Sunday, October 29, 2017
Saturday, May 1, 2010
New Arizona Immigration Law
If you are serious when you say you applaud the new immigration law in Arizona then you are clearly part of the problem rather than the solution.
So called "Dip shit" liberals are not the problem, neither are immigrants. Immigrants are our salvation. The problem in DC is belligerence and ideological posturing to look good for the folks back home who can vote you out of office if you don't give lip service to their particular prejudices - and at the same time pay homage to the corporations that fund your re-election war chest.
Pragmatism without prejudice is the only thing that is going to save us.
The argument that it is a bad precedent to grant aliens illegally in the country the right to stay blinds us to the basic economic realities of the situation. It's like the band on the deck of the Titanic arguing over what song they are going to play while the ship goes down.
We need immigrants to support the "age wave" and keep Social Security/Medicare solvent. The USA is in better position to weather this coming shit storm than other developed countries - we have a higher birth rate - but still not high enough to handle the age shift. The countries that are really in trouble are those in Europe (the current Italian birth rate is one per couple) plus Japan and China.
Even in Africa where we still see high birth rates, the trend is downward as more women are educated and enter the workforce.
Criminalizing immigration is sheer stupidity. Did Prohibition work? Did criminalizing marijuana work? Did the Bush administration's macho "my way or the highway" foreign policy work? Pissing people off and criminalizing their attempts to better themselves economically only increases the profitability of BEING A CRIMINAL! There are always people ready and willing to rush into that economic void - whether just evil…or desperately in need of some way to make a living.
A simple, straight forward immigration policy will work for all. Tear down the fucking wall, welcome them with open arms, make it easy to immigrate legally - but with conditions.
Whether waiting to immigrate, or already here illegally, they need to be given economic incentives to register, agree to be tracked, report in regularly and have a job within a certain period of time - one that has associated taxes and payroll deductions.
Threatening them with criminal repercussions if they don't toe the line is not nearly as effective as offering them economic "carrots" for doing so. Just make it more ECONOMICALLY attractive for them to GO HOME rather than stay here if they don't become contributing members of society within a certain time frame - and they must agree to be tracked to supply the metrics.
And I am not so naïve as to believe they all will respond positively to such a change in policy. A certain percentage will go underground, become criminals and/or attempt to freeload. But that percentage is no greater than for the general population as a whole and can actually be reduced by policies that encourage productive assimilation rather than discouraging it - like the present ones do.
Will this cost money? Yes, but it will be a fraction of what we are spending now to create "Fortress America". Making these changes and getting immigrants into the work force and paying taxes as quickly as possible will create a net savings, stimulate economic growth and, in the long run, guarantee a sustainable workforce that will fund the social services that we all are going to need in our old age.
An enlightened approach to immigration will not only save our butts economically but will give us a leg up on the rest of the world - who are going to have a tougher time of it than we are.
This "Dip Shit Liberal" is anything but anti-business. On the contrary, we need to give up all the acrimony and bullshit ideology that stands in the way of good, solid economic growth. And the one sure fire way to that - for the long run - is to encourage, track and regulate immigration, assimilating them as quickly as possible - even if it upsets the macho, foaming-at-the-mouth, gun slinging, learn-English-or-die right wingers.
- Lyn
So called "Dip shit" liberals are not the problem, neither are immigrants. Immigrants are our salvation. The problem in DC is belligerence and ideological posturing to look good for the folks back home who can vote you out of office if you don't give lip service to their particular prejudices - and at the same time pay homage to the corporations that fund your re-election war chest.
Pragmatism without prejudice is the only thing that is going to save us.
The argument that it is a bad precedent to grant aliens illegally in the country the right to stay blinds us to the basic economic realities of the situation. It's like the band on the deck of the Titanic arguing over what song they are going to play while the ship goes down.
