The Beatrice Fiddler

If you knew Lisa like I know Lisa

Markos Moulitsas Zuniga of the Daily Kos has anointed Nebraska's own Adrian-Smith-watching blogger Lisa Hannah.

And while we're reminiscing about last year's NE-03 race, check out this blog: Smith Watch. It's a model of how every Republican in Congress should have his or her every step scrutinized.

Daily Kos is the largest political blog in the Known Universe, so this has got to be a big deal for Lisa.

Perhaps this accolade will generate within Lisa many good feelings so that if in her job, her boss is still trying to cram Hispanic culture down Lisa's throat, or if Hispanic clients are sitting there with that look that seems to infuriate Lisa, or if unqualified job candidates are being promoted because they can speak Spanish, these frustrations will not provoke Lisa into such feelings of victimization that she will--oh, I don't know--sign onto a public message board hosted by the daily newspaper in Grand Island and express --- well, what is Lisa expressing in this series of messages, left over a period of weeks in December 2006?

Then can you do me a favor.....you and all the other Hispanics.....PLEASE quit shoving your culture down my throat, both in the media and at my job.”

She sounds like an angry victim. She mentions her job as one place where "you and all the other Hispanics" shove their culture down her throat. The thought crosses one's mind, "Where does she work?"

It doesn't help that I have an activist boss who shoves Hispanic culture in our faces on a regular basis.”

Lisa is a victim, and she wants to be pitied. Apparently, she wants to be pitied quite a bit more than she pities the illegal Hispanic immigrants in Grand Island although, I gotta tell ya, somehow I think that a person who crossed the border, found their way to Grand Island to work at a meatpacking plant (fun!), and is in the midst of a large number of privileged white people who don't like immigrants--might that person be at least as deserving of our pity and compassion as Lisa "my boss shoves Hispanic culture in my face" Hannah?

“you know not of what you speak. I laid it out in plain English....that's the problem, you probably want me to lay it all out in SPanish before you GET IT.”

That's a downright ugly attitude.

“…I've seen with my own eyes people being hired ONLY because of their ability to speak Spanish, who's [sic] educational and experience requirements necessary to do the job are WAIVED, and then seen them then struggle to even know HOW to do their job, leaving those who have the necessary background to step in cover their mistakes”

That sounds like a state agency that should be investigated. And she's seen this "with her own eyes". That must have been traumatic. I wonder if it is as traumatic as working at Swift, being a minority in a majority culture that despises you, being raided by the Feds. Nah. I think it'd be a lot more traumatic to see people--with your own eyes!--being hired only because of their ability to speak Spanish.

Given Lisa Hannah's strong interest in exposing wrongdoing, has she asked her boss or the media in her area to do a story about the waste of taxpayer money that she feels is happening right where she works?

I have a right to conclude that you don't believe the illegals who refuse to do things the right [sic] and learn English don't have to change at all (after all they didn't stay in their own country to change things THERE).

Take that, you Spanish-speaking immigrant.

you believe that they don't have to work to change (ie, learn English), and we should all accommodate them. ...... even when it costs you a lot more tax dollars..... in a state where English is the OFFICIAL language.

There are lots of people, liberal and conservative, who don't want to accommodate Hispanic-speaking people in our culture. Lisa can feel that way all she wants. But to the extent that Hispanic-speaking immigrants (illegal or legal) in Grand Island need social support and human services, I would hope and pray that the people charged with providing these services are not among those who simmer with resentment at people who live here who, right now, can only manage Spanish.

you still go back to advocating that we, the citizens of this state and of this country, should all learn Spanish and give in to the refusal (that's right...flat out REFUSAL) of many to learn English?

She sure does paint an ugly picture of the Hispanic immigrants in Grand Island. Are they aware that someone that members of their community appear to interact with vocationally has such an ugly attitude toward them?

...But I've had too many dealings with the Hispanics in this town when I've tried to talk to them. Especially if they're in a bit of trouble. They pull the "I don't speak English" line and just sit there with a look that says "What are YOU going to do about it."

It is interesting that although Lisa can evidently not understand their words, she feels very comfortable interpreting their "look".

Are you starting to wonder where Lisa works, that she comes into contact with Hispanic immigrants who rub her so raw that she goes on a public message board for the newspaper in the town where she works to complain about them?

