Poor Phil Valentine of The Tennessean wrote Sunday of his blind-leading-the-blind dependence on former Nashville talk radio host Darrell Ankarlo for information on U.S./Mexico border difficulties.
According to the columnist, Ankarlo has written books. I didn't even know he could color between the lines. Then Phil jumped atop his high horse and wrote about how all the Mexicans need to change their own government before they come here.
Hell, Phil, Americans can't even change their government in Washington. How do you expect the very poor of Mexico to change their corrupt officials? Perhaps you could go south of the border to show them and lead them with your fiery rhetoric.
Actually, you don't want Mexicans to change their government. That's just another excuse so you don't have a bunch of brown people diluting the rich European blood across this nation. Sorry, Phil, but the American Indians were here first.
Your ancestors -- as illegal immigrants -- came to this land and brought disease and firearms. Whether the civilization they also brought represents progress remains to be seen. All those whiners former Sen. Phil Gramm cited sure don't represent a happy America.
Then there's Tennessee history. There would not be as many Mexicans in Nashville and the state if Tennesseans of lore would have just stayed home and not invaded another country's territory with firearms.
Celebrated figures Davy Crockett and Sam Houston were ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, and simple seekers of fortune at someone else's expense.
These illegal aliens helped preserve slavery on Mexican territory that forcibly became the state of Texas. The government there had eliminated slavery in the early 1800s. But ol' Davy and Sam made sure that inhumanity survived another three decades. Doesn't it make you proud?
U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, who likes to introduce resolutions in Congress encouraging more knowledge of American history, sure doesn't bring up those facts about this nation's heritage. He prefers the lie, the myth, the non-cruel version of Manifest Destiny -- brought about by another Tennessean, President James K. Polk.
Lamar also prefers supporting the 287g deportation program in Davidson County. The illegals now are somehow different from Tennessee's hisorical illegals.
The Mexican-American War, which then Congressman Abraham Lincoln prominently opposed, forcibly removed Mexican territory in 1848 that became New Mexico, Arizona and California. The Golden State is one the world's biggest economies by itself. Los Angeles isn't named after the Spanish identification for angels by coincidence.
Think of all the Mexicans who wouldn't have been on U.S. soil if Polk had been even the least bit humane and moral. Put those facts in your next Senate resolution, Lamar.
And don't believe the myth that this nation paid for that territory. The $15 million given Mexico under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was for reparations -- to pay for the damage and killings by U.S. forces in Mexico.
So if it were not for all these Tennesseans of lore and all the VOLUNTEERS who reported for Polk's phony war, there wouldn't be many Mexicans here to deport and fret over in pushing a ridiculous referendum on English First -- and running 287g over the human rights of pregnant women and their newborns.
Tennessean columnist Phil Valentine wouldn't have anything to write, except more babble of fear and hypocrisy. To be constructive in my criticism, Tennessean officials should seek some accurate balance to Valentine's erroneous rant.
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8 comments:
Tim,
If you're so fond of the Mexicans and Mexico, what the heck are you still doing here? You're living in the evil United States where we illegally immigrated here and stole the land. You seem to relate to the Mexican people but you wouldn't dare go live in a third-world country. What I find amazing is you have no problem with illegal aliens turning our country into a third-world country. You try to paint me as some xenophobe who hates all brown people. That's your fall-back line when you run completely out of logic. Everyone knows that I adore the Mexican people and the Mexican culture. I took 3 years of Spanish, not the conduct of some xenophobe who hates other cultures. What I oppose is the massive wave of illegals who invade our country. If you're an American you'll stand up against the invaders, too, instead of continuing to be part of the problem.
Phil Valentine
I see that you have no knowledge of history. Slavery was legal in Texas all the time it was part of Mexico. They had an exemption from the prohibition against slavery that was true in the rest of the country. Almost all the US immigrants were LEGAL immigrants. They were INVITED into Mexico by law. Houston was NOT an illegal alien and he was admitted to the Mexican bar. Jim Bowie had married into a local Mexican family and had lost his entire family of his wife and daughters to disease. He did not take that well at all, and probably wanted to die at the Alamo. The moral of that is don't go into battle with a guy who wants to die.
If Santa Ana had not become dictator, Texas would still be part of Mexico. The settlers simply joined the other six Mexican states which were in revolt against Santa Ana. The heroes of the Alamo died under the banner saying 1824 signifying their fight to restore the Constitution of that year. They died not knowing that Texas had declared independence just before. Santa Ana left the weakest state for last in his attempt to secure his dictatorship.
Mexico declared war on the US and started hostilities. Thus the US was fully justified in responding to the armed invasion of US territory. Mexico had also stated that they would consider it an act of war if Texas joined the US. The reason Mexico was so willing to fight the US was that they figured that they would win. At the start of the war, Mexico had FAR large armies than the US. In almost all the battles, the US forces were outnumbered, and it was a close run thing. The only reason the US won, was the better training of the US officers, and US artillery.
AS for the loss of much of Mexican territory in the war, that is what happens in wars that you lose. Just ask the Germans. They lost all of their country to the east to the Soviets and Poles. They did not pay Germany a dime for the land. The US paid Mexico $15 million for the territory. The US also did NOT kick out all the Mexican citizens after we took possession. The Soviets and Poles removed ALL the Germans from the terriroties that they took. All in all, the US acted FAR better than most countries, even in modern times.
