Immigration -- both ends against the middle

Today's first post of the day concerns -- what else? -- immigration.

A Latina activist who appeared on The John DePetro Show this morning maintained that residents of Central and South America should be identified as "Americans" just as much as denizens of the United States. We're familiar with the argument that we all live in the Americas. Yet Insisting that a Mexican, Guatemalan, Venezuelan, etc. is an American just doesn't hold water in a mainstream discussion. In fact, it only erodes the credibility of those making this argument since it feeds into the oppositional view that Latinos are trying to retake part of the US.

A raspberry also, though, to Governor Carcieri. WRNI reported this morning that Amy Kempe, the governor's new press secretary, wouldn't make him available for comment on this week's immigration arrests -- part of a broader topic that he has highlighted near and far. Then, the station said, when reporter Megan Hall tried to interview Carcieri at a bank event outside of Providence, she was told to leave, because the sight of a reporter with a microphone might spread fears of a run on the bank.

You can't make this stuff up.