Recon Mission Completed, Sir!

Brazen Hussy and I have returned from our apartment-hunting trip in the Midwest. It was quite beautiful there, and the food improved. We also found a great new apartment that is bigger and cheaper than our old NYC shoebox. I'm actually becoming excited at the prospect of moving - which I didn't expect.

There are some bloggy pieces I want to highlight:

1) David Niewert provides further evidence of the comparison between the anti-black conservatism of the 1960's and the new anti-immigrant conservatism of the 2000's. I don't think that this strategy will reap the kind of long-term dividends that Nixon's garnered, for 2 reasons. First, the white nationalists most hostile to immigrants are already Republicans - in the 1960's Nixon was peeling off tons of Democrats, while Bush is really just consolidating Republicans. The net effect will be much less. And second, after 1968 African-Americans weren't a "growth" constituency, while Latinos most definitely are. Even if we stopped immigration entirely tomorrow, the domestic Latino birthrate and gradual political mobilization would lead to a major influx of new voters.

2) Apparently James Sensenbrenner has been making the comparison I did a few days ago that illegal workers are the same as slaves. Josh Marshall thinks this comparison is inappropriate, since African-Americans were deliberately enslaved and Latinos came here voluntarily. This is obviously true. But the definition of slavery isn't how someone becomes a slave but the relationship between master and slave. As far as I can tell, the absolute power that companies hold over illegals (and would hold over illegals) is virtually indistinguishable from that of plantation owners over their captive labor. Certainly the origin of that relationship is different - making the African enslavement more grossly unjust - but I think this is really just quibbling around the margins. Exploiting people is wrong, period.

3) Michelle Goldberg talking about christian nationalism and its similarities to fascism:

I am certainly not suggesting that theocratic dictatorship is imminent in America.

Why not? As long as they are yoked to big corporations and white nationalists, it seems perfectly plausible to me.

4) Nathan Newman thinks that voting by mail is a good idea. I think that he's wrong. Yes it's cheaper than traditional ballots. And for the sake of argument I'll concede that the possibilities for fraud might be corrected (although I don't see how). My real argument is that walking into a ballot box to vote is a public statement of one's participation in the democracy. I hate the idea that voting is so unimportant that we have to let people literally "mail it in." Yes we should make getting to the polls to vote easier - but let's not reduce voting to the status of ordering an IKEA catalogue.