CNBC Reporter: Keflezighi’s Marathon Win Was ‘Empty’ Because He Was An Immigrant Rather Than U.S.-Born
CNBC Reporter: Keflezighi’s Marathon Win Was ‘Empty’ Because He Was An Immigrant Rather Than U.S.-Born
On Sunday, U.S. media outlets reported that for the first time in 27 years, an American had won the New York City Marathon. Meb Keflezighi was born in Eritrea, “growing up in a hut with no electricity.” He and his family moved to Italy when he was 10 years old, and came to the United States two years later. Keflezighi “began running in junior high in San Diego, then went on to star at UCLA.” He said he it was with “big honor and pride” that he wore the USA jersey while running in the marathon. Watch a post-marathon interview with Keflezighi here:
However, CNBC Sports Business Reporter Darren Rovell doesn’t think Keflezighi deserves all this praise because when his mother gave birth to him, she wasn’t in the U.S. Rovell wrote a column yesterday saying that Keflezighi’s victory wasn’t “as good as it sounds” because Keflezighi is an immigrant, and this fact “takes away from the magnitude of the achievement the headline implies”:
Given our disappointing results, embracing Keflezighi is understandable. But Keflezighi’s country of origin is Eritrea, a small country in Africa. He is an American citizen thanks to taking a test and living in our country.
Nothing against Keflezighi, but he’s like a ringer who you hire to work a couple hours at your office so that you can win the executive softball league.
Around noon today, Rovell posted a “convoluted sort-of apology” clarifying yesterday’s piece, writing, “Let me be clear: Meb Keflezighi is an American and any suggestion otherwise is wrong.” He now granted Keflezighi’s win legitimacy only because the runner was “brought up through the American system”:
I said that Keflezighi’s win, the first by an American since 1982, wasn’t as big as it was being made out to be because there was a difference between being an American-born product and being an American citizen. Frankly I didn’t account for the fact that virtually all of Keflezighi’s running experience came as a US citizen. I never said he didn’t deserve to be called American. [...]
It turns out, Keflezighi moved to the United States in time to develop at every level in America. So Meb is in fact an American trained athlete and an American citizen and he should be celebrated as the American winner of the NYC Marathon. That makes a difference and makes him different from the “ringer” I accused him of being. Meb didn’t deserve that comparison and I apologize for that.
How long does someone have to be in the U.S. and go through the American “system” to be counted as legitimate? In today’s New York Times, academics who study race and sports note that there are still “undercurrents of nationalism and racism that are not often voiced” in sports. “There is this notion about innate physiological gifts that certain races presumably possess. Quite frankly, I think it feeds into deep-seated stereotypes,” said David Wiggins, a professor at George Mason University.
Yesterday, Keflezighi responded to the criticisms, saying, “I’ve had to deal with it. But, hey, I’ve been here 22 years. And the U.S.A. is a land of immigrants. A lot of people have come from different places.”
(HT: bustacap at DailyKos)
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‘Nativist Extremist’ Minuteman PAC Endorses Hoffman For Congress
‘Nativist Extremist’ Minuteman PAC Endorses Hoffman For Congress
Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate for New York’s traditionally Republican 23rd District, has just won the right-wing support of the Minuteman Political Action Committee — the political action arm of a “nativist extremist” armed vigilante group. The Minuteman PAC is currently running Independent Expenditure radio spots and predicts that Hoffman is “positioned to win a landslide victory” over Republican Party nominee Dede Scozzafava.
The Minuteman PAC’s Hoffman ad claims Scozzafava and Democratic candidate Bill Owens are tied directly to “the left-wing social agenda”:
You already know about ACORN — the corrupt organization scamming your tax dollars to promote a radical left agenda. And you’ve seen videos where Acorn officials offer to help a teenage prostitution ring involving illegal aliens. Now blogger Michele Malkin exposes yet another Acorn scandal: subsidized mortgages for illegal aliens. Acorn must be stopped, but how?
Two candidates for Congress, Dede Scozzafava and Bill Owens, are tied directly to Acorn and their far left-wing socialist agenda. That’s why voters all over Central New York and the North country are backing Doug Hoffman for Congress. Doug Hoffman is a CPA — a solid conservative and the only candidate for Congress opposed to amnesty and government handouts for illegal aliens. And only Hoffman will stand up to Acorn and the liberals. The choice is clear: Doug Hoffman for Congress — the wake-up call politicians in both parties need now.
