Sunday, January 15, 2006
Who's Legal and Who's Not?
Well, the dew wasn't even dry on the morning newspapers
before that fellow who resembles my theoretical character, Your
Neighbor (aka The Smartest Man In Costa Mesa), posted a blog
entry attempting to refute the well-reasoned letter to the
editor by Planning Commissioner Eleanor Egan published in the
Daily Pilot this morning. Mrs. Egan, a lawyer by training,
provides us with some clarity on what actually constitutes being
in this country illegally. She also assures us that the current
plan proposed by Councilman Monahan and ratified by the male
majority on the council "applies only to persons arrested on a
charge of committing a felony. The arrest must be based on
probable cause to believe the arrestee has committed a felony --
a serious crime such as grand theft, robbery, burglary, rape or
murder. Investigation for unlawful presence will not be
triggered by a misdemeanor -- a less serious crime such as
drinking on a public street -- nor by a civil infraction, such
as jaywalking or exceeding the posted speed limit". We assume
this means that people detained or cited for violating the
city's solicitation ordinance, for example, would not be subject
to immigration screening.
Our old pal, Your Neighbor, has apparently used his prodigious intellect to memorize the entire federal legal code, because he provides his version of who is "legal" and who is not on his blog. Naturally, his version is different from that provided by Mrs. Egan. Since he frequently makes up "facts" to suit his own personal bias, I'm taking Mrs. Egan's word on this one.
Sharing the page with Mrs. Egan today was yet another excellent commentary by Byron de Arakal under the Watchdog banner. He, correctly, points out the problems inherent with the militant stance taken by several of the Latino activists who have spoken recently before the city council. Because the majority on the council already have their minds made up that some form of immigrant screening will be done by Costa Mesa officers - whether the city piggybacks the county sheriff's plan or not - the Latino population is faced with some very difficult times ahead unless public pressure can be brought on the council to reverse that decision. Without the sympathy and support of the broader community, it's not likely that it will happen. In the wake of the Martin Luther King holiday on Monday, Tuesday brings us yet another council meeting with the probability of more contentious demonstrations and heated public comments. Let's hope cooler heads prevail this time around. Let's also hope that the imported agitators will fail to show up. This is a Costa Mesa issue and we have enough wild-eyed proponents of our own on both sides of the issue without the deck being stacked and perspectives skewed by outsiders.
You've obviously noticed that my pledge to avoid the hog wallow with Your Neighbor was short-lived. I apologize for that, but there seems to be no one else willing to provide a counterpoint to his rhetoric right now. Since I last mentioned him he's continued down his chosen path, spewing misleading "facts" and attempting to defame officials who disagree with him. He also gave us a very amusing bit of comedic fiction in which he attempts to justify the viewpoints expressed for years in his essays on right wing web sites. I'm still chuckling. So, until someone shows up to accept a lateral, I'll just continue to carry this pigskin for awhile. That's enough "pig" references for right now. In the spirit of the moment, I hope Your Neighbor has a very special Martin Luther King holiday.
10:57 pm pst
Our old pal, Your Neighbor, has apparently used his prodigious intellect to memorize the entire federal legal code, because he provides his version of who is "legal" and who is not on his blog. Naturally, his version is different from that provided by Mrs. Egan. Since he frequently makes up "facts" to suit his own personal bias, I'm taking Mrs. Egan's word on this one.
Sharing the page with Mrs. Egan today was yet another excellent commentary by Byron de Arakal under the Watchdog banner. He, correctly, points out the problems inherent with the militant stance taken by several of the Latino activists who have spoken recently before the city council. Because the majority on the council already have their minds made up that some form of immigrant screening will be done by Costa Mesa officers - whether the city piggybacks the county sheriff's plan or not - the Latino population is faced with some very difficult times ahead unless public pressure can be brought on the council to reverse that decision. Without the sympathy and support of the broader community, it's not likely that it will happen. In the wake of the Martin Luther King holiday on Monday, Tuesday brings us yet another council meeting with the probability of more contentious demonstrations and heated public comments. Let's hope cooler heads prevail this time around. Let's also hope that the imported agitators will fail to show up. This is a Costa Mesa issue and we have enough wild-eyed proponents of our own on both sides of the issue without the deck being stacked and perspectives skewed by outsiders.
You've obviously noticed that my pledge to avoid the hog wallow with Your Neighbor was short-lived. I apologize for that, but there seems to be no one else willing to provide a counterpoint to his rhetoric right now. Since I last mentioned him he's continued down his chosen path, spewing misleading "facts" and attempting to defame officials who disagree with him. He also gave us a very amusing bit of comedic fiction in which he attempts to justify the viewpoints expressed for years in his essays on right wing web sites. I'm still chuckling. So, until someone shows up to accept a lateral, I'll just continue to carry this pigskin for awhile. That's enough "pig" references for right now. In the spirit of the moment, I hope Your Neighbor has a very special Martin Luther King holiday.
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