Once those two steps are completed, Obama said, the government should offer a path to citizenship for existing illegals.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...

   I admire his honesty and his ability to get it right.

I have to say that he has the attention of everyone that live in a border state when comparing McCains views and flips on the border subject.

I have been hoping barack Obama would start using his prodigious persuasive and rhetorical skills to speak out on one of the most troubling problems in America today, the demonization of illegal immigrants. he's most often done a passable job on the issue, only using a little of the "secure our borders" rhetoric while supporting comprehensive reform. he upped the ante recently by saying he thinks drivers liscenses should be a part of that reform.

But yesterday, he picked a BIG fight, and one that is vital to stopping the hate that is growing against immigrants, legal or illegal. on the issue of unfair treatment of illegal immigrants, he directly linked Lou Dobbs to Rush Limbaugh. Lou Dobbs is much more dangerous than Limbaugh, because he's on a formerly reputable news station. and it is a risky attack. a famous rule of American politics is "don't pick a fight with someone who buys their ink in barrell." Lou Dobbs uses TV, not newspapers, but he has a huge megaphone, and he's been using it to whip Americans into a racist fever. no doubt, now he will begin to throw attacks at Obama whenever he attacks immigrants. so it's risky for Barack, but vital for the nation.

someone has to stop the hate. Obama seems to be the perfect person to do it.

Borders are, by their nature, permeable.  Our first and most intimate border, our skin, encloses within its boundaries many more cells that are 'not us' than cells that are 'us'.  We can only live due to the constant flow of what is 'not us' into 'us' - air, water, food, sunlight...  We could not digest anything without the six pounds of bacteria living in our gut.  'Us' is not really separable from everything else at any given moment.  The boundaries are porous, the solid is liquid.

Yet when I distinguish what is 'me' from what is 'not me' I am enlisting a useful, if partial, truth.  I am hungry, he has the food;  I have the chicken pox, she does not (yet).  These are useful distinctions.  They are basic to our existence.  It is only when these partial truths become mistaken for the whole truth that problems arise.  When borders are mistaken for absolutes, when the permeable is imagined to be impermeable.

There are alot of lies being told about the effect of immigration on America. Despite our history as a nation of immigrants, some shameless bigots have even claimed that places like Miami "are like third world countries" because of the number of vibrant cultures thriving there. So i thought i'd take the time to celebrate immigration into my hometown.

You want to see what a place with nearly open immigration looks like?  You can find it right here in the heart of Texas - Ft. Worth to be exact, "where the West begins." And you know what? No one is being "overrun." The immigrants, contrary to the fearmongers' claims, are not going on crime sprees or trashing city services. "Texas culture" still survives and thrives alongside these newer influences, as well as intertwining with them in very interesting ways. Families from Mexico keep their ties to home by hosting friends and family from Mexico, and returning often themselves, a back and forth migration pattern instead of the one-way path that short-sighted border walls bring about.

To put it simply, it works. We have nothing to fear from this "wave" of immigrants. They will work and improve America, just as our foremothers and forefathers did. Building a nation of immgrants, same as it ever was.

If I hear another racist attack on immigrants defended on the grounds of "law and order" i'm going to puke. And if i hear it again from someone who calls themselves a progressive... well since i'm non-violent i can't say i'm gonna shoot someone, but they'd sure have it comin'.

Since so many here pretend to have forgotten, let me spell it out: we have not a only a right, but a DUTY to fight against and even break bad laws, especially racist ones. Our heritage as progressives is built upon doing just that.

Anyone who claims we have to stop illegal immigration, or that illegal immigration is a problem, based solely on the fact it is illegal is directly in contradiction with the proud history of the progressive movement.

While Communism once had America seeing "Red", now the discourse on Amnesty has America seeing "Brown".  A national foul sentiment of the "Si Se Puede" generation has America treating its southern most border with social, cultural, and linguistic pesticide as if it had a roach problem. With every effort defeated to pass legislation offering alternatives to mass deportation, America has made it clear that it is even willing to fence off its sewers in order to prevent them from becoming "unlawful" paths to citizenship. And with African-Americans participating in anti-immigration protests with the Minutemen (because of the "for once it is them and not us" syndrome), we've clearly sent a message to Latin America about who has the monopoly on the Underground Railroad. Black Activists Join To March with Minutemen

The following is a quote from "A progressive plan for immigration reform" -- a diary from duke1676.  A larger excerpt and discussion appears in the body of this diary.

With these two basic premises accepted, it becomes clear what the goal of progressive immigration reform should be: Allow for a reasonable flow of new immigrants and figure out a way to allow them to enter the country legally.

While I absolutely agree with the concluding statement, I do not agree with the premises.  The details lurk in the body of this diary and the poll.