Listen here:
The Minuteman PAC proclaims that it’s “THE ONE Political Action Committee that the open-borders, pro-amnesty lobby fears most,” but has been widely criticized for hoarding money and spending only a small fraction of its funds on political candidates.
However, Hoffman’s website indicates that he’s actually opposed to putting up a wall to “stop all immigration.” “The answer is to create an easier path for immigrants to enter the United States – and to work here,” says his immigration platform. Agriculture is one of central New York’s main industries and many farmers depend on migrant labor. The New York Farm Bureau has expressed “deep disappointment” in “the failure of Congress…to come up with an immigration reform measure that addresses the pressing labor needs of agriculture in New York and across the nation.”
Lou Dobbs Slams ‘Vile Stupidity And Ignorance’ Of ‘Annoying’ Geraldo Rivera
Lou Dobbs Slams ‘Vile Stupidity And Ignorance’ Of ‘Annoying’ Geraldo Rivera
This afternoon, Lou Dobbs attacked Fox News host Geraldo Rivera for stating that Dobbs himself is “almost single-handedly responsible for creating, for being the architect of the young-Latino-as-scapegoat for everything that ails this country.” While Rivera accuses Dobbs of defaming an entire race of people, Dobbs insists that he loves immigrants and Latinos and claims that his accusations are nothing but a reflection of Rivera’s “stupidity” and the company of “ethnocentric left-wing activists” that he keeps:
DOBBS: I’m just still fuming over something that Geraldo Rivera said. I shouldn’t let — This guy is nothing but a fiction of his own imagination and a figment of whatever he sees in the mirror. But, I gotta tell you — the guy is so annoying. I should not let people get to me like this, but you know what? I’m starting to get short of patience with them. [...]
Geraldo Rivera wouldn’t know a fact if it hit him in the rear end — and that would probably be an appropriate place if you wanted him to absorb the information. … This is the kind of vile stupidity and ignorance that he spews everywhere he goes.
Listen here:
“Over the years, Lou Dobbs has consistently used his CNN platform to spread hatred and fear,” states Drop Dobbs, one of three campaigns aimed at pressuring CNN to hold Dobbs to journalistic standards or drop him altogether. News Corp. is reportedly “keen” on luring Dobbs over to the Fox Business Channel. However if CNN does drop Dobbs, it doesn’t look like he’ll have too many friends over at Fox. Last week, Dobbs ripped Fox Business News anchor John Stossel as a “self-important ass” with his “own brand of myopic idiocy” after Stossel told Fox News’ “rodeo clown” Glenn Beck that he does not support “the Lou Dobbs-kind of rants about immigrants wrecking America.” Rivera says that one of his Fox News bosses assured him that Dobbs “is not coming to Fox News.”
CNN’s Jane Velez-Mitchell goes after discriminatory hotel owner: Would you make me change my name too?
CNN’s Jane Velez-Mitchell goes after discriminatory hotel owner: Would you make me change my name too?
New Mexico hotel owner Larry Whitten is currently facing national criticism for demanding that his Hispanic employees change their names and stop speaking Spanish in his presence. Today on CNN, HLN host Jane Velez-Mitchell sharply went after Whitten, introducing herself as “Jane Velez-Mitchell. I hope you don’t mind if I keep using the word ‘Velez’ in my name.” She then went after him for asking his “Spanish” employees to anglicize their names:
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Did you, or did you not, tell someone who’s name is Martin (Mar-TEEN) to say that his name was “Martin,” or similar changes? [...]
WHITTEN: Yes, I asked Martin (Mar-TEEN) to change it to “Martin” to better understand it over the telephone.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: You can’t understand Mar-TEEN? Do you know that the vast majority of people in the community where you have your hotel are Latino? So your customers, to a large extent, are going to be Latino. Now how do you treat the customers when they come in? Do you them also to change their names? Like if I came in, would Jane Velez-Mitchell — so you could better understand my name — would you ask me to change it?
WHITTEN: No, ma’am — [...]
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So the idea that you’re presupposing that people cannot understand Mar-TEEN, but they can understand Martin, really says a lot more about you, sir, than it does about your customers or anybody else.
Throughout the interview, as Velez-Mitchell pointed out, Whitten insisted on calling the employee by the anglicized pronunciation of “Martin.” Watch it:
Transcript: More »
Hotel owner tells ‘Spanish’ employees to change their names and ‘speak only English.’
