On The Plus Side, I’d Like To Run A Casino

Yesterday was “A Day Without an Immigrant,” which made me think: If your day wasn’t disrupted or altered in any way, do you hate immigrants? Because my day was pretty much the same.

Of course, being a bleeding heart 23-year-old socialist libertarian, I really feel for immigrants in this country. If someone wants to come to America for a better life, that kind of makes me happy. Heck, if you want to come to America and settle in Philadelphia, well, I’d be a little confused. But it makes me proud! Really? My city? You want to come here?

Now, should people enter legally? Uh, sure. But since we can’t seem to figure out how to make that reasonable to do, people are going to come here illegally — be they Mexican, Irish, Russian or whatever — and if they’re here, and they’re not bothering anyone, and they’re not kicking any puppies, then… eh. Seems like we have bigger fish to fry. Yeah, it’s not “fair.” Neither are a billion other things.

Plus, not only is deporting all 11 million illegal immigrants logistically impossible, but the idea of breaking up families and groups of friends makes me cringe. Really cringe, actually. I think even the staunchest isolationist isn’t all about breaking up families.

But, perhaps I’m being too bleeding heart. (And I’m sure some of you are already preparing an angry comment. Fair enough. But please keep it civil.) So I’d like to give the stage to this letter writer in today’s Daily News (emphasis mine):

Illegal Mexicans by the thousands scurry across our borders knowing they are doing wrong. They are paid peanuts by exploitative employers taking away otherwise tolerable paying jobs from Americans whose forefathers fought wars and paid taxes for years in this country.

Do you think these criminals (by definition of American immigration law) will keep our laws after they sneak in like thieves in the night?

History shows that the American Indians did not protect their borders and look where it got them. A few casinos out west are no recompense for the loss of an entire country.

Yes, the Iroquois Confederacy should never have offered amnesty to illegal European immigrants. That really didn’t work out too well for them.

A country that’s really tough on immigrants [Daily News, 2nd letter]
¡Viva Mexadelphia! [PW]
“Mr. Miki! you be good while I’m gone, Baby. Buh-bye!” [Cute Overload]
Photo by fotogail

Quickies: Major League

• Are we all so thin-skinned take seeing a cartoon of a guy who probably doesn’t look like Muhammad did at all? The Inky ran the cartoon but couldn’t get it from the AP because they don’t move “offensive imagery” on the wire. Strangely, they have no problem with the Cleveland Indians logo. [Inky]

• In what will surely be a blow to the Bon Jovi-owned Soul, Heather Locklear has filed for divorce from Richie Sambora. But Sambora said he had no idea it was coming and the two have Valentine’s Day plans. Hmm, I bet that will be a fun evening now! [ABC News]

• Opening the Grammys? Gorillaz featuring Madonna. Uh, count me out. [Inky]

• Casey Robert Roncaglione says those weird email addresses he has on his Temple account were “silly things I did a couple years ago,” forcing Philadelphia Will Do to withdraw its support from the candidate. [Metro]