We need immigrants to support the "age wave" and keep Social Security/Medicare solvent. The USA is in better position to weather this coming shit storm than other developed countries - we have a higher birth rate - but still not high enough to handle the age shift. The countries that are really in trouble are those in Europe (the current Italian birth rate is one per couple) plus Japan and China.
Even in Africa where we still see high birth rates, the trend is downward as more women are educated and enter the workforce.
Criminalizing immigration is sheer stupidity. Did Prohibition work? Did criminalizing marijuana work? Did the Bush administration's macho "my way or the highway" foreign policy work? Pissing people off and criminalizing their attempts to better themselves economically only increases the profitability of BEING A CRIMINAL! There are always people ready and willing to rush into that economic void - whether just evil…or desperately in need of some way to make a living.
A simple, straight forward immigration policy will work for all. Tear down the fucking wall, welcome them with open arms, make it easy to immigrate legally - but with conditions.
Whether waiting to immigrate, or already here illegally, they need to be given economic incentives to register, agree to be tracked, report in regularly and have a job within a certain period of time - one that has associated taxes and payroll deductions.
Threatening them with criminal repercussions if they don't toe the line is not nearly as effective as offering them economic "carrots" for doing so. Just make it more ECONOMICALLY attractive for them to GO HOME rather than stay here if they don't become contributing members of society within a certain time frame - and they must agree to be tracked to supply the metrics.
And I am not so naïve as to believe they all will respond positively to such a change in policy. A certain percentage will go underground, become criminals and/or attempt to freeload. But that percentage is no greater than for the general population as a whole and can actually be reduced by policies that encourage productive assimilation rather than discouraging it - like the present ones do.
Will this cost money? Yes, but it will be a fraction of what we are spending now to create "Fortress America". Making these changes and getting immigrants into the work force and paying taxes as quickly as possible will create a net savings, stimulate economic growth and, in the long run, guarantee a sustainable workforce that will fund the social services that we all are going to need in our old age.
An enlightened approach to immigration will not only save our butts economically but will give us a leg up on the rest of the world - who are going to have a tougher time of it than we are.
This "Dip Shit Liberal" is anything but anti-business. On the contrary, we need to give up all the acrimony and bullshit ideology that stands in the way of good, solid economic growth. And the one sure fire way to that - for the long run - is to encourage, track and regulate immigration, assimilating them as quickly as possible - even if it upsets the macho, foaming-at-the-mouth, gun slinging, learn-English-or-die right wingers.
- Lyn
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
PimpMyCruise.com now online!
Monday, December 11, 2006
The old 'swamp the ACLU with Christmas Cards' email rears it's ugly head again this year.
Official Theme Song for the Pie Hole Blog
You'd think the ACLU bashers would come up with something new. The best they can do is to recirculate an old semi-serious joke again this year (see original message in italics below). So here's why, given the battering civil rights have taken this past year, continuing to bad mouth the ACLU is a patently BAD idea.
Oregon
The ACLU may be off-base on the Happy Holidays and Ten Commandments issues, but it is the only organization that is trying to keep innocent people from just disappearing...as many did in Russia and South America.
You'd think the ACLU bashers would come up with something new. The best they can do is to recirculate an old semi-serious joke again this year (see original message in italics below). So here's why, given the battering civil rights have taken this past year, continuing to bad mouth the ACLU is a patently BAD idea.
Our shit-for-brains president authorizes unlimited wire tapping without court approval, rewrites the
The ACLU may be off-base on the Happy Holidays and Ten Commandments issues, but it is the only organization that is trying to keep innocent people from just disappearing...as many did in Russia and South America.
- LC
Here's the Address, just don't be rude or crude. (It's Not the Christian Way, you know!)
18th Floor
Two tons of Christmas cards would freeze their operations because they wouldn't know if any were regular mail containing contributions. So
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Holy Bat, Shitman! Listen to this....
