Barack Obama says that immigration policy needs to prevent "people with Spanish surnames from being discriminated against." Quite so. Nobody should discriminate against me!
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A Pander Built for Me
21 Feb 2008 08:34 pm
Comments (27)
Maybe MattY could do one post po Russki, since this "debate" is truly in the Soviet style. All those on stage are on the same side, and they're simply giving the same old answers to the same questions.
Maybe MattY could also weigh in on the propriety of CNN choosing a Mexican citizen as one of their questioners, something that I'm sure they didn't disclose to their viewers.
A real debate would have involved asking about the downsides of what they all support.
If you want that debate, you're going to have to do it yourself by going to campaign appearances and asking the candidates real questions, not CNN's Sovietski puffballs.
I know you've discussed it before, Matt, but what's the story on the Y in Yglesias? In Spanish it's "iglesias" for church, but I've seen Ys instead of Is in some words, usually Argentinian or that area of south america. Or is it a Jewish thing?
Just from a purely etymological standpoint, I'm curious. No offense, I hope.
In relation to the OP, I didn't associate your name with being Hispanic, partly from your Anglicized first name and partly because the last name isn't all that common (think we discussed that in another post - I think mine's just as rare as yours).
Isn't there an obvious need of an exception to allow discrimination against persons with Spanish surnames who went to Harvard? They're awfully hard to take.--Jay C. Smith
PS. I hate to admit it, but I originally wrote "perons with Spanish surnames" which is, I fear, both under and over inclusive. I feel to silly to discriminate against even the Crimson ones at this point.
"Quite so. Nobody should discriminate against me!"
Israel bashers should be discriminated against.
And just when is something going to stop the discrimination against us Norwegians? Jokes about lutefisk and everyone saying "Uff da," like they even know what it means, and all those Sven and Ollie stories and other Norwegian jokes. Like Walter Mondale.
Oops, I did it to myself.
TLB makes a good point.
While Obama is worried about discrimination against folks with Spanish surnames, what about an immigration policy that considers the unemployment rates in the African American community? Does it make sense to import more poor people when African American unemployment is over 8% nationally, and black teen unemployment is over 20%? Maybe if there weren't a ready supply of Mexican immigrants more low-skilled African Americans would be employed.
Re Matthew's comment "Nobody should discriminate against me!"
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Uh..except for Latinos who think your surname means you're a British pervert who created the "Mousehole Wild Bird Hospital and Sanctuary" ??
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mousehole_Wild_Bird_Hospital_and_Sanctuary
Re SLC's comment "Israel bashers should be discriminated against."
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Such a VAGUE term is "Israel bashers". One wonders what SLC means. Does it encompass someone who complains that passport control at Tel Avis airport was slow? Someone who ,perchance, had a mediocre meal in a Jerusalem restaurant and complained about it?
I thought the fashionable phrase was "New Anti-Semite" -- but that already seems on the way out:
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/matthew_yglesias/2007/02/matthew_yglesias.html
From Matt's article:
"the belief that Israel should not exist as a Jewish state.
The latter view, while not something I agree with, simply is not anti-semitism."
Oh, yeah? Tell it to Josh Marshall. He most certainly does think it's anti-Semitic. That's how I got banned at TPM.
For those who don't know what "New Anti-Semitism" is, here's the Wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_antisemitism
You won't believe it - unless you're SLC, of course.
Jeremy:
Matt said in a post a while back that it was of Galician origin. That's how they spell it there.
Not to get drawn off topic, but I don't really see how a fair observer can say that somebody is anti-Semitic because they don't believe Israel should be a Jewish state. Perhaps they have a philosophical belief that all states should be neutral on matters of religious faith. Just throwing it out there.
There are only two solutions to the issue of Israel and the Palestinians, by the way, and they are 1) the two state solution or 2) Israel ceasing to be a Jewish state. I strongly favor #1. But the status quo, of non-Jewish people being forced to be part of a state that is defined as a Jewish state and not being granted full rights as citizens, is obviously untenable. And you cannot simply grant the Palestinians full rights as Israeli citizens, because the demographics would eventually result in Israel no longer having a Jewish majority (thus, no more Jewish state). So the two-state solution is the only solution, and the sooner everyone agrees on this, the sooner a solution can be reached. But I digress.
Immigration is a thorny issue and always will be. I think Obama will score points for the DREAM program. I also think he had a very intelligent response on Cuba (with more detail than Clinton's with regard to remittances and travel restrictions, I might add). But I guess that's a different discussion as well.
Re: "weigh in on the propriety of CNN choosing a Mexican citizen as one of their questioners, something that I'm sure they didn't disclose to their viewers."
I don't see what difference it makes.
For 40 years we had Peter Jennings of ABC, a Canadian citizen, asking questions of US presidential candidates and I'm sure you had no problem with that.
Jorge Ramos is a journalist who lives and works in he United States. People of Mexican origin are not the enemy.
I don't see what difference it makes.
That's because you're not a sad shut-in whose continued residence in Los Angeles is designed to fuel no more than sociopathy.
