Insider Report
Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories):
1. U.S. Immigrant Population at All-Time High: 40 Million
2. Allen West Is Featured Speaker at '12 CPAC
3. Controversial Index Finds Brad Pitt, Will Smith 'Overweight'
4. Pakistani Textbooks Demonize Non-Muslims
5. 'Zuccotti Lung' Ailment Striking Occupy Wall Streeters
6. We Heard: Steve Jobs, Gallup Poll, Howard Stern
1. U.S. Immigrant Population at All-Time High: 40 Million
The number of foreign-born residents in the United States — including legal and illegal immigrants — reached 40 million last year, the highest figure in American history, new Census Bureau figures disclose.
Nearly 14 million new immigrants came to America from 2000 to 2010, making it the highest-ever decade for immigration.
The increase came even though there was a net decline of jobs during the decade, showing that immigration remains high even during periods of economic weakness.
"This does not mean that immigration is entirely unconnected to the U.S. job market," observes Steven A. Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies, who analyzed the new Census figures for the Center.
"But these figures are a reminder that immigration levels are not as tightly linked to the economy as some have imagined. Such factors as the desire to access public services or to enjoy greater political freedom or join relatives in the United States significantly impact migration."
Of the 40 million foreign-born residents in the country, from 10 million to 12 million are likely illegal aliens, the Bureau reports.
Other findings from the newly released American Community Survey conducted by the Census Bureau include:
- America's immigrant population has doubled since 1990 and nearly tripled since 1980.
- Although the number of immigrants in the U.S. is at an all-time high, the immigrant share of the population, now 12.9 percent, was higher in 1910 (14.7 percent) and 1920 (13.2 percent).
- While the total immigrant population grew 28 percent between 2000 and 2010, it grew by at least 60 percent in 11 states, including Alabama (92 percent), South Carolina (88 percent), Tennessee (82 percent), Arkansas (79 percent), and Kentucky (75 percent). The lowest rate of growth was in New York, 11.1 percent.
- States with the largest numerical increases during that decade were California, Texas, Florida, New York, and New Jersey.
- 27 percent of the population of California is foreign-born, followed by New York (22 percent), New Jersey (21 percent), Florida (19 percent), and Nevada (18.8 percent). In West Virginia, just 1.2 percent are immigrants.
- Countries in Latin America accounted for 58 percent of the growth in the immigrant population from 2000 to 2010.
- Mexico was by far the origin of the most immigrants during that decade, nearly 12 million, followed by China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, 2.16 million; India, 1.78 million; Philippines, 1.77 million; Vietnam, 1.24 million; and El Salvador, 1.21 million.
- In Montana, 58 percent of foreign-born residents are citizens; in Hawaii, 57 percent are citizens; and in Maine, 56.6 percent. Just 27.7 percent of immigrants in Alabama are citizens.
Camarota concludes: "Absent a change in policy, new immigration will likely continue at very high levels."
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2. Allen West Is Featured Speaker at '12 CPAC
Freshman Republican Rep. Allen West will be a featured speaker at the 2012 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) to be held Feb. 9-11 in Washington, D.C.
"Congressman Allen West is a true patriot and a great friend of the American Conservative Union," said Al Cardenas, chairman of the Union, which hosts the annual gathering of conservative activists.
"In his short time in Congress, Allen West has proved himself a principled, conservative leader, fighting for more freedom, at home and abroad, and working to limit the growth of government to ensure American families keep more of their hard-earned dollars.
"The American Conservative Union looks forward to hosting CPAC next February as the premier venue to highlight conservative leaders, principles, and policies in 2012."
Rep. West, a former Army lieutenant colonel and member of the Tea Party Caucus, was the keynote speaker at the 2011 CPAC.
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3. Controversial Index Finds Brad Pitt, Will Smith 'Overweight'
The Centers for Disease Control uses the Body Mass Index (BMI) to define when a person is overweight or obese, yet the index is so inaccurate that even an in-shape athlete like All-Pro quarterback Tom Brady can be called "overweight."
The BMI, invented in 1835 by Belgian statistician Adolphe Quetelet, is defined as a person's weight (in kilograms) divided by the square of his or her height, in meters.
A BMI below 18.5 is defined as underweight; 18.5 to 24.9, normal; 25 to 29.9, overweight; 30 and above, obese.
But the index makes no distinction between body mass that is fat and mass that is muscle. This often means that people who are in good shape fall into the overweight or obese categories.
Not many observers would consider George Clooney, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Keanu Reeves, Will Smith or Denzel Washington to be out of shape, yet all are defined as overweight according to the BMI.
Tom Cruise and The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) are defined as obese.
Unfortunately, the BMI is being cited to justify moves to impose new taxes on high-calorie items including candy and soft drinks.
The incidence of obesity in American adults rose from 13 percent in 1962 to 34 percent in 2008, as measured by the BMI, before leveling off more recently.
"In the past two decades nutritionists, biologists, and doctors have become increasingly interested in the causes and prevention of obesity," according to a report from the Tax Foundation.
"Recently, this fervor has spilled over into the political scene as many politicians and some scientists make the case for government intervention to help trim the nation's waistline."
Seventeen states now tax candy at a higher rate than other groceries, and four states collect an excise tax on soda.
This year 14 states proposed new taxes on soda as high as 2 cents per ounce, which in the case of some drink mixes could amount to a price rise of 264 percent.
These taxes would be imposed, of course, on all individuals who consume the products, not just those who consume them in excess or are overweight or obese.
