am