U.S. National Public Radio had an opinion piece by one of the founders of the Minuteman Project on "All Things Considered" yesterday. It's the only time that my car radio foamed at the mouth...
On 4/8/06, Louis Proyect <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > http://www.jameswolcott.com/ > Tracer Fire > Flag Wavers and Saber Rattlers > Posted by James Wolcott > > "White riot/I wanna riot/white riot--a riot of my own" sang-chanted the > Clash on their first album, and that seems to be the rallying cry of angry > white middle-aged pundits and radio hosts fed up with having Mexican flags > flaunted in their faces like the dancing skirts of haughty senoritas. > Skilled in the military art of shooting off their mouths, these are > dime-brained demagogues ready to inflame ethnic and national antagonisms > and defend the Alamo all over again, even if it means expelling millions of > immigrants already here and then constructing a Krauthammer Wall of > non-Frank Gehry design* that will endure as a testament to the marriage of > nativism and neoconservatism.* > > Which is a fancy way of saying that the rhetoric on cable news over the > immigration controversy, never pretty, has taken a wide turn to the ugly > over the last week. Yesterday, Fox News, playing catch-up on the issue > CNN's Lou Dobbs has owned for the last few years, solicited the wise-owl > perspective of G. Gordon Liddy. Because when there's a sensitive, nuanced > issue on the table, Liddy's the guy you bring in to set it aflame. In his > feisty old age, he reminds one of the sort of coot who stands guard on the > front porch on Halloween, hoping some punk kids will trespass across the > lawn so that he can pock them full of buckshot and leave them bleeding into > the freshly mown grass. If he were a hostage negotiator, everybody would > end up as dead, including bystanders and stray animals. > > Perhaps I overstate. > > But it was clear from his appearance that he's aching for action against > all these interlopers with their Mexican flags, saying that if they want to > wave Mexican flags, let 'em go back to Mexico. It was clear from the tenor > of his comments that he wants confrontation between protestors and > protestors-protesting-the-protesters, because enough is enough, look where > this coddling has gotten us, it's time for the country to stand up for itself. > > But the real prize was Dr. Jack Wheeler, whose appearance on Neil Cavuto's > was touted enthusiastically by Ms. Pamela at Atlas Shrugs (which in itself > should set off a cathedral of warning bells), peddles a much slicker line > of shit. First off, the "Dr." bit has all the hallmarks of someone trying > to pad his loafers to gain sham stature. (Dr. James Dobson, anyone?) > Wheeler was on to warn us about the prospect of a second civil war, which > would be waged between native-born Americans and Mexican invaders. He > argued on Neil Cavuto's Fox News show that Mexico, not Iran, was the > greatest threat to American security. > > (clip) > -- Jim Devine / "There can be no real individual freedom in the presence of economic insecurity." -- Chester Bowles
