A Day Without Illegal Immigrant Drivers

We've been told all along that the purpose of today's pro-illegal immigration rallies was to demonstrate what life would be like without illegal immigrants. Well, if today is an accurate demonstration, let's have another boycott tomorrow! Traffic was the best I've seen it in years in Orange and San Diego Counties (and I heard similar reports from Los Angeles).

I had to leave my Newport Beach office for an appointment in San Diego at midday. Normally I can expect to run into heavy traffic just about anytime of the day around Carlsbad or La Costa. Today I never touched the brake from the time I got on the freeway in Newport Beach until I got off in San Diego. It was wonderful! Those of us who chose to work for a living today were probably far more productive than normal because we didn't have to sit and stare a taillights.

I did see a small impact when I stopped for lunch. I ran into a Rubio's restaurant (Mexican food) and was greeted with a sign on the door (professionally printed by Rubio's) that said that patrons "might experience service delays due to staffing issues related to Rally Day". "Rally Day"? I haven't heard that description yet, but I guess it sounds better than "We Hate Gringos Day". They did appear to be working short-handed, but they were giving it their best.

Later I was listening to some tape of one of the Los Angeles rallies and heard Tony Mohammed, leader of the L.A. branch of the Nation of Islam, let loose with this gem:

"Don't forget your history! Remember the true illegal immigrants were the founding fathers of this country, and you are standing in Mexico!"

Really, Tony? Is the black community ready to hand the keys to South Central over to Mexico City? I'll bet he wouldn't be too thrilled if that turned out to be the result of today's protests.

This will all be wall-to-wall on the news tonight, but I doubt if there will be any significant long term effect from today's protests. A lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

On a more charitable note, my Lutheran pastor blogging buddy Mark Daniels wrote a four-part series on How Christians Might Think About the Immigration Issue. Take a look, and maybe it will help you drop your blood pressure a bit.

UPDATE - Three-Peat, but Not a Record