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  • Posted by $ allosaur 6 years, 2 months ago
    What me dino finds interesting is that the Jackass Party turned down Trump's offer for a deal and actually called him a racist.
    From what me dino gathered for listening to talk radio, Rush Limbaugh expressed that he is wondering if Trump expected such a reaction.
    The Jackasses want it all. No wall, open borders, zillions of new Democrat voters~public safety, the Republic, our culture be damned.
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    • Posted by $ blarman 6 years, 2 months ago
      Trump showed that he was willing to accept a middle ground and the Democrats flipped out. And this is where the Republicans can just show the American people that the Democrats aren't interested in anything but the extremes, so we're completely justified in leaving them out in the cold. At least that is what I hope happens.
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      • Posted by ewv 6 years, 2 months ago
        A hodge podge including citizenship for those illegals who don't belong here at all is not the middle of anything, and consistency is not "extremism", which is an undefinable smear.

        Perhaps Trump's "offer" was not intended to be to the Democrats but to Susan Collins.
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        • Posted by $ blarman 6 years, 2 months ago
          It's something for everyone - a compromise: the Democrats get a path to citizenship for "Dreamers" and he gets his wall. That the Democrats aren't interested in compromise is what has been going on for 20+ years now but the Republicans have been unable to pin this tactic on them. This issue provides a huge chance to permanently label the Democrats - and the Democrats are (stupidly) going right along with it.

          The only consistency on the part of the Democrats is their extreme views on socialism/communism. To call their views "consistent" with any form of logic or observation would be a smear against Reality.

          "Perhaps Trump's "offer" was not intended to be to the Democrats but to Susan Collins."

          That I could completely agree with, but I would add two more RINOs: John McCain and Lisa Murkowski. I can maybe (big caveats) understand a Senator from Arizona being concerned about immigration, but Alaska and Maine? We aren't getting invaded by the Canucks...
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          • Posted by 6 years, 2 months ago
            The "path" they deserve is to the boat/bus to their home countries where they have citizenship. Those countries are not offering special citizenship treatment to Americans.
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            • Posted by $ blarman 6 years, 2 months ago
              I agree. I think what Trump offered was overly generous. Remember, Reagan got this very same type of deal from the Democrats back in the '80's: a one-time "amnesty" in exchange for better security and some military spending. And the Dems reneged - as they always do when it suits them.

              This time I think Republicans would be well off to just say "stick it" and build the wall and reform immigration - in spite of the Democrats. Set up the debate in the Senate so that cloture doesn't require a vote and if the Dems really want to filibuster, they have to do so the old-fashioned way rather than simply by obstructing a vote in the first place.
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          • Posted by ewv 6 years, 2 months ago
            Democrats do not compromise on principle. That is not "extremism", just (in their case) false and destructive principles. Calling consistency with principles "extremism" is a smear. It denounces any consistency with principle regardless of the principles, and it fails to properly reject false principles.