Hotel owner tells ‘Spanish’ employees to change their names and ‘speak only English.’
The AP reports that in Taos, NM, hotel owner Larry Whitten is under fire for his treatment of his Hispanic employees:
After he arrived, Whitten met with the employees. He says he immediately noticed that they were hostile to his management style and worried they might start talking about him in Spanish.
“Because of that, I asked the people in my presence to speak only English because I do not understand Spanish,” Whitten says. “I’ve been working 24 years in Texas and we have a lot of Spanish people there. I’ve never had to ask anyone to speak only English in front of me because I’ve never had a reason to.” [...]
Then Whitten told some employees he was changing their Spanish first names. Whitten says it’s a routine practice at his hotels to change first names of employees who work the front desk phones or deal directly with guests if their names are difficult to understand or pronounce.
“It has nothing to do with racism. I’m not doing it for any reason other than for the satisfaction of my guests, because people calling from all over America don’t know the Spanish accents or the Spanish culture or Spanish anything,” Whitten says.
Whitten eventually fired many Hispanic several employees for being “hostile and insubordinate.” He further angered the local community when he referred to people in the town as “mountain people” and “potheads who escaped society” during interviews with the press. Watch a video of an August protest against Whitten (which includes one employee named Marcos revealing that he was fired when he refused to change his name to “Mark” or “Bill”):
Geraldo Rips Lou Dobbs For Latino-Bashing Rhetoric, Says He ‘Is Not Coming To Fox News’
Geraldo Rips Lou Dobbs For Latino-Bashing Rhetoric, Says He ‘Is Not Coming To Fox News’
Speaking at a luncheon sponsored by the Spanish newspaper El Diario La Prensa on Thursday, Fox News host Geraldo Rivera said, “One of the aspects of our reality in the United States now is the defamatory tone of the immigration debate and how that immigration debate has slandered an entire race of people.” Rivera proceeded to lay much of the blame at the feet of CNN’s Lou Dobbs:
Lou Dobbs, a man who was an accomplished journalist, and who left to go and start his own venture in the digital media, having to do with space, I believe, and then came back to CNN, and nobody was watching his program. He discovered that one of the way to get people to watch was to make of the image of a young Latino trying to get into this country a profoundly negative icon. Lou Dobbs is almost single-handedly responsible for creating, for being the architect of the young-Latino-as-scapegoat for everything that ails this country.
Rivera’s criticism echoes that of his Fox colleague John Stossel, who said he doesn’t “subscribe to Lou Dobbs-kind of rants about immigrants wrecking America.” (Dobbs subsequently called Stossel a “self-important ass” with “myopic idiocy.”
The New York Times reported recently that Dobbs met with Fox News chief Roger Ailes to discuss possibly joining the Fox Business network. Rivera said in his speech that he was so opposed to Dobbs joining Fox News that he called his boss and received assurance that the network was not going to hire the CNN host:
No more of these lies, no more of this slander, no more of this stereotyping. I can tell you proudly, when this man [Dobbs] was widely rumored to be coming to my network, I called my boss couple of weeks ago, and he said it’s absolutely untrue. Lou Dobbs is not coming to Fox News. He belongs at CNN if they can justify his presence there that’s their problem.
Watch it:
Latino and pro-immigrant activists have launched two campaigns, Drop Dobbs and Basta Dobbs, which are aimed at pressuring CNN to “hold Mr. Dobbs to journalistic standards” or dump him altogether.
CNN Edits Out Dobbs Criticism From Taped Interview
CNN Edits Out Dobbs Criticism From Taped Interview
This week, CNN aired a new four-hour documentary called “Latino in America,” exploring how Latinos are reshaping American communities and culture. The broadcast sparked protests in cities around the country, including outside CNN’s headquarters in Atlanta, with minority groups calling on the network to fire anti-immigration crusader and serial misinformer Lou Dobbs.
The New York Times reports that CNN “has not commented on the protests or covered them on its news programs.” But not only has CNN ignored the Dobbs protests, the network edited out criticism of Dobbs from civil rights lawyer Isabel Garcia during a taped interview with controversial Arizona Sheriff Joe Arapaio that aired on Anderson Cooper 360 this week:
[Garcia] who was featured in “Latino in America” and organized an anti-Dobbs protest in Tucson on Wednesday, said that CNN edited her comments about the anchor out of an interview. [...]
