A Congressman's Strained Attempt at Logic

No one really expects too much out of a congressman these days, especially a member of the House of Representatives. But after Virgil Goode's dramatic self-unveiling as a stolid bigot the bar was lowered even more. Rather than easing tensions, say in the vein of former President Gerald Ford, Mr. Goode has now attempted some sort of explanation for his words, in the form of an open letter to USA Today. The result is a painful stab at logic that only Joseph McCarthy could love.

The first thing Mr. Goode attempts to do is erase any idea that he may be bigoted. "My letter did not call for a religious test for prospective members of Congress, as some have charged," he writes. You see, Mr. Goode is not bigoted in the same way millions of people are not racist. He calls for no test, no governmental controls, no overt segregation. It's just that, well, he's uneasy....

"Immigration is arguably the most important issue facing the country today. At least 12 million immigrants are here illegally," he says. That fact is coupled with, "Diversity visas, a program initiated in 1990 to grant visas to people from countries that had low U.S. immigration at that time, are bringing in 50,000 a year from various parts of the world, including the Middle East."

A) Immigration is an important issue. B) For example we have 12 million illegal immigrants in this country. C) Did you know 50,000 people are coming in, some of them from the middle east, on diversity visas? D) Obviously those people are part of the problem and must be stopped.

In other words: to help solve for A we have to fix C by doing D. Ah, the gears are really turning in Mr. Goode's head. But wait, C is neither related to A nor B. You're led to think that diversity visas are related to the aforementioned immigration problem. Unfortunately, diversity visas issue green cards which are perfectly legal. You may remember this type of obtuse parallelism from any speech the White House ever gave about Iraq. A) Terrorism is evil. B) 9/11 is the result of terrorism. C) Iraq is evil. D) we need to invade Iraq to prevent another 9/11.

What we learned in Iraq is that when problem A and problem B are unrelated solving problem B does not also solve problem A. Mr. Goode has not received this memo. It is no secret that this country has a hard time with math and science but I think even this seems within the grasp of a congressman. But perhaps Mr. Goode is much more interested in keeping non-Christians out of congress than he is about solving any immigration problem.

"I believe that if we do not stop illegal immigration totally, reduce legal immigration and end diversity visas, we are leaving ourselves vulnerable to infiltration by those who want to mold the United States into the image of their religion, rather than working within the Judeo-Christian principles that have made us a beacon for freedom-loving persons around the world."

This is the part where the wheels come off. He's saying we should attempt to stop people from molding the United States into the image of their religion, by keeping those people out of the country, so that the United States can be further molded into a Judeo-Christian image. Yes, let's prevent Islam from possibly hijacking the country by surrendering it to Christianity. Wonderful idea. I understand he's just a congressman but what kind of logic is that?

All of this really smacks of McCarthyism. And all of this is really the result of Keith Ellison, a Muslim from Minnesota being elected to congress. Ellison's election, and announcement that he will use the Quran at his swearing in ceremony, should have been a showcase for the American ideal that all men are created equal and have an equal chance in this country. Instead, people like Virgil Goode have seized it to personify their own fears an insecurities. What comes out is not the embracing of the high and difficult ideals of our Republic, but a warped and frustrated discharge served to you with a little logic and an American flag.

Don't believe me? Read the letter for yourself.

You Say Tancredo, I Say Bigot

I hadn't really felt like blogging much since getting back from Thanksgiving. And then Tom Tancredo opened his mouth. Tom Tancredo, Republican representative from Colorado, anti-immigration activist, bigot.

Tancredo was in South Florida joining the likes of media giants Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter at a four-day event called "Restoration Weekend" which concluded today. All of that conservative, nationalist testosterone (yes, you, Ann...) must have gone right to his head when he compared Miami to a "third world country" when using the city as an example of immigration run rampant.

"Look at what has happened to Miami. It has become a Third World country," he said. "You just pick it up and take it and move it someplace. You would never know you're in the United States of America. You would certainly say you're in a Third World country."