            They compromise politically when it furthers their agenda, while Republicans, who have no principles, compromise politically with their 'me too but slower' strategy. The Democrats' "compromise" always means taking what they can get and coming back for the rest later, as Republicans help them do it in the name of compromise as an end in itself for politicians.
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  • Posted by coaldigger 6 years, 2 months ago
    Did someone just wake up and discover that, if you go back far enough, everyone's ancestors came here from somewhere else. Each ethnic group had to face the "last man over the bridge" crowd (the slaves were on a time delay and are still working through it). The melting pot is like a slow cooker and it can be messy but I think it still works. People used to come here because they wanted an opportunity to make a better life. They were allowed in, despite all the negatives, because they were needed as workers, mostly in jobs that the existing population did not want to do. Now their grandchildren are the white collar types that would have always been welcome and even incented to come.
    We still need people willing to work, to assimilate and help us grow. What we have is a dishonest system that is based on bigotry, racism and misunderstanding of the need for elevating society by pushing up from the bottom as well as pulling from the top.
    Mostly because I know a little about them, my wife's grandparents on her father's side are my favorite immigrants. In 1912 Marino and Palmae came to America from a tiny little town on the Adriatic coast of Italy. One of Marino's uncles had somehow ended up in NY and wrote him a letter that there was a man that recruited immigrants from Ellis Island to work in the coal fields of West Virginia. Conditions were poor in Italy and WWI was looming so these newlyweds got on a train to Naples and a boat to NY. I have seen the passenger list and a picture of the boat. Passengers were listed as 1st class, 2nd class, 3rd class and "Passengers from Naples". I do not think the latter accommodations were very swanky and the boat barely looked like it was seaworthy. Working in the mines has never been a desire of mine, even though I grew up in a mining town. Marino worked every day until he retired at 65 and he and Palmae raised 4 children. All of their children were high school graduates, hard workers and married to non-Italians. All of their children went to college and are mostly only 1/4 Italian and mostly married to non-Catholics. At the time the grandparents arrived in WV, Italians occupied a social station only slightly higher than the Negro miners that came from Alabama. In 100 years all the "immigrant" issues of that family have disappeared and they are all just Americans. They aren't poor, some are far from it but they made their own way.
    To me, we need an immigration model that encourages this type of immigration, not the corrupt tangle of laws that aren't even obeyed. It doesn't matter what color people are, what religion they follow, what their political beliefs are. If they have to assimilate to survive they will be fine. If they can live on welfare and gather in ethnic ghettoes then we will have problems like Europe.
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    • Posted by ewv 6 years, 2 months ago
      But they don't have to 'assimilate' to self reliance. In the growing welfare state they can and do remain balkanized, and that cannot be ignored in assessing the problem. An "opportunity to make a better life" does not mean what it used to: it now includes entitlements to subsidies. Even many of those willing to work take on low paying jobs with the expectation that government subsidies are part of the package.
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    • Posted by Herb7734 6 years, 2 months ago
      So.....throw open the gates and c'mon in.Ask Sweden, Germany,France and others how that is working for them.The Massive Muslim Movement shows that immigration is not necessarily random.
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      • Posted by coaldigger 6 years, 2 months ago
        Open the gates. Don't support them. They have to work or depend on family. Sweden, Germany and France supported them blindly and asked nothing in return. The people that have come to America over the years came for opportunity not a handout. They didn't come for a handout because there wasn't any and there are those that are still crying about how heartless the Capitalists were. Ayn was right, it is the only moral system.
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        • Posted by Herb7734 6 years, 2 months ago
          How do you get them to do that now that they are here? ........Just asking.
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          • Posted by coaldigger 6 years, 2 months ago
            There is no reason that we have to support non-citizens so cut them off. We will know who we have to deport when they complain. All who have jobs and clean records, give them a path to citizenship. There are 11 million here now, many of whom we are benefiting from their productivity. Our immigration laws are ridiculous, so fix them and don't make people criminals because they failed to be irrational and followed rules that made no sense and EVERYONE winked and looked the other way for years.
            With the current low unemployment we are just about out of labor and are stimulating investment to create economic growth and more jobs. This is going to blow up in our face when there aren't enough people to sustain it. People who come here to work have to learn to speak English to do so. If they want to be successful, they will try to fit in and their children will assimilate even faster. This will not happen, only if we incentive them to do otherwise.
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            • Posted by 6 years, 2 months ago
              "we are just about out of labor "
              If I could find a job that doesn't support big government I might apply. Oh, but they won't hire someone my age and gender and color because age discrimination is legal, and I didn't earn my knowledge or abilities. That degree summa cum laude just proves I'm a racist, sexist, and whatever-ist.

              Sorry, I'm grouchy today;^)
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            • Posted by Herb7734 6 years, 2 months ago
              Not enough workers to sustain it? In a country of 360+ Million not enough labor? Someone is fudging numbers. Let's check the unemployment rolls. As long as there is a single unfilled non-technical job, no-one should get the freebies.
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  • Posted by Herb7734 6 years, 2 months ago
    The illegal children remind me of the guy who drove the getaway car. His excuse was that he didn't know what they were going to do and he actually didn't participate. A good friend of mine's fiance was in that position, he visits her in prison regularly.
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  • Posted by DrZarkov99 6 years, 2 months ago
    The game of leadership with a wildly varied composition of Americans is always going to be finding the compromise that enough will grudgingly accept. If the GOP gets really lucky and does a respectable job of selling how well the economy is doing (remember, "It's the economy, stupid" worked for Clinton), they could gain a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate in the Fall. Even if that happens, there will be a range of positions taken by the neophyte GOP senators that won't guarantee Trump will be able dictate what he wants. The ultraconseratives will wail that he's not conservative enough, and Susan Collins will side with the Democrats to say he's being too harsh.
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    • Posted by $ blarman 6 years, 2 months ago
      While its an interesting theory, I think the Republicans lack of progress in many areas (usually due to the Democrats but that fact will get brushed under the rug) is going to bite them hard. Most of the seats which are up are tight races and though Republicans could pick up a few more seats, they still have to deal with the defectors from their own party - Murkowski, McCain, and Collins. Jeff Flake's seat may also flip because of his acrimony toward Trump.

      We'll know more in about six months, but while I'd love to see a filibuster-proof majority, I'll say right now I doubt it is going to happen.

