Lou Dobbs talks of massive protests now --whow what a pic from Phoenix.

[rodeodance]

[MadMaddie]

1. Right on that he is showing the protesters..

Wait does Lou support the protesters?

[Marie26]

No way

Dobbs hates immigration, & illegal immigration in particular. He gets into a nice self-righteous uproar on the topic. I'm still a little mystified at how popular Dobbs is on DU. He's a right-wing Republican and, IMO, very xenophobic.

[mattclearing]

26. It's only when it's the Ports issue or Immigration.

Then suddenly he's on our side. :eyes:

[Marie26]

35. And a populist hero!

Yeah, and the common theme on both those topics is fear of foreigners. I think he's a convenient ally on some issues, but it's important to keep in mind that Dobb's motives might not be the same as Democrats'. I think his real agenda is quite xenophobic, & he's helping to spur a lot of anti-immigrant feeling in the US.

[lovuian]

48. Lou Dobbs has day in and day out been agains CHEAP wages

Outsourcing has been promoted by Bush the Corporations and is in the process of destroying the middle class of America and the creation
of severe poverty in America...

where have you been???

[Marie26]

53. He's done some good things; I just don't like him.

I understand that he's been pounding Bush on the ports issue, & that's a good thing. And he's also done shows on outsourcing, which is also a good thing. IMO, outsourcing is the real source of the low employment rates in the US. But a few months ago, he had only one topic, which he covered over & over & over again: Immigrants. I still don't understand why CNN let him go off on that one topic everyday; he must have a lot of pull, or got very good ratings. And many of the shows weren't about illegal immigration; instead, they were about the evils of legal immigration. Dobbs didn't seem to distinguish much between the two - the basic message seemed to be that all immigration is bad.

What bugs me the most about Dobbs is his attitude. Instead of letting correspondents talk, he'll rant at them for the whole segment as they're expected to nod meekly. He doesn't even try to stay neutral. He'll be condescending & patronizing to guests who disagree w/him, even if they're experts. And he interrupts often. IMO, he's every bit as egotistical & obnoxious as O'Reilly. What could inspire a man to do every show, every day on immigration? He's got the single-mindedness of a true fanatic on the issue. I'm sorry, Dobbs sets off all my warning bells. His true motive seems to be that of most Republicans: intolerance & fear. He sets my teeth on edge as much as Hannity or Limbaugh.

[mdmc]

2. Dobbs -is that they guy that hates mexicans

(did you see him on real time?)

[Elwood P Dowd]

10. He doesn't hate Mexicans

He wants the illegal immigration problem solved. It's costing us billions of dollars and driving down wages to third-world levels.

[mdmc]

18. Did you see him on Real Time?

What do you mean "it is costing us billions?" (I understand the driving down wages part).

[Elwood P Dowd]

25. Schools, hospitals, law enforcement

They don't speak english, they don't have any insurance, and they're taxing law enforcement in many areas. They are also bring in record amounts of meth and coke, plus gang violence has increased along the border. You people who support this madness are living in la-la land.

[mattclearing]

28. Nobody supports illegal immigration.

But mass deportation or offering second-class citizenship isn't the answer either. And neither is patrolling the border with right-wing militias.

[Selatius]

39. Go after the businesspeople who want illegal immigration

They are the ones pulling the strings in Washington. Washington will do nothing while they continue to drink from the trough of corporate lobby dollars.

[nonconformist]

55. Which is exactly one of the things that Lou is proposing. nt

[mdmc]

61. yes, my jab (Dobbs hates mexicans) was based on his Real Time

appearance (it was a joke).

[Strelnikov_]

43. So We Should Offer 'First-Class' Citizenship To Everyone Who Wants To Come

here?

[mdmc]

50. YES!

[Strelnikov_]

64. You Support Giving Full Citizenship To Anyone Who Crosses The Border?

Legally or illegally. Just walk in, pass the test, and you are citizen.

[mattclearing]

65. You support creating a permanent underclass of semi-citizens

without any protection under the law?

That's the same kind of question, and neither is really helpful. There are no easy answers.

[mdmc]

41. I see, they are "bringing us down"

I am glad that my family "is in". Lucky us, now we just need to keep them out of my backyard.

[lovuian]

49. Are you ready to feed them give them hospital care

and provide the welfare... and are you willing for them to take your job and lower your wages... .... Your very lucky your an American...

but now as an American are you ready to sacrifice all that you have to help Corporate Americas Greed...screw you and your children and the ilegal immigrants...

