March 24, 2008 at 9:50 A.M. I experienced many difficulties accessing this site today. I had to sign in twice. "Errors" will probably be inserted in these essays throughout the day. At my MSN group at 9:22 A.M. I blocked:
http://rtm-ext.ebay.com/rtm
http://ad.farm.mediaplex.com/ad/js/711-55224-877...
Considering that I do not have ebay account, this seems odd -- as does my frequent ebay designation as a "power seller." I am also blocking:
http://view.atdmt.com/iview/msnnkhac001728x90xWBCBRB00110msn/direct;wi.728;hi.90/01
Kareem Fahim, "Immigration Referrals by Police Draw Scrutiny," in The New York Times, March 23, 2008, at p. 21. (Metro Section)
Patrick McGeehan & Nina Bernstein, "Businesses Say New York's Clout Is Emigrating, With Visa Policies to Blame," in The New York Times, March 24, 2008, at p. B1.
"WOODBURY, N.J. -- A green card holder from Guatemala said he was asked about his immigration status last month when he went to pick up his nephew from the West Depford, N.J., police station."
"An illegal immigrant from Mexico was arrested March 5 when the car in which he was a PASSENGER was pulled over for rolling through a stop sign in South Harrison Township, N.J."
A passenger has no liability for the errors of a driver. There was no legal basis for asking any questions of this passenger. Unless the police officer "observed" the status of the person's immigration papers from a mere glance in his direction, these questions put to the passenger were illegal. If based on ethnicity and/or race -- which would not surprise me! -- they could have been criminal.
"Seven months after the state attorney general, Anne Milgram, ordered local police departments in New Jersey to question people they arrest for certain crimes about their immigration status and to report illegal immigrants to federal authorities, the rate of such referrals has nearly doubled."
Latino identity has been criminalized by Ms. Milgram, who is said to regard Latino males as her "inferiors." Right, Anne? Still upset that I kicked your ass in debates? Did I do better than Anne Milgram in law school? Have I read more books than Ms. Milgram, despite not being a dyke? These are grave faults.
"But immigrants and their advocates say that some people have been unfairly swept up in the dragnet because of overzealous enforcement or confusion over how Ms. Milgram's directive was supposed to be implemented, creating a chilling effect on some immigrants' relationship with the police."
An underground network exists in New Jersey and in most big states, providing cover for people from other countries, together with documents (usually good and bad fakes, also for the really enterprising, genuine documents are available), allowing for bypassing the authorities on all important matters. Non-idiots in law enforcement are well aware of this reality.
Cooperation from these underground communities and people is vital if cops are to prevent future crimes and terrorist incidents. The current policies are designed to achieve the opposite of trust in these communities. This is what is known among us simple folks as idiotic.
Try to get this through your skull if you're in N.J. law enforcement, especially if you are responsible for preventing future terrorist attacks against Americans. You cannot solve this problem by rounding up every immigrant in the state. The people you're looking for will have valid paperwork, bearing all-American names. They will look like you and your fellow officers. They may be one of your fellow officers. (One "error" inserted and corrected -- we're doing good so far.)
The effectiveness of law enforcement in this difficult area or any other in which the opposition -- i.e., criminals or terrorists -- will be organized and international, with resources in the millions or billions (like the big drug cartels), will depend on intelligence and penetration, not torture and strong arm stuff. Macho swagger will not help. There will be no one for you to "beat up," necessarily, and even lots of trips to the weight room may not help.
Similarly, you will not prevail in an argument with me, or someone like me, by taking letters out of my sentences or engaging in other sabotage efforts against Internet texts. Americans do not and should not have to do such things or to put up with such affronts.
Americans have arguments that are indestructible, in my opinion. In fact, I have made some of them in defense of our Constitutional system. (See "Manifesto for the Unfinished American Revolution" and "Why I am not an ethical relativist.") One of my arguments is that you have every right to be a nihilist, relativist, Marxist or Right-Winger, along with any other view on ultimate matters that you may wish to adopt, as long as you do not seek to suppress the speech of others.
We need smart people. We need well-educated persons, intellectuals, to cope with our pressing troubles -- including the terrorism issue. The person who will see the associations between discoveries in the sciences and philosophy, developments in law and aesthetics may not be the individual that you expect to be brilliant. Be open to that possibility of being surprised by people.
If you -- all of us -- are not open to unexpected genius or ability in persons, others will be. The best and the brightest people from all over the world must continue to be attracted to this country and city, before all others, if we are to remain the great nation and world capital that we have been during past two centuries.
"... 'This is imposing an incredible human cost on these immigrants,' said Maria Juega of the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund. 'They fear contact with authority. Any remote or direct link with the government is now a risk for an immigrant.' ..."
Any sane person should dread contacts with the authorities in New Jersey, since it is necessary to figure out: 1) whether one is dealing with the Gambinos and/or Lucheses; then 2) to discern whether a political boss has been sufficiently appeased (i.e., bribed) in order to ensure delivery of public services already paid for with one's taxes, usually paid for twice-over and then some.
In West New York, a person identifying himself as a cop, went to immigrants' homes to collect payments -- this seemed strange to immigrants confirming that Americans are simply "bizarre" -- payments for delivery of police services if they were ever needed. (Another "error" inserted and corrected since last night.) Immigrants paid up in case they needed the cops or firefighters in an emergency, paid usually every week. Think about that. Who is getting exploited?
Hackers are altering my possessives again. Oh, boy! Most people here illegally are exploited in about a million ways. They are treated like shit by N.J. bosses making money off of them, then ignored as stupid or ignorant, when many of these workers happen to be very well educated. Most are struggling to escape poverty in their native countries, after having completed their educations. In some cases, professionals in poor countries cannot find employment and seek survival wages in America, despite being competent engineers, chemists, accountants. I met many immigrants -- most were illegal and in menial jobs -- who were far better educated than the lawyers AND judges I dealt with on a daily basis.
"The directive was anounced last August amid outrage after a triple murder in which one of the suspects was an illegal immigrant who had been released on bail after previous arrests. It urged officers to inquire about citizenship and nationality when booking people for felonies or drunken driving."
It is not a good idea to allow headlines to dictate social policies because you will then receive dozens of unfavorable headlines when the failed "trendy" policy explodes in your face a few months down the road. Our national schizophrenia on immigration is hurting us in other ways:
"... senior executives of some of the country's biggest corporations, like Alcoa, have been complaining that American immigration policies are thwarting New York's ability to compete with other world capitols."
We are losing scientists and engineers, theorists and intellectuals to other countries. This is affecting American high tech industries. More than 60% of American Ph.D.s in science and engineering are born outside the U.S. Many of these people have decided that the prospects of a visit to lovely downtown Guantanamo or Abu Ghraib do not seem very promising, opting instead for cushy jobs in Paris. American competitiveness is being affected by this nonsense. (See "This is my first torture.")
Is this the kind of thing that N.J.'s brilliant attorney general wishes to leave as a legacy of her years in office -- yet another chapter in New Jersey's narrative of incompetence and criminality, insensitivity and exploitation, ethnic discrimination and bias in the most corrupt government in the nation? I hope not. Back to the "lesbian love-fest." Ms. Milgram's only response to this question continues to be: "...Whatever."