      If it did, however, the Republicans might be able to get a Balanced Budge Amendment passed and sent to the States. Wouldn't that be a sight to see?
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      • Posted by DrZarkov99 6 years, 2 months ago
        There are a couple of Democrat senators that may be the dissidents the Republicans need. Joe Manchin has sided with Trump positions already, and West Virginia is so solidly red that he will have to break ranks to stay in place, or change parties. The new Alabama senator, Doug Jones has stated that he intends to vote the way Alabama voters want him to, which means that he too may have to buck Democrat leadership on occasion. If played correctly, McConnell may actually find bipartisan passage of some bills.
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        • Posted by $ blarman 6 years, 2 months ago
          I wish there were more like them, but Party politics in the party of the Jackass long ago has become a matter of party financing for re-election. And if you don't toe the line and party policy, you don't get the funding. It puts the extremists in charge of the Party in control of the candidates. I'd prefer to eliminate all donations to political parties and say that if you want to donate to a particular candidate, that's fine. I think we'd find we'd have a lot better political process once we removed the RNC and DNC from the picture.
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          • Posted by 6 years, 2 months ago
            Limit donations to $1 for each voter and corporations do not vote or donate. (I'm a real "dreamer';^)
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            • Posted by $ blarman 6 years, 2 months ago
              My idea is to simply clarify political donation contributions law to say that citizens (and only lawful voting-age citizens) can donate only to candidates in their respective voting districts. Make the candidates responsible for policing the donations on penalty of disqualification. Since neither "corporations" nor unions have voting rights, all political funding becomes a matter of individual choice.
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              • Posted by 6 years, 2 months ago
                Good ideas. Lowering the gross amount of spending by candidates is a must to allow real people who truly represent their districts to have a chance in elections. Limiting those elected to only one term breaks some of the power of parties, too.
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  • Posted by 6 years, 2 months ago
    I wonder how the Democrats would respond if Trump proposed letting the dreamers stay but never being able to vote or have any access to public benefits- no unemployment, medicaid, food stamps, medicare, social security; they are legal residents who can work and pay taxes but not as US citizens.
    The alternative for them is to comply with the law and get the same treatment as all other potential immigrants. So far they are illegal and are violating the law. No reward for violating the law.
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  • Posted by Owlsrayne 6 years, 2 months ago
    I'm from a second generation European immigrant family. I know the my grandparents story of coming to the USA and what they did to become citizens. In a particular situation one of them had to go to school to learn the English language.
    Here in Arizona there are many Hispanics that live here and don't know any English. This makes me angry as hell. Part of the immigration reform is that all these illegals and others that don't speak the language be sent back to where they came from.
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  • Posted by term2 6 years, 2 months ago
    I always thought trump could stand in the way to some degree of collectivism. He should just let these illegals go thru the regular immigration system with everyone else. He is caving in to the liberals. Maybe he is afraid the dems will win in 2018 and 2020 and completely undo his agenda
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  • Posted by $ CBJ 6 years, 2 months ago
    I would not support a “path to citizenship” for those who come here illegally of their own free will.

    I would support a “path to citizenship” for those who were brought here as children and had little or no choice in the matter.

    Such a policy does need to be accompanied by enhanced border security – a wall or something else – to prevent further incursions by the first type of immigrant above.

    I prefer Trump’s approach to the approaches of the “mainstream” Republicans and Democrats.
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    • Posted by 6 years, 2 months ago
      So the children are either (a) still children and should be deported with their illegal parents, or (b) adult and they should all be deported because they broke the law crossing the border. I don't see the rationale in allowing the illegal adults to stay. They came illegally. They should be allowed to apply for immigration under the new point system based on what they can contribute and after demonstrating that they can speak English and agree to assimilate into the American culture with respect to private property rights, and all other facets of American life. They should have no advantage or be discriminated against in competition with other potential immigrants, but they should not stay in the US while being considered for immigration because they are still illegals until accepted for immigration. Any preferred treatment is unfair to other potential immigrants who did not break the law.
      The Democrats should have their noses rubbed in how their unfair proposals discriminate against "legal" immigrants.
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      • Posted by mccannon01 6 years, 2 months ago
        I agree with your scenario "(a)". "(b)", however, if the minor children of illegals have become adults, then they are like the slaves brought from Africa centuries prior who had no choice in the matter. Those people should (could) be given citizenship as a one-time deal to get this crap behind us. There could be a sifting process where the good "children become adults" get citizenship and the criminals get deported.

        This is a festering wound inherited from administrations gone by that didn't do their job. Build the wall and do the job so this crap doesn't happen again.
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        • Posted by ewv 6 years, 2 months ago
          There is no one-time amnesty. We have been through this before, with false promises of reform. That is one legitimate reason why there is so much opposition to even discussing any kind of amnesty without first firmly stopping the influx of illegals.

