Remember the good, old days when unions existed to protect American workers?

No mas, no mas.

“Worksite raids are not an effective form of immigration reform,” said Jill Cashen, a spokeswoman for the union. “They terrorize workers and destroy families.”[U.S. Raids 6 Meat Plants in ID Case, By Julia Preston, December 13, 2006]

But don’t worry, folks. I’m sure that the Times, in the interest of balance and fairness, soon plans to follow up with stories and photos of those whose lives have been ruined by identity theft.

Honest.

[Vdare.com note: Somehow, we forgot to post Dave's blog, and in the interim, the Times actually did follow up with stories and photos of those whose lives have been affected by this "identity theft" thing, but they were focused on the consumer protection, not the illegal immigration aspect. Nothing, however compares to the "sob story" effect of the picture reproduced below, the caption to which reads "Marta Granillo, right, crying for her [presumably illegal immigrant] husband, [her presumably illegal immigrant] relatives and [presumably illegal immigrant] friends who were arrested yesterday in an immigration raid at a plant in Greeley, Colo.“.]

A UK organization called CommunicateResearch conducted a poll (which was subsequently released by Theos, a theology think tank) about the spirit of Christmas…well, I think that was the topic.

In any event, it seems “8 out of 10 people think that celebrating the birth of Christ is still an important part of Christmas.”

[Spirit of Christmas is alive and well, new poll reveals Source: Black UK News Online]

Perhaps I’m a stickler for detail but if I were conducting this poll there would only have been two questions:

1. Do you think celebrating the birth of Christ is an important part of Christmas? If no, proceed to Question #2
2. What the heck do you think Christmas should celebrate? The Great Pumpkin?

Merry Christmas, my beloved VDARE.com readers!

(And by “Christmas” I am referring to the holiday for which we celebrate the birth of Christ…handsome guy, God’s son, wanted to save us from our sins, ended up nailed to a tree. You know, Jesus…it’ll come to you.)

It looks like family togetherness will be a top talking point in the battle for hearts and minds in the upcoming immigration debate. Anchor-baby children left behind will become the symbol of family disruption caused by immigration law enforcement, as they already have in the Swift meatpacking crackdown.

Watch for deportation-caused family separation to be portrayed as the most heart-breaking problem facing America.

Elvira Arellano led the way with her church squat that continues today. Open-borders enthusiasts are not dismayed by her felony conviction for using a fraudulent Social Security number, as a part of her arrest and deportation in a post-9/11 roundup of illegals at O’hare Airport. She argues that her rights as the mother of an anchor-baby child trumps the rights of Americans to control their borders.

Elvira is a common criminal. Yet her supporters adoringly call her the “face of the movement.” In that, at least, they are correct.

Incidentally, a recent poll found that 90 percent of Chicago readers were not favorably inclined toward Elvira’s antics: Few have sympathy for plight of Arellano.

Another Mexican is doing the family tapdance after being arrested as an illegal [Immigrant featured in article is arrested, Chicago Sun-Times, by Esther J. Cepeda, December 19, 2006].

Martin Barrios, a 35-year-old factory worker who became a public face for the millions of illegal immigrants who, if deported, would have to leave their U.S.-born children behind, was arrested Friday morning.

According to a spokesperson from Centro Sin Fronteras, [snd them mail]a local immigrant-rights group, Barrios was arrested at his Berwyn home about 6:30 a.m. Friday in his pajamas, as his wife and children watched.

Barrios brought the story of his struggle to stay in the United States to the Sun-Times in April. At that time, he had his hopes set on a bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Chicago) that would have kept him and 35 other Illinoisans with “mixed immigration status” in the U.S. The bill has not passed the House.

Of course Barrios could keep his family together in Mexico if he wished. He instead chooses to leave them in America, where taxpayers provide free social services for illegal alien families who have US-born meal-ticket kiddies.

Any social worker or psychologist can tell you that it is preferable for a family to be poor and together than better off and apart. But for Mexican squatters, it’s all about the money.