Mr. Valentine,
Have you ever been to the dumps of Mexico City where families rummage through the trash of others for anything they can sell to make a living? Those "mass waves of illegals" are not out to invade our country and invoke the wrath of folks like yourself. They are trying to survive. I, as a life long Tennessean, know that I personally did nothing to get the wonderful life I have. I was born in the U.S. by the grace of God. My parents and grandparents worked hard for what they have, but they don't feel threatened by Latino newcomers.
PBS also has a very nice website about the Mexican v. American War.
http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/index_flash.html
Keep at it, Tim!
Dear Anonymous,
It does no good to offer reasonable arguments to the deliberately ignorant. As his radio show and writing reflects, Phil Valentine is in that group. While rational discourse is our only hope for the marketplace of ideas, when people intentionally disgregard any facts that run counter to their predetermined conclusions, play on people's fears and prejudices, and apply tortured logic in order to reach those predetermined conclusion, you are wasting your effort with them. Mr. Valentine's arguments on the air would not withstand cross-examination by my fourth grade son, but they qualify as "good ole' commen sinse" to Mr. Valentine and his listeners. Anonymous, you would be better off directing your efforts toward people who may be misguided at the moment, but who actually care to discover the truth. People who make a living based on ratings inciting the prejudices and playing on the ignorance of their listeners are not interested in real discourse. -- And I would say that about someone on the insane left extreme or the insane right extreme.
I went to the PBS web site about the Mexican American War and it is so biased and lacking in facts that it is funny! All it has is stuff about how bad the US was and no facts about how Texas became independent, how the settlers got there to begin with, etc.. It reminds me of how Soviet history was written in leaving out major facts of history.
In the short part about Santa Ana it says nothing about him being a dictator, nor of his overthrowing the Mexican constitution of 1824. It even goes so far as to say that some people think of Santa Ana as a Mexican hero! The ONLY people in the world who think that way are Americans who hate the US! Go to Chapultepec Palace in Mexico City and see what MEXICANS think of him. It is NOT nice or flattering. Americans can think that way because they are totally unaware of the genocide that Santa Ana used to enforce his dictatorship. The Americans who think he is great only think that because he was fighting against the USA. That is all that they know or think that they need to know. I would suggest a remedial course in Mexican and US history with a view to FACTS instead of interpretive history from auch a biased point of view.
"Poor Phil Valentine and his dependence on ignorance in immigration debate."
Doesn't this also give you something for yourself to depend on? What would you blog about if not for your dependence of the ignorance of ILLEGAL immigration debate by the pro's?
Tim and others, I realize that there are vastly poor citizens in Mexico that want something better. My great-great grandparents were dirt poor Germans who came over to this country looking for the opportunities America offered. The difference in the two: the vast majority of Mexican immigrants go about it the wrong way. My ancestors came over here legally, went through Ellis Island, were accounted for (I have the actual records of their registration at the harbor in a scrapbook), and became citizens of this nation. The people of Mexico, while admirable for wanting a better life, are doing so illegally. We as Americans are not responsible for the poor in Mexico. We have poverty in this country that we cannot even address. With millions of non-citizens added to the number of those in poverty, taking up precious spots on insurance rolls and taking jobs that, yes, hard-working, undereducated Americans WILL take, we are beginning to see our country bulge. Our gas prices are rising due to increased demand, our food prices are rising due to increased demand, we are being forced to fund ELL classes when our school systems can barely afford in-date textbooks, and there has to be something done about this. Mr. Valentine actually hosts a talk radio show as well (you referred to him as a columnist and mentioned nothing of his radio show -- not sure if you knew) and quite often refers to a much needed ideal -- demagnetization. The English first bill is an attempt to demagnetize Tennessee. A reason why our anonymous friend's grandparents don't feel threatened could be that they won't be around when this problem finally boils over. And I doubt our anonymous friend knows of the gangs, drugs, and violence committed by Mexican gangs. We have enough gangs in this country as it is, much less having to deal with gangs like the Nortenos, Surenos, Gatos Locos, Latin Kings, and MS-13, to name a few. Our law enforcement is stretched to the limit, our local budgets are stretched to the limit, and, quite frankly, I'm tired of nothing being done about blatant violation of Federal Law. I am a US Citizen and if I commit a Federal offense, I am off to Federal prison. Not so with the illegal immigrants. Mr. Chavez, I respect your Hispanic heritage. I have many Hispanic friends. I have served as a bilingual administrative assistant and at a car dealership as the Hispanic liasion, but I am tired of attempts to have people who want to come to this country do so legally attacked. There is no defense for it. Want the American Dream? That's perfectly fine. Just do it legally.
You're all missing the point. This has nothing to do with illegal immigration, legal immigration, or all this historical misinformation everyone is spewing. Making English the only language Nashville can conduct business in is not going to deter illegal immigrants. PERIOD. If you want to keep illegal immigrants out, then build a bubble. If you want to keep Nashville a respectable, economically viable, international city, vote AGAINST English Only.
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