          The "wall" isn't nearly enough. It may slow down some gangs sneaking over the border at night, but without government policy enforcing protection of the border and the entry points it would not solve the problem. I suspect that many who support the "wall" do so in part as a barrier against our own government malfeasance, as if a physical barrier could be a substitute for rational government. It isn't.
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      • Posted by $ CBJ 6 years, 2 months ago
        Do you really think an infant "broke the law crossing the border"? I would somewhat agree with your point (a), but context needs to be considered. As an extreme but valid example, if a "dreamer" was one day old when he/she crossed the border, and is now weeks away from his/her 18th birthday, I think that person should be allowed to stay, regardless of the parents' situation.
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        • Posted by 6 years, 2 months ago
          It would not be fair to legitimate legal immigrants. Treat them same as other potential immigrants- no special favors. They did nothing to warrant special treatment except possibly live off the taxpayers of the US for years, and that earns them my disgust. Whining illegals.
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          • Posted by ewv 6 years, 2 months ago
            Any "hardships" are the fault and responsibility of the lawbreakers who brought them, not an excuse to ignore the problem. The fault of the lawbreakers has been exacerbated by government complicity in refusing to enforce the law. Some of them may qualify for legal immigration in accordance with proper laws (that still do not exist), but calling them all "dreamers" to promote them in contrast to everyone else is dishonest political hype, and there is no excuse to give them special privileges either now or for citizenship later. The appeal to "innocent dreamers", without regard to what different people are and are not as individuals and as if we are responsible for them, is the equivalent of creating a hostage situation for moral intimidation for political ends. Government policy has been an irrational mess and none of these "amnesty" schemes either acknowledges what is wrong or offers rational reform.
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          • Posted by $ CBJ 6 years, 2 months ago
            Reminds me of the argument decades ago that granting "amnesty" to draft evaders would not be "fair" to those who were drafted and went to Vietnam. Some situations simply do not have a solution that is "fair" to everyone. Each "dreamer's" situation is unique and should be evaluated according to his/her own individual circumstances and personal (not parental) decisions. Lumping them all into a collective group of "whiners" is certainly unfair.
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            • Posted by 6 years, 2 months ago
              They want to be treated as better than other prospective immigrants. That is whining, and unfair to others who may be better qualified. No special deals is what America is about. Give these whiners a special deal (just because they have already had the benefits provided at the expense of others) is a mistake and a continuation of the unethical looter rubbish that has created many problems worldwide. The comparison to draft evaders is not relevant.
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              • Posted by ewv 6 years, 2 months ago
                Yes, the comparison to the draft was nonsense. The draft should not have existed at all. People do have a right to migrate around the world, provided they do it lawfully. Perpetual amnesty for illegals while perpetually doing nothing to control the illegal immigration, let alone implementing rational reform of immigration restrictions, is all we get out of these "deals" for amnesty. Those who try to come legally are smothered in restrictions, enormous legal costs and bureaucracy. There is never any "amnesty" for them.
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                • Posted by $ CBJ 6 years, 2 months ago
                  That's the fault of the laws themselves and the way they are enforced (or not). It's not the fault of those who were brought here illegally as children and have no personal or cultural ties to their "home" country. Trump's current plan provides both for tough border security and for a way to resolve the ill-defined status of this particular class of immigrants.
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                  • Posted by ewv 6 years, 2 months ago
                    Amnesty isn't the fault of laws. There is no concern for those trying to emigrate for the right reasons and struggling with bureaucratic restrictions, no talk of correcting the laws imposing it, and an attitude of anything goes towards those flagrantly violating laws who don't belong here at all.
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              • Posted by $ CBJ 6 years, 2 months ago
                The comparison to draft evaders is totally relevant. The legal status of those evading the draft was of no personal consequence to those who were drafted. Likewise, the legal status of this group of immigrants is of no personal consequence to any legal immigrants. Certainly the character and circumstances of each individual “dreamer” is relevant in determining who should go and who should be permitted to stay, but it would be unfair to penalize an entire category of immigrants just because they were brought here illegally as children with no choice in the matter.
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                • Posted by 6 years, 2 months ago
                  I said that they would NOT be penalized, but treated under the law the same way as all other potential immigrants and judged only on their merit. Giving them preferential treatment above other potential immigrants is what you are saying should be done. They are violating the law now as adults. Have they all gone to the nearest immigration office and declared their status? If not, they have violated the law. Have they taken jobs without lawful immigration status? Have they represented themselves to employers as legal residents? These actions are violations of immigration laws.
                  Yet you want to reward them by putting them ahead of other potential immigrants.
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                  • Posted by ewv 6 years, 2 months ago
                    A lot of those slated for a "path to citizenship" by the Trump scheme haven't bothered to register even under Obama's constitutionally illegal program.
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                  • Posted by $ CBJ 6 years, 2 months ago
                    They are not being put “ahead” of anyone, they have their own separate category. There’s a big difference between a potential immigrant and a person who was brought here as a child and has no personal link to his/her supposed “home” country. To lump all these people into a group you choose to label with the pejorative “whining illegals” does not make sense in the context of a philosophy of individualism.
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                    • Posted by 6 years, 2 months ago
                      You are "lumping" them into a category of their own. I am not. No separate category is needed. They are just immigrants like all the others and should have to qualify under the law just as all others.
                      I have explained my rational point of view repeatedly.
                      They ARE whining that they are special and deserve preferential treatment. Not because of anything they have achieved or produced, but because their parents broke the law. Rubbish. That does not deserve a reward of citizenship or of residency. They are not as a class any better than other prospective immigrants.
                      You insist on rewarding these people by giving them a category separate from other immigrants that doesn't require them to be as qualified as others.
                      That sends the same wrong message that has been sent in every amnesty given to illegals in the past..
                      Unless you have something new to add that changes their status don't expect another reply.
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                      • Posted by $ CBJ 6 years, 2 months ago
                        I don’t expect anything. Whether you reply is up to you. But you are lumping all of them them into a category, “whining illegals”, without regard to their individual characters, achievements or beliefs. Most of them did not come here voluntarily, and many of them have no ties to their “home” countries. Many of them do not “live off the taxpayers” and some are even taxpayers themselves. Furthermore, legal residency is not a zero-sum game where granting one person legal status means that another person must be denied. Residency for illegals brought here as children can be decided on a case-by-case basis without in the least impacting the fate of those going through the standard immigration process.
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                        • Posted by term2 6 years, 2 months ago
                          So let these people apply like any other
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                          • Posted by $ CBJ 6 years, 2 months ago
                            I agree, if they can do so without risking being immediately deported to a country they have no ties to and may not even remember.
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                            • Posted by 6 years, 2 months ago
                              No ties? They have citizenship there.
                              But I can live with letting them apply in the same group with all other prospective immigrants and be judged on their merits. They should have already gained an advantage from living in the US by learning American customs and language, but they do not show any understanding of fair play that is a vital part of being American, imo.
                              I'm sick of whiners of all kinds. Whether it's immigrants or whining CEO's begging to have government give them an advantage over their domestic competition, they should all just produce and prove what they can do without taxpayer assistance. (Oh, and they should shut up and stop whining!)
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                            • Posted by term2 6 years, 2 months ago
                              Watch Canadian border security on netflix to see what happens in Canada. None of this "dreamer" crap gets you anywhere there, and it shouldnt get them anywhere here either.
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                        • Posted by ewv 6 years, 2 months ago
                          "Whining" is not a category of immigrants; it identifies a large number of illegals who are demanding that their illegality be ignored. The supposed name "Dreamers" does not categorize them or identify them; those lumped under that are all different as individuals and not deserving of special treatment by calling them "dreamers".

