It’s Hispanic Heritage Week! I’d completely forgotten.

Yes, you can see why Bush probably thinks it would be little tactless to sign a bill defending the country against a Mexican invasion during Hispanic Heritage Week, considering how big a part such invasions have in Hispanic Heritage. He probably will sign the bill, but will wait until sometime after the Dia de la Raza, (Columbus Day to you.)

The New York Times has a surprisingly robust article [Across Europe, Worries on Islam Spread to Center, 10/11/06] about Europeans facing up to the failure of multiculti Muslim immigration, a piece which includes mention of the many unpleasant symptoms, e.g. murder, violent misogyny, societal balkanization, attacks on freedom of speech and avowed enemies run amok.

Paragraph one states unambiguously, “…more people in the political mainstream are arguing that Islam cannot be reconciled with European values.”

Others are saying more than that…

In Austria this month, right-wing parties also polled well, on a campaign promise that had rarely been made openly: that Austria should start to deport its immigrants. Vlaams Belang, too, has suggested “repatriation” for immigrants who do not made greater efforts to integrate.

The idea is unthinkable to mainstream leaders, but many Muslims still fear that the day — or at least a debate on the topic — may be a terror attack away.

It’s hard to imagine a large-scale deportation program, but the fact that it was discussed at all in a political campaign is a breakthrough. Of course, if a city is nuked, all bets are off.

At the heart of the Eurabia problem has been the belief in multiculturalism, the false ideology that posits all cultures are equal and compatible. Like communism and fascism, that failed idea finally seems to be dissipating, at least in Europe.

Here’s more from the Times article.

Lianne Duinberke, 34, who works at a market in the racially mixed northern section of Antwerp, said: “Before I was very eager to tell people I was married to a Muslim. Now I hesitate.” She has been with her husband, a Tunisian, for 12 years, and they have three children.

Many Europeans, she said, have not been accepting of Muslims, especially since 9/11. On the other hand, she said, Muslims truly are different culturally: No amount of explanation about free speech could convince her husband that the publication of cartoons lampooning Muhammad in a Danish newspaper was in any way justified.

There’s no middle ground in these cultural issues and the sooner the West understands that fact, the better.