"If we're an arrogant nation they'll resent us. If we're a humble nation but strong, they'll welcome us. Our nation stands alone right now in terms of power. And that's why we've got to be humble. One way for us to end up being viewed as the 'Ugly American' is for us to go around the world saying, 'We do it this way, so should you.'" - George W. Bush - during the 2000 election campaign
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Now here's the whole sorry story of how we stand with the rest of the world today - from CBS's Sunday Morning show, Nov. 26, 2006 -
Just back from Southeast Asia, President George W. Bush will travel to the Middle East this week. But wherever he goes, Bush encounters hostility.
In Southeast Asia, Bush tried very hard to win over his hosts. He played native instruments, watched native dancers and even tried on native clothes. But Bush's earthy diplomacy conducted mid-munch at the G-8 Summit in July or his unsolicited shoulder rub of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, hasn't played well around the world.
From Britain to China, Bush is the "go-it-alone cowboy" to much of the world, leading the United States in the direction he wants, regardless of what anyone else thinks.
"He is too arrogant about the image of the U.S in the world," a young man in Beijing China told CBS White House correspondent Jim Axelrod.
The natural extension of this negative view of Bush in the eyes of the world is a negative view of the U.S. That view is not just isolated to the Muslim world, where 30 percent of Indonesians and Egyptians polled had a negative opinion of the U.S., but to 23 percent of people in Spain. Less than 50 percent of those polled in France, Germany, Russia and China had favorable opinions of the U.S.
Andrew Kohut, who conducts the annual Pew Institute Global Attitudes Survey — a study of anti-Americanism in 16 nations -- says the study shows broad dislike driven by the war on terror.
"This sounds very strange to an American ear but when we go out and we question people, the depths of concern about American policies put us on a plane with the real bad guys of the axis of evil," he said.
"The United States is seen as conducting a unilateral foreign policy. There's resentment and suspicion in American power now that America has been on the defensive in the war on terror — "go it alone" at a time when America is unrivaled militarily. Many people around the world think Americans do what they can do, what they want to do, and they're not taking into account our interests or the interests of other people."
Anti-Americanism isn't static. In Asia, America's image rose markedly after U.S. aid poured in following the 2004 tsunami. It isn't permanent, either. Just five years ago, for instance, international opinions of the U.S. were much more sympathetic. Many people around the world wanted to help the United States after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.
The president would argue that those attacks changed everything, but world opinion is a bit more discerning. Polls show that in much of the rest of the world, there was general approval for one part of Bush's response to 9/11; The war in Afghanistan made sense and seemed proportionate. But Iraq is a different story in the eyes of the world, said London School of Economics professor John Cox.
"I don't think there's much recuperable there," Cox said, "until the situation in Iraq is recovered and we have a new president in the White House. It is very difficult to think of a fundamental renaissance, if you like, happening without it."
Polls suggest that humility would most help America's image, something espoused by then-Governor Bush as a candidate for President in 2000.
"If we're an arrogant nation they'll resent us," he said then. "If we're a humble nation but strong, they'll welcome us. Our nation stands alone right now in terms of power. And that's why we've got to be humble. One way for us to end up being viewed as the 'Ugly American' is for us to go around the world saying, 'We do it this way, so should you.'"
Just back from Southeast Asia, President George W. Bush will travel to the Middle East this week. But wherever he goes, Bush encounters hostility.
In Southeast Asia, Bush tried very hard to win over his hosts. He played native instruments, watched native dancers and even tried on native clothes. But Bush's earthy diplomacy conducted mid-munch at the G-8 Summit in July or his unsolicited shoulder rub of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, hasn't played well around the world.
From Britain to China, Bush is the "go-it-alone cowboy" to much of the world, leading the United States in the direction he wants, regardless of what anyone else thinks.
"He is too arrogant about the image of the U.S in the world," a young man in Beijing China told CBS White House correspondent Jim Axelrod.
The natural extension of this negative view of Bush in the eyes of the world is a negative view of the U.S. That view is not just isolated to the Muslim world, where 30 percent of Indonesians and Egyptians polled had a negative opinion of the U.S., but to 23 percent of people in Spain. Less than 50 percent of those polled in France, Germany, Russia and China had favorable opinions of the U.S.