                          Nothing can be decided objectively on a case by case basis when there are no rational standards and there is no public discussion of what the standards should be, only demands for perpetual amnesty except for those struggling to come legally for proper reasons, versus demands to throw out or bar all the "outsiders" who are deemed to not be a collectivist "asset". How would any rational government decision be made on a case by case basis in this mess?
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                          • Posted by term2 6 years, 2 months ago
                            Let them dream in Canada or australia
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                            • Posted by 6 years, 2 months ago
                              Australia actually made a deal with Indonesia to create camps for the illegals Australia catches. They are immediately taken to Indonesia and not even considered for immigration to Australia.
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                              • Posted by term2 6 years, 2 months ago
                                Political correctness needs to die a quick death in the USA. Hire the director of Immigration in Australis or Canada to run our Immigration system.
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                            • Posted by 6 years, 2 months ago
                              Australia has strict limits on immigration. They would have zero chance for special treatment unless they have lots of $ or are better qualified and sponsored by an Australian business (who must hire them if they sponsor them.)
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                              • Posted by term2 6 years, 2 months ago
                                Same with Canada. I looked up what I would have to do to immigrate to Canade. As I remember, I would need to invest $500k in Canada (in some way) to be considered. I have graduate degrees from MIT, have run several businesses in the USA, and can support myself. But trying to get residency in Canada? Forget it.

                                Let the dreamers try Canada
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                          • Posted by term2 6 years, 2 months ago
                            I really dislike the word dreamers. They were illegally brought in by illegal parents. None of them dreamed at all
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                            • Posted by ewv 6 years, 2 months ago
                              And they are all different as individuals. A lot of them are nightmares, including those are and who sympathize with the so-called "domestic terrorists".
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                              • Posted by term2 6 years, 2 months ago
                                I dont know if you have time to individually assess all 800,000 of them, but I dont. I say to let them apply as immigrants and let the bureaucracy analyze each one. might take years, but so what.
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                              • Posted by $ blarman 6 years, 2 months ago
                                Yes. The rate of incarceration of illegals - especially repeat offenders - should give anyone pause when considering their potential entry into US society.
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                            • Posted by $ CBJ 6 years, 2 months ago
                              I agree. What do you think about the term "whiners"? Do you think that puts all of them in their appropriate category?
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                              • Posted by term2 6 years, 2 months ago
                                They are whining. there is a path to citizenship for anyone wanting to come to the USA. Its been there for a LONG time, and the illegals got a free ride so far. Its over and they should apply. Pick the good ones and let them get green cards; the rest go OUT
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                          • -1
                            Posted by $ CBJ 6 years, 2 months ago
                            Please re-read your first sentence; the second part contradicts the first. To identify a group based on selected attributes is to categorize that group. And it’s not “special treatment” to establish separate criteria to deal with this group, since its members differ in many important respects from other illegals who knowingly and voluntarily broke the law by crossing the border.

                            Just because “progressives” are making ridiculous demands for any and all illegal immigrants, doesn’t mean that rational standards for immigration acceptance or rejection cannot be created and enforced.

                            I agree that “dreamers” is an inappropriate word for identifying this particular group of illegal immigrants, and I avoid using the term whenever possible.
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                            • Posted by ewv 6 years, 2 months ago
                              It does not make sense to establish special criteria for whiners. Identifying those who whine does not identify a group based on "selected attributes" having anything to do with their legal status.

                              There was no contradiction in my post. I did not say to treat people on a case by case basis -- even if it would be done by an objective standard, which it would not be -- based either on whether they are whiners or what Democrats call "dreamers", which is all of them.
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                              • Posted by $ CBJ 6 years, 2 months ago
                                If “whiners” isn’t a category, what is it? The term is as emotionally charged and misleading as the label “dreamers”. Neither term is appropriate to a rational discussion on what constitutes a proper immigration policy.
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                                • Posted by ewv 6 years, 2 months ago
                                  The "whiners" he referred to pertains to those who are petulantly demanding amnesty as an entitlement. It does not refer to all emigrants, and as an identification of behavior is not a kind of legal status of emigration. That is not how freedomforall used the term.
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        • Posted by CaptainKirk 6 years, 2 months ago
          Do you not see this as REWARDING Bad Behavior, and therefore encouraging more?