John O’Sullivan’s new book The President, The Pope and The Prime Minister: Three Who Changed The World doesn’t have anything directly to do with immigration, but as editor of National Review John made it possible for me to publish my Time To Rethink Immigration cover story in 1992 from which so much flowed…including, of course, our eventual purging from the magazine for right-wing-deviationism and lese-Buckleyism. So buy John’s book for Christmas! - if you go in here, VDARE.COM gets a commission at no cost to you!

James Pinkerton has a good story in the Houston Chronicle on the effects of mass immigration, (and to a certain extent, affirmative action) on the political culture of Texas. [ Bribe culture seeps into South Texas|19 convicted as Mexican style of corruption moves north of the border Dec. 16, 2006]

The culture of bribery is quietly seeping into new realms of government, from school districts to municipal court, experts say.

Proximity to Mexico is at least partly to blame, said Anthony Knopp, a professor who teaches border history at the University of Texas at Brownsville.

“What we’re dealing with is a Third World country on the other side of the border where there is a culture of corruption … corruption will show up here, naturally.”

And show up, it has.

Since March 2004, 19 public officials including former Cameron County Sheriff Conrado Cantu, a city manager, several county commissioners, a school superintendent and several school trustees have been convicted of taking kickbacks and bribes.

Some pocketed wads of cash. Others accepted new tires for their cars or extensive remodeling jobs on their homes and businesses. Some even partied with prostitutes. In return, some allegedly awarded lucrative contracts to build or furnish new schools and public buildings. Or they looked the other way as traffickers hauled drugs across the border.

“Bribery is happening down here,” said Israel Pacheco, a veteran Texas Ranger in McAllen. “To say it’s not happening is to bury your head in the sand.”

We’ve noticed this phenomenon before, with respect to law enforcement. And there’s no reason to think it’s going to be limited to the Southwest. Immigration is everywhere in America, much of it from Mexico, but some from other countries where bribery is the normal way to do business.

I did an earlier blog, Two Words Missing From This Headline, which suggested that the Rapist Preys on Men in Houston Area should include the words “Black” and “Gay.” It was suggested that perhaps “Gay” was unfair to the gay community, the unknown man who was committing these crimes should be considered to be not gay, in the sense that he probably doesn’t lip-sync, has never been to P-Town, and doesn’t accessorize. (We’re big on stereotypes here at VDARE.com.)

However, he is committing homosexual rape, even if, somehow, in his heart of hearts, he’s not gay, but just someone who really hates white kids. And it is white teenagers he’s attacking–a Houston radio station has that important detail.

KHOU.COM, from radio station KHOU in Houston, Texas, has this version of the same AP story, but it does identify the race of the victims:“white men in their late teens and with similar builds.”

Houston-area rapist preys on male victims

04:44 PM CST on Monday, December 18, 2006

Associated Press
[Excerpt]

In some cases, the attacker approached his victim outside their home. Other times, as in the most recent case, he broke into the home to confront his victims.

�I think he just sees one that he prefers, and then he begins to follow them and gather information, finding out where they live and watching their house,� Whitaker said.

Whitaker said the victim in the most recent attack was slightly injured during a struggle with his attacker that led to his escape.

Victims have described the attacker as a clean-shaven black man, 18-21 years old, between 5-foot-6-inches and 6-foot tall and with a shaved head. Although some victims reported seeing a silver sports-utility vehicle nearby, police are unsure whether the vehicle belongs to the suspect.

The victims have all been white men in their late teens and with similar builds. All were attacked in or near their houses in the Baytown area or in Harris County, just southeast of Houston.

Texas has good self-defence laws, and good gun laws, so if you live in the area you should be aware and prepared. If you have teenage male relatives in that area, you should encourage them to be aware and prepared.

Which is just part of the reason why reporting the race of criminal and victim is a good idea–it means people have a chance to defend themselves.