Dallas Morning News: Wow, people are mad about our illegal immigrants-as-Texan-of-the-year editorial
Over the weekend, editorial page editor Keven Willey penned an Ask The Editor column about the paper’s illegal aliens-as-Texas-of-the-year declaration. In Willey’s follow-up, we learn that the vast majority of reader responses were negative. Guess what she found out? Newsflash: People care about illegal immigration!
A radio host asked me at the top of his show whether it was true that I’d asked to be put into a witness protection program.
He was joking – and so was I when I retorted something along the lines of, “Not yet, but that might be a good idea” – but his comment pretty well captured the intensity of the reaction we’ve received since last weekend, when we designated the illegal immigrant as The Dallas Morning News 2007 Texan of the Year.
Yes, it’s true, we actually did that. We devoted some 3,000 words in last Sunday’s Points section to explaining the “why” behind this most un-PC of choices. And, yes, we expected a great deal of pushback against the idea.
Still, the intensity of that pushback did surprise us. Now that a week has gone by, it seems like good time to reflect a bit on what happened and why.
Frankly, the volume of reaction is evidence a good choice. People care about this.
Guess what else Willey discovered? If you intentionally try to provoke people, some of them might get–prepare yourself–mad.
It was never our intent to anger readers – at least not gratuitously. Our goal was to provoke, yes, but in a way designed to elevate the issue of illegal immigration to the prominence it deserves and to increase the pressure on Congress to enact meaningful reforms to a system we called “a joke” in our essay.
Guess what else? If you don’t state what your editorial positions are on immigration policy, people might not know where you are coming from. I suggested in my blog post on the DMN’s editorial that the paper should have spelled out its specific policy recommendations. Willey offered a few in her column:
In hindsight, I wish we’d thought to include a summary box noting for readers the editorial board’s position on illegal immigration. This might have put the purpose of the TOY essay last week in better context and clarified that while this designation isn’t meant as a condemnation or a glorification of the illegal immigrant (for all the reasons already explained) we do, as an editorial board, have a strong position on illegal immigration.
In fact, we’ve editorialized on this topic nearly two dozen times in the past year (not counting the number of news stories and op-ed columns published by this newspaper). In those editorials, we’ve made clear that:
• The existing immigration system is a joke.
• It is unconscionable that Congress has refused to reform the system.
• The Department of Homeland Security should get on with it and “finish the rest of the barrier” along the border, noting as recently as last month that this is clearly “the will of the people.”
• It’s not as simple as just “deport them all” or “ignore it and the problem will go away.” We’ve called for comprehensive immigration reform, which includes tighter border security and workplace enforcement, as well as a guest worker program to create a system of documentation and a pathway to regularization that includes touchback provisions and doesn’t put those who have broken the law ahead of those who came here legally.
• We support the city of Irving’s efforts to partner with the feds to deport those in city jails found to be here illegally.
The bottom line is that none of us should settle for snappy sound bites from politicians pledging gratuitously to “crack down” on illegal immigrants. We must push elected officials to move beyond the rhetorical appetizer and dig into the meat and potatoes.
“We must push elected officials to move beyond the rhetorical appetizer and dig into the meat and potatoes.We must push elected officials to move beyond the rhetorical appetizer and dig into the meat and potatoes.” This smacks of “Do As I Say” finger-wagging. The DMN’s Texan of the Year editorial, unfortunately, was exactly the kind of rhetorical appetizer the paper professes to want to move beyond.
***
Noel Sheppard dissects the newspaper’s rationale for naming illegal residents “Texans.”
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I am a native Texan. The Dallas Morning News does NOT speak for me!
They were wrong in naming the illegal alien as Texan of the Year!
There are many much more deserving Texans who have accomplished remarkable things for Texas who should have received that honor.
As it stands, their Texan of the Year is a slap in the face of all honest law abiding Texans. It is not an honor this year.
What say you, John McCain?
They screwed up and now are back peddling, wonder how many Real Texans cancelled the rag.
I’m forever amazed at just how out-of-touch reporters are. Surely they can clearly see and hear that Americans don’t like illegals, and yet they think those same Americans will understand when they want to honor illegals.
Do they have their heads shoved up their nether regions all the way up to their ankles?
A clear case of MSM FIMD (foot in mouth disease)
“Dallas Morning News” is truly a sign that Daily Newspapers are becoming the stinking backwater of Media. Out of touch and dying fast it is little wonder that no one reads them much anymore.
The statement “It was never our intent to anger readers” is clearly a sign that they do not know their readership. They would have faired better with the public if they had gone out into the street and started randomly shooting at people. At least that could have been explained away as “high spirited enthusiasm” that can occur with any Texan.