          What if I break into your house with my UNDER AGE Kid, and we take over. Keep you locked in the basement. When the police finally come save you, how would you deal with my child. Granted, I am willing to go to Jail as long as my kid gets to keep your house. They have grown accustomed to it, and it was NOT their fault...
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          • Posted by $ CBJ 6 years, 2 months ago
            Your analogy is invalid. It equates being in the country unlawfully with robbery and kidnapping, which are much more serious offenses involving the direct initiation of force. Government action needs to be proportionate to the nature and severity of the transgression and the extent to which the person involved is responsible for it. For example, it is not fair or just to impose a life sentence on someone for stealing a candy bar. This does not mean that the so-called “dreamers” are entitled to a free pass, but unless they have committed other crimes there are plenty of alternatives the government can pursue other than deportation.
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            • Posted by CaptainKirk 6 years, 2 months ago
              I concede my argument was not the same...

              What else can the government DO, while upholding ALL OF Our Existing laws?

              You are asking that they be treated special.

              And what does that do to DETER future people coming?

              They are LITERALLY Gaming our kindness, our natural tendency to be giving... In order to come here illegally and break our laws at rates WAY HIGHER than normal citizens.
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              • Posted by $ CBJ 6 years, 2 months ago
                I agree with much of what you are saying. As I see it, appropriate ways to deter future people coming here illegally would include (1) greatly tightening border security, (2) requiring proof of legal residency to obtain any government benefits, and (3) requiring their countries of origin (through tariffs or other means) to pay for our trouble and expense in arresting and deporting their citizens who came here illegally. And any illegal immigrant found to be “gaming our kindness” by committing other crimes should be prosecuted and sentenced to the full extent of the law, with expenses and restitution billed to their countries of origin in the same manner as (3) above.

                Regarding illegal immigrants brought here as children, and who have committed no other crimes, I do not consider it “special treatment” to establish separate criteria to deal with this group, since its members differ in many important respects from other illegals who knowingly and voluntarily broke the law by crossing the border.

                As I said earlier on this topic, there is no way to untangle the current immigration mess in a way that would be “fair” to everyone. However, it would be manifestly unfair and in no one’s self-interest to deport all illegal immigrants that were brought here as children. Objective standards should be put in place to evaluate each person’s application for residency and/or citizenship, based on his or her character, respect for other people’s lives and property, and knowledge of and adherence to the principles of individual liberty. It would perhaps be appropriate to offset the advantages they obtained by being here already, by imposing a more stringent set of requirements on this group of immigrants than on those going through the normal immigration process.
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        • Posted by $ blarman 6 years, 2 months ago
          Context does not matter when dealing with objective laws. It doesn't matter if you are Jean Valjean stealing to feed your family - you are still a thief. It doesn't matter if you were brought here to the US illegally before you were old enough to have a say in the matter - you are still here illegally. That's the whole point here. Context only matters during sentencing - not during trial. The fact of the matter is that if you are in this nation - or any nation - illegally, you are here/there illegally; your motives for doing so do not move those boundary lines one inch. Legal citizenship rests upon following the laws - not ignoring them.

          To me, the longer they have been here without taking the proper steps to do so legally is evidence against lenient treatment - not for. They've had all that much more time to come clean and do things properly, yet they haven't. In some cases, all they have done is exacerbate the problem by bringing more people here behind them. Also, I don't buy the fear aspect: only those who are breaking the laws have any reason to fear. (And their open actions marching for these perceived "rights" indicate they really don't even have much fear.)

          I support uniform immigration policy. I don't support any special privileges just because you've been here X number of years. You go to the back of the line behind everyone who applied in good faith before you.
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          • Posted by ewv 6 years, 2 months ago
            Context matters in applying any law or principle -- you have to identify the context for which a law is intended in order to understand if it applies and how. There are no intrinsic principles with no contextual meaning and justification. But that requires that people cannot drop context and plead exemption as they make up their own contextual meaning to pretend their illegality doesn't matter.
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          • Posted by $ CBJ 6 years, 2 months ago
            Go to the back of what “line”? There is no line. The government’s treatment of those brought here as children does not interfere with its dealings with other people navigating the standard immigration process. Immigration is not a zero-sum game. And we’re not talking citizenship here, we’re talking non-deportation. Separate issue. Most proposals for giving these people a “path to citizenship” are fairly difficult and time-consuming, and some even involve the payment of fines for living here illegally.

            Objectivism does not claim that “Context does not matter when dealing with objective laws.” As Tara Smith, author of Judicial Review in an Objective Legal System, points out, “For courts to be objective, then, when engaged in judicial review, they must be guided by the law that they find in its full context, understood in light of the principles and the commitments that animate it. It would be non-objective for judges to ignore those values.”
            http://theundercurrent.org/judicial-r...
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            • Posted by $ blarman 6 years, 2 months ago
              Actually, there is a line. It is composed of those who have gone through the proper channels of paperwork and applications and are waiting their turn for a hearing. Those who are here illegally need to join that line, submit their applications, and wait. There's nothing biased about this. Bias would be introduced by giving current illegals special treatment allowing them to circumvent the process used by everyone else. That's what I take issue with.

