Ultrapolis
Weekly Forecast & Review
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
© Copyright 2010, The Ultrapolis Project – May be used freely with proper
attribution. All other rights reserved.
Illegal
Aliens With More Education Rights Than U.S. Citizens
Texas Governor Perry Stands by Law, After Debate Misstep
Governor Misspeaks, but the Truth is Out
There…
At the second Texas
gubernatorial debate for candidates seeking the Republican nomination, held on January
29, a Houston TV reporter asked Governor Rick Perry the following question: “You
pointed out that for illegal immigrants to get the in-state tuition they have
to apply for legal residency, correct?”
Governor Perry responded “Yes, sir.”
The reporter then followed up with “According to the bill it says you
have to promise to apply. Does the state then follow up to verify that the
application has been made for residency?”
Perry responded with Clintonian certitude, "It is my understanding,
yes, sir, absolutely.” The reporter
asked for confirmation on who was checking, and Perry repeatedly assured his
questioner twice that the Texas Education Agency was on the job. As it turns out, he was wrong. Andy
Kiesling with Texas Higher Education later had to explain that “there's no
provision in the statute that requires follow up,” and the agency is not on the
job. The Governor’s office retracted the
Governor’s remarks, but re-asserted the governor’s support for the law.
The law, which allows illegal or
undocumented aliens to benefits from taxpayer-subsidized tuition rates under
certain conditions (three years in the U.S., a Texas high school diploma, and a
promise to apply for U.S. residency), signed into effect by Perry himself in
2001 (not widely known by many in Texas), was recently challenged (again with
little news reporting) by a lawsuit filed in December in Houston against the
University of Houston, Houston Community College and Lone Star College systems. The lawsuit claims
the state law violates federal law, and seeks an injunction against the
practice. Almost identical laws passed in
other states at coincidentally the same times, are now also under legal
challenge for the same reasons.
At the federal level, starting also
in 2001, but with less success, the attempt has been made to guarantee this
benefit for illegal aliens nationwide.
The latest incarnation is called the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act
(DREAM Act), and was re-introduced in March 2009.
The laws have
the odd effect of providing illegal aliens from foreign countries with more
rights to tax-supported benefits than U.S. citizens that cross state lines. Prior to these laws, and judicial rulings on
public school access, all aliens had to pay tuition, even at the elementary and
high school level, on the premise that they or their parents did not pay
property taxes. Today, of course, many
illegal aliens do own property in the U.S., even though American citizens
cannot do so without a valid Social Security Number.
National Public Sentiment 0, Corporate
Interests 3
The national
debate on illegal immigration, and the right of undocumented aliens to access
taxpayer-funded benefits, and citizen rights and license privileges, has been
documented by two major opposing forces:
on the one-side, the overwhelming public sentiment, across ethnic,
racial and cultural lines, that has favored curbing illegal immigration and
access to benefits and privileges (in some polls in majorities of up to 70%);
on the other, an unusual conjunction of far-Left, “no borders” activists, and
powerful corporate interests who are keen to maintain a cheap workforce that is
likely to remain cheap and easy to control so long as it is ‘undocumented.’ And, even if it does not remain
undocumented, studies on the subject have shown the obvious: that an influx of cheap labor lowers wages at
the lower economic rungs (a simple matter of supply and demand). Less educated African-Americans have been the
most adversely affected. In this
face-off, the people cannot win, because copious corporate money far outweighs
public sentiment of needs in the political calculations of those in our
governor mansions and capitol domes. And, while Americans are generally in
consensus on the matter, they don’t feel strongly about it.
As pointed out
in an earlier weekly report covering the new free corporate speech,
corporations are driven by profit, and when the profit motive conflicts with
national interests, the profit motive almost always wins. This is why American corporations have been
caught selling illegal weapons technology to the likes of China and Iran. So, when it comes to the effect illegal immigration
has on those at the bottom of the U.S. economic ladder, or on how border county
hospitals are going bankrupt and are closing, or on how U.S. citizens end up
strangely with less right to benefits than foreign nationals illegally in their
own country, it is of no profitable interest to them.
So, it does
not matter what the public feeling is on this matter. Benefits will continue to be extended to
illegal aliens – and expanded, with the helpful cover of the far-Left rhetoric
of misguided humanitarianism. And when
public healthcare reform is eventually passed, it too will eventually cover
illegal aliens – no matter what President Obama says to the contrary.
Mexico to U.S.: Do as I Say, Not as I Do
Incidentally,
Mexico has its own illegal alien problem originating from Central America,
particularly Guatemala. However, the
Mexicans, despite their rhetoric aimed at the U.S., have a completely different
attitude towards illegal aliens: No
access to any benefits, school, or healthcare.
No political rights, no right to sue, and no right to free speech. Mexicans themselves actually do enjoy a
remarkable level of free speech, plus government-secured healthcare, and decent
public schooling – it is just reserved for their citizens. This is not to say we are obligated to follow
their example. But it does suggest a
certain level of insincerity in the Mexican demands on the U.S. regarding American
treatment of Mexicans who cross the border illegally, and literally cut in
front of the line of those legally applying for U.S. visas around the world.
Nor are we here to malign the illegal migrants
themselves, who are merely seeking to improve their lot in life, a human right
if there ever was one. But we all understand
that hungry people cannot be allowed to steal bread, or that sick people cannot
physically force others to provide medical care, however we may sympathize with
their plight. We recognize the long-term consequences to the
rule of law. And so, while illegal
aliens may benefit directly in the short-run from the increasingly open - even
institutional - disregard for American laws, they along with the rest of us
will inherit a degraded social order, and we will all pay a price for that.
Vancouver Olympics Open With Typical Western Drab
Mismatched Costumes, Slapdash Dance Moves Outshined by Technology
In an approach reminiscent of the underwhelming London
Bus at the end of the closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics that heralded
London’s Olympics in 2012, the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Winter
Olympics featured a ménage of grungy and haphazard dancers and performers that
scampered about in what we were supposed to believe was an intricate and highly
complex routine, but still looked liked a mob of dancers improvising on the
spot. Starting with the Native American
tribal dancers jumping up and down in a manner that if performed by any
Anglo-white would have been seen as an offensive spoof, to the edgy,
heavily-tattooed punk leather look, to the “I just threw this on” look of the
main dancers, we could not help but suspect that very little time and money was
put into the human performance. Contrasted
with the imposing and dazzling Chinese display of pageantry, precision,
composition, and grand scale, it looked like what it was: A common tactic used
today by Westerners who try to pass off costuming that looks like ‘just wear whatever’
with routines that look like ‘just do whatever,’ as high art, to save money. In this regard, we understand: the artistic director only had one-tenth
the funds of his Chinese counterpart in 2008 (another sign of the times), and
he apparently chose to devote it to the spectacular technology deployed at the
show to create stunning and breathtakingly beautiful backdrops. So, it was not a total loss; and the show did
come together at the end with a semblance of composition that rallied to
inspire. But, the emperor is still naked.
May be used freely with
proper attribution. All other rights
reserved.