Call it what you will, but the March 10 Hispanic-led tantrum in Chicago against tougher immigration laws was anarchy at its best, and it was aided and abetted by politicians sworn to uphold the law.

You can read all about it in the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and the Daily Herald. And be sure to visit the Tribune’s colorful photo gallery.

Naturally, there were plenty of theatrics that included flag waving, although it’s pretty apparent Old Glory had some pretty stiff competition from other nations like Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico that are only too eager to dump their poor onto the backs of American taxpayer but only as long as they continue to send billions back to those countries that, uh, don’t want them to come home because their large numbers would “destabilize” their societies.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), who was listed as an “unidentified male” in the transcript of Lou Dobbs’ Friday broadcast, was about as fired up as any real patriot could be:

“Raise those American flags!” he shouted to the 100,000 said to have participated. “This is our country, and this is where we will stay.” Of more significance was this from Gutierrez:

“Together you are a voice that is unstoppable.” (Is it me, or does this sound like a call to others around the world to break our laws?)

The parade’s organizers, probably eager to drive home the point they are no different than the rest of us, asked for and received a moment of silence to remember our troops in Iraq and a reading of the Pledge of Allegiance. (Where’s (sniff) my (sniff) apple pie?)

Mayor Richard Daley, who for years said he won’t stand for crime and corruption in his city, said he’s OK with the crime of being here illegally:

“We won’t make criminals out of the undocumented: “That is not what America has ever stood for,” said the man whose administration in recent months has reeked of wrongdoing that has the feds licking their chops. “Everyone is an immigrant.”

Rod Blagojevich, himself a son of immigrants, juiced the crowd when he said in Spanish he understood their values and concerns, neither of which apparently involves respecting another nation’s values and concerns.

If you’re the kind of person who just can’t get enough of “sob sister journalism,” Chicago was your kind of town during the past few days:

“Uriel Alfaro can’t understand why people think he doesn’t belong in the United States.

“He pays taxes. He goes to church . . .”(So did Al Capone. Well, OK, one out of two ain’t bad.)

“I need my parents,” said a sign carried by an 11-year-old here legally but whose parents aren’t.

“It’s not just a Latino issue,” said construction worker John Murphy, here illegally from Ireland. “We’re good people and just want a fair chance. “(Remember when a “fair chance” meant standing in line with everyone else and playing by the rules?)

Among the non-political performers who did their best during the 5-hour-long carnival dedicated to trashing the rule of law and our sovereignty, not to mention mocking legal immigrants and those who wore the uniform of the United States, was loudmouth radio show host Rafael Pulido, who also goes by the name “El Pistolero.” Anybody willing to hazard a guess as to what Mr. Pistol was getting at here?

“You messed with the wrong race because you messed with the human race.”

Last but not least was master showman Joshua Hoyt, executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. Hoyt loves melodrama, and he was in top form ( although, as usual, completely out of the ballyard with his understanding of the facts):

“You’re seeing the beginning of the Latino civil rights movement in this nation.” (Can we see the hands of all those Latinos here legally who don’t have civil rights?)

As unsettling as this demonstration was for those of us who still place high value on certain things related to this republic and the principles on which it rests, I think what troubled me most is knowing that out there are more Alpha Bahs who haven’t a clue about what U.S. citizenship is all about.

African Bah, who hails from Guinea, said after becoming a citizen during a naturalization ceremony in the State of Illinois Building:

“The rally was exciting. “Now, when I vote, I have to make sure that I help protect the rights of immigrants in this country.”

Memo to Mr. Bah: Frankly, you’re not exactly what we’re looking for in terms of new citizens.

Tom Wolfe’s next book is on immigration: Joseph Rago interviews Wolfe in the WSJ:

“I’ve begun the research for a book on immigration,” he notes. “When people ask me what I’m doing, I always tell them that, and the response is always the same. ‘How interesting’–and then their heads fall over. ‘God, how dull can it be.’ . . . But immigration I swear is an exciting topic.” Don’t worry: Tom Wolfe, the man of the world, will be back. “Of course,” his voice touched with autumn, “I have to find some economical way to do the research that won’t take forever. Careers don’t last forever, you know.”

Inadvertently illustrating how sniffily uninterested the media are with immigration, we find this passage in Rago’s interview with Wolfe:

“I also believe in the United States. I think this is the greatest nation that ever existed, still is. It’s really the only really democratic country in the world. Find me one country, just one country in the entire world that would let a foreign people–different culture, different language, and in many cases different color than the majority of the native stock–take over politically an entire metropolitan area in less than one generation. I’m talking about the Cubans in Miami . . .”

Mr. Wolfe has a habit of using experience and anecdote to gird an argument or shade a meaning, and he carries on like this for some time.

Apparently, University of Miami president Donna Shalala doesn’t want to hear about it.

My column last night, “Justice for Janitors”—or Jobs for Americans” provided Shalala’s e-mail contact page.

But several readers have written to tell me that their mail isn’t getting through.

Instead, the “HTTP 404 File Not Found” message appears.

Shalala invites interested parties to take advantage of this “opportunity to be heard.”
But I guess she isn’t really serious.

Don’t give up. Further investigation has discovered that you can email her at dshalala@miami.edu . You can also telephone Shalala and other key administrators. Find their phone numbers in this directory.

A lot going on, and not much free time to blog about it. But it’s not like there’s not a great deal of immigration news. Check out this list of headlines, from a blog called Traction Control, which links to us, of course, but also many other stories, especially this one, from the Minuteman Project:Tucson Sector Sees Significant Increase in Illegal Alien Crossings

• 42,837 illegal aliens apprehended
• 71,519 lbs. marijuana seized
• 465 stolen vehicles recovered