From the Pew Hispanic Center:
Nearly all Hispanic adults born in the United States of immigrant parents report they are fluent in English. By contrast, only a small minority of their parents describe themselves as skilled English speakers. This finding of a dramatic increase in English-language ability from one generation of Hispanics to the next emerges from a new analysis of six Pew Hispanic Center surveys conducted this decade among a total of more than 14,000 Latino adults.
From the Center for Immigration Studies:
Immigrants account for one in eight U.S. residents, the highest level in 80 years. In 1970 it was one in 21; in 1980 it was one in 16; and in 1990 it was one in 13. Overall, nearly one in three immigrants is an illegal alien. Half of Mexican and Central American immigrants and one-third of South American immigrants are illegal. Since 2000, 10.3 million immigrants have arrived — the highest seven-year period of immigration in U.S. history. More than half of post-2000 arrivals (5.6 million) are estimated to be illegal aliens.
As the Iowa caucuses draw near, we see the Alinsky influence in the Democratic frontrunners. From The Forward:
When Clinton told [her undergraduate advisor] she wanted to write her thesis on poverty issues, Schechter suggested she study Alinsky’s work, in part because she was able to personally interview the organizer, who was based near her hometown in Chicago. (Fifteen years later, Clinton’s chief Democratic rival, Illinois Senator Barack Obama, would become a community activist in Chicago, in the organizing tradition of Alinsky.) Clinton writes in the notes of her thesis that after meeting three times with Alinsky, he offered her a job, which she declined in favor of “legal rigor” at Yale.
Finally, a bit of presidential lore:
A teenager from Iceland claims that he reached a private White House phone line while pretending to be the president of his country. If so, he would not be the first ordinary person to get through. On May 14, 1965, a Denver couple accidentally interrupted a call between LBJ and Abe Fortas. Story and audio here.
1 comment:
I agree with the strategy of framing Rudy’s past indecencies in terms of his humanity, to capitalize on the inherent fallacy of human nature. I don’t think anyone would argue that the rhetoric of moral necessity is paramount for Giuliani, especially given the candidate’s personal history. Yet, Rudy’s behavior is not just flawed, it is also so déclassé. For instance, as Charles suggests, Rudy’s announcement of his divorce at a national press conference--without discussing it with his wife a-priori-- was crude and unforgivable. It suggests an absence of a moral injunction in Rudy’s interpersonal relations, which is kind of a linchpin for international relations, right? Although I am unclear about how Rudy’s “penchant for dressing in drag” fits into the more profound moral questions you first raised about Rudy’s personal conduct, I think you are right to be skeptical. I also think that how Rudy scandalized his divorce and humiliated his wife is telling.
So: I can’t help but wonder if Rudy might qualify as beyond “flawed?”
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