For the Groovy Immigrants of Hispanic Origin Who Painted My House

[tikistitch]

"America faces an existential crisis. If we do not get control of our borders, by 2050 Americans of European descent will be a minority in the nation their ancestors created and built. No nation has ever undergone so radical a demographic transformation and survived." --Pat Buchanan

US population, breakdown by race, 1800
White: 4,306,446 (81.1%)
Black: 1,002,037 (18.9%)
Source: U.S. Census Bureau

"The 1850 decennial census was the first census in which data were collected on the nativity of the population.... As a percentage of total population, the foreign-born population rose from 9.7 percent in 1850 and fluctuated in the 13 percent to 15 percent range from 1860 to 1920 before dropping to 11.6 percent in 1930. The highest percentages foreign born were 14.4 percent in 1870, 14.8 percent in 1890 and 14.7 percent in 1910.

"Since 1970, the foreign-born population of the United States has increased rapidly due to large-scale immigration, primarily from Latin America and Asia.... As a percentage of the total population, the foreign-born population increased from 4.7 percent in 1970 to 6.2 percent in 1980, to 7.9 percent in 1990, and to an estimated 9.7 percent in 1997."

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Dear Pat Buchanan:

You're an idiot.

Love,

--tiki

EDIT: I've cut off commenting on this entry, except for folks on my friends list. This entry is pretty well buried, so no one's going to see your comment, and anyway, I'm sure you can find better venues to chat about racism than a blog about plush toys.

Comments

[panamew.livejournal.com]

Your house is so pretty, it makes me cry. They did a really great job!

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

Thanks! They did such a nice job.

[blukat.livejournal.com]

I think your house is so pretty, I love Victorians, and bese mi asno to Mister Buchanan.

and I ain't hispanic, or latina, or mexican.

I'd ask if I could move in, but I know you have no room for MY stuff, lol!

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

You know, *I'd* be classified hispanic by some of the crappy measures we use at work? Some researchers just use an algorithm that searches for hispanic last names. If I'd taken Gus's last name when we married...*poof*...little Scots Irish girl is Instant Hispanic yay!

Oh, and you know if you're gonna be in the 'hood, let us know, so you can at least get the tour?

[blukat.livejournal.com]

That's just bizarre about the name thing, even the censeus doesn't do that...

and darn, my guy would be just crazed with a tour of your place, lol! Luke Skywalker is one of his few friends on My Space ;)

[kittikattie.livejournal.com]

House: Ooo, I want a house =(

"America faces an existential crisis. If we do not get control of our borders, by 2050 Americans of European descent will be a minority in the nation their ancestors created and built. No nation has ever undergone so radical a demographic transformation and survived." --Pat Buchanan

So how about those Native Americans, eh, Buchanan? Oh, yeah, you convineintly forgot that.

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

For one (and many Mexicans/Latin Americans have Native American ancestry). And forgotten that 1 of 5 people in the early US was African, ie, NOT from Europe. And that hispanics are from....EUROPE. Duh. And... Oh, nevermind.

[kittikattie.livejournal.com]

So many people, not enough backhands.

[gothiclibrarian.livejournal.com]

Handily, much of the decennials' pop reports are online in pdf form should you want to peruse:

http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/decennial/index.htm

What I don't like is that in 2010 the long form of the decennial census will cease.

The American Community Survey (emphasis on word survey), which has been around for a few years and is now usable for data on populations in areas of 65,000+ in population will catch up and in 2010 cover ALL areas in their data sets.

Thing is, you had a 1:4 chance of getting the decennial long form...you will have a 1:6 chance of getting the American Community Survey. So we're cutting down our survey sample for the "long form" by a *huge* margin.

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

What I don't like is that in 2010 the long form of the decennial census will cease.

I had no idea. We work with Census data a lot. Since we use an administrative database (ie, Medicare claims), we have to use census tract averages to plug in stuff like education and income levels for our patients. But, the quality of the data has declined over the last 5 years, and now I see it's gonna sink some more. *sigh* Just more BAD NEWS.

[avalonjones.livejournal.com]

My grandpa was an immigrant, darn it! He was from Lithuania, and was a church organist by trade. This is an immigrant nation! If Grandpa hadn't taken a BIG chance and come here, I'd still be in Lithuania, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have had the opportunities I've had here, to lead the kind of life I want. So yaaay, immigrants!