She said she called Mr. Arpaio and Mr. Dobbs “the two most dangerous men to our communities,” and said that “because of them, our communities are being terrorized in a real way.” She also asserted that CNN was “promoting lies and hate about our community” by broadcasting Mr. Dobbs’s program. The comments were not included when the interview was shown Wednesday night. “They heavily deleted what I did get to say,” she said.
This isn’t the first time CNN has circled the wagons around Dobbs. Earlier this year, Dobbs was one of the most prominent mainstream media figures pushing the conspiracy theory that President Obama may not have been born in the U.S. Dobbs repeatedly called on Obama to “produce a birth certificate” and said it’s “unfortunate” that the birthers have been “dismissed.” Despite Dobbs’ hysteria and playing on “escalating white fear,” CNN president Jonathan Klein downplayed Dobbs’ antics, claiming the CNN anchor was merely reporting on the birther “phenomenon” and had simply asked why “some people doubt” Obama’s citizenship.
Moreover, while discussing race issues last year on the air, Dobbs became agitated, and it appeared that he was about to say “cotton picking” (often used as a racially charged slur) in reference to then Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. But he caught himself, only uttering the word “cotton.” In the official transcript of the show, CNN omitted “cotton” from Dobbs’ remarks.
While Dobbs has been quick to jump on right-wing conspiracy theories targeting Obama (including recently peddling a fake thesis purportedly written by Obama that trashes the Constitution, the Founding Fathers and free markets), his hateful anti-immigrant rhetoric has been ongoing for years. Now, Latino and pro-immigrant activists have launched two campaigns, Drop Dobbs and Basta Dobbs, which are aimed at pressuring CNN to “hold Mr. Dobbs to journalistic standards” or dump him altogether.
Lou Dobbs Rips Stossel: A ‘Self Important Ass’ With ‘Myopic Idiocy’
Lou Dobbs Rips Stossel: A ‘Self Important Ass’ With ‘Myopic Idiocy’
Yesterday on his radio show, Lou Dobbs slammed Fox Business News correspondent John Stossel for recently denouncing Dobbs’ “rants about immigrants wrecking America.” Dobbs, who claims to love immigrants, ripped Stossel’s “myopic idiocy” and described Beck — who conducted the interview with Stossel — as a “rodeo clown”:
Fox Business News — their new hire John Stossel — weighing in with his own brand of myopic idiocy and no information whatsoever sat down with self-described rodeo clown Glenn Beck…what a self-important ass. … He doesn’t understand basic economics. … He’s just a silly little trick waiting to do some sort of Libertarian flip. [...]
Immigrants wrecking America — I’ve never said anything close to that. As a matter of fact, I embrace immigrants to this country, I welcome them, I want more — and as a matter of public policy, we need them. In no way am I restrictionist, and to hear this ass continue his act over at Fox News. I just can’t wait until he starts blowing bubbles in the air — that’s about all he’s equipped to do.
Listen here:
Besides accusing immigrants of bringing leprosy to the U.S. and promoting the “Aztlan” conspiracy theory that Mexicans are trying to reconquer part of the country, Dobbs has indeed embraced “restrictionist” arguments. In fact, he has called a high-skilled foreign worker visa program an “assault on middle class working men and women” and is quick to refer to anyone who advocates for sensible levels of legal immigration that match the nation’s economic needs “open border lobbyists.” Dobbs has gone so far as to suggest we can realistically deport all undocumented immigrants. Stossel indicated that he doesn’t subscribe to Dobbs’ views on immigration and draws the line at supporting conservatives like him.
Latino and pro-immigrant activists have launched two campaigns, Drop Dobbs and Basta Dobbs, which are aimed at pressuring CNN to “hold Mr. Dobbs to journalistic standards” or dump him altogether.
John Stossel: ‘I Don’t Subscribe To Lou Dobbs-Kind Of Rants About Immigrants Wrecking America’
John Stossel: ‘I Don’t Subscribe To Lou Dobbs-Kind Of Rants About Immigrants Wrecking America’
Latino and pro-immigrant activists have launched two campaigns, Drop Dobbs and Basta Dobbs, which are aimed at pressuring CNN to “hold Mr. Dobbs to journalistic standards” or dump him altogether. Perhaps sensing an opportunity, Fox News’ senior vice president for programming, Bill Shine, is trying to court Dobbs over to Fox’s business channel.
