Posted on 11/30/2006 7:08:30 PM PST by AmericanExceptionalist
Lofty stuff, this Texan of the Year designation. It would make sense, and it would be tempting, to afford my vote to some powerful figure who enjoyed notable success in 2006, from Gov. Rick Perry to any of the various people who engaged in noble or philanthropic pursuits, or one or more of the various Texans who have made us proud by fighting the war on terror. But with permission, I'll go a level deeper and identify a Texan who has become a lightning rod for every sentiment along the spectrum of opinion on one of the most compelling issues faced by our state and our nation: immigration.
I refer to the boldness of City Council member Tim O'Hare of Farmers Branch, on Dallas' northwest border, who has put his town of roughly 30,000 squarely into the national news by spearheading measures designed to reflect local citizen frustration with lackadaisical enforcement of federal immigration laws.
Seeing a nation unwilling to seriously combat waves of illegal immigrants, Mr. O'Hare has sent a message: While America may take its sweet time paying attention to its own immigration laws, his city is going to pay attention to them right now.
Riding a wave of voter support, the Farmers Branch council passed a law creating penalties for renting to illegal immigrants. The city also declared English its official language.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
LULAC and LaRaza are already working on the lawsuits.
Can I join LaRaza (THE RACE) even if I am Native American?
ACLU's working on their lawsuit, too.
And sadly, I don't think the courts will rule in Farmers Branch favor. I admire Mr. O'Hare and the council for trying to make a stand.
"He believes knowing English is preferable. Still he worries a language requirement for employment sends the wrong message."
An 8th grade level of proficiency in English is required, is it not, for citizenship? Then what is the excuse for not being ABLE to speak English? I can understand temporary guest workers not learning it, but these are city employees. The only one I can think of is these folks have NOT met that requirement and are here illegally.
"Among those who are passionate about strong laws and effective borders, Mr. O'Hare became an instant hero. To those opposed, he became a gringo devil, a ripe target for some of the most reckless slander in recent North Texas political history."........
"But the most prevalent and baseless scorn was heaped by officials and individuals acting in accord with the League of United Latin American Citizens and other Hispanic advocacy groups. From Domingo Garcia to Jesse Diaz and beyond, Mr. O'Hare and his supporters were demonized as racist, an absurd claim that overlooks the fact that this is a matter of behavior and not ethnicity."
Based on what I'm reading in these articles and what I'm reading in the posts here on FR by the OBL bots, RACISM is the new OBL mantra, and it will be repeated over and over again in an attempt to SHAME all Americans into shamnesty. Do not fall for these constant and deliberate personal attacks and if I may suggest, advise the attackers each and every time, that ILLEGAL ALIEN is NOT a RACE. And, in fact, this site does request: " Please: NO profanity, NO personal attacks, NO racism or violence in posts." but as you can see, it is being completely ignored by those who wish to interrupt any and all discussions, especially those regarding their new target of hate, Tancredo. It was to be expected, however,IMO, the time has come where we must immediatly unite behind our Republican leadership who WILL and ARE determined to prevent the OBL from enacting a NAU agenda, and agenda which is quickly pushing for the passage of CIR. With the elections behind us, pressure must be put on all other congressmen and senators to advise them that the American people do NOT want ANY plan that includes 'earned citizenship' and we must DEMAND that our immigration laws be enforced and our borders be effectively secured. Else we lose the WOT in our own backyards.
ping
No.
ILLEGAL ALIEN is NOT a RACE would make a great bumper sticker. I see you've already taken it as a good tagline.
Nope.
Nope. They're Americans.
Thanks! It's not my original idea, but I saw it written here somewhere and am using it. Accusations of racism are coming faster than you can 'hit back'. Shame really. I could understand having to point out the obvious to a Democrat, don't undertand the need with fellow Republicans, except to say, they won't let go.
Perhaps many of us should join the group (if they will let us and if they won't we should sue for discrimination) and just swamp them with people who don't believe that being of hispanic descent makes one any better than the rest of us.
susie
If they cannot be required to know English, why can anyone be required to be bilingual for any job? Many jobs here in S. FL require that.
susie
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