[sailor-x.livejournal.com]

Omg.. Pat Buchanan freaked me out when he was on the Glenn Beck program. I don't think he's an idiot but I would like to know more about him.

Legal immigrants are fine and dandy, Illegal immigrants should be stopped. If they aren't willing to take the time to come in the country legally, I don't want them here.

I'm for sealing the borders (this does not mean stopping LEGAL immigration).

Check out this zogby article:

http://www.zogby.com/soundbites/ReadClips.dbm?ID=4935

"Most of those that emigrated from Mexico became naturalized US citizens and have become productive citizens. Unfortunately, some embittered intellectuals (on both sides of the border) have advocated that most of the southwest US belongs to Mexico. "

A lot of people are coming here to reclaim 'their' land, not to become US citizens and that's a huge issue.

[sailor-x.livejournal.com]

I don't understand why people can't understand this is a matter of security and the Mexicans coming here illegally are being treated poorly. They are getting paid less than an American would ... so why is everyone for that? They're practically a slave class. It's not fair to the illegal immigrants to be treated as less than people and it's not safe for our country to just let people in who want to see the US land in Mexico's hands.

What about terrorists? They could easily come across the borders too.

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

Omg.. Pat Buchanan freaked me out when he was on the Glenn Beck program. I don't think he's an idiot but I would like to know more about him.

He was on Bill Maher show this week, and some of the stuff he said seemed, well, bullshit. He gave the raw number of immigrants, and said it was the highest in the nation's history. Well, duh, but now there's 300 million people here, so what's the number as a percentage of the population? So I looked it up. He seems like his deal is more scaring people than dealing with a complex and important issue.

A lot of people are coming here to reclaim 'their' land, not to become US citizens and that's a huge issue.

That seems a bit insane. They come to the US because they want LA to be just like Tijuana? How many is "a lot?" I grew up in SoCal, and knew bajillions of Chicano kids, but I never met a single one who wanted to live in the United States of Mexico.

[sailor-x.livejournal.com]

When you say immigrants... do you mean actual immigrants (Legal).. or illegal? I just want to be sure.

I don't think the issue is so complex. People are coming here illegally and shouldn't be. Least in my opinion.

Did you read the article I posted? There are people who believe that parts of the United States really belongs to Mexico. I forget what the poll numbers were, but it was eye opening. Plus with that rally in Maywood... it's defiantely out there. During that rally the illegal immigrants took down the American flag and raised the Mexican one..

I think you can see it in this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9eISWvvMdA

[mr-tikistitch.livejournal.com]

The whole Buchanon diatribe is just a stupid issue designed to rally the masses of mindless knee-jerk idiots that put the Republicans into power. The Republicans can't run on their record, so they have to invent an issue for each election. This year, Hispanics are the target. Sure, it's veiled in valid concerns about the right balances of policing illegal immigration, but make no mistake about it, it designed to be a coded campaign for prejudice.

Maybe the Republicans should run on their track record: record-setting budget deficits, the war in Iraq, the hunt for Osama bin Laden, the lack of job growth in america, the outsourcing of hightech/skilled jobs, their impotence in taking on domestic security measures, giving ground forces in Iraq the appropriate numbers, kevlar, and armored vehicles to be set up for success, crackdown on political corruption--oh wait, they can't run on that.

They do this every election cycle: whether it's Willie Horten, Swift Boat veterans, the pledge of allegiance, gay marriage, late-term (aka "partial birth" whatever the fuck that means) abortions, and now illegal immigration. I very much welcome an open debate on real issues, but time and time again the Republicans do not run on their record and they hide from real open debates on real issues, and this because they are in reality, a party of cronies, lobbyists, and religious crackpots, and their positions never stand the test of scrutiny from "reality-based society". They need to invent issues every election cycle. It's such a predictable pattern that as I get older we take bets on what the new Republican strawman issue will be each election. Do you really think for one minute that any reasonable and popular immigrant group in the US stands for separatism from this country? If you believe that what Buchanon is asserting is a material issue, then I have some (stolen) land to sell you from the Southwest.

