As an ancient Pharaoh discovered slave labor ultimately comes at a high cost.

For everyone. 

By just about every measurable standard, the southern San Joaquin Valley is hardly a garden spot.

True. It's about three notches below a fetid cesspool.

Costa hoped a new administration would bring new energy to the problem.

Costa is too worried about re-election and not about solving the problem. The problems these people have are virtually all self-inflicted, but Costa is too busy kowtowing to them in order to get votes to ever tell them the painful truth. It's easier to blame others than to look the problem in the eye and deal with it honestly.

Got a point, johnburns. If problems got solved that would put a lot of bureaucrats and crusaders out of a job. Hard to believe, there are people who have an interest in keeping things screwed up. Imagine what would happen to the economy if everybody behaved and didn't commit crime. Our prisons would empty, baliffs and judges would go home early....thousands would be laid off, people who would normally be inmates would be looking for honest work---would be a heck of mess.

The best thing that could happen, sadly, is that the state cuts back drastically on irrigation water to this area. Fewer fields being farmed, less demand for illiterate school dropouts to work them and more people will emigrate from the area than will immigrate to the area.  With the smaller population, government will be better able to service those that need, and the air may even clear up a little. Of course, none of this will ever happen because it's racist.

Unfortunately, the "immigration" from this area is comprised mainly of high income, high tax paying  U.S. citizens with jobs who have finally given up on the complete lack of leadership here. Perhaps if people would back a politician with a spine, we could get something done. Sadly, though, we keep electing people who love Mexico more than the U.S.A.

So when people quote bad statictics about Kern County, I want them to stop blaming EVERYBODY that lives here and just blame the illegal immigrants.  Teen pregnancy?  Immigrants.  Illiteracy?  Immigrants.  ETC.  I wasn't a pregnant teenager, I'm not low-income, I haven't been illiterate since I was 5 years old and I've never run over a pedestrian.  Yet.

Ellis, most of the teenage Latinas that are knocked up in this valley are citizens. Their parents may be illegals, but the 13 and 14-year-old mothers-to-be aren't.

Illiteracy affects all races. Porterville has a population of approximately 50,000 residents, but only three of them can read. Lotsa toothless white folks in that rathole.

I drove past Delano on Friday. The sign said: Welcome to Delano - "Home of 10,000 Criminals."

Unfortunately, even if there are no farm jobs, those that are already here will stay here as they will have no money to go anyplace else. They will just sign up for more welfare, food stamps, medical and drain our educational system even more and/or boost our crime rate over the top as they not only have no job they also have no education and no interest in getting an education even though it would be totally free for them - including college.

Evidently the latest "statistics" here in Bakersfield, indicate that Hispanics are now the majority and the white folks are the "minority".  But don't count on any "perks" as the minority folks - you know why.

EllisBell, you should try it. It's a Bakersfield sporting activity...you get extra points for hitting a red blooded, flag waving, English speaking, U.S. born and raised citizen, because they're so rare. (I'm kidding people...I'm not advocating pedestrian hockey in Bakersfield. Chill out.)

When you say "stop blaming everybody", that is what I mean about electing politicians with a spine. THEY should be blaming illegal immigration and pointing to the fact that most of the crime, poverty, illiteracy, disease and general yuckiness (yes, yuckiness) in Kern County is being caused by illegal immigrants from south of the boarder. But no, lets shift the burden to everyone else with our cute politico speak so we don't anger our Mexican overlords. We don't want the illegal immigrants to get all upset and start waving their flags around, demanding "rights".

Well, I kinda feel sorry for Costa.  He has Delano--and Lamont, too?  Add them together and you also have the drunk driving-with no license-and an unregistered vehicle-with no insurance-and a "Michoacan" sticker in the back window capital of the world. 

Still trying to make my contribution to the teen pregnancy rate by getting a teenager pregnant, though.  It's more difficult than I thought.  ; )

Want to take bets on who will screw up this country first - Obama or the illegals???  Bush is not an option!!! He already did his part as has Palosie!(sp)!

WP, Shrub beat both of them to it.  and yes, Pelosi (not that hard to spell) helped him do it by not impeaching the idiot.

"Pelosi" "Palosie"..........................pota toe/potaato..................tomato/tomaato!!!&nb sp; It IS that hard to spell when spelling is ones worst subject! My mom made the mistake of telling me to spell words like they sound.......................BIG MISTAKE!!! missed every word on the test.

