← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · EDUMAKATEDMOFO
Thread ID: 17596 | Posts: 14 | Started: 2005-04-01
2005-04-01 15:11 | User Profile
[I]Is anyone else familiar with this... ahem...'gentleman'? My local paper, The Indianapolis Star, gives this guy space on the editorial page at least once a week. And if you've read Miguel, you know the thesis of his every column is the same. Read one, read them all;
We 'Latinos' are taking over... get the hell out of our way... any opposition is xenophobic/bigoted.[/I]
[I]Anyway, here I've posted his latest and best. "Best" because it's so brazenly open about what open borders mean to him and his crew: Government cheese and political power.[/I]
FOR U.S. LATINOS, STATEHOOD FOR PUERTO RICO WOULD BE A BLESSING by Miguel Perez
For a majority of Puerto Ricans, becoming the 51st state of the union has always been the second-best option for running their Caribbean island. Commonwealth -- the unique relationship they have enjoyed with the United States since 1952 -- has finished first in three plebiscites. And independence -- becoming a sovereign nation -- always comes in a distant third, in single digits. But for the nation's other Latinos, let's not fool ourselves: Puerto Rican statehood would be a blessing. For a Hispanic community that has gained political power in ever-so-slow increments, this would be an unprecedented boost. The 51st state would create two additional U.S. senators and six additional House members, who would dramatically expand the Hispanic bloc on Capitol Hill and empower Latinos across the nation. When two Latino senators were elected in November -- from Colorado and Florida -- it had been 27 years since Hispanics had been represented in the Senate. Electing those two was a tremendous accomplishment. But two Puerto Rican senators would automatically double November's great feat. Six Puerto Rican House members also would represent a significant power boost in the House, where there are currently 23 Latino members -- including 19 Democrats and four Republicans. Statehood would also give Puerto Rico eight Electoral College votes in presidential elections, from which islanders are currently excluded, making the national Latino vote much stronger. And the U.S. Census Bureau would have to start counting most of the 3.9 million residents of Puerto Rico as Hispanics, dramatically swelling the U.S. Latino population in statistical data used to allocate government funding and programs throughout the country. So, given all these benefits, now that there is talk of a new plebiscite to determine if Puerto Ricans are willing to become a state, should Latinos be encouraging their Puerto Rican friends to vote for statehood? Not necessarily. Regardless of how close we may feel to our Puerto Rican friends, we should never presume to understand, without having lived in the world as a Puerto Rican, how they come to decide the destiny of their homeland. Indeed, all Americans -- especially our representatives in Congress -- should allow the Puerto Rican people to determine their own future. We should respect their choice of which political formula is best for their island. Nevertheless, all Latinos, Puerto Rican or not, will have a price to pay for Puerto Rican statehood. On the way there, we will undoubtedly have to endure a barrage of anti-Latino sentiments from those who fear Hispanic empowerment. Americans opposed to Puerto Rican statehood, and their representatives in Congress, are likely to use -- as they have in the past -- unflattering terms to describe the Spanish language and culture, and silly excuses to discriminate against Latinos. Let's face it. There is a history of racist attitudes by some Americans who refuse to accept Puerto Ricans as their fellow Americanos. When the issue was discussed in the House of Representatives in 1998, statehood opponents tried everything. They complained about squeezing one more star onto the American flag. For statehood to win, they tried to require an unprecedented super-majority of 75 percent of a plebiscite vote. They tried to impose English as the island's official language as a prerequisite to becoming a state. Those moves were offensive to Latinos, even without some of the rough language that was used by some Congress members in 1998, when even those who were supposedly trying to help the statehood movement were doing it for the wrong reason. Take Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, who supports statehood and authored a Puerto Rico status bill that was passed by one vote in the House and ignored by the Senate in 1998. When statehood lost in a non-binding plebiscite that was held anyway, Young, sounding like a sore loser, showed his true colors. He certainly didn't sound like the friend to Puerto Ricans that he had been pretending to be before the plebiscite. He said Puerto Ricans "enjoy the benefits of U.S. tax dollars, while contributing nothing in return." He said, "The days of a virtual one-way flow of U.S. federal dollars flowing into Puerto Rico as a commonwealth are ending." Such remarks, without recognizing the many positive contributions Puerto Ricans make to this nation, are insensitive and hurtful. And they are likely to resurface this summer, as Puerto Rico's new governor, Anibal Acevedo-Vila, tries to sell another plebiscite project in Congress. If he succeeds and statehood becomes plausible, we are likely to hear many bitter arguments and some of the worst xenophobic sentiments this country has to offer. Indeed, there are Puerto Ricans who believe the way to independence is through a formal rejection of statehood by Congress. They argue that once Puerto Ricans choose statehood in a plebiscite, it won't take long for the Puerto Rican people to realize that their only real choice is independence. They expect right-wing extremists in Congress to spew large quantities of anti-Latino venom -- enough to turn many statehood and commonwealth supporters into independentistas -- practically overnight. Of course, it would also be enough to remind American Latinos that we still live in a racist society. Who knows? We could end up seeing many U.S. Latinos moving to the free and independent Republic of Puerto Rico.