Now on the topic of prejudice... I am very personally offended by this shitstorm the GOP is trying to create about illegal immigration. I am Hispanic (as were my parents and their parents and their parents), and am immigrant to the US from Cuba. As a legal immigrant, now why would I take offense to a strong stance on illegal immigrant? I think illegal immigration should be policed--no one in the mainstream of either party thinks that it shouldn't. So why is this an issue? The Democrats aren't for illegal immigration. The bottom line is that the Republicans want to use prejudice as their 2006 election strawman, because they can't run on their shitty record.

[middle-savagery.livejournal.com]

Gorgeous work on your house! I still can't believe Gus let you paint it Stitch colors.

Hey Pat Buchanan: to a large extent, enslaved people built this country and most hispanic people have ancestors that predate your paltry half-century of occupation by 15,000 years. Get over yourself.

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

Gorgeous work on your house! I still can't believe Gus let you paint it Stitch colors.

"You tricked me again!!!! --Mr. Tiki

Hey Pat Buchanan: to a large extent, enslaved people built this country and most hispanic people have ancestors that predate your paltry half-century of occupation by 15,000 years. Get over yourself.

See? That's the thing that sets off my liberal rant mode. Bush does it too! There's an assumption that "we" are all a bunch of White people, and not just white people, but from a very confined bit of Europe that evidently doesn't include the Iberian peninsula. You've heard Bush's constant rant about Iraq that "SOME SAY brown people don't want democracy." Um, brown people? Have you looked out the window lately?

[sailor-x.livejournal.com]

"Hey Pat Buchanan: to a large extent, enslaved people built this country "

That doesn't mean we should now enslave illegal immigrants O.o;.

[lilblueunicorn.livejournal.com]

Well SAID!

-§parky

[nitasee.livejournal.com]

Dear Pat Buchanan:

You're an idiot.

You're infinitely more generous with him than I am.

I look at him with shock and appall. Heavy on the appall, with a extra heaping side order of WTF?!?.

Hey, Pat, you know my ancestory manages to hit 3 out the 4 most oppressed people: Jews, Irish and American Indian. All I need is an African ancestor and I'd be 4 and 0. And you know something else, at one time or another one group of ancestors suffered people who didn't think they should be here, have rights or citizenship, or for that matter exist. And I'd bet you'd have been agreeing with that shit.

We're a nation of immigrants or their descendents. Even you. Though, frankly, if I were one of your ancestors, I wouldn't want to claim you. And honeypants, we all know that your phrase "Americans of European descent" is a thinly veiled code for "whites", and more specifically "white anglo-saxon protestant". So, basically, if you were a politician around the time my people came to these shores, well, the Irish and Jewish ones anyway, you'd be screaming bloody murder about how we were diluting the "pure" blood of America and should be sent back home. As for the Indian ancestors, you'd be all for resrvations and extermination. *fake sigh* But those good old days are gone and now you have to make more coded comments like "Americans of European descent". But you know something, I don't think you're fooling anyone. So, darling Pat, shove it. Sideways.

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

Yep, it's not longer cool to be an out-and-out racist, so they always have to communicate by cute little code words.

Sadly, bozos like Buchanan *are* still capable of fooling people. He may even be fooling himself with his B.S., although my money is on that he's one of those who'll just do or say *anything* to have power over other people.

[nitasee.livejournal.com]

I'm of the opinion he's both: a racist and someone who'll just say anything to have power over people. My little mini-rant is just because I take his crap personally because I know darn good and well that just a couple of generations ago my own family would have had to put up with similar shit. History repeats itself, dude.

Besides, I still remember the "Jews for Buchanan" debacle in Florida.

[annlarimer.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

Mr Buchanan has gone beyond concern over illegal immigration, justified or not, and into outright race-baiting. I resent the implication that I'm supposed to be scared of...what, exactly? Them filthy Mexicans? Losing my God-given white privilege? Fuck you, Pat.

Granted, Mexican candy can be kind of alarming, but maybe we'd get soda made with real sugar again.

[nitasee.livejournal.com]

White-privledge exactly! And that's the greater good? I call is like I sees it: He's a racist.

Mexican candy with tamarind is to be avoided at all costs - so says the US agriculture dept. Apparently, it's pretty regularly "contaminated". You'd be surprised how much "American" candy is actually made in Mexico. Hell, even Brach's manufactures it's candy there.

maybe we'd get soda made with real sugar again.

*laughs* Actually, you still can...if you can get you're Dr Pepper from Dublin, Texas. Seriously. Made a pilgrimage trip there a few months ago.