What Diversity?; Shattering Long Standing Myths About Our Borders; Where's the Damn Budget?; 55% of Americans Oppose Tax Hikes;

According to a new poll, US popularity in the Middle East is at an all-time low. How can it be lower than before when it was, "Death to America?"--Leno

• I'm about to write something now that might offend some folks. But, know this, 1) I don't give a rat's ass, and 2) most people know what I'm about to write is absolutely true. The Philadelphia Inquirer has a piece today on "Celebrating Philly's Diversity." It's about this weekend's Global Fusion Festival put on by the Multicultural Affairs Congress (don't you love these titles that mean absolutely nothing). I happen to believe in genuine diversity--meaning including everyone-- not the fake, phony and discriminating kind. The problem with today's diversity advocates is that they have a tendency to exclude conservatives and especially white males (Of course, white female conservatives don't count either. They're called every name in the book. Just look at the sexism regularly aimed at Palin and Bachmann--mostly from the political side of the isle that prides itself on being so "tolerant" of others).  I'm looking at the full-page spread promoting this alleged diversity festival, and of 10 photos of people, not one includes a white face. So what are the main festivals slated for this summer thu October?  In July, the Hispanic Festival. In August, the India and Caribbean Festival. In September, the Mexican Independence Day Festival. In October, the Southeast Asia Dragon Boat Festival. And no, they didn't even have fireworks at Penn's Landing this year on July 4th.  Hey, but they did have a Super Scooper Ice Cream Festival in celebration of our nation's birthday.
• I suspect the next group I might offend are conservatives. I got some flack not to long ago for supporting the "Dream Act."  Now, I'm going to shatter some myths about our southern borders. For years, we've been hearing--mostly from the right side of the political isle--that we've been doing nothing about illegals crossing our borders. We've also been hearing about the out-of-control crime on those same borders. The facts are these crime rates having been steadily falling.  Murder rates and robbery rates within 50 miles of the Mexico border were lower in every year between 1998 to 2009. Violent crime rates were on average lower within 30-50 and 100 miles of the border. Regarding illegal entry, those numbers have been falling since 2000 largely due to better enforcement and the border fence. In fact, Pres. Bush nearly tripled the number of Border Patrol Agents who have made the border much better guarded especially south of San Diego. The problem is we often hear anecdotal stories that are not based on facts. Having said all of this, we certainly still have a problem with too many illegal immigrants entering our country (many overstay their visas too). However, the facts do not always match the heated rhetoric we often hear on conservative talk radio (USA Today based on data from the FBI, the U.S. Census and the National Crime Victimization Survey).
• Why stop offending people now. Let's look at our president and the worthless Congress. Did you know since the president's $3.7 trillion budget--with $9.5 trillion in deficits over the next 10 years--he presented last May and was voted down unanimously, even by every Republican and Democrat in the Senate--he's yet to present a new budget? Did you know in 2010, House Dems failed to pass a budget. It was the Congress' first such failure in 36 years?
• As one observer remarked, "Do you think people who voted for 'hope and change' are happy to learn that this means they have to eat their peas...? And another wrote, "Not since Marie Antoinette told them to 'eat cake' and the emperor strutted his 'new cloths' has a leader been so out of touch."
• The UK Guardian is reporting Hillary Clinton (where's she been hiding anyway?) is circumnavigating " a sphere of diminishing U.S. influence" around the globe.
• Rasmussen Polling is reporting 55% of Americans oppose any tax hikes in dealing with this debt ceiling issue.
• But even with all of this bad news, there is a bit of good news. The Onion reported on the Pope and Gay Marriage. The headline, "Pope Supports Gay Marriage After Meeting Charming Gay Couple From Connecticut." The photo shows the Pope in one frame, and two very handsome young men in the other. You can access the news video report on the Onion site. It's great--and very touching.