To find out more about Miguel Perez, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at [url]www.creators.com[/url].
COPYRIGHT 2005 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.
2005-04-01 15:16 | User Profile
Of course, it would also be enough to remind American Latinos that we still live in a racist society. Who knows? We could end up seeing many U.S. Latinos moving to the free and independent Republic of Puerto Rico. So it is. Very racist. They should leave immediately.
Puerto Rico should be given its independence tomorrow.
2005-04-01 15:39 | User Profile
[IMG][img]http://www.creators.com/mpe/author.jpg[img][/IMG]
2005-04-01 15:40 | User Profile
[IMG]http://www.creators.com/mpe/author.jpg[/IMG]
Miguel is a nominally white Cuban.
Surely the bushy mustache is for 'Latin' effect.
2005-04-01 16:06 | User Profile
Surely the bushy mustache is for 'Latin' effect.
Probably. But if he really wants to enhance his "street cred" amongst the L'teenos, he needs a dinner-plate-sized medallion hanging around his neck on a clunky gold chain, and get some baggier pants.
2005-04-01 16:10 | User Profile
[QUOTE=EDUMAKATEDMOFO]
Miguel is a nominally white Cuban.
Surely the bushy mustache is for 'Latin' effect.[/QUOTE] Funny thing is, all the Cubans I know consider "Latino" or "Hispanic" fighting words. They are not generally populist. This joker must have some political ambitions.
2005-04-19 17:19 | User Profile
Like it or not, Latin-Americans, Hispanics or Ibero-Americans, however you prefer to address them, compose over 15% of the U.S. population. They are not all gangsters with large gold medallion around their necks. If you weren't aware, your Attorney General is the Honorable Alberto Gonzales, Mr. Robert Florez is one of the Chief Administrators in the Department of Justice Program, and Mr. Eduardo Aguirre was the Director of CIS, formerly INS, and is now the Ambassador to Spain. These are a few among the Latinos that take part in the governing of our great nation. For you in Illinois, your legislature is composed of 13 Latinos and steadily growing. I want to get the point across that Latinos come to this country because they admire and respect the American people. They yurn to one day be able to pride themselves with the liberties and rights which we take for granted. As Americans we should invite them in our society and make their lives easier, thus creating a more fraternal society among all Americans. I remind all of you that we, as United States citizens, usurp the term American, but in reality we are all Americans.
2005-04-19 17:32 | User Profile
[QUOTE=belicose]I want to get the point across that Latinos come to this country because they admire and respect the American people. They yurn to one day be able to pride themselves with the liberties and rights which we take for granted. As Americans we should invite them in our society and make their lives easier, thus creating a more fraternal society among all Americans. I remind all of you that we, as United States citizens, usurp the term American, but in reality we are all Americans.[/QUOTE]
You're getting me all choked up, belicose. Let me go tie another yellow ribbon around my tree in the front yard.
Give me a break, chico. That 'we're all Americans' crap may wash up there in Illinois, but it sure doesn't down here in Texas. Thank heavens more and more of my fellow Anglos are waking up to that fact each and every day as once-decent, white blue collar neighborhoods and communities continue to be taken over by the Mexican and central American invasion.
Payback for the traitors who have allowed and encouraged this clear and present danger to Texas and America will occur. It is my hope, prayer and daily goal to make it sooner rather than later.
The 1st world for the 1st world and the 3rd world for the 3rd world.