Andrew Kohut, who conducts the annual Pew Institute Global Attitudes Survey — a study of anti-Americanism in 16 nations -- says the study shows broad dislike driven by the war on terror.
"This sounds very strange to an American ear but when we go out and we question people, the depths of concern about American policies put us on a plane with the real bad guys of the axis of evil," he said.
"The United States is seen as conducting a unilateral foreign policy. There's resentment and suspicion in American power now that America has been on the defensive in the war on terror — "go it alone" at a time when America is unrivaled militarily. Many people around the world think Americans do what they can do, what they want to do, and they're not taking into account our interests or the interests of other people."
Anti-Americanism isn't static. In Asia, America's image rose markedly after U.S. aid poured in following the 2004 tsunami. It isn't permanent, either. Just five years ago, for instance, international opinions of the U.S. were much more sympathetic. Many people around the world wanted to help the United States after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.
The president would argue that those attacks changed everything, but world opinion is a bit more discerning. Polls show that in much of the rest of the world, there was general approval for one part of Bush's response to 9/11; The war in Afghanistan made sense and seemed proportionate. But Iraq is a different story in the eyes of the world, said London School of Economics professor John Cox.
"I don't think there's much recuperable there," Cox said, "until the situation in Iraq is recovered and we have a new president in the White House. It is very difficult to think of a fundamental renaissance, if you like, happening without it."
Polls suggest that humility would most help America's image, something espoused by then-Governor Bush as a candidate for President in 2000.
"If we're an arrogant nation they'll resent us," he said then. "If we're a humble nation but strong, they'll welcome us. Our nation stands alone right now in terms of power. And that's why we've got to be humble. One way for us to end up being viewed as the 'Ugly American' is for us to go around the world saying, 'We do it this way, so should you.'"
©MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
A Letter from Michael Moore to Our Conserative Friends
A Liberal's Pledge to Disheartened Conservatives
November 14th, 2006
To My Conservative Brothers and Sisters,
I know you are dismayed and disheartened at the results of last week's election. You're worried that the country is heading toward a very bad place you don't want it to go. Your 12-year Republican Revolution has ended with so much yet to do, so many promises left unfulfilled. You are in a funk, and I understand.
Well, cheer up, my friends! Do not despair. I have good news for you. I, and the millions of others who are now in charge with our Democratic Congress, have a pledge we would like to make to you, a list of promises that we offer you because we value you as our fellow Americans. You deserve to know what we plan to do with our newfound power -- and, to be specific, what we will do to you and for you.
Thus, here is our Liberal's Pledge to Disheartened Conservatives:
Dear Conservatives and Republicans,
I, and my fellow signatories, hereby make these promises to you:
1. We will always respect you for your conservative beliefs. We will never, ever, call you "unpatriotic" simply because you disagree with us. In fact, we encourage you to dissent and disagree with us.
2. We will let you marry whomever you want, even when some of us consider your behavior to be "different" or "immoral." Who you marry is none of our business. Love and be in love -- it's a wonderful gift.
3. We will not spend your grandchildren's money on our personal whims or to enrich our friends. It's your checkbook, too, and we will balance it for you.
4. When we soon bring our sons and daughters home from Iraq, we will bring your sons and daughters home, too. They deserve to live. We promise never to send your kids off to war based on either a mistake or a lie.
5. When we make America the last Western democracy to have universal health coverage, and all Americans are able to get help when they fall ill, we promise that you, too, will be able to see a doctor, regardless of your ability to pay. And when stem cell research delivers treatments and cures for diseases that affect you and your loved ones, we'll make sure those advances are available to you and your family, too.
6. Even though you have opposed environmental regulation, when we clean up our air and water, we, the Democratic majority, will let you, too, breathe the cleaner air and drink the purer water.
7. Should a mass murderer ever kill 3,000 people on our soil, we will devote every single resource to tracking him down and bringing him to justice. Immediately. We will protect you.