Lisa leaves other clues about where she works, as in this comment, left after the December 2006 federal raid on the Swift meatpacking plant in Grand Island:

Just so everyone knows, not ONE SINGLE CALL was received by law enforcement or CPS that any child was left homeless or without family after the event. NOT ONE. They were all fine and taken care of, whether it be by family or friends or by one of the parents if another got taken. But no child was removed or taken from any family due to homelessness or abandonment due to the raid.

CPS most likely stands for Child Protective Services.

How does Lisa know that not one single call was received by law enforcement or CPS? Does she work in, around or near one of those agencies?

My uncle and aunt lived in Minnesota when many Hmong settled there, and took a lead role in ensuring a welcoming environment. The Hmong who came to the United States, and the Mexican immigrants who come here, were leading extraordinarily tough lives before they got here. Getting to the Land of Wal-Mart is not, as much as we'd like it to be, the end of tough times.

However anyone might stand on the politics of immigration, when any of us come into personal contact with recent immigrants who find it difficult to speak English and may be experiencing other struggles as well, may we approach anyone facing such challenges with patience and compassion. The trials and tribulations of our own lives simply do not compare.

See my previous installment on Lisa. Note the sockpuppetry issue in the comments.

Here's an update on how the Swift raid is impacting families.

An Hispanic-advocacy group describes the Omaha police helping those affected by the Swift raid.

Latinista writes about a high school student's life has changed because of the raid.

A diarist at Colorado Confidential reviews news about the raid.

Be careful what you wish for.

A sad, sad day in the Nebraska blogosphere

Normally, here in the Nebraska blogosphere, we are polite and fair.

(Which reminds me:  It is now Day Two of Kyle Michaelis refusing to identify The Liar.  He says he didn't mean to call Ernie Goss a liar, so we're trying to figure out who he was trying to finger.)

But I am saddened today to have to report that some blogger has been unfair to Lisa Hannah.  It's wrong to be unfair, as I was thinking just this morning as I read about how Adrian Smith's mind is under the control of puppet-masters.

Anyway, some blogger is being unfair to Lisa Hannah.  She says:

That criticism can be constructive, or in this new case, can be rather petty.

Unfortunately, she doesn't identify who this petty blogger is:

I've thought about linking to the site, but I really don't want to give the blogger the traffic.

Wouldn't want to be petty, or anything.

What did the blogger do that was unfair?  According to Lisa,

Needless to say, the blogger did a search on me and posted what they could find that could make me sound the most unflattering. Easy to do if things are taken out of context, and when you've always been a person that is 1) very opinionated, and 2) not afraid to debate issues.

I want to take a very opinionated stand on this.  I am not afraid to debate the issues.

If someone wants to blog about Lisa Hannah, they should not take her quotes out of context.  They should not post things she said that are unflattering.

Instead, if someone wants to blog about Lisa Hannah, they would be better advised to take the approach I took last week.

Don't look for unflattering quotes or take quotes out of context or use quotes that indicate strong opinions.

Instead, consider including one of Lisa's quotes, such as this one:

Then can you do me a favor.....you and all the other Hispanics.....PLEASE quit shoving your culture down my throat, both in the media and at my job. I'm so SICK AND TIRED of all the classes, and all the media hype about the Latino Culture, Latino Rights, VIVA LA RAZA, etc. No race is above another, but over the last year or so, i've been pretty much told that Hispanics and their rights are MUCH more important than mine (and I'm white/native american!....and I never use my minority blood to prove a point normally!). It doesn't help that I have an activist boss who shoves Hispanic culture in our faces on a regular basis. She was in a complete tizzy over this whole raid ordeal! We thought we'd get flooded with families needing help, and guess what......not one call. Matter of fact, it was like it always is, and the raid had no impact. Imagine that after all the drama that was kicked up.

This quote is the full quote, and it includes a link, so readers can see that it fully captures the flavor of Lisa's mind.  It is evidently a quote she was once proud of, since she includes with it a link to her anti-Adrian Smith blog.

Apparently, the other blogger who has been unfair to Lisa has quoted some strong opinion Lisa once took, and used that quote out-of-context.

I, on the other hand, have included a quote from Lisa that makes her appear, not to have strong opinions, but to be a barking moonbat who is willing to trash Hispanics online, while making it clear that she works for the government.  Not to mention trashing her boss online. 