Well IMO, I think every politician has had a hand in screwing up this country. They tell the people one thing, get elected, then do as they damn well please and, basically there is nothing we can do about it.  Nixon is the only one who really took a fall and only because he got caught. Even B. Clinton got away with his sh**.

As an ancient Pharaoh discovered slave labor ultimately comes at a high cost.

Actually, the pyramid-builders at least seem to have been highly-valued workers who were well treated.  The exodus, along with most of the Old Testament, is a myth.

There's an upcoming PBS special outlining that mythology.  When it comes closer (I believe it's in September) I'll post the details.

Edit:  It's "The Bible's Buried Secrets," and it won't run until November 8--giving our resident relgious nuts (not you, WP) time to work themselves up into a froth.

You're right about Pelosi being a big disappointment.  She was elected in part to tell the spoiled child in the Oval Office "no" once in a while, and I think she's done it, what, twice?

Random, the reason Pelosi didn't start impeachment proceedings is because she knew the votes weren't there. Pelosi and Reid are no worse than Frist and Hastert, but certainly no better, either.

Did Maggie die?   I thought he'd be all over this like flies on watermelon.

All supposed "myths" aside, there is nothing mythological about the enormous price America is paying for slave labor in the past and all legitimate American citizens are being forced to pay for it in the present. It is making Kern County a cesspool of blight, violence, and desperation thanks to the open borders crowd and the elites insatiable thirst for slave labor.

I wouldn't call illegal immigrant labor "slave labor."  I thought you had to be held against your will to be a slave.  Also, slaves aren't paid, last I heard.

I'd have to agree with Ellis concerning the term "slave labor."

We've always had these problems... before the Mexicans it was the Chinese and Italians, before the Italians it was the Irish, before the Irish it was the Welsh and Scot's, etc.  It's a never-ending cycle.  Get rid of the Mexican illegals and next you'll see the Eastern Europeans coming in illegally (in fact, they're already all over the place).

Apparently Henry Thoreau missed that fine distinction when he said having a Southern overseer was bad but having a Northern one was worse.

Good point, Florida.  There's always been a segment of society that has lived below what we consider poverty, and it's usually the most recent immigrants.  Maybe Kern County is the equivalent of the Five Points area of New York in the 1800s, and one day there will be a movie about it, from the Immigrant's perspective.  It'll be called "Gangs of Lamont."

I ain't saying there aren't worse things than being a slave.  I can't think of any, though.

And Thoreau may be credited with a lot of things, but I don't remember anyone saying he was an expert on slavery.  Now, minutely detailing his grocery accounts and thinking people would find them interesting enough to read about them in a book, on THAT he's is, indeed, our finest example.

FSG wrote: ...before the Mexicans it was the Chinese and Italians, before the Italians it was the Irish, before the Irish it was the Welsh and Scot's, etc.

The difference between them and the Mexicans is that they made an attempt to assimilate into American society. The Mexican illegals want to turn us into Mexico. They flee a disgusting toilet bowl of a country, with endless corruption, sickness and poverty, but then expect us to be the same way. They don't bother to learn English, partly because of the aforementioned spineless politicians that pander to them by printing everything in Spanish. I will gladly pay 10 bucks for a head of lettuce if it would get them the hell out of my country.

Well of course EB, how silly of Thoreau to even mention slavery since he was so ignorant of it and did so little to address the issue.

Being an Abolitionist doesn't necessarily make you an expert on slavery anymore than being a Democrat makes you an expert on an exit strategy from Iraq or being a Republican makes you an expert on abortion.  It just means you sift through all the available information and throw out all the things that don't confirm your opinions.  Thoreau, if an expert on slavery, was an expert about how it sucked.

But YOU'RE the one that said Thoreau thought there were worse things.  I still can't think of any.

H8cloz:

I disagree that immigrants, legal or otherwise, are refusing to assimilate. Studies have shown that the vast majority of immigrants come here to work (they cannot legally get welfare for themselves, but can for their children if they're US born, by the by) and they do assimilate, even learning English.

