:: walterindenver ::

:: Saturday, March 29, 2003 ::

Tancredo and Immigration

Rep. Tom Tancredo (R - Colorado) made national news last fall when he personally asked the INS to look into the status of an undocumented immigrant student who complained that in spite of being a Colorado resident he was not eligible for in-state tuition. Suffice it to say that Tancredo wasn't trying to get the student a discount.
Tancredo's point is well taken, that people here illegally should not be looking for breaks when it comes to government services. However, his mean spirited action made a much bigger impression than any debating point he attempted to make.
The Rep. was on talk shows all over the country at the time, and he was usually quick to point out that he's not anti-immigrant, but only anti-illegal immigration.
Well, now the veneer is off. Recently an ad has been airing on Denver radio stations, lauding Rep. Tancredo for sponsoring a bill that would decrease legal immigration from one million to three hundred thousand persons annually. The stated purpose is to make it harder for terrorists to get here, and reduce overcrowding.
I think it serves another purpose. It shows that Rep. Tancredo is against legal immigration as well as illegal. I think it's safe to say he's anti-immigration, period. That's about as un-American as it gets.

The organization sponsoring the ad is called United to Secure America. You can find out more about them, and hear the Tancredo ad, on their website.

:: Walter 4:24 PM [+] ::
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Privatization Saves Lives

Hit and Run reports on a study showing Argentine communities that privatized their water systems showed a decrease in infant mortality.

:: Walter 6:35 PM [+] ::
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Unanswerable Question

Will one find more vitriol in the comments on Little Green Footballs, or Eschaton?

Serious attempts to answer will be entertained here, send them via the comments button above.

:: Walter 10:25 AM [+] ::
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Free For All

Gary Hart has started a blog. Yes, that Gary Hart. And the blog allows comments, to boot. This is the first time, that I am aware, such a public figure has allowed himself to be subjected to free-for-all of the blogosphere.

I wonder how long that comments feature will last.

:: Walter 10:08 AM [+] ::
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Top Anti-War Slogans

According to The Onion:

1. I Support My Activist Girlfriend
2. I Oppose This War And I Vote. Wait, No, I Don't.
3. The International Socialist Organization Needs A Ride Home.
4. What Would Guevara Do?
5. Fooled By Liberal Media Bias.
6. The People, United, Will Usually Be Defeated.

:: Walter 7:08 PM [+] ::
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Golf War

Tiger Woods supports the war. I'm suprised to see him make such a statement. He's got nothing to gain by publicly taking sides like that.

:: Walter 10:53 AM [+] ::
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In Fairness
As long as I'm picking on anti-war protesters, let's hear from the other side.

Perfect.

(via Jared the Evil Queen)

:: Walter 10:19 AM [+] ::
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Four Bullets to the Head

And still smiling.

Via The Command Post.

:: Walter 8:34 PM [+] ::
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Warblog

War coverage and opinions haven't been seen on this blog, conspicuous by their absence, I suppose. I am frequently asked what I think of the war, but I haven't really made up my mind. I have strong opinions on the war, and I note some good reasons to oppose the war, but the central question in determining my opinion is whether it is of long term benefit to the US to prosecute this war. Will we be safer? Will world trade be more secure in the long term, enough to offset the cost of the war? I can't answer those questions, and those are the most important questions to my mind.

I can say I would be more likely to favor the war if this administration wasn't the one in charge of it. The Bush administration has demonstrated a tin ear toward civil rights, to put it charitably. I can say with conviction the war will not be worth a long term loss of personal freedom in this country.

I can also say the war is justified, that is, the Iraqi regime is one of the most brutal on the planet, and they deserve nothing better than to be crushed quickly and completely. Now that the war is underway, I watch the news like most everyone else, cheering our troops. I'm convinced the cost of the war to innocent Iraqi citizens will not be as great as the cost of another decade or more of rule under the Husseins.

I have to say, as one whose opinions are ambivalent toward the war, that the anti-war movement is its own worse enemy. I cringe every time I see another 'No Blood for Oil' sign, or worse, that widely circulated banner asking for 'Peace in Our Time.' Or, in two words, Michael Moore.

These protesters, however, take the cake. A banner that says, 'We are ready to fight, world peace is our right!' ??? And, yes, they do mean fight with violence. You can't make this stuff up. For a little sanity from the anti-war side I visit Jim Henley, or a handful of other libertarian bloggers. Sadly, those people are few and far between.

(link via James Morrow.)

:: Walter 7:27 AM [+] ::
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Fun in the Snow

Well, it was fun. The official snowfall measurement for Denver was 29.5", making it the second highest all time snowfall total. 47" in 1913, I think, is the record. I knew you wanted to know. This time some places in the foothills west of town received more than 80" and as of this writing some residents are still trapped in their houses.
Anyway, when the power went out on Tuesday morning I figured it might not come back on for a while. I made my way to the grocery store just before it closed up to allow the employees to get home. The plan was to buy some slow cooking items and let the gas stove warm the house.
The blizzard of '03 menu: Ham hocks stewed with lentils, (good, leftovers even better) slow roasted asparagus in olive oil, (very good) and BBQ pork ribs steamed in bourbon. (worth the inconvenience of the blizzard)
Wednesday morning the stuff was really piling up and the streets were more than axle deep in very thick, wet snow. The repair crew came to put a new power pole up and they couldn't get the truck into the alley to get the work done. They spent an hour and a half just digging a thirty yard path through the snow. We helped when we could and gave the the guys coffee and sandwiches as they'd been working non-stop since Tuesday afternoon.
Since most street traffic had stopped altogether the call went out over the radio for volunteers with four wheel drive vehicles to bring healthcare and other essential worker in to their jobs. I jumped at the chance. I have a Jeep Wrangler with good, wide snow tires and I figured I could move around better than most. Don't think that I was being altruistic - the governor had ordered all 'non-essential' vehicles off the roads and I wanted to get out and tool around by myself on deserted and snow drifted streets. I wound up carrying an ambulance driver and shuttling people to and from a Red Cross shelter. Several buildings had collapsed from the weight of the snow and the Red Cross set up the shelter to house the folks displaced from their residences.
I only had to dig the Jeep out twice. It was a great time.

UPDATE: Roverpundit has more pictures.

:: Walter 8:44 PM [+] ::
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