[mdmc]

57. If a human needed hospital care, or welfare, I would rather them

receive assistance then suffer. <-look at my compassion! Look at how I treat others the way I want to be treated! What would Jesus do? :)

I think your hangup is that these immigrants are "illegal". We should help to make them legal so that this wont be a problem. If they were legal, then you would no longer hate them and desire them not to have hospital care or jobs, right? You don't hate them because they are minorities, you hate them because they are here illegally.

If the Dems (and the GOP, but I won't blame them for pimpin U.S. multinational corporate interests, cause thats what the GOP is supposed to do) would fight evil business practices, we would be in a much better situation.

As a liberal progressive, I think all humans are of equal value.

(Beat the shit out of the CEO, not some poor mexican kid).

[MadMaddie]

31. Many of the illigal immigrants weigh a heavy load

on the infrastructure of many cities and states...

Hospitals cannot turn away sick people...so they must provide health care
Schools must teach bi-lingual skills
The workers are not paying into the Tax system...
Driving without a legal DL means no car insurance....many, many accidents
Police have to dedicate resources to picking up illegal immigrants and returning them to Mexico..or wherever

I don't have a problem if they come throught the process (whatever it is)and are here legally.

These are just a few items...

[mdmc]

46. thank you for the info

This stuff is a problem only because they are illegal. If they were legal, all would be kosher, right.

[lovuian]

51. If they are legal tax paying Americans then its not a problem

but when they come to the hospital and have their baby which YOU PAY FOR in thousands of dollars and feed their children on the WIC program

which does Mexico do that???

I have seen them get their checks and send them to their family in Mexico where they pay no taxes on that money...

and yet they are taking jobs from our children...and lowering the wages because they are not paying taxes...... They bring in crime cause they steal... Drugs are all along the border...

and when a US citizen goes to Mexico
the corruption is so bad they have the attitude that Americans are rich and can be taken advantage of...Its really bad...

[mdmc]

52. I see.

That is why my family came here (I thought that they came here to work, to better their families).

I continue to think that any human that wants to become an American, should be able to. If they are willing to work, they should be allowed to legally come to America.

For the record, I would rather see my money go to feeding any child, as opposed to letting any child go hungry. I would rather have my tax dollars go to treating any] child to medical treatment as opposed to letting them live in disease and pain.

If a kid does a better job then my kid, they should get the job. Those that work the hardest, and best, should be able to have jobs, even if they were born across an entirely man made border.

I am a progressive liberal. I believe in the sanctity of all life, equally.

[Marie26]

62. They are paying into the tax system

Just wanted to clear up that one item. Illegal workers typically will receive a "Taxpayer Identification Number" that the gov. uses in order to tax their wages. They also pay the normal sales & property taxes. And, illegal immigrants pay massive amounts of money into the Medicare & Social Security program that they'll never be able to use. The money from illegal immigrants is one of the few things keeping Social Security solvent right now.

[Vinnie From Indy]

40. Don't forget globalization is causing some of that!

eom

[Terran1212]

54. Oh, he just opposes human rights

Gotcha.

[rodeodance]

3. 4437--protestors asking Kyle to vote against.

[MSgt213]

4. It's about time Americans took the streets for something. Now how bout

the war.

[MadMaddie]

6. It's coming....change is blowing in the wind...

Hey isn't that a song?

Anyhoo...

I really do think it's coming!!

[MSgt213]

8. I so hope your right.

[mdmc]

20. My senators (Schumer and Clinton) would not be in the streets

over the war. Stay the course. Dont cut and run. 2008 is around the corner.

[rodeodance]

13. I am glad people are active about this --maybe will spill over to war??

[KoKo]

60. Where was Dobbs when Hundreds of Thousand protested BEFORE

the Iraq Invasion. Both Abroad and "At Home." I, and other DU'ers were part of that effort and the over 100,000 signatures that Move On.org. delivered to the United Nations before the Invasion.

There was NO COVERAGE OF THIS! THERE was nooooo coverage...:cry:

[rodeodance]

5. 'massive sea of humanity' (good pic from Milwaukee WI also yesterday).

[rodeodance]

7. now LA--teenagers Marching.

[rodeodance]

11. 2, 500-3,000 students (but many sites of marching in LA).

[malaise]

9. Amazing turn out

I'm also proud of the college students in California. People are waking up and that is good.

[rodeodance]

15. they were High School students.

[malaise]

30. Even better

:D:

[Selatius]

12. I'm torn over illegal immigration

On one hand, I don't want to be seen as condoning jumping the border and allowing people to be exploited for the fact that they aren't US citizens, but on the other hand, I think both these immigrants as well as US workers are both victims of exploitation by a system that disproportionately benefits a wealthy few capitalists at the expense of everybody else. The capitalists benefit off the collective misery of both sides.

[AlCzervik]

14. well said.

[mdmc]

21. agreed.

