Myths about Immigration

Read Doris Meissner’s column about immigration. It’s important.
by Charlie Leck

This morning’s local paper carried a column on the opinion pages about the myths of immigration, originally written by Doris Meissner for the Washington Post. [5 Myths about Immigration]

I won’t regurgitate the entire thesis here, but I think it is a really important statement for you to read by someone who understands the situation in great depth. Meissner, now a senior fellow at Migration Policy Institute, served as commissioner of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service for seven years up to 2000.

Read what she has to say about:

1. Immigrants taking jobs from American workers.
2. Immigration being at an all time high and about most immigrants coming here illegally.
3. Today’s immigrants not integrating into society as they did in the past.
4. Cracking down on illegal border crossings making us safer.
5. Passing immigration reform in an election year.

The NY Times also carried a tough column by Ross Douthat calling for the federal government to do its job in this era of immigration problems. It’s a good contrasting column to read after going through Doris Meissner’s thoughts.

More Photos by Demand

Because so many asked, I present more of my photographic portfolio!

by Charlie Leck

More than a dozen emails came in from regular readers and friends who occasionally visit my blog, asking me to post more of my portfolio of photographs. So, I shall -- with the promise that this shall be the final time I do this. I am trying to develop a web site that will allow me to post my entire portfolio and to offer them as public domain photographs that others may use for purposes not too commercial. I'll let readers know if I ever get that web site up and running.

One friend responded to the gallery by asking: "Don't you find that focusing on something makes you a better observer?" I hadn't thought about that. Would it sound like boasting if I said yes? It probably does, but I think it is a point well made.

Another friend asked what my photographic specialty is. "My," I thought, "I don't know. I haven't the slightest idea."

I love to photograph people, but only if I can get really candid shots when they have no suspicion they are being photographed, like "Cut Rock Road." Among the photographs presented here, my favorites are "Long Love" and "Professor Knecht" and "Bud Chapman" and "Happy Face in the Crowd."

I take enormous pleasure in getting a shot like "Lower Sioux Agency."

I take my photographs digitally these days (though a few in my portfolio are old, film shots). For those of you who understand, I shoot each digital photograph in two formats -- both JPEG and Camera Raw (or DNG). Most often I end up adjusting the Camera Raw shots and using those as my finished product. It is a thrill to open a photograph like "Lower Sioux Agency" and feel such satisfaction in the way that it was captured.

There are enormous numbers of resources on-line that teach digital photography. I've learned so much in the last five years and I work a little at learning more each and every day. One of my all-time favorite photography books is Within the Frame by David duChemin, about which I have written here before. One of duChemin's insightful comments in the book is: "Great photography happens where craft and vision meet." Such a book can be helpful when we want to move beyond the "Program" or "Auto" mode on our camera and experiment with shutter speeds and exposure settings.

Photography doesn't consume me. I have too many other hobbies to which I devote myself, but I like to dabble and improve with each photographic shoot I do. I could never stand the pressure of doing a professional shoot as my friend and reader, Sam Stern, does. I've made too many mistakes during one of my very amateur and personal shoots and wouldn't want to disappoint anyone by making serious mistakes at their wedding or special event.

I won't babble on further; rather, I'll let your eyes be the judge of the worth of these presentations.

Thanks so much for your very generous responses to my photographs and thanks for asking to see more.

END

Afghanistan’s Wicked Web

The conundrum that is Afghanistan
by Charlie Leck

Why we went to Afghanistan
Remember? We went to Afghanistan to hunt down terrorists and, specifically, Osama bin Laden. Somehow, in the process, we got mired in a much wider and unwanted involvement. Perhaps there are people to blame, but it is a waste of effort and purpose to do so. We need, instead, to come to grips with a better understanding of the depth and futility of our problems there.

The New Mission in Afghanistan
Now we are engaged in a complex fight against the Taliban all across Afghanistan. Do not make the mistake of confusing this enemy with the original one, the Al Qaeda and its leader, Osama bin Laden. They are completely different forces. It was the Taliban that removed the Soviet Union from Afghanistan in the 80s and early 90s. Granted, bin Laden was responsible for bringing large amounts of financial and weapons resources into the nation and handing both off to the Taliban forces.

The Taliban militia rules vast areas in Afghanistan, even after relentless attempts by American forces to weaken its influence. Somehow they continue to refresh their treasury and weapons resources (“somehow” being the operative and important word here). American intelligence sources feel that bin Laden no longer is capable of providing the support he once did; and, as a matter of fact, his current support of the Taliban is extremely limited.

