I was watching Lou Dobbs tonight and boy does he have his panties in a twist over the Courage Campaign’s Dreams Across America train which leaves today to document the experience of immigrants across the country. Read Rick Jacob’s post over at the HuffPo where he talks about “getting personal before getting political” — as Laura Flanders made uncomfortably clear to Dobbs recently, the human factor in all of this is all too easily ignored. Rick says that this promises to be “a first ever conjoining of traditional immigrant’s rights groups with online storytelling and organizing.” David Neiwert is riding on the train and will be writing on his experiences for FDL, and Dobbs is already doing a leprosy redux and getting his facts wrong.
We look forward to being a part of it. And as for pissing off Loud Dobbs — well, that’s always fun.
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1?
up there.
uno, dos, tres para Hillary…
Front page of The Oregonian today, ICE went in and arrested 165 illegals in Portland and shipped them off to a little burgh south of Seattle. They also went after the temp agency that supplied them .
I will see if I can dig up a link.
To funny and great news about Neiwert. We are some fortunate dogs.
Here is a link, sorry, it’s kinda on topic.
http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/
sort of weird – my Hillary exclamation started out as numero dos, but then switched to numero tres when I refreshed. She can’t escape being a triangulator, no matter what…
Wow. Just wow.
Ed*ard Teller @ 7
LOL. it takes three points to establish a “plain”
I know I probably missed it, but what is the official FDL immigration policy? Was the recently defeated bill any good? Or was it bad, but for different reasons then the right-wing nuts?
They are busy filling up the Halliburton Ice detention centers. Achtung Baby.
Dobbs pissing on the Catholic church.
Yeah thats always a good idea.
What was that monkeys name who gets his nickers in a twist on behalf of them ?The Catholic equivalent of Dobson.
Bustednuckles @ 12
Sick Donahue on his ass.
BTW, Great news!
not really related to the topic at hand, but I liked Terry Gross’ recent interview with Los Straitjackets – an American band singing cover versions of rock en espanol cover versions of early rock and roll songs.
random youtube
Tom Tancredo was on the radio today here in LA – I don’t know if he was making any sense, because I was too focused on not driving off the road.
Hi Jane. Great post.
I knida like “don’t ask —- don’t tell” but for real! Live and let live.
Wow, FDL embedded in the Courage Train. Sounds about right.
Well, Lou Dobbs is one of those “Great White Christians” that’ll be extinct soon.
My name is Ishmael.
Bustednuckles @ 12
I wonder what the good Catholic Stephen Colbert will have to say about that!
noen @ 19
yeah, he’s always harpooning about something or other.
Bustednuckles @ 4
‘Mothatruckers’, wonder if it was one of Senator Gordon ‘Million$Golfclub’ Smith’s packing houses.
Whoa. Things have gotten so bad in Iraq that they’re now blowing up shit that’s already been blown up.
*ilbo @ 22
Any chance they’ll throw the owners of the plant in jail too? The managers? Human resources folks?
Didn’t think so.
Frank Probst @ 23
I guess peace is just so boring.
Frank Probst @ 23
Worked the first time! :)
Frank Probst @ 23
Think Afghanistan.
Twain @ 25
No, I think they would like peace. We won’t allow that, just us being there kinda makes it impossible.
Frank Probst @ 23
We’re winning the pieces.
OT, sorta.
Why is there not a truly liberal voice on tv?
Wingnuts, centrists, faux centrists, joe klien liberals.
Richard Ben-Veniste/Joe DiGenova
Wonkette/Eugene Robinson/Some GOP Apparatchik
Seriously. What is the dynamic at play? I know it’s “corporate media”, but that seems too simplistic.
Is it because we dont have as many “foundations”? are we blacklisted? Not local? Specifically, whats the deal?
We have dozens of smart, presentable, truly progressive voices here and elsewhere. Yet I watch wingnuts go unrebutted repeatedly on tv.
I know its a common theme, but there must be a real way to get our legitimate voices heard.
Bustednuckles @ 12
Anti-Catholic has always been one of the main-stays of American populism. The backlash to Bushite/fascism by the lizard brains will be Dobbs/populism.
