Thursday, June 17, 2010

'Zona strikes again

Fox News and Arizona have something in common, they're both fun. Fun in the sense that one can visit either place and be entertained by the constant inanity.

Like mindless lovers drawn to each other as mosquitos to a porch light, Fox and Arizona have developed quite a relationship recently. Arizona's xenophobic laws provide the fodder for Fox's fear-mongering.

Most recently, Fox has reported that Arizona lawmakers are trying to deny citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants born in the US.

As with many items I read on Fox News and ideas that come from Arizona, this initially put me at a loss for words. I guess sometimes I just don't know how to react to stupidity. After some reflection, I've found some amusing paradoxes and juicy tidbits.

1) This whole immigration fiasco reeks of the tea party - America's public enemy #2 (that's right tea party, you're still better than Bin Laden). In fact, "tea party darling" Rand Paul is a fierce supporter of this idea, but Rand Paul apparently doesn't favor civil rights for African-Americans either, so his are ideas null and void. The ultimate hypocrisy here is that denying citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants born on American soil is BLATANTLY unconstitutional. If the new health care law is somehow unconstitutional, I'd like to see how the tea party is going to make this idea stick. In fact, I'd like to see how they're going to justify the hypocrisy. I'd also like to see Rand Paul fail miserably in his Senate bid, but I'm pretty sure that's a foregone conclusion. Smile America.

2) That this idea comes from a group of people who worship the constitution is funny enough, that the very same group advocates smaller government makes the whole thing even more comical. I guess no one in the tea party bothered to sit down and think about the logistics of this whole operation. Let's say that at least one parent must show proof of citizenship in order for a birth certificate to be issued (this is the language the bill's proponents put forth). Would it not take a federal agency to verify that information? Wouldn't it be a lengthy and expensive process to go through the massive database of American citizens and find a single person? If this agency weren't policed well enough, wouldn't it be susceptible to corruption? These people don't only want the government to stay out of their lives, they want the government to act like big brother policing the lives of others.

3) What if this bill becomes law? Will illegal immigrants stop having children? Will parents and child be deported immediately from the maternity ward? If no birth certificate is issued and the parents and child leave the hospital doesn't that mean there is just one more undocumented illegal alien running around in Arizona? Is this really what they are shooting for over there? Has ANYONE thought about this? I mean seriously, what is in the water in 'Zona?

Today, Fox News and Arizona tempted me too much. I couldn't resist. The asininity overwhelmed me and I felt compelled to bash someone for it. Barring any more theatrics from our friends on the far, far, far right, I'll be back to advocating green energy in the next post. Today, I'm just advocating sense and morality.

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