If Americans are to stop illegal immigration they have to vote out the politicians who continue to promote it.

Frankly, that’s the only language most politicians understand. They may not care about America’s future, but they do care about their own future.
And it recently happened in Greeley, Colorado, where a mayor who publicly opposed enforcement of the law was defeated for re-election. The LA Times write-up of this victory for the people was misleadingly entitled Colorado Mayor’s Sympathy for Immigrants Costs him his job. [By Nicholas Riccardi, November 27, 2007]
Here’s the sob story about Mayor Selders who sees himself as some sort of victim :

Tom Selders is still baffled at how quickly the city he served for years turned on him. The two-term mayor of this conservative farm town had been a political fixture for nearly two decades.

So why did the voters of Greeley “turn on” the poor mayor?

A businessman who prided himself on bringing efficiency to city government, Selders infuriated his constituents after jumping into the national debate over illegal immigration. In May he spoke at an open forum in Washington about the effects of last year’s immigration raid on a meatpacking plant here, which led to the detention of 262 undocumented workers.

Why does Selders claim to have opposed the raid?

“Many families and children were devastated by parents being arrested and detained,” Selders said. “Children–citizens of the United States–were left without parents.”

So how did the citizens of Greeley react?

The reaction in Greeley, whose Latino population has nearly tripled since 1980, was swift and furious. Selders, who was seeking a third term as mayor, was overwhelmed with angry calls. He became a regular target on local talk radio. A mailer linking him to illegal immigrant gang members flooded mailboxes. Earlier this month Selders was ousted from the nonpartisan post, losing to a retired police officer by a 3-2 margin.

Selders, of course, is still clueless:

“I really feel betrayed by my community,” said Selders, 61. “There’s a big contingent of people in this community who are just full of anger and hate about illegal immigration, and that anger and hate has been transferred to me.”

What a bellyacher! The article continues with some analysis:

What happened to Selders, a lifelong Republican, is a cautionary tale of the politics of illegal immigration. To some, it shows how a good man trying to do the right thing was taken down by the forces of intolerance. To others, it shows what can happen to elitist politicians who dismiss voters’ frustrations over unchecked illegal immigration. “A lot of people in Weld County remained silent” as people like Selders criticized the December 2006 raid, said County Dist. Atty. Kenneth R. Buck, who supported Selders’ opponent. “They don’t want to be called racist, they don’t want their business to be boycotted. . . . There were a lot of people who were waiting to be heard in their anonymous way.”

Yes, and their “anonymous way” was to vote the mayor out.

The article goes on to describe the rapid demographic changes in Greeley brought about by–once again–a meatpacking plant which imported a cheaper workforce and passed on the social costs to the city’s taxpayers. It’s a familiar story. Yet Selders, on more than one occasion, supported the illegal invasion.

And now he’s been defeated by school security guard Ed Clark, a former policeman, who specifically campaigned on the illegal alien issue. Good for Clark. Good for Greeley.

As for Selders, the Greeley mayor got the comeuppance he so richly deserved. Rather than bellyaching about his own community voting him out, he should just be glad that tarring and feathering is no longer an American custom.

A friend who is running in a marathon in a couple of months asked about the demographics of people who are nuts enough to be amateur marathon enthusiasts. Frustrated by the lack of published ethnic demographics, I followed up his request by looking at the boys who had recorded the 300 fastest times in the nation in 2006 in high school cross country running (5000 meters distance) because there is a remarkable amount of information on the Web on high school runners.

These top 300 times last year were earned by 185 different individuals. I looked up pictures or biographies of anybody whose first or last name sounded less white than, say, “Cameron Quackenbush.” (I counted one red-headed guy named De’Sean Turner as half black and half white.) This methodology probably overstates the non-Hispanic white percentage by a point or two by missing people with minority mothers or name-changers.

Here are, roughly the demographics weighted by number of times in the top 300:

Non-Hispanic White 82%
East African 9%
Spanish Surname 5%
Black American 2%
American Indian 1%
East Asian 0.7%
South Asian 0.3%

Clearly, the East Africans are wildly over-represented (just as they are on Olympic medal stands), since they must be well under 1% of the US population. They are as common as all other minorities combined! If you subtract the East Africans out, you get whites at 90%, whereas they make up less than 60% of the teenagers in America today. That’s rather interesting for what it might say about willingness to put in enormous amounts of effort. (Cross country requires minimal cost, other than shoes, so it’s wide open to the less affluent, as the remarkable success of East Africans in it shows.)

This method of analysis could be unfair to people of West African descent (like most African Americans) because 5000 meters may just be too far for their aerobic capacity. (Here’s a graph I made up in 1997 showing that men of West African descent weren’t competitive at the world class level in anything longer than 1500 meters).

There is, however, a fellow named Mikel Thomas, who looks like a conventional African-American, who had three times in the top 50 last year. (His online signature includes an Ethiopian flag, however, so he might be Ethiopian on his father’s side — Michael and Thomas are old Biblical names, and Ethiopia has been Christian for 1700 years. Or he could just like Ethiopian runners.)