Jorge Ramos is an American citizen. That Whack O'Mole, the nth-gen spawn of immigrants who'd curse his sad existence, thinks dual citizenship is a harbinger of Teh Brown Menace's plot to overthrow the US just shows that comprehensive mental health coverage needs to be a part of the next president's healthcare policy.
"There are only two solutions to the issue of Israel and the Palestinians, by the way, and they are 1) the two state solution or 2) Israel ceasing to be a Jewish state."
I can think of other solutions. One is that Israel unilaterally draws a border with the West Bank (as it did with Gaza), and lets the Palestinians do what they want on their side of it -- declare a state, whine for another few decades, whatever. Within its borders Israel will have a comfortable Jewish majority.
Another solution would be to annex the West Bank and just not allow Palestinians to vote. In this way, even if Palestinians became the majority, Jews would maintain the political power. This would be similar to the status quo next door in Jordan, where Palestinians make up 70% of the population, but the king and his power base are of the Hashemite minority. Granted, in this scenario, Israel could no longer claim to be a full democracy, but so what? Neither are Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, etc.
Still another solution would be to maintain the status quo for another couple of decades and wait for Palestinians to lose their zeal for a state and look for greener pastures elsewhere.
Actually, I'm going to correct myself before Whack O'Mole WikiWords me.
He's right: Jorge Ramos isn't a US citizen. Which means he has exactly the same right to comment on US politics as Andrew Sullivan.
The curious thing, though, is that Whack O'Mole has had plenty of opportunities to ask all of his hard kwestins in public. There was, after all, a primary in California.
That, however, would entail crawling out from under the bed, and, oh noes! spending time in public among the brown people he hates so pathetically and viscerally.
Mr. Yglesias' support of Senator Obama is far more troubling then his occasional Israel bashing. Attached is an article from the Jerusalem Post about Senator Obama which raises troubling questions. Now one can dismiss the article because it is written by the president of Republicans abroad as a mere partisan attack. However, the list of anti-Israel advisers to Senator Obama should raise red flags.
1. Zbigniew Brzezinski. Prof. Brzenzinski is a long time Israel basher and defender of the vile cowards Walt and Mearsheimer.
2. Robert O. Malley. Long time Israel basher and apologizer and defender of the late and unlamented Yasir Arafat. His father, who was Syrian, was a long time virulent antisemite.
3. Susan Rice. Former Kerry advisor who thought it would be a good idea to appoint Israel bashers James Earl Carter and Jame (fuck the Jews) Baker as Israel/Palestinian facilitators in a Kerry administration.
4. Jeremiah Wright, Jr. Rev. Wright is Senator Obamas' pastor and, by the latters' own admission one of the most important influences on his life. Rev. Wright supports the disinvestment campaign against Israel.
These are the folks who Mr. Yglesias has chosen to get into bed with. Those of us who support the State of Israel will draw their own conclusions.
Sorry, forgot the link.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1203589810710&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Now one can dismiss the article because it is written by the president of Republicans abroad as a mere partisan attack.
And one can also take the article with a grain of salt for appearing in the Jerusalem Post, the Wall Street Journal of Israeli politics.
SLC,
The GOP is a stronger pro-Israel party these days than the Democrats. If Israel is your main issue, vote Republican. Don't expect the Democrats to pander to Jews on Israel anymore. Jews are a negligibly small voting block, and even among Jewish Democrats, support for Israel varies. Plus, Democrats have their black voting block, and most blacks still hate Jews for helping them get civil rights.
Re steve
Mr. steve makes a good point. However, Israel is not the only issue on the table. I am equally concerned with appointees to the Supreme Court and do not think that the appointment of another Sam Alito would be a good thing for the country.
Alito and Roberts are the most intelligent and most qualified additions to the court in a generation. But if you'd rather another Ginsberg, then vote Democrat. But don't start crying later if you don't like President Obama's Mideast policy. You were warned.
Re Steve
Sam Alito is a fascist cocksucker who is about as qualified a member of the Supreme Court as Eric Prince or Don Black, both Rethuglican heros.
Looks like SLC is studying up to be the new MoeLarry&Jesus.
"people with Spanish surnames from being discriminated against."
In reality, people with Spanish surnames have been discriminated _for_ since the Nixon Administration extended affirmative action to Hispanics in 1973. It's an interesting question why people who have just gotten off the plane from Buenos Aires immediately benefit from a program originally intended to help the descendants of American slaves, but nobody ever seems interested in asking it. It's just so much more fun to argue, pro or con, over affirmative action for blacks, even though the recent Pew Research Center analysis projected that there will be 128 million Hispanics (and thus eligible for affirmative action benefits) in 2050, more than double the number of blacks.
I just assumed that Mr. Yglesias was some sort of romantic type of Ibero-American from Ypsilanti.
Thanks for the answer, David! My inquiring mind can rest at ease now.
Comments closed March 06, 2008.
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Heads in the Sand
Hey Matt! Stop making us chase you! Please spin an open thread and join us in the fray.
Posted by plum | February 21, 2008 8:37 PM