Chronicles of America in the 21st Century

Another step taken down the road to quivering paranoia, thanks to a State Dept. run by Bush men afraid of bushmen:

Three West African bushmen recruited to build a mud-hut village at the Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia have been denied visas because officials say the men were poor, didn't speak English and failed to convince them that their visit only would be temporary.

Museum director John Avoli said museum officials were heartbroken.

"They were denied because they were considered poor dirt farmers who lived in mud huts and can't speak English and supposedly have no business in America," Avoli said.

"No business in America." That would seem to be the new slogan of Fortress America, land of the spied-upon and home of the pissing in their pants over the darkies.

The U.S. consular official in Nigeria, Debra Heien, explained that not only were two of the bushmen "not able to make a living," but that one "couldn't properly explain the building project" and one didn't fill out his visa forms properly. 

Imagine that. I wonder if Ms. Heien would be able to make a living if she landed in an Igbo village. Never mind. The State Dept. obviously considers the bushmen a little too authentic to land in Virginia, unless it's the Virginia of 1808 and the men are in shackles.

Ms. Heien did offer this hope in a letter to Sen. John Warner (R-Va), whose staff had attempted to get the ruling reversed:

"Should the applicants decide to apply again, they must make appointments using our on-line appointment system."

Do the Igbo have WiFi?