So, our operative word becomes crucial in figuring out how to solve the problem of the chaos that the Taliban creates in Afghanistan. From where do the resources for the survival of the Taliban come? I’m sure our intelligence service knows the precise answer to that question. I can only assume that unveiling the mystery to us would present serious political problems and disrupt the delicate goals of our current international relations policy.

Yet, everyone who travels to Afghanistan, whether it is the news media or scholars or military intelligence officers, seems to agree that persons and organizations in Pakistan continue to supply the largest percentage of that financial and military assistance.

Who are these people and organizations? Why do they do it? What is their intense interest in keeping Afghanistan destabilized?

Begin by not making the mistake of ideologically connecting the sources of money and weapons with the Taliban. The sources are only using the Taliban to wreak havoc in that undeveloped and ungoverned nation. These sources, it would logically seem, must be extremely wealthy or must have access to vast wealth in order to continue to supply the needs of the Taliban.

So that, logically, leads us to the next question: If not from a wealthy nation or group of nations, from where does so much money come?

My conspiratorial mind leaps toward an answer to the question and comes up with the single syllable but complex word, drugs! Immense amount of product to manufacture illegal drugs comes out of Afghanistan.

If that proposition is wildly off its mark, what else could it be? Who else, or what else, would continue and could continue to supply such lavish amounts of resources to the Taliban?

Again, assuming it is not unknown nations that somehow supply these funds and weapons, who else could it be? Religious fanatics and rabid, radical Islamic fundamentalists? It’s possible, but I don’t see how these religious organizations could supply so many millions and millions of dollars to the Taliban unless they, in turn are being funded by the drug cartel or by rogue nations.

Follow the money! I’m not sure where that expression was born. I remember it first in the incredible Watergate era of the early 70s. It’s been used so often since then, but never is it more relevant than it is now in the matter of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Someone or some organization or some nations are supplying the Taliban with vast amounts of money and arms.

Turning off the spigot would seem to me to be the answer to our problems in Afghanistan.

Surrounding Me

A Photographic Portfolio

by Charlie Leck

Some of my most significant photographs -- they give one an idea about this land we live in, here in the upper Midwest, and how grand it is and about the things that surround us. I was asked to post some of these by a good friend and photographer. (As a caveat, I would only say that some of them show much more artistically in larger sizes.)

END

A Feast of Friends

Gathering with Friends for a Lamb Feast
by Charlie Leck

What I intended was a fabulous Moroccan style, Tangine lamb feast, with a whole lamb roasted to perfection on a spit, basting it constantly as it cooks, and all sorts of wonderful and unusual middle eastern delicacies to go with the lamb. In the end it proved too difficult to arrange. Lynne Alpert, one of the guests at the feast, tried to help me find just the right chef for such a cook-out at my home, but something kept telling me to make it all more comfortable and elegant.

In the end, we were very fortunate to have planned it inside and at our club. The beautiful April weather turned sour with the entrance of May, and it would have been brutal cooking outside at our home. Jack Stalcar, who has been the chef at the club for over 20 years, was immensely helpful in planning the evening's dinner and preparing it perfectly. Kelly Clark, the banquet manager did a wonderful job in making the setting charmingly beautiful and comfortable. Vicki Innes of the Candlelight Shop in Wayzata (MN) did an extraordinary job with the flower arrangements. Thanks to all of them.

This was our way of saying thank you to a host of people who have often entertained us in their own homes, but to whom we haven't quite fairly enough returned the favor. So, we decided to show off the lamb product from our farm by presenting this feast.

MENU

Hor's d'Oeuvres and Cocktails

Ramaki with Lamb Liver
Asparagus Prosciutto
Grilled Shrimp Skewers

Dinner

Pan Seared Lamb Tenderloin Medallions
with Tapenade, Balsamic Syrup and Rosemary Oil

Salad of Baby Arugulaa, Endive and Radicchio
with Red Wine Dressing and Sahved Parmesan Reggiano

Rack of Lamb and Red Wine Sauce
with Goat Cheese Mash Potatoes with Basil and Asparagus

Dessert

Zabaglione with Brandied Mixed Fruit

Dinner Wines

Au Bon Climant Pinot Noir
Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay

Rich Coffees

I was delighted with the evening and I think our guests had a lovely time, too. I produce here, for them, a few of the delightful photographs taken by Sam Stern.

