Leading Off
1. Farmers Branch doesn’t mind breaking the law in its attempt to get rid of immigrants who have broken the law.
2. NorthPark security cuffed and held some kids who shoplifted sunglasses until store security cameras proved, WHOOPS, heh heh, sorry about that, you did nothing wrong. One of the dads wants the head of security fired. I suggest having this security chief work the floor of Forever XXI for about two hours. That would be teenage revenge.
3. I became very excited when I saw the headline that American Airlines had joined Facebook. Then I realized the company had just added an app called Travel Bag to the site, scuttling my dream of SuperPoking the company into a state of supreme irritation.
27 Comments to “Leading Off”
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Item 1 … I could at least respect them if they dug in their heels, which would be expensive, stupid, and unnecessarily dramatic, but at least show integrity. Instead, they made clearly deliberate attempts to enforce the ordinance, and then backed down as soon as they were called on it. Cowards.
#2 - I feel for the teens, but they Security guy shouldn’t take the fall.
“This is not a mistaken-identity case. This is a case of erroneous information given to NorthPark security guards by an employee of a store, although NorthPark didn’t know it when the teens were detained,” according to the mall’s written statement.
The security officers were simply doing what they were trained to do. They were following policy.
The employee who gave the false/incorrect information should be taking the fall for this.
Sort of related to number one, but only because it’s regarding immigration, I found this in the course of doing prep work today:
http://ap.google.com/article/A.....wD8VK1T480
Regarding Bethany’s link - He shouldn’t have voluntarily shut down his crop due to the lack of illegal workers, the government should be cracking down on businesses like this in the first place. If he faces too much punishment for hiring illegal immigrants, he won’t. If he doesn’t, there will be less motivation to enter the country without proper paperwork.
Daniel:
Somoeone in the FB office made a clerical mistake. Simple as that. There’s no conspiracy or black helicopters here. Just someone sending out the wrong form.
“American Airlines has been SuperPokin’!!
American Airlines has thrown a fuel surcharge and a September 11 Security Fee you. Give the finger, suck it up … OR SuperPoke back!”
Eric:
What law did FB break, exactly?
FB,
Contempt of court is the crime. It may have been an honest error, as you assert. I’m not quite sure what to make of this paragraph:
Daniel:
That is typical attorney posturing. Notice you didn’t read anything closely related to this line of questioing: “The DMN asked FB’s attorney’s about Mr. Brewer’s assertion…” That answer might have led to a much less inflammatory article. Too bad.
FB:
Perhaps you should click on the link to the article. A couple graphs later, we find that indeed the DMN does quote the city’s law firm:
Michael Jung, an attorney with Strasburger & Price, acknowledged the problem with the application.
“Certainly it was not the intent of the city to enforce the ordinance in the face of Judge Lindsay’s injunction. We’re trying to figure out how it happened that that document got out there. Once we find that out, we’ll report to the court.”
Bethany-
I didn’t say the didn’t discuss the matter with the city’s attorneys, but notice the reporter did not attempt to clarify Mr. Brewer’s assertion. That’s the point. It’s a shrewd statement to say “Fairly typical of our dealings with them…they did not agree (with us)…” Seems like a statement like that shouldn’t go unchallenged or should be backed up with facts. Typical of the DMN.
Fair enough. I’ll admit I’m judging them anecdotally — from evidence provided, sworn as a juror, I’d no-bill them — but their willingness to pursue an area of law that is properly federal purview (however bunglingly the feds prosecute it themselves) makes me think aggressive zealots.
Kind of funny how Farmers Branch doesn’t mind so much if local business owners cut corners by hiring illegals. They just gotta get out by sundown.
RE: #1
I can’t believe it’s that far-fetched to think that a group of Mexican kids would watched in regards to stealing stuff. It’s the same reason Muslims are watched more closely at airports. If there wasn’t a history there, then there wouldn’t be a problem. Just ask anyone who’s tried to have a garage sale or had their home/car broken into in Dallas. There’s one predominant group that likes to steal…..
I’m sorry, I still don’t get it. The majority of people commenting on Farmers Branch look down on them because they want their residents to live there legally? It’s as if they will always be known as Nazi Germany, when all they want is for all their residents to jump through the same hoops when they rent. Really?
Bethany, what’s your call on Godwin’s Law here? I’d say it’s been invoked, even though I’d consider myself on Huh’s side in this argument.
Hmmm…I don’t know. Technically, he didn’t use it in the typical Godwinian manner, so it’s a tough call.