However, it seems not everyone at Fox News will be welcoming Dobbs with open arms. The network’s newest addition, John Stossel, issued some scathing criticisms of Dobbs in a radio interview today with fellow Fox colleague Glenn Beck. Stossel indicated that he doesn’t support conservatives like Dobbs who rail on immigrants. Beck asked Stossel whether he is willing to “throw his vote away” and not vote for a Republican. Stossel firmly held that if “conservative means stop all immigration and some other things that conservatives say,” then he will not vote Republican:
STOSSEL: If it means the Lou Dobbs-kind of rants about immigrants wrecking America, I don’t subscribe to that. I think immigrants by and large do good things for America.
BECK: I think immigrants I think we need more immigrants, ones that want to be Americans because those immigrants are the only ones that are reminding us that we better get off our ass, we’ve got liberty here and we forget about it all the time.
Listen:
Lou Dobbs’ rants include promoting the “Aztlan” conspiracy theory about Mexican immigrants trying to reconquer portions of the American southwest, falsely claiming that immigrants are bringing leprosy to the US, and musing about whether President Obama himself is an “undocumented” immigrant.
One of Steele’s ‘rules’ that immigrants need to follow to ‘get into the country’: ‘Have some apple pie.’
One of Steele’s ‘rules’ that immigrants need to follow to ‘get into the country’: ‘Have some apple pie.’
Earlier today, ThinkProgress noted that in an interview with Univision, RNC Chairman Michael Steele defended the use of the pejorative term “illegal alien” to describe undocumented immigrants. Elsewhere in the interview, describing the GOP as “the party of assimilation,” Steele offered his advice for how immigrants should approach entering America:
STEELE: Number two, I think as I found with a lot of Hispanics, particularly those who have been her for several generations, they understand and respect the rule of law that is so important as a foundational principle of this country…I can sum it up for you this way, the party as I said is always the party, its been the party of assimilation and that is something that we believe in very firmly and basically what we should be saying is that there are rules that you need to get into the country, go the right door, fill out the right form, have some apple pie, hum a few bars of the star spangle banner and get to work, God bless you, and I think that that begins to set us on the right road to dealing with this issue.
(HT: TPM LiveWire)
As Retailers Dump Offensive ‘Illegal Alien’ Halloween Costume, Fox Calls The Item ‘Fantastic’
As Retailers Dump Offensive ‘Illegal Alien’ Halloween Costume, Fox Calls The Item ‘Fantastic’
Immigration activists are calling on retailers to stop selling a controversial “Illegal Alien” Halloween costume featured on the websites of Walgreens, Toys R Us, Target, Meijer, Amazon, and other retailers. It includes an orange prison jumpsuit with the words “Illegal Alien,” a fake “Green Card,” and an alien mask. The product description reads:
He didn’t just cross a border, he crossed a galaxy! He’s got his green card, but it’s from another planet! Sure to get some laughs, the Illegal Alien Adult Costume includes an orange prison-style jumpsuit with “Illegal Alien” printed on the front, an alien mask and a “green card.”
After receiving complaints about the costume, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles wrote a letter to retailers asking them to stop selling the item. Executive director Angelica Salas called it “distasteful, mean-spirited, and ignorant of social stigmas and current debate on immigration reform.” Target has complied and apologized, saying, “This was never intended to be part of our assortment. We are moving as quickly as possible to remove it from our Web site.” The costume is also no longer on the Toys R Us website.
This morning, however, the hosts of Fox and Friends couldn’t get enough of the costume. Steve Doocy exclaimed, “It’s a joke! Where’s your sense of humor America?” Brian Kilmeade called it “fantastic,” adding, “If you’re here illegally, go to your local police station and tell them how outraged you arebecause you’re an illegal alien and this costume offends you!” Watch it:
Yesterday on Univision, RNC Chairman Michael Steele defended the use of the term “illegal alien,” saying although you can “dress it up any way you want,” undocumented immigrants are still “here illegally”:
RAMOS: Why do you refer to undocumented immigrants as illegal aliens? I’ve spoken with John McCain and Barack Obama, to give you two examples, and they don’t use those terms they call them undocumented immigrants. Why do you call them illegal aliens?
STEELE: Well, if they are here illegally I got a call it what it is. I mean if you can be undocumented — look you can dress it up any way you want the reality of it is the status is the key feature here, and if the status is such that you did not come through the regular process, that you did not present yourself properly, to be documented then you are here illegally.