The immigration issue is really painful, complex, and confusing. It really seems like Madame Karma is biting this country in the butt. The hypocrisy is stunning.
i’m of 2 minds on the immigration bill..on the 1 hand – america has open arms to those seeking a better life – but not at the expense of americans trying to make a living… in my corner of the world (former cook in nursing home)before i retired all new employees were mainly hispanics pretty much from mexico and central america….dont know if americans want to do these jobs but i did and at the time it paid well but i think pay scale has been lowered unfortunately…
peace doesn’t pay high enough profits?????
Bustednuckles @ 12
William A. Donohue.
Yeah Lou Dobbs and Bill Orally members of the oppressed white power structure soon to be overtaken by a bunch of brown skinned folks, most of whose ancestors were here before them.
Am I missing something here?
Thanks ET.
Too many bong hits for jesus back in the day dontchano.
Bustednuckles @ 37
Yeah. Jesus took my bong long ago.
I have a small story to tell.
I used to be a shift manager for Wendy’s at the local mall years ago. Most of the employees who worked on my shift were Hmong Cambodians. There is a sizable community here in Minnesota.
Good kids, they worked hard and made my job all the easier. During quiet times we would talk and I remember talking to one gal, I can’t even remember her name now, (Rawon or something) but I talked to her about how life was like for my father. My father grew up around the Amana Colonies in Iowa and he spoke German at home and English at school. I told her about that because we had been talking about how it was for her speaking Hmong at home and English elsewhere.
I think she appreciated that. I think it helped her to understand that we’ve all had pretty similar experiences. It is easy for one ethnic group to think that they are the only ones who have had to go through what they are dealing with. Truth is the immigration experience has been very much the same for everyone.
Whoa, David Schuster just back from his honeymoon. Congratulations, David!
Ed*ard Teller @ 38
I must confess I never could get bongs to work very well. But as long as I could find screens, them old corn cobs worked jus’ fine doncha know…
We almost have a caste system in this country, and the ‘untouchables’ for many are the immigrants. And if we have a class war going on here, it’s pretty one sided warfare. With the mega-rich winning handily.
I think I like an awful lot of the “illegal” immigrants that I have met in my life a whole lot better than the legalized people currently running this country. At least they care about their families and communities and aren’t going all over the world creating war and havoc.
urban pirate @ 30
I think it is really that simplistic. Those who own the media tend to be not just conservative, but batshit crazy somewhere to the right of Hitler conservatives. And they have more money than God and can afford to buy politicians, journalists and entire networks.
Who Rules America
Great post Jane. Lou Dobbs was a business reporter and although he supposedly supports the middle class he doesn’t seem to get to the root of the problem which is wages. Why blame Walmart when you can blame the immigrants. I’m glad that Dave will be posting on his bus tour.
If the U.S. would quit ripping off third world countries, we wouldn’t have an ‘immigrant problem’.
Well, I think it’s time to go open that chilled bottle of 10W30 Christy suggested.
HOLD THE PRESSES!!!
A buddy just showed up with a bottle of 18 year old Glennfiddich!
A toast, to FDL!
DING!
MAN! Thats the GOOD SHIT!
LS @ 43
Leslie M. Silko wrote a book. ‘Almanac of the Dead’. Hope the twin white birds appear soon.
How y’all are? Waving a big ol’ hand from the thriving metropolis known as Bogalusa, LA. Boy, have I wrote a boatload about immigration. Still, to be honest, I am torn between the humanitarian aspects and an endless supply of powerless and exploitable labor which depresses wages and supresses unionization.
I guess ultimately, my feelings are not torn. Legalize, enforce from an anti-exploitave position punatively and an honest control of entry–in that order.
urban pirate @ 30
Here’s the deal:
1) Media companies are owned by very rich people, and Republican tax policy favors the very rich.
2) Media companies hate regulations, they really hate anti-trust regulations, and they especially hate the idea of a Fairness Doctrine. Ronald Reagan rammed through legislation in 1987 that killed the Fairness Doctrine and Republicans since then have gutted the FCC’s regulatory powers.