Lisa could try apologizing for her bad behavior, or she could try pretending that what she wrote is a strong opinion taken out-of-context.

Meanwhile, Lisa has altered her Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence profile.

At the same time, Lisa is claiming that she has developed some very friendly relationships with Nebraska political reporters (presumably, none of whom are Hispanic).  She writes:

Why I find this interesting is because I've actually heard from 3 separate reporters in Nebraska about the difficulties they've had in getting Smith to talk to them directly.

Amazing.  Talk about the power of the blogosphere!  To think that an Hispanic-trashing state government employee is now, through the power of blogging, so tied in that reporters are contacting her to shoot the breeze about how hard that Adrian Smith is to get ahold of.

It is seriously amazing.  I'm steadily contacting political reporters in Smith's district and so far, none of them have even heard of Lisa Hannah, much less contacted her. 

Festival of Nebraska links

Okay, I complained, and I wasn't the only one, that the new OWH website doesn't include the opinion page.  Without my free access to that, I have been confused about what to think.

It turns out that they do include the most important opinion columnist of all for free, so I apologize for complaining.

Denny at Vital Signs has posted about the Nebraska pro-lifers advocacy to prohibit human cloning and their response to how they are treated in the local media. 

Never let it be said that we in Nebraska are not up on popular culture.  We are completely aware that the Rosie-Trump feud has moved the Doomsday Clock closer to midnight.

Interested in school choice in Nebraska?  Read the comments here and spread the word.

Yesterday I noticed an alarming rise in hybrids.  I'm not the only one.  Like I said, scary.

This is a compliment.  I think.  But the more I think, the more I'm not sure.

When I went on my OCD search for other Nebraska bloggers, one of my finds was Dana at Principled Discovery.  Turns out she is pretty tied-in to the national education blogging scene, and I can see why.  Here she writes about getting your child socialized.

Our Right Wing Professor is also a big fish.  Enjoy his links on how the John Edwards campaign has hit a bump in the road because they hired a potty-talking, Catholic-bashing leftwing blogger to be their webmistress. 

I nominate the Street Sweeper to figure out which Nebraska bloggers will one day get hired by politicians and then fired for their blogging pasts. 

The other day I asked if this Lisa Hannah is the same Lisa Hannah who is keeping a stern eye on freshman congressman Adrian Smith. 

This Lisa Hannah says she works for the state.  The Adrian-Smith-watching Lisa Hannah also seems to work for the state.  At that link, she expresses her opinions about Hispanics:

Then can you do me a favor.....you and all the other Hispanics.....PLEASE quit shoving your culture down my throat, both in the media and at my job. I'm so SICK AND TIRED of all the classes, and all the media hype about the Latino Culture, Latino Rights, VIVA LA RAZA, etc. No race is above another, but over the last year or so, i've been pretty much told that Hispanics and their rights are MUCH more important than mine (and I'm white/native american!....and I never use my minority blood to prove a point normally!). It doesn't help that I have an activist boss who shoves Hispanic culture in our faces on a regular basis. She was in a complete tizzy over this whole raid ordeal! We thought we'd get flooded with families needing help, and guess what......not one call. Matter of fact, it was like it always is, and the raid had no impact. Imagine that after all the drama that was kicked up

Wow.

Nebraska blogs on the left side of the spectrum

Bloggers get accused of being overheated and one-sided.  Of the Nebraska bloggers I read, this applies especially to Kyle at New Nebraska.  Kyle doesn't just disagree with Republican ideas; he also thinks that many Republican politicians are morally suspect.  Campaign contributions to Republicans are often treated as obviously suspicious or shadowy, while any special interest contributions to Democrats generally go unnoticed. 

Sadly, Kyle has recently been joined in his overheated, antagonistic perspective by Lisa at a new blog devoted to undermining Adrian Smith.  Lisa views new congressman Adrian Smith with contempt.  She talks about his votes on bills as if they are obviously ludicrous.

His votes on purely ceremonial bills are even met with a sneer:

At least we know he's focusing on voting for the REALLY important things, right?

This contemptuous attitude tells us more about Lisa than it does about Adrian Smith.  I like the idea of blogs holding elected officials accountable.  It turns me off when it comes from a mean-spirited "this guy can't do anything right" perspective.