I think noholdsbarred hasn't been to the east side of Bako lately. When everything is written in Spanish, that is not assimilating. I work in an industry where people get angry that I don't speak Spanish. Well hello that was not a requirement to get my degree. In America...An ENGLISH speaking nation!!!!!!  The immigrants,  legal  or other wise (mostly illegal these days) are NOT assimilating. Why would they when we have a government who caters to them.  Come to America, they'll give you food, housing, an education, and medical care free!!!!! It would be against you're rights if we didn't. I just want to know why illegal immigrant criminals have any rights?

noholdsbarred:

Firstly, thank you for your blog posts. Although I rarely agree with you, the conversations you create on this blog are stimulating and educational.

Secondly, I think that Mexican illegal immigrants are the crux of the problem. I do not believe that they are assimilating, but rather assembling an invasion. When I commute to my job in L.A. every morning at 4:30 am, I am in a pack of old beater cars full of Mexicans on their way to pick crops in the Southern Valley. Nearly all of them have Mexican flags plastered on their back windows, some with stickers from MEChA and Aztlan promoting Reconquista (take back California). That doesn't feel like assimilation to me. As for the children of these people becoming US citizens upon being born here, that needs to change ASAP. Again, it's all about electing politicians with enough spine to stop the anchor baby problem and force these people out of here. If they come here legally, with paperwork, shots and a health inspection of some kind, then I'll welcome them.

No doubt Lois knows all this even though attempting to be coy about "studies" and "assimilating." So why even bring up the subject since she believes Mexicans are assimilating so well? Our government led of Bush isn't going to do anything to secure our borders for the sake of slave labor benefiting the wealthy. And I doubt either McCain or Obama will do anything to secure our borders and keep illegal aliens out of America.

The fact that Spanish language radio and TV stations have been growing in numbers and ratings over the last 20 years turns that "they are assimilating" argument on its head.  More and more often on the local news and in the local paper people who are in the news or witness something must be interviewed through an interpreter.  Everybody is for immigration.   *CONTROLLED* immigration is what is needed.  

I have said it before on this issue and it bares repeating, Why should we spend any more on education if we are willing to accept an economy that relies so much on what is essentially a work force of illiterate school dropouts?  Something to think about the next time you're asked to vote on a school bond or tax increase for education.

drlin~ your last sentences..sitting down? ...we agree on.*edit* your comment at 2:00

Deja Vue!!!  Reading Ms. Henry's column, I had the strangest feeling I was sitting on my patio at my old home in Fresno reading the Fresno Bee.  Surreal!  A very entertaining point of view, in my opinion. I do wonder what numbers she crunched of her own that she couldn't dig up for original sources, but regardless of her dwelling on Mr. Costa's district, she ultimately is just like Mr. Costa in being dumbfounded as to what to do to improve the situation.  Fresno  people are the same.  When you have a large workforce come from another country where the the expectancy is lower, crossing an imaginary line called a national border is not going to undo the health and personal habits people acquire over a lifetime. The only thing you can do about that is go to Mexico and find ways to influence the culture and economy so Mexican citizens live longer, healthier lives.  That would then translate into lower mortality among migrant workers.  Good luck on influencing Mexico's culture and economy. Maybe if we asked them to become the 51st state it would help both countries.

There are those that believe we are moving toward a "North American Union" much like the Europeans have done over there. Some say it is being done at the highest levels of the US Government. Not being a conspiracy guy, I don't know if I believe it or not.

http://www.stopthenorthamer...

Interesting reading anyway. It kind of explains why Obamasan told us to start learning Spanish.

H8 - I know plenty of families personally who came from Mexican Immigrant families who have assimilated just fine. 

I'd also like to note that sporting one's flag of origin isn't isolated to Kern County. I grew up in Central Florida, where there are tons of Cubans and Puerto Ricans, many of who are U.S. citizens, and you'll see them sporting their flags too.  What's wrong with having some pride in one's heritage? Don't be so quick to judge.

We  first off need to control our borders. Second off, all law enforcement should look into immigration status when someone in pulled over, question, or arrested. We have an obligation to the tax pay citizens  of this country to provide nation withy safe borders. No one but the legal citizens of this country have the  right to live here.

getalife - Do you really think we can completely secure our borders?

We've already had our historically targetted immigrant group, or does no one remember the Dust Bowl? It's like deja vu all over again. At least the Dust Bowl immigrants spoke English, I suppose. Face it, an area based on agriculture is never going to be as rich as Silicon Valley. And while we have oil, the "trickle down" of oil wealth is very much a trickle.