:kick:

[Elwood P Dowd]

16. And the more illegals you have, the more the rich benefits

Siding with illegal immigration will get you stomped in the November elections.

[mdmc]

23. they should all be legal.

:kick:

[Elwood P Dowd]

29. You have absolutely lost your mind

:spank:

[mdmc]

38. I don't understand. Are they less human? Are they worth less due

to a human made line on a map?

World citizenship, collective security. This is what it means to be liberal and progressive (imho, anyway).

[Selatius]

27. You honestly don't think I realize that?

My observation comes on the point that the whole situation is being driven by this system of greed and exploitation. Those who benefit off the status quo benefit because they have successfully pitted workers against each other be they homegrown workers or foreign immigrants.

It doesn't take rocket science to secure the nation's airports, seaports, and borders, but none of that has happened because the ones who don't want that, again, are the greed-soaked fools who are making too much profit, and again, it comes at our collective expense both foreign and homegrown.

[rodeodance]

22. yes, well said. Yet, for those who are here--I think there should be

some program that will lead to citizenship. If you want to call it amnesty, that is fine although that is a hot word.

[acmejack]

34. The reality is unless you are prepared to kill people to keep them out

then what are you going to do?

[MadMaddie]

24. When Randi was on Lou she pointed out something....

I hadn't thought about...

She said that Mexico has a huge responsibility to create vibrant industries that pay their employees a living wage...then immigrants would not be wanting to leave their country...Mexico is responsible for this too...

And corporations must be held responsible for not wanting pay workers living wages etc..and pay under the table....

[Selatius]

33. Yes, I believe Mexico's government has failed its people

I think the Mexican government is just as much in the grip of big business money as any government could be.

[MadMaddie]

36. Mexico's President and the * Family are very close..

I suspect there is more illegal behind the scenes activities than we know...

[Marie26]

47. I'm waiting for Mexico to have

a left-wing populist uprising similar to Bolivia & Chile. Fox is basically a businessman & way too close to corporate interests in both Mexico & the US.

[sandnsea]

59. It's a labor rights, human rights issue

First and foremost. Nobody's labor should be exploited and that ought to be the bottom line. That's why I don't like Lou Dobbs on this issue, like most Republicans, he uses it to pit workers against workers. Old tactic, I don't know why we can't figure it out and reject it.

[rodeodance]

17. well, i give Lou credit for showing the clips and the segment.

[rodeodance]

19. Sensenbrenner will be a gues next Monday

[Marie26]

45. Sensenbrenner is the politician

who introduced the inhumane amendment that prohibits service workers from helping undocumented immigrants. I'm sure those two will be very happy together.

[lovuian]

32. Whoo Hoo LOU!!!

:woohoo:

Cheap Labor is a crime... its like allowing Employers to pay slave wages...

[opihimoimoi]

37. Maybe we oughta invite them to JOIN US...become ONE NATION...

and if the Canucks see the light...they would Join us too...Think of the Solutions...

"CanAmeriCo"....or, whatever Name we choose....History shows its been done before...China, Hawaii, etc....

[lovuian]

42. Ya think of us as One big Family ... but I don't think Canadians

want Mexico either... People in Mexico need to rise up and change there own country... rather than undermine ours...

They come here to get medical care which they get free and give the hospitals a fake Mexican address to bill... Medicaid picks it up or the hospital loses money cause they can't collect...

But I had American friends get ill in Mexico and they were threatened with imprisonment if they didn't pay $10,000 dollars cash...to the hospital

I think America needs to start that policy!!!

True story folks...

of course these people ate ticked they have been abusing our system
not paying cash and doing a underground economy...

[opihimoimoi]

44. Together We Stand..Divided.......

[David Zephyr]

56. What a lousy attitude you display toward Mexicans.

"They" don't "come here".

They always were here. Imaginary borders can never and will never change that.

"They" come here for many reasons, the least of which is "to get medical care".

Europe has open borders between all members of the EU where thousands of years of hostilities took place, where multiple languages and religious distinctions still exist and where economic disparity exist.

The only reason we don't do it in North America is simple: Racism.

All other reasons are racism under a transparent mask.

[mdmc]

58. is that not the American way

the progressive, liberal way?

[lovuian]

63. Wow racism is the only card you guys have ...

Lets open the Borders to India China South America and Africa

open up the doors and let everybody in

thats what you guys want right???

Wonder what America would look like then... ???

You could work for the average wage of $2.00 a month... cause thats the average... working wage in those countries!!!
And the EU is in the process of not being radicated because of that policy of opening its borders... Their not stupid they want to protect their JOBS!!!

and China has the largest population so get ready to speak Chineese
thats the majority and they like Communism there ...