Normally it would be, “You’re a Nazi.” Here, he’s saying, “It’s not as if they’re Nazis.”
Hey SB - How are those DVDs you won?
For everyone else, I am begging for someone to convince me Farmers Branch is evil. I have had this discussion with many friends, but I still don’t get it.
Bethany - I think you’re right. We’ll let it slide this time, mainly because I agree with what Huh is trying to say. Though I still hate any and all references to Nazis and Hitler.
Huh - They’re still in the shrink wrap. They can be yours for the right price.
Godwin’s Law.
Anonymouse, if you’re invoking Godwin’s Law on SB, that is not an appropriate time to do so. Merely saying Nazis and Hitler is not bringing Godwin into play. You must use it in overly dramatic, fairly inappropriate hyperbole to prove a point, preferably in a debate or argument setting.
I know wayyyyy too much about this.
Not Godwin’s Law, just a garden-variety strawman argument. “Oh, so they’re Nazis, are they — is that what you say?”
No. That’s not what I say. That’s not what anybody here said. That’s not what anybody I’ve ever met has said, ever.
One question to Huh and SB (neither one of whom I disagree with virulently): Why doesn’t FB go after employers who hire illegal aliens?
Huh?
Daniel - Now we are getting into money.
If you go after businesses for hiring illegal immigrants (which I agree should be done), you make a large tax base mad and motivate them to move to another city. When that happens, property and sales tax revenue decline.
Now, if you go after illegal immigrants, you are only losing sales tax revenue. They cannot legally own a home, so the property tax is safe. And if the illegal immigrants continue to work in the city, they continue to spend a certain amount of their income there as well.
Well, that’s not exactly taking the bull by the horns, is it? That’s exactly why the FB policy is racist: Illegals can operate deep-fryers and clean toilets but must make themselves scarce when the sun goes down. (Sound familiar?) The people who give them a reason to be there in the first place — business owners — are untouchable. It’s cowardly!
What’s more, several pro-ordinance participants in the FB debate have made utter asses of themselves by complaining about Spanish-language storefronts, Mexican music, etc. These people could take debate lessons from Sandra Crenshaw. Yes, you heard me right.
There are numerous cogent arguments for sharply curtailing illegal immigration in this country. I’m still waiting to hear one of them come out of Tim O’Hare’s mouth.
Hey Daniel, I agree (mostly). But, if a city is tired of the federal government not doing their job, what do you expect? Are they all to wait until our elected leaders do something? We could be here forever.
Now, I am sure FB wants to crack down on business owners, but the city is not wealthy enough to get through a period of decreased revenue. If a federal law was passed and enforced that would crack down on business owners, then FB could aggressively go after them and not risk their owners moving to a more friendly city. Instead, their hands are tied.
But back to my point, what is wrong with asking every person in a given city to provide the same identification when renting an apartment? I have never been able to rent an apartment without providing two forms of identification. Does that mean I have been wronged in some way?
Huh - you’re making too much sense. The PC police will never let you get away with it.
“Farmers Branch doesn’t mind breaking the law in its attempt to get rid of immigrants who have broken the law.”
Once again Celeste starts the grassfire and then runs off to watch the fracas from his secure, little hiding place. It’s a good thing Celeste isn’t the judge, jury and executioner, since he has found FB guilty before giving it a chance to prove its innocence. It’s would be a travesty if Celeste ever claimed to be an objective journalist.
It is a dangerous proposition to formulate one’s conclusions off of the little tidbits the DMN provides. It’s even worse to base them on a single quote from the plaintiffs attorney. Daniel, thanks for stepping back from the same ledge. Unfortunately, after you backed away you proceeded to jump off with both feet. If you look a little closer you will see that your follow up charge of racism and cowardice is off target. It seems that the original rental ordinances focused on the businesses, (i.e., landlords) who were in a position to profit from renting to illegals. You would complain just as loudly if FB had gone further. So with you, FB is damned if it does and damned if it doesn’t. Also, I’ll bet that if you looked at the whole of Tim O’Hare’s comments, not just the one’s that the press dishes out, you would find those other “cogent arguments.” I don’t know if it fits you, but there is a saying that there is no one blinder than he who won’t see.
By the way can somebody show me where Celeste used similar logic to call down the illegals that challenged the FB ordinances ? I’d like to pat him on the back if it exists.
In case it has escaped notice, the last three court decisions have upheld non-federal government laws cracking down on illegal immigration. I can’t say what this means for FB, but it gives the anti-illegal immigrant supporters encouraging news.