It’s pretty simple, actually. The DMN–and its mainstream ilk–are telling you how uncool you are for thinking that the word “illegal” actually means something. Like the pols who have allowed this problem to reach crisis state, they have no idea how deeply real Americans feel about this issue.
Did he really describe that pick as “the most un-PC of choices”?
Really?
Honestly, the only way I can think of that it could be -more- PC would be if they’d named “Undocumented Texans” as Texan of the Year. As it is, doesn’t he grasp the basic point that illegal immigrants are by definition not Texan or American?
Qwinn
“We’ve called for comprehensive immigration reform, which includes tighter border security and workplace enforcement, as well as a guest worker program to create a system of documentation and a pathway to regularization that includes touchback provisions and doesn’t put those who have broken the law ahead of those who came here legally”.
This is exactly what the people were so upset with last summer.How about we enforce our current laws.If I hear comprehensive immigration reform one more time I’m going to hurl.
Not if you enforce the laws and border security.
Enforce the existing laws before making new ones.
If you build it, it will keep alot of illegals out. Remember, we’re not trying to keep folks in, as in a Berlin type of wall, we want to keep them out.
If the first few items above had been doen, you wouldn’t have to worry about deporting them all. There wouldn’t be that many to deport.
As far as a guest worker program:
have them stand in line in their country to get a visa and then get in line in this country to get a green card.
if they don’t get a green card, they leave when the visa expires. If they don’t leave, they shouldn’t get mad when we catch them and deport them.
if a child is born here and the parents aren’t here legally, the child isn’t a citizen. No more anchor babies.
I think I’ve rambled enough.
Those are my thoughts.
Would it not be to much to ask for those same people who get that paper to drop it….the only thing these idiots and politicians understand is money…or the lack there of for ignoring the will of the people.
I couldn’t have been happier that all of those illegals last year had their marches….it really pissed off the electorate…and brought the majority of Americans together on a common issue.
No one likes having something thrown in their faces and they took a chance and they will be paying for it….town to town…state to state.
This shows how far we have slid down the liberal slippery slope.The fact that a Texan paper would have the cajones to make an illegal Hombre del Ano.
As a Texan (naturalized), I apologize for the Dallas Morning News.
… and (hurricane)Sheila Jackson Lee.
“Yes, it’s true, we actually did that. We devoted some 3,000 words in last Sunday’s Points section to explaining the “why” behind this most un-PC of choices. And, yes, we expected a great deal of pushback against the idea.”
WRONG!
Theirs was the MOST PC of choices.
That’s the problem.
And, if you believe they expected a great deal of pushback, I have a bridge to sell you in NYC.
“It was never our intent to anger readers – at least not gratuitously. Our goal was to provoke, yes, but in a way designed to elevate the issue of illegal immigration to the prominence it deserves and to increase the pressure on Congress to enact meaningful reforms to a system we called “a joke” in our essay.”
Right.
Of COURSE it was their intent to gratuitously anger readers.
“…in better context…”
“Context” - now, there’s a code word.
“Meaningful” reform…there’s another clue.
Such an obvious example of damage control and spinning…the last 40 or so years have been one long annoyance of gratuitous violence, gratuitous sex, gratuitous shocking of readers/viewers/listeners, “pushing the envelope” (God, I hate that expression),
provoking discussion, “raising awareness”, “educating”, blah, blah, blah,….
“… we do, as an editorial board, have a strong position on illegal immigration.”
“• The existing immigration system is a joke.
• It is unconscionable that Congress has refused to reform the system.”
But, open-borders advocates may have a strong position, may think that the current system is a joke, and may think that it is unconsionable…etc.
“We’ve called for comprehensive immigration reform,….”
COMPREHENSIVE…now, there’s an even bigger clue.
“…and dig into the meat and potatoes.”
More meaningless words.
“• The Department of Homeland Security should get on with it and “finish the rest of the barrier” along the border, noting as recently as last month that this is clearly “the will of the people.”
How can this be done when Congress gutted this project by defunding it?
“• We support the city of Irving’s efforts to partner with the feds to deport those in city jails found to be here illegally.”
When compared to the enormity of the illegal alien invasion, this is essentially nothing more than lip service - a teaspoon to help you bail the water out of your flooded house.
So many in the media must think that we are hopelessly stupid.
The irrelevant DMN can explain this until they finally clse the doors and it will still smell like horse droppings - the man is an invader, thats the proper name for people who sneak into another country, ignore laws and steal services.
Media hubris at it’s finest. DMN sucks.
If they didn’t expect for everyone to be so anti - illegal immigration, just what the hell did they expect?