              As to the argument about context, what contextual reading in immigration law puts precedence on illegals already here? I can't find any. To be objective, the law must apply equally to everyone - not pick and choose special cases for exemption/special treatment. THAT is what context is - it applies to the LAW and not the subject. Very different.

              Example: the context of the Second Amendment. It is clear from the writings at the time that the Founding Fathers understood that the right to self-defense applied to every American individually and that no government infringement on that right was acceptable. The context applicable revolves around the necessity of a militia, which properly understood reinforces the individual right to bear arms. But the context of the law entirely deals with the ability to resist repression by tyrannical government. It doesn't grant special privileges to those who identify with any respective militia, however.
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            • Posted by ewv 6 years, 2 months ago
              The "back of the line" is usually intended to be metaphorical -- not a line of people extending out over a dock or airport. It refers to the requirement to go back to the beginning and follow all the required procedures -- except that in addition there are also often artificial quotas creating a literal wait at the end of a bureaucratic "line".

              Jumping the "line" may not hold someone else up but allowing it and then granting amnesty from the law in principle is an injustice to everyone else.

              We also know that "citizenship" is an increasing farce. The standards, even if they can be difficult or expensive, do not address rational requirements for citizenship, and immigrants, legal or not, are increasingly granted citizenship rights and improper entitlements they are not supposed to have, such as voting, state taxpayer-funded education, social security, and outright welfare subsidies.
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              • Posted by $ CBJ 6 years, 2 months ago
                You’re talking about the defects of the situation as it exists now. I’m discussing ways we might rectify this situation if we had the means to do so. There is no way to untangle the current immigration mess in a way that would be “fair” to everyone. However, it would be manifestly unfair and in no one’s self-interest to deport all illegal immigrants that were brought here as children. Objective standards would have to be put in place to evaluate each person’s application for residency and/or citizenship, based on his or her character, respect for other people’s lives and property, and knowledge of and adherence to the principles of individual liberty. It would perhaps be appropriate to offset the advantages they obtained by being here already, by imposing a more stringent set of requirements on this group of immigrants than on those going through the normal immigration process.
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  • Posted by CarrieAnneJD 6 years, 2 months ago
    Ben Shapiro has a great explanation for this highlighting the extremes in both parties... basically, the Dems have ZERO incentive to actually "save DACA" or "help the Dreamers" because they can just blame Trump/Repubs and keep calling them racist. This plan went far beyond what DACA did and it's STILL not enough for the Dems. They have said and still say "stop trump" and "fight against ANYTHING he proposes." At the same time, Republicans are freaking out that he's "caved" as a starting negotiation point, which is strange because that presumes that the Dems actually would negotiate. Which they have zero incentive to do.

    Seriously, look at Ben Shapiro's podcast or Daily Wire articles about this. Totally spot-on for this issue.
    https://www.dailywire.com/news/26376/...
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  • Posted by $ MikeMarotta 6 years, 2 months ago
    "With the ongoing debate about Trump’s immigration ban in mind, it’s worth revisiting Ayn Rand’s thoughts on immigration. Rand never discussed this topic at length, but in the Q&A following her 1973 Ford Hall Forum address, she was asked: “What is your attitude toward immigration? Doesn’t open immigration have a negative effect on a country’s standard of living?” This is her answer:

    'You don’t know my conception of self-interest. No one has the right to pursue his self-interest by law or by force, which is what you’re suggesting. You want to forbid immigration on the grounds that it lowers your standard of living — which isn’t true, though if it were true, you’d still have no right to close the borders. You’re not entitled to any “self-interest” that injures others, especially when you can’t prove that open immigration affects your self-interest. You can’t claim that anything others may do — for example, simply through competition — is against your self-interest. But above all, aren’t you dropping a personal context? How could I advocate restricting immigration when I wouldn’t be alive today if our borders had been closed?'
    (Ayn Rand Answers: The Best of Her Q&A, edited by Robert Mayhew, p. 25.)"

    From The Ayn Rand Institute, here: https://ari.aynrand.org/blog/2017/02/...
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    • Posted by 6 years, 2 months ago
      Ayn was an immigrant who admired and assimilated into the American culture, as many European immigrants did.
      Her answer might have been different if she was still living and was asked the question today given the acts of terror that have been done by immigrants since she died.
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      • Posted by $ blarman 6 years, 2 months ago
        It is also important to note that Rand obeyed the immigration rules when she did so. She didn't conveniently ignore them then petition for lenient treatment afterward.
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      • Posted by ewv 6 years, 2 months ago
        This has been discussed here before https://www.galtsgulchonline.com/post...

        Ayn Rand was strongly pro-immigration on principle as a consequence of the principles of individualism, but she also explicitly did not support invasion or anarchism.

        Conservatives promoting economic protectionism, government protection of "tradition" against "outsiders", subjectivism in choosing who can come, and demands that emigrants only be allowed for a collectivist national benefit are package-dealing that with legitimate objections to terrorists, government welfare seekers, and a large influx of illiterate tribalists seeking socialist changes to our political system in what amounts to invasion -- encouraged by collectivists already here who want their illiterate "votes".
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      • Posted by Lucky 6 years, 2 months ago
        ffa- yeah, nah.
        Almost every kind of migrant from every continent, bodies fat or thin, skin yellow or gray, culture stone-age or sophisticated, assimilate into nations that accept migrants. Many migrants do not have the host nation's standards, but these can take perhaps a generation to acquire.
        I doubt that crime rates are statistically above average.

