Free Republic

Brenda Smith and her husband became curious last winter about the workers who showed up in their neighborhood around Old Providence Road in Virginia Beach. Without any notice to her, the largely Hispanic crew began digging trenches in her front yard and shoving orange tubing into the ground. She tried to ask them questions, but they didn't speak English. Concerned about the growing number of illegal immigrants in Virginia, Smith decided to find out whether the men in her yard were here legally. She learned they were part of a $23 billion Verizon fiber-optic project intended to bring state-of-the-art television...

When figuring ways to shape public opinion, the first thing any savvy strategist does is craft phrases that will elicit a desired response. Want people to have a more positive reaction to dead Iraqi civilians? Call them "collateral damage." Want to get Americans to feel good about government spying? Name your law "The Patriot Act." If you can control the words people use, you can frame the issue. In effect, you control the way people view it. That is exactly what is happening with the immigration debate. To avoid dealing with complex problems in our nation - crumbling public schools,...