Last year the Southern Poverty Law Center decided to write a little report on my “network” of racist connections. They didn’t mention a single thing I wrote or say, but they tried to link me to various “racists.” The best they could come up with is that I worked for “white nationalist” Pat Buchanan, that I was Facebook friends with then Washington Times editor Stacy McCain, and that I wrote for VDARE.com.

There is now a new extremist hate group that the Southern Poverty Law Center can “link” me to…The Southern Poverty Law Center.

The other day, I went to my mailbox and what should I find, but “A Certificate of Appreciation” from the Southern Poverty Law Center for my “important contribution in the ongoing fight against hatred and intolerance in America.” I also will have my name added to the “Wall of Tolerance.” Just to make sure it’s official, it is signed by Morris Dees. This is already framed and hanging in my office.

So the next time the SPLC attacks me, or any of the various people and institutions that I’m “linked” to, remember that they are just one degree of separation away.

On May 28th, my VDARE.COM article “Ruben Navarrette - Where’s He At?” was published.

Also on May 28th, Navarrette’s column entitled “Stirring Up Anti-Latino Sentiment” was published.

While Navarrette claims he wants “more honesty” in the immigration debate, after reading a number of his columns, you see that he doesn’t want honesty from people who don’t agree with him.

The first paragraph began thusly:

Some of those who rail against illegal immigration can dish it out, but they can’t take it. Since most illegal immigrants come from Mexico or other parts of Latin America, critics sometimes say the sort of crude things that give the debate its anti-Latino flavor. But let someone call them on it and do they ever get defensive.

Ruben is talking about people who “can dish it out but can’t take it”?

That takes a lot of gall.

Navarrette went on to quote Obama, who recently said that

“A certain segment has basically been feeding a kind of xenophobia. There’s a reason why hate crimes against Hispanic people doubled last year. If you have people like Lou Dobbs and Rush Limbaugh ginning things up, it’s not surprising that would happen.”

Navarrette thinks it’s great that Obama said that:

It’s about time. That some cable hosts and radio talkers grow their ratings by pandering to the anti-immigrant crowd is no big secret.

This was followed by a couple of paragraphs about hate crimes.

Not that Navarrette provided any proof of Lou Dobbs and Rush Limbaugh causing hate crimes, but I guess just bringing the subject up was sufficient. Then he brought up the Klan:

In a world where the remnants of the Ku Klux Klan use immigration to recruit new members and where neo-Nazis have produced a repulsive computer game in which players shoot Mexicans crossing the border and watch them explode, it’s obvious that these are hard times for Hispanics.

Navarrette complained that Limbaugh has made his share of “sophomoric remarks about Hispanics and immigration”, and continued :

Still, there is a difference between sophomoric and sinister, and Dobbs is more accurately described as the latter. In fact, Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera recently referred to Dobbs as a “hatemonger” for his treatment of the immigration issue.

Oh yes, Geraldo Rivera, there’s a reliable source.

And here’s something that really bothers Navarrette:

Dobbs also blurs the line between legal and illegal immigration. He uses guests from restrictionist groups that favor limiting legal immigration as well – the Federation for American Immigration Reform, Numbers USA, the Center for Immigration Studies, etc. – without pointing out their agendas. And the show mixes segments on border security (which deal explicitly with illegal immigration) and the Spanish language, the Mexican flag, and multiculturalism (which could just as easily be tied to legal immigration).

As Brenda Walker has pointed out , though Lou Dobbs is great on illegal immigration, he is far from reliable on legal immigration (which he wouldn’t mind increasing). Nevertheless, he does invite members of FAIR, Numbers USA and CIS to speak on his program, though National Council of the Race leader Janet Murguia would prefer they not be allowed to speak out on the show. (What Lou Dobbs should do is invite a VDARE.COM writer to appear on his show).

Navarrette concluded the screed with this:

So did Barack Obama go too far in criticizing media talkers who are poisoning the public mood against Latinos? Are you kidding? He only scratched the surface.

I’d you’d like to write to Ruben Navarrette, his email is ruben.navarrette@uniontrib.com.

After all, he shouldn’t object to our readers adding to the honest debate he says he wants on immigration, should he ?