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My Mom Was an Anchor Baby

August 27, 2015 by Pamela Powers

Since Donald Trump has brought “anchor babies” back into the public eye, I decided to re-post this story that was originally published in October 20, 2010 on TucsonCitizen.com.

Russell Pearce is a grandstanding xenophobe who is basking in the limelight of SB1070 and seeking to extend his 15 minutes of fame. His latest anti-immigrant legislation on his one-man crusade to white-wash the country is to “clarify” the 14th Amendment and hopefully make anchor babies illegal once and for all. Here is the text that Pearce and other right-wing extremists want clarification on:

“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein they reside.”

Ah, Mr. Pearce, what nationality are you? I don’t think “Pearce” is a Native American name. I believe that someone in your family tree was an anchor baby (a child born in American of immigrant parents).

My Grandpa William Sprenger was born in Germany. He came to the US as an infant in 1881 with Great Grandma Katrina and his older brother Conrad. (Great Grandpa Conrad was already working in Northern Ohio.)

J.E.B.(!) Bush is a terrible candidate

August 26, 2015August 25, 2015 by AZ BlueMeanie

The scion of the “Bush Dynasty,” J.E.B.(!) Bush, no doubt assumed that the presidency was his inheritance — all he had to do was run for president. It turns out that J.E.B.(!) Bush is a terrible candidate, and his assumptions are wrong.

After spending the better part of a week doubling down on his idiot brother’s unnecessary and illegal war in Iraq and illegal torture policy, J.E.B.(!) returned to offending key voting blocs.

In recent days this gaffe machine has again offended Latinos and women, two key voting blocs that no candidate can get elected president without. It’s as almost if J.E.B.(!) doesn’t want to be president and is subconsciously sabotaging his own campaign.

Sorry Trump fans, but it’s good having grownups in charge

August 22, 2015August 21, 2015 by AZ BlueMeanie

Crossposted from DemocraticDiva.com

“The fundamental cause of the trouble in the modern world today is that the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.”—Bertrand Russell.

I brought a handful of books to Sedona with me when we were up there but the one I read from start to finish was Jimmy Carter’s A Full Life: Reflections At Ninety. As the title suggests, it’s a straightforward account of Carter’s entire life spanning his childhood on his family’s farm in Plains, Georgia, to a career as a submariner and nuclear engineer in the Navy, and then his lengthy career in public service. I have to admit to rolling my eyes through parts where he would describe his religiosity and the pride he took in his missionary work (not my thing) and puzzling over a few occasions where he described his “moderate views on race” during the Civil Rights era but, for the most part, Carter’s account of his life left me more impressed with the guy than I already was.

Donald Trump, leader of the Mass Deportation Party

August 18, 2015August 18, 2015 by AZ BlueMeanie

Two new polls out this week show Donald Trump maintaining a double digit lead over his nearest competitor. Fox News Poll; Latest CNN Republican Poll Has Donald Trump at 24%.

On Monday, “The Donald” released his immigration plan, which is detailed on his website. He calls for construction of a wall along the Mexican border, vowing to “make Mexico pay” for it; an end to birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants (“anchor babies”); the defunding of sanctuary cities; the strengthening of immigration enforcement; a moratorium on new on H-1B visas issued to workers abroad, and a hire Americans first policy: and a whole lot more. Of course, he has no clue how he is going to accomplish this or to pay for it.

It is essentially a collection of every xenophobic, anti-immigrant, nativist and racist idea from the far-right fringe over the past decade or so, that are now being “mainstreamed” in the GOP. Several of Trumps rivals are also adopting Trump’s far-right anti-immigrant positions. As the Washington Post reports, Trump is driving migrant debate among GOP field:

The ideas once languished at the edge of Republican politics, confined to think tanks and no-hope bills on Capitol Hill. To solve the problem of illegal immigration, truly drastic measures were necessary: Deport the undocumented en masse. Seize the money they try to send home. Deny citizenship to their U.S.-born children.

Now, all of those ideas have been embraced by Donald Trump, the front-runner in the Republican presidential race, who has followed up weeks of doomsaying about illegal immigrants with a call for an unprecedented crackdown.

D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejects Crazy Uncle Joe Arpaio’s frivolous lawsuit

August 27, 2020August 14, 2015 by AZ BlueMeanie

Crazy Uncle Joe Arpaio and his disreputable attorney Larry Klayman from Freedom Watch continue their losing streak for this frivolous lawsuit. The Court really ought to impose Rule 11 sanctions on Arpaio and his disreputable attorney for frivolous litigation. See, Federal judge tosses Crazy Uncle Joe Arpaio’s frivolous lawsuit, and Court of Appeals is skeptical of Crazy Uncle Joe Arpaio’s frivolous lawsuit.

Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for District of Columbia ruled against Crazy Uncle Joe Arpaio. Talking Points Memo reports, Appeals Court Smacks Down Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Obama Immigration Lawsuit:

A federal appeals court rejected a lawsuit brought by Sheriff Joe Arpaio challenging President Obama’s immigration executive order Friday.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit agreed with a lower court’s decision that Arpaio — the Maricopa County, Arizona sheriff known for his anti-immigration antics — did not have standing to bring the challenge, which sought to block the Department of Homeland Security from implementing the new programs.

“We conclude that Sheriff Arpaio has failed to allege an injury that is both fairly traceable to the deferred action policies and redressable by enjoining them, as our standing precedents require,” the decision’s author, Obama-appointee Justice Nina Pillard wrote in the Opinion (.pdf).