People throw around the American people this, the American people that but no one ever asks the American people what they want. They try to ascertain this information with polls and surveys which are designed to give them their desired response. However, it’s rather simple, just ask me, I’ll tell you how I feel about illegals.
It really should not have been a mystery to
WilleyWiley Coyote. Shamnesty crashed and burned. New Yorkers shot down the licenses for illegals. I mean c’mon you don’t even have to look that hard to gain some idea of how we feel. The American people want the borders secured and the laws enforced. Yes. It’s that simple.Image: Newly hired Editor Bear1909 goes into work this morning and tosses the desk of Keeven Welley out the window with him behind it.
Now then, let’s work on retracting this mess where the paper makes criminals “Texans of the Year” en masse, shall we?
Which schools of journalism spawn a mackerel like this?
And then they try to come and live on dry land.
Ew.
I was down in Mexi-Po over the holidays. Seems there is a school that trains people in “Tourismo” where one can learn the basics of hotel-motel “management” and one can then get a job at the big Gringo resorts down there.
In chatting up the mini-tram drivers that carted us around the sprawling shangri-la we were staying at, they were telling me that the career strategy is to practice their english there so they can come here and work for better pay, send money home, and ultimately- get this- get Medicaid for their parents.
Why would anybody vote for Juan McCain? I think his time in the Hilton did something to his noggin. He’s not right in the ol’ bean.
And for that matter anybody who thinks amnesty and “reform” is a solution.
Deport them all, build a fence, and shoot to kill.
Problem solved. Oh, almost forgot, and if one gets caught sneaking in- use the old Roman strategy for punishment of serious crimes: get a big burlap sack and put our uninvited guest inside of it with rattle snake and a large rat; tie it tightly and drop it into a river or farm pond; if the uninvited guest survives, c’est la vie; if not- same.
Either way, until citizenship in our Great Nation is elevated to the heights to where it belongs, we will have pigs putting on lipstick in order to pass.
No gracias.
Keeven is history.
Image: Keeven Welley sitting in a cafe in downtown Dallawag swargling down a soy latte desperately attempting to justify his existence at “the paper”.
“I know! Let’s make criminals “Texans of the Year!” So he calls his chunky girl friend in accounting and she fawns over his every word. “Oh, Keeven. You make me so happy. Go for it! Live your dream by letting all those criminals and pedophiles live theirs!”
Am I close?
They are constantly trying to sell us a subscription. I won’t pay for something I won’t even paper train a puppy with. There are times when they throw a complementary copy of their paper onto our drive way…that’s right a drive by SMILE!
laree press charges against them for littering on you’re driveway…. lol
Bear #19, hilarious!
Dont mess with Texas….
Here ya go laree…
TWC 7.145 Intentional or knowing unauthorized discharge $1,000 to $100,000 + 1 year
If it walks like a CYA, it talks like a CYA, it smells like a CYA…
Quack!
These are the products of J-Schools run by the products of the 60’s anti-war(s) love feast. They don’t research or care what the average persons concerns are and cannot fathom why someone would be opposed to paying the way for non-Americans to be in our great state. Coming in the state from the north = coming in the state from the south. We should have stopped them at the Red River years ago….
Granite, you hit the nail right on the head. PC, It’s all about PC and they haven’t a clue. In fact they flipped the meaning of PC 180 degrees. I’m so sick of PC this and PC that. Maybe she thinks PC means PEOPLES CHOICE?
Is the apparent resurgence of John McCain saying maybe there isn’t as much anger about illegal immigration as we thought, even among Republicans?
Mr. Shamnesty rising from the ashes?
I hope not.
The MSM in this instance is a perfect case of the tail wagging the dog! The news organizations are supposed to reflect opinion not try to determine it. When that happens, it is called propaganda! The same can be said for our worthless politicians!
The Texans MUST show this newspaper the cost of irresponsibility. By in large, the MSN has supported illegal immigration all along. This is but one example.
I use this all the time. In marketing circles it is well known that the best way to get attention is to make people mad.
But what these people don’t get is that it isn’t about the illegals themselves. People don’t ‘hate’ illegals. They see overcrowded schools, overworked police, overcrowded jails, overcrowded hospitals, tax dollars being spent on people who don’t pay taxes and people know that we just can’t keep paying entitlement programs for everyone who happens to come here.
We have a legal immigration system in place because our government has a lot of free hand outs that we can’t afford to give to the whole world. We can’t afford the illegals to come here to get the free hand outs. They know that if they get here, they’ll get free health care, free school, free police protection, even get paid from welfare if they have a kid here.