Darwin, Genetics, and Conservatism: Friends or Foes

Charles Murray, John Derbyshire, Ron Bailey, Tom Bethell

When: Wednesday December 5, 7:30-10:00 PM
Where: The Boulevard Woodgrill

2901 Wilson Blvd
Arlington, VA 22201
Get directions

Many conservatives are critical of Darwin’s theory of evolution. Some base their reservation on religious grounds, while others criticize what they call Scientism — a belief that faith in Darwinism and/or science in general has become a secular religion. Others are concerned by the social and political conclusions that some advocates of Darwinism apply to human affairs.

At the same time,some conservatives believe that studies evolutionary and genetic theory have many conservative implications. Scientists in the fields of sociobiology and evolutionary psychology have suggested that human nature is fixed, rather than being a blank slate. Others argue that work in behavioral genetics shatter egalitarian notions. National Review editor John O’Sullivan has dubbed conservatives who apply these theories as “evol-cons.”

Is the study of evolution and genetics necessary to understanding human nature and the limits of politics, or does it lead to what C.S. Lewis called “the abolition of man”?

To discuss these controversial issues will be:

Charles Murray: Dr. Murray is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. He is the author of several books including Losing Ground, Human Accomplishment, What it Means to be a Libertarian, and the best-seller The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life.

Ron Bailey: Mr. Bailey is the science editor for Reason Magazine. He is the author of the new book Liberation Biology: The Moral and Scientific Case for the Biotech Revolution and ECOSCAM: The False Prophets of Ecological Apocalypse.

John Derbyshire: Mr. Derbyshire is a contributing editor at National Review. He writes frequently on the subject of evolution and genetics. He is the author of the books Seeing Calvin Coolidge in a Dream , Prime Obsession, and Unknown Quantity.

Tom Bethell: Mr. Bethell is a senior editor at The American Spectator. He is the author of the book The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science, and The Noblest Triumph: Property and Prosperity Through the Ages.

The debate is open to the public, but e-mail me [marcusepstein@gmail.com] , and donations are appreciated

According to the BBC, up to three quarters of a million Chinese people are now living in Africa, either as temporary contract laborers or settling down and buying farms and shops:

They are part of China’s bid to secure raw materials and markets for its manufactured goods, but they are also carving out their own opportunities.

The head of China’s Export-Import Bank, Li Ruogu, recently suggested just how important Africa could be for ordinary Chinese people.

In a speech in Chongqing, an administrative region with a large rural population, he urged Chinese farmers to move to Africa.

“Chongqing has a relatively strong agricultural base. Africa has many countries with plenty of land, but food output that is not up to expectations,” he said, according to a local media report.

“There’s no harm in allowing [Chinese] farmers to leave the country to become farm owners [in Africa],” he added.

Mr Li said the bank would fully support this migration with investment, project development and help with the sale of products.

But Chinese farmers have already started moving to Africa, according to Liu Jianjun of the China-Africa Business Council, which helps Chinese firms find business opportunities in Africa.

Mr Liu has personally sent several thousand Chinese people to Africa over the last few years from his home city of Baoding in Hebei Province….

Mr Alden says with so many poor farmers in China unable to make a living off the land, Africa presents a host of inviting opportunities.

“There’s not the sense that the streets are paved with gold but, for people who cannot find work, Africa is a realistic opportunity.”

I believe that Francis Galton argued in 1873 that if let in, Southern Chinese used to warm climates could take over Africa.

The post’s title is of course a reference to the famous phrase attributed to 19th Century newspaper editor Horace Greeley: “Go West, young man.“

LSU will play Ohio State for the college football national championship in January. In the interest of “undermining stereotypes,” it’s worth pointing out that the LSU Tigers’ #1 running back, Jacob Hester, is white.

You could call Hester a stereotypical white tailback–he’s more bruising than brilliant–except there aren’t enough white tailbacks in big time college and pro football these days for there even to be a stereotype anymore, except among old-timers who remember the likes of Larry Csonka.

Hester’s not a superstar, but he is the main ball carrier (with twice the yardage, 1017, of anybody else) on a team that’s been at or close to #1 all season. In LSU’s biggest games, he’s been at his best, rushing for 120 yards in the SEC title game yesterday against Tennessee and 106 yards (and something like five first downs on fourth down) against 2006 national champion Florida.

The LSU website’s biography of Hester, written before this season when he emerged as the mainstay of the running game, says:

Consummate team player who wears a variety of hats… Brings a great attitude and work ethic to the field everyday … Can play both tailback and fullback, while also serving on special teams … A throwback player who gets the most out of his ability … Tremendous blocker as well … Has 30 special teams tackles for his career …

Born May 8, 1985, in Shreveport … Married the former Katie Tilley on July 28, 2007… Proposed outside War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock moments after LSU’s 31-26 win over the Razorbacks in 2006 … Loves to listen to Elvis and Dean Martin … Part of his pre-game ritual is to listen to an Elvis CD … Is a relative of former Pittsburgh Steeler great Terry Bradshaw … Majoring in sports studies.