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| Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick |
Governor Deval Patrick stepped up to the plate and offered to give refuge to 1,000 Central American children fleeing from murder and mayhem. He now has to face opposition from those in the legislature and other parts of the state who believe we should repeat the U.S.'s shameful history and turn these refugees away, just as we turned away hundred of Jews fleeing from Nazi Germany, and who were sent back to their certain deaths.
Governor Patrick:
“We have rescued Irish children from famine, Russian and Ukrainian children from religious persecution, Cambodian children from genocide, Haitian children from earthquakes, Sudanese children from civil war, and New Orleans children from Hurricane Katrina,” Patrick said. “Once, in 1939, we turned our backs on Jewish children fleeing the Nazis, and it remains a blight on our national reputation. The point is that this good Nation is great when we open our doors and our hearts to needy children, and diminished when we don’t.”
Patrick’s remark alluded to the refusal on the part of U.S. in 1939 to allow a ship carrying more than 900 Jewish refugees escaping the emerging Nazi regime in Germany to land on American shores. Belgium, France, Britain and the Netherlands subsequently took the refugees in.
CBS News reported in May that the U.S. also denied London stockbroker Sir Nicholas Winston’s request that same year to provide asylum for 669 Czechoslovakian children — many of them Jewish — who were also fleeing from the Nazis. A memo from the State Department to the American embassy in London instructed embassy staff to tell him that the U.S. “unable, in the absence of specific legislation, to permit immigration in excess of that provided for by existing immigration laws.” Those children were also taken in by Britain."
More here from Squatlo Rant.
13 comments:
It's amazing how all the people who say they follow Jesus's teachings are the loudest about keeping out children who are running away from terrorists in their country.
WWJD? Yell at them and send them back to be killed and raped?
"The Republican Party run by the modern conservative movement is the most effective and successful minority party in history. They fully exploit every flaw in our system for their own advantage and then skillfully demonize their opponents if they try to use the same techniques. They are well funded by billionaires with a strong interest in paralyzing democracy and have a bunch of followers whose worldview is organized around discontent and hatred of "the other" which makes a government system full of veto points a perfect vehicle for their agenda. Oh, and they revel in shamelessness which is their way of flexing their power and ensuring that everyone knows who's really in charge. And everyone does."
"...as we watch the Republicans get more and more worked up about this alleged horde of diseased child invaders, here’s a little something to keep in mind:
While the number of unaccompanied youth crossing the border has doubled to nearly 60,000 in the past year, the total number of undocumented immigrants has mostly declined. About 1 million people have been caught crossing the border nearly every year between 1983 until 2006, but that number has dropped to about 400,000 in 2013.
That’s your immigration “crisis” for you. It’s right up there with fluoridation in the water and Cliven Bundy’s unpaid cattle fees on a list of important national concerns. Why, you’d almost think these conservative politicians and media celebrities are looking for something to gin up their gullible base for completely cynical political reasons."
Everyone is up in arms over the illegals suddenly crossing the border.
This is a planned event that was set in motion by the current administration over a year ago. The purpose is to push immigration reform.
What we really need is an open border. It is a little disingenuous for Governor Patrick to only allow one thousand when there are tens of thousands coming in. Looks like it is politics as usual and his is a political, feel good move.
skud: "This is a planned event that was set in motion by the current administration over a year ago. The purpose is to push immigration reform."
Really? And here I thought the purpose is to make the screaming spittle-fleckers look like jerks, because that purpose has succeeded.
"Looks like it is politics as usual and his is a political, feel good move."
Said a guy who knows nothing about Governor Patrick or Massachusetts politics, and who does not believe in these words:
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Those were the sentiments of good old fashioned America, y'know, the America the cynical spittle-fleckers no longer believe in.
Oh hell, just open the borders, remove all border patrols. and grant automatic citizenship to everybody who can say one r more of the following, "me need safety, me need food. me need place to sleep." Problem solved for liberal progressives.
900 and.669 is a far cry from 50K+ with more sure to follow.
Insanity...
We need effective and reasonable immigration reform that insures our national interests are recognized and secured. Being overrun by immigrants, whether adult or children is not in our rational interests as a nation IMNHO.
RN, this is on our Statue of Liberty:
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
What does that mean?
Either we believe this -- something written on the gateway to America or we don't. If we don't, then take it down! Why leave a sentiment up that is NOT what America stands for.
Take it off the statue of liberty and replace it with "GO HOME!" YOU'RE ILLEGAL! "WE DON'T HAVE THE RESOURCES TO HELP YOU!"
That's what the people screaming about the refugees are saying.
That solves a lot Shaw. And no that is not what I am saying nor is anyone else that I know who understands the broader issues.
We are free to disagree and will continue to do so.
This is the solution the wingnuts have for the refugee children at the border:
"I say load up these disease and lice ridden kids on a banana boat and send em back to wherever the hell they came from. They are not our responsibility."
Just substitute "Jews," or "Irish," or any other ethnic group the low-information population hated at the turn of the last century, and you've got a repeat of reactionaries' response to the crisis.
Keep pushing the hyperbole, BS, and purely emotion driven anti reason agenda. You people are great at it. Twist the words of those who do use reason into progressive pretzel logic and claim your superior intellegence and wisdom.
Insanity...
Different time and totally different situation. Nothing remains constant as Ms shaw has pointed out. A democrat of the 50's is not really a democrat. A party started by a republican is now a liberal organization. Thin and conditions change.
Since the leftists are all about helping the poor and uninspired, how many jobs are the illegals going to take from the disenfranchised minority youth?
"Emotion driven" means caring if these kids live or die when "rational self interest" tells us that it isn't our problem. And it doesn't take "pretzel logic" to think we should do what's right/moral instead of going with Randian hate. That is the anti-reason agenda, IMHO.
As for how many jobs are the "illegals" are going to take from the disenfranchised minority youth... it depends. Make the "illegals" legal and their wages will go up (as illegal usually equals low wages); higher wages means increased economic activity; and increased economic activity means more jobs are created. Keep wages low, however (and keeping illegal workers illegal is one way to ensure they are), and YES, people will be fighting for low wage jobs (the Republican plan).
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