3) Starting with former Nixon Treasury Secretary William Simon’s call to arms in the 1970s, Republicans and conservatives have made concerted efforts to buy up the mainstream press and turn it conservative (see: Jack Welch, NBC — who hired Republican National Committee chair Roger Ailes to run his news division) and/or create their own media (see: Rupert Murdoch — who hired Roger Ailes to set up and run Fox News; also see: Rush Limbaugh and the shadowy backers that bankrolled his career in the early years, when it was all but given away to small rural stations in order to build up a stable of stations big enough to get the ad revenue needed to get urban stations to carry him).
Immigrants are scapegoats for our own failures.
Hey OFG!
Good to see you.
Now I am gonna go home.
See y’all tomorrow.
The proof that the “Global War on Terror” is a contrived phrase, lies in the fact that the United State government did not immediately move to secure the borders after 9/11. Everything else that has followed has been exploitation of the masses.
OFG!
Bustednuckles @ 53
Have a great night!!
Don’t know how long it’s been on but the replay of Lorna Doon is on CSpan…
edit: yep Davis is the midst of his original smoke screen opening…
Oilfieldguy @ 50
That’s exactly it, OFG.
This is why we should take the time to insist on anti-exploitation features for any immigration bills — including giving immigrant workers full whistleblower rights.
Unless the bill has that, it’s worse than what we have now.
There are whispers going around the internet that Mike Moore’s movie “Sicko” is fantastic and a must see by every American, alien or not.
Phoenix Woman @ 58
Yes!!
Oklahoma kiddo @ 52
I love that statement because it is so true. Do you think that MSM will pick it up? Nah, I actually hope that sites such as Firedoglake will become MSM.
Robert Scheer of truthdig has a pretty decent view of ‘President’ Lieberman. If you get a chance.
http://www.truthdig.com/report…..nary_tale/
dakine01 @ 57
I must admit, I do enjoy her outbursts…tee, hee, …her outrageousness is strangely satisfying, even though I thoroughly disagree with where she is coming from…;->
ccmask @ 59
Yeah, there are a couple of diaries on Kos about it.
nyceve
and
California Nurses Shum
Ed*ard Teller @ 38
Did He return it after three days?
OT. Lurita “Cookies” Doan is on again. CSPAN1. Starting now.
TiredFed @ 66
You are so brave if you can watch that.. I’m still trying to figure out what tense she was speaking in.
JPL @ 67
She is, quite literally, without shame.
She grew up in the 9th Ward in NOLA.
Who will feed us, wash our dishes, build our homes, take care of our babies, and change the sheets at the Motel 6 or the Hilton if we get rid of the immigrants?
one time with lurid doan is more than enough for me…. i’ll pass
Hey, Lurita, how do you feel about your heroes allowing your “hometown” to drown? How do you continue to be loyal to the very people who allowed your childhood community to struggle to survive for 5 days in front of the world with no water or food. How do you feel.
Case closed.
Corporate responsibility. What a hoot.
LS @ 72
That was the very beginning of the end for the Republicans.
OT Has anybody read digby’s post on Huckabee wanting disparaging female attire?
in lurid’s case – she or her peeps didnt suffer – i’m sure they were well taken care of given her prominence in bushco world….
OK, come on. The entire hearing of Lorna Doon is worth watching just for Sarbanes. Get me some more of that Latin teaching. Now.
Phoenix Woman,
I enjoy your take on Republican control of the media, and I want to throw in my two cents:
The true regulation for media is the pleboscite: if you do not like it, change the channel. Republicans have financed their very own media megaphone, able to ignore the complaints of the public for years, while losing money on the venture.
There is a value in buying an ad that say’s “Coke is it” without a coupon. No way can you say that ad sold a single can of pop.
If progressives are tied to trying to be a success in media using regular commercial forces, which conservatives did not do, it is doomed to failure, simply because of the fact the mighty right wing wurlitzer unlooses its winged monkeys to harass advertisers for supporting a liberal station.
As a result, we get “Blowhards” (name withheld) and a grasping Air America.
Progressive ideals are merely a vehicle we fuel to arrive at an America we desire. I have never made money on any vehicle I have ever owned.
Until the progressive movement is able to cajole some major sugar daddies like the right has, we shall be limited to bludgeoning the corporate media with the blogs.
