Arizona Power Play

[TylerStewart]

Los Angeles threatens to boycott Arizona over their (legal) enforcement of their immigration laws, so Arizona threatens to pull the power they send into Los Angeles. Am I the only one that finds this hilarious? I totally agree with AZ on this one, but that's just me. People should think before they threaten boycotts, which is why I feel this way.

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local-beat/Power-Play-Over-Immigration-Law-94251079.html

 

[Tom]

I love this. I hope AZ does it. Better get my solar system up and running soon!

I've got no problem with any body from anywhere who wants to be an American. I've been all over and we've got a great thing going here. Everyone is welcome in my book.

I DO have a problem with people coming here ILLEGALLY and making no attempt whatsoever to assimilate and be an AMERICAN.

Can you imagine, illegally sneaking into France, Japan, Argentina or anywhere else and fully expecting the whole country to just accept it and cater to your every need? Demanding that they give you free food, housing and medical care while allowing you to work completely tax free. None of the authorities would even be ALLOWED to ask if you came to their country legally.

I don't blame anyone for coming here. I'd do it too. I blame our law makers for making it so easy, comfortable and profitable.

 

[dmmj]

I support legal immagration, that seems to be lost in most discussions of this topic nowadays, I live in calif. and I hope AZ pulls the plug on us just for a day or so, to teach those idiots in san fran and LA city coucil to think twice before opening their big mouths. I don't know about you but it frustrates me to no end when I see people sneak over illegally and then demand all the rights and benefits of this great nation. My great grandparents came over legally and apllied thru all the paper work and background checks, and fees. So I hope AZ will cut off the power just for one day to show who truly has the power.

 

[TylerStewart]

I agree completely, and I don't think there's many people in the US that have a problem with legally becoming a citizen... It has nothing to do with who it is - Mexico, Canada or freakin Japan. The border of AZ has become so dangerous, and the federal government has done nothing to fix the loose border (this president or any of the last ones), so AZ has to take things into their own hands. They created a law to protect their citizens in their state on something that is supposed to be the federal government's responsibility. A country is defined by it's borders, plain and simple. Just this morning, the president said to the Mexican president "We are not defined by our borders."

Liberal politicians have to kiss butt to the minorities and let illegal people be illegal (and vote) because they need their votes, easy as that. The majority of the US agrees with what AZ is doing. Obviously the majority of AZ agrees with it. It's a state's right to make these laws if they ahve to. The politicians here in Nevada are campaigning hard on whether they support it or are opposed to the AZ law (since NV is a border state to AZ, has many of the same problems with illegal immigration). The ones here that support AZ are going to get elected (pretty much republicans down the line). Texas will likely write a law very similar to AZ to help with the exact same problems they're having. It's easy for places that aren't dealing with the problem (like Chicago or Washington DC) to say it's cruel or not needed. They then call people in AZ "racist" because of it, trying to win the hearts and minds of others and turn them against AZ. I'm sure AZ would be more than happy to ship the illegals to any city willing to take them. Mexico deports more people in a year than the Unites States does.

It is for these reasons that I think it's stupid for a city or a state to openly threaten a boycott, particularly from someone they rely on for power. Just what CA needs is less power flowing there.

 

[dmmj]

Well to be honest I see a good future for AZ in a couple of years, if they keep on deporting illegals and only allow legal immigrants, taxable income will rise, prpoerty values should go up, I only wish CA had the gall to do likewise. Illegal immigration also hurts the people here illegally, lower wages threats, against them and their family, I honestly don't see how anyone can in all honesty support illegall immigration and call themselves compasionate towards humans.

 

[terryo]

Tom, I couldn't have said it better. I agree with you totally. I always think of my parents who came here and worked their tails off, while studying at night to learn to speak English so the could become American citizens. No one gave them anything for free, and they didn't expect anything. The American dream has changed considerably.

 

[Neal]

Tyler, Thank you for posting this.

Good to see that some of you share my point of view on this issue. It's been hard for me to find people who do, even among my own family. Living in Arizona, and hearing of cities "boycotting" our state because of this law really sucks. We have the potential to loose a lot of money as a state from these boycotts which affects all of us here. However, I support this law and I think it will help our state become better and more secure...it will just take time. But, for now a lot of us are fealing a little lonely over here.

 

[chadk]

Pull the plug on LA!!! That would be awesome Well, until they jack up MY rates here in WA since I'm sure we send lots of our hydro power down that way... But I do like the idea in general

Here, we have Seattle threatening a boycott as well. I try to avoid that city as much as I can anyway. But that would really inspire me. In fact, other cities and countys around WA are starting to organize counter boycotts to Seattle

 

[Yvonne G]

I heard on the radio yesterday that Mexico has one of the strictest illegal immigrant programs in the world and that they go after illegals with a vengeance. And yet, when we go after the Mexican illegals, we are racist??

My big problem with illegals is that they somehow get to use our "system" and we spend our $$ on their medical and when they aren't working, we give them $$ too.