        But now, there is a category of migrant that has no intention of assimilation, or even of co-existing.
        They are collectivist by admission.
        So Ayn Rand made no specific mention of these.
        Well, show me Rand's answer to the question-
        Should this nation accept mass migration by persons who have a collectivist common culture
        requiring them to hate, rape and enslave others?
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        • Posted by CaptainKirk 6 years, 2 months ago
          Fox New actually ran the numbers a while back. And John Lott has crunched the numbers for a couple of Sanctuary cities. They DO Commit more crime. More often.

          NON-CITIZEN Federal Crime Rates of ILLEGALS:
          22% of Murders
          18% of Fraud
          33% of Money Laundering
          29% of Drug Trafficking
          72% of Drug Possession

          Now, this is for a group of EITHER 10 Million or 30 Million (depending on who is asking).
          at 30 Million (the larger number. They would make up ~10% of our population)
          Making them 2 times more likely to murder (if you use 10 Million and 3% it is 6 Times more likely of Murder)

          But look at drug Possession... Probably how they are making their living. 72% when you make up 10%
          that makes them 7 Times more likely to be possessing drugs.

          Bear in mind, that the LEFT has CONFLATED Illegals with Immigrants (on purpose, and then quotes how IMMIGRANTS commit less crime, which EXCLUDES the illegals, but lets them wax philosophically about how great these people are, so we should shut up).

          Remember the phrase "If it saves JUST ONE LIFE"... Well stopping Illegal Immigration would CERTAINLY Save one life! Probably one per day!

          A friend of mine was nearly killed by a driver who was here illegally, without a license or insurance. And because my friend did not have Uninsured Motorists Insurance, he got screwed over pretty good. And of course the illegal just disappeared.

          They crime rates are much higher... They aren't trying to work at banks, and places that care so much about their background!
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          • Posted by Lucky 6 years, 2 months ago
            Yes Captn!
            " the LEFT has CONFLATED Illegals with Immigrants "
            The question is- Is the problem from mussy progressivsta emoting, or the cold intention to destroy?
            Answer- Same difference (as we say here).

            My point in my earlier post is that legal migrants are ok, the data suggest they are beneficial.
            Data on illegals tells us the opposite.
            When a nation does not allow itself the right to select there will be short term and long term disaster.
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            • Posted by CaptainKirk 6 years, 2 months ago
              Imagine a country that let illegals in, then let them vote. Did this for generations... And it changed the face of the country. It made it less safe, and drained it. It brought people who DONT want to assimilate but want us to bend to their will...

              And then I realize it started before I was born, and we fix it now, or we lay America to rest. because it cannot be the same country with the values that are being shoved upon us from all directions.

              Government is NOT the solution, it IS the problem!

              We agree...
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      • Posted by $ MikeMarotta 6 years, 2 months ago
        Read about the Wall Street bombing of 1920 September 16: Italians. Then there were Sacco and Vanzetti. And the Jew traitors Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. ... I mean, I reject the arguments. I just point out that they have been made before. The anti-immigration rhetoric always has been and remains collectivist in general, and racist in particular. Do you really want Freedom for All?
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        • Posted by ewv 6 years, 2 months ago
          There were big problems with crime from immigrants in the late 19th century and early 20th century, including anarchists, union violence, and riots run by socialists, but it isn't clear what the percentages were. It's not an argument against immigration, but it appears that much more should have been done to keep out the uncivilized and ideological rabble who were intent on imposing an unjust burden on innocent citizens.
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        • Posted by 6 years, 2 months ago
          We disagree on this Mike as we do frequently.
          Your examples are not relevant and you know it.
          You question my principles? I don't work for the state and I never have.
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          • Posted by NealS 6 years, 2 months ago
            All examples are irrelevant in my mind. The only relevant issue is getting control of our borders and passing a legitimate law on our immigration policy. National origin, race, color, etc. are only political issues, none of which are relevant to border security or immigration policy. What we do with those that are now already here illegally is a completely separate issue. We need to decide if we're going to grandfather those that broke the law or deport them. It's like grandfathering Hillary's crimes. She's gotten away with them so far and she is now actually irrelevant. Whatever we decide is only temporarily relevant, soon it will all be forgotten. We need a decision on her too. Perhaps Trump will address that issue too someday.

            So far all of this just shows me that the democrats don't want a solution, the latest offer made by Trump was a hell of a lot more than even Schumer expected. Perhaps after Maxine Waters does her critique on the State of the Union more progress will be made on getting something done on many more issues. I'm predicting after her critique we will not have to worry about the elections coming up in November.
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    • Posted by $ CBJ 6 years, 2 months ago
      Since Ayn Rand "never discussed this topic at length", it is not appropriate to expand her spontaneous remarks at a Q&A session to an overall Objectivist policy on immigration. Especially when her remarks were in reply to a questioner who brought up an improper argument for restricting immigration.
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