Day: October 5, 2007

Current Events, Perspective, Political, ,

For the glass house crowd

As you may have read, New York’s governor, Eliot Spitzer, has revoked an Executive Order formerly put in place by George Pataki. By revoking the order, he will be providing an opportunity for illegal immigrants to obtain NY drivers licenses.

Of course, 58% of New Yorkers are opposed to this, with the strongest dissension among upstate New Yorkers (the Downstaters know better, they live in closer proximity to the illegals they rely on each day – are are less hypocritical about it).

Yesterday, New York’s Association of Country Clerks stated that they would not obey the governor and would not issue licenses as required.

Legal wrangling will certainly ensue.

Here’s a few quotes from the Albany Times Union: 13 clerks against Spitzer

County officials to defy driver’s license change, citing security concerns, pressure from constituents

ALBANY — Citing security concerns as well as pressure from constituents, 13 county clerks on Thursday said they would defy Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s order to issue driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.

“This is an issue of safety and security for New Yorkers,” said Saratoga County Clerk Kathy Marchione, who added that people have been walking into her Ballston Spa office to speak out against the plan since it was announced late last month…

The not so funny thing about all of this is the hypocrisy of those who are fighting the governor. They fall into a two broad categories:

  • The broad brush crowd: Immigrants are potential terrorists. We must be protected from their wily ways.
  • The out-and-out hypocrites: They are illegal, they shouldn’t be here, they deserve nothing.

Now the errors of the broad brush crowd are pretty obvious. They are bigots. Basically neo-nativists.

The other folks, the hypocrites, well they live in tony suburbs, eat at restaurants, buy groceries, get their car repaired, their lawns manicured, their manure, mulch, and lawn chemicals applied, their houses painted, their driveways sealed, their children cared for, their clothes sewn…

They save money, avoiding legitimate businesses and stores that charge more, and do everything in their power to save that last dime (because they are overspent and living on credit anyway), all on the backs of these very same illegal workers they would so readily deport.

Their 2,500 sq. ft. home was built with non-union labor, mostly illegal workers, saving them tons of do-re-mi.

Hey, how did Jose get to your house to mow the lawn? The truck brought him. How did he get to the employer’s jumping-off point? I don’t know (nor do I much care).

Did you know that Consuela and Yuan are out back chopping vegetables for your dinner tonight? Huh?

If these County Clerks and their constituents are so bent on ‘enforcing the law,’ perhaps they should card check everyone they do business with. Card check those restaurant workers out back, the lawn guy, the carpenter at your new house. But, if they had to think about that, they would quickly fall in with the bigot crowd.

‘I couldn’t do that, those brown people might hurt me.’

Frankly, I am ok with letting these folks have licenses. I am also all for protecting them from the myriad of bad employers out there who treat them like unprotected slave laborers. Of course others disagree.

While I agree with your right to disagree, I would then urge you to be very careful about those you do business with. You can’t have it both ways. If you’re all focused on being legal, be prepared, and pay that premium. Otherwise, you’re just throwing stones, and soon all your windows will be broken, and nobody will be around to clean up the broken glass, or put the new windows in.

Christian Witness, Perspective

I am the tax man…

From Forex: Pope says Catholic Church wants no privilege…

BRUSSELS (Thomson Financial News) – Pope Benedict XVI said today that the Roman Catholic Church does not expect special treatment as EU competition regulators considered a probe into tax breaks it enjoys in Italy, Agence France-Presse reported.

“The Church does not seek power, does not claim privileges and does not aspire to positions of economic or social advantage,” Benedict said as he accepted the credentials of Italy’s new ambassador to the Holy See…

Certainly true to what the Church should believe and how it should act. Props to the Bishop of Rome for speaking out on this sensitive issue. He is certainly refocusing things and is upsetting apple carts.

I wonder if the collective National Bishop’s Conferences are stroking out at the fact that all those property holdings might suddenly be enrolled on the tax register?

Unfortunately, not every Bishop can withstand the juggernaut of government. From LifeSite News: American Life League Urges Connecticut Bishops to Rethink Plan B at Catholic Hospitals

WASHINGTON, October 5, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – “The actions of the Connecticut Catholic Conference are an outrage and a crime,” said Judie Brown, president of American Life League (ALL) reacting to the news that the Connecticut Bishops have given permission for the use of the so-called “emergency contraceptive” Plan B for rape victims at Catholic hospitals…