8. We will never stick our nose in your bedroom or your womb. What you do there as consenting adults is your business. We will continue to count your age from the moment you were born, not the moment you were conceived.
9. We will not take away your hunting guns. If you need an automatic weapon or a handgun to kill a bird or a deer, then you really aren't much of a hunter and you should, perhaps, pick up another sport. We will make our streets and schools as free as we can from these weapons and we will protect your children just as we would protect ours.
10. When we raise the minimum wage, we will pay you -- and your employees -- that new wage, too. When women are finally paid what men make, we will pay conservative women that wage, too.
11. We will respect your religious beliefs, even when you don't put those beliefs into practice. In fact, we will actively seek to promote your most radical religious beliefs ("Blessed are the poor," "Blessed are the peacemakers," "Love your enemies," "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God," and "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."). We will let people in other countries know that God doesn't just bless America, he blesses everyone. We will discourage religious intolerance and fanaticism -- starting with the fanaticism here at home, thus setting a good example for the rest of the world.
12. We will not tolerate politicians who are corrupt and who are bought and paid for by the rich. We will go after any elected leader who puts him or herself ahead of the people. And we promise you we will go after the corrupt politicians on our side FIRST. If we fail to do this, we need you to call us on it. Simply because we are in power does not give us the right to turn our heads the other way when our party goes astray. Please perform this important duty as the loyal opposition.
I promise all of the above to you because this is your country, too. You are every bit as American as we are. We are all in this together. We sink or swim as one. Thank you for your years of service to this country and for giving us the opportunity to see if we can make things a bit better for our 300 million fellow Americans -- and for the rest of the world.
Signed,
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Are We Dumb on Immigration Issues?
Are We Americans Dumb or Just Stupid? (see original message at bottom - forwarded last Sunday)
Well, raising the issue with a deprecating "Catch 22" question - analogous to "have you stopped beating your wife yet?" is hardly a step in the right direction.
And, yeah, we are dumb if we endorse the premise (by the author below) that we are the victims and Mexicans are the perps.
(Given the title, I looked for...hoped for...some humorous intent, but did not detect any; however, if this message was intended as a joke and I completely missed it, in which case, please ignore the following rant.)
Like Rumsfeld, Cheney and the neo-cons hyping the Iraq war - the author has cherry-picked only facts that support his point of view, ignoring the big picture.
So, are we the generous, clever, resourceful, problem solving, freedom loving Americans (and Christians?) that we hold ourselves out to be - committed to improving the lot of all and reducing human suffering on the planet, etc., etc.?
Or, are we a bunch of hypocrites who just give lip service to those values?
Ridicule me as some sort of self-righteous smartass if you like, but you either walk the talk or you don't.
Finger pointing is still finger pointing, even when supported with selective statistics.
We need to explore new possibilities - such as legalizing immigrants as fast as possible - especially those who are already in the country - then track'em (for security reasons), tax'em (for economic reasons) and provide them with economic (rather than legal) incentives to learn English. This will have a strong positive impact on our tax base - saving the billions we spend trying to enforce existing archaic immigration laws - while generating new tax revenues on what is currently a HUGE untaxed underground economy.
This just might be a workable solution for everyone - we save tons of money on ineffective law enforce efforts (that just compound the cost and suffering) while enjoying new sources of tax revenue - without having to give up our chronic addiction to cheap labor.
The Mexicans get what they want - jobs, legal status and cultural/economic integration.
And cultural integration is a two way street, amigos.
Vive Los Estado Unitos! El mejor pais en todo el mundo!
- LynEdCat
----- Original Message -----
Subject: Are We Americans Dumb or Just Stupid?
From the L.A Times:
40% of all workers in L.A. County (L.A. County has
10 million people) are working for cash and not
paying taxes. This was because they are
predominantly illegal immigrants, working without a
green card.
2. 95% of warrants for murder in Los Angeles are for
illegal aliens.