We do pretty good at that! (Thank you Digby, et al)
LS @ 69
Forgive me if this is politically incorrect – but how in the world does she identify herself as black? From what I can see, she is not much more than an advanced stage of beige, if that.
ccmask @ 74
Seriously. We still don’t know how many people really died. They had to make sure it was less than on 9/11.
OT but imho important: Under my .SIG you’ll find a pointer to what I hope will be a productive discussion about what tools FDL has adopted, and might adopt in the near-term, to add discussion-style functions to this highly successful blog.
I hope you’ll join in; you’re more than welcome.
Watch out though: the introduction is overlarge… Sorry ’bout that. You’ll have to scroll down to see it all, beore you get to the comments area. :)
I’ll be re-posting this invitation in later blogposts.
It is truly unfortunate that we didn’t have a better immigration policy in place 400 years ago, before we started letting the wingnuts in.
newtonusr @ 8
Does he have a dog named Charlie along with him?
Bob in HI
JPL @ 75
Heh, heh. Dig through teh comments and find the leetle surprise I left!
Whoa! Folks like what I wrote about immigration? Kewl! I have an actual oilfield dialogue I’m thinking about posting.
I am not nearly so pleasant to deal with in the patch as I am in a thread.
in the tradition of the Joke Line nomenclature, may I offer: Lewd Obbs.
JPL @ 75
Yes.
Wonder what teh projector wears…..
(with Huckabee, the “b” is for brain bleach”)
Joe Klein’s conscience @ 10
So far as I’m concerned, its the same one Emma Lazarus wrote,
And if that scrunches up Lou Dobbs shorts in a tight little wad, too bad.
Bob in HI
kirk murphy @ 86
Thong?
bg @ 77
First time that I’ve been able to see this, as I was busy all day. Wow…she sure says a whole lotta nuthin’!
Bob Schacht @ 83
And a 61 Chevy Truck named Rocinante.
Bob Schacht @ 87
Unless you already lived here….
LoudounLib @ 89
Don’t worry, it gets worse as it goes along…
LoudounLib @ 89
Oh, it gets better.
dakine01 @ 92
Ha, ha, my comment following yours says the opposite, but means the same thing!!
dakine, LS, I think I’ll go get some popcorn ;-)
So what. But we’re not investigating Halliburton and Bechtel or Blackwater. Big deal.
The US department of justice is preparing to open a corruption investigation into the arms company BAE, the Guardian has learned. It would cover the alleged £1bn arms deal payments to Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/baef…..58,00.html
LS @ 93
So, if
youI think a whole bunch of sexist racist things to say when she talks, butyouI don’t say it. . .now lets see if all the hearings brings about some type of action…… i have no expectation it will tho….
LoudounLib @ 95
You’ll need coooookies, because she doesn’t want anyone else to have any, ever.
LS @ 94
kinda like fat chance and slim chance, i.e., the chances she says anything meaningful and the chances the repugs provide any oversight.
LS @ 93
ChimpCo told her to come out swinging, I guess… The world’s against me!
raven @ 97
Pretty much. It is hilarious th..e..a..ter.
so, anyone going to the Libby sentencing hearing manana? I figured I would stop by the Senate Judiciary Committee business meeting at 10 and then saunter over to Prettyman.
newtonusr @ 101
Quite late in the hearing, Issa sort of advises her to do just that, hang tough and fight, because there will be more coming next week, and they are gunning for her…it is quite remarkable how that goes down. At the end the Repubs basically say, good night and good luck…
MSM doesn’t want to address the real problems that face us as a nation. When presidential candidates are concerned about mini-skirts, or in Giuliani’s case forgetting that the Iraq war is occurring then maybe it’s up to us. Firedoglake is a great start from which to build but then we have to move forward. Of course, here I sit trying to compose a letter to my rep. Tom Price and write it in a way in which I use politically correct words. It’s tough.
LS @ 104
And of course the ‘thugs are the first to play the race/gender card and then try to blame the Dems. And get righteously slapped down by Diane(?) Watson.
Someone upthread asked what the position of fdl is on immigration. I think it is bigger than fdl and should encompass the progressive movement. I would like to see a position paper crafted by the progressive blogs that comes out foursquare in the corner of supporting and expanding the middle class, y’know, unions and stuff.
