immigration and the border fence

hello SG readers. i was reluctant to post this for fear it had already been discussed but here goes anyway. in looking at the democratic candidates positions on immigration issues, i was surprised to see how many of them voted to authorize construction of a 700-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexican border. According to cnnpolitics.com the following democratic candidates voted to authorize it: Biden, Clinton, Dodd, & Obama. (i won't even bother with the republicans.)

A wall is not the answer to immigration reform or keeping out terrorists. It can only mean a strain on budgets, the environment & ecosystem, local indian tribes, and families trying to make a better life for themselves. I found this article to be informative.

I like Obama & Edwards and was especially surprised that Obama voted for it. What is he thinking? I also found this site that shows a mixed record of voting on border control. I'm not up to speed on all of the details so any insight is appreciated.

Fighting Crazy With Crazy

From Jake Novo in Bridgeport, CT.

In an apparent attempt to come up with something crazier than Mitt Romney's "we ought to double Guantanamo" statement, Republican Presidential (gulp!) candidate Tom Tancredo made a serious bid for an 'ass clown of the week' nomination by declaring (article below) that 'the only' solution for deterring a terrorist attack on U.S. soil was to threaten all Muslims that any terrorist attack would result in a U.S. assault on Islam's holiest sites, Mecca & Medina.

Let's forget for a moment that - that would be like blowing up the Vatican to punish Timothy McVeigh (I am not sure if he is Catholic, but you get the point). Let's also ignore for now, how such a statement by a US Presidential candidate threatening Islamic holy sites could be used by Al-Qaeda as a recruitment tool.

But this just goes to show you how low the Republican Presidential bar has been set. In a country begging for leadership; with a foreign policy starving for diplomacy, each of the Republican candidates is doing his best to appear crazier than the next guy (Ron Paul not withstanding).

But this just goes to show you how low the Republican Presidential bar has been set. In a country begging for leadership; with a foreign policy starving for diplomacy, each of the Republican candidates is doing his best to appear crazier than the next guy (Ron Paul not withstanding).

What none of them seem to grasp is the basic concept that two wrongs don't make a right. You cannot fight terror with terror. and you certainly cannot fight crazy with crazy.

Tancredo's comments and the story by the Associated Press are posted below.

Republican candidate advocates threat to bomb Islamic holy sites as response to terrorist attack on U.S.

The Associated Press

Thursday, August 2, 2007

WASHINGTON: Republican presidential hopeful Tom Tancredo says the best way he can think of to deter a nuclear terrorist attack on the U.S. is to threaten to retaliate by bombing Islamic holy sites.

The Colorado congressman on Tuesday told about 30 people at a town hall meeting in the state of Iowa that he believes such a terrorist attack could be imminent and that the U.S. needs to hurry up and think of a way to stop it.

"If it is up to me, we are going to explain that an attack on this homeland of that nature would be followed by an attack on the holy sites in Mecca and Medina," Tancredo said at the Family Table restaurant. "Because that's the only thing I can think of that might deter somebody from doing what they otherwise might do."

Mecca and Medina, in Saudi Arabia, are Islam's holiest cities. All able-bodied Muslims are required to make a pilgrimage there at least once in their lives. Tancredo's comments were recorded and posted on the Web site iowapolitics.com.

A Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group responded in anger Thursday, calling Tancredo's statement "unworthy of anyone seeking public office in the United States."

"Perhaps it's evidence of a long-shot candidate grasping at straws and trying to create some kind of a controversy that might appeal to a niche audience of anti-Muslim bigots," said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Campaign spokesman, Alan Moore, said Tancredo stands by his statement.

Experts say Tancredo has no hope of going to the White House. Opinion polls put him at the bottom of the Republican field with 1 percent.

This is not the first time Tancredo has suggested taking extreme action against Mecca and Medina.

In 2005, he drew international criticism after he told a radio talk show host that "you could take out" Islamic holy sites if terrorists ever launched a nuclear attack against the United States.

United States is the Biggest Threat Says Europeans and Young Americans

A new Financial Times poll shows that 32 percent of respondents in five European countries regard the US as a bigger threat than any other state including: Iraq, Iran, China and North Korea. Also, American young respondents aged 16 to 24 year olds (35%) says the U.S. is the biggest threat to stability.

I guess the youngsters in America may not be that stupid either. Maybe there is hope for America?