3. 75% of people on the most wanted list in Los
Angeles are illegal aliens.
Over 2/3 of all births in Los Angeles County are to
illegal alien Mexicans on Medi-Cal, whose births
were paid for by taxpayers.
Nearly 25% of all inmates in California detention
centers are Mexican nationals here illegally.
Over 300,000 illegal aliens in Los Angeles County
are living in garages.
The FBI reports half of all gang members in Los
Angeles are most likely illegal aliens from south of
the border.
Nearly 60% of all occupants of HUD properties are
illegal.
9. 21 radio stations in L.A. are Spanish speaking.
In L.A. County 5.1 million people speak English. 3.9
million speak Spanish (10.2 million people in
L.A.County).
(All the above from the Los Angeles Times)
Less than 2% of illegal aliens are picking our
crops, but 29% are on welfare.
Over 70% of the United States' annual population
growth (and over 90% of California, Florida, and New
York) results from immigration. The cost of
immigration to the American taxpayer in 1997 was,
(after subtracting taxes immigrants pay), a NET $70
BILLION a year, [Professor Donald Huddle, Rice
University]. The lifetime fiscal impact (taxes paid
minus services used) for the average adult Mexican
immigrant is a NEGATIVE number.
29% of inmates in federal prisons are illegal
aliens.
If they can come to this country to raise Hell and
demonstration by the thousands, Why can't they take
charge over the corruption in their own country?
We are a bunch of fools for letting this continue.
THE U.S. VS MEXICO: On February 15, 1998, the U.S.
and Mexican soccer teams met at the Los Angeles
Coliseum. The crowd was overwhelmingly pro-Mexican
even though most lived in this country. They booed
during the National Anthem and U.S. flags were held
upside down. As the match progressed, supporters of
the U.S. team were insulted, pelted with
projectiles, punched and spat upon. Beer and trash
were thrown at the U.S. players before and after the
match. The coach of the U.S. team, Steve Sampson
said, "This was the most painful experience I have
ever had in this profession."
Did you know that immigrants from Mexico and other
non-European countries can come to this country and
get preferences in jobs, education, and government
contracts? It's called affirmative action or racial
privilege. The Emperor of Japan or the President of
Mexico could migrate here and immediately be
eligible for special rights unavailable for
Americans of European descent.
Corporate America has signed on to the idea that
minorities and third world immigrants should get
special, privileged status. Some examples are Exxon,
Texaco, Merrill Lynch, Boeing, Paine Weber,
Starbucks and many more.
DID YOU KNOW?: That Mexico regularly intercedes on
the side of the defense in criminal cases involving
Mexican nationals? Did you know that Mexico has
NEVER extradited a Mexican national accused of
murder in the U.S. in spite of agreements to do so?
According to the L.A. Times, Orange County,
California is home to 275 gangs with 17,000 members;
98% of which are Mexican and Asian. How's your
county doing?
According to a New York Times article dated May 19,
1994, 20 years after the great influx of legal
immigrants from Southeast Asia, 30% are still on
welfare compared to 8% of households nationwide. A
Wall Street Journal editorial dated December 5, 1994
quotes law enforcement officials as stating that
Asian mobsters are the "greatest criminal challenge
the country faces." Not bad for a group that is
still under 5% of the population.
Is education important to you? Here are the words of
a teacher who spent over 20 years in the Los Angeles
School system. "Imagine teachers in classes
containing 30-40 students of widely varying
attention spans and motivation, many of whom aren't
fluent in English. Educators seek learning materials
likely to reach the majority of students and that
means fewer words and math problems and more
pictures and multicultural references."
WHEN I WAS YOUNG: I remember hearing about the
immigrants that came through Ellis Island They
wanted to learn English. They wanted to breathe
free. They wanted to become Americans. Now, far too
many immigrants come here with demands. They demand
to be taught in their own language. They demand
special privileges--affirmative action. They demand
ethnic studies that glorify their culture.
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