Atrios put a piece the other day saying that opposition to the current immigation bill was huge, and challenged congress to put forth legislation that people could support. He did not limit it to immigration.
What can we do to improve the lot of millions who faced obstacles up to and including death in their search to be American?
She’s a woman and a fighter, and that turns W on (think Babs). He will treat her just like Gonzo. She’s safe unless they go ahead and indict her for perjury.
LS @ 108
Too much information.
waxman indicates he may have a perjury indictment on his mind – we’ll see
newtonusr @ 109
Ewwwww….I should have said, what makes him stubborn or stand his ground.
LS @ 111
I believe you were correct, though.
LS @ 111
Ewww isn’t here right now!
juslin @ 110
Well, it’s not as if he didn’t catch her in a blatant out and out lie or two with the differences between her sworn statement/I don’t remembers in the first hearing and then telling the OSC investigators that she did remember and felt she should save the info for them rather than give Waxman the “whole truth” as she swore to do the first (and second) times.
Lew Koch upstairs
Oilfieldguy @ 107
We have to get in front of the issue. The repub framers have painted unions as bad, immigrants bad, dems bad, mini-skirts the new bad, but don’t offer solutions. It’s time for the dems to offer solutions. We could benefit from reading and quoting Sinclair Lewis and Studs Terkel.
FYI, new thread.
dakine01 @ 106
that is something I just dont get. Republicans playing the race card. does that make ANY sense to anyone in the real world? it is to laugh. the world is upside down these days.
This story should have us all angry as hell at what’s happening to our country:
Woman dies in ER lobby as 911 refuses to help
Tapes show operators ignored pleas to send ambulance to L.A. hospital
LOS ANGELES – A woman who lay bleeding on the emergency room floor of a troubled inner-city hospital died after 911 dispatchers refused to contact paramedics or an ambulance to take her to another facility, newly released tapes of the emergency calls reveal.
Edith Isabel Rodriguez, 43, died of a perforated bowel on May 9 at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital. Her death was ruled accidental by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.
Relatives said Rodriguez was bleeding from the mouth and writhing in pain for 45 minutes while she was at a hospital waiting area. Experts have said she could have survived had she been treated early enough.
……
Noen, PW, and OFG, thanks for rhe comments. I’m sorry for going o/t so early. I was just fuming, and the standard reasons i see presented dont make that much sense to me. (or at least they seem futile, and therefore impossible to accept).
I tend to think more along your lines OFG, we simply dont have the same patronage system in place. But how does that explain MMMalkin being syndicated while Digby is not.
I wish I knew a way I could change that. I guess I’ll have to leave it up to people smarter than me to figure out and I’ll keep contributing in whatever small way I can, but I really hate feeling so damn ineffectual. It’s like there’s a whole choreographed debate going on, and it doesnt even address the real arguments or the real merits.
Thank God for the blogs. Remember when we were stuck with tv? yikes.
juslin @ 110
He pretty much has it, the question is whether he’ll act on it.
Notice throughout this hearing her “technique” for disrupting the questioners…”I didn’t hear what you said”, “Could you repeat that”, “could you speak louder”, etc., making them repeat the questions and use up their time. Sometimes, she is just looking at pieces of paper and looks up after the question and sort of says “you talkin’ to me”….something hardass in her for sure. I don’t criticize her for it, I’m just pointing it out – it is fascinating.
Oilfieldguy @ 107
I’m hoping our position is exactly as outlined on the Statue of Liberty (give me your tired….)
TexB @ 119
Horrifying. Just like the Convention Center in NOLA.
LS @ 121
agreed. quite a technique. I’ve seen many an administrator in a similar position, but never one so arrogant or controlling. in some instances, she was quite rude.
TiredFed @ 124
You recall the principal in the school in Conroy’s “The Water is Wide”? There she is, I bet she’s really hell on black folks.
TiredFed @ 124
And every question has to be placed in HER context, regardless of what was asked.
raven @ 125
Interesting. Hell on them for not achieving as she has? Not working hard enough to be like her? It would be interesting to see the background of the people that ratted on her. It is really too bad to see a really intelligent, ambitious, woman choose the loyalties that she has – what a waste. So it goes.