It would be pretty hard to turn away someone who needs medical assistance (broken bone, serious illness, etc), however, if they don't have money, they shouldn't be allowed a free ride. How would they have gotten the same medical care if they were in their home country with no money? Probably be turned away.

 

[Stephanie Logan]

I think there is a lot of conflicting research as to how much "illegals" pay into the system, and I also know that Big Business opposed immigration reform because they want to continue to have a cheap, easily exploited labor force, so don't blame just Liberals for the problems.

I completely agree with Tom that immigrants are welcome, but we need to control their numbers and make sure they are documented and paying into the healthcare and education systems. I have also read how brutal Mexico is to Guatemalan illegals in their country.

Really we need that national ID card, so businesses will have no excuse and can be penalized for hiring illegal workers. When the jobs dry up, so will the flow of laborers, and that will be the cheapest way to solve the problem.

I've also read that a sizable majority of the electorate support this Arizona law, so the politicians will have to accept that they either need to enact significant, real immigration reform at the federal level, or more states will be following suit. And thanks, Tyler, for noting that this problem goes way back through many presidents and is not a creation of the Obama administration.

 

[TylerStewart]

But, for now a lot of us are feeling a little lonely over here.

Well, for what it's worth, most of Nevada agrees with and supports it (and wants our own law like it), and somewhere between 60-65% of the country does also. I tend to think that will translate into people who think the other 40% are idiots will do what they can to help AZ in the meantime. I know that right now, if I had the option to spend money in Los Angeles or in Arizona, I would buy through AZ without thinking twice.

What I have a problem with is the president bashing the US for "past mistakes," and sitting there with a smile as the Mexican president bashes us. I heard parts of a Wolf Blitzer interview with the Mexican president that I think happened yesterday where he (Mex. Pres.) first calls us racists, then explains how they check for papers all the time in Mexico, and when they find an illegal, they boot their butts back where they came from. They are much harsher than we are, and almost every country is. I don't blame people for wanting to come here, but there are channels to do it, like others have said.

In Mexico, you can't become a citizen unless they decide you are financially stable enough to "blend in" with society. If they think you are going to be a burden on the country, you're just denied straight up. You also can't become a citizen if your political views aren't in line with the society in Mexico. And he comes here and calls us racists? And BO stands up and claps? Of course past presidents have left this issue loose. It's been a problem as long as I remember, and nobody seems to change it besides the people who live on the border and have to (and I don't blame them).

Do you think that if illegals (who do vote) and hispanics voted as heavily towards the republican party as they do towards the democratic party, that the president would be defending them as much as he is? Of course not. He pretends to support hispanics because he needs their votes. If hispanics voted 80% republican, he'd be trying to kick them out of the country also.

 

[chadk]

The Mexican gov't is as much behing this as anyone. They will clamp down their southern border and keep open the american border at all costs...

******************************

Others argue Mexico, by adequately tapping its own financial and physical resources, could do what other economic powerhouses have done – invest its way to success, by building up its industrial infrastructure and educating its own workforce.

Such investment would require money, however. And it's much easier for Mexico to freeload off a willing wealthy neighbor. One like the United States.

And by doing so, Mexico actually reaps financial benefits.

"The immigration scam is very successful: the rulers export their unemployment to the United States and get back billions in remittance cash annually — 2003 is on track to rack up a record $11 billion," writes Walker.

And, led by Mexican President Vincente Fox, Mexico takes some sort of perverse pride in exporting its poverty. The elites there know poor Mexican migrants will be provided for in our country.

They know Mexican children will be cared for and educated. They know medical needs will be met, and they know other basic amenities of life will be supplied.

More importantly, they know they won't have to pay for it.

U.S. politicians who have recently announced a new plan to allow more illegal aliens to find work here are essentially following similar policies embraced by their predecessors – policies which allow Mexican leaders to escape the responsibility they have to provide for their own people.

It's past time for Mexico to grow up and stop mooching from its more successful neighbors. The longer we allow Mexico to freeload, the longer its people will suffer.

 

[Jacqui]

But, for now a lot of us are feeling a little lonely over here.

Do you think that if illegals (who do vote) and hispanics voted as heavily towards the republican party as they do towards the democratic party, that the president would be defending them as much as he is? Of course not. He pretends to support hispanics because he needs their votes. If hispanics voted 80% republican, he'd be trying to kick them out of the country also.

Honestly I don't think political parties have anything to do with it. I think ALL parties and/or all politicians try not to alienate entire blocks of people.

Side question sorta, but how you stated your comment made me wonder. Seriously, do all of you vote purely along political lines rather then voting for the person who you think would be the best?

 

[TortieLuver]

Hey Tyler! I live in Arizona and my husband and I were just having a conversation about this...well actually laughing about it is more like it!

 

[TylerStewart]

Side question sorta, but how you stated your comment made me wonder. Seriously, do all of you vote purely along political lines rather then voting for the person who you think would be the best?

