'Let the prisoners pick the fruits'

[anysia]

Is the current conservatives squatting in D.C. channeling Marie Antoinette? Let them eat cake?

WASHINGTON (AP) -- House conservatives criticized President Bush, accused the Senate of fouling the air, said prisoners rather than illegal farm workers should pick America's crops and denounced the use of Mexican flags by protesters Thursday in a vehement attack on legislation to liberalize U.S. immigration laws.

Comments

[scottscidmore.livejournal.com]

Don't have a link handy, but there's been recent activity in the US government regarding the use of prison labor. The DoD revised its regulations, not a big thing (in respect to a change, not in terms of right/wrong) as in the past they've used things as prison operated laundry services on so on. That's http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/r210_35.pdf

But there's been rumblings about more. There's the detention camps being built by KBR (Halliburton) - http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B62C8724D%2DAE8A%2D4B5C%2D94C7%2D70171315C0A0%7D&dist=SignInArchive¶m=archive&siteid=mktw&dateid=38741%2E5136277662%2D858254656

and
http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/18C307.txt

that "authorizes the attorney general to "establish, equip, and maintain camps upon sites selected by him" and "make available … the services of United States prisoners" to various government departments, including the Department of Defense."

But what I can't find was something I read about a half year ago. A somewhat scholarly analysis of a possible future of the US economy; the pressure from low wage countries, balance of trade, pressure from the religious Right for 'traditional single-wage-earner families' that go against the trend to have both parents working, bankruptcy changes, 'homeland security' an anti-immigrant feelings, and so on. The writer noted several trends in legislation regarding prison labor, suggestions that seemed to bring back debtors prison, various policy 'feelers', pushes for more and tougher drug laws (going back to the 1990s) and more recently anti-p0rn legislation.

They concluded that by 2015 the US would have +2 million non-violent criminals in prison, and that most would be engaged in prison labor jobs.

Even with that pessimistic outlook, the House conservatives are blowing smoke. Given the current figure of 11 million illegal immigrants, which would be expected to be higher in the future, there's a 5 to 1 shortfall of workers. However, 11 to 15 million is about the number of people in the US that consider themselves 'very liberal'.

[anysia.livejournal.com]

What also gets me about the skewed reporting is how the gov't slammed the California hispanics for waving the Mexican flag. Why is it if you are Irish, English, Italian you can wave said flags without such derogatory comments? But you become a national security threat(?) if you have the same sort of pride about coming from Mexico?

[scottscidmore.livejournal.com]

Well, I think that the Irish tend to go for the shamrocks and leprechauns, the flag almost looks like the Italian, but I've certainly seen Italian and Greek flags; also French flags in some photos from Louisiana and areas around the Great Lakes. National flags are also common with Scandinavian-American groups.

But all of those folks came here long ago, and at least they were Europeans. Who knows what those brown-skinned Mexicans will want us to do; probably build pyramids to sacrifice people on. And own donkeys and wear sombreros.

It's a bit amusing to read stuff written in the early 1800s, when the Irish were the threat, on up through the 1920s, as the object of fear switched to the "swarthy folk" of the Mediterranean and eastern Europe. Now they're assimilated and safe, so we let them wave their flags in our parades. OK, the Asians got to be a threat the too; as we know you just can't trust those yellow skinned slant-eyes, just consider Fu Manchu and the like.

I'm lucky here, the city is pretty easy going. In my neighborhood there are restaurants run by Afghans, Vietnamese, Indians, Chinese, Japanese (immigrants and their kids), and even (gasp) Mexicans; an Iraqi runs a mailbox/shipping store (interesting to talk with in the last half decade). While not Vancouver, there's a fair mix of east Asians; while the Japanese have mostly dispersed there's still Chinese (from all regions), Vietnamese, Korean, a few Cambodians and Lao and Thai, and a sprinkling of Burmese. More recently we've been getting folks from northern Africa. A number of Italians come here early in the 20th century, many ran farms in and around the city; while now scattered and well Americanized they still celebrate their heritage.