All supposed "myths" aside, there is nothing mythological about the enormous price America is paying for slave labor in the past and all legitimate American citizens are being forced to pay for it in the present.

There's *EVERYTHING* mythological about such a statement as regards "illegal immigration."  Granted, the cost of *ACTUAL* slave labor to this nation is still being paid off.

Yes I do be live we can secure our borders. We have a very large powerful military, it's time we take care of our own with it , and stop policing the world.

getalife - even if we had our entire military policing our borders, we'd still see illegals coming accross.

FSG, the idea is to fence off the relatively flat areas with triple fences; these fences will have a road between one set for Border Patrol vehicles, and a ditch between the other set. The best strategy is to bottleneck the illegals into the most treacherous of terrain, where many will die before even making it to the border. Arrest any illegal that makes it across for being an accessory to alien smuggling, which would carry a minimum five year sentence in a tent city jail in the desert. Use chain gangs of illegals to pick crops, since that's what they wanted to do in the first place.

FSG- As getalife stated, we can lock down our borders airtight.  Proof of that was after 9/11 and everything stopped coming across...Illegals, drugs, EVERYTHING!  Then after everyone complained about it, they loosened up back to where it is, if not worse. 

Everybody- I found this link for everyone to check out to see what the cost of ILLEGAL immigration is.  Quite  interesting.  http://immigrationcounters....

Maybe California ought to pass a law similar to Oklahoma's' HB 1804. That'll fix a lot of problems.  http://okiron.org/HB1804Sum...

Also, if ILLEGALS are "assimilating", then please, for the love of criminy, EXPLAIN why I see signs along the freeway in between Bakersfield and Fresno advertising in SPANISH ONLY.  Not the usual bilingual ones...only in Spanish. Guess the assimilation is going great...for them!

noholdsbarred- Got a question that I have yet to find anyone with a great answer to, let's see how you answer it:  There are approximately 6-7 million people attempting to become AMERICAN citizens LEGALLY. They have properly applied, taken the tests, learned the language, and waited, in most cases, years to get in. NOW, the question is: WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THEM???

"Maybe California ought to pass a law similar to Oklahoma's' HB 1804. That'll fix a lot of problems."

We did. Prop 187. It was ruled "unconstitutional" by state supreme court. We tried...why bother voting. Interestingly, I may very well be moving to Oklahoma City soon.

 I did a little quickie research on 187 and found these two links...

http://en.wikisource.org/wi...)

http://www.ccir.net/REFEREN...

Seems Governor Gray Davis and Attorney General Dan Lundren had more to do with it.  I thought it was overturned by the state Supreme Court also.  But, that is what is always stated in media.  It ended up going to the Ninth Circuit of Appeals.  Figures...

Maybe it's about time to redo it? 

I'd move to Oklahoma also (I use to live in Lawton), but I got a thing about tornadoes and humidity, lol.

I wouldn't move to Oklahoma if I were you guys.  It was 100 degrees there today, with, of course, 99% humidity. 

I think Johnburnsucks's idea is a great one.  If we really and truly wanted to seal our border with Mexico (let's face it, nobody cares about Canada) we could do it.   

Ellis- Exactly why I wouldn't go.  I'll 120 degrees dry heat over that any millennium. Great giggle about Canada. Missed what JBS wrote because I was writing mine. And yes, we could seal our border shut. It's just a matter of us doing it.

JBS- Better yet, can't we just issue "Shoot To Kill" orders. After the first few, they'd think twice about it. (I'm not serious about that.) I would then bill or hold money from Mexico for the ILLEGAL problem. Our problem...they can pay for it one way or the other.   

Seriously though, we also need to amend the 14Th Amendment about citizenship.  I would change it to where BOTH YOUR MOTHER AND FATHER have to be LEGAL AMERICAN CITIZENS, and make it retroactive to what ever your status is.  I don't care if you have lived here 20 years, if you mother and father are (were) legal citizens at the time of your birth, YOU ARE NOT LEGAL.  That would take care of the anchor baby problem.

Making the "anchor baby" law retroactive probably won't happen, but I really don't know why the federal government never mentions changing the law at all, ever.  Find me a congressman willing to stick his neck out and propose any changes, and I'll find you two more in heavily-hispanic districts who will vote against it.  I'd say it's too late to change anything now.  Should've been done twenty years ago when it still had a chance of passing.  Still, it's worth discussing, anyway.