2005-04-19 19:03 | User Profile
[I]Here's another sampler, if you can stomach it, from my fave "Ibero-American"[/I]
RELEASE: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005, AND THEREAFTER
NATIONALISTS OR PATRIOTS? THE POPE KNEW HOW TO DESCRIBE THEM
At a time when many American "patriots" are rushing to the Mexican border to serve in an army of vigilantes obsessed with guarding the country from "an invasion" of illegal immigrants, I, too, want to pay homage to Pope John Paul II.
Others are citing his many wonderful legacies -- his stand against communism, his appeal to the youth, his travels around the world to spread his faith in God. But this is not the time to forget the message he brought to the United States during his visit in 1995.
That's when he condemned isolationists who try to slam the Golden Door on immigrants, bigots who trample on minorities and nationalists who he said are the antitheses of true patriots.
So say this week you are watching TV news reports, going back and forth between the pope's funeral and the "patriots" running after illegal immigrants in the Arizona desert, and you wonder how the pope would have reacted.
"We need to clarify the essential difference between an unhealthy form of nationalism, which teaches contempt for other nations or cultures, and patriotism, which is a proper love of one's country," the pope said during a Mass at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.
"True patriotism never seeks to advance the well-being of one's own nation at the expense of others," he added. "For in the end, this would harm one's own nation, as well: Doing wrong damages both aggressor and victim. Nationalism, in its most radical forms, is thus the antithesis of true patriotism."
I can't think of a better way to describe more than 1,000 Americans who have converged on the border for a month-long anti-immigrant campaign, known as the Minuteman Project, which even president Bush described as the work of vigilantes.
Ironically, the same people who are so hung up on the word "illegal" when it applies to the immigrants they fear and detest are now taking the law into their own hands. Hypocritically, those who complain there is a state of lawlessness along the border have now gone there to behave like anarchists.
They claim they are there to assist the U.S. Border Patrol, yet their actions are opposed by that agency, which is already complaining that the "patriots" are disrupting its work. In fact, some law enforcement authorities have joined immigrant rights groups in expressing fear that the campaign could lead to violence, especially since many of the "patriots" are armed.
But they insist they are right and everyone else is wrong. After all, they say, they are "Americans doing the jobs their Congress won't do." Their goal is to stop illegal immigrants for 30 days to prove that it can be done -- even if they end up doing more harm than good.
For example, the Border Patrol is already reporting that Minuteman members are unwittingly tripping desert sensors that alert federal agents to possible intruders. Since every triggered sensor has to be addressed, agents are spending more time chasing xenophobic Americans than illegal immigrants.
These are the zealots the pope tried to address 10 years ago. From the moment he arrived at Newark International Airport, it became clear that the Holy Father was on a mission to open narrow minds.
For those who fear the sound of foreign tongues, he spoke in a half-dozen languages. For those who have forgotten that this is a nation of immigrants, he gave us a history lesson. "Men, women and children have streamed here from every corner of the globe, building new lives and forming a society of rich ethnic and racial diversity based on commitment to a shared vision of human dignity and freedom," he said.
At Giants Stadium, John Paul cited the words inscribed on the Statue of Liberty and then asked a question. "Is present-day America becoming less sensitive, less caring toward the poor, the weak, the stranger, the needy?" he asked. "It must not. Today, as before, the United States is called to be a hospitable society, a welcoming culture."
At the United Nations, John Paul noted that "unhappily, the world has yet to learn how to live with diversity." He said every nation has "the right to shape its life according to its own traditions, excluding, of course, every abuse of basic human rights and in particular the oppression of minorities."
And he strongly condemned xenophobes who have little tolerance for those who are different.
"The fact of 'difference' and the reality of 'the other' can sometimes be felt as a burden, or even as a threat," he said. "Amplified by historic grievances and exacerbated by the manipulations of the unscrupulous, the fear of 'difference' can lead to a denial of the very humanity of 'the other.'"
At times, the pope seemed to be talking directly to American legislators who thrive on bashing immigrants and right-wing conservatives who often claim to be Christian.
"It is my prayerful hope that America will persevere in its own best traditions of openness and opportunity," the pope said. "It would indeed be sad if the United States were to turn away from that enterprising spirit which has always sought the most practical and responsible ways of continuing to share with others the blessings God has richly bestowed here."
To find out more about Miguel Perez, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at [url]www.creators.com[/url].
COPYRIGHT 2005 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.