“Illegal alien” is a pejorative term that dehumanizes people. The National Hispanic Journalists Association has urged media organizations to stop using the phrase:
Many find the term offensive and dehumanizing because it criminalizes the person rather than the actual act of illegally entering or residing in the United States. The term does not give an accurate description of a person’s conditional U.S. status, but rather demeans an individual by describing them as an alien. At the 1994 Unity convention, the four minority journalism groups – NAHJ, Asian American Journalists Association, Native American Journalists Association and National Association of Black Journalists – issued the following statement on this term: “Except in direct quotations, do not use the phrase illegal alien or the word alien, in copy or in headlines, to refer to citizens of a foreign country who have come to the U.S. with no documents to show that they are legally entitled to visit, work or live here. Such terms are considered pejorative not only by those to whom they are applied but by many people of the same ethnic and national backgrounds who are in the U.S. legally.“
Another offensive “Illegal Alien” costume on HalloweenExpress.com has an “Almond eyed” latex mask with a “large black mustache and baseball cap attached.”
Transcript: More »
Bush Administration’s Tourist Visa Policy May Have Cost America The 2016 Olympics
Bush Administration’s Tourist Visa Policy May Have Cost America The 2016 Olympics
In spite of President Obama’s lobbying efforts, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) may have chosen to reject hosting the 2016 summer olympic games in Chicago due to the post-9/11 visa tourist policies established by his predecessor, George W. Bush. Michael Froomkin, Professor at the University of Miami School of Law, is convinced that “the same stupid anti-visitor policy that is destroying American higher education” also sunk Chicago’s Olympic bid. Chicago was eliminated during the first round and received the fewest votes. A New York Times article points out:
In the official question-and-answer session following the Chicago presentation, Syed Shahid Ali, an I.O.C. member from Pakistan, asked the toughest question. He wondered how smooth it would be for foreigners to enter the United States for the Games because doing so can sometimes, he said, be “a rather harrowing experience.”
A “harrowing experience” may be an understatement. Immediately after 9/11, the Bush Administration began requiring fingerprints and photographs of tourists from all but 28 countries entering the US. President Bush required that all foreigners register online within three days of travel. Thirty-five (mostly European) countries now participate in the US Visa Waiver program, however tourists from the rest of the world still have to jump through the following hurdles:
- Pay hefty visa processing and issuance fees.
- Undergo an interview by a visa officer at the US Embassy.
- Provide evidence which shows the purpose of the trip, intent to depart the United States, and arrangements made to cover the costs of the trip may be provided.
- Present convincing evidence that an interested person will provide financial support if the applicant does not have sufficient funds to support him or herself.
The average wait for a US visa has risen to about three months. Brazil, which will host the 2016 Olympic summer games in Rio de Janeiro, has a reciprocal visa policy with all countries. US tourists are required to have a $130 advance visa before entry into the country and are fingerprinted and photographed upon arrival — matching US requirements for Brazilians.
Rhode Island GOP assemblyman quits party following embarrassment of Wilson’s ‘you lie’ screed.
Rhode Island GOP assemblyman quits party following embarrassment of Wilson’s ‘you lie’ screed.
Ivan Marte, the ex-chairman of the Rhode Island Republican Hispanic Assembly, has announced that he’s quitting the Republican Party because he was embarrassed by Rep. Joe Wilson’s “you lie” outburst at President Obama:
“I do not want to continue being a member of a party in which the members of the party express themselves in that way,” said Marte, 59, of Cranston. In a phone interview, he called Wilson’s behavior “shameful” and “uncivilized.”
But Marte said Wilson’s outburst was the last straw in a series of disappointments that led him to break with his party.
In a letter to GOP chairman Giovanni Cicione, Marte wrote, “I do hope that my resignation served as a sign, that the Republican Party in this Nation need to reevaluate their position” on reaching out to minority groups.
Obama to be first president to appear on Univision’s Sunday public affairs show, Al Punto.
Obama to be first president to appear on Univision’s Sunday public affairs show, Al Punto.
This weekend, President Obama will be appearing on five Sunday morning talk shows, including CBS’s Face the Nation, NBC’s Meet the Press, CNN’s State of the Union, and ABC’s This Week. However, he is passing over Fox News Sunday in favor of Univision’s Al Punto. While other presidents have appeared on Univision, Marcy Wheeler notes that this is the first time a president will be on Al Punto:
As such, it seems to me, it ought to focus some attention on Al Punto’s role in the Sunday line-up. And, as it turns out, the White House can justify blowing off Fox for Univision not just to reach out to Latinos rather than white racists. According to Univision’s corporate communications, Al Punto (531,000) does better than FNS (417,000) in the all-important 18-49 demographic (and has done so for the last 10 months), and it often beats CBS’ Face the Nation in that demo as well.
