Day: June 16, 2007

Color me nit-picky…

An otherwise perfectly good article by Alan Sears about how the ACLU has not deserted its communist roots is marred by its lede:

“Just as a leopard cannot change its spots, nor a zebra its stripes… ”

Waat Sears ought to do is either cite the actual literary quote that contains “leopard” and “spots” or move to a different (innacurate, but perhaps more fitting) quote and enrich the meme.

But of course Sears is too infected by the PC restraints of today’s society (or, worse, ignorant of the citation) to cite the actual literary quote:

Jeremiah 13:23: “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? [then] may you also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.”

Better, IMO would have been to cite a different meme entirely, if Sears were unable to cite the real literary meme on leopards and spots would have been to cite the corruption of it that renders “leopard” as “leper” because the meme touches on a physical corruption that would reflect on the moral and ethical and spiritual corruption that is evident in the ACLU from its founding consistently through to this very day.

For truly, can a leper change his spots any more than an Ethiopian his skin or a leopard his spots? And yet, neither the Ethiopian’s nor the leopard’s distinctive skins in any way reflect anything negative about their physical being, while leoprosy does definitely show forth a sickness of body that can be taken, when applied to the moral, ethical and spiritual nature of the ACLU, to mean a corruption.

In any case, Sears ought either to unapologetically use the full original literary citation–which does carry a sense of indicting a corrupt nature, or make some other allusion, even the flawed, mis-stated allusion of a “leper’s spots”. Leopards and zebras standing alone are a whimpy literary device.

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BTW, the statement recorded in Jeremiah 13:23 was a snippet from a long, uhm, Jeremiad levied by (of course) Jeremiah at the behest of God, against the Jews–“God’s own people”. Keep that in mind the next time you start feeling that America is elect, particularly blessed and “special”–only so long as we “do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with [our] God”… we hope.

Perhaps that ought to be tattoed (in mirror fashion) on the forehead of every public servant, so that they might at least have some sort of reminder that justice and mercy are inextricably bound together by humility, since so few of them show any of those qualities. Hmmm, perhaps I ought to write a small screed explaining how none of those three can truly exist without the other two in equal measure… Nah. Waste of time. Those of y’all who already understand that don’t need to read it, and those of y’all who do not already understand it… won’t.

(BTW, I would have commented at the Townhall site where the article is posted, but the idjits just want folks to jump through too many hurdles, and I’ll almost never be that desperate to talk back to a columnist.)

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Trackposted to The Right Nation, The Virtuous Republic, Webloggin, The Pink Flamingo, The Florida Masochist, Right Celebrity, Stageleft, and Jo’s Cafe, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

[Amendment: *sigh* “Post at haste, repent at leisure” could apply. I meant to follow the post title with, “…Payoffs are not,” as the first sentence of this post. Would have made kore sense.]

Note that there is one provision of the Senate Shamnesty Billate that I could easily support, were it presented on its own: a provision offering a citizenship track to certain illegal aliens for service (and honorable discharge on completion of service) in the Armed Forces of the United States. Such persons would, IMO, have offered full restitution for their crimes and amended their faulty immigration status by their service. In fact, you might note I agreed with Jerry Pournelle’s suggestion along those lines earlier:

“…as I have often said, the proper way to deal with illegal immigrants, is (1) close the border, (2) pay a bonus to any who will voluntarily leave — say $4,000 or so, which is significant to them but still a savings to both nation and state; (3) instruct the police that any who come their attention as misfeasors of any serious degree be turned over to the authorities for detention and deportation and make that stick, (4) offer citizenship to any who spend 8 years in the armed services ending in honorable discharge, and (5) wait to see what happens then. I have no idea whether you would call that compassionate. It seems very reasonable to me.” [emphasis added]

As before, I’m not all that happy with rewarding illegal aliens for “catching” themselves and performing a self-deportation. In fact, I’d be happier if a bounty–with protections against abuse–were in place to reward citizens who turned in illegals who were then deported deep into Mexico (if Mexican or if entered from there) or their countries of origin. Heck, I could retire off bounties within a couple of months (not that that significantly affects my position, since it’s a matter of principle, not economic–rewarding outlaws for breaking the law is never a good idea).

In fact, I’m a tad surprised at Pournelle for suggesting that we pay illegals to leave, since he was once fond of quoting:

Danegeld
by Rudyard Kipling

IT IS always a temptation to an armed and agile nation,
To call upon a neighbour and to say:
“We invaded you last night – we are quite prepared to fight,
Unless you pay us cash to go away.”

And that is called asking for Dane-geld,
And the people who ask it explain
That you’ve only to pay ’em the Dane-geld
And then you’ll get rid of the Dane!

It is always a temptation to a rich and lazy nation,
To puff and look important and to say:
“Though we know we should defeat you, we have not the time to meet you.
We will therefore pay you cash to go away.”

And that is called paying the Dane-geld;
But we’ve proved it again and again,
That if once you have paid him the Dane-geld
You never get rid of the Dane.