2005-04-19 19:15 | User Profile
[QUOTE=EDUMAKATEDMOFO]"True patriotism never seeks to advance the well-being of one's own nation at the expense of others," he added.[/QUOTE]
Go preach that to Vicente Fox and the Mexican elite, who use los Estados Unidos as a safety valve for their sorry, dirty country.
2005-04-19 19:40 | User Profile
If I were to see this guy on the street I would know right away that he was a latino therefore he is not "white".
Only the desendants of Spanish blood can be called "whites".
Because I have Irish blood I don't donsider myself to be part of the test but looking at my grandfather and father you would not say that they are Latinos.
About Puerto Rico, the way that they are now they got it made because they don't pay taxes and yet have all the benefits of a US citizen including a US passport.
If they were to become "independant" they would not get any aid from the US and would have to work.
And if they were to become a state of the US then they would have to pay taxes and would be under the rein of the US, no way Jose.
2005-04-28 03:56 | User Profile
Either you're White (pure European ancestry), or you ain't. There is no "Latino" or "Hispanic" or whatever term the Jews/White elite-deracinated scum came up with in order to divide the Race. To me, Latino/Hispanic = mestizo. Period.
2005-05-10 04:39 | User Profile
I am a Puertorican and i will give my view on this.
First i want to say that i am not anti american, But the America I learned to love and admire is no more. It has been overrun by leftist, and internationalist robber barons.
I am not a leftist quite the contrary. I am of spanish descent and proud of my european heriatge. I am not a racist in the sense of genetic superiiority but i don't belive in multiculturalism. In fact I think multiculturalism is dangerous to any society and should be stopped by all means.
I belive any country should stop ilegal imigrants anyway it can and return them , specially the islamics.
My country has been over run by domincans who have greatly increased crime. They and others have become a considerable portion of the population surpasing 25%.
Don't belive all you read in the paper regarding the puertorican elections for the most part they have been rigged since the invasion by the us navy up untill there recent departure (good riddence) The elections are a sham.
The pro statehood party has made inroads because they tell the poor the weak and the imigrants that under statehood they will recieve tons of money just for the asking.
They cater to the enormous amount of dominican emigrants and other forgeiners that help bolster there numbers at the polls.
These imigrants have made the statehood party a majority party. If they where prohibited to vote in a final status choice elections it would mean about 250,000 less votes for statehood and a sure loss. These people came here for USA money and nothing else.
The pro colonials (popular democratic party) on the other hand play to Puertorican nationalism but yet at the same time present a pro USA stance(very squizo)
These are akin to the FDR type of politicians, they live off federal grants and don't want to change. They are mostly anti statehood or at the least anti asimilation.
The independance party is a left wing party affiliated to the international socialist movement what in lenins words is comunism with electricity.
Puertoricans are devout anti communist. and this in my opinion is why the independace party never surpasses the 5% in elections. When it was a center right party it garnered much more
But rest assured that when push comes to shove there are about a good 30% hardline independentistas who will do anything to stop statehood even after statehood was granted, if it where granted. This does not count the ones that will breed under statehood.
So be ready for a big headache if you permit PR to become the 51 or 52 state. I and hundreds of thousands will never accept it.
When the us navy invaded my country we where not a colony of Spain as some have said. We where a province with all the same rights as any Spanish subject. For the most part only the the freemasons complained and conspired to break the status quo.
There was never a qualifiable independance party, all political parties had basicaly the same platform that other regional parties had in Spain.
This was a country of law and order prosperus untill the invasion, when our economy and social structure was violently trashed by the american government through the us navy. All because they wanted a sea base here.
I am an idependentista and as your country's founders I will accept independance any way it can be achived. I want my country to be free from the usa.
As a patriot I wish you well in saving your country, if you respect mine you will have a friend and colaborator if not i will be not be a friend nor an enemy just a watcher.
RM
Patriot of another country
You had a nice country but it has been screwed by your
2005-05-10 15:23 | User Profile
[QUOTE=EDUMAKATEDMOFO][I]Here's another sampler, if you can stomach it, from my fave "Ibero-American"[/I]
At the United Nations, John Paul noted that "unhappily, the world has yet to learn how to live with diversity." He said every nation has "the right to shape its life according to its own traditions, excluding, of course, every abuse of basic human rights and in particular the oppression of minorities." .[/QUOTE]
What if that is required to - in fact - "shape it's life?"
And what qualifies as "oppression" - voting against welfare handouts that we have to work hard to deliver, and buy for our own families?