Bachmann Thanks God For Rep. Wilson, Repeats Lie That Undocumented Immigrants Will Get Federal Health Carehinkp
Bachmann Thanks God For Rep. Wilson, Repeats Lie That Undocumented Immigrants Will Get Federal Health Carehinkp
On Saturday, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) hosted a town hall event on health care where she basically claimed that President Obama is lying when he says that undocumented immigrants won’t be covered under any health care reform plan:
BACHMANN: The real issue is, will illegal aliens have access to taxpayer-subsidized health care? Well, the answer is yes, they will. In the bill, 3200 has a section that says illegal aliens will not have access to health care, and that’s why President Obama is able to say that. But the practical effect is that illegal aliens will have access to health care because there is no provision for enforcement in the bill.
In other words, someone could walk into a Health and Human Services office and say, “I’d like to have free health care for me and my family.” And the Health and Human Services office wouldn’t have any ability to ask, “Are you a legal citizen of the United States?” They would have no ability to ask, “Could you show me your documentation to prove that you’re a United States citizen?” Without that law of enforcement, the practical effect is that illegal aliens will have health care.
Watch it:
Of course, this claim is the same one made by Rep. Joe “You Lie!” Wilson (R-SC). At a tea party later on Saturday, Bachmann expressed her support for Wilson by saying that “she thanked God” for him, although she added that his conduct “is not how things should be handled.”
Many policy experts point out that if verification mechanisms are put in place, they are best done after legislation is passed so that they can best match the processes in place. On the Wonk Room, Andrea Nill explained why the House voted down verification measures:
The two amendments to verify citizenship were voted down because one would have given private insurance providers unprecedented access to the sensitive income and identity information of all those applying for health care assistance and the other would have “imposed a burdensome and costly documentation procedure that we know has been a sledgehammer for a non-existent problem.”
Verification measures aren’t always effective either. A House Oversight Committee investigation “reviewed six state Medicaid programs in 2007 and concluded that verification rules had cost the federal government an additional $8.3 million. They caught exactly eight illegal immigrants.” The Government Accountability Office has found that such requirements caused eligible U.S. citizens to lose Medicaid coverage.
Additionally, the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act already prohibits undocumented immigrants from being eligible for most public benefits, restricts the eligibility of legal immigrants, and codifies procedures for verifying eligibility.
Pawlenty called out on false claim that large numbers of undocumented immigrants are using public services.
Pawlenty called out on false claim that large numbers of undocumented immigrants are using public services.
Today on ABC’s This Week, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) defended Rep. Joe “You Lie!” Wilson’s (R-SC) concern that undocumented immigrants would be able to get federal health care benefits. Although Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius stated that President Obama and Congress have made it clear that undocumented immigrants shouldn’t “have access to the new health insurance exchange,” Pawlenty claimed that they will still will “show up” and “get the services” because no one checks their citizenship status. When Stephanopoulos called out his inaccurate claim, Pawlenty stumbled for a response:
PAWLENTY: Well, there’s a missing piece here, George. And even if you have language that says illegal immigrants will not be a part of this program — unless you have the enforcement mechanism in place, it doesn’t mean much. In Minnesota, we have laws that say illegal immigrants won’t get many services, but unless somebody actually checks, guess what, they show up and they get the services.
STEPHANOPOULOS: There’s been a study done by the House Oversight Committee that showed these Medicaid provisions, they spent about $8 million to enforce and they caught eight illegal immigrants.
PAWLENTY: Well, clearly, though, if you have a law that’s unenforced, it isn’t much of a law. So first of all, if the secretary is saying we’re going to have a provision in the bill that says illegal immigrants will not be covered, that’s progress, but we also need to make sure we can back that up with proper enforcement.
Watch it:
Over at the Wonk Room, Igor Volsky has more on Pawlenty’s inaccurate claim and points out that “documentation requirements may be weeding out more eligible applicants than illegals.”
GOP Lawmakers Treat President Obama’s Joint Address To Congress Like A Town Hall Protest
GOP Lawmakers Treat President Obama’s Joint Address To Congress Like A Town Hall Protest
Tonight during his joint address to Congress, President Obama attempted to set the record straight on some of the “key controversies” surrounding the health care debate. While it’s normal for members of the opposition party to occasionally not clap at statements with which they disagree, congressional Republicans went further tonight, being outright rude at times.