It is a problem that has nothing to do with the people and everything to do with the entitlement give-aways that our government forces us to pay for them. It is a tragedy that Washington doesn’t care.
Our immigration system has been corrupted so badly that really smart dedicated people are needed to make it function like it should.
The real issue is that the people who understand the US immigrations system are those who have gladly corrupted it in the first place.
What galls me….and I’ve lived in Houston for nearly 40 yrs (currently living in Congressho Sheila’s district) is the fact that one ought to be able to presume a modicum of intelligence exists within the confines of the editorial board room of the Dallas Morning News….so what do they do?…the pick non-Texans as ‘Texan of the Year’…who’s next for this now dubious distinction?….Hugo Chavez?….Vladimir Putin?…Rodham?…Cindy Sheehan?…they seem hell-bent on their own demise…an outcome fondly to be anticipated
Border Patrol Agents actively working to control the border are the true Texans of the Year.
What a load of Texas BullCrap. Where have they been? The issue has been elevated for months and the people have spoken. Can you not hear?
Kevan is a female.
Maybe they should have named federal prosecuter John Sutton as Texan of the year.
What do you think?
After the blatant pro-criminal stance the DMN takes on illegal immigration, I wouldn’t let my bird poop on the paper - or the editors!
The sooner the editorial board moves to Venezuela the better. I’m sure Hugo will welcome them with open arms - and cells.
One quick note - did they miss the fact that the phones in DC were shut down because this issue MEANS something to good, free, honest, REAL TEXANS?
I think the Dallas Morning News was just trying to make sure the Houston Chronicle didn’t out-liberal it. We are not well served by our choices of newsprint down here.
honestly, there’s no excuse these people can offer. either 1) they’re lacking the ability to convey a concise thought, which means they’re in the wrong profession (we should have provided ‘context’ - the new phrase for “let me rephrase this to your liking”), or 2) they aren’t gutsy enough to stand by their position (because they’re be nature followers).
whatever it is, i’m sick of journalist having to rewrite pieces because we “misinterpret” (as opposed to them misstating) them.
TO ALL TEXANS
They could have gone to the party,and given our senators the award for guttting the fence. They could run LaRatsa. Chamber of Commerce and assorted bigwigs who are making money by dumping these costs on average americans. They could also publish the drug Money being stuffed into KBHutch, gov.campaign. Include a want add section for the closed clinics and hospitals. Yeh, I had Sheilla as my rep. I am waiting for her to plant a flag on Mars!
Looks like the people know the real cost of being overrun by economic illegals. These people don’t want to be Americans, they want money. I know of three illegals who have been in the USA for a few years. All have gone back to Mexico with abag of cash and bought a house there.
It’s the middle class that is losing the race, the illegals take wages that employers know Ameircans won’t. Simple as that.
Did anyone else notice that Willey admitted (albeit indirectly) that The Dallas Morning News chooses its news stories based on its editorial positions?
“B-b–b-but, invading foreign leeches are people, tooooo.”
–Jim Bowie (little known quote)
Short to ground. Too bad there isn’t enough lightning to go around. Or when you need it, where you need it.
Less obscurely: These phrases indicate both a cluelessness about real reporting and an awareness of the media’s power of provocation. Neither make this person right.
It never ceases to amaze me how utterly stupid and out of touch with reality MSM journalists really are. Glad they got alot of response…hope they are listening.
Jim Bowie was married to a Mexican ( or, I should say a Texican). I knew it
was just a matter of time before the DMN started stuttering and stammering
and backpedaling while trying to justify their oh so stupid choice of Texan of
the Year. So many people in Dallas consider themselves to be the elite of TX.
None of the rest of us are as cosmopolitan, as erudite, etc as they are, so the
rest of us need to sit down and shut up. This was pandering,,pure and simple. I don’t know to whom or why, but they are pandering. Perhaps, they
believe that these same illegals that cannot speak English, can miraculously,
read English, and will subscribe to their going the way of the dinosaur,
newspaper. But, it could be that they are just ignorant (as usual) liberals
that think we all subscribe to their brand of lunacy. It’s still Remember the
Alamo, Never Forget Goliad and Thank God for Gen’l Sam and the Plain of
Saint Hyacinth (San Jacinto)….(I’ll think in English when I can, thank you).
My papillon decided to get in my lap and can’t do two things at once, apparently. Last sentence was supposed to end with, “In our home.”
Oh, Katieanne…there you sit with your rose colored glasses on. Of course they
won’t listen. We, the great unwashed must be taught. We must be
enlightened. It’s their place to show us the errors in our thinking. That was
more than likely the real reason they did what they did. We would read that
the great DMN consider the illegal alien so important to our state that “he”
MUST be T of the Y.
