THE 25 PERCENT SOLUTION [JPod]
Hey, the federal deficit just went down by 25 percent. The New York Times even noticed. It's difficult living during the worst economy since Herbert Hoover, ain't it?
Posted at 10:02 AM
BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP [John Derbyshire]
Hannity & Colmes last night had a segment on the current bill to deny birthright citizenship to US-born children of persons not themselves citizens or permanent residents. Rep. Gary Miller of California, one of the sponsors of the bill, was interviewed & made a plain case: The current situation is an incentive to illegal immigration, and we don't need such incentives. He seems perfectly sure that Congress has the power to change the current interpretation of the 14th Amendment, and reports strong support both within and outside Congress.
The segment appeared near the end of the 1-hour program, and was preceded by several teasers sprinkled through the program (which, like most FNC programs lately, was mostly concerned with some lady gone missing in Aruba). All but one of these teasers were spoken by Alan Colmes, in the kind of language that makes us immigration reformers tear our hair. Samples:
"Immigration activists are targeting the unborn children of immigrants."
"A new bill would punish unborn children for illegal immigration -- We'll bring you the shocking details in just a moment."
"Republicans are now so intent on stopping immigration [sic] they are targeting unborn children."
Just look at that language: "targeting" ... "punsh" ... "shocking details" ... Un unwary viewer would get the impression that the unborn children of illegal immigrants are to be ripped from their mothers' wombs and tossed into boiling oil. In fact, all that is proposed is that they not be given authomatic U.S. citizenship.
Colmes, quite uncharacteristically -- he is an extremely smart and clever guy, and very charming in person -- floundered when confronted with the very presentable and clear Rep. Miller.
The only debating points Colmes could come up with were: (1) The proposed bill denies a right to unborn children, and Republicans are "supposed to be strong on the rights of the unborn," and (2) That Miller's remark about other countries not having birthright citizenship is contrary to previous grumbling by Republicans when SCOTUS calls in foreign countries' laws to bolster an argument.
On (1): Citizenship is not an unqualified right, like life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The denial of citizenship to a person ineligible for it is not the denial of a right, still less a "targeting" for "punishment."
On (2): The context was reciprocity. If other countries do not give birthright citizenship to infants born on their territory to US mothers, why should we give our citizenship to the infants of their mothers? This is a different thing from merely looking overseas for guidance in framing our laws."
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