It is wrong to put temptation in the path of any nation,
For fear they should succumb and go astray,
So when you are requested to pay up or be molested,
You will find it better policy to say:

“We never pay any one Dane-geld,
No matter how trifling the cost,
For the end of that game is oppression and shame,
And the nation that plays it is lost!”

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Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, DeMediacratic Nation, Maggie’s Notebook, Adam’s Blog, The Pet Haven Blog, Stuck On Stupid, Webloggin, Cao’s Blog, The Amboy Times, Leaning Straight Up, , The Florida Masochist, Conservative Cat, Jo’s Cafe, Pursuing Holiness, Rightlinx, Right Celebrity, Woman Honor Thyself, Stageleft, Wake Up America, The Uncooperative Blogger, The World According to Carl, Blue Star Chronicles, Nuke’s news and views, The Right Nation, The Pink Flamingo, Dumb Ox Daily News, and Church and State, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

While “La Raza” and “Aztlan” activists, along with the Mexican government spout their claims that it is they who rightfully “own” much of the U.S., and shameful and disingenuous acts of surrender to those claims circulate the halls of Congress, perhaps the following (mentioned here at twc several times before) ought to be spread far and wide:

“In the first place we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the man’s becoming in very fact an American, and nothing but an American…There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag, which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile…We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language…and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

I’m more grateful than many for LEGAL immigrants. Without them, I’d never have met my Wonder Woman and enjoyed the last 29 years of her company. Sure, it was her grandparents who LEGALLY immigrated and became citizens, learning ENGLISH and becoming AMERICANS, but without their wholehearted resolve to forsake all other alliegiances and become Americans–decidedly NOT hyphenated-Americans with divided loyalties–she might never have been, for her two sets of grandparents were from rather widely separated regions of the same country, and their children might never have met, had they not emmigrated to America and ended up attending the same college here. And besides that, how would we have met–even had she been born–since I’ve never visited her grandparents’ homeland?

BUT, the key is clear: her grandparents came here LEGALLY and became citizens of this country with no divided loyalties, let alone “citizens” who proclaim, as “La Raza” and “Aztlan” people so widely do, that their only loyalty is to a foreign land.

If someone comes to this country and insists we adopt THEIR ways, insists we accomodate their former tongue, etc., then why come here? Let them be honest in their loyalties to another land and GO HOME.

Bill, at The Florida Masochist has made much of the case of Pedro Guzman, possibly an American “citizen” deported to Mexico. I emphasize “possibly” for good reason. Why? Because, according to the sources cited by Bill himself*, Pedro Guzman, supposedly an American citizen, identified himself to multiple authorities as a Mexican national. Hey! If that’s where his loyalties lie, then that’s where he ought to be: Mexico. The bleeding heart plea is that Guzman is supposedly “developmentally disabled”. Pull the other one, folks. Absent a better definition than that, it’s useless to make that bleeding heart plea.

I grew up with LEGAL immigrants and those on REAL Visas from Mexico. Although my high school was only about 15% “Latino” more than half my circle of friends was of that heritage. I know what Americans of that heritage can be like… and I know what pseudo Americans whose real loyalty is to another land are like.

If Pedro Guzman and others like him represent themselves as Mexicans, then bye-bye Pedro! If they genuinely want to be Americans, then,

“There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag, which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile…We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language…and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.” [emphasis added]

And…

“…the policy or advantage of [immigration] taking place in a body (I mean the settling of them in a body) may be much questioned; for, by so doing, they retain the language, habits, and principles (good or bad) which they bring with them. Whereas by an intermixture with our people, they, or their descendants, get assimilated to our customs, measures, and laws: in a word, soon become one people.” –George Washington

And, making my most critical point even better than Roosevelt did,

“The bosom of America is open to receive not only the Opulent and respectable Stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all Nations and Religions; whom we shall welcome to a participation of all our rights and privileges, if by decency and propriety of conduct they appear to merit the enjoyment.” — George Washington (Address to the Members of the Volunteer Association of Ireland, 2 December 1783)

ILLEGAL aliens (and those who have neither the decency nor the moral character to give their allegiance to the country whose benefits they enjoy), who by the very fact of their illegal entry and residence irrefutably demoinstrate their disqualification as decent persons, should never be welcome here. Fundamental disrespect for our laws and the fundamental precepts of the Republic are disqualification enough. Oops. That would seem to exclude most of Congress and Fifi Bush, Felipe Calderon’s lapdog, wouldn’t it?

Oh, well.

Color me unimpressed (to put it kindly, the previous phrase having been thoroughly bowdlerized *heh*) with those who seek ever opportunity to excuse those who: invade our country, flout our borders and our laws, remain committed to a foreign government, while claiming American citizenship, seek the overthrow and suplantation of American rule of American soil, and who otherwise seek to undermine and devalue American citizenship.

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*BTW, “born in California” is cited once in the linked article. Critical: ICE interviews indicated another fact:

Continue reading “A Few Words for the Shamnesty/Anti-Rule of Law Folks”