Dear and old friend, Sandy, in a handsome lime green.

Bill and Ed, posing like dandies.

Mom and Lisa, mother and daughter.

Tom, Carrie and John, happy as can be.


Irene Silber and my dear old buddy, Howie!

Gentleman Kay

"We are table number 4, number 4..."

"...where is table 3?"

Too busy to pose for the camera... or too hungry

Table 1, missing the photographer and a couple of no-shows!


Howie stands over Charlie, berating him about the poor quality of the scotch!

Sweet goodnights!

END

It's Spring?

Two Pony Gardens showed off its wonderful tomato plants!

It's Spring! It's Spring! That merry month of May!
by Charlie Leck

We get fooled by mother nature up here in Minnesota. Even if we've lived here for more than 45 years, we get fooled. April opened so beautifully. We had plenty of warm weather and none of the roaring winds we're used to as Old Man Winter moves out of our region. We started thinking it is time to get the plants outside and prepare the gardens for planting.

And then May arrived today, and with it came blustery and strong winds and chilly temperatures. I hope not too many folks put things outside yet.

The Midtown Farmers Market, in south Minneapolis, opened yesterday and we were there. Quite a few produce vendors had indicated they would be there. Only Twin Pony Farms, a neighbor of ours, showed up; and, as they always do, they came with wide smiles and friendly greetings. They're a popular vendor at the market and folks crowded around them to look at their beautiful plants.

And many of my wife's dear friends and customers showed up too, with messages about how much they had missed our lamb over the winter months. Many of them stocked up and bought all their freezers would hold. It's nice to observe how many of these folks have become more than customers in so many ways. We look so forward to seeing them in the spring, after the winter of separation. We also met a number of new people to the Corcoran neighborhood of Minneapolis. It was a friendly, enjoyable meeting and we know we'll see them again.

Farmers markets are more than just opportunities to sell products. Their gatherings create community and healthful, productive chatter. It's a chance for neighbors to converse about what's going right in the community and what needs changing. It's a chance to sit together over coffee and before the saxophonists who were there yesterday, or before whatever band or performer might be there on future Saturdays. The local grower movement is big all over America and it's one of the good things happening in the nation.

On this coming Thursday, the Excelsior Farmers Market opens (2 pm to 6 pm). We go to that one, too. It's very different than the urban market in the center of southside Minneapolis. It's a little stiff and folks don't relax like the city folks do. In Excelsior it's more a matter of buy and sell -- make your purchases and move on to other things.

It's May! It's May, the month of great dismay
When all the world is brimming with fun, wholesome or 'un'
It's mad! It's gay, a libelous display
These dreary vows that ev'ryone takes, ev'ryone breaks
Ev'ryone makes divine mistakes
The lusty month of May
[Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Lowe, from Camelot]

Diane, one of our regular customers and friends stopped by to say hello
and to see how we did over the winter months. You can see the blustery
and unfriendly sky behind her.

Palin Dabbles in Minnesota Politics

Sarah Palin endorses Tom Emmer for Governor! How do you like them green apples?
by Charlie Leck

GOP DOES THE UNTHINKABLE!
TOM EMMER ENDORSED FOR GOVERNOR
My fellow Minnesotans, imagine Sarah Palin as your Governor! If you like that idea, I imagine you’ll be voting for Tom Emmer. The thought makes me quiver.

In her endorsement of Tom Emmer for Governor, Sarah Palin tells us that Tom Emmer is from a working class background. What exactly does that mean?

Mr. Emmer attended the University of Alaska. Maybe that’s what Sarah likes about him! He went to law school at the William Mitchell College of Law and spent some time at Boston College. Currently, in addition to his service in the Minnesota House of Representatives, Mr. Emmer is a trial lawyer.

I don’t put lawyers among the working class. Perhaps Sarah is talking about Mr. Emmer’s parents. Working your way through college and law school certainly doesn't earn one the right to claim working class heritage. My goodness, we all did that.

Ms. Palin was enthustiastic about Tom Emmer. Here's what she said on Facebook:

"A patriotic fiscally conservative ‘hockey dad’ who got his start in politics by serving on his local city councils is running for governor of the great state of Minnesota. His name is Tom Emmer, and I’m proud to support him.”

It was in my town that Mr. Emmer served on a "local" city council; and I know about his work out here.