Nations need a constant influx of new ideas, culture and mindsets to retain their vitality.  Our illegal population is only large because we have made it historically difficult to immigrate legally, while demand for new 'aspirational' workers has increased.  By the standards of the 1900's we would need to absorb over 60 million new immigrants- this places even the most exaggerated estimates of 20 million illegal immigrants currently in the country in historical perspective. By making immigration easy, we can remove the causes of illegal immigration, giving criminals no reason to cross since employers would have no incentive to hire illegals with plentiful legal labor available.  Without the market for illegal immigration, the infrastructure for mass illegal entry into the country would be eliminated, making it easier to secure the borders.

Bottom line, America needs fresh blood to retain its vitality and sustain its growth a world leader into the 22n century.

This could be the deciding issue in Iowa among Democratic voters. What is the government going to do about illegal immigration? It doesn't seem like any of the leading Democratic candidates have articulated a solid position on the issue.

Friday I when out to get a copy of Valerie Plame’s "Fair Game." I went to my local Barnes & Noble bookstore. When I went in I expected it to be on Display in the New Arrivals section. I did not see it on display. I went to a cashier and asked, "Where is the Valerie Plame’s new book that is just out, "Fair Game"? The guy says he never hear of it. He directed me to the information desk, which was unmanned (or is that  unpersoned?) at the time.

At the information desk when the guy finally came over, I again asked, "Where is the Valerie Plame’s new book that is just out, "Fair Game"? He too never hear of it. He did a computer search. After a minute or two he asks if it is Valerie Wilson’s book? Which it of course was. We then went on a search for.

It was not easy, but after a few minutes we found it on the backside of the NewArrivals on the bottom. It was pretty well hidden. I raised the question did Barnes & Noble really want to sell the book?

Greg McClain, is the editor of The Fort Wayne Blog, and is considered by many as The Most Dangerous Blogger In America.

It's my opinion that the whole "close the borders to them filthy Mexicans" drive started, in a weird way, in support of George W. Bush's failed attempts to capture Osama bin Ladin and to prosecute those responsible for 9/11.  Those on the right saw their head honcho failing miserably, and rather than admit it they turned lemon into hard lemonade and used the opportunity to sway the debate away from people and groups which were almost undefinable, and completely uncatchable with morons in charge.  This gave them the opportunity to bring a long standing bigotry into the discussion and do it under the guise of "fighting terrorism."

I met Malena on the flight from NY to Prague. She's a sixtyish lady who had the window seat next to me. I was so tired on the trip that I don't recall what prompted the conversation, but I'm glad something did, for her story was worthwhile. It turned out we had a few things in common. She was a geologist prior to her retirement and has lived for the past forty years in Pittsburgh, PA, the locale of my childhood. Her husband, who died a few years previously was a marine biologist. Back in 1967, she and her husband were newlyweds in Prague and had just bought a new apartment to begin their life under the oppressive thumb of the totalitarian government. Malena's husband was invited to Paris for a scientific conference and he decided to take his young wife along. Before leaving, he was invited by the secret police for a little pre-briefing.

In case you missed it residents of Derby Line, Vermont and Stanstead, Quebec will soon need passports to go to the library!

It turns out that the library sits right on the Canada-US border and the new US passport regulations will require passports for residents wishing to make full use of the facilities.

The new passport regulations mean a passport is needed for all cross border trips. (In the past going to Canada only required picture ID such as a driver's license).

Univision recently announced it plans to host a Democratic Presidential debate in Miami on September 9, 2007, which will be conducted in Spanish for its viewers.  More Americans get their evening news from Univision than any other network.  Latinos are the fastest growing segment of our population.  If the Latinos in the U.S. had their own nation, it would be the third largest in Latin America.  

What issue will be prominent at the Univision debate?  Immigration, of course, and specifically the 700 mile fence Congress approved last year for the border.  This could have an impact on the Democratic race as Senators Clinton, Obama, Biden and Dodd sided with right wing, anti-immigrant groups and joined with Republicans in sending the bill authorizing the fence onto President Bush for his signature.  They will have to explain in detail their positions on immigration and justify their votes for the fence to the audience.

A rash of beached and misdirected whales has led California state wildlife authority officials to propose the construction of an underwater fence along the entirety of its border. The planned underwater fence will be suspended on buoys three miles offshore with initial unfurling of weighted one-meter ecosustainable mesh to be tested between San Simeon and Goleta.

In 2004 the UK opened its borders completely to all workers from the European Union. Polish citizens emigrated by the thousands and, contrary to initial speculation, the influence on British society has been overwhelmingly positive, with higher GDP and no strain on social services. Can America learn from the British example? Could the US actually create an open border with Mexico?

Cross posted by E-Lho at The Seminal...we'd love for you to drop by!

I wrote about this just over a month ago.  Blackwater is trying to move in to the San Diego area.

First Blackwater Diary

Now, Raw Story has picked up on the action.

Blackwater Protest