Colorado is 94% white, so it's no wonder Tancredo gets a little nervous about immigration. To him Chicago must seem like Canada, Maimi is the third world, and Hawaii must be another planet altogether. I'm surprised he even went to Florida for the conservative conference, he was practically in South America!

Tucker Carson, though not invited to the weekend dirge, was nice enough to give Tancredo the equivalent of a reporter's hand-job by vacating the floor on his show to gave Tancredo a chance to clarify himself.

Tancredo explained that "third world" is actually a compliment. He also reasoned that anyone who thinks "third world" is a racist term must be a racist. And then went on to describe Miami as a city riddled with poverty, corruption, violence, and poor education. So, I think what he's trying to say is that "third world" is really more like a back-handed compliment. It's a sly move to call someone a racist with logic that insults their intelligence. "Third World" means exactly what we all think it means, and exactly like it sounds: something less than our world; at best: developing; at worst: backwards. It is in itself a value statement on our status and "theirs".

Tucker Carson ate it all up with a spoon as the man love filled the studio. Atta boy.

The only problem is Tancredo is a notorious xenophobe and a staunch believer in tougher immigration laws. He's so far right on this issue he question's Bush's patriotism on the matter. Right before granting Miami third-world status, he lashed out at the White House's lack of action in securing U.S. borders, and said efforts to merge the U.S. with both Mexico and Canada is not a fantasy. So, you can see his view of Miami is out of fear that America is being taken over by latin-Americans, and, to a somewhat lesser degree, those goddamn Canadians!

Miami looks like a third world country, which essentially means it resembles New York City in the mid-19th century, except that city's criminals and immigrants were mostly white. Miami's are mostly Hispanic. Are you scared too?

But have no fear, my friends, the case that America needs to be "restored" is being made by the same people who brought you the war on Christmas. Anything which is fundamentally a personal belief cannot be under attack. You see? It's like declaring war on the fact that your favorite blog is Thought Alarm. How can anyone steal that from you? Sure, your Wal Mart greeter might not wish you Merry Christmas, but that wont erase your belief if you have it? Will it?

The Christmas season is alive and well in all forms: religious and secular. Did you notice that holiday decorations were up by mid-November this year? Thanksgiving is now essentially a speed-bump as we fire up for our Christmas season.

Man, I'd love to be a fly on the wall at David Horowitz's "Freedom Center" as people like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Tom Tancredo stoke each others fires and lift the human spirit into a roaring frenzy of bigotry and fear. It almost makes me want to break out the eggnog and chestnuts. But while they were making merry I was spending time with my family, and now I have to buy Christmas presents. Funny how their war is a war on people like me.

"Prove to me you are not working with our enemies"

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Keith Olbermann awarded Beck his "worst person in the world" award last night for his conduct during the interview.

All of this attention for bigotry and fear mongering will no doubt equal financial security for Beck. His next book should be an even bigger hit.

I find it funny that later in the interview Black says Ellison is an example to European Muslims on how to integrate properly. This, then, is how to be a good immigrant, right? You work hard and rise to one of the top positions in the country so that people like Glenn Beck can view you only by your religion or race. Beck only considers Ellison a citizen in the strictest sense, he does not view Ellison as anywhere near equal. And isn't that why European Muslims feel disenfranchised? Sure, ok, you can live here, but every step of the way we're going to remind you what your place is.

And Beck thinks he's doing this country a favor by asking such probing questions? As if they're the product of some deep insight or original thought? He's never lived a day in his life, has he? His line of thinking is nothing new. Show me every great human injustice and I'll show you bigotry.

And why does CNN put this guy on the air? "Prove to me you are not working with our enemies"? Are you kidding me? Hey man, you can't prove a negative. At best, if you strip the bigotry out of that question, it's an illogical question. It's like asking someone to prove they don't believe in UFOs. And he's on CNN? I've lost a lot of respect for that network. I can rant and rave and stereotype and spew bile and prejudice, where's my TV show? The ratings would be wonderful.

Why don't you write in and tell CNN what you think. Or tell me what you think by leaving a comment.