The Tax Foundation also points to a recent study that found that when adolescents drink less soda due to prices increases, the drop in calories is offset by an increase in calories consumed in other food and drink.
The Foundation concludes: "Body Mass Index is the backbone of the data on obesity, and as we examine the case for obesity taxes, we will see that this flawed measurement technique can have profound effects on how economists and politicians attempt to set the tax rate on soda and candy."
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4. Pakistani Textbooks Demonize Non-Muslims
Textbooks used in Pakistani public and religious schools promote intolerance toward Christians and other non-Muslims, portraying them as infidels and pagans — a bias that poses a threat to "global security," a new study reveals.
The study was funded by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent body that advises the U.S. government on religious freedom around the world, while the research was conducted by the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy in partnership with a Pakistani think tank.
"This study — the first-ever study of its kind — documents how Pakistan's public schools and privately run madrassas are not teaching tolerance but are exacerbating religious differences," said USCIRF chairman Leonard Leo.
"Teaching discrimination increases the likelihood that violent religious extremism in Pakistan will continue to grow, weakening religious freedom, national and regional stability, and global security."
A 139-page report on the study was released by the USCIRF in Washington on Wednesday. Researchers reviewed more than 100 textbooks used by Muslim and non-Muslim students alike up to grade 10, and interviewed hundreds of teachers and students at more than 50 schools.
The results of the study were "eye-opening and concerning," Leo said.
An excerpt from a fifth-grade social studies textbook reads: "The anti-Islamic forces are always trying to finish the Islamic domination of the world. This can cause danger for the very existence of Islam. Today, the defense of Pakistan and Islam is very much in need."
The textbooks portray Hindus as extremists and eternal enemies of Islam, while references to Christians "seem generally negative" and Jews are depicted as predatory moneylenders, according to CNS News, which viewed a copy of the report.
"In every madrassa textbook reviewed, the concept of jihad has been reduced from its wider meaning of personal development to violent conflict in the name of Islam, considered to be the duty of every Muslim," the report stated.
"The verse [from the Koran] commanding the believer to 'kill the pagans [or infidels or unbelievers] wherever you find them' is often cited with no context."
The textbooks generally treat infidels or pagans as enemies and urge Muslims to fight against them until they submit or convert to Islam. Apostates, those who have turned away from Islam, must be arrested and given three days to repent on pain of death, the books stress. One book said an apostate should be killed immediately.
Under the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act, "countries of particular concern" (CPCs) are countries whose governments either perpetrate or condone "systematic, ongoing, and egregious" abuses of religious freedom, according to CNS News. The U.S. may impose sanctions or take other diplomatic steps designed to encourage improvements.
Every year since 2002, the USCIRF has called for the State Department to designate Pakistan as a CPC — to no avail.
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5. 'Zuccotti Lung' Ailment Striking Occupy Wall Streeters
Occupy Wall Street protesters camped out at Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan are increasingly coming down with a respiratory ailment being dubbed "Zuccotti Lung."
"With little sleep in cold conditions, cigarettes and drinks being passed from mouth to mouth, and few opportunities to wash hands, Zuccotti Park may now just be the best place to catch respiratory viruses and tuberculosis," Dr. Philip M. Tierno of the NYU Langone Medical Center told NBC News in New York.
Damp clothing and cardboard signs wet with rain are also breeding grounds for germs, as is food trash discarded around the campground.
The health department said in a statement: "It should go without saying that lots of people sleeping outside in a park as we head toward winter is not an ideal situation for anyone's health."
Some protesters have refused free flu shots, citing a "government conspiracy," according to The New York Times.
Meanwhile the home base for Occupy Atlanta has tested positive for tuberculosis.
Two residents at the homeless shelter that demonstrators have been occupying have tested positive for the disease, and a health department spokeswoman said protesters and homeless people are at risk of contracting the airborne pathogen.
One of those stricken has a strain of TB that is resistant to standard medication used to treat the disease, CBS News in Atlanta reported.
Occupy Atlanta's more than 100 protesters moved to the shelter on Oct. 30 after Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed ordered them evicted from Woodruff Park.
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6. We Heard . . .
THAT a school in Bulgaria is considering changing its namesake from one "revolutionary" figure to another — the Vladimir Ilyich Lenin technical academy could become the Steve Jobs school.
The secondary school in Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second largest city, has already decided to shed the name of the Soviet leader, Time magazine reports. It's still up in the air whether it will now be named after the Apple founder or a Bulgarian scientist.
THAT conservatives now outnumber liberals in the United States by a margin of 2 to 1, according to a new Gallup Poll.
The survey found that 42 percent of respondents describe themselves as conservatives, while 21 percent say they are liberals and 37 percent say they're moderates.
Back in 1992, only 36 percent of those polled said they were conservatives.
The poll also found that since 2008, the percentage of Americans identifying themselves as Democrats or leaning Democratic has fallen from 50 percent to 43 percent, while those identifying as Republican or leaning Republican has risen from 37 percent to 40 percent. Those saying they are independents who don't lean toward either party comprise 15 percent, up from 12 percent in 2008.
THAT Howard Stern is in talks with NBC to replace Piers Morgan as a judge on the performance show "America's Got Talent."
Stern is being offered $15 million to take the job, according to The Wall Street Journal.
He has a lucrative contract with Sirius XM satellite radio and the NBC post would be in addition to the radio job.
Morgan announced on Wednesday that he is leaving the show after six years.
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