PLAYER57832 wrote:Symmetry wrote:Odd week for the the debate about illegal immigrants.
On the one hand we have the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas admitting that he was brought into the US aged 11 without proper documentation.
On the other hand, we have John McCain and a few other Arizona Republicans claiming that wildfires in that state were caused by illegal immigrants. When pushed for evidence, however, they were curiously unwilling to provide it. Questions about how they know illegal immigrants started the fires were replied to with the statement:While Arizonans continue to face the enormous challenges related to these wildfires, it's unfortunate that some are inserting their political agenda into this tragedy.
While I'm unsure if that statement represents some of the most rank hypocrisy I've seen recently, I do think that Americans should be concerned about immigrants coming over and stealing their Pulitzer Prizes.
Irony, yes. However, McCain's statement was not, as you claim without evidence. He made the comment based on statements by Forest Service and state fire fighting agency officials.
As a point of fact, illegal aliens do start some wildfires, not necessarily intentionally, but because they may wind up living in the woods, having campfires, etc. You also have to understand that conditions out west can be so very, very dry that anything from a random piece of debris hitting a car muffler and flying to lawn mowers to, of course, the old improperly tended campfire can cause a wildfire to start. Of course, there are a few arsonists and other idiots among the illegal workers. However, what this really shows another reason to provide some kind of safe housing for illegal workers.
I'm sure they do. Just as black people commit murder. What I object to is a major politician saying that it was caused by illegal immigrants before an investigation had been completed, then claiming that he didn't mean anything political by those statements, and accusing opponents of politicising it all.
Now if there was a murder, and a politician went on stage and said that he, or she, had been told that a black person committed that murder, I don't think it would be wholly unreasonable to ask what evidence that politician had for that allegation.
I'm afraid that "I was told by someone important" just doesn't cut it. There's no way to follow up on that. No way to substantiate the accusation. Indeed, follow ups by the media to McCain's claims to the media have, so far as I know, just stated that the issue was under investigation- they don't know who is responsible yet.
He's got a lovely bit of anti-Immigrant rhetoric going on here. If he's wrong, well, he can say that he didn't mean it and all this controversy is because of his irrational opponents seeking to demonise him (as he's doing at the moment). If nobody gets caught, well, the paranoia has been fueled, and that gets some votes for Repubs in Arizona and other border states. If he's right, and an illegal immigrant does get charged and convicted, then he was right from the very start- he always knew it, just couldn't provide evidence at the time and had to conceal the identities of those who told him.
Win-win really.
