The Arizona Immigration Law

Ken AshfordConstitution, Immigration and Xenophobia3 Comments

There's no way in hell Arizona's new immigration law passes constitutional muster. The “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act”  requires that police officers determine the immigration status of a person “where reasonable suspicion exists” that the person is in the country illegally. The officer must then verify the suspects immigration status with the federal government. As many have … Read More

Palin Left College In Hawaii Because Of The Slighty-Eyed People

Ken AshfordElection 2012, Immigration and XenophobiaLeave a Comment

Seriously…. what would cause a young woman to quit college in Hawaii? In The New Yorker review of Sarah Palin's Going Rogue, Sam Tanenhaus touched on the reason, as re-reported here in The Huffington Post: Palin, though notoriously ill-traveled outside the United States, did journey far to the first of the four colleges she attended, in Hawaii. She and a … Read More

Texas Lawmaker Thinks Asian-Americans Should Change Their Last Names

Ken AshfordImmigration and XenophobiaLeave a Comment

…in order to make them understandable to "Americans" (thereby implying that Asian-Americans aren't "Americans"): A North Texas legislator during House testimony on voter identification legislation said Asian-descent voters should adopt names that are “easier for Americans to deal with.” The comments caused the Texas Democratic Party on Wednesday to demand an apology from state Rep. Betty Brown, R-Terrell. But a … Read More

Since When Is Ignorance A Virtue?

Ken AshfordEducation, Election 2008, Foreign Affairs, Immigration and XenophobiaLeave a Comment

So here’s the latest scandal rocking the Obama campaign…. Last week, Obama said this: Instead of worrying about whether immigrants can learn English — they’ll learn English — you need to make sure your child can speak Spanish. You should be thinking about, how can your child become bilingual? We should have every child speaking more than one language. You … Read More

Dunkin Donuts Is Being Ridiculous

Ken AshfordImmigration and Xenophobia, Right Wing Punditry/Idiocy, War on Terrorism/Torture1 Comment

OMG!  Look!  It’s celebrity spokesperson Rachael Ray talking about Dunkin Donuts!!  And look what she’s wearing around her neck!  That looks vaguely middle eastern!  It looks like a keffiyeh.  Is she a terrorist-supporter?!?  Does Dunkin Donuts (by inference) support terrorism?!?!? Some observers, including ultra-conservative Fox News commentator Michelle Malkin, were so incensed by the ad that there was even talk … Read More

Immigrant More Law-Abiding Than The Rest Of Us

Ken AshfordImmigration and XenophobiaLeave a Comment

One of the right wing’s favorite anti-immigrant claims is that immigrants are dangerous and commit high levels of crime. A new report by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California, however, finds that these claims are baseless: “In California, as in the rest of the nation, immigrants … have extremely low rates of criminal activity,” said Kristin Butcher, a co-author … Read More

Indeed

Ken AshfordGodstuff, Immigration and Xenophobia, War on Terrorism/TortureLeave a Comment

Yglesius writes: Harold Meyerson asks the question that’s on every secular liberal’s mind: How is it that the political mobilization of Christianity in the United States seems to have gotten us so much torture, aggressive warfare, and xenophobia? Where’s the humane, universalistic ethic of the Gospels go?

Shorter Jonah Goldberg

Ken AshfordForeign Affairs, Immigration and Xenophobia, Right Wing Punditry/IdiocyLeave a Comment

"America, fuck yeah!" UPDATE:  Sorry, I can’t just leave it at that.  In this thinly-veiled "liberals hate America" article, Goldberg writes this: The dirty, embarrassing secret is that this sort of multiculturalism has made Europe a wellspring of Islamic radicalism and terrorism, but America’s Muslim community has remained overwhelmingly peaceful. Why? Well, if the answer doesn’t lay in President Bush’s … Read More

Congrats To All Who Urge Strict Border Control

Ken AshfordImmigration and XenophobiaLeave a Comment

Michelle Malkin, Rush Limbaugh and others — your message is getting through: The video, filmed with night-vision equipment and low in quality, is not always easy to understand. Here is a detailed description: The footage starts by showing a single figure wearing a backpack sneaking along a rugged desert trail. A male voice, off-camera, says: “I got him. He’s low … Read More