I believe it was the Palin endorsement that put Emmer over the top. I think the Republicans made a mistake because I don't believe this man can keep it together during a tough campaign. I think he will self-destruct.

Here's a profile of the man who would be Governor!

Mr. Emmer receives a grade of 100 percent from Pro-Life groups and has gotten those high marks all the time he’s been in the legislature. The Minnesota Taxpayers Association also gives Mr. Emmer grades of 100 percent. His grades fall a little when he’s rated by business organizations and small business groups. His grades plummet when he’s graded by environmental organizations, civil rights and civil liberties organizations and labor organizations (he basically gets failing grades from all of them). None of this is surprising and it puts Mr. Emmer squarely in the camp of the new Tea Party movement and the school of Michele Bachmann. I’m sure Mr. Emmer is proud of this record. The question to be answered is whether or not Bachmann flies anywhere in Minnesota other than the conservative 6th district.

Mr. Emmer, if elected Governor, will not be willing to spend the money it will take to get Minnesota's schools back to the top among the nation's best. He's committed himself to heavy financial cuts across the board in order to reduce the size of government. Communities -- from those the size of Minneapolis to small towns like my own -- are in big financial trouble if Mr. Emmer is elected.

Mr. Emmer carries the record of an ultra-conservative and he generally acts like a libertarian on most issues. If elected he will be unhelpful in trying to establish better health care coverage for all citizens of the state. He will oppose extending the rights of marriage to gays and lesbians. He will not be willing to spend investment dollars on most programs designed to protect Minnesota’s environment and its most important open spaces. He will not be a friend of labor. Nor will he be a friend of the poor and unfortunate.

I’ve written here before about my disapproval of Mr. Emmer’s political career. In addition to his ultra conservative positions, he also acts like a bully. I can’t imagine him as our state’s governor, but the times sure are strange and I guess it could happen. Woe to Minnesota! There will be dark days ahead if he is elected.

He claims that he is not a politician and he won't play political games. His record shows that isn't true. When he had a chance to side with the members of his party on tort reform, Mr. Emmer voted for the guys who had given him money. Here's what a statement by Jim Knobluach, which was published on Midwest Spin, said about that:

"Representative Tom Emmer was one of only three Republicans who voted against each of these measures. It is not surprising that Representative Emmer is one of a very small number of Republican elected officials who has received campaign cash from the Minnesota Trial Lawyers Political Action Committee."

Oops! He slipped there from the conservative ranks for a moment -- for cash!

Quite certainly, Tom Emmer is a Palin/Bachmann type and I don't think that's good for Minnesota.

Character issues regarding Tom Emmer
When he served as a coucilperson here in our little town, he played the role of bully whenever any citizen rose to speak against any of Mr. Emmer's proposals. He would treat that person very impolitely and in an extremely rough manner, as if he were trying to discourage others from rising to speak. Mr. Emmer is a tough guy, very infatuated with himself and, I think, dangerous for Minnesota. I'll do everything I can to work against him.

Listen, Emmer's opponents in the Republican Party called to the attention of the endorsing delegates a couple of DWI (driving while intoxicated) citations against Emmer that are a decade old. Emmer's camp dismissed it all as desperation politics. No, not at all. Those citations have something to say to us about Tom Emmer. He's had plenty of other problems out here as well, including a judicial decision against him in the Wright County Court, written by a Judge Mottl, that was stern because he wasn't paying his bills.

"He doesn't pay his bills," said a very reliable source to me this morning. "It's well known out here." The case Judge Mottl oversaw is one example of this trait.

In an appeal, Judge Mottl's decision was overturned by a court that said the bills were really Mrs. Emmer's responsibility and Mr. Emmer had nothing to do with it.

Doesn't that say something about the family values that Mr. Emmer has been boasting about?

I'm terribly worried that the Republicans have nominated someone for our state's highest office who is incapable of handling the position. He doesn't have the character! He doesn't have the intelligence! And, he doesn't have the organizational and leadership skills required. Finally, Mr. Emmer is not a very creative guy. He's old-school, back-room politics, even though he says he's not.

"Democrats are salivating to get Emmer endorsed because they know things -- things that Emmer won't overcome in a campaign." It was a very bright politico who told me that yesterday.

"What things?" I asked.

"Oh, no! That we hold tight to our chest until the proper time."

"Well," I say, "he got the endorsement, so now let's see what the Dems can do with him."

I hope to goodness that this fellow is correct and that Tom Emmer will get busted before he gets to the Governor's office.