At one point, President Obama addressed the myth that his health care proposals would insure undocumented immigrants: “This, too, is false – the reforms I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally.”
In response, Republicans not only began booing him, but Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) shouted out, “LIE!” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) shot an angry look in his direction, and Vice President Biden shook his head. The rudeness shocked even veteran political observers such as NBC’s Chuck Todd, who wrote on Twitter, “Wow. What’s next a duel?” MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough also wrote, “Whoever shouted out that the president was lying is a dumbass who should show the President respect.” On MSNBC after the speech, Newsweek reporter Howard Fineman said, “The Republicans were mostly stage props in this speech tonight and they behaved like it.”
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) could also be seen wearing holding a homemade sign — similar to the ones seen at town hall protests — around his neck, which read, “What bill?” Watch it:
Various Republican lawmakers were also holding up draft GOP bills during the speech:
Transcript: More »
“This evening I let my emotions get the best of me when listening to the President’s remarks regarding the coverage of illegal immigrants in the health care bill. While I disagree with the President’s statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the President for this lack of civility.”
U.S. Forest Service warns against campers drinking Tecate beer, eating tortillas, and playing Spanish music.
U.S. Forest Service warns against campers drinking Tecate beer, eating tortillas, and playing Spanish music.
The Wonk Room reports that the US Forest Service issued and then retracted a Labor Day warning advising hikers to beware of campers in national forests speaking Spanish, drinking Tecate beer, eating tortillas, spam or tuna, and playing Spanish music because “they could be armed marijuana growers.” Polly Baca of the Colorado Latino Forum accused the U.S. Forest Service of racial profiling and said the warning is discriminatory. Julien Ross, Executive Director of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, added:
All Coloradans, and in particular elected lawmakers, should restrain from blaming entire communities for the acts of a few individuals…lawmakers concerned about the drug trade would be better served focusing on lessening the demand for drugs in their local district than scapegoating immigrants.
Hank Kashdan, associate chief of the U.S. Forest Service, later apologized on behalf of his colleagues.
New Hampshire right-wing protester suggests sending ‘illegals’ home with a ‘bullet in their head.’
New Hampshire right-wing protester suggests sending ‘illegals’ home with a ‘bullet in their head.’
The New Hampshire Republican Volunteer Coalition urged its members to make their voices heard today in Portsmouth, NH outside of a high school where President Obama was discussing health care reform. Sure enough, right-wing protesters came out not just in protest of health care, but also furiously offering the suggestion that undocumented immigrants should be sent back to their home countries with “a bullet in their head.”
“Why are we bankrupting this country for 21 million illegals who should be sent on the first bus one way back from wherever they come from. We don’t need illegals. Send them home once. Send them home with a bullet in their head the second time. Read what Jefferson said about the Tree of Liberty — it’s coming baby.”
Watch it:
Right-wing protesters have been inspiring each other by referencing this 1787 quote by Thomas Jefferson: “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” One Portsmouth protester also held a sign which read “It Is Time To Water The Tree Of Liberty.”
Tom Tancredo says ‘Sonia Mayer’ appointment could indicate that Obama is racist.
Tom Tancredo says ‘Sonia Mayer’ appointment could indicate that Obama is racist.
Last night, former Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) went on The Ed Schultz show to tacitly defend Glenn Beck’s statements on President Obama’s perceived “hatred of white people.” Tancredo further claimed that Obama’s appointment of “Sonia Mayer” could serve as an indication that he is in fact a racist:
TANCREDO: I do not know if he has a hatred for white people. I can say that his [Obama] statements and his appointment of someone I do believe to be a racist, “Sonia Mayer,” for her racial views by the way — that is an indication, that could be used as an indication by some, that he is indeed a racist. Because it’s depending on what you use as a definition.
Watch it:
Back in May, Tancredo called Judge Sonia Sotomayor a “racist” member of the Latino KKK, otherwise known as National Council of La Raza — the nation’s largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization. He has been accused of racism himself for warning that immigration “threatens western civilization.” And he even blasted the pope for his pro-immigrant positions. At the end of the segment last night, Tancredo claimed that Schultz could be accused of hate speech for his attacks on Beck and that he would be “affronted” by the mere suggestion that he might have a “deep-seeded hatred for the Latino community.”
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