I vote based on my values - no abortion (unless the mother is in legit danger), 2nd amendment rights, lower taxes, less government, prosperity among everybody. That pretty much forces me to join one party.

 

[Stephanie Logan]

From the Mexican point of view, though, there were hispanic/Indians living in the area that is now U.S. territory for centuries and decades before the Mexican War and later conflicts, and many of them were prosperous and productive citizens who had their land, their jobs and their community standing revoked based solely on their Hispanic surnames and appearances. Racism was, and is a fact of life in this world, and we should try to be fair and balanced in how we judge each other.

It is a fact that the main reason immigration has not been reformed over the last 30 years is that Big Business, who have enormous political influence and whose lobbyists frequently write the legislation that Congress later passes, and who vote largely Republican, have successfully delayed and/or prevented any meaningful immigration reform from being passed. It will cost businesses and consumers money to tighten the labor pool and raise employment costs if all workers qualify for benefits and protections under the law.

I understand the problem, but I think it's reaching a point politically in this economice downturn that something may actually get done. It is false and unfair to take the President's behavior at one appearance and twist it out of context into his somehow supporting illegal immigration so he can get more Hispanic votes. That's like saying that Washington will never reform Wall Street regulations because they don't want to lose the votes and political campaign contributions that the mostly Republican investment bankers make to their candidates. At some point the voters must take responsibility for what their representatives do in Washington. We could all make those accusations, but it doesn't move us forward.

 

[TylerStewart]

From the Mexican point of view, though, there were hispanic/Indians living in the area that is now U.S. territory for centuries and decades before the Mexican War and later conflicts, and many of them were prosperous and productive citizens who had their land, their jobs and their community standing revoked based solely on their Hispanic surnames and appearances. Racism was, and is a fact of life in this world, and we should try to be fair and balanced in how we judge each other.

It is a fact that the main reason immigration has not been reformed over the last 30 years is that Big Business, who have enormous political influence and whose lobbyists frequently write the legislation that Congress later passes, and who vote largely Republican, have successfully delayed and/or prevented any meaningful immigration reform from being passed. It will cost businesses and consumers money to tighten the labor pool and raise employment costs if all workers qualify for benefits and protections under the law.

I understand the problem, but I think it's reaching a point politically in this economice downturn that something may actually get done. It is false and unfair to take the President's behavior at one appearance and twist it out of context into his somehow supporting illegal immigration so he can get more Hispanic votes. That's like saying that Washington will never reform Wall Street regulations because they don't want to lose the votes and political campaign contributions that the mostly Republican investment bankers make to their candidates. At some point the voters must take responsibility for what their representatives do in Washington. We could all make those accusations, but it doesn't move us forward.

I agree that racism is an issue in the world today - I just think it has nothing to do with this particular topic whatsoever. The only ones claiming racism are the people against AZ. What happened in AZ is not racism. It's people who are sick of their cities and towns getting taken over by voilence coming in from South of the border.

I don't and won't buy the claim that the evil big businesses are behind everything the republican party does. The owner of a big business only has one vote, the same vote that you or I have. The biggest business owners in the world don't have any more influence than a tree hugger emvironmentalist or a gay rights leader or celebrity. All are able to stir up support and have a big influence. Just because wealthy people tend to vote for republicans, to me, it comes down to the simple fact that they are taxed a hugely unfair rate. I don't make that much money in a year, but I make enough that I'm taxed at a rate that I think is unfair. That gives me reason enough to vote for lower taxes.

The president's behavior at one appearance? How many times has he done something that would have got Bush kicked out of the presidency? How does letting the president of an abusive (to us) country come to the White House and bash an American state and the president just sit there and laugh about it? Was he not paying attention and didn't catch it? Or did he not care? Agree with it maybe? The job of any adminstration is to protect it's people against outside threats. I don't see any scenario where any president should have let that happen.

 

[dmmj]

I wonder who are these big businesses I always hear about? Walmart? one of the biggest out there do they hire illegal immigrants? Apple? another big one, do they hire illegal immigrants? Grocery stores? they are big do they hire illegal immigrants?

 

[chadk]

Speaking of political sides, the Mexican Gov't, and the new Arizona Law...

Check this out starting at 2:00 and see the Mexican President and most of congress, the speaker of the house, and the Vice President all giving the majority of the American people 'the bird' while giving the Mexican Pres a standing ovation for slamming the new law... Sickening to have a lying jerk in OUR HOUSE celebrated in such a way. Sick.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YobJc5cnk68[hr]
Why is that video so sickening? Read about the rape of immagrant women by gov't officials in the southern mexican boarder... the murder of reporters trying to shed light on the issues...
http://www.amnestyusa.org/all-countries/mexico/page.do?id=1011200

They want their USA money sent back to boost their economy while treating their own people horribly and their immigrants like trash...

---

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100429/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_migrants_1

 

[Stephanie Logan]

A corporate CEO has a lot more influence over federal legislation and government regulations than the Hispanic custodian at this elementary school, and you know that.

As long as we have privately-financed political campaigns, that truth will not change.