By codifying the corruption of pro-illegal crooks like Bush, McCain, Kennedy, and Durbin.
The pro-illegals seem to be winning the semantic battle, somehow managing to have their corruption publicly described as “reform,” and ever more palatable euphemisms used for “illegal aliens,” such as “new Americans” here in Mexinois.
Politicians simply cannot believe that what THEY think is not what we think.
I could not believe that the NYT actually published a piece saying that the
majority of American citizens approved of the amount of illegals in this
country and wanted amnesty. Then, in less that a day, Pelosi said pretty
much the same thing. Either they are brain dead, or they believe their own
lies and are too ignorant to realize they are lying. I just cannot figure out
how the liberals can be so totally clueless unless it is a prerequisite for
being a liberal.
I’m always surprised that people are surprised at the spew coming from the MSM - newspers et.al. Most of the journalists come from universities where liberal spew by teachers and professors is the norm.
There are a few who are not-like the professor at one of the universites in Michigan. He gave a very pro U.S. speech - when I find it I’ll relay it.
Neal Boortz (a Texan and an AGGIE) recently gave a commencemt address that was so truthful that it laid the profeesors and administration low.
In other words - keep your young out of the university programs that are liberal arts based-direct them to business-computer-engineering. (-:
Folks are sick of communism. Free health care, jail costs, and anchor babies, are not really free. Tax payers have to cough up the dough for that crap.
The real problem is a clash between Nationalists, and Globalists.
commencement
Just another part of the MSM.The people from whom most Americans get their news.It is no wonder most of America is clueless about National and Foreign affairs.The media doesn’t even know what to report or how to report it.To say that the paper’s editorial staff didn’t expect this kind of response suggests to me that they are completely out of touch with reality,or it was a ploy to provoke some headlines of their own-to become the news instead of reporting it.In either case the DMN ought to(rightly) lose a lot of readership,and the MSM still haven’t figured out whythe public has turned away from them and to the bloggers for news.Of course they could ask Helen Thomas,she knows/sarc/
Oh wow a chance to offer a second opinion of the DMN Texan of the year selection: move your business to Houston ( I could have said your ugly but did not want to upset your mothers). Aside from that, once you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. And as that great Texan Ron White says you can fix stupid.
“We can’t deport them all”; same tired old argument. States/counties refuse to jail these criminals; it’s a Federal problem. Well, following that stupid logic, I should be able to rob a bank and kidnap someone across state lines, and walk free down the streets. Why not? It’s a Federal problem! How about amnesty for criminals and unsolved crimes? “We can’t jail them all!” It shows the flaws in their reasoning.
It is great to see bear1909 on the warpath again. All I see is major CYA operation by clueless idiots acting surprised for purposely pissing off their customers. It will be fun to watch this and the rest of the printed media go down the drain. Plus it would greatly reduce our carbon foot print by saving so many trees (almost forgot it’s for the children).
“They” can’t see the flaws in their reasoning (oxymoron?) anymore than they
can admit that their way of thinking is so out of line with the “real America.”
The DMN more than likely thought that they were parroting what Texans were
actually thinking. Or, they thought that by doing what they did, they could
bring the rest of us “into line” with the rest of the nation. I’ve got to stop trying to figure out what they meant. My brain is starting to hurt.
You’re right…oxymoron. Just took 2 excedrin. Want a couple?
• The existing
immigration systemDMN editorial board is a joke.• It is unconscionable that
Congressthe DMN management has refused to reform thesystemeditorial board.Just announced: Keven Willey must give up her prime parking space to the new Dallas Morning News Employee of the Year: Hugo Chavez.
Nobody wants a parking space with a bulls eye painted on it.
#23 AJ,
I think you might have found a loop hole. If you think about it, The Dallas Morning News is literally forcing their opinions on the American Public. There is absolutely nothing compassionate about human smuggling-trafficking, that is the beginning and the end of it. I won’t pretend the DMN’S makes any sense on the subject.
TXRose
That’s what I’m talkin about SMILE
The DMN is a horrible newspaper. The Ft. Worth Star Telegram is 100 times better (Ft. Worth is next door to us in Dallas for all of you in other states). I buy the Telegram on some Sundays for coupons and the TV guide, but I cancelled my DMN subscription for this type of “progressive” hidden-but-not-hidden liberal crap during the “viva La Raza” rallies a while back.
Un-PC of choices? Does this dingbat know what PC means? They made the most perfectly PC of choices.
Un-PC would have been to stick up for actual Americans. Doing that gets you called “nativist” by the DMN and the rest of the MSM.