Red Star over De la Guerra Plaza

News-Press staff writers are, in general, deliriously happy about illegal immigration, but Shelly Leachman's Sunday front-page article on Saturday's illegal immigrant rally downtown sets a new standard for partisan rabble-rousing thinly disguised as reportage:

Wet weather Saturday didn't dampen the determination of the masses who marched in Santa Barbara in support of immigrants' rights--as the rain came down, their spirits rose up.

The "masses"? Yes, comrade, a glorious Red Dawn is just around the corner. The photographs that accompany this piece of agitprop prominently feature the American flag, which marchers have been told to carry--the much more popular Mexican flag sends the wrong message to some of the racist xenophobes who read the Press. Speaking of racist xenophobes, Ms. Leachman goes on to tell us in more detail who the good guys and bad guys are:

As the waterlogged marchers made their way through the downtown area, shoppers, passers-by, salespeople and others stopped to watch, listen and, mostly, show support.

The few nay-sayers included a dark-haired woman passing by Saks Fifth Avenue [store of choice for the oppressive bosses], who said to the woman beside her, "What's the point?" A heavyset, red-faced [white racist] man muttered "Keep it, buddy" to a volunteer passing out informational fliers.

But some white folks are almost as enlightened as Shelly herself:

But then there was the by-all-appearances well-heeled woman outside high-end clothing store Natasha, who smiled, nodded her platinum-blond head, and formed two fingers on her right hand into a peace sign.

She may be well-heeled (i.e., she pays the taxes that pay for illegal immigrant education, medical care, and welfare benefits), but her heart's in the right place!