Interesting. Hell on them for not achieving as she has? Not working hard enough to be like her? It would be interesting to see the background of the people that ratted on her. It is really too bad to see a really intelligent, ambitious, woman choose the loyalties that she has – what a waste. So it goes.
It’s just a guess but I have seen this kind of situation here in Georgia more than once. Some sort of “tough love” notion I think but there is also an issue with shades of color. Of course I’m white and male so I have no business saying any of this.
raven @ 128
LS @ 130
I probably lucked out on that!
probably talking to myself here at this point, but…
God, this woman is unreal. She actually reminds me of one of the bosses where I work – a woman who is well-versed at doublespeak and talking a lot while saying nothing at all. This boss at my workplace got where she is by being a great bullshitter over the years.
raven @ 131
Perhaps. :) It was in agreement with something you said actually.
LoudounLib @ 132
Women bosses can be the toughest.
LS @ 134
‘Struth! I sure wouldn’t want to work for this one!
Too bad she’s not a Dem.
LS @ 136
Heh ;-)
lurid is a tool who wants to please her boss(?) and maintain her position and if it means violating the hatch act – ahhh so what…
juslin @ 138
She’s been given so many different names that I can’t remember her real one. Have enjoyed them all. And no, I don’t wish her to be a Dem.
juslin @ 138
The interesting thing to me is that she is the most outspoken, get in your face and fearless, of any of the other witnesses, in any of the other hearings. She feels either totally righteous or totally protected. I’m not sure which.
TiredFed @ 122
That was me that asked what the position was. I only asked because I hated the bill that just died(I hope). I hated it for totally different reasons than Dobbs did. If I was reading correctly, it would basically assign new immigrants to a permanent underclass, while also screwing over the middle class.
Twain @ 139
I’d like to see some of her “fight spirit” in a Dem. That is what I was referring to. Her politics and ethics are so totally misdirected.
ls@142
ohhhh what you say…..
juslin @ 143
The fight spirit. Not her agenda. Just some fight and power from the Dems. She has not been forthcoming, and has apparently been untruthful to congress and should be held accountable for all of that, but I admire the fight spirit. Truth to power. That is what I’m talking about.
Phoenix Woman @ 51
Wow. Great analysis.
The media represents the interest of the property classes, just as the police force does. There is a presumptive illusion that many institutions have a democratic foundation, ir that they serve the people. This is not true. They serve the owners and holders of power.
The powerful are few but run the show for their benefit which means more wealth and less regulation of their “behavior”. Regulation is a demoncratic concept because it checks the few (usually) from excesses.
The entire right is about control, wealth creation and protection of the place of power in this society and in the world. Anything which accrues to then benefit of “the people” is inimical to the interests of power and wealth.
Corporations are not democratic. They may be one vote per share, but one individual can own more shares and hence more votes and have more control and power. The right likes THAT kind of democracy where you can acquire (buy) more free speech, more voting power, more influence because it is WEALTH based.
Until we change our economic model, or begin to put serious muscle into regulations of corporations and the beahvior of wealth, the people will NEVER have any power.
Even the representatives in government represent the wealthy classes. Sure there are the occassional limosene librals, but the idea that competiton and winning is the america way, is fundamentally corrupt.
We haven’t advanced much since the days of slavery and fuedalism, we just have more gadgets in our lives to make it appear that society has made progress. The right even is engaged in controlling the electoral process to insure that the people can’t even vote them out. This is what the USA scandal was about. Yet another fix on the control of power while maintaining the illusion of democracry.
It hasn’t. We’re just as racists as classist as we ever were, if not more. And now it’s out in the open.
I am sorry to say that I suspect that revolution is the only thing which will changed this deeply entrenched system and more and more democratic institutions and ideas are tossed aside in the interest of wealth creation (for the wealthy).
Urban pirate the reason there are no liberals on tv is because they are run off . It’s also the reason the democrats on Sun. talk shows are boring, lame and compromised. They are run off because we now have state media as a result of a fascist govt. Not saying the words keeps it going strong.