Writing about the Michael Vick scandal and the steroid scandal in National Review online, Geoffrey Norman writes:

Bonds, of course, holds fans — and humanity in general — in surly contempt so maybe he thought he was getting away with it.Geoffrey Norman on Sports 2007 on National Review Online

Actually, Barry Bonds doesn’t hate humanity in general–he hates white people. See Nicholas Stix’s Barry Bond, Racist, [June 5, 2005]

The Christian Science Monitor writes on the attempts in Arizona to go after illegal employers:

A new law in Arizona that takes effect Jan. 1 aims to punish employers who hire workers without valid US residency. Even though this experiment is by only one state trying to fix only one piece of the US immigration puzzle, the law may provide answers for the whole nation.[Arizona goes after illegal hires, December 31, 2007]

Most of the article was pretty constructive, but there were a few problems:

The state, in other words, may represent the United States of the future, unless more is done to address the problem of both illegal (too much) and legal (too little) immigration. Since 2000, the US has seen its highest increase in immigrants, but more than half were illegal.

Now, of course they don’t make the case that the US public really benefits by higher level immigration levels–but that is assumed in what they said.

The state’s agriculture, service, and construction industries depend greatly on illegal workers as a source of cheap labor. The average household income of illegal immigrants in Arizona is $35,000 per year. For natives, it is $69,000. Will businesses be able to afford higher wages to attract legal workers and still stay in business in the state?

One early indicator may be the price of lettuce. About half of US winter lettuce is grown around Yuma, and if higher wages are needed to attract legal lettuce pickers, consumers will see higher prices in their salads.

One problem here is that most of the people directly competing in the job market with Arizona illegals immigrants have family incomes closer to $35,000 per year than $69,000 per year. The existence of loose immigration policies probably reduces that family income by at least $6,000-$10,000 per year–and also means those folks have higher housing costs and taxes than they would have had if illegal immigration (and higher legal immigration) didn’t exist.

Another problem is that the labor of illegal immigrants is a small portion of the price folks pay for lettuce in the supermarket–and the price rise we’d expect from strict enforcement of immigration laws also would be fairly small.

I think the Arizona law is in interesting step forward towards real immigration reform of the type the public wants. Some things I would like to see in future legislation:

• Laws that would make employers of illegal immigrants accomplices to any crimes committed by the illegal immigrants they have helped stay in the US.
• Laws that would obligate employers to pay for the full costs of repatriating illegal immigrants.
• Laws that would assure the costs of whatever social services are provided to illegal immigrants-or as a result of the actions of illegal immigrants(say aid to the victims of crimes) are paid for by illegal immigrants or their employers.

The other group that could be approached here are the landlords of illegal immigrants. There are a lot of wealthy people that have become more wealthy by employing and housing illegal immigrants. I feel those people that have profited by systematic violation of US law have taken on a real responsibility towards both the American public-and the illegal immigrants themselves.

Repatriating 12-20 Million people is going to be hard. Current law would provide for $200 Billion in fines for which employers are responsible. I expect all that money-and more-will be needed to really set this situation right in a way that both Americans and Mexicans can live with.

India — so colorful and vibrant! Home to many fascinating beliefs and practices, like human marriage to dogs and bride burning as a punishment for women with insufficient dowries.

These days, thousands of supposedly well educated and rational Indians believe that circumambulating a statue of Lord Balaji will bring them their much desired H-1b visa to the United States. Such is the diversity headed in this direction.

HYDERABAD, India — Lord Balaji is one of the most-worshiped local incarnations of the Hindu Lord Vishnu. His adherents flock to his many temples to pray for things like happiness, prosperity and fertility.

Lately, the deity has grown particularly popular at the once-quiet Chilkur Balaji temple here, where he goes by a new nickname: the Visa God. The temple draws 100,000 visitors a week, many of whom come to pray to Lord Balaji for visas to travel or move to the U.S. and other Western countries.

Mohanty Dolagobinda is one of the Visa God’s believers. Three years ago, a U.S. consulting company applied for a visa on his behalf. It was rejected. When the company tried again the following year, Mr. Dolagobinda’s friends told him to visit the Chilkur Balaji temple ahead of his interview at the U.S. consulate. Weeks later, he sailed through the interview. “I’ve never heard of anyone who’s gone to the temple whose visa got rejected,” says Mr. Dolagobinda.
[Divine Intervention? Indians Seek Help from the 'Visa God', Wall Street Journal, December 31, 2007]

Mexican drug smugglers have their beloved Narco-Saint Jesus Malverde and Indians have their Lord Balaji. Americans have so much incoming diversity to celebrate.

In other Indian culture news, an immigrant in Chicago is accused of setting an apartment fire to commit multiple murders: Father accused of killing pregnant daughter and her family (CNN, Jan 1, 2008).

Prosecutors allege [Subhash] Chander used gasoline to start the fire late Saturday. The India native told police he disliked his son-in-law because he belonged to a lower caste and had married his daughter without his consent, said Cook County First Assistant State’s Attorney Robert Milan.

“His son-in-law was beneath him in his opinion,” Milan said.

Thanks, India, for a diverse new motivation for murder!

To prosper in the long run, the GOP needs to wean itself off its addiction to neocon money and media influence, which has been so disastrous in foreign policy. But that’s hard to do because of, well, neocon money and media influence. (E.g., Krauthammer and Kristol get fired as columnists at Time, but Kristol pops up instantly at the NY Times).

It will be doubly hard for the GOP to wean itself off the neocons because anybody who points out the mere fact of neocon money and media influence is denounced as an anti-Semite. And most people in public life would rather let America blunder into more Middle Eastern wars than be denounced as anti-Semites.

Of course, neocon/neolib loyalty to the GOP is a lot less of a sure thing–they are maneuvering to try to dominate the foreign policy of the next Democratic administration.

Ron Paul’s clearest statement on his immigration policy, we believe, is the interview he gave last September to VDARE.com.

VDARE.com being funded by a 501(c)(3) foundation, we cannot comment directly on elections. But we can, I understand, note matters involving the internet’s influence on politics.

At VDARE.com - founded essentially because of the immigration issue’s exclusion by a Neo Conservative Cabal and their minions at National Review - we have always had faith in the possibilities of the internet.

The Paul People/tards/istas/ettes (who knows?) have never considered the print media as important. They even question television.

If you Google/ News on the Ron Paul matter you will quickly find yourself in obscure blogs, and a few letters to provincial newspapers. Where is the MSM (even jeering)?

The Fix is in. Paul, like immigration until recently, is simply forbidden to be mentioned. But this time, it doesn’t work. Consider the effort by the Orange County Register to denigrate the PaulPeoples’s enterprising idea of having a march on the virtual reality game World of Warcraft:

Ron Paul Warcraft march won’t win votes, analysts say By SONYA SMITH, Monday, December 31, 2007.

(World of Warcraft is an activity in which over 9Mm people participate - including your children! -especially males.)

As so often, an elegant and decisive refutation arrived in the comment thread from cyberspace. It deserves careful consideration:

Ummmm… Duh!?

It’s name recognition, nothing more… But neither you nor your ‘analyst’ understand anything about the internet

So here’s how it works, Or how it worked with me, anyway. Since you obviously have no concept of how the internet can create votes…

Name recognition: In may I saw a link to his speeches ( youtube.com ) on the floor of the house before the Iraq war…

More interest: I looked at more of his speeches and him speaking, watching many of these speeches and lectures while at work… ( dozens, hundreds )

Got Involved: I Joined Meetup.com and went to a sign-waving, Lots of other young people were there…

Went to more sign-wavings, handed out literature, talked with like minded people, & got psyched up…

Spreading the message: I brought my girlfriend and family into it, I lectured them ( all non-voters ) into registering republican to vote for him. & They did.

Raising money: I asked my family members to buy me Ron Paul gear and literature for christmas, all-together my family donated about 250$.

Getting out the vote : I’m about to start canvassing this week in my state ( california ) through my meetup group. I have my list & map, just waiting on some literature.

I now have My own, and 7 other friends & family ( all but 1 were non-primary-voters ) showing up super tuesday for california’s primary…

I’ve never voted before, yet I’m bringing at least 8 votes for Ron Paul… Soooo… ‘Analyze’ that.

Internet voters are smarter & more organized, television is on its way out… The Sheep don’t make it to the polls
Educated, motivated, Suppressed & AGITATED Paul supporters will show up in droves.

Talon Ferguson
Orange, CA

My nephew, a regular player, who participated in the march this evening, said it was on a scale he has never seen. My son, also a regular player, tried to sign up just before the event started, and was eventually told the server was overloaded. As a matter of political significance, both boys participate normally in a “Guild” of about ten in which they are the only ones below voting age.

Consider the activities of the Ron Paul Blimp – launched by an internet appeal quite independently of the Paul campaign. If you follow its flight path over Florida (on a wide enough scale), small notice boards spring up telling you of the Paul Meetup Groups. Some are beautifully organized, like Clay County’s, with informative links to Paul YouTube film clips. Obviously the internet hugely leverages the effect of operating this airship – something I myself had considered until I saw it.

Probably we should try Meetup groups for VDARE.com.

Or what about the absolutely addictive AOL Presidential Straw poll, complete with a US map which frequently updates, and which clearly demonstrates that Paul, invariably first or second in every state, is the only true national GOP candidate?

(The only other candidate to show real vitality in this venue, albeit strictly regional, is Mike Huckabee. Another Arkansas shyster in the White House?)

The crux of the matter, of course, has been the Paul campaign’s ability to raise money over the internet. Which originally